Has The WWE Gotten More Realistic Over The Years?

[s3machine]

Ok... so hear me out for a second.. Do you guys think that the WWE looks alot more realistic then it used to say.. back in the 80s?

I'm not talking about storylines, the promos, or the other drama associated with what goes on outside of the ring.. I'm specifically talking about the in ring action..

I was watching some older WWE vids on youtube.. and oh man.. its just downright obviously fake.. I mean.. they were barely connecting with simple forearms and kicks.. Aside from the occasional Flair esque chop which would definitely make contact..(WOOOOOO!) I didnt see much else that would look like it actually hurt.. This isnt to say guys didnt get hurt back then or take real bumps.. but the product looked alot more watered down than it is now.. I mean.. a 5 year old could tell it was fake.. which really makes me question my intelligence as a kid because I used to think it was as real MMA lol.

I really think that the actual in ring wrestling in the WWE today (or any other fed for that matter) really looks leaps and bounds more realistic then the good 'ol days.. The contact is much more brutal... Take for example those boots to the face that Sheamus and Wade Barett deliver.. Those shots really dont look so pleasant.. the spots are also more wild and risky..This doesn't apply to just spot monkeys (Jeff Hardy, etc..) Even the average match from Mid carder A and B could have some spots which are on the crazier side..

..I think one reason that the physical contact has been upped a notch or two since back in the day is because there really isn't a debate anymore as to whether pro wrestling is "real" or not.. Everyone knows its staged.. its now dubbed 'entertainment' so I think guys really need to go the extra mile to sell whats happening in the ring as compared to the old days where kayfabe was Fort Knox and promotions still claimed that Wrestling was indeed 100% real.

So what do you guys think? Do you see the in ring difference between now and Hogan/Ultimate Warrior era WWF and prior?.. or am I just seeing things? lol.. discuss.

 

[The Future Rises]

Well I guess, I mean back in the Hogan era people used to oversell big time, but the WWE was at its realest in the Attitude Era, all the bumps Mick Foley used to take, all the edgy stuff everyone did back then just made it look real, and Foley's bumps were real actually, so I wouldn't even say that part is fake, just scripted, and the angles back then looked very real and convincing, like the McMahon-Austin feud for instance.

 

[Krossbreed]

WWE should just announce a new era...vince announced the attitude era...hhh should announce the reality era... but i agree guys like justin gabriel are no nonsense wrestlers...when he does his matches there far from cartoonish... others who i like to see now are mark henry, big zeek, sheamus, christian and daniel bryan...

cm punk really has come of age...its time! He needs a authority figure to be in conflict with and theres hhh.... his wrestlemania main event in the making...lets wait and see!

 

[The Death Rattle]

The WWE has gotten farther away from realism, not closer. Just this Monday they booked a 160 pound wrestler to win their top title. Oh, and that wrestler has one of the most contrived and unrealistic movesets in the history of wrestling. The 619 must go, as the set up and execution is so phony that anyone that didn't watch wrestling on a regular basis would laugh at its silliness.

Remember when Evan Bourne was beating Jack Swagger, a guy who happens to have a legitimate wrestling background. In a true fight, Swagger would wipe the mat with Bourne in under 5 minutes. In the WWE, somehow he is getting pinned. That simply defies logic.

You have other guys with legitimate backgrounds, like a Wade Barrett, jobbing week after week to guys that he would realistically be knocking down with ease. Virtually everything Kofi Kingston does is phony looking, yet he is continually winning matches. It is very difficult to picture guys like Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, or even Christian winning "real" fights against bigger men like Kane or Big Show. However, these sorts of things happen. Remember when Mysterio owned Kane in their feud a couple years ago? That is the perfect example of WWE "giving the fans want we want" as opposed to giving us a more realistic style.

 

[ralphie9181]

I'm gonna pull the old wrestling is fake card here, because it looks fake and always has. I need not go any further than Cena getting a Rodney King style beating from two men for almost 30 minutes and then all the sudden he is able to sprint up the ramp after Miz and destroy him for the win. Also,

Rey Mysterio's move set is so unrealistic it hurts to watch sometimes. I mean, how many different ways and you make a guys head between the ropes so you can kick him in the face. Also, no matter how many times you try that wheelbarrow suplex thing on him, he always turns it into a bulldog, keep in mind you never try to that move unless you are wrestling Rey so he can set up his move.

