Are you ashamed/proud to watch pro-wrestling?

[Richard]

Nope, not at all. About 5 minutes ago the dude who runs the place where I'm using the computers asked me "Do you like wrestling?" since he saw I was on here, I had no problem saying I loved it, despite being not sure if he was going to bag me out or agree with me. Luckily he said he liked it too.

I love wrestling and that's all that matters to me in the end. Some of my friends know I love it but they hate it but they accept that I love it an leave it at that and if it's some random on the street bagging my DX shirt or something then whatever, I don't know them so their opinion doesn't matter.

 

[Mustang Sally]

So I gave it a shot and I was surprised to see that this was kick ass. This is what modern mythology is like. Like comic books, or sci fi. This is modern theatre. This is stunt guys doing insane shit. It's got all kinds of good stuff to it.

Thank you, Mr. Runner. (Can I call you Blade?) You've expressed it better than I ever could. Wrestling has everything; athleticism, comedy, music, drama. It's the modern day version of Vaudeville.

For years, I've heard people deride wrestling because it's "fake." When I feel like responding, I tell folks that they watch people being killed or injured on cop shows, westerns and other adventure shows. Aren't they fake?

I ask if they enjoyed "The Wizard of Oz" when they were young and when they say they did, I ask; "Wasn't it fake?"

The wrestlers are actors playing roles. One difference between them and actors on other "fake" shows are that wrestlers don't get a second chance to get it right. On adventure shows, when something is botched, the director yells "Cut!" and the actors have a chance to do it over. Wrestlers don't get that; their botches are there for the world to see on TV and arenas.

So, I tried something about a year ago. I invited some friends over on Friday night for a Smackdown party. I intended to do it only once, but it started becoming a semi-regular event. Yeah, some of them came only for the beer, but it was surprising how they started enjoying the wrestling. It was easy for them to do when they saw everyone else having a good time, too.

Before the evening was over, people who previously didn't like wrestling because it's "fake" were yelling:

"Hey, did you see what that Edge dude did to that fat girl he's married to?" and "Wow! How about that little shit with the tattoos and mask beating up that big fucker!"

No, I'm not looking to convert everyone into wrestling fans. In fact, I could care less who likes it and who doesn't.

But those Smackdown parties sure are fun. Even though they're built around something that's so "fake."

 

[Via Armbar]

I don't give a fuck what people think of what I like. There's a lot more embarrassing things about me then my love for pro wrestling. I also collect action figures. Most of which are of a pro wrestling nature. People should never be ashamed of something they find entertaining. Everyones different. I would think somebody that loves American Idol or Dancing with the Stars would be as ashamed as any pro wrestling fan would be, they're both kind of goofy. But it doesn't matter because almost anything anyone could ever find entertaining is seen as stupid by someone.

 

[RedStar]

I'm sort of ashamed, but I don't deny that I'm a fan. I get the occasional "wrasslin is gay, hurr" or "don't you know it's fake?!" but I roll with the punches. Interestingly enough though, a classmate of mine commonly writes X's on his hands to denote the straightedge lifestyle, and since being around me he's noticed CM Punk and has talked to me about him.

 

[Lancer]

I've never really been ashamed to be a wrestling fan. It's not like anyone has interrogated me about my views on the Katie Vick angle, or on Vince's exploding limo, or Billy and Chuck, or anything else that non-wrestling fans can throw in your face.

Most of the time, I get the "gay" and "fake" generalizations. The "gay" comments cause me to berate the accuser of being homophobic and closed-minded, forcing them to rescind their arguments or walk away in disgust.

I've had the 'it's fake' argument with some of them. Because, you know, their favourite films are real and all that.

That is pretty much how I deal with the "fake" argument. I simply ask them what their favorite movies, films, etc. are. Most of the time, they come up with fiction. Nearly every form of entertainment that we as humans are drawn to is fiction. It's because our own, everyday lives truly suck. So that's how I counter that.

In summary, I'm not ashamed to be a wrestling fan. Im not grandstanding about it, but I can defend myself when my amusement comes under fire.

 

[Notorious718]

I'm not sure. On one hand, ever since I started watching pro-wrestling on a weekly basis five years ago I had to put up with my family bashing it. Watching pro-wrestling is like my guilty pleasure but my family looks down upon it. Whenever I'm watching it and one of them walks into the room, they always go out of their way to remind me that pro-wrestling is fake as if I didn't know that already. So I'm not sure if I'm proud of watching pro-wrestling even though I love watching it. And part of the reason for me not being proud is my family.

 

[jazzua]

I'm not proud, I'm not ashamed. I have never understood the negative feelings toward wrestling by most people. As IC said, most of the time when people find out I watch wrestling they start talking about how much they watched it in the late 90's. Nobody really rips me for it, but they will make comments from time to time. I have very few friends who watch wrestling, but those that do are about the only people I talk about it to. What I find most interesting, is every roommate I had through my college years started watching wrestling b/c of me. They would shit talk me for two months and then see the fun I was having. Alot of people on forums take it too seriously. They forget to enjoy RAW or Impact and focus more on what is bad about the product, which is what people who don't watch it do. When I watch wrestling, I'm like a kid. I'm off the couch, back on the couch, off it yelling, back on it. My friends can't help but see how much fun it is, then they join in.

Every year I throw a WM party. My house is filled with 20 or so people. Out of those 20, one other person watches wrestling. The rest come b/c I have at one time or another, made them watch a WM in the past and they remember how much fun it was. They don't look down on it once they watch it. I watch 24 and House every week, they're fake too. I'm not ashamed of that.