Where sports and show biz collide

John Cena

Is wrestling sports or entertainment?

“It’s both. It’s sports-entertainment. It’s the best of both worlds,” quipped Chris Marsh, WWE Asia-Pacific general manager, without skipping a beat.

“You cannot separate the two,” agreed coach Chot Reyes, TV5 president and chief executive officer.

TV5 is now airing WWE’s “SmackDown” every Sunday, 3 p.m., as preprogramming to PBA—the country’s professional basketball league.

Staid purists might frown on wrestling, but Marsh insisted that “it takes more than skill” for WWE superstars to excel in the ring where sports and show biz literally collide.

It hardly comes as a surprise that such WWE stars as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena eventually crossed over to the big screen.

“You see guys like Neville who can do flips off the rope … the acrobatics, the lifting … it’s almost like professional diving,” Marsh related.

If Marsh sounds rhapsodic about wrestling, it’s because he’s a true-blue fan.

As a kid in the 1970s, he recalled, his favorite was Haystacks Calhoun. “I used to watch wrestling matches with my grandparents. Haystacks was my mom’s fave, too. The superstars of my generation were Bruno Sammartino, Larry Zsybisco and Chief Jay Strongbow.”

One of the main reasons why Marsh joined the organization was because he genuinely admired WWE stars.

“Unlike other athletes who have an off-season, our wrestlers work nonstop. They perform multiple times per week,” he said.

Wrestling requires equal amounts of discipline and talent. “They have to eat well, to keep fit. They have to keep practicing, to prevent injuries.”

For these reasons, the company has precisely built the WWE Performance Center, “where we develop talent … where our wrestlers can learn how to perform without hurting themselves and other people, while giving their best in the ring.”

Big Show

Marsh cited as an example the accident that Finn Balor had encountered in “SummerSlam.” “Finn dislocated a shoulder bone.”

Injuries, no matter what naysayers might think, are not scripted, Marsh noted.

Marsh looks up to wrestling idols as if they are the Avengers in human form.

“WWE stars can be compared to Marvel superheroes,” he pointed out. “Just like in comicbooks, there are villains and good guys. We have heels and babyfaces. It’s the same dynamic. That’s why people enjoy our stories. Our themes are universal. We have viewers cheering for, and against, the superstars.”

On TV5, fans can catch up with current bigwigs John Cena, The New Day and Big Show in WWE’s flagship show, “SmackDown,” every week.

Marsh hopes to bring these sporting stars to Manila soon. “Last year, we had ‘WWE Live’ at the SM Arena. It was a packed house. It was one of the best events we’ve ever mounted.”

When Big Show announced that John Cena would be going mano a mano with him in Manila, “ticket sales soared,” Marsh recounted.

Reyes remarked that WWE is in line with TV5’s brand positioning. “We’re offering different kinds of shows.”

There are Wattpad rom-coms for the youth, Brillante Ma. Mendoza and his edgy productions for the indie-minded, and “Philippines’ Next Top Model” for the stylish set.

“The common denominator is that these are shows that are not on the other networks,” Reyes explained.

TV5’s tagline says it all, he asserted. “‘Choose Courage.’ We choose to air programs that have not been done before. We’ve always stated that we are going on a different path. We want to focus on important things first, like stopping the bleeding and trimming the fat and, at the same time, we’re also preparing for the future, with partnerships like WWE and Wattpad.”