Whadya mean it's fake? (Wrestling in General)

Member Name: star500

Product:	Wrestling in General
Date:	15/05/01 (440 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious , Best soap opera on TV

Disadvantages: It's not all real but who cares

Ever fancied getting hit over the head with a chair?
Perhaps you'd rather be thrown through a wooden table.
Or maybe you'd just like to tumble fifteen feet from the top of a steel cage.

If this is your kind of thing then perhaps you should consider taking up professional wrestling, or at least watch a few WWE programmes shown regularly on Sky One and Sky Sports.

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Wrestling is quite a controversial topic even here on the pages of our very own dooyoo. It seems that people either can't stand to see, hear or read about it or they love it so much that they never miss an episode of Raw, know all of the current storylines and feuds and are clued up on the latest rumours.

As for me, well, I'm one of those "secret" fans - the ones who pretend that they know nothing about it but in actual fact could recite the entry order for the last Royal Rumble, give a year by year account of each Wrestlemania and definitely know what The Rock is cooking. These type of fans usually have a sibling who is a big wrestling fan and this provides the secret fan's cover as they aren't really watching it - no, they are reading the newspaper/doing paperwork/ironing*

[* Delete as appropriate]

However my cover was blown here on dooyoo when I wrote a review of a book penned by Mick Foley (Have A Nice Day) and received some congratulatory emails along the lines of: "Whaddya mean you're a girl that likes wrestling" and "I didn't know you wrestling fans could read". But my favourite had to be: "How come I've never noticed your name around the wrestling reviews in dooyoo. Too scared to post or comment???"

Well, in response to that challenge, I have entered the dooyoo realm of wrestling and here is my very first (and possibly my only) opinion about the world of the WWE. Be warned that it may not be altogether very serious, some die-hard fans m
ay take offence, and remember it is from a female viewpoint so don't expect me to be kind. Oh yeah, and it is a bit long too!

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I suspect that those of you who are still reading and haven't automatically reached for the Not Useful button are interested in wrestling to some degree. Either that or you are one of my dooyooing circle of friends who can't understand how I'd be willing to ruin my reputation by writing about a topic such as this. Whoever you are, let me introduce you to the joy that is professional wrestling taken from my unique viewpoint.

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So just what exactly is it that makes wrestling so appealing?

Possible reasons:

~ Muscley, half naked men in tight shorts: Hmm, have to say that they aren't really my type and very few can be classed as drop dead gorgeous (unfortunately) although their acting can be quite funny at times.

~ Not so muscley, half naked women in short skirts: Again, not something I would go for but I believe many male viewers are fans of the Divas.

~ Lessons on self defence: This is more like it. After watching a few episodes of Raw and Smackdown, I now know about cheap shots, knees in the bread basket and submission holds. I feel safe to walk the streets at night knowing if someone tries to attack me then I'll just pick up my trusty, steel chair and whack them over the head with it.

~ Lingo: If you ever want to go to the USA on holiday, you need to be able to speak the language and it's amazing how phrases such as "Hell Yeah" can be worked into everyday conversations. Only last week I told my boss that I was the American Badass who was going to lay the smack down on the rest of the staff. I did get fired, right enough, but I'll keep on rollin' until it's time to play the game - in the interest of fairness.

~ The joy of the sport: Sorry but if you are a fan of technical w
restling and enjoy watching amateur bouts at the Olympics then perhaps WWE is not not for you. If, however, you like a good brawl, enjoy seeing the odd table getting demolished and have an unhealthy obsession with steel chairs - then tune in now!

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Okay, so perhaps that was not altogether very serious but I think that the point which many people miss is that wrestling is not supposed to be taken serious. It is Sports Entertainment rather than a Sport and, despite what some may think, the fans do know that the majority of it is fake. I say the majority because I can't understand how tumbling fifteen feet from a steel cage and smashing through a table isn't real or having someone pummel you with a chair that leaves welts across your back isn't sore.

Nevertheless, most fans believe what they want to and the majority are as interested in the storylines surrounding the matches, rather than the in-ring action itself. The WWE employs writers to come up with new and interesting storylines each week in the same way that a soap opera such as Eastenders or Coronation Street would, except with liberal does of "attitude".

Whatever you may think about it, wrestling is big business and it is not unusual to see people walking down the road wearing an Austin 3:16 t-shirt or one with Deadman Inc. emblazoned on the front. Tickets to see live UK WWE events shows sell out within an hour despite some having a £45 price tag and some of Sky Sports top shows include Raw and Smackdown each week.

But as with anything, the WWE and professional wrestling in general does have it's critics. Not everyone likes to see two grown men pretend to kick each other in a ring surrounded by ten thousand screaming American fans. People are also worried about the effect it may have on children who are renowned for imitating their heroes. There have been cases in America where children have caused fatal injury to others a
nd blamed it on imitating wrestling moves.

However, Sky has taken it upon themselves to show censored versions of top rated shows such as Smackdown earlier in the day when children may be watching. These shows do not contain any extreme violence (chair shots, etc) or adult content and there are warnings during the shows from the wrestlers themselves not to attempt any of the stunts at home.

Despite this, there is still a stigma attached to being a wrestling fan. It will always have it's critics and die hard fans and if it evolves at the same rate that it has in the last ten years, we may be talking about world domination - well, if Vince McMahon has anything to do with it!

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As for my life as a secret fan, well I think my cover has been well and truly blown at least here on dooyoo anyway. All I need to do now is find myself a new job - one where the boss doesn't mind me kicking his candy ass. Do you think the WWE would be interested in a new writer - I'm sure I could come up with some ridiculous storylines for them if they wanted.

And that's the bottom line...

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