Another good one, didn't we just see Big Show get "run over" by a car that 1. only moved about 5 feet, and 2. is so small he could literally stand in place and hold it back?

How about Miz's finisher, if I really wanted to, I could hold my footing and there is no way he could take a guy down like that, or John Cena's STF where he literally just lays on a guy's back with his hands clenched in front of his face.

I could really keep going, but to sum up the post. No wrestling does not look any more realistic now than it ever has.

 

[s3machine]

You guys make good points on some things but I wasnt talking about the booking of the match.. ie Rey vs Big Show.. I know that in itself just looks completely unrealistic but I was talking about the in ring physicality itself..

does a boot to the head look more realistic than it used to?

punches/forearms to the face?

being thrown into the ring post? etc...

When talking about things looking phony the common name that comes to mind is Rey Mysterio... lets take him out of the picture for a second.. what about the rest of the roster? Dont you guys think their in ring work looks more credible then guys of the past? I mean Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior make John Cena look like Bret Hart.. Over the last few weeks John has proved he has more than the '5 moves of doom' but anyway..

if you disregard the booking.. which definitely has a habit of looking downright ridiculous.. It doesn't matter if it would be PeeWee Herman vs Andre the Giant.. i still think the actual physicality looks more credible than the 80s..

but even which you guys definitely do make some great, and valid points.

 

[ralphie9181]

I don't think you can look at the realism of stock offense either though, some guys still throw horrible punches and terrible kicks. If that is your measuring stick for realism. You just have some guys who are better workers than others and that has always been the case in the business. I mean, if you wanna see some workers with awful stock offense look no further than the Divas. They can't throw a punch or kick to save their lives. And Cena's punches (if you are gonna go that basic) look no better or worse than when Hogan used to do his. I am a fan of stiff workers, but WWE is not the place to see that. You need to watch Japan and or our current Indy feds or ROH, but in fairness those types of companies have always worked stiff.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I always wished for WWE to be more realistic.

They should have managers and coaches in each corner and fighters should go to their corners mid-match to talk strategy with their teams. And the matches should involve much more strikes and submissions than we see today.

The silly Shooting Star Presses, 6-1-9's, Starship Pains and all similar moves make no sense and have to go.

I hate when someone just sits on the middle rope waiting for a 6-1-9 without doing anything. By the way, that move should be deemed illegal considering Rey Mysterio assaults his opponent while he is on the ropes.

Then again, Big Show uses the KO Punch while closed fists are supposed to be illegal.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

Why do you people bitching even watch wrestling? If you want real, watch MMA. Seriously the "619 looks so fake" and "his punches or kicks look like shit" yada yada...it's stupid. It's all fake. Either do it better than the pros, watch MMA or STFU and get a life.

To the OP's point, I think alot of it has to do with TV angles. There are more cameras and angles plus I think the matches are more scripted out and less improv than before. The people in the production truck know whats coming next and they can put the angle on TV that makes the move look the best. Just a thought and I have no facts or proof or anything, but it's something I've noticed.

 

[randomguyri]

no wrestling has not gotten more realistic over the years just better cheographed with better camera angles

guys like orton never make contact doing their moves its up to the other wrestler to sell it that it made contact

in the attitude era alot of those guys made more contact and wrestled a stiffer style but it still looked fake even though half the chair shots were real back then

watch orton use a chair in the past month no contact is ever made but his opponants sure do sell it good

watch shawn michaels hit the undertaker with a chair some of those shots are real and led to backstage fights

also prowrestling is supposed to look exciteing not real when ever a prowrestling match looks boring those wrestlers failed the business

 

[Hardcore Heathen]

The power moves probably look better to you because its in HD and isn't grainy and the fact that when kicked in the face they subsequently roll around in pain until ending there roll on their back in front of the turnbuckles EVERYTIME WITHOUT FAIL! I'd say that The Camera Equipment has gotten better rather than the Realism. Like when they changed camera angle for cena when he does his leg drop and almost every other move Cena does.

