When Someone Tells You Wrestling Is Fake...

[ocekit]

Forgive me if this topic has been covered before, but this has been bothering me for a while.

I was watching one of Punk's grammar videos on Youtube and in the comments section, someone denounced WWE because it is fake. Needless to say, this brought on the usual shitstorm from WWE fans, many of whom said things like, "I'd like to see you get in a ring and tell me how real it is."

"Fake" is a trigger word, and might be the worst "insult" you can post on a wrestling Youtube video. Whenever you see it, you know someone is going to jump on it, but why? Why does it bother people so much? There are even some who will insist that wrestling isn't "fake," but is "scripted," as if there is a major difference between the two. Does this come from a need for some sort of validation?

I personally have no problem with people calling professional wrestling "fake," as it is a unique medium where fictional stories are presented through simulated combat. I don't take the word "fake" as an insult towards professional wrestlers.

My questions are these:

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?

2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?

3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?

4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?

 

[MCMG]

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?

2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?

3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?

4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?

1) Not sure. They don't like the product so they want to point out its flaws or something they perceive to be a flaw.

2) Because someone is denigrating something that you love. When my friends tell me wrestling is "fake" I get pissed. It is irrational but it happens.

3) "Fake" suggests it is all make-believe and they are nothing more than actors. We know that pro wrestling is not your average TV show - these guys are incredibly well-trained athletes.

4) I usually say that I watch it, just as any other TV show, to be entertained. I don't go into details but just tell someone that I watch it for entertainment. That suffices as an answer usually.


In my experiences, people just don't get why I like it. Most of my friends find it funny that I can like pro wrestling. I have heard loads of reasons why I shouldn't, the one I never have an answer for is the classic

"Oiled up men touching each other"


I had a mate tell me wrestling is fake; I told him I watch it for entertainment purposes and he then proceeded to tell me wrestling is stupid because they try to pass it off as an actual sport. I had to change conversation topic before I superkicked the prick.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I think non-fans of Wrestling feel the need to point out that Professional Wrestling is fake, because Wrestling, itself, is a sport. Most sports, if not all, are real competition.

So many Wrestling fans take “fake” as an insult to Professional Wrestling, because “it’s still real to us, damn it!!” Yes, it’s not real competition, but the pain these athletic actors / acting athletes go through is real. It hurts to get hurt, real or fake. Point is, we believe in this form of entertainment and enjoy it all year round. With no off season, this is as real as it gets.

For some people, the automatic response to the word “fake” is pointing out how Professional Wrestlers get hurt, because, like I said, pain is real. You can’t fake pain.

When someone tells me Professional Wrestling is fake, I just say, “I don’t know if you know!! I don’t know if you care!! I don’t care if you know!! I don’t care if you care!! I love Professional Sports Wrestling Entertainment!!”

 

[J3Piecenickas]

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?
This is a great question. I just recently started having my girlfriend watch wrestling about two weeks ago so she could get an idea of what it is all about. The first words out of her mouth "this is so fake how can you watch it?" People who know nothing about wrestling are under the impression that the fans believe it is real. I explained to her that WWE is essentially a soap opera with choreographed fighting that can result in injury and does hurt. People just try to say it is garbage and that it is fake the way many people say reality tv is fake and garbage. They think we don't realize that it is fake and that we watch it for entertainment and not as a sporting event.

2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?
That one I don't understand. Wrestlers take bumps and risk injury regularly. Yet the feuds and matches are scripted. Wrestling is fake but has real consequences in terms of wrestlers' physical well being.

3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?
I think that is part of explaining what wrestling is. Yes the punches and kicks and moves don't cause significant pain but they still can get hurt. Explaining the reality of wrestling means that you explain the entire scope of wrestling and what it entails: the feuds, the promos, the matches, etc.

4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?
I tell them, yes it is. I told my girlfriend about every aspect of wrestling from matches being timed to fit programming, to the gorilla position, to writers, to scripted matches, to bookers and agents, and to the fan knowledge that wrestling is entertainment. If somebody says this, it changes their outlook on the program and makes it more accessible by being seen as a show rather than a sport.

