Tribalism and toxic behavior in Wrestling. Do better.

TRIBALISM AND TOXIC BEHAVIOR IN WRESTLING. DO BETTER.

by Luis L Rivera (@l0ufromdaBX)

In recent years, the IWC (Internet wrestling community) has become increasingly divisive, toxic and tribalistic. Fans of different wrestling promotions, such as WWE, AEW, GCW and NJPW, often engage in heated debates and arguments, with each side fiercely defending their preferred promotion and at times senselessly attacking the others. This tribalism has led to a toxic online culture that can be detrimental to the enjoyment of wrestling as a whole and alienates new fans looking to get into the sport of Professional wrestling.

  Tribalism in the wrestling community, specifically on Twitter can manifest in many ways. Fans of different promotions will often use derogatory terms to refer to fans of other promotions, such as "WWE shills" or "AEW marks." They will also frequently engage in "stan" culture, where they blindly defend their chosen promotion or wrestler, often at the expense of other wrestlers or promotions. This type of behavior can create an "us versus them" mentality, where fans feel the need to attack or belittle those who don't share their views. This becomes exacerbated on social media sites like Twitter or Facebook because those apps are meant to collect your data and show you posts from like-minded individuals so essentially, you get more of what you put in. These patterns can also lead people to engage in confirmation bias where fans will often seek out information or opinions that support their own views, while dismissing or ignoring information that contradicts theirs. This can lead to a lack of critical thinking and an unwillingness to consider other perspectives. I myself have often seen conversations break down into just a cavalcade of nonsense as neither side is willing to concede to the other over subjects as asinine as “AEW didn’t hit a million last night.”

  For fans, the toxic online culture can make it difficult to enjoy wrestling and engage with the community. It can also create a hostile environment that discourages interactions between fans and the wrestlers themselves. Cyberbullying and harassment can also take its toll on fans who are passionate about their chosen promotion or wrestler and are just looking for an escape. Others may attack and harass other wrestlers or fans who don't share their views. This can lead to mental health issues for wrestlers and can harm their reputation and career.

To combat the tribalism in the wrestling community, it's important for fans to engage in respectful and constructive conversations with each other. Fans should be willing to listen to different perspectives and be open to changing their views if presented with new information. They should also avoid using derogatory terms or engaging in cyberbullying and harassment, this will never happen though as the anonymity of the internet empowers these “trolls’ to say the most aggressive, hurtful things they can think of while being miles away from each other.

Jordynne Grace (Pictured) has been known to have quite the adversarial relationship with toxic fans. Being a multifaceted renaissance woman not only in the world of Professional wrestling but also in Woman’s professional bodybuilding, Jordynne has had to defend herself more often then not from people who have a preconceived notion of what a woman in pro wrestling is supposed to look like.

Wrestling promotions can make great strides in helping combat these scenarios by promoting diversity and inclusivity. Promotions can feature wrestlers from different backgrounds and styles and encourage fans to appreciate and enjoy wrestling as a whole, rather than just one specific promotion. Recently Impact Wrestling Knockout Gisele Shaw was trending for what was reported as a “transphobic tirade” directed at her (Allegedly) by WWE Hall of famer Rick Steiner at an event at WrestleCon. Gisele Shaw, a transgender woman was (Allegedly) the subject of some very inappropriate comments being hurled at her at this event. Again, this is alleged but the event organizers were quick to ban Rick Steiner from future Wrestlecon events. Gisele’s twitter feed after she posted her story was a nuclear wasteland for lack of a better term. Every insult you could imagine was sent to her publically by people who were claiming “Justice for Scott.” Again this is a very complicated issue because as of 4/05 there isn’t evidence of Scott’s behavior aside from Gisele’s statement and Wrestlecon’s ban.

If the allegations are true this an example of action taken against someone trying to spread ignorance in this community. (Again, ALLEGEDLY!) At the end of the day, it’s up to the fans themselves to police one another and organizers would be wise to take action on fans who partake in this kind of foolishness. When you are enjoying yourself at a wrestling show and you hear someone spewing hateful rhetoric or harassing someone for something as simple as wearing a WWE shirt at an independent show it’s your duty to get involved and to squash that behavior. And I know, “I’m just trying to watch a wrestling show I ain’t got time to be Cap’t Save a Bro.” But if we do not stop these things when they happen it will never end. You don’t have to fight anyone a simple “Ay nah bro we not doing that” can go a long way. I remember when I went to the theater to watch FULL GEAR, an AEW PPV where Jade Cargill was wrestling Nyla Rose and someone yelled out something just really inappropriate about Nyla Rose and I yelled out something to the extent of “Shut your bitch ass up!” Now of course that could have led to a problem but that person understood that his comment was wild unnecessary and after that nothing else was said. I made my point, and he got the message. At the end of the day we are all wrestling fans and we all come from all kinds of different backgrounds and lifestyles and we all belong.

Gisele Shaw claims she was the subject of a case of toxic behavior at WrestleCon this past weekend. 04/02/2023

In conclusion, tribalism in the wrestling community is a harmful and toxic phenomenon. It has no place in our shared space and us as fans of wrestling should take great strides in making sure that this behavior is stamped out every time it pops its ugly head up whether online or at a wrestling show. Fans and promotions should work together to combat tribalism and promote a more respectful and inclusive culture in all facets of this great sport. We all love wrestling and it should be about bringing people together and that’s what we should promote.

Enjoy Wrestling,

Lou