 

[Mr Cold]

No...If you think WWE looks realistic then watch TNA...Then WWE will look like a cartoon when you watch it..Not saying it is realistic but it looks better..Knockouts are way better then Divas too.

 

[Slyfox696]

Wrestling as a whole is less realistic. Workers may work tighter, but the wrestling itself is ridiculous. Take, for example, everyone's favorite move a few years ago, the Canadian Destroyer by Petey Williams. How fucking awful was that move, in terms of credibility? It was completely unbelievable.

The same goes for the majority of wrestlers. They put on fake as hell looking moves which you would NEVER see in a real fight. While the piledriver may not be a realistic bar fight move, you sure as hell knew it would hurt someone if you did it. Nowadays, these guys have just completely stupid moves, that are supposed to be great because they do them with flashiness, or because they are finishers.


No, wrestling today is MUCH more unrealistic than ever before. Wrestling in the old days may not have been as snug or stiff, but it was far more realistic.

 

[RicoLen]

Definitely not. Savage's matches looked like he was going to kill his opponent. Anyone remember Savage hitting Warrior with the scepter? I expected (as a kid) to see Warriors head start gushing blood after that hit, yeah then I thought it was real, and there was a reason for that. The only thing that ever made me think otherwise back then was watching Ric Flair. Ric Flair absolutely sucked with a steel chair. He couldn't make anything he did offensively look believable when he had a steel chair. Go watch his fight with Luger in WCW on youtube, he barely touches Lugar, watch him with Savage at Summerslam 92 during Savage vs Warrior, not sure if he even connected. But you could watch Savage, Hart, Perfect, HBK, and many others wrestle, and not only would they really wrestle, you would never catch them looking out of the corner of their eye as their opponent came at them with a high impact move. Now, you watch anyone from the attitude era on and all you had to do was watch the eyes of the guy getting pummeled and you could see he was watching everything that was happening. HHH was the worst ever in that aspect, he couldn't sell s**t. Cena's no better. They get hit, stunned, they're supposed to be nursing their freshly punched gut or whatever, and instead they make it abundantly clear they're just bent over and looking out of the corner of their eyes waiting for the other guy to hit them. It's really one of my biggest pet peeves in pro-wrestling lately. Look at last Monday Night Raw. Did you see that hurricanrana Mysterio pulled on The Miz? Or any other hurricanrana performed in the last 15 years? OMG that is the stupidest looking move, I've never once seen it performed believably in pro-wrestling.

No, you might be able to make a case that it's about the same, if different than it was, but it's definitely NOT more believable now than it was.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Well, in the 80s WWF looked insanely fake because those guys were about 90% entertainer and 10% wrestler. In the attitude era there were a lot more punches and kicks because nobody on the roster was a technical wizard so I guess that's realistic. Today everything looks better when executed because they have a really deep, talented, athletic, young roster.

However, it doesn't matter. If people want to watch realistic fights they'll watch UFC. You don't make a good basketball movie by making it a 2 hour actual basketball game. Same with pro wrestilng. You need to add the theatrics and emotion otherwise it's boring.

lol "watch shawn michaels hit the undertaker with a chair some of those shots are real and led to backstage fights" uhh.....okay, pretty much all chair shots actually make contact. In fact, a TON of stuff actually makes contact. It's not designed to not hurt, it's designed to not injure. Orton actually hits people with a chair, the difference is he's not allowed to hit guys in the head (and with good reason).

None of the chair shots were "real" in the attitude era. They've always been worked. They might have sent it more and done more stupid unprotected chairshots that allow the media to destroy your product, but it's not "real".

