Since this is a wrestling blog, it's obvious that the passion I'm referring to is wrestling. Let's be honest, my fellow wrestling fans; why is it that wrestling seems to be looked down upon more than any other form of entertainment? People don't scrutinize movies and television shows about how real they are as much as wrestling! Why is that? While I can defend all day and night about how these wrestlers are athletes, that's not really what this is about. Let's look at wrestling as entertainment for a second, because that's basically what it is. Wrestling hasn't been presented as a legitimate sport in almost 40 years. In an entertainment aspect, why is it that people must call out wrestling for how "fake" it is when the movies and TV shows are also "fake." By the way, as most wrestling fans, and especially people in the business will tell you, we all collectively hate the word "fake."
If by fake, people mean predetermined, then yes, the outcomes of wrestling matches and angles are certainly predetermined. I started to learn this by the age of 8 or 9. Did that stop me from enjoying what I loved? No! I know all of the things in movies I've watched didn't actually happen but I don't try to pick apart everything to point out flaws in logic or realism. If I did that, I'd never enjoy a movie. That's the way people should look at wrestling. But for a minute, let's talk about that word again, "fake." Just because the matches are predetermined doesn't mean that these people are not athletes. They train like athletes, eat like athletes, and look like athletes, yet they are not taken seriously by society. Are they really trying to hurt each other? No! In fact, it takes even more work not to hurt each other! However, these men and women do get hurt. They get bruised and battered during matches and it takes a lot of talent to know how to execute and take these wrestling maneuvers safely. The ropes are tough and the mat is certainly no trampoline. Accidents do happen!
It may not be a real sport in terms of competition but no one should ever consider wrestlers to not be athletes. It's not like the UFC or boxing where people are intentionally trying to hurt each other but here's a reason why I like wrestling and don't really watch those sports. Often, when a specialty match for numerous MMA organizations or boxing takes place, the event is specifically for that match. Any old school Mike Tyson fight or currently Floyd Mayweather fights are often sold as an event and people pay a lot of money to see it. The same thing can be said for Ronda Rousey when she was still undefeated in UFC. These fights can end in minutes or seconds and then it's over! I'd feel like I wasted my money! At least with wrestling, you get both quality and quantity in a show. The average wrestling pay-per-view is about three hours and you'll get your money's worth.
Since I brought up Ronda Rousey, let's talk about her for a second. Recently, she has retired from the world of MMA and has become a professional wrestler. Not everyone, even if you're an athlete, is able to transition smoothly or at all into wrestling. Concerning MMA, I'll have three examples. The first is Ken Shamrock. Shamrock was a well known UFC fighter and his popularity brought him to the world of pro wrestling. He did okay in wrestling but he didn't have the success many thought he would have. That's because wrestling is so much more than athleticism! Another example is Tank Abbot. He was another that went from UFC to wrestling but he didn't fare nearly as well as Shamrock did. In fact, Tank Abbot was a horrible wrestler. When I say horrible wrestler, I don't specifically mean in the ring. There are so many variables in the wrestling business beyond being an athlete. He couldn't tell a story or convey emotion. You also have to be an actor. Ronda, on the other hand, is arguably a much bigger star than either of those men. Not only that, she's always been a fan, is known to have looked up to Rowdy Roddy Piper, and even got endorsed by his family. Combine those attributes with her star power and she is going to succeed in wrestling. Her performance at WrestleMania a few weeks ago proved she is well on her way.
Brock Lesnar is another that has made transitions as well. Brock Lesnar was a collegiate wrestling star and won the NCAA Championship. He made his way into pro wrestling at a young age and quickly became a big star. After Lesnar left the WWF, he tried his hand at pro football and wrestling a little in Japan before making his way into the UFC's Octogon. His record isn't the greatest and he did suffer defeats, but he also climbed to the top of the MMA world as UFC World Heavyweight Champion. He became an even bigger star during his stay with the sport. In 2012, Lesnar came back to the WWF and wrestling world, and is now unquestionably an even bigger star. However, what people have to realize is that while Lesnar did become a star in the UFC, he was a wrestler first. Without having been a star in wrestling first, I'm not so sure Lesnar would have been as big a household name.
