Sorry that this post is super late.  I just got home from learning about wrestling with Damian Harmony.  If you know Damian, you're probably wondering why the hell he watches pro wrestling. Damian is super intellectual, to the point where he conjugates Latin verbs for fun.  This does not fit with what I know of him, but he got into it as a kid and it stuck.  

Damian began by telling me the basics of how wrestling works.  It is largely staged, but there are some improv aspects as well (most of his metaphors were comedy-related).  Generally, the story involves either a personal conflict or some kind of championship, and some do both.  Most pro wrestlers hit their stride about 10 years into their careers (although I can only imagine how their joints are doing by then).

My initial impression from watching a few men's matches was that everyone looks like they smell like B.O.  All of the wrestlers are shiny with what I'm assuming is sweat, but could maybe be bacon grease.  The refs all dress like soda jerks in old-timey malt shops.  Everything looks like a testosterone ballet.

Damian started to explain some of the logistical aspects, like how when the wrestlers are in a headlock, they're actually communicating the next few moves.  Grabbing someone's wrist means you're checking that they're alright.  A lot of the theatrical aspect is playing to the audience, which I can appreciate from doing stand-up.  Some of the theatrics is just filling time, which I also get.

One of the first videos we watched was Ravishing Rick Rude vs Jake the Snake Roberts.  Apparently Jake was the antagonist until Rick kissed Jake's wife.  I can see her confusion.  They both have terrible mustaches and 80s hair.  At this point Damian explained that each wrestler has their own finishing move which is usually their punch line, so to speak.

The last video we watched was Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, which was actually a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.  It still involved a lot of theatrics, but this was after Bayley had broken her hand in real life, so a lot of the drama focused on Sasha fake re-injuring her hand.  It was obviously staged, but still had a lot of drama and was suspenseful enough to keep me interested in what was happening.

Consensus: it was a fun night.  Am I going to watch wrestling again?  Probably not.  Thanks to Damian Harmony for entertaining me and putting up with my endless questions.  

Alright, gang, I'm getting up in four hours, so I need to go to sleep.  I have a super fun guest post lined up for tomorrow night, courtesy of a guy friend from high school.  I'll figure out the morning post once I wake up.  Catch you guys in a ridiculously short amount of time.