Also, Attitude Era guys weren't "stiffer". You will only know if they were stiffer if you talk to wrestlers, otherwise you can't tell. I've always heard that Rock was incredibly loose and fun to work with. Austin a little bit more stiff. The attitude era guys did a lot less complex stuff than what's done today. I mean HHH is good but he was pushed as THE technical wrestler in the company for a while.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Definitely not. Savage's matches looked like he was going to kill his opponent. Anyone remember Savage hitting Warrior with the scepter? I expected (as a kid) to see Warriors head start gushing blood after that hit, yeah then I thought it was real, and there was a reason for that. The only thing that ever made me think otherwise back then was watching Ric Flair. Ric Flair absolutely sucked with a steel chair. He couldn't make anything he did offensively look believable when he had a steel chair. Go watch his fight with Luger in WCW on youtube, he barely touches Lugar, watch him with Savage at Summerslam 92 during Savage vs Warrior, not sure if he even connected. But you could watch Savage, Hart, Perfect, HBK, and many others wrestle, and not only would they really wrestle, you would never catch them looking out of the corner of their eye as their opponent came at them with a high impact move. Now, you watch anyone from the attitude era on and all you had to do was watch the eyes of the guy getting pummeled and you could see he was watching everything that was happening. HHH was the worst ever in that aspect, he couldn't sell s**t. Cena's no better. They get hit, stunned, they're supposed to be nursing their freshly punched gut or whatever, and instead they make it abundantly clear they're just bent over and looking out of the corner of their eyes waiting for the other guy to hit them. It's really one of my biggest pet peeves in pro-wrestling lately. Look at last Monday Night Raw. Did you see that hurricanrana Mysterio pulled on The Miz? Or any other hurricanrana performed in the last 15 years? OMG that is the stupidest looking move, I've never once seen it performed believably in pro-wrestling.

No, you might be able to make a case that it's about the same, if different than it was, but it's definitely NOT more believable now than it was.

Lol okay...savage, who else?

Second, why use chair shots as a gauge? They happen once in a while, that's so stupid. Plus the most unrealistic part of a chairshot is that the guy wouldn't stand there and feed. It has nothing to do with the guy swinging it, the most unrealistic part is standing there, hands down, feeding your head or bent over, feeding your back.

Actually you would see guys looking out the corner of their eye. Go back and watch, don't rely on your memory. Think about this too, they did stuff that was a lot less complex. If a guy botches in the 80s it basically means he misses a clothesline. If a guy botches today, he could break his neck.

As for the hurricarana, like I said, if people want to see a realistic fight, they watch UFC. Pro wrestling is about story and emotion.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I would say 80's wrestling was more realistic due to the fact that 80's wrestling had much more emphasis on wrestlers who are pretty huge in stature. It made it easier for the viewer to believe that the moves Hogan did for instance had a lot of impact due to the fact that Hogan was a pretty huge, strong guy back in the day. Compare a scoop slam by Hogan and a scoop slam by The 123 Kid and you'll get where I'm coming from. It's much more easier to believe that a 6'7'' guy like Hogan (or whatever he was) can "Hulk up" after being beaten down to a pulp and pull off an amazing feat of strength and endurance, because Hulk is a huge guy to begin with.

Plus, I remember 80's matches having finishes that we haven't seen since then. Simple, sudden finishes. One example I'll use (and this didn't happen in the 80's) was Shawn Micheals' win over Davey Boy for his Intercontinental Championship. It was simply HBK countering a move off the second rope, turning it into a cross body and pinning The Bulldog. If this happened today you know he's kicking out. Maybe even back then people knew he was going to kick out, but didn't, and while to some this might be unrealistic it is pretty realistic for me. It's unrealistic for a wrestling match by pro wrestling's fake standards and booking patterns, but I've seen MMA fighters go down for the silliest looking moves.

On the flipside, I don't think wrestling has ever been faker in 2011 with the existance of performers such as Jack Evans and any other spot sniffer on the Indy scene, Mexico or TNA. Sure, you've had guys like William Regal who make you think he's really giving the guy hell, but for the most the in-ring aspect got less realistic in my eyes because it strictly follows the idea that the match has to end after a finishing move is executed. Can you remember the last match that ended in a K.O type of situation? I don't. Rollups and cheap wins don't really count as realistic, even though it's the closest you can get to that.

