There’s no denying it. There is a definite stigma attached to professional wrestling. People tend to laugh – or flat out question your mental stability – when you admit you watch it somewhat religiously and can name every wrestler on the roster, along with their finishing moves, without blinking an eye.
See, there is a common belief that professional wrestling fans are nothing more than trailer park residents with bright red necks who spend more time arguing over whether a beer is better because it’s more filling or because it tastes great. While I cannot deny there is a white trash element amongst wrestling fans, there are more fans who do not live in trailer parks than ones who do. We come from all walks of life, all racial and economic backgrounds. We are everywhere – behind you in line at Stop and Shop, your roommate, your friend, your brother or sister. Unfortunately, the disgrace attached to professional wrestling keeps many from admitting the truth: that they watch it, that it is fun to watch and that it sometimes provides a way to escape the utter rote that is everyday life to so many of us.
Wrestling is fantasy. We know this already. Still, every time I mention I watch wrestling, I get the same response: “You know that wrestling is fake, right?” Wait, what? Professional wrestling isn’t real? Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit aren’t really beating each other to bloody pulps out there? Wow.
While professional wrestling isn’t real, fake is too ugly a word. A term like predetermined outcomes sounds so much nicer, and it gets the point across just as well. While a match and its outcome may be worked out in advance, there’s very little that’s actually fake about it. These men and women are top athletes. A majority of them work out on a daily basis, and whether you are a fan of wrestling or not, it’s hard not to have just a little bit of respect for what they do. These wrestlers – these athletes – put their bodies on the line three or four days a week as they are thrown through tables, battered with folding chairs and tossed out of the ring onto either concrete or a very thin mat; it’s not something just anyone can do.
“A lot of people when trying to get into wrestling really don’t have a clue what they are getting into,” said World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Lance Storm in a commentary on his website stormwrestling.com. “For some reason, many fans figure that because wrestling is ‘fake,’ a word I despise the use of, anyone can do it. Nothing is farther from the truth. This is a very demanding business. You need to have physical skills, size and intelligence. Even with all three, this may not be enough.”
So, just to recap: professional wrestling is not for the out of shape, potato chip eating, remote control hogging, armchair wrestler who sits there with his buddies and talks about how easy it is – the one sitting there telling stories about how he would have been an NFL megastar, if not for that darn trick knee. You have to be tough, both physically and mentally. It is not a sport for everyone.
Yes. I just called professional wrestling a sport. I can see scores of people shaking their heads at me, and I can hear their laughter echoing through the campus. But think about it for a second before you write off my choice of terms. According to dictionary.com, sport is defined as a physical activity governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Professional wrestling, regardless of whether the outcome is predetermined, is still governed by rules. It is still an extremely physical activity. By definition, that makes it a sport. And what of the competition aspect of the definition? Good question, and Lance Storm has an answer.
“In wrestling you may not have to compete for wins, but believe me you do have to compete for your job,” he said in another commentary on his site. “There are a lot more wrestlers than there are spots for workers, so you need to stay ahead of the pack. Staying ahead of the pack requires a lot of determination, hard work and the ability to work through injuries… Regardless of the nature of this business, [professional wrestling] is still a sport.”
However, even the words of a professional wrestler – someone who has been in the business for many years – will not be enough to persuade most to look at professional wrestling differently. Because of the prearranged endings and the soap opera-like story lines that accompany every match, it is still considered primarily entertainment, with little doubt it will ever be regarded as more. However, that is okay. I will continue to view what these men and women do as a sport, for whether professional wrestling is sport or entertainment is purely a matter of interpretation. I just happen to agree with Lance Storm. So go ahead and laugh, make your jokes and point out once again how wrestling is fake. That’s your opinion, and this is mine.
Emilie Duggan-Hicks is a Collegian Columnist.
