Professional wrestling has made a major comeback.

The most obvious example can be found only a few hundred miles north of Ames, where the Governor-elect is former professional wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura. In November’s election, Ventura carried every age group under 60 and every income level under $100,000.

Wrestling is big business. Professional wrestling, including pay-per-view specials, T-shirts and video games, generates more than a billion dollars annually, according to the June 29 issue of Time magazine.

Wrestling merchandise has become more mainstream than it has been since the glory days of “Hulkamania” in the World Wrestling Federation.

Adam Konrad, sales associate at Sears Retail Store, 2701 N. Grand Ave., said Sears’ wrestling T-shirts have been in demand since they began stocking them this summer.

“I started working in August, and we’ve had quite a few calls asking if we have them. They’re pretty popular,” Konrad said.

During the past year, the Neilsen ratings for “World Championship Wrestling Nitro,” and WWF’s “Raw is War,” the two most popular shows, rose a combined 50 percent, according to the Time article. They are consistently the two highest rated cable television shows, reaching about 34 million viewers each week.

In addition, the WWF and WCW each present a pay-per-view event every month. The average event costs between $30 and $40.

Debora Blume, public relations director for TCI of Central Iowa, confirmed the popularity of professional wrestling.

“Pay-per-view wrestling events are huge,” Blume said. “They garner more buys per month than pay-per-view movies and are close to the number of buys garnered for minor boxing events.

“We experience small increases in the number of buys quarter over quarter,” Blume said. “But for the most part, wrestling pay-per-view tends to be quite steady.”

In addition to the option of getting the wrestling events broadcast on living room TV sets, Billy Joe’s Pitcher Show, 1701 25th St. in West Des Moines, has been showing the events on the movie screen for the last six months.

Billy Bryant, owner of Billy Joe’s Pitcher Show, said he never expected the events to generate as much support as they have.

“The first wrestling match for pay-per-view [we carried] had [Mike] Tyson as the enforcer,” Bryant said. “I put it in the lounge that seats 100 people. I thought it might draw some fight fans. Instead it filled up with families.”

Bryant estimated the number of professional wrestling events shown at Billy Joe’s since then at a dozen. The events are now shown in the theater, and fans pay $5 each to see the night’s festivities.

“We’re an entertainment center, and more people come to wrestling than to the movies,” Bryant said. “It’s good family entertainment, and it’s reasonably priced. People have a good time here,” he said.

Stephen Hitchcock, junior in advertising, said he’s seen eight pay-per-view events in the past year, two of them at Billy Joe’s.

“I’ve been watching [WWF] wrestling for a year now,” Hitchcock said. “I haven’t missed one episode.”

Hitchcock said he was a big fan of professional wrestling when he was in fourth and fifth grade but just started watching again last year.

“At first it was just something for a couple of friends to sit down and drink to,” Hitchcock said. “Then the complex plot lines struck me in the heart.

“The violence and Stone Cold Steve Austin keep me coming back,” Hitchcock said. “That, and I find their immature pornographic jokes hilarious.”

Hitchcock has his own theory on why wrestling has experienced a resurgence in popularity.

“I believe the majority of the reason for the resurgence of popularity is the lewd and crude language,” Hitchcock said.

For people thinking about becoming professional wrestling fans, Hitchcock had some advice.

“The WCW is filled with old-timers,” he said. “Keep with the hip new trends and stay with the WWF.”