I always thought that wrestlers never take enough advantage of "botched" moves or moves who really look sick to the point of where even a "smark" knows this had to hurt for real. Take Jeff Jarrett almost dropping Kurt Angle on his head at Lockdown 2011. He didn't land as bad as I thought, but the camera angle made it look sick. I for one would've been all over a finish similiar to that. Or Angle jumping off the cage and completely missing the moonsault. It gives you that sudden feeling that you get in MMA when someone gets K.O'd. The feeling of "Aw crap, he's done for!". It's sudden, you don't expect it and it keeps you on your toes.

It's not a popular thing and I highly doubt it would ever be practiced in pro wrestling because it's just a whole new animal, but I feel like the idea of the finishing move being the prime and only way to win a match is worn out.

Either way, the in-ring product in the 80's felt more real because you didn't have all the cookie cutter moves and everything. A lot of these guys were sloppy as hell by today's standards. They'd trip and wobble, hit the ropes in a weird way. Ric Flair is a guy who comes to mind. Flair does all the bumps wrong. I tend to like that for whatever reason. I don't like picture perfect stuff in pro wrestling anyway (aside from AJ Styles' work) and if you've ever seen a real fight you rarely see such perfect punches, kicks and people being so well balanced on their feet.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I would say 80's wrestling was more realistic due to the fact that 80's wrestling had much more emphasis on wrestlers who are pretty huge in stature. It made it easier for the viewer to believe that the moves Hogan did for instance had a lot of impact due to the fact that Hogan was a pretty huge, strong guy back in the day. Compare a scoop slam by Hogan and a scoop slam by The 123 Kid and you'll get where I'm coming from. It's much more easier to believe that a 6'7'' guy like Hogan (or whatever he was) can "Hulk up" after being beaten down to a pulp and pull off an amazing feat of strength and endurance, because Hulk is a huge guy to begin with.

Plus, I remember 80's matches having finishes that we haven't seen since then. Simple, sudden finishes. One example I'll use (and this didn't happen in the 80's) was Shawn Micheals' win over Davey Boy for his Intercontinental Championship. It was simply HBK countering a move off the second rope, turning it into a cross body and pinning The Bulldog. If this happened today you know he's kicking out. Maybe even back then people knew he was going to kick out, but didn't, and while to some this might be unrealistic it is pretty realistic for me. It's unrealistic for a wrestling match by pro wrestling's fake standards and booking patterns, but I've seen MMA fighters go down for the silliest looking moves.

On the flipside, I don't think wrestling has ever been faker in 2011 with the existance of performers such as Jack Evans and any other spot sniffer on the Indy scene, Mexico or TNA. Sure, you've had guys like William Regal who make you think he's really giving the guy hell, but for the most the in-ring aspect got less realistic in my eyes because it strictly follows the idea that the match has to end after a finishing move is executed. Can you remember the last match that ended in a K.O type of situation? I don't. Rollups and cheap wins don't really count.

I always thought that wrestlers never take enough advantage of "botched" moves or moves who really look sick to the point of where even a "smark" knows this had to hurt for real. Take Jeff Jarrett almost dropping Kurt Angle on his head at Lockdown 2011. He didn't land as bad as I thought, but the camera angle made it look sick. I for one would've been all over a finish similiar to that. Or Angle jumping off the cage and completely missing the moonsault. It gives you that sudden feeling that you get in MMA when someone gets K.O'd. The feeling of "Aw crap, he's done for!". It's sudden, you don't expect it and it keeps you on your toes.

It's not a popular thing and I highly doubt it would ever be practiced in pro wrestling, but I feel like the idea of the finishing move being the prime and only way to win a match is worn out.

I agree with a lot of what you say. In essense, your opinion of the Mexican and Indy guys is why the spotters will never get over in the WWE. The mainstream audience wants SOME credibility to the matches. So a spotfest wouldn't get over. It'd get over in mommas basement when a bunch of fat ROH fans squeeze up next to the computer, but it won't get over on USA.

I think selling has become less realistic (in the indies and other spotters). Just look at how Alex Shelley sold against Kendrick on iMPACT. Goofy selling, you never bought anything. In fact, pulling moves off too quickly and perfectly make it look more fake. Guys like Shelley will do incredibly complex roll ups and do them in a split second and perfectly. Sure that's cool and all, but for one, you can't actually tell what he's doing so the crowd doesn't "oooo" at it as much as they should and it looks fake. If you want to see a guy who does complex stuff AND it looks realistic AND it makes the crowd "oooo" watch Bryan Danielson in ROH.

