Reporters are having a lot of fun with Rep. Zack Hudgins‘ House Bill 2573, which would treat lucha libre wrestling – a style featuring masked wrestlers – as the entertainment that it is, rather than a competitive sport where combatants climb into the ring to knock each other out.
Crosscut reported a wrestler’s comment that Rep. Brian Blake‘s mustache was epic enough for wrestling.
The News Tribune ran a piece, as did the Northwest News Network of radio stations, headlined, ” Mexican-Style Wrestlers Want To Escape Regulatory Choke Hold.”
Behind the fun is a little issue that actually matters for whether a sport like this is viable
and creates jobs or dies out. At a tough sport like boxing, MMA or football, people sometimes get injured, so it makes sense to regulate it tighter and have more safety precautions, like an ambulance standing by.
This sort of wrestling is pre-scripted, with wrestlers intentionally trying NOT to hurt each other while giving the audience a show. So the reform bill would recognize that reality, even if your dad refuses to believe that Hulk Hogan was ever playing his part.