Hey guys, I’m back! To discuss the good
ol’ stereotype of wrestling being “fake”
I initially posted this for
thefanspodcast.com (check them out!) a few weeks ago but since I made my own
blog I thought I would post it here too (which is why certain things may not be
in order time-wise). If you’ve read my first blog (if not, scroll down!) you’d
know that I do not
know one person that
is a fan of pro-wrestling... I know, shocking,
right? I won’t go into that now as you can read my previous blog to find out
how I became a fan, despite not having anyone to discuss it with and so on. (I
will be posting a blog soon discussing what matches really got me in to
wrestling when I was so young).
So let’s get into it...
One thing I will never fail to get from a person when
I tell them that I’m an avid fan of wrestling is... yep you guessed it “but
wrestling’s fake” or uncontrollable laugher due to the fact that I’m still a
fan at 20 years old and it’s something that I should have apparently “grown
out” of after the age of 10... Now after last week’s episode of Raw with that
ridiculous Rusev segment, I would totally understand why someone would laugh at
the fact that I’m such a massive fan (if they only watched that one segment),
or even the tragic Damien Sandow moments (face palm) which have left all of us
speechless...poor guy. I’m not going to lie, cringe-worthy is probably the most
appropriate term to describe the above BUT let’s get one thing straight, one
pointless 10 minute segment cannot take away from the entire product! The work
that goes in to what these girls and guys do, not just the wrestlers but all of
those people who work behind the scenes to make the WWE the massive working
machine that it is, to entertain all of us CANNOT be disregarded as “fake”. If
anything that’s the most degrading term to use and could not be further from
the truth. There’s nothing fake about it, take for instance cutting a promo...
Cutting a promo, to me, has always been a special thing. This may sound dramatic but speaking on a mic for 10 minutes straight, holding the attention of thousands of fans in the arena and the millions (“and millions”) of people around the world, whilst making sense, not messing up and stumbling on words or thinking about what to do and say next as well as attempting to get a clear point across, to me is AMAZING. How many Hollywood actors could do that? A very low percentage is my guess. So, how can anything about that be fake? It’s on live TV, in front of a live sold-out audience of thousands, you cannot risk messing up. If anything, that’s as real as it gets. There are no outtakes or multiple re-shots: you take the mic and GO. That is what you call real, raw talent.
Cutting a promo, to me, has always been a special thing. This may sound dramatic but speaking on a mic for 10 minutes straight, holding the attention of thousands of fans in the arena and the millions (“and millions”) of people around the world, whilst making sense, not messing up and stumbling on words or thinking about what to do and say next as well as attempting to get a clear point across, to me is AMAZING. How many Hollywood actors could do that? A very low percentage is my guess. So, how can anything about that be fake? It’s on live TV, in front of a live sold-out audience of thousands, you cannot risk messing up. If anything, that’s as real as it gets. There are no outtakes or multiple re-shots: you take the mic and GO. That is what you call real, raw talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exDkCIZHzXg - Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns address Seth Rollin's betrayal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afedl8HylCY - Aj Lee blasts the stars of "Total Divas".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OS9wZGb_3g - CM Punk Shoot on Raw
^^Check a few of those incredible promos out above!^^
After the Shield VS Evolution match at Extreme Rules this past May, I showed a friend the link of Seth Rollin’s jaw dropping dive off of the stands at the Izod Centre in New Jersey - something that us wrestling fans LOVE, one of those mark out moments that we thrive on and after they happen, make us realise all over again why we love and are so passionate about pro-wrestling, a moment that we will remember for years and years to come. Despite this friend not being a WWE fan, I showed him it, hoping for some kind of change of mind (in all honesty, I needed someone to understand my excitement!) ... but (to quote Dean Ambrose) NOPE... the response I received was “How can you watch this stuff... it’s so fake... it doesn’t even hurt”
After the Shield VS Evolution match at Extreme Rules this past May, I showed a friend the link of Seth Rollin’s jaw dropping dive off of the stands at the Izod Centre in New Jersey - something that us wrestling fans LOVE, one of those mark out moments that we thrive on and after they happen, make us realise all over again why we love and are so passionate about pro-wrestling, a moment that we will remember for years and years to come. Despite this friend not being a WWE fan, I showed him it, hoping for some kind of change of mind (in all honesty, I needed someone to understand my excitement!) ... but (to quote Dean Ambrose) NOPE... the response I received was “How can you watch this stuff... it’s so fake... it doesn’t even hurt”
Yep
the term “gay” was even used, but that I won’t even go in to. It doesn’t
even hurt? A 200+ pound man diving over 10 feet on to 3 other men doesn’t hurt?
If he messes up, or the 3 attempting to catch him fail to do so, can cause for
some very disastrous consequences. If you watch it back you can clearly
see the force of that dive, how fast Rollins came down on them and how they all
basically went flying like a tornado ripped through them due to the momentum.
This is what they do, as performers, to entertain us. Risks are certainly
involved. Getting in the ring and putting on a great back and forth 20 minute
match with amazing psychology and chemistry is NOT easy. I mean, think about
it; imagine getting in to a ring and attempting to pull off an amazing wrestling
match with loads of different spots, keeping the excitement up and telling a
story all at the same time. How many people are actually capable of doing that?
It’s not until you sit down and purely think about how much
time, patience and hard-work goes in to one wrestling match that you genuinely
appreciate what these performers do.
The way I see it is, some people will
simply never understand pro-wrestling and the art behind it... (I've even been
called "manly" for watching it) but as much as I want to convert
all those people I know into believers and the passionate fans as we all are, I
know that not everyone will appreciate it’s art form. But one thing that I
believe everyone should have for sports entertainment, is, respect. Respect for
what these athletes do, what they put their bodies through day in and day out,
not just in the ring, but in the gym and the constant 300 days a year
travelling schedule.
It’s under appreciated but it’s something I am thankful for. Wrestling may not be where it was at 15 years ago in terms of in wider society but one thing you cannot fault is that these individuals, whether it was 30 years ago or last week, all put their blood, sweat and tears in to putting on a good show for us and there is nothing fake about that at all. I mean, everyone knows TV shows are scripted, yet no one calls them "fake".
If anyone who is a non-wrestling fan has stumbled across this, I hope I may have changed your viewpoint, even if it slightly. (If not, look up Edge and you’ll see how “fake” wrestling really is...)
Professional wrestling is truly a very
special thing and despite the laughs or the snarky comments, I’m happy to say
that I’m a pro-wrestling fan. This is partly the reason I began this blog, it’s
somewhere I can connect with other people about something that I am so
passionate about and something that no one I personally know of understands or
will ever get. But through the greatness that is the internet! The doors have
been opened to the amount of adoring fans out there that can voice their
opinions and connect over a common, love that is, wrestling.
I had to add this in! Haha
Thanks for reading! If anyone can relate to this, do
leave a comment below! Until
the next one...
Zara
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