Tuesday 31 March 2020

Why So Much of the Trump 'Show' is Like Wrestling

If you were to take four key wrestling personalities and blend them into one politicized individual....you'd have Trump.

The four?  WWE CEO Vince McMahon, wrestler Randy Savage, 'Mean Gene' Okerlund, and wrestling manager (evil guy) Bobby Heenan. 

McMahon is a 50-50 solution.  He's pure executive-decision making and always engaged on bringing a bigger show to town.  He's also the guy willing to go to the cameras, and create a trend by himself.....dragging public attention into the spot-light.

Randy Savage?  He's been dead nine years now, and was mostly retired out of wrestling since the late 1990s.  Randy was the talker....the guy who would mouth the threat against the opposition.  He wasn't there to utter Shakespeare-like commentary....he was the original Twitter-talker (the 140 letter guy). 

'Mean Gene'?  He was the announcer who was always in the middle of the action....never harmed or placed in some task beyond his ability.  He could accurately....with forty words....describe the incredible situation before the public, and give you inspiration that the good guy would win in the end.

Finally....to Bobby Heenan.  He was the strategist....not the wrestler.  He had a 12-act show planned out days ahead of time, and how the crowd would feel all was lost (with evil in every dark corner).  Then the last act of his theme would bring 'victory' to the good-guy enthusiasts. 

People have a love-hate thing about wrestling.  There are people there in the background who are designed to be hated and abhorred (the news media and the Democrats).  There are good guys who labor to draw your attention and you pull for them even in the darkest moments.  Then there are the talkers and announcers who are there to keep you hyped-up and thrilled. 

Trump has packaged all of these, and delivered something of a show.....built for 365 days a year....around the clock.  And people seem to be strongly attached to this show.