Our opinion's: Do you think wrestling should be considered a sport, or Entertainment

[dwith73]

I think this would be a great thread for people to really express how they see Wrestling from WWE, TNA or any other level.

As I mentioned in another thread is I myself Consider WWE, and TNA a wrestling show with entertainment. NOT a entertainment show with some Wrestling.
I think this could be a fun thread, reading peoples idea's as they see their favorite show's.

 

[Rated_R_Superstar2010]

this might be the easy answer but to me its both. its a sport because they are out there competing, throwing eachother around. you have to be atleast somewhat athletic to be a good wrestler and people can really get hurt. its not a sport if there is not some risk involved. but since everything is scripted its not a true sport. its entertainment aswell.

however it should always be about the wrestling before the entertainment.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

It's called Sports Entertainment for a reason, it's both. If I had to choose between the two I would go with Entertainment, it's kind of like an action movie, it's scripted and takes good physical conditioning to do the things you have to do to make it entertaining. So I would go with Entertainment over Sport.

 

[Kashagi]

Although not everyone will agree to this, in my eyes it isnt a sport if it isnt competitive. Professional wrestling was once somewhat competitive in regards to the occassional shoots. Those days are long gone however and while with so much respect to all partakers of Professional wrestling, I cannot call it a sport.

Wrestling is like a form of stage theatre, or a glorified soap opera. While the performances involved are much more exhausting then most, as well as requiring great physical ability. Because the matches have a scripted ending, there is no competition and I can only consider it an entertainment.

 

[Jakeisgod13]

IMO, it is technically considered as a sport, with some entertainment attached to it. They have more wrestling than entertainment, although I do see where the whole soap-opera thing comes in at. But, it would definately absolutely in my books be considered wrestling.

 

[Davi323]

How can this be considered anything but entertainment? Sports require actual competition, where people go against each other in legitimate, non booked events. Pro Wrestling is like the Harlem Globetrotters. It resembles sport, but, it isn't sport. Its an exhibition. Certainly, pro wrestlers are athletes. But, you can be athletic without participating in any actual "sports". Professional wrestling was sport a hundred years ago maybe, but as soon as the first booker scripted the first pre-planned outcome, it stopped being sport, and started to be entertainment.

 

[Ferbian]

Good question.

I guess you could really lean to both things, seeing as it requires an okay amount of stamina and athleticism (*cough* there are excuses.. Big show *cough*) and you're definitely moving around a lot here and there, so it requires a certain ability to be able to put on a match that makes it seem legitimate without actually being legitimate in the way that you're gonna get your back screwed up because someone just used a suplex on you on the entrance ramp (because let's be real that's probably the place it's gonna hurt the most)

That's the sport part of it really, but of course there's entertainment in it, and that's what a part of the sport thing plays into, seeing as you go out there and put on a scripted fight with moves that are designed to look real but not do the physical amount of damage a mark would expect the wrestler to endure, they put on those fights for the sake of entertaining the crowd, telling a story as they seem to have put it so popularly, and most importantly, give the crowd something to talk about and earn a paycheck through putting on a show that the crowd is willing to pay for.

Really it's hard to argue whether it's entertainment or it's sports, and yes a lot of people could argue "oh but why should it be considered a sport? sport is real!" so? their athletes (for the most of it) or trained to compete in a match style just a little bit more flashy and more scripted as opposed to amateur wrestling, which is really a true sport.

So I'm not gonna choose between either, I'm just gonna put it the Vince way, Sports entertainment.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that Sports Entertainment is actually the right label for professional wrestling. I can't think of professional wrestling as being fully a sport because the outcomes of each contest are scripted and predetermined. The competition that takes place during the matches is an exhibition of physical prowess and capability that tells the audience something of a story while watching it.

Professional wrestling in a company as large as the WWE is about presentation, ceremony, stories, characters, drama and wrestling matches. There has to be something beyond the matches themselves to get an audience interested. In boxing or MMA, personality and charisma don't necessarily mean squat. All that matters is if you're able to win or lose. Boxing and MMA are almost strictly around competition because the competition actually exists since the match outcomes aren't predetermined and the violence inflicted in these matches is designed to hurt or even potentially cripple your opponent so you can win the match.

When it comes to wrestling violence, it's over the top and looks like something you'd see in some movies. Fighting and violence in general often look more compelling in movies than they do in real life. I've seen martial arts movies in which these spectacular jumps and kicks are showcased or where the fighters stand there and just trade roundhouse kicks to the ribs to see who gives first. In a real fight, such scenes are not very realistic. I've yet to see a fight in real life that looks like a Bruce Lee fight scene. It's the same in wrestling as wrestlers throw punches that look as though they're knockout punches, throws, kicks, high risk moves, etc. that all look good and can hurt in some instances. But the purpose is to put on a show rather than hurt yourself or your opponent intentionally.

The audience knows that pro wrestling is "fake". They also know that wrestlers do really get hurt sometimes doing what they do. We all know about many of the wrestling tragedies that have lead to premature deaths. Most fans accept and appreciate the risks that professional wrestlers take. Suspension of disbelief is crucial to enjoying pro wrestling, an action film, a sci-fi film, fantasy film or whatever. You know it's not "real", but it's fun to watch anyhow.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I'm not sure how you can view it as anything but entertainment. It's not a sport. It's not a REAL competition. It's scripted. The winner is picked in advance. In sports, you have a REAL competition, no matter the sport. Sports entertainment is an entirely different deal. IMO, when the winner is decided before the event even begins, it cannot be considered a legitimate sport. I respect your opinion, I just cannot possibly disagree with you anymore than I do on this particular subject.

