What happens in alligator wrestling:

The alligator is dragged into the ring by its' tail, and then hit with sticks until he opens his mouth and shows teeth. This means he is angry, and an angry alligator puts on a good show. Without an aggressive alligator, the audience loses interest.

"Wrestling" is a poor choice of words; the humans and gators don't roll around on the ground, grappling -- unless, of course, the human has been "banged" (bitten) and the gator is trying to sever a limb. Gator wrestling is instead a series of careful stunts, such as coaxing a gator to open its mouth ("The Florida Smile"), tucking the gator's head against your neck ("Bulldogging") and holding a gator's mouth open with only your chin while your arms are outstretched ("The Face-Off").

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/28945

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