need help with a friend.

[dstebbins]

I have a friend who's still in high school who wants to be a professional wrestler. He's got the heart and the determination, but there's just one hurdle he needs to climb: He's deaf. This might actually be a nice attraction, kind of like Zach Gowan or Eugene, but it is going to be VERY hard for him to communicate with the ref and his opponents, and communication is crucial in wrestling. Without a way to communicate that others are willing to learn, and without being able to rehearse the matches, he may be doomed to wrestle short four or five minute matches that you can memorize in advance with a script.

Can anyone think of a communication style, that's just as intuitive as speaking, that wrestlers and wrestling companies will be willing to accommodate, so that he can actually get used to his full potential when he gets out of school? If you can't think of anything, at least respond to bump the thread and keep it alive.

 

[Montana]

Its not a total loss at all. They do a lot of sign language to in the ring.

 

[Lashleyâ„¢]

Yeah they can do sign language and stuff like that.

 

[C4]

One question, he wants to be an actual wrestler and break into the Independent circuit for "real wrestling" or he wants to be a "sports-entertainer"?

If he wants to be a real wrestler and breaks into the Independent circuit then I don't see any problem at all since wrestling doesn't require listening. Heck, he can focus more on his matches as he doesn't hear the noise. But there are some problems as well, he might get severe problems if he gets hurt on his ear; his whole nervous system might malfunction due to a single right hand on his ear.

However, if he wants to be a sports-entertainer then the problem is, the bookers and trainers actually teach wrestlers what to do and how to do it and therefore it requires a lot of understanding and so, communication links are necessary and hearing is perhaps one of the biggest factors. I'm not saying it's impossible because inside the ring there is only sign language which works but then again...

 

[dstebbins]

Sign language? Don't you mean body language? And I thought they whispered the next set of moves to the other guy.

 

[Travis40]

God, that's pretty rough. I really think that he could make it if he wanted to, but it'd be really difficult since he is deaf and therefore couldn't communicate with the other wrestler. As C4 said, any shot to the ear could seriously damage him and that wouldn't be good. He has a good shot at making it if he's good, but if he can't communicate in the ring...it's over for him.

 

[Nancy Di Loreto]

Well, if you want to help out your friend, go to your local fed (You must have one) or the nearest school, and inquire about communication in the ring, and if you dig deep enough, you'll find that there's a lot of body language used, and if your friend uses sign language, then he won't find it so difficult to understand body language from the refs/opponents etc.

There will always be someone willing to sign someone like him: Just make sure it's not for the wrong reasons, and ask your friend if he'd like to be exploited shifty

 

[dstebbins]

As C4 said, any shot to the ear could seriously damage him and that wouldn't be good.

He could always use a freestyle head guard like Rick Steiner uses, couldn't he?

 

[Travis40]

Yeah, but even with that he could still get seriously injured.

 

[Chuck Taylor's Grenade]

Another issue with being deaf is crowd reaction and feeding off of it. Alot of what happens in the ring and with promos is based on crowd reaction (i.e. a heel getting angry when people chant a derogatory comment). Still it's risky because any lapse in 'communication' could be disasterous for both him and his opponent.

 

[Nancy Di Loreto]

Another issue with being deaf is crowd reaction and feeding off of it. Alot of what happens in the ring and with promos is based on crowd reaction (i.e. a heel getting angry when people chant a derogatory comment). Still it's risky because any lapse in 'communication' could be disasterous for both him and his opponent.

Crowd reaction an issue? Obviously you haven't heard of Lance Storm :shifty:...

I suppose a lapse could be dangerous, but it's not like he's like this :wheelchair: ; So some body language or simple sign language could overcome that...

 

[dstebbins]

Crowd reaction an issue? Obviously you haven't heard of Lance Storm :shifty:...

I suppose a lapse could be dangerous, but it's not like he's like this :wheelchair: ; So some body language or simple sign language could overcome that...

Still, "feeding off the crowd" isn't just a kayfabe thing. When wrestlers fire up the audience, the audience cheers, and that in turn fires up the wrestlers so they can go longer. Without the roar of the crowd to energize him, he might run out of gas legitimately in the middle of a thirty-minute match.

 

[Headfirst For Hardcore]

Even though he can't "hear" the crowd, he could still feel their clapping and emotion. I learned about that when watching deaf teens at a dance, they would just blast the music so they could feel the beat in their shoes. His senses are probably stronger, so that could help.