Is VCU too cool for pro wrestling?

College has a way of making us educated adults sometimes too cynical to enjoy things like professional wrestling.

However, VCU students not only embraced their inner children Friday night at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, they put them in headlocks and body-slammed them to the ground.

The event, Capital Punishment, was presented by TNA, which stands for Total Nonstop Action, not the perverted anagram you were probably thinking of. TNA’s appeal is an independent alternative to the more mainstream pro wrestling on television, which has been dominated by Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment brand.

“There’s more of a focus on the athletics and choreography,” said Kristoffer Ricasata, a 22-year-old VCU student and dedicated wrestling fan. “It’s less about the theatrics and drama that dominate WWE’s programming.”

Ricasata said he enjoyed the show but would have liked to see some bigger names from TNA’s roster like Scott Steiner or Kurt Angle.

“I haven’t been to a wrestling show since I was 14 years old,” said Michael Howard Jr., a 21-year-old senior at VCU. “I’ve never been this close to the ring before. I forgot how exciting this sport is.”

Of course, there is a heated debate over whether or not pro wrestling can truly be considered a sport. During the second match, someone in the crowd yelled, “It’s rigged!” This caused scattered laughter among adult fans and confused looks from the younger children in attendance.

This wasn’t exactly a family-friendly event. There were countless chants of curse words from the crowd and a female referee who wasn’t wearing much more than her official striped shirt.

“Sex and violence are part of modern wrestling these days,” Howard said. “It’s not really for the children, but kids love it.”

For those of us old enough to appreciate sex and violence, it was a joy to see such classic pro wrestlers as former National Wrestling Alliance Champion Jeff Jarrett. Unfortunately, Jarrett lost his championship match to Samoa Joe, but we did get to see him break his signature guitar over his opponent’s head.

In between matches, a lady came down to the ring to accept a donation check of $10,000 from TNA to benefit autism.

“I didn’t come here to see a 50-year-old woman in an Easter dress climb into the ring,” said a fan sitting near me.

Indeed he did not. He came to see her get power-bombed through a table, which was not a far-fetched possibility at this event. Hard rock music began blaring, and two cowboys known as America’s Most Wanted rushed to the ring to steal the donation check and make fun of the mentally challenged.

Pro wrestlers are either good guys or bad guys, known as “faces” and “heels” in the business. America’s Most Wanted are definitely heels, and the fans let them know by chanting “Brokeback Mountain.”

Another heel at the event was Richmond native Earl Hebner, the self-proclaimed most famous referee in the world. Hebner earned his hatred as a sexist in a “hair match” against his son with a female referee.

Hebner refused to accept defeat after the female ref counted his pinfall. Hebner was pinned again with his brother as referee and forced to have his head shaved in the middle of the ring after the match.

In addition to sexism and stealing from charities, many of the bad guys stirred reaction from fans by insulting the city of Richmond. James Mitchell is the manager of the wrestler Abyss. He said he had trouble tripping over homeless bums and prostitutes on his way to the Siegel Center. He also said Richmond represented the red, white and blue: “Rednecks, white trash and blue collar scum.”

This made the crowd angry. Another heel named Konnan later infuriated the crowd by declaring, “Richmond sucks and so do the Richmond Braves!”

Of course, the bad guys get what’s coming to them in the end. It’s usually the face that wins the match, especially when the odds are stacked against him.

An artsy, city college may not seem like the ideal place to have a wrestling event, but the closet wrestling fans of VCU came out. Perhaps we can be a bit less cynical about men wearing tights and running around a ring next time, or maybe not.

“All in all, it was a great show,” Howard said. “And I only counted 16 mullets.”