The Ultimate Cross-Over: Pro Wrestling at Long Beach Comic Con

Around here, we love wrestling, but Nerdom and sports don’t always seem to mix. At the 2018 Long Beach Comic Con, wrestling took center stage. For the second year at the local fan con, KnokX Pro Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based wrestling entertainment organization, held matches for two days on the exhibition floor. Let me tell, you, I was pleasantly surprised at the nerd-integration. Sports Fandoms Can Be Fun Each year at San Diego Comic Con, my writer friend, Liz Keysmash, takes our shared hotel tradition and uses that time to indoctrinate me into one of her fandoms. This year happened to involve multiple hours of YouTube video involving her wrestling faves. As a fan of sports and an avid geek, finding the balance between the two worlds can feel difficult. Nerds and jocks are natural enemies, right? So, why spotlight sports at a comic convention? The thing is, wrestling is a passionate form of entertainment. The personas, dedication, and showmanship of the sport are exciting. Why wouldn’t a diehard fan of comics enjoy larger-than-life heroes vanquishing evil with a clothesline move to the neck?

This year, Long Beach Comic Con featured wrestlers from the Samoan Dynasty, a family of WWE superstars with Knokx Pro Entertainment. Before the big tag team match, the folks from Knokx pumped up the crowd with giveaways, rock music, and a mini-match between…Scooby Doo and TED? Whatever. The kids loved it. After about an hour of sitting cross-legged on the floor with a bunch of sw…