8 Damaging Ways Pro Wrestling Tackled Mental Health Problems

5. Obsession, Stalking And Being Committed To An Institution Is Also Lols

There have been a number of stalking angles in professional wrestling (what a cheery business it is) but two stick out as most memorable. The first is the DDP stalker angle from 2001. For weeks, The Undertaker and his wife, Sara, had been haunted by a mysterious stalker, who would air hidden-camera footage of her about her day to day life. The stalker was eventually revealed to be DDP, who wasn't mentally ill, but just wanted to get the Undertaker's attention and advance his career - it's still psychotic however you slice it. Worse than that though was the Samuel Shaw/Christy Hemme angle from TNA. Shaw is a Patrick Bateman-esque 'whack job' who developed an obsession with over a number of months. He had rooms covered in her posters, and a mannequin dressed up to look like her. He flew into a rage whenever people talked to her, and when Mr. Anderson came to her aid Shaw assaulted him. The two men fought several PPV matches, culminating with a Committed Match, wherein the loser would be sent to a mental hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RgEvzoYlc This is not to say that depictions of people being committed don't have their place in drama, or comedy for that matter, but to make it more than 'ha ha look at the loony' it requires a deftness of writing that most wrestling promotions don't have, and performing skills that most wrestlers also don't have.