Wrestling.

[cleverlymadeup]

well since we all know it's fake, let's explain how

first off the ring has a certain amount of spring to it, this allows the wrestler to jump during certain moves to help them out, ie a suplex.

the punches aren't hard to fake and are mostly stage punches. the slaps and knife blade chops are real but really don't hurt much. the leg kicks are also real but don't hurt as much cause of padding.

as for the submission moves most of them are the non-painful version of the real one. take the sleeper hold. it is an arm around the neck and one over the back of the head, however the one around the neck has the hand grasping the forearm of the hand on the back of the hand. this won't choke you at all, for the actual choke, the hand around the neck has to be placed on the bicep of the other arm, the wrestling variation you could sit in all day without doing anything. the real form of the sleeper is called the rear naked choke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_naked_choke

i've learned a bunch of wrestling submissions cause i knew someone who did catch wrestling, the real version and they SUCK but the wrasslin versions aren't that painful

 

[Martymer]

Vince McMahon may be a jerk according to a lot of people, and I'm no fan of him myself, but he has said something very clever when asked "is wrestling real"? He said (pretty much), "Yes. It's real. Just as real as any action movie. Is it a sport? No. Are wrestlers actually fighting each other? No. Are the actors in a movie fighting each other for real? No. Does that mean the movie isn't real? Of course not."

Professional wrestling is not a sport, and it's not real fighting. It's a show, but it's a show that requires insane physical abilities, much like many circus acts. As a martial artist, I'm no stranger to getting thrown, and even after some 15 years of practice I can get hurt landing on a tatami. Every now and then, you screw up a landing. And of course, even if you land perfectly 20 times, the 20th is going to be more painful than the 1st, because you take blows to the same areas every time. Now, a wrestling ring is a lot harder than a tatami. It's a bit springy, but there's no padding. Many of the moves in wrestling, like a standing suplex (which btw is impossible to perform on someone who's not actively cooperating), also involve taking falls that are a lot worse than anything I've had to do. I'm amazed by how skilled wrestlers are when it comes to taking falls.

So... Wrestling is not "real". Nor does anyone claim it is. It's a show involving incredibly demanding physical feats, and very real danger, put on for the entertainment of the audience. If you want to see people fighting, watching wrestling will just make you shake your head and facepalm at the stupidity of it, but if you take it for what it is, it's very entertaining. At least I think so.

 

[chronobreak]

I actually have a show in a few hours here in MA, we got New Jack, Stevie Richards, Balls Mahoney, Justin Credible, and some other guys working it, hopefully it does well. I'm not a wrestler myself, but I do interviews and commentary, and work on the show we have on RTV here. It's a pretty good gig, and a lot of fun, I've gotten to meet a lot of wrestlers I grew up watching and have had intimate conversations with some on a personal level, and we keep in touch. Some guys are helpful trying to get you in the business, some aren't.

If anybody has any real questions about the business, or if there are any workers here, I'd like to talk to you, and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

As far as the whole real/fake argument, it's very tired at this point. If you are arguing that wrestling is stupid, and use the argument that it is fake as one of your points, you have lost all credibility. It's pretty common knowledge by now, especially since the birth of the internet and the un-protection of the business, that it is all scripted. That in mind, it hurts, people get injured all the time, and it is a pretty crappy life to lead. I would never want to be a wrestler, I'm happy just being a part of the business.

People will probably skim over this post, but seriously, there seems to be a lot of misinformation about the business, and I bet I could help clear some things up.

I really, really hope New Jack is in a good mood. I don't know what to think of the man, I'm just hoping he doesn't kill me.

 

[David_G]

Wrestling isn't fake, it's scripted. Of course, it's a little hard to wrap your head around it, if you aren't a fan, or even watched a show. But wrestlers are being put through hell every time they go out there, of course, it's not due to receiving a move from an opponent, well, because obviously, it's fake. But the "bumps" are what hurts, i.e falling on your back, or stuff like that. But that's just minor, what really hurts are the "gimmick matches".