Overall I don't think pro wrestling has ever been realistic. An irish whip into the ropes doesn't make any sense and they've been doing that forever. Think about it, I pull your arm and push your back, you're going to run, grab the top rope, pivot on your right leg, lean into the ropes (which aren't "springy" they're actually quite painful) and then run back towards me?

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I agree with a lot of what you say. In essense, your opinion of the Mexican and Indy guys is why the spotters will never get over in the WWE. The mainstream audience wants SOME credibility to the matches. So a spotfest wouldn't get over. It'd get over in mommas basement when a bunch of fat ROH fans squeeze up next to the computer, but it won't get over on USA.

I think selling has become less realistic (in the indies and other spotters). Just look at how Alex Shelley sold against Kendrick on iMPACT. Goofy selling, you never bought anything. In fact, pulling moves off too quickly and perfectly make it look more fake. Guys like Shelley will do incredibly complex roll ups and do them in a split second and perfectly. Sure that's cool and all, but for one, you can't actually tell what he's doing so the crowd doesn't "oooo" at it as much as they should and it looks fake. If you want to see a guy who does complex stuff AND it looks realistic AND it makes the crowd "oooo" watch Bryan Danielson in ROH.

Overall I don't think pro wrestling has ever been realistic. An irish whip into the ropes doesn't make any sense and they've been doing that forever. Think about it, I pull your arm and push your back, you're going to run, grab the top rope, pivot on your right leg, lean into the ropes (which aren't "springy" they're actually quite painful) and then run back towards me?

I love Shelley but his selling is all too cinematic if you will. You'll see it in a movie. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool as hell but as far as realism goes it's not there.

Selling is a good point. You know who's a great seller? HBK. To me HBK could make the fakest wrestler or fight look real. He knew how to add the cool factor so it doesn't look disturbing as hell, and also make it realistic and makes you think he got knocked out of his chaps. One match that springs to mind is again HBK vs Davey Boy in England when HBK robbed him off the European Title. One of my all time favorite matches, and damn is The British Bulldog underrated or what.

Anyway, HBK sold everything so well in that match. A lot of it looked unrealistic (especially in the beginning when The Bulldog would shove him away, Shawn would do a back flip thing and end up on his feet), but as the match went on it got more real. Shaw vs Stone cold at King of the Ring 1997 or whatever it was, was another perfect example of Shawn being excellent at selling.

The blueprint for realistic selling though HAS to be HBK vs Austin in Michaels' last match in the 90's. HBK was legit hurt, and I always thought wrestlers should pattern their selling after that match. That was real emotion, brother. Added a ton to the bout.

One guy whose selling impresses me right now is Bobby Roode and his shoulder injury. Roode's really good at it. So is Jeff Jarrett. Look up some of the stuff from last year between Double J and Sting. JJ is so good at getting beat up. That's why he's such a good heel.

I think selling is so crucial. Especially now. It can take a match to a whole new level and it's such a lost art.

 

[Wrath]

Wrestling as a whole is less realistic. Workers may work tighter, but the wrestling itself is ridiculous. Take, for example, everyone's favorite move a few years ago, the Canadian Destroyer by Petey Williams. How fucking awful was that move, in terms of credibility? It was completely unbelievable.

The same goes for the majority of wrestlers. They put on fake as hell looking moves which you would NEVER see in a real fight. While the piledriver may not be a realistic bar fight move, you sure as hell knew it would hurt someone if you did it. Nowadays, these guys have just completely stupid moves, that are supposed to be great because they do them with flashiness, or because they are finishers.


No, wrestling today is MUCH more unrealistic than ever before. Wrestling in the old days may not have been as snug or stiff, but it was far more realistic.