 

[shalliin]

Forgive me if this topic has been covered before, but this has been bothering me for a while.

I was watching one of Punk's grammar videos on Youtube and in the comments section, someone denounced WWE because it is fake. Needless to say, this brought on the usual shitstorm from WWE fans, many of whom said things like, "I'd like to see you get in a ring and tell me how real it is."

"Fake" is a trigger word, and might be the worst "insult" you can post on a wrestling Youtube video. Whenever you see it, you know someone is going to jump on it, but why? Why does it bother people so much? There are even some who will insist that wrestling isn't "fake," but is "scripted," as if there is a major difference between the two. Does this come from a need for some sort of validation?

I personally have no problem with people calling professional wrestling "fake," as it is a unique medium where fictional stories are presented through simulated combat. I don't take the word "fake" as an insult towards professional wrestlers.

My questions are these:

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?

2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?

3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?

4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?

1) i feel this is a reaction to how pre internet and wwf crushing the territories very few outside the biz or their families knew that it was not an actual competition. often because of how much more often they would shoot as performers travelled from promotion to promotion and changed gimmicks to fit better in their new environments. with the more nationwide and global audience it become harder for people to change characters without seeming foolish or insulting to the fans.
ie:
baron von deusseldorph from germany wrestles in new york. he wears out after a while, moves to texas and becomes sylvester ricconi from brooklyn by way of sicily.
now, every one knows that glen jacobs is the man who played kane, diesel 2,0, isaac yankem and others.
so none fans see this and see fans enjoying the characters and don't understand that we know its scripted and planned out and are enjoying it for the athletic display and stories, the same way they and we enjoy watching any other scripted story like say a movie or a tv show. They confuse it with other so called legitimate sports like boxing or mma, because for the longest time that was how it presented itself and even though that stopped a long time ago, nonfans are still affected by that former presentation.

2)we see it as an insult because it seems to us when we are told this, that the person saying it is saying we are too stupid to know that it isn't a 'rea'l sport. as i preciously stated, they don't understand that we know this, and that we don't see it any more differently then any other entertainment, such as a movie or a tv show. what do when someone says this, is make a reference to a movie or show and ask if they know that it is fake.
ie:
'oh, watching wrestling. you know it's all fake right?'
'no, It though it was real just like when those guys in new york started that ghost hunting business, or when those astronauts died on their mission to mars. And tom cruise really is a super spy, hugh jackman can heal from anything, denise richards is a nuclear scientist and chinese people can really run on water or across the tops of trees.'
3)because we automatically need to find some way to relate to the person that while the story is scripted, the actions they perform can lead to real consequences just like other 'real' sports. That even something as enhanced as a headlock is more realistic then anything that happens in a movie or other so called 'respectable' forms of entertainment.
4)already explained above.

 

[Mac Attack]

I don't have a long winded response to you because there's nothing really much to elaborate with this topic but I'll do my best to sufficiently answer the questions.

Why the need to mention it? Because people like to think they're saying something ground breaking original. People like to know things and brag but what they don't get is wresting fans know it's all scripted. I think people who feel the need to mention this are simply undermining the intelligence of those watching it and wanting to prove a point that's already known.

Now why do wrestling fans respond so abruptly and angry to the pointing out of the obvious? Because most wrestling fans appreciate the athleticism and nature of wrestling. Nobody likes being called something they aren't saying wrestling is "fake" is totally untrue as they are really good athletes who make great performances. So in essence it goes back to people not liking the feeling of being inferior.

The automatic response is to point out injuries because it disproves it's fake. If it was fake there would be none but since there is the point becomes defunct. It's hard to argue with which is why it's a sure fire success.

I always say that it takes athletes to do what they do and you can't fake athleticism.

 

[shalliin]

I always say that it takes athletes to do what they do and you can't fake athleticism.

Sure you can, you just can't do it without stuntmen, crash pads, green screens, cgi, wires and months of training to fake a 2min sequence.

Oh, sorry, used the 'f' word.

