Poll: Pro Wrestling for Non-Fans

[SadakoMoose]

When I was younger, I used to watch WWE quite a bit. Then I just stopped because it was getting more and more fucking stupid (Spirit Squad? Pathetic bullshit). However, I do like to watch old ECW every now and again. I've got a handful of old DVD's of PPV's and shit. I find ECW, especially in the 99/2000 years quite entertaining (in particular, I remember Mike Awesome and Kid Kash being my favourites). That's really about it.

If you like ECW, you might like FMW. Mike Awesome had a run there, feuding with Hayabusa once.
Earlier in the thread, I re-posted a link to Dreamer VS CW Anderson.

 

[SadakoMoose]

If by Pro-Wrestling you mean the fake choreographed kind, then no.

Ok, I think that my last post was lost somehow, but here it is again. I hope this isn't a double post:
That's the only kind of pro wrestling I know about.
Unless you mean shootfighting:

 

[SadakoMoose]

A VERY interesting POV documentary form the BBC about pro wrestler Robby Brookside.
A time capsule!

 

[kouriichi]

My answer? Meh. I couldnt like or dislike it. I watched a little when i was a kid because of how badass the undertaker was, but that was about it. I still rent a wrestling game every few years to see how they play, and its usually a decent time.

 

[SadakoMoose]

If by Pro-Wrestling you mean the fake choreographed kind, then no.

Ok, I think that my last post was lost somehow, but here it is again. I hope this isn't a double post:
That's the only kind of pro wrestling I know about.
Unless you mean shootfighting:

You've never heard of the actual sport Wrestling? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling

Ok, we can argue semantics for days, but you said PRO wrestling and that automatically refers to the kind I'm talking about. The "Pro" prefix changes everything.

 

[AgentCooper]

I've been watching wrestling since I was ten and started with WCW and ECW. Then I moved into the WWE Wrestling during the Attitude Era. I quit watching during Vince Russo's WCW 2000 Era. I started to watch again around 2003 and keep up with it pretty religiously.

 

[SadakoMoose]

If by Pro-Wrestling you mean the fake choreographed kind, then no.

Ok, I think that my last post was lost somehow, but here it is again. I hope this isn't a double post:
That's the only kind of pro wrestling I know about.
Unless you mean shootfighting:

You've never heard of the actual sport Wrestling? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling

Ok, we can argue semantics for days, but you said PRO wrestling and that automatically refers to the kind I'm talking about. The "Pro" prefix changes everything.

Pro just means paid, and some REAL wrestlers are paid.

And yet the google results page for pro wrestling lists nothing but "pro wrestling".
I know what you mean, but for example:
Guys like Bruce Baumgartner and Jon Trenge probably make money from instructing people in Greco-Roman/Folkstyle at their camps. Thereby we COULD call them professional wrestlers. Many MMA fighters from North America have at least some high school or collegiate level wrestling experience, which they utilize as a part of their profession, which often entails some deal of grappling. Thereby, you could also call them professional wrestlers. But if you tried to do that in conversation, people might look at you confusedly and ask if you were talking about "that WWE stuff". Colloquially speaking, professional or pro wrestling refers exclusively to staged/worked/exhibition/entertainment wrestling.
It'd be like if you asked somebody if they were gay.
You could MEAN that you were asking them if they were happy, but that's not what anybody would take from it.

 

[manic_depressive13]

I saw a wrestling match once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch incredibly ugly men acting stereotypically macho in their underwear as they feel each other up, while female models parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is a very low quality acrobatics act.

 

[SadakoMoose]

I saw a wrestling match once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch incredibly ugly men acting stereotypically macho in their underwear as they feel each other up, while female models parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is a very low quality acrobatics act.

Because none of the videos that I've posted in the thread so far have anything really like that in them.
Maybe the acrobatics bit...

