When did you discover wrestling was fake?

[ReadyPower]

The first hint for me, was my cousin saying "they talk to each other" when they wrestle. I think I was around 10 or 11. Then, what confirmed the theory was discovering wrestling websites, saying what was going to happen and whatnot.
Yeah, people (mainly the female side of the family) would say it was fake but I didnt believe them. Anyway whats your story, if you remember

 

[johnbragg]

Fifteen years before I became a wrestling fan. I was in second or third grade, at the beginning of Hulkamania.

People had been arguing at school whether it was real or fake, so I watched an episode of some WWF show. The undercard guys--the names I didn't know--were blatantly obvious, throwing punches that you could see didn't connect. The stars' matches, names I knew--maybe Hogan, Savage, Steamboat?--looked real. I remember thinking, I guess that's why those guys are the stars--they make it look real.

 

[Tougie]

For me, Im pretty sure I caught on before this but it was when I was 11, at Summerslamm 2004 when Taker chokeslamed JBL through the roof of the limo. So clear the roof was just a soft material and padding was on the inside.

 

[Jimmy King]

I used to fight with people all the time when I was about 10 or 11 on whether or not wrestling was fake. Then, I saw a documentary on A&E about wrestling. When the documentary first started it claimed that wrestling was now fake, which I still denied. Then, people like Lex Luger and Ric Flair were on there saying how scripted it was. I was really upset for a while afterwards. Luckily, after that, I stopped cheering for the good guys and started cheering for people that I actually liked since I respected their craft.

 

[JackGallow]

well to be honest i never went through the "fake" phase if you will because i never saw wrestling as fake and honestly it never will be its a work... an art. Its the same way I never viewed magic as "fake" because to me it is more mind boggling that those guys can make my eyes believe im seeing something I know is physically impossible, they create an illusion that makes you question yourself for a minute and suspend disbelief. When I finally came to the conclusion that wrestling was a work i just started to appreciate it more along the lines of how i would appreciate a movie, or a magic show, or a sitcom. All of those things essentially are either characters or actors performing and nothign i ever looked at as fake. And then as I grew to become a man I respected wrestling even more because I understood that it still took an extreme amount of athletic abillity to do what they do day in and day out and it is the reason I am entering the wrestling business as we speak, Because Wrestling has proved to me to be so much more than a "fake fight" and has proven to be an artform that is like no other.

 

[Chicago1989]

I'll be honest....When Undertaker came back in 2004 as "The Deadman", I guess you can say I was stoked. But later on, since "supposedly" he was immune to pain, I noticed that he was getting hurt and some of the stunts he did were cheesy and contrived at the time. I just didn't believe in it anymore. Then came the websites and Beyond The Mat which basically gave me all I needed.

 

[Dre Guevara]

up untl 1992, I used 2 argue constantly about whether wrestling was real or fake, my argument used 2 be that because of the cartoonish gimmicks, the WWF was fake while the NWA was real, mainly due 2 the severity of the matches, & the video footage of the 4 Horsemen attacking Dusty Rhodes in the parking lot somewht confirmed that belief 4 me, then in 1992, I saw Hulk Hogan doing an interview where he confirmed that it was fake by admitting that all the wrestlers were actually good friends with each other, by then I was already hooked on watching it religiously, so it didn't really matter 2 me that it was fake....then along came the internet.

 

[trevor62794]

For me it was at wrestlemaia i cant remember which 1 but it was undertaker vs HHH and undertaker chokeslammed him off of a stand onto the "floor" but u could easily see there was a protective mat there. I was like WTF

 

[CrazyBeastKing]

Hmm Id probaly say Summerslam 2000 (I forgot who was wrestling). A friend of mine told me of this thing called blading where a wrestler uses a blade to make themselves bleed on purpose. Of course I didnt believe him but I remember about halfway through one of the matches I actually saw one of the wrestlers take something out and put it to their head and all of a sudden they started bleeding. It kinda bummed me out but I was then able to see a larger perspective of the extremes they would go to to entertain the fans.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

well to be honest i never went through the "fake" phase if you will because i never saw wrestling as fake and honestly it never will be its a work... an art. Its the same way I never viewed magic as "fake" because to me it is more mind boggling that those guys can make my eyes believe im seeing something I know is physically impossible, they create an illusion that makes you question yourself for a minute and suspend disbelief. When I finally came to the conclusion that wrestling was a work i just started to appreciate it more along the lines of how i would appreciate a movie, or a magic show, or a sitcom. All of those things essentially are either characters or actors performing and nothign i ever looked at as fake. And then as I grew to become a man I respected wrestling even more because I understood that it still took an extreme amount of athletic abillity to do what they do day in and day out and it is the reason I am entering the wrestling business as we speak, Because Wrestling has proved to me to be so much more than a "fake fight" and has proven to be an artform that is like no other.

I'm with you on this one.