 

[Mustang Sally]

All the drama shows filmed for TV and movies are fake, too. The police shows, westerns, romance stories, science fiction stuff....you name it. Are all the people who get shot, beaten up, robbed and sexually assaulted doing it for real? Or is it fake?

Yet, somehow, people aren't offended by all that. Instead, they tell us "Yeah, but wrestling is trying to pretend it's real"......and while that's true, aren't all the other shows pretending the same thing?

Pro wrestling is performance art, with tons of athleticism mixed in. Wrestling is more like a play on stage; if you make an error....physical or mental....it's out there for the world to see.....at least on Raw, which is produced live. The filmed, scripted shows mentioned above are all edited; what we see on our screens is the end result of multiple "takes" in which the director yells "Cut" when there's a screw-up, and they try the scene again. With wrestling, what you see is what you get.

Considered that way, which form of entertainment is more "fake?"

 

[ocekit]

Yet, somehow, people aren't offended by all that. Instead, they tell us "Yeah, but wrestling is trying to pretend it's real"......and while that's true, aren't all the other shows pretending the same thing?

Forgive me for musing out loud, here but this thought just occurred to me:

A lot of the non-fans who've started "fake" versus "real" arguments were former fans who stopped watching when they learned it wasn't real. They talk about this the same way they would talk about learning that Santa Claus wasn't real. Yet I don't see much of that when it comes to other television programming. I wonder how that plays into this whole thing.

Perhaps non-fans resent professional wrestling because it straddles the line between fiction and reality in so many ways. WWE performs in arenas and its presentation resembles that of a real sport and perhaps non-fans see these things and feel that WWE and its fans are seeking to be on the same plane as sports.

I'm okay with it being labeled "fake" because I feel it's merely a partial assessment. Large parts of professional wrestling are faked or at least unrealistic, and large parts of professional wrestling are real, so I just label it as both.

Professional wrestling: where fiction and reality combine to entertain the masses.

 

[BringThePain834]

People that say that wrestling is fake are just plain ignorant. Wrestling is not fake. It's scripted. There's a difference. These are professional entertainers and what they do is very difficult and very dangerous. People should not confuse the sport of wrestling with WWE wrestling entertainment. The key is that the entertainers seldom get cut, hurt or even bruised on purpose. If they were actually punching each other, their eyes would get black and close and they would lose their teeth. It is a show, not a sport. It's not rocket science either. Enjoy the show. It's a real show that people all over the world pay to see.

 

[Planet_Velvet]

I've been wrestling for almost nine years. The pain that I received from a sprained ankle, a torn meniscus, or a few busted lips weren't fake.. ...neither are the teeth I cracked. Some of us perceive fake as meaning we aren't tough or couldn't do anybody real harm in a fight when the opposite is true. At the same time, you have to consider who is asking the question. Who's to say they can put a decent fight themselves. I don't let it get to me because I have no problem showing anyone how fake it isn't.

 

[LascoX]

Some people just like to state the obvious. This discussion of fake verse real had much more impact back when Kefab was in effect. Ever since Vince out'ed the industry as sports entertainment its basically accepted that wrestling is a scripted event. Fan's don't like seeing something they love reduced to being "Fake" as it does take a lot of talent to get in the ring and perform. As to why people resort to citing injuries , well injuries are real. Also things like what Bret Hart stated in the past... If it looks like it hurts it probably does , and he also said, you can't fake gravity.(meaning falling hurts and that isn't fake) One of my favorites back from the Kefab era was when John Stossel got slapped down and asked " Does that feel fake?" Granted it was assault and a career killer but it was the funniest response to the fake question I had seen.
What do I say to people that say its fake , I say that yes it is. Its a choreographed athletic display with a soap opera story line that I find extremely entertaining. Its a guiltless way to satisfy bloodlust as you know the workers respect each other and are in actuality trying to protect each other while they pretend to kick the crap out of each other. Its action and comedy and just meant to be fun and entertaining. If they don't like it because its scripted that's fine but they should at least respect the talent involved to present the performance in the ring.

 

[savage29]

When someone tells me that wrestling is fake. Yes! I get kinda pissed. It's not because I think wrestling is real. It makes me mad that the person really thinks that I don't know that wrestling is Fake.

