Here are the most common things i hear from most non-fans and what i always say in response.
1. Wrestling is shit because it's not real.
I say: Yeah? And? Films aren't real but you watch those don't you? Soap operas are supposed to mirror real life events but we all know that it's fake because it's always someone getting pregnant or cheating couples or murder every other month. Yes wrestling is presented as reality but we the fans know full well that it isn't. The moves aren't done full force but you could still leave the ring at the end of the night with a broken neck. Like any other sport you can cheer your favourites and hate who ever you want to hate. If you found out that football results were made up b4 the match would you care? You the fan still don't know who's going to win, and if you don't get to see a game and heard the result, but had the chance to see how good the playing was later, would you still not watch that game?
What is the point of these stupid storylines?
I say yeah they piss me off something rotten sometimes too, othertimes they can b great to watch. Also they feel they need to justify this fight to the fans somehow. We know they don't really hate each other, but in some cases like Bret/HBK and Edge/Matt/Lita the hate is real.
Why do you watch half naked men pretending to fight?
I say Well, UFC is real but they tend to wear even less than wrestlers do and roll around on the floor on top of each other for 15 minutes yet more people watch that than wrestling. Are they all gay for watching that legitimate fight? The only difference between a boxer's attire and a wrestler's is a boxer wears shorts rather than speedos and a pair of gloves, and everyone who says that to me tends to watch boxing as well, but won't ever accept being called a *** bcoz boxers are actually punching each other.
They're pretending to get hurt
I say Tell that to Mick Foley who is missing half an ear, multiple teeth and can't remember certain parts of his career. Tell that to Stone Cold Steve Austin who broke his neck in his prime and had his wrestling career cut short dramatically. Tell that to Joey Mercury who got hit in the face with a ladder and had to leave mid match with a broken nose, blood pouring out of his face (and their was no time for him to blade) and lost 35% of his vision in one eye. All i have to show these people is Taker/Foley HIAC and say, how did he fake that? That's a 16 foot drop with no padding except the table that is basically just a jigsaw puzzle, coz when it breaks, they just glue the pieces together again. Those aren't plastic thumbtacks. Every person in that arena is sat on the same type of chair he's jus bin hit with so they know how hard it is. Those steps may not b made of steel but getting hit in a separated shoulder with them will still hurt like hell. Show them any old skool ecw match and they'll want to see more. The weapons the fansbrought weren't handed out b4 the show, that's a real cheese grater in the mans face. That's not the green, plastic garden wire you can get, that's actual barbed wire. And yes, Edge did jus dive face first into flaming wood taking Mick Foley down with him.
They're all just *****es really
See the above comment plus I sayFootballers play once every two weeks maybe and then train every other day and all they do is kick a ball. These guys work 300 days a year, use their whole bodies every night, travel the globe and are rarely able to see their families and there's no such thing as a sub bench in wrestling. And when they're not wrestling they're going to charities, supporting the US armed forces, and all the PR work is for the companies benefit and not the individuals. I can give examples of men who have been crippled in the ring e.g. Droz and guys who have been killed in the ring (not Owen Hart, but one guy died from a second concussion after taking a flapjack while wrestling the Great Kahli, and it was by no means Kahli's fault either)
Yes the trash cans are aluminium not steel. Still hurts, and the other weapons are exactly what they say they are. Yes the tables are cut in half to help them break but if you land on the metal legs like i saw Masato Tanaka do at ONS 2005 you could easily break your skull or back. Look at guys like Sabu and Tanaka who are covered in scars that are ALL FROM PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING and show me a basketball player who's been cut up as much as those guys. Yes, if someone tried to throw you to the ropes you'd stop running, and yes they do jump for suplexes and powerbombs. Fact is those guys still take the punishment of the moves, and they could still kill you or me so shut your fuckin mouth.
In real sports, most guys retire in their mid thirties, when we have people like Funk, Flair, Abdullah the Butcher, hell even Mae Young and Moolah wrestled again when they were in their 70's!
Also is regards to boxing, why would i pay £40 to watch one fight which could last 30 seconds or on the other hand last 40 minutes where all they're going to do is punch each other when i can pay half that to see a guaranteed 3 hours of wrestling on ppv with a shit load more variety, unpredicatability and hell maybe even a few laughs.
One wrestler to convince them differently? I always go with him, but Taker. Doesn't wear just speedos, takes a lot of beat downs and could blatently dish twice as much out. Wrestled the Foley HIAC with a broken foor and a fair few more of his best matches with a legitamate injury. Is in his 40's and still going strong.
All doubters can suck my ass, because with these arguments and the right matches to back it up, i've gotten quite a few people including my dad to watch wrestling on a regular basis.
Great thread by the way
