Missing from the New Jersey Hall of Fame

The New Jersey Hall of Fame has been in existence for years. There are the expected members in the arts like Bruce Springsteen, The Shirelles, Frankie Valli, Meryl Streep, Abbott and Costello, Count Basie, John Travolta and several more. There are athletes like Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Bill Bradley, football players, and golfers. Of course there are scientists, politicians, including a president.

There are no professional wrestlers in the New Jersey Hall of Fame. New Jersey is/was the home to notable wrestlers like, Diamond Dallas Page, Bam Bam Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, JJ Dillon, Chris Candito and Iron Mike Sharpe.

I get it that there are images of professional wrestling.

Professional Wrestling is filled with misogyny, racism and jingoism. It’s called cartoonish, fake, silly. The outcomes are predetermined. All of that is true.

Professional wrestling is also more artistic than one would believe. To achieve success in professional wrestling, a person has to make a roomful or arena-full of people believe that you hate your opponent so much that you will beat him to a pulp. You have to punch, kick, lift off him off his feet and throw him around to get a win. I’ve seen wrestlers hit each other with chairs, tables, and baking sheets.

If the audience is thrilled by the action, they will want to see more. Therefore, if you really beat your opponent that bad, there is no more.

To be a success and face the same opponent again in another town, you have to keep him safe. Success in professional wrestling comes from thrilling a crowd and not actually hurting your opponent. You have to trust that the other person in the ring isn’t going to hurt you. If one of you gets hurt, the big shows and big matches are over. Plus if you’re sloppy and hurt someone, no one will want to work with you.

Professional wrestling takes athleticism to do all these stunts live  for a period of time. It takes ability to work a crowd. The wrestlers also have to watch out for each other.

It make look silly to outsiders, but the work involved takes a lot of talent. There are professional wrestlers that should get the credit for these abilities.

Let’s examine professional wrestlers that could enter the NJ Hall of Fame.

Here’s a link the the New Jersey Hall of Fame:  https://njhalloffame.org