March 18th, 2011
Galley Friend A.W. calls attention to Deadspin’s Captain Lou Albano essay. It’s well worth your time. I had to read a bunch of wrestling books a few months ago when I was writing about Linda McMahon and until then I hadn’t realized how big a deal the Lou Albana/Cyndi Lauper Rock’n’Wrestling gimmick was for the industry. As a kid, I had always thought that it was a goof, but it turned out to be the big solid-fuel booster for the WWF’s ascent during the ’80s.
Key point:
But Albano’s appearance on MTV is the moment modernity at last entered the petrified WWF. And rather than evict Albano for crossing the line, Vincent K. McMahon, who had recently taken over the company from his father, embraced the crossover appeal it provided. It would prove to be a savvy business decision, but it would also bring to wrestling what modernity brings to every precinct it touches: a culture that values ratings over tradition and histrionics over history, a culture in which everything is disposable, a culture of … whatever.
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