Professional Wrestling in a Time of Social Distancing

Abstract

This essay offers a layered account of professional wrestling training in Florida in the months surrounding both WrestleMania 36 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These events draw attention to the necessity of performing bodies in the production of professional wrestling shows and the compounded somatic risks implicit in carrying out such performances. I situate the wrestler's laboring body as a primary site of production, complicated by the risk of sharing the wrestling ring amid calls for social distancing. © 2021 University of California Press. All rights reserved.