A good friend that I never met died over the weekend.
"Playboy" Gary Hart, the arch nemesis of the much beloved Von Erich family, passed away over the weekend at the age of 68. 
In spite of the on screen feuds between Hart and the Von Erichs, the real life Gary Williams and the Adkisson family worked toward a common purpose: the success of Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling. 
WCCW was the last of local "territorial" wrestling.  Long before Vincent Kennedy McMahon came along and built the big national brand of the World Wrestling Federation (not to be confused with the cuddly little pandas of the World Wildlife Federation) there existed a loosely organized group of regional promoters that worked local territories and gave wrestlers a place to ply their craft. 
Gust Karras and later Bob Geigel ran Kansas and Missouri, Bill Watts ran Oklahoma and Arkansas, the Adkissons ran Texas, the Crocketts ran the Carolinas, and the father of McMahon ran the Washington/Baltimore/New York corridor under the Capital Sports banner. 
As my friend April Hunter, a valet/manager and former pro wrestler until a number of injuries took her out of the sport said, top wrestlers in the day could make a thousand a week in a territory, work for 4 to 6 months, then line up their next area and take a month off to rest and heal between stints.  Even the local boys could work 3-4 nights a week for a $50 payoff nightly...good money in the 70's and 80's, especially if they had a full time job! 
McMahon's systematic dismantling of the territory system meant that a lot of hard working wrestlers were out of a job.  Nationalization of wrestling meant less work, and more importantly, there was no longer a training ground for the talent that McMahon needs to survive.
Plus, rather than relying on people involved in the sport to deal with creative, McMahon went  to professional scriptwriters --people who had no understanding of wrestling's appeal -- to develop storylines for his company.  Writing for WWE Smackdown or Raw is a whole lot different than writing for Everyone Hates Chris or the Gilmore Girls. 
A lack of understanding of the audience, a failure to develop talent, and a willingness to turn a blind eye to the physical, mental, and moral well-being of your talent. 
Hmmmm...
Sounds an awful lot like the Republicans and Democrats, no?

Perhaps some of you might take offense, but there are an awful lot of comparisons to be made between pro wrestling and politics.
The WWE chairman, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, is an egocentric maniac who books himself as the center of attention instead of the talent that fans usually pay to see.  He consistently puts his own ego ahead of his company and crows about ratings successes, despite the fact that the total viewing audience for wrestling is less than 10% of what it was 20 years ago.
The Democrats have....Howard Dean.

The WWE has Mark Callus, who for years has had a huge run on top as the character The Undertaker.  Though he is not the athlete he used to be, people still show up to see him simply for his entrance.  While the skillset is low and the movement is slow, people want to believe in the charisma that has been The Undertaker.
The Democrats have...Hillary Clinton.

The WWE has John Cena, a reasonably talented athlete who has tempered his act down and held down with stupid catchphrases and a "hip hop" attitude that consistently gets him booed by most fans except younger kids and teenage girls.  Most true wrestling fans boo him based on his choosing not to perform, despite his ability to perform.
The Republicans have ... John McCain.

The WWE has Ken Kennedy, a promising individual who has the ability to cut a reasonable promo and talk a good game, but is still really learning how to tell a story in the ring.  His recent gaffes about not using steroids while turning up on the Signature Pharmacy list of steroid purchasers amounts to talking out of school while trying to toe the party line.
The Republicans have ... Mike Huckabee.

The WWE has Edge, someone who knows how to elicit a crowd reaction, can carry a match with the worst wrestler in the organization, and can make people tune in week after week.  But the WWE has shown no faith in him and has regularly taken him out of the spotlight to put other, lesser talented wrestlers in the feature spots.  He has been the future for a very long time, if only the WWE would give him the chance.
The Republicans have ... Mitt Romney.

The WWE has Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP.  Given a push way before he was ready, this young man can talk, but can't wrestle for crap.  Despite the fact that he's the WWE US Champion, he is far too inexperienced to be on the big stage and needs a lot of seasoning before he's ready to headline.
The Democrats have ... Barack Obama.

The WWE has Ric Flair.  Active since the 70's and arguably the best interview and promo artist in the WWE today, he consistently gets no respect from McMahon and the WWE hierarchy.  Flair should be a manager for the top talent in WWE today.  Instead, at 53, he's in the ring regularly and preparing for life after wrestling.  But while he's still hands down better than over half the active roster in the ring, and better than 99% of the talent on the mike, he gets zero respect from management.
The Republicans have ... Ron Paul.

If Wyatt hits Megabucks, he'll book at least one show with his favorite talent, and maybe even an Obama/Clinton jello wrestling match.  Pass along your fantasy matchups at rant.wyattcox.net