When I was a kid I would get really upset about my favorites losing because I thought everything was as real about what was going on as the things going on outside my door. As I got older I heard all the arguments about real and fake and began to realize that there were certain things that were scripted and what not and began to look at wrestling in a different aspect.

I first got into wrestling around 1982-1983 being from the south the first match I saw involved the Road Warriors destroying some jobbers on Saturday afternoon wrestling and I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!

I think I totally lost that sense of it was all real when Hulk Hogan fought Macho Man at Wrestlemania and I didn't get to watch it because we were visiting my Aunt and Uncle. I kept asking my parents to check the sports on the news so that I could find out who won. Thats when I realized it was not considered a real sport by most of the world.

 

[sTyLnK]

I started watching in the very early 90's. I always thought it was fake in terms of the punching and kicking. What I thought was real were the characters. Hey I was a young kid what do you expect?

I remember Lex Lugar with his "metal" plated arm when he did his clothesline and thought he really did have something in his arm. And obviously I remember Taker with his creepy dead man image. Gave me the hee bee jee bees. lol. It was good times. Ah to be a kid again

 

[Rich Bone]

I found out in 1999 when I was 5, the year after I started watching wrestling. DX was beating the crap out of Big Show and it was the first time i've seen blood on there and my mom said don't worry about it it's all fake anyway. Then in 2004 my cousin told me the matches was all planned out.

 

[spazz]

I was about 8 or 7 years of age. I use to really enjoy seeing guys get 'hurt' by the pedigree from Triple H (who the blue blood at the time). I actually thought it was real, and that nobody could kick out from that move, until the Wrestlemania match he had with Ultimate Warrior (when warrior beat him in a matter of seconds); Warrior received the pedigree and it didnt phase him at all, he just gets up like the terminator.

 

[MoeLester18]

I was around 8 years of age when my brother randomly told me that wrestling is scripted and planned out. After he told me, I soon started closely observing matches to see if he was telling the truth. And lo and behold he was.

 

[ZCLawless]

Ive actrully always know. My dad use to bowl on mondays night and during off season for football he watched raw and I would come in a watch some and my parents always was like look how fake it is and my mom always called it fake I never questioned it. But when I got into wrestling big time my dad stoped watching it...but yeah ive always known as far back as I can rember watching with him is I rember watching kurt angle come in with he milk truck so ive known since then lol

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

This might be the most pathetic thread I have ever seen. I always knew wrestling was not a real sporting event. If you were 11 and just realizing this you were a stupid kid. Its like thinking Santa Claus was giving you presents at 11.

Wow dude you're just the coolest person EVER.

Every KID that watches wrestling thinks it's real and with good reason. It's not pathetic at all for young fans to think wrestling is real. As a kid, everything seems that much more epic and important and it's easy for kids to suspend disbelief and believe what they're seeing. I started watching when I was 8 and after a couple years I knew it was scripted because of hearsay, noticing little mistakes etc. But up until that point I was amazed at how tough and talented these guys were because I really thought they were taking a beating all the time. And by the time I realized what was really going on I didn't care and I was hooked. I just started respecting the athletes for different reasons. I'm pretty sure this is the path most fans have taken. But for you to say that there is a certain age that you HAVE to KNOW wrestling is scripted means that you're prolly just a cynical asshole.

 

[akrassikauda]

I used to fight with people all the time when I was about 10 or 11 on whether or not wrestling was fake. Then, I saw a documentary on A&E about wrestling. When the documentary first started it claimed that wrestling was now fake, which I still denied. Then, people like Lex Luger and Ric Flair were on there saying how scripted it was. I was really upset for a while afterwards. Luckily, after that, I stopped cheering for the good guys and started cheering for people that I actually liked since I respected their craft.

The Untrue Story Of Professional Wrestling was the Doc it was cheeky yet fun to watch. I knew wrestling was fake when VKM went on trail and like 90% of people found out that he owned the WWF that moment I lost a little of my childhood when we were kids wrestling was REAL until that moment when the cat was let out of the bag

 

[silverwraith720]

WHAT???? Wrestling's fake? I don't believe you...

Love it!

I remember the exact moment, but not the date. It was the night Stone Cold faced Undertaker for the WWF title on RAW. I was camping, so I had to tape it, but my tape ran out so I missed the end of the match (if I'm not mistaken, Austin won the belt that night.) But it was not that match, it was earlier in the night, Mark Henry had a match, I can't remember the opponent (might have been Farooqq, possibly a tag match with APA), but whoever it was performed a leg drop to Henry's throat and I saw him bend his knee so it arched right over his throat.

 

[AndarielHalo]

For me it was circa 2004 or 2005, and it was all Wikipedia's fault.

I remember before then, I had thought that the wrestling world was established in such a way where people with severe issues with one another could work them out without risking criminal charges and such.

Like with Undertaker and Kane. I actually thought that was a real feud between brothers, and they decided to sign contracts with the WWF in order to wage their feud without resorting to murder or lengthy court battles.

