Recently I returned from a conference at the University of Bordeaux which focused on a topic that, until fairly recently, I imagined as just a hobby: professional wrestling. Understand, I am probably not a typical (should that be ‘stereotypical’?) wrestling fan nor am I a practising wrestler myself. However, for a number of years now, I have been interested in the way wrestling (or ‘sports entertainment’ as the WWE would have it) engages with issues of performance, issues similar to those I encounter everyday in my role as a scholar and teacher of performance and theatre history. There are actors, scripts, storylines, character types, directors, but, most interestingly of all, a dynamic relationship between actor and audience, worker (wrestler) and the crowd. In my paper, I claimed that wrestling provides one of the most democratic (or at least potentially democratic) contemporary performance forms. In which other theatrical form, I asked, can the audience make such a profound and dramatic difference to the performance? In the indie wrestling scene, such a proclamation is a given. However, I ruminated, could the same be said of the capitalist juggernaut  that is Vince McMahon’s WWE? For those who are interested, I used two case studies: The Rock v Hulk Hogan from Wrestlemania 2002 and Brock Lesnar v Bill Goldberg from Wrestlemania 2004 (both are on youtube). In both, the response of the audience was somewhat unexpected, certainly ungovernable and led to a significant change in storyline as the matches took place.

This conference confirmed that I was not alone in believing that professional wrestling, far from being empty entertainment for the masses, could be a legitimate focus for scholarly study. Le Catch et… was a surprisingly rigorous conference; the scholarship was excellent and well-researched, and the presenters from a range of academic and non-academic backgrounds. Furthermore, it reminded me of the importance of taking research risks. While I am a modernist by trade, I am aware of the need to stretch myself, to discover new research pathways and to always maintain a contemporary focus. This conference confirmed that I could do this and that the very act of pushing research boundaries (and simultaneously pushing ourselves as scholars) is remarkably fulfilling.