Still "Looked Down Upon?"

[TheGreatLegend]

From the beginning of the business until about 15-25 years ago, pro wrestling was a sham and the fans were the suckers gullible enough to believe it was real.

Now days the business is much more open, and current wrestlers rarely stick to kayfabe during interviews, etc. If this trend continues, the mainstream will stop feeling like someone is trying to fool them, and start appreciating the business for what it is.

As it is, I think most people now days know wrestling is predetermined, but think wrestlers are much more protected than they actually are when taking bumps. Calling wrestling fake is pretty insulting to guys who live every single day in pain.

Business being more open is what made people say its fake. Look at any interview from the 90s. Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, etc always stayed in character in any interview which made people think yeah they are really the guy we see on TV. But nowadays outside Miz,etc is a good guy and inside the WWE he is a bad guy...This is what makes people call pro-wrestling fake.

 

[Mustang Sally]

But nowadays outside Miz,etc is a good guy and inside the WWE he is a bad guy...This is what makes people call pro-wrestling fake.

That's a pretty good analogy. Pro wrestling is the form of entertainment that simulates people inflicting punishment on one another, while the "actors" are doing their best to not actually hurt their fellow actors.

For some reason, this offends a lot of people who dismiss pro wrestling as being "fake." They're untroubled by the fact that much of the stuff they do like is also fake. In police shows, westerns, action-adventure shows, the actors whom we see hurt/killed aren't really being harmed at all, are they? Why aren't people dismissive of that kind of entertainment if they're so turned off by anything "fake?"

Other folks tell us that wrestling "isn't real." Okay, so was "The Wizard of Oz" real? Didn't you enjoy it even though it wasn't? How could that be if you're the type who's completely torn apart by seeing anything "fake?"

Pro wrestling is more like a stage play than a TV show/movie because the actors have to work in front of a live audience and don't have the benefit of "takes" when something goes wrong. Plus, actors in a play on stage usually don't have to take bumps which threaten their physical well-being.

Give me pro wrestling. Yes, the punches aren't intended to really cause damage, and many moves don't look as effective as other moves, but no one works harder than wrestlers at what they do. When they do get hurt, they keep the show going because, as Gorilla Monsoon used to say: "There's no 'time out' in wrestling." (If you want an example of keeping the show going after you've been legitimately hurt, watch Randy Orton last Friday night)

What do most people want to watch on TV?.......they want to watch whatever they think everyone else is watching. In the late 90's, WWE somehow made people believe their product was "in".....and the momentum fed on itself to bring those fantastic ratings. Even though the product was also "fake" back then, people tuned in. Don't be surprised if that way of thinking someday comes back.

I'll take the "fake" entertainment, thank you.