Those are matches that are used to end "feuds", they are the most painful matches they have to endure, mostly because of the "bumps". Here's a good example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kgarc9LKlE
This is an example of what makes wrestling real, and what fake. Mankind (the guy with the white shirt) is obviously not a demented psychopath, and the Undertaker is not undead. But when Mankind is being thrown from the top of the cell through the announce table, it's real. When he's thrown through the cell and falls on the ring, he actually had a concussion and was out for a few minutes. Oh, and I almost forgot those thumbtacks are real and they're actually stuck in Mankind's back.
Here's an another example of a "hardcore match":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_nmBv-iHbI&feature=related
Oh, and I forgot, the blood is real, they "blade" i.e cut themselves with blades on the forehead, as it's the least painful place, and a lot of blood flows from there.

So, all in all, wrestling is scripted, the outcomes of the matches are scripted, but after that all is real.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Vince McMahon may be a jerk according to a lot of people, and I'm no fan of him myself, but he has said something very clever when asked "is wrestling real"? He said (pretty much), "Yes. It's real. Just as real as any action movie. Is it a sport? No. Are wrestlers actually fighting each other? No. Are the actors in a movie fighting each other for real? No. Does that mean the movie isn't real? Of course not."

Brett Hart said it best i think, on an interview on Off the Record, they asked him what is real and what isn't, and he responded with "well if it looks like it really hurt it probly did"

I actually have a show in a few hours here in MA, we got New Jack, Stevie Richards, Balls Mahoney, Justin Credible, and some other guys working it, hopefully it does well. I'm not a wrestler myself, but I do interviews and commentary, and work on the show we have on RTV here. It's a pretty good gig, and a lot of fun, I've gotten to meet a lot of wrestlers I grew up watching and have had intimate conversations with some on a personal level, and we keep in touch. Some guys are helpful trying to get you in the business, some aren't.

we had the Honky Tonk Man and the Iron Sheik up here recently for FanExpo, the Honky Tonk Man was a bit of a jerk, the Sheik however was really cool, he kept up his character and all that. it was great and i've heard he is actually a pretty nice guy and kinda showed it playing the part for the fans

they had Rowdy Roddy Piper there a couple years ago and he was really awesome and spent a few minutes talking to everyone and also had one of the longest lines in the place, considering the other people at FanExpo that year

If anybody has any real questions about the business, or if there are any workers here, I'd like to talk to you, and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

ok i'll bite and give you a couple

What submission moves really do hurt? i know a few don't but i'm sure a few do hurt
What's their favorite match? preferably not their own
Who has the hardest kicks?
Who do they enjoy working with the most or who did they enjoy working with the most?
What do they think of the movie The Wrestler? even tho i know some of them are in the movie
Who is their favorite wrassler, past and present?

they might not answer this one due to kayfabe but here goes

Which of their "rivals" and "nemesis" are they friends with outside of the ring?

I really, really hope New Jack is in a good mood. I don't know what to think of the man, I'm just hoping he doesn't kill me.

i think a lot of them just put on the act of being jerks and such, i think the movie the Wrestler really shows what they're like backstage and being friends and nice guys. i know i've met people who went backstage and said they were amazed to see 2 "rivals" sitting down and having lunch in the cafeteria and being all buddy buddy.

 

[Radeonx]

What submission moves really do hurt? i know a few don't but i'm sure a few do hurt

Most of them actually do hurt, but some, like the Figure 4 Leg Lock don't. Ones that I know hurt especially bad, if done right, are ankle locks (especially if you fully twist the ankle), and the Sharpshooter. The camel clutch also supposedly hurts, but I've never done it or had it tried out on me.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

What submission moves really do hurt? i know a few don't but i'm sure a few do hurt

Most of them actually do hurt, but some, like the Figure 4 Leg Lock don't. Ones that I know hurt especially bad, if done right, are ankle locks (especially if you fully twist the ankle), and the Sharpshooter. The camel clutch also supposedly hurts, but I've never done it or had it tried out on me.