 

[piinyouri]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

 

[DracoSuave]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

I saw a wrestling match once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch incredibly ugly men acting stereotypically macho in their underwear as they feel each other up, while female models parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is a very low quality acrobatics act.

I saw a Shakespeare play once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch ugly men in tights acting stereotypically hammy with their Middle english as they make what I assume are poop jokes, while females in bodices parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is an excuse to say old words in iambic pentameter.

Ok, we can argue semantics for days, but you said PRO wrestling and that automatically refers to the kind I'm talking about. The "Pro" prefix changes everything.

Pro just means paid, and some REAL wrestlers are paid.

Arguing semantics when a pair of words have had a set connotation in the english language for decades is foolish. Pro Wrestling refers to WWE and TNA and all that. It doesn't-and has never-referred to anything else, including Greco-Roman, Sumo, Juijitsu, MMA, or any other athletic sport which can be referred to as wrestling, and may involve being paid.

 

[piinyouri]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

The only problem I've had with people saying the combat was fake is, it's not. Well not entirely.

Obviously they are not really rearing back and slugging each other (Unless you're Big Van Vader), but they do get hurt. They do enough to make it seem authentic, to sell the match. This can vary from wrestler to wrestler. Some are very light fighters/performers, others feel an obligation to put on a good show and thus, do not pull their strikes as much.
As far as weapons go, that's just cut and dry. They get hit with chairs. In the head. There is no 'safe' way to do that.
People ask why they would do that to themselves and to me, it's kind of similiar to the three stooges. Before they got on television, they would perform on stage and sometimes in big halls and the like. To really make the audience laugh and get into it, they would wallop the hell out of each other. Really lay into one another sometimes. I honestly feel like that's the case with wrestlers. They want to be good entertainers first. They want to ut o a good show. And some of them end up sacraficing thier bodies for it.


..dear me, I waffled up a storm.
I don't really know where I'm going with this soooooooooooooooo..
*goes back to eating bbq tacos*

 

[SadakoMoose]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

I saw a wrestling match once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch incredibly ugly men acting stereotypically macho in their underwear as they feel each other up, while female models parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is a very low quality acrobatics act.

I saw a Shakespeare play once. I want you to tell me why I would want to watch ugly men in tights acting stereotypically hammy with their Middle english as they make what I assume are poop jokes, while females in bodices parade around them, all amounting to what at the end of the day is an excuse to say old words in iambic pentameter.

I felt the exact same way about Taming of the Shrew.
It was a bad romcom when it came out, and it still is!
Worse yet, the version I saw had MODERN costumes and MUSIC!
California Gurlz made it even worse!

 

[Trippy Turtle]

How did you get into wrestling? I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't 2 hours of them insulting each other at the start. I've probably got the wrong wrestling though.

 

[DracoSuave]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

The only problem I've had with people saying the combat was fake is, it's not. Well not entirely.

It's fiction, in the same way that what stuntmen do is fiction.

It's dangerous, but the only thing real IS the danger. They aren't actually fighting--that's fiction.


That's probably a better word for it. What they do is a form of fiction.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

I used to like WWF when i was a child but it was always a bit lame. Then many years later i got into TNA for a while but it turned into bullshit over wrestling which annoyed the hell out of me. Nowadays i just watch ROH occasionally but haven't seen any for quite a while.

Why do good wrestling companies always end up turning into boring soap operas?

 

[piinyouri]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

The only problem I've had with people saying the combat was fake is, it's not. Well not entirely.

It's fiction, in the same way that what stuntmen do is fiction.

It's dangerous, but the only thing real IS the danger. They aren't actually fighting--that's fiction.


That's probably a better word for it. What they do is a form of fiction.

I can agree with that.

The focus for me isn't on the violence anyway(Unless you're an ECW fan), but rather the stories, characters, and athletic and technical prowess of the wrestlers themselves.

I love watching Daniel Bryan work. Just...damn.
Not a fan of his new heel gimmick though.