Brock Lesnar is another that has made transitions as well. Brock Lesnar was a collegiate wrestling star and won the NCAA Championship. He made his way into pro wrestling at a young age and quickly became a big star. After Lesnar left the WWF, he tried his hand at pro football and wrestling a little in Japan before making his way into the UFC's Octogon. His record isn't the greatest and he did suffer defeats, but he also climbed to the top of the MMA world as UFC World Heavyweight Champion. He became an even bigger star during his stay with the sport. In 2012, Lesnar came back to the WWF and wrestling world, and is now unquestionably an even bigger star. However, what people have to realize is that while Lesnar did become a star in the UFC, he was a wrestler first. Without having been a star in wrestling first, I'm not so sure Lesnar would have been as big a household name.
Many wrestlers were pro football players, often in the NFL, before they came into wrestling. Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Lex Lugar, Wahoo McDaniel, Brian Pillman, Goldberg, and even The Rock all played professional football. They succeeded in wrestling because they had a passion for it and understood all of the aspects it takes to be a wrestler. In early 1995, football great Lawrence Taylor showed up at the WWF Royal Rumble to start an angle with the late Bam Bam Bigelow. It led to a match at WrestleMania and although I was against it happening, I understood it from a business aspect, as it would bring about mainstream attention for the company. You have to understand as well that the reason Bigelow was involved is because he was known to be trustworthy and would be professionally able to handle such a task. Bigelow brought Taylor to a passable match and I'll give credit where credit is due. Taylor did much better than I thought he would. However, reports state that after the match in the back, Taylor blew up physically and the match took a toll on him, proving not everyone, even pro athletes, can handle wrestling.
That leads me to another thing while we're on the subject of wrestlers being athletes. There is no off season in wrestling. Some of these men and women legitimately work 300 days a year. They constantly travel and rarely see their families, just to make a living but beyond that, to entertain people. Just because you may see a wrestler on TV once or twice a week doesn't mean they only wrestle one or two times a week. They often wrestle during the week at non-televised events we, the wrestling fans, refer to as House Shows. There are off seasons in all other major sports but since wrestling is mainly a form of entertainment, there's no such thing as an off season. We could even compare wrestlers to regular actors as well. TV shows also have seasons and off time but wrestling does not. That's why I have the utmost respect for what these men and women do.
There was a time when this kind of wrestling was a legitimate competition based sport. This form of wrestling began in the mid-1800's. In fact, long before becoming President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was a wrestler. It wasn't until about the 1930's that wrestling outcomes started to become predetermined. Even so, it was a secret that many didn't know about. The advent of television brought wrestling into people's homes and because of that, the entertainment aspect of it grew. Characters like Gorgeous George made wrestling a spectacle in the 1950's. In the 1980's, Vince McMahon took the WWF, and in some way wrestling itself, globally. WrestleMania and Hulk Hogan became household words and names. A wrestling boom happened here and up until this point, many people still thought wrestling was "real." In the late 1990's, wrestling had another boom period during what was called the Monday Night War, and wrestling became the most mainstream it ever had. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, among others, were all over the media and in people's homes.
This leads me to another topic within this blog. People that don't like or understand what wrestling is about often underestimate just how influential wrestling is. Both boxing and MMA have been incredibly influenced by wrestling. Muhammad Ali based pretty much his entire boxing persona from watching Gorgeous George. I'd argue that before Ali came along, boxing was pretty basic and didn't really have a lot of character. The same could be said for MMA. The showmanship of MMA was all influenced by wrestling, from the entrance music to the way these fighters interact with one another during interviews or press conferences. Again, I'm not comparing wrestling to sports, but I'm pointing out that wrestling does influence sports. It's not out of the ordinary to go to a baseball, football, basketball, or hockey game and hear a wrestling theme song. Wrestling is in more places than people give it credit for.
I will defend until my death, my love and passion for professional wrestling. During my childhood, these men and women were my heroes. As I grew into an adult, I started to understand the sacrifices these people make to entertain others. During this decade, I've been fortunate enough to meet some of these people and it's just as thrilling as an adult. Some people talk about wrestling being a bad influence or something that's not for kids. I'd argue that with the exception of the Attitude Era, wrestling's always been for kids. Actually, I think wrestling is for people of all ages. Wrestling isn't any worse than anything else that's on TV these days. In fact, it can be argued that the actual news is the worst thing someone can watch. Wrestling is an escape, much like any other form of entertainment. It's used to get away from the real world for a little and get lost in another. Life is hard enough! Sometimes, we need something to keep our sanity and happiness, because the real world is often difficult to get through. I may not like everything that's on TV or in the movies but I would never criticize people who enjoy what they enjoy. Unfortunately, the judgment of wrestling will never go away. As far as I'm concerned, I've stopped letting it bother me because wrestling has always been and always will be something I love and am passionate about.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST on YouTube, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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