actually the ankle lock doesn't the way Kurt Angle applies it is wrong. most of the submissions are applied wrong so they don't hurt, that's the point of asking which ones really do hurt

i know cause i actually learned how to do a bunch of the real submissions, one of my bjj instructors had training in catch wrestling and taught us some holds cause he thought they were fun and useful. like i know how to do the real version of the Crippler Cross Face and the version Benoit does, does not hurt at all and is rather easy to get out of

 

[chronobreak]

ok i'll bite and give you a couple

What submission moves really do hurt? i know a few don't but i'm sure a few do hurt
What's their favorite match? preferably not their own
Who has the hardest kicks?
Who do they enjoy working with the most or who did they enjoy working with the most?
What do they think of the movie The Wrestler? even tho i know some of them are in the movie
Who is their favorite wrassler, past and present?

they might not answer this one due to kayfabe but here goes

Which of their "rivals" and "nemesis" are they friends with outside of the ring?

I really, really hope New Jack is in a good mood. I don't know what to think of the man, I'm just hoping he doesn't kill me.

i think a lot of them just put on the act of being jerks and such, i think the movie the Wrestler really shows what they're like backstage and being friends and nice guys. i know i've met people who went backstage and said they were amazed to see 2 "rivals" sitting down and having lunch in the cafeteria and being all buddy buddy.

Keep in mind that I'm not a wrestler, I just do the broadcasting thing, so as far as moves go, I don't really take any bumps. I can tell you submission holds do not hurt, as they are used mainly for pacing/giving guys a little break during a match. You can't go out blowing your load with a bunch of high spots the whole match, because then you're setting an unrealistic expectation for action. I don't know who has the hardest kicks or anything.

All the old ECW guys really enjoy working with each other. It's a pretty easy pay day and you get to catch up with your buddies. A lot of them live up here in the Northeast, so they end up working together at indy shows a lot.

You don't give me any specific names, so I can't speak on anyone's behalf of who someone enjoyed working with the most, but I can speak from personal experience. Evan Bourne is a fun guy, Snitsky is one of the coolest guys I've worked with, John Cena and his Dad are amazing people as well. The list goes on, I've had mostly good experiences with the workers. As far as bad times goes, Jake The Snake was terrible, but we all know his history with demons. Samoa Joe was a pain in the ass, and I got into an argument with him, same goes with Scott Hall.

Best time I ever had was with Gorgeous George, by far. You may not remember her, she worked in WCW and I believe ECW for a while. Great girl. If I really wanted to go into stories I could tell you how I've smoked pot with half of every roster, WWE TNA and ROH, but I wouldn't name any names. A lot of the guys are just real chill.

Every wrestler loves that movie, by the way. However, most of the guys I know just like good movies, and probably would have liked it if it were about something else, but it certainly does capture the essence and nature of the industry.

Oh, and I am convinced New Jack is a crazy dude. He has killed people out of the ring, and has almost killed them inside of it. I'm not gonna get snarky with a guy with 3 justifiable homicides as a bounty hunter. I got a lot of friends there, though, so I'm sure it will be alright.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Keep in mind that I'm not a wrestler, I just do the broadcasting thing, so as far as moves go, I don't really take any bumps. I can tell you submission holds do not hurt, as they are used mainly for pacing/giving guys a little break during a match. You can't go out blowing your load with a bunch of high spots the whole match, because then you're setting an unrealistic expectation for action. I don't know who has the hardest kicks or anything.

i was going to say if you were backstage talking to them, i'm sure one or two will say something, as i've said i know how to do a few of the real versions of the subs and would like to know which ones actually do hurt

as much as i respect kayfabe it's always fun to hear the behind the scenes stuff

as for them being nice guys, it's much like the MMA guys, they look mean and tough but most are really awesome guys and fun to hang out with. granted they do have their good and bad days but so does everyone