Wrestling is a sport. PRO wrestling is not. I agree that pro wrestling should be considered wrestling along with some entertainment. But this isn't REAL wrestling. It's a stunt show. It takes one hell of an athlete to pull most of this stuff off, but just because it contains athletes, that doesn't mean it's a real sport.

 

[Chill]

I believe professional wrestling should be considered as entertainment, rather than a sport. Sport is not pre-determined or scripted but pro wrestling is, so how can it be considered a sport in the true sense of the word? Answer, it can't be and there's nothing wrong with that and certainly that is something the WWE no longer tries to hide. Vince recognized years ago that there was only so long WWE could keep trying to convince people that what they were seeing was 'real', and the shift in this attitude can be seen more clearly today as WWE freely admits that it is 'sports entertainment'.

Certainly the once heavily adheard to kayfabe is not what it once was, in fact it is often broken for comedic/entertainment purposes as often utilized by Triple H for example. While it is true that pro-wrestling requires a certain amount of athleticism and skill, I prefer to refer to it as a type of perfromance art that draws upon elements of the actual sport of wrestling and blends it with theatrics. Quite frankly, people who refer to pro wrestling as a sport come across quite naive...the sooner people accept the fact that all pro wrestling is a work, the more serious wrestling fans will be taken by non fans.

 

[Wrath]

I want to look at this thread from two perspectives. First is technically second is personally.

From wikipedia page it says that "A sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. It is governed by a set of rules or customs. In a sport the key factors are the physical capabilities and skills of the competitor when determining the outcome (winning or losing)." Since the outcome of the matches are determined by bookers pro wrestling cannot be considered as a sport. Because in pro wrestling as long as you're booked to win your skills do not matter. So technically speaking pro wrestling cannot be considered as a sport.

So does it mean that pro wrestling is not a sport. If you ask my opinion I have to disagree with you. Yes outcome of the matches are predetermined and everything is scripted and yes I agree that it cannot be considered a sport but some of you are missing a point. In pro wrestling you have to work as hard as a normal sportsman. You have to keep your weight, travel all around the world, train really hard etc. In pro wrestling moves may be fake but even in a little botch your opponent may be killed. If you call pro wrestlers only entertainers it would be a huge disrespect for them. They work as hard as a boxer or a football player. For me pro wrestling cannot also be considered as entertainment.

I think WWE describes it the best... Sports entertainment. It means that it's the entertainment form of sport. So yes calling wrestling a real sport is stupid because it's not but in wrestling it has lot of factors that other sports also have so calling it only entertainment would also be wrong. For me pro wrestling is the entertainment form of normal wrestling. It has still sport factors in it but the main purpose is to entertain people. It's not a sport it's not an entertainment show it's sports entertainment.

 

[Davi323]

I think of it like the Harlem Globetrotters. Its an exhibition of sports-like activity by athletes, without truly being sport. I think the Globetrotters should be considered sports-entertainment too...I think the term Vince McMahon came up with is just about perfect. What the Globetrotters do, resembles basketball. But is it really, truly, a sport? No, and for the same reasons Pro Wrestling is not really a sport. The "basketball" players on the Globetrotters are no doubt athletes. But, like Pro Wrestling, the outcome is pre-determined. You go to see them for the antics, the tricks, etc, not to see an actual basketball game. Its an entertainment show taking the form of an athletic contest.

Exactly like wrestling. Entertainment, taking the form of an athletic contest.

 

[Arkham Noir]

I think of it like the Harlem Globetrotters. Its an exhibition of sports-like activity by athletes, without truly being sport. I think the Globetrotters should be considered sports-entertainment too...I think the term Vince McMahon came up with is just about perfect. What the Globetrotters do, resembles basketball. But is it really, truly, a sport? No, and for the same reasons Pro Wrestling is not really a sport. The "basketball" players on the Globetrotters are no doubt athletes. But, like Pro Wrestling, the outcome is pre-determined. You go to see them for the antics, the tricks, etc, not to see an actual basketball game. Its an entertainment show taking the form of an athletic contest.

Exactly like wrestling. Entertainment, taking the form of an athletic contest.

that's a good comparison.

I was going to compare it to dancing. Not ball room dancing but more like a Hip-Hop dancing routine. Everything done is a choreographed move and the people performing them I have spent years training and practising them. Does that make what they are doing fake? God no. The people executing them are still tremendous athletes and the moves they do are mind boggling at times.

I don't think it should be defined as a sport or enterainment, but as both. The are competing in very physical competitions but they are doing it for the enjoyment of the crowd. With that said, I think that certain wrestling promotions tend to lean to one side more than the other. WWE is as far from "sport" as a wrestling company can be and focuses very much on enteratinment. Almost to the point where I do consider them enterainment opposed to a mix. Where as Ring Of Honor is much more sport and competitve feeling.

It really depends on the promotion.

 

[Megatron]

Wrestling is entertainment. A sport isn't predetermined, but any professional wrestling company has some sort of outcome determined beforehand. While what some of the things these guys do is incredibly athletic and talented, that doesn't not change the fact that it is for your entertainment. Predetermined = entertainment.