Monday, November 10, 2008

My topic is the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment

I used Chicago Humanities style.


Atkinson, M. “Fifty million viewers can't be wrong: professional wrestling, sports-entertainment, and nemesis.” Sociology of Sport Journal, vol. 19 issue 1 (2002): p. 47-66. SPORTDiscus, EBSCOhost (accessed November 7, 2008).

Atkinson looks at professional wrestling from the viewpoint of how it differs from non-scripted sports and how popular it has become. The main point is that the wrestlers are physical actors and the outcomes of the matches are predestined. Atkinson describes how each of the wrestlers has their own personality that they are supposed to portray. It also discusses how it was once viewed as a legitimate sport but it was disclosed that the outcomes of the matches were determined before the matches took place.

Campbell, Colin. “Our Chairman Was Murdered (Wink Wink).” Maclean's, July 9, 2007, p51-51, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2008).

This article discusses how World Wrestling Entertainment staged a television show in which the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, was to have his limousine explode and how it affected the perception of what is television and what is real. It says that no damage was done to the stock price after the staged death of the character Mr. McMahon.

Hart, Martha and Eric Francis. Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. New York: M. Evans and Company, 2002.

This book was written by the widow of a wrestler, Owen Hart, who died in the wrestling ring after a 70 foot fall. Broken Harts looks at the circumstances of his death and how the World Wrestling Federation handled it. Martha Hart also explains her lawsuit against Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation for negligence in the death of her husband.

McMahon. DVD. 2-Disc Collector’s Edition. Stamford, CT: World Wrestling Entertainment, 2006.

Vince McMahon created the World Wrestling Federation from a small company he bought from his father and brought into national prominence and this DVD tells his story from his point of view and the point of view of his colleagues. McMahon’s family is also interviewed on the DVD and they give a more personal viewpoint of how he does business. It explains how Vince McMahon became a character in the World Wrestling Federation. Mr. McMahon, the character, is an over the top version of himself.





Piper, “Rowdy” Roddy. In The Pit With Piper. New York: Berkley Boulevard Books, 2002.

Roddy Rowdy Piper was a wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation during the 1980’s and he saw the company rise to become the premier wrestling company in the world and then he left to become part of World Championship Wrestling. He watched the World Wrestling Federation’s ratings fall as he talks about in his book. One point he made was his growing dissatisfaction with the World Wrestling Federation during his career. Piper states that he was angry that he did not get the same salary as Hulk Hogan, another prominent wrestler during the time Piper was in the World Wrestling Federation.

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