Wrestling with the 🅷EGO

Expressing your inferiority complex through the lens of the 80s muscle man on a blank canvas

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Thomas J Bevan

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I loved watching WWF back in the late eighties and early nineties. As a chubby, shy child, I looked up to these giants. Giants in size and giants in personality. Head to toe in muscle, with extroverted personas and strong characters galore.

I was more of a babyface fan than a heel fan. The babyfaces were the ‘good guys’, the heroes, and the heels were the ‘bad guys’, the villains.

My friends and I had all the toy figures, we watched all the matches and had our favourites. I chose The Big Boss Man, as I was consciously trying to refrain from picking out of the “Top 5” debatably Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Macho Man Randy Savage and Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. I think I was drawn to The Big Boss Man, not because he was a police officer, but because he was chubby, and so was I. He looked cool in his shades, and he used a nightstick. I couldn’t imagine myself as a long-wavy, slick-haired muscle man, so The Big Boss man had the physique I could identify with.

I thought I was cool with my 1-litre plastic cup complete with bendy straw, featuring the one and only Hulk Hogan on the front. White, bright red lid and straw, his face faded from everyday use for years. Filling the thing up with full-fat milk one time was a big mistake; I felt so sick, and I couldn’t enjoy the wrestling match at the time.

WWF was always on our TV at home. If I recall correctly, it was on Sky TV. I was very fortunate, as my dad loved football, so we were one of the few people I knew who had a Sky Sports package. I’m not showing off or anything :-) I was just lucky, we were a working-class family, my dad was a painter and decorator, then later a taxi driver, going on to run his own small taxi company in our small town.

My mum even got into the spirit of WWF. I have a strong memory of her getting riled up during a match; she was really into it, worried about the wrestlers getting hurt. I knew that it was somewhat contrived, but she had no idea. However, we both got into the spirit of things and enjoyed the show.

Out the front of my childhood home, as an 11-year-old, we had the perfect patch of grass that we called “The Green”, which confused others as there was an actual “The Green” in our small town. 4 close friends and I used to play wrestling there during the long, warm summers that seemingly lasted forever. We all had our wrestling names, too. I was hilariously named “Shit Kicker Beardo”, not the most flattering name, but it came about because I kicked a dog poo at one of my mates from the top of a grass bank on the way home from school. The beardo part was because I had ‘bum fluff’ on my face, the early stages of having a beard. Don’t ask why I kicked a poo at my friend, we were just mischievous boys in a small town who got bored easily.

My best friends’ wrestling monikers included Lyrical Miracle, Mighty White and Tutti Fruity. Being around 12 stone, I had a weight advantage compared to my friends; all I needed to do was sit on them and they’d submit. Agility wasn’t my strong suit, though.

A few passing words from a mate in 2022 started a whole new series of art pieces. My friend said something like “I want to see you wrestling Mr.T”, referring to my next painting. So I created this:

Fighting with Mr.T, Oil Paint on Canva, 121.92 cm x 96.52 cm.

It could be seen as an act of aggression towards Mr.T, but I like to see it as an act of love, too. I could equally be affectionately play-fighting with him, and he’s looking all coy.

Being born in 1982, of course, I was a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I looked up to him as a role model, and coincidentally, my mum and Arnie were born in the year 1947.

This was the next painting in the series.

Fighting with Schwarzenegger (2022) - Acrylic painting on canvas, 70 cm x 100 cm.

Calmly giving Arnie a full Nelson while he screams “Ahgg ahgg aygggh” in the same way he did in Total Recall.

Total Recall (1990).

You’ve got to love that film. Everyone my age has probably seen it. I asked some people I know in their mid-twenties if they’d seen it, and they said no. They’d never heard of Arnold Schwarzenneger.

I’m fond of this one. The Stare, the famous showdown between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan in 1987’s Wrestlemania III. The figure on the left is me, replacing Andre the Giant. I will elaborate in a moment.

Fighting with Hulk Hogan (2022) - Acrylic painting on canvas, 70 cm x 100 cm.

“I am a real American, Fight for the rights of every man, I am a real American, fight for what's right, fight for your life!”

Hogan’s Theme tune by Rick Derringer:

I’d like to share with you a piece of art in its own right. Now, I’m viewing this as a 41-year-old man as I write this, and I know wrestling is predetermined, but the athleticism and emotion are real. If you have 16 minutes after reading this post, watch this and tell me that you’re not entertained.

© WWE Network - Wrestlemania III Footage.

What these paintings have in common, and the ideas behind them:

I was a painfully shy child, overweight, and extremely uncomfortable in my skin. So, when I saw these muscly, fit, charismatic giants on the TV screen, I was hooked. Whether they were WWF (now WWE) wrestlers, action movie stars or the world’s strongest men, I felt strangely better about myself for a while.

My expression in these pieces is centred around my admiration for these men, but also a sense of proving myself worthy to them. The aggression shown on my part is my way of saying that I am worthy, that I am a ‘tough guy’ myself. By dominating these men using wrestling moves, it’s feeding my ego; the physical act is saying that I am tougher than they are.

The theme decided to go off on a slight tangent:

My mind was focused on childhood themes, and I had been listening to a Timmy Mallet interview on the Talk Art podcast, so that’s why this strange piece was born. For those who do not know, Timmy Mallet was a kids’ TV icon of the 80s; his TV show Wacaday was a smash hit. At the time, he was a man in his late twenties, larking about, wearing neon clothing and funky glasses, hitting kids on the head with his soft foam mallet. He was funny, kids loved him, and I laughed so much watching his show. We would play ‘Mallet’s Mallet’ at school, whereby you have to… actually, I’ll let Timmy explain how it works, in his own words:

"Mallet's Mallet is a word association game where you mustn't pause or hesitate, repeat a word or say a word I don't like, otherwise you get a bash on the head like this ..... or like this ....... And it's the one with the most bruises who loses. Look at each other and go Blaaaaaah!"

It was silly, it was fun, childish fun.

Themes with tangents just show how our minds make links with other related topics. My mind was focused on the 1980s and the people I looked up to.

Next was a sword fight with Leonardo:

Leonardo was my favourite turtle as a kid; he was the leader of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, and he wore a blue bandana, which, of course, is my favourite colour. As he was the leader, and I was a shy kid, perhaps somewhere in my psyche, I wanted to be more like him. At certain times in my life, I have been terrified of, but drawn to, leadership. I’ll write a post of its own about it soon.

Then came this endearing piece, Fighting with Picasso:

Fighting with Picasso, 2022, Oil on canvas, 30 × 90 × 2.5 cm.

Picasso wasn’t a childhood hero of mine. I had no idea who he was growing up, apart from vague mentions during a school art class.

He once said, “Everything you can imagine is real”. As I painted this piece, I felt a real connection to him, as if I was actually staring at him. Going with the theme of domination and machismo, I felt like this piece was more of a loving, respectful gaze at the master, and the same as me staring at Picasso (lol).

All my best to you,

Thank you for reading Cream of the Crop.

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