Head






Kevin Von Erich vs King Kong Bundy, 12 January 1983 (WCCW)

The head as a target in pro wrestling accentuates the life and death struggle that the ring action is supposed to dramatize. Head trauma in wrestling is, of course, a real thing, notable cases being Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, Mick Foley, and Kevin Von Erich, seen above, who still suffers from a concussion he received in 1987. But headlocks, headscissors, iron claws, and the like are fictionalized components of the ring narrative, which suggest both an attack on an opponent's basic human identity, his "soul," and the peculiar intimacy of contact sport  (cf. the symbolism of masks and unmasking in lucha libre).

I made these GIFs off Rassle Reel's YouTube channel.

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