 

[Xmisto]

When I hear someone say wrestling is fake, I usually don't get as upset as some do, but usually I always tell them to go watch The Wrestler because these guys put their body's and family relationships on the line just to entertain us, whether it's to a child, a parent, grandparent, whoever.. But in my mind I just ask myself.. Do they ask themselves if dancing or what stuntmen do for movies is fake? Yeah, it's choreographed and planned, but it's as real as it gets. Those dancers, wrestlers, and stuntmen usually put their lives at risks in many different ways just to perform for everyone. So that's what I usually tell people who tell me wrestling is fake or when they ask me why I'm a fan.

 

[berlinbrawler]

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?
I think it's like with Santa Claus. Big kids feel superior by flaunting their superior insights over the naivety of the other kids. Those same kids get bigger and eventually derive a similar satisfaction from pointing out that there is no way Papa Shango really has voodoo powers that can make other wrestlers throw up green goo.


2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?
Because when people say it, they usually mean it in a derogatory way, as if wrestling fans actually aren't aware that it's a scripted show and are so dumb they're being fooled by those evil conmen. Obviously it's insulting because it insinuates you have the IQ of a boot full of mustard.


3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?
Because oftentimes those who say it's fake are dumb. They figured out that it's fake and so they assume it's all but smoke and mirrors and no one gets ever hurt at all. My oldest brother was a perfect example. He could point out any maneuver and in his 12 year old's wisdom expertly explain why it doesn't hurt at all and any idiot could do it. For example, Jimmy Snuka's big splash from the top rope doesn't hurt the least bit because the guy receiving it raised himself up the slightest bit right before impact. This somehow (magically?) rendered the fact that a 200+ beefcake just bellyflopped on top of you totally harmless.
My brother was 12 when he professed such expertise. He eventually acknowledged a couple of years later that this stuntman theatre was obviously very athletic, hurtful and dangerous. Some people never outgrow that particular branch of wisdom, though. That's why it can't hurt to point out that the only way to create the illusion of crashing through a table is by crashing through a freakin' table.


4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?I usually respond along the lines of "No kidding, genius. Next you'll tell me that we're not really living in the Matrix."

 

[Spidey Revivey]

1) Why do non-fans of wrestling feel the need to point out that professional wrestling is fake?

Stereotypes. Several people still go by the assumption that we are all a bunch of big stupid rednecks who can't figure out that that punch really hit the mat and not the other guy.

It's that desire to want to sound smart you commonly find on the internet.

2) Why do so many wrestling fans take "fake" as an insult to professional wrestling?

See above. Nobody likes to be called stupid.

3) Why is it that for some people, the automatic response to the word "fake" is pointing out how professional wrestlers get hurt?

"Fake" is the assumption that no matter what happens, everyone is walking away okay. The tables they go through aren't CGI. The ladders they fall off of weren't blue-screened and when they fall you see no cables jutting from their attire to protect them from hitting the floor. So what's fake about it?

4) What do you say when someone tells you professional wrestling is fake?

Long ago I would defend it, asking if they could name any show on television that was real. You can't. They only thing that implies realism are sports and the news, and I have my doubts on both of those.

But now, I don't care. It's like, their opinion, man.

 

[Maverick T Kenderson]

One of the best moments on wrestling was Shultz hitting that asshole reporter asking was it fake. As a fan it really annoys me because i seen Sabu taping his arm together, Foley taking ridiculous bumps and HHH and Bob Holly continuing matches with injuries most other athletes would have retired with. So yeah, I hate people calling it fake. Another thing which really annoys me is when they talk about ufc being better. Let me think....Austin Vs Bret Hart or two athletes spend 15mins trying to lock an armbar.

 

[DarrenYoungsCleanAssFro]

People say wrestling is fake because deep down they are assholes and the only joy they can derive from life is to incite anger in others. There's nothing else to it. Responding to them by trying to explain how wrestling isn't fake is only playing in to their game. The best thing you can do is ignore them or you can do what I do. When someone tells me it's fake I mock them by faking a surprised reaction. Then I inform them that my reaction was fake.