Popular Culture Review Vol. 27, No. 2, Summer 2016 | Page 194

regardless of the in-ring outcome . For example , if Los Matadores pin The Real Americans to win the match , some viewers might argue that this proves that the WWE does not hold a grudge against Latinos , or more specifically , that the WWE doesn ’ t reinforce the logic of xenophobia . To be clear , Los Matadores have beaten The Real Americans in some of their matches together . However , the outcomes of these staged competitions do not matter in this discussion , for even when Los Matadores win a match , the announcers will still be there to contextualize them as a socially powerless group , foreign to the United States , and as fitting subjects for objectifying humor .
So far , we ' ve discussed how wrestlers , managers and announcers perform in order to create the spectacle of professional wrestling , but what is the role of the audience in the making of this spectacle ? In most scholarship on the spectacle and performative aspects of professional wrestling , a key aspect that is overlooked is the extent to which the audience is also performing . Critics have examined how audiences play participatory roles in the spectacle of wrestling , but only as to how the wrestlers ’ performance entices the audience in order to elicit a response , and how that response validates the wrestlers ’ actions and influences their future performances . Morton and O ’ Brien lay the groundwork for the discussion of performance in professional wrestling , examining how a particular fan boos and taunts the wrestlers whose poor athletic performance has jarred him out of his suspended disbelief . This examination , however , only speaks about the athletic performance and the phenomenon that wrestling fans are aware and yet do not care that the outcomes are predetermined , as long as the athletic performances are believable to a degree . Morton and
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