"I used to watch this when I was ten. Isn't it about time you grew up and stopped watching this crap?" It's fair to say that wrestling appeals to children. Many of us first got into it when we were kids, taping WCW or WWF shows overnight and watching it after school the next day. Today, kids are arguably the key demographic for WWE, the biggest company in the industry, and between toys, their self produced Slam City cartoon and that Scooby Doo movie, it can be hard to defend against this one too. But the diverse nature of wrestling appeals to fans of all ages. For every Hulk Hogan Saturday morning cartoon show, there's the likes of Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit in WWE, Prince Devitt vs Kota Ibushi in New Japan, Johnny Mundo vs Prince Puma in Lucha Underground... Contests so pure and skillful that they can be considered art without any justification. To write off matches of that calibre on the basis that wrestling is "just for kids" is pure ignorance. As another counterpoint, we can consider one of the most popular time periods in the history of professional wrestling, the Attitude Era. From bloody hardcore matches to scantily clad Divas in lingerie matches, from Stone Cold Steve Austin swilling beer and flipping everyone off to the likes of Val Venis and The Godfather, this was one time when you could say that wrestling DEFINITELY wasn't for kids (but they still watched anyway, God love 'em)
Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.
