Professional Wrestling is Fake???

Well ... there may be a variety of choreographed moves, and the pulling of punches and certain safety concerns are usually observed, but why there are there so many injurys if it is fake?

We could say the same of martial arts, it too is fake, isn't it?

How about comparing the many moves and techniques of Professional wrestling to the many simular techniques of Martial arts?

[Zoli Elo]

Originally posted by bruceb
Well ... there may be a variety of choreographed moves, and the pulling of punches and certain safety concerns are usually observed, but why there are there so many injurys if it is fake?

We could say the same of martial arts, it too is fake, isn't it?

How about comparing the many moves and techniques of Professional wrestling to the many simular techniques of Martial arts?

There are so many injuries because their “ukemi” is not always perfect - they are just human beings after all. Anyone that has trained for days on end can attest to a bump here and nick there adding up.

I do not know if I can conclude that the martial arts are fake too - it is not a forgone correlation. I see what you mean but my gut is telling me, “nay.”

There are some similarities... I hate to say it but all that professional wrestling is, is a dance... It is not a coincidence that more then a few people have seen a dance in aikido, judo, and karate.

Zoli Elo

[Vapour]

There are few fatalities in women's professional wrestling in Japan.

Funny thing is that women's version are more hard core in Japan. They do move which make you go WTF.

Originally posted by bruceb
Well ... there may be a variety of choreographed moves, and the pulling of punches and certain safety concerns are usually observed, but why there are there so many injurys if it is fake?

Good point Bruce... I know a lot of people that say "Eh the stuff they do in the WWF doesn't hurt cause they know how to land blah blah" What happens, on the odd occasion, when they don't land like they should? Surely that must hurt? A sport's / MA’s authenticity shouldn't be measured based on the amount of injuries its participants sustain.

It is fake to the extent:

1.) Who wins and who looses is already decided beforehand.
2.) A lot of the moves are pre-arranged or agreed upon during the match.
The Referee is in on it too and tells them what move, etc to do.
3.) All the squabbles and many of those backstage fight are totally fake.
Ever noticed how those cameras are always handy?

Yes, accidents to happen and at times tempers do flare a bit and things get a bit out of hand.
Either way those guys are some good athletes, that perform some hardcore stunts.

My Gung Fu teacher sparred the WWF wrestlers of the 80s such as Bob Backlund, Killer Kahn, Ivan Putski, George The Animal Steele and the late, great Andre The Giant. He met them at Gleasons gym in Brooklyn. He said they were immensely powerful, stronger then anyone he ever met. They trained a lot of wrestling, not just "glitzy" stuff. From his impressions, those guys are no joke. They could crush most martial artists with their size and power.

A slightly interesting point to note is that my teacher complimented them about their power to their manager at the time, "Johnny Ross" (unsure of the name). Ross went onto say they weren't the strongest/toughest guys out there. He said that when the WWF went to Japan and trained at the Sumo camps, they were floored by the Sumos strength, toughness, and stamina.

[Dex]

That's funny, I thought they were a bunch of steroid using no-hopers who couldn't get a real job.

As for the injuries...the audience needs its blood.

I started pro-wrestling in 1999. In 2001 I was a trainer. When the company I was with would hold tryouts, we'd usually get about 20 guys/gals show up. All types, out of shape fat guys who only thought it took being big, bodybuilders, martial artists, college wrestlers, backyard wrestlers and fanboys.
We ended the tryout with a powerbomb. No one was ever cut, we didn't have to. For the first actual class, two or three people would show back up for class. Out of those, one made it all the way through training to their first show. Half the time, they didn't come back for a second show.
I have never done anything as physically/spiritually demanding as prowrestling. Physically in that it hurts and it's tiring, and sometimes people in the crowd don't realize it's a show and take it persoanlly and they throw things at you, attack you in the aisle. Spiritually in that you have to get back up, no matter how badly it hurts, no matter how tired you are. The crowd has paid money to see you perform. If you don't put on a good show the promoter won't pay you, so you have to get up and work. There is no off season, there is now down time. No vacation, no sick leave. If you don't wrestle, you don't get paid.
It is a lot like martial arts. Force of will is the most important aspect. If you want to do it bad enough, you will. A good school will teach you everything else.

Also remember that some great martial artists/mma fighters are/were prowrestlers. "Judo" Gene Lebell, Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott, Rob Van Damm, Tito Ortiz is about to try it, Dan Severn, Jerry Flynn, and that is just off the top of my head.

[stanley neptune]

Pro wrestling is not real!!!! Yeah right! Next thing you'll be telling us is there is no Santa Claus!!

Stanley Neptune

Yeah, if I hadn't been in my fortys when Vince McMahon offered me a job, at the bottom setting up the ring learning the business, I might have just taken it ... but with a family on the rocks ... bills falling behind, ya just gotta do what you gotta do. No wresting for this old gorilla.

I still get a kick out of seeing the young guys working in many of the techniques of martial arts practice, especially when it is a variation on something we were doing that same week.

Fake huh? Well get out of your armchairs, turn off those televisions, and go train for a couple of hours.

My favorite time is when tempers really get out of control and the script is thrown out the window ..... Zebra's, trainers, support staff all run down to the ring .... now that is entertainment.

[Senjojutsu]

I have never done anything as physically/spiritually demanding as prowrestling

Peter H,

A good post about the physical demands needed to make it in the world of professional "rassling".

It's not that the muscles, injuries and athletic stamina are fake - it's just the contest that is.

Maybe you can confirm this urban legend I heard about the WWF - because it was the WWF that had to come clean a couple of decades ago on this very issue.

==================

Years ago the New Jersey Athletic Commission was putting the squeeze on the WWF and Vince McMahon.

They claimed, if you are a "legitimate" professional sport like boxing matches, all your WWF matches must be sanctioned by our state commission - and therefore you must pay all "the fees" we money-grubbing political hacks demand.

Vince McMahon being a business man first, said screw you guys!
We are not a real SPORT, the WWF is "SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT" not needing your sanctioning, and thus his empire continued to grow.

It's true. He called professional wrestling a "sporting exhibition" to avoid the licensing fees and such. The phrase "Sports Entertainment" is his copyright and came later to describe his brand of prowrestling as opposed to Ted Turner's WCW brand which still marketed itself as traditional prowrestling

[Vapour]

Originally posted by Guts

A slightly interesting point to note is that my teacher complimented them about their power to their manager at the time, "Johnny Ross" (unsure of the name). Ross went onto say they weren't the strongest/toughest guys out there. He said that when the WWF went to Japan and trained at the Sumo camps, they were floored by the Sumos strength, toughness, and stamina.

It's probably true. I once met this judo instructor from Algentina who teach judo and sumo. He said he introduce judo to his student first because if he introduce sumo first, no one can keep it up because sumo is too hard. He say distance is the key. In judo, you can keep your opponent away so you can rest here and there. In sumo, there is no such thing. Probably similar to wrestling but in wrestling, you can go to floor and that is not as demanding as standup wrestling. In sumo, you have to be standing up so you have gravity to cope with all the time.

[joe yang]

Pro wrestsing is real, Jerry Springer is staged.

Say it ain't so, JOE! Jerry Springer a fake!

NOOOOOO!!!!


Fact is, I can't stand to watch or be in the room when that show is on the television. What ya gonna do? My kids like the action, even if it is staged.