 

[SadakoMoose]

How did you get into wrestling? I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't 2 hours of them insulting each other at the start. I've probably got the wrong wrestling though.

Well if you watch any of the videos I've posted on pages 1-2, then you'll find that you've both got the right and wrong kind of wrestling.
On one hand, yes we are talking about pro wrestling.
But also, it's a LOT more than talking.
Anyway:
During the late 90's, one of the biggest periods in pro wrestling history, I actually couldn't stand the stuff. Why? I had never actually watched it, and the only exposure I had received was through the mean kids at school that used to pick on me, all of whom loved it. This was how I felt until around age 13 when, while flipping through the channels trying to get to sleep, I saw a short but very surprising march between Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal. It blew my mind! Up until then I had roughly the same ideas about pro wrestling. I never knew how exciting it could be to watch! Honestly, if it had been all insults and posturing followed by weak action, I'd have never watched. Shortly after, I discovered more good stuff online, specifically I discovered a long standing connection between pro wrestling and anime. The man in the video below is Tiger Mask. His gimmick comes from a manga. There's also Jushin Liger, yet another wrestler that now overshadows the anime that he's based on. Oh, and Kinnikuman is ok too.
Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid, the match that made pro wrestling my favorite thing in the world.
And it just went from there.

 

[DracoSuave]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

The only problem I've had with people saying the combat was fake is, it's not. Well not entirely.

It's fiction, in the same way that what stuntmen do is fiction.

It's dangerous, but the only thing real IS the danger. They aren't actually fighting--that's fiction.


That's probably a better word for it. What they do is a form of fiction.

I can agree with that.

The focus for me isn't on the violence anyway(Unless you're an ECW fan), but rather the stories, characters, and athletic and technical prowess of the wrestlers themselves.

I love watching Daniel Bryan work. Just...damn.
Not a fan of his new heel gimmick though.

Pfff.

I'm a Canadian. You give a good worker a heel gimmick and we'll mark no matter what. We're odd that way.

Either that or be William Regal. No matter how bastardly that guy got or insulting or asshattish we just ended up loving him more.

Yeah. We're bizarro land.

 

[SadakoMoose]

Fun fact:
People who claim wrestling is fake are wrong.
People who claim it's real are also wrong.

It occupies some very strange island between the two that even after all these years I don't know what to label it with.

It's a form of storytelling that uses live displays of physical athleticism in mockcombat as the medium for the narrative.

As for how to deal with the 'you know it's fake' crowd:

'Did you like the Avengers?'
'Yes.'
'You know it's fake right, superheroes don't actually exist and there was no actual fight between Loki+alien allies vs various assorted ubermensch?'
'Of course, that'd be stupid.'
'So what's the difference, fundamentally?'

Wrestling is low-brow dangerballet.

The only problem I've had with people saying the combat was fake is, it's not. Well not entirely.

It's fiction, in the same way that what stuntmen do is fiction.

It's dangerous, but the only thing real IS the danger. They aren't actually fighting--that's fiction.


That's probably a better word for it. What they do is a form of fiction.

I can agree with that.

The focus for me isn't on the violence anyway(Unless you're an ECW fan), but rather the stories, characters, and athletic and technical prowess of the wrestlers themselves.

I love watching Daniel Bryan work. Just...damn.
Not a fan of his new heel gimmick though.

Pfff.

I'm a Canadian. You give a good worker a heel gimmick and we'll mark no matter what. We're odd that way.

Either that or be William Regal. No matter how bastardly that guy got or insulting or asshattish we just ended up loving him more.

Yeah. We're bizarro land.

There are so many ways to work with that.
How about a heel whose gimmick is that he hates wrestling, and is only in for the fame. So he never does good technical wrestling and relies entirely on cheating and uses the fact that he makes more money for doing less to get away with it.
It'd be like a cruel parody of the Rock, but played straight!
captcha: Carry On
Oh god, I just watched the second part of the Art Wrestling interview with Regal...