Ch. 59

I check channel 59 on my TV before I go to sleep. I check it again when I wake up. If I'm heading out to dinner, I flip it on quickly before I leave. My first few days here, when I couldn't sleep, I checked channel 59 at all sorts of odd hours. I've had a few friends stop by my apartment, one of the attractions I make a point of showing them is channel 59.

It is fair to say that I have a fascination with channel 59, perhaps a slight obsession with the ridiculousness of it.

I have a fascination with channel 59 because 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with practically no commercial breaks it shows American wrestling.

WWE, WCW, even pre lawsuit WWF the wrestling never stops. Ladder matches, royal rumbles, rage in the cage, tag team, female wrestlers, buried alive, hell in a cell; it is a constant barrage of sculpted burnt orange bodies slathered with oil, locked in fake battles with bogus plot lines, all atrociously dubbed for a Thai viewing audience.

The heyday of many of these stars has certainly passed in the United States. The days of widespread popularity, days of bestselling books have come and gone. Only the most rabid of fans have stayed loyal, the others moving on to the next fad, perhaps the truly brutal UFC.

But here in Thailand Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Diamond Dallas Page, Kurt Angle, The Big Show and Triple H, Ric Flair, Sting and Hulk Hogan still rule the airwaves of at least one channel. I even had a student last week request to be called John Cena. It is an American product I had no idea we were exporting.

I've tried to figure out the popularity. The national sport of Thailand is Muay Thai, so the whole watching two people kick the crap out of each other thing is nothing new here.

I think it must be the characters. The spandex, the neon, the face paint, the flying suplexes and over the top antics. In a non confrontational culture of extreme politeness this must be the ultimate outlet.

In Thai or English the conversation between teen males must follow the same script.

"No way it's fake, did you see the blood? They can't fake that."

Two greats to take you into Friday, Hacksaw Jim Duggan's badass, 2 by 4 swinging entrance and Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III.






Seriously though, no way it's fake...