A form of
backyard entertainment enjoyed by
young teenage wrestling fans.
Backyard wrestling is the
emulation of the
popular professional wrestling viewed on
cable television on
Monday nights. Both the
WWF and
WCW have shows air weekly on
cable programs. The highest rated cable show in history is none other than the
WWF's
Monday Night Raw.
Professional wrestling takes decades for the
athletes to
hone their craft, and they do the
majority of their work inside the
squared circle, or
ring.
However, these backyard athletes, myself one of them, prepare rings in their backyard, or suitable space, out of random parts that they procure from their town, usually by raiding local construction sites, carpet warehouses, etc. Once the parts are assembled, and using ring plans probably purchased off eBay, the ring is slowly constructed. The ring appears to be sturdy and safe, somewhere you would bring your grandmother, however, the ring at any time could collapse, sending flying shards of wood any which way.
The term backyard wrestling comes from the idea that most of these organizations are run for the backyard of homes throughout the country. In the backyard, makeshift rings are created out of trampolines, earth, wood, and metal. Some backyard feds create actual wrestling rings as seen on TV, and conduct their matches in said rings.
Similar to professional wrestling, the backyard federation prepares cards, schedules events, PPVs, and makes sure that most of the wrestlers on the roster are somewhat trained in the basics on not killing yourself or others. The federation plans angles that span months, and also include championship belts and the like. Most backyard feds create and actively maintain a website to promote their cards, appearances, rosters, and results, as well as posting many pictures and video clips to their friends. It is the hope that people will attend the events and the desired emulation of performing in front of an audience is attained.
Critics of the sport say that it promotes violence among teenagers and kids. Parents often try to outlaw the backyard fed from occurring, but they always do happen.