Jenny Seay

There's a lot of noise seeping from the closed double doors of Comfort Suites O'Hare's ballroom, and none of it sounds very pleasant. Shouts like, "Kick his ass!" and "You suck!" ring out. They penetrate the thick oak, followed by a series of loud thuds.

Upon entry, it's hard to believe the source of the commotion. Hundreds of respectable-looking people--silver-haired men in polo shirts, suburban families, even a petite grandmother--cup their hands around their mouths, directing a verbal assault toward Chris Chaos, one of two men facing off in the AWA Slam wrestling ring at the back of the room.

Chaos adjusts his bright orange trunks and turns to face the antagonism. "Don't chant you suck!" This baits the crowd into chanting louder, and his face contorts with rage as the spectators collectively insult him.

As the night progresses, other heels work hard for the same reaction. "The Strangler" Diego Corleone approaches ringside with brown shopping bags, which he places over the heads of female audience members he considers unattractive. Steve Corino warns off an aggressive heckler, making eye contact as he points and says, "I'll slap you so hard your wife won't recognize you." Later he calls a mustached fan Adolf Hitler, and his target gets up and starts goose-stepping.

Despite all this, some fans express appreciation for their favorite villains. One man rises from his seat to give Chaos applause, and two men in the second row echo the phrase, "He's hardcore," in reference to Corino's days with Extreme Championship Wrestling. Every wrestling enthusiast in the room finds reason to cheer or boo, and at the end of the night, all file out of the ballroom, hoarse and purged of their aggression.

(2005-09-13)

Also by Jenny Seay

Stalking Jerome
I unroll the passenger window of Sarah's red Ford Festiva, craning my neck to make out the numbers marking each brick bungalow we roll past
(2005-07-26)

Personal paparazzi
It's no secret that the lives of celebrities are constantly monitored
(2005-02-22)

Just do it
It's a take-charge philosophy, a radical value system with independence and creativity at its core
(2004-09-14)

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