Wrestling in Britain

Benjamin Litherland is a member of the Centre for Participatory Culture at the University of Huddersfield, UK. He is a media and cultural studies scholar, and his existing research portfolio demonstrates a diverse and interdisciplinary approach to the study of media, film, and sports and games

"Wrestling in Britain provides a thorough rereading of this important form but, more than this, it contributes to and reimagines narratives of British sports history, performance and popular culture. The scholarship in this volume also provides readers with new insights into celebrity, the development of television, and media production. The first full-length study of British professional wrestling history, it is a welcome, dynamic addition to many diverse fields." - Claire Warden, De Montfort University, UK"As British professional wrestling finds itself in a period of resurgence, Wrestling in Britain serves as a timely interrogation of the history of this unique leisure pursuit. Litherland’s work reflects on wrestling’s complex relationship with ‘reality’ across a number of fields, and illustrates a historical context which can help make sense of contemporary practices of sport, celebrity, and fandom." - Tom Phillips, University of East Anglia, UK

• Introduction 1. The Field Vs the Stage 2. "Are the Bouts Rigged?" The Enduring Possibility of Sporting Entertainment 3. "Equally Vociferous Both for And Against": Compromise, Conflict and Pleasure 4. Villains, Blue-Eyes and The Melodrama of Celebrity 5. "Everything Is Eventually Going to Find Its Way on The Goggle-Box": Television and Spectacle Epilogue