Wrestling on TV

Press, 17 May 1989, Page 16

Wrestling on TV

Sir,—Some of your correspondents seem upset by the wrestling on television. I assure them that most of it is a “put-on” to get people excited. As a former martial arts exponent, I can see the skill of the wrestlers involved and they are not hurting each other, just pretending they are. For those viewers who dislike what they see, they can simply change channels and others surely can ensure that their children are in bed by 10 p.m., as they should be anyway. I see worse so-called violence in other areas than on the super stars of wrestling. These wrestlers are trained athletes and know what they are doing, whereas some viewers are ill-informed. — Yours, etc., EDITH MCDOWELL. May 12, 1989.

Sir,—Rugby is a game of machismo; the survival of the strongest and the fittest. What is the haka before each of the All Blacks’ test matches, an invitation to waltz? So, yes, P. H. Thomas (May 11), my letter was serious. That the All Blacks are world champions and rugby is our national game does not alter the fact that it is a contact (and sometimes violent) sport. And, no, the All Blacks do not always play fair, they only play to win because, as we all are constantly

reminded today, nobody likes losers. And, yes, I have seen the All Blacks play. I stood on the terraces at Lancaster Park when they thrashed Scotland in the World Cup and the crowd screamed for blood throughout the entire match. Fanatical would be the best way to describe the atmosphere. Is this what we want our young to copy? Is this the example that is okay to set for them? We may condemn the American wrestling as unsuitable for our impressionable youngsters but, if we do, we must look a lot more carefully at our own sporting heroes who certainly are not censored to a late time-slot on our television. — Yours, etc., D. J. McKENZIE. May 11, 1989.