YES YES YES. After watching Andre vs Hogan match at WrestleMania 3 I made it more clear. I've been thinking about what today's some midcarders lack in the ring and I couldn't have figured it out until watching more stuff from 80s. Yes we love John Morrison he is entertaining and have some cool moves. What lacks is reality. It's entertaining but not realistic and can turn easily into a cliche when it's overdone. I think the matches that are called as spotfests should only be put in openings to hype the crowd up. But Hogan vs Andre match is a very great example. Does the match have great amount of atlethism ? No. Actually it's even a very slow match. Can it be called as a technical masterpiece ? No not even close. So what made this match so special. It was actually the build up the story that is told in the ring. Lets assume if Hogan was able to climb up to turnbuckle and did a shooting star press over Andre would that be realistic ? No.

Just look at what happened in the match. There are two competitors. One is a man who is the next big thing in wrestling and one is a giant who has never lost a match over 15 years. Old friends trying to tear each other up. That was the actual storyline. So Andre was the bigger man and someone who could not be put down. Hogan tried his best and only be dominated by Andre. Then Hogan gained some energy finally put Andre down with a clothesline and did the impossible by slamming Andre The Giant. There weren't flashy moves there weren't much cool spots if we don't count bodyslamming Andre but the storytelling was brilliant.

So wrestling today have more flashier moves, much more atlethism but lacks certain storytelling compared to old times.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I love Shelley but his selling is all too cinematic if you will. You'll see it in a movie. Don't get me wrong, it looks cool as hell but as far as realism goes it's not there.

Selling is a good point. You know who's a great seller? HBK. To me HBK could make the fakest wrestler or fight look real. He knew how to add the cool factor so it doesn't look disturbing as hell, and also make it realstic and make you think he got knocked out. One match that springs to mind is again HBK vs Davey Boy in England when HBK robbed him off the European Title. One of my all time favorite matches, and damn is The British Bulldog underrated or what.

Anyway, HBK sold everything so well in that match. A lot of it look unrealistic (especially in the beginning when The Bulldog would shove him away, Shawn would do a back flip thing and end up on his feet), but as the match went on it got more realistic.

The blueprint for realistic selling though HAS to be HBK vs Austin in Michaels' last match. HBK was legit hurt, and I always thought wrestlers should pattern their selling after that match. That was real emotion, brother. Added a ton to the match.

I think selling is so crucial. Especially now. It can take a match to a whole new level and it's such a lost art.

I don't even think Shelley's selling is cinematic. I think it's just awful. He stumbles and moves too quickly when selling. He never looks groggy or phased. He looks like an early arcade style video game.

As far as HBK goes, it's funny you say that, most people think he was over the top. Personally I think HBK was a top seller of all time along with Randy Savage. Sure HBK bounced all over the place, but if you go to a show, and you sit in the nosebleed seats, you'll appreciate guys who sell over the top like HBK.

I think that's the main reason WWE sends guys to FCW. A lot of guys in the indies don't sell and they don't sell big. It's totally different trying to get 500 people in a gym to believe you and 10,000 people in an arena to believe you. It's why I hate it when people do the dumb "I hope WWE doesn't ruin him and send him to FCW shit". Most indy guys' style wouldn't translate to the WWE audience directly. I think that the guys at FCW do a good job at molding the wrestlers into a style that will get over with the mainstream audience.

 

[Dude_Love87]

I agree with the above poster about wrestling taking it to another notch during the attitude era. In the 80's like you pointed out, the punches and kicks didn't look real, but honestly, any kick that looks devastating you can see the wrestler put his hand up. I don't really like to look at things in that way, because I've grown up and accepted the fact that it is staged, who cares. It's still more entertaining than MMA's 2 minute long bouts. Wrestlers like Foley, Funk, Sabu, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker took it to another level that never would have made airwaves in the 80's due to the violence. Your point is valid and true, but I wouldn't trade some of those matches in the 80's for anything.

 

[wrestlingfan]

No, WWE has not gotten realistic, until superstars started using The Social Network, no Facebook pun intended, and CM Punk's shoot promo, wrestling has just been the same.

 

[ralphie9181]

Yeah, if you want realism you need to watch UFC, which tons of people do including myself. That is my dose of combat sport.

WWE is my dose of choreographed combat entertainment type whatever you wanna call it.

Any show where you can power bomb an 89 year old woman off a stage through a table, is not realistic in any way shape or form.