 

[Yarrie]

Trinerigelado, you are a dork. I would be interested in how old you are. Back in my day people weren't so synical. I can't remember when I knew it was fake, I don't care, wrestling is like a violent soap opera with faster story lines.

Yeah i agree with Spazz, the pedigree was so effective, til the Warrior handed Trips his butt, but that is the thing with all finishers, some people get destroyed and others brush them off like a slap in the face.

Good thread.....

 

[ilapierre]

WHAT!!!! say it ain't so, say it ain't so!!!!

To those of you on here saying that you always knew it was fake, let me just say YOU'RE FULL OF IT. You are the same people who come on here thinking everything you learned in hindsight is stuff you already knew before the luxury of hindsight. Everyone was a kid at one time, everyone thought at some point wrestling was real even if they're parents or friends told them otherwise right from the beginning (and when i say that i don't mean to call wrestling 'fake' but that its not really wrestling meant to 'in real life' hurt somebody). The only way you could know and truly believe wrestling was 'fake' is if you were 11 or 12 when you started watching it. And by 11 or 12 you should be able to understand things like that which 5 and 6 year olds can't.

I started watching wrestling when i was 5 and i was told it was fake but i didn't 100 percent believe it was all fake till i was about 9. I was watching a Savage Warrior cage match and Warrior basically threw Savage out of the cage from the top. Being a Savage 'mark' (a word i won't claim to have known at the age of 9 like some of you would), I was extremely frustrated and upset with Savage who basically climbed up the steel cage and over to the other side. At 9, i thought the royal rumble rules applied and that whoever touched the ground first lost. I never saw a steel cage match where someone won by exiting the cage, so i couldn't understand why Savage was making it so easy for the Ultimate Warrior (known as The Warrior now) to win. When Savage fell, I was angry and stopped watching the movie (that's how i watched wrestling back then..coliseum video). I made up my mind wrestling didn't make any sense and had to be fake for Savage to do something like that. I also complained about it to my parents, lol, and they told me that wrestling was fake and that's why Savage didn't beat Warrior.

It would be a few years after when i learned that Savage actually won that match that i thought he lost. I once again believed, at the age of 11 or 12, that wrestling was partially real..at leat until Mae Young gave birth to a sock puppet. Then i knew for sure it was 100 percent real!

 

[Azogan v.2.0]

Awesome thread, funny story, my dad (who knew it was fake, but bless his heart sold it to us like it was real) in particular would say about The Undertaker, "Don't look into his eyes, you will turn to stone." I probably turned away every time he rolled his eyes to the back of his head for the better part of my preschool/kindergarten years. But i realized it was fact after i watched the CBS special, i think it was called "The Real Story of Professional Wrestling.", Watching the wrestlers out of "character" talking and joking normal with the guys they just wanted to beat up, it like the light finally went off. That and all of my friends from school insisting it was fake. I remember i would always get mad and say "It's not all fake." I miss how much power and disbelief wrestling instilled in me. I'm 23 years old now, and this thread just made me think about the good ol days.

 

[mikeyboy]

I ve been watching wrestling since the mid 70's since i was around 8 or 9 and i tried to make myself believe it was real but i knew it wasnt. I mean i knew even at that age it was impossible for a man to take a beating like they did day after day and keep going.It didnt help any that the town i live in is in the middle of the state of North Carolina and the highways that run between Charlotte ,Raleigh and Greensboro come right thru here and the wrestlers for NWA /Jim Crockett promotions were always stopping in local resturants to eat before and after matches and guys that were suposeed to hate each other were hanging around and joking with each other , riding in the same cars together ect.lol! So that showed me at an early age it was scripted but it never bothered me enough to stop watching i just looked at it like any other tv show and enjoyed it for what it was.

 

[thesweetness]

I don't remember the exact place and time, but it was one of those things that had been building up. I remember a wrestling hotline you could call and it would tell you spoilers for the up-coming weeks, some of the stuff was true, some wasn't but it allowed me to see that the stories were at least scripted.

I do remember when a friend of mine found out it was fake though. It was about 1997 and WWF was coming to town. I decided to take a friend of mine because he loved wrestling as much as me but had never seen a live show. I had been backstage before for many wrestling shows, ECW, WCW and local promotions, but never had I been backstage in the "granddady of all locker rooms", the WWF. After watching The Undertaker v. Faarooq v. Ahmed Johnson in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match, I was stoked to finally meet some of my heroes. We go backstage and there stood the Undertaker and Faarooq chumming it up backstage. My friend couldn't believe it. So we ask 'Taker and Faarooq if we could get a picture and they obliged.

Then to my amazement my friend asked the taboo question to the Deadman himself, "Is Wrestling Fake?" *Facepalm* The Undertaker answered, "The things we do to our bodies out there is real."

 

[returnofplex]

I knew it was fake when I was 8 years old. I knew that two huge guys throwing punches at each other without one being knocked out was very peculiar. The age when I didn't care it was fake: 8 years old.