In the 1980s, WWE had a reputation for putting out a more cartoonish product than its competitors, and it was well-founded. Vince McMahon's desire to be an entertainment mogul - rather than a lowly pro wrestling promoter - let him to explore his creativity, and the result was a show full of wrestling hillbillies, models, policemen, and more. By the 1990s, it seemed like every wrestler had a zany character. Doink was a clown, The Goon was a professional hockey player, TL Hopper was a plumber, and Gangrel was a vampire. Wrestlers who simply wrestled - like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels - were the exception to the rule, even as they anchored the company. Today, wrestlers have individual motivations, but they're typically depicted as earnest athletes looking for success and glory between the ropes - except, of course, for The Undertaker, who's been undead for 25 years.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
