What to know
- Fourth-year English students at University of Toronto Scarborough can take an unconventional course titled “Extremely Revealing Bullsh*t”: The Art of Professional Wrestling, which explores pro wrestling as a storytelling medium.
- The class is led by professor Daniel Tysdal, who developed the course after training as a pro wrestler in 2022 and wanted to blend his passion for wrestling with literary analysis.
- Students analyze wrestling narratives, characters, and promos, complete essays, and for final projects can either write academically or create their own wrestler personas, all-encompassing gimmicks and storylines.
- The course also includes attending live events at Superkickd Studios, where students present final work in the ring and even try basic wrestling moves, ending the semester with in-ring presentations and strong student feedback.
“‘Extremely Revealing Bullsh*t’: The Art of Professional Wrestling” is not a course title most students expect to read on their syllabus, especially those pursuing their degree in English.
Although, it’s a very real English course fourth-year students are able to take at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC).
Led by English professor Daniel Tysdal, it’s no surprise the course began with Tysdal’s love for the sport, which began in his adolescence, and flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started training as a pro-wrestler in 2022 and just really started to learn a lot more about the art form and so I thought, ‘can I take that and develop a class?’” Tysdal told Now Toronto.
Tysdal explained that the unconventional concept was initially confusing for the majority of the 24 students who would take his class, with some expecting a traditional English class.
“I’d say only five of them came in as hardcore pro wrestling fans, and the rest came in kind of like, ‘Okay, I’ve heard of pro wrestling, but how could we do a whole class on this?’” Tysdal said. “By the end of it, they’ve all just become very passionate and very respectful of this very unique art form.”
As to why Tysdal chose to centre a storytelling course on professional wrestling, he says one reason is due to the stigma behind it.
“It’s not surprising that most people asked to describe professional wrestling use some variation on the word ‘bullsht.’ ‘The fighting’s fake,’” the course’s description reads on UTSC’s website. “Pro wrestling is bullsht, yes, but it’s ‘extremely revealing bullsh*t.’”
Tysdal said looking more in-depth at professional wrestling, something he labelled an art form, was key for the 12-week class.
“We look at the story, all the different ways pro wrestlers are storytellers and we look at the gimmicks… the characters, we look at the promos,” he said.
Tysdal explained that he weaves together the unorthodox nature of pro-wrestling along with traditional English class teachings, having students write essays, dissect weekly pro-wrestling matches and explain their findings.
In the last four weeks of the class, students can get their hands dirty in the world of pro-wrestling if they choose to do so for their final project.
“They might write a traditional academic essay about pro wrestlers, they might write a traditional academic essay about books of poetry about pro wrestling, or movies about pro wrestling, or novels about pro wrestling; or they can then do a creative writing option or create a wrestler,” Tysdal explained. “They make up the gimmick, the costume, the promos. That’s the kind of main arc of the class.”
Throughout the semester, students also get to attend shows at Superkickd Studios, a pro wrestling arena in Liberty Village. By the end of the semester, they are even able to try out their created personas in the ring, using some basic lessons taught to them.
“One of the incentives to attend that was I told the students they could clothesline me,” Tysdal said, referring to a popular move where a wrestler knocks their opponent down with a strike to the chest or neck. “They got a big kick out of that.”
Tysdal, whose “babyface” wrestler persona is Mr. Croxtin the high school English teacher, said he loves that he has the opportunity to mix both his passion for education and his passion for pro-wrestling.
“It was definitely one of the greatest teaching experiences of my life,” he said, referring to getting in the ring with his students.
Tysdal finished the Winter 2026 semester of the course off with final presentations taking place in the ring on Wednesday, April 1. He said the feedback he had received afterward was overwhelming.
“I really experienced a lot of comments and connections through that, of people who came out to the show and have never been to a live pro-wrestling show, and were just blown away by the matches but also blown away by the student work and what they had to offer too.”
Tysdal said the course is one of many that follow less conservative teaching styles, referencing a fellow UTSC professor who uses video game content to teach English subjects.
“I think it’s this idea of working on material that’s happening right now,” he explained. “You’re literally watching art that’s being created as our class is happening. So, I think that adds a bit to the excitement of it. I think it’s something that gets people’s attention.”
Tysdal said he hopes students that participate in the course take more than just a new-found passion for professional wrestling out of the class.
“I’d also hope that they’ll see this chance for that kind of adventurous spirit,” Tysdal explained. “…As they move ahead in life in their job and in their person-hood, [I hope] they’ll keep crossing boundaries as they develop their skills…I think, so often, we can kind of just stay in our safe zone and learn and think there, but hopefully this shows them what happens, what can be gained, by kind of going into new territory, and how that new territory can shape and build the skills that we bring.”
