As we all know, there are people in the world who mock wrestling fans who are above a certain age. This is a part of life as the only argument these people seem to have is “Wrestling is fake”. These people do not seem to be able to grasp that we do not watch it because we think that it is real. It is because we enjoy the entertainment that is produces!
In actual fact, wrestling is not fake, it is scripted. Everything they do in the ring is real and it hurts, the outcome is just predetermined.
So, why do we watch it?
WWE is classed as an entertainment programme and it produces a product that is designed to keep the audience interested in it. This means that they have to come up with new story-lines, new characters and new situations constantly, therefore the product is constantly being made to suit the audience. All of the superstars are both athletes and actors (some better than others) and most of them are given a script and some are even choreographed. We watch it for the same reason other people watch things like Lost, Coronation Street and Prison Break! We follow the character as they move on throughout their career, the drama that unfolds as each week goes on and the excitement that ensues every time one of our favourites comes out from behind the curtain. We admire the talent of these guys to go and perform every week without hardly any mistakes.
It even produces comedy, a lot of the backstage segments and certain superstars are meant to provide light relief for the viewer, Santino Marella has got to be one of the best entertainers I have ever seen! Wrestling has produced some of the funniest moments of television in living memory. There is always something to laugh at and it is definately another reason why we love it.
The violence is a key reason as to why some of us watch it. Now, I know that it is not real violence but it is the same reason people will watch other physical sports such as boxing or UFC. People are “beating” each other up and that is what we love to see. An argument for this is that we watch it for the same reasons as an action film, you don’t get people saying “I’m not going to watch Blade because it’s not real” so why say it about wrestling?
It is also something, like any other film or television programme to relax and watch every week where you can forget about everything going on in your life and lose yourself in supporting your favorites or booing the villains. It is an escape to a different world! The programme is a spectacle each and every week and it is also live, that is something in itself to give you a reason to watch because anything can happen on live television. A superstar could go against what he is supposed to say, do something he isn’t supposed to or botch an important spot. This is why CM Punks shoot last year was so successful, people did not know whether or not he was supposed to say what he did.
We also admire the pure athleticism and skill of the superstars because it is not easy. A lot of people would give a lot of money to look like a wrestler and be able to perform like a wrestler. They put their health and bodies on the line every week and it is something to truly admire. We watch them execute manoeuvres that we wish we could do ourselves. It is exciting and unpredictable because we don’t know what will come next.
That is quite simply it, I would love to hear your views and opinions on the matter
After all, we all know the main reason we all watch it…..
We are all big children!
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4 Comments
I used to love WWF (as it was a few years ago when I was an avid viewer), Stone Cold and Vince Mcmahon were part of some incredible story lines and The Rock was always a solid entertainer. This was in my early teens, I am now 23 and find the whole affair deeply amusing, the acting is largely awful with a few exceptions, and less and less attention is paid to the actual wrestling, making most bouts predictable and boring.
An effort has been made to create a soap opera type show with added wresting when it should, and used to be (I am talking before my time), the other way around. Your example of people knowing that movies are fake and watching them anyway is flawed, yes we know they’re fake but we get drawn in by special effects and good acting etc. which helps us to suspend our disbelief – WWE fails to take us out of our own heads and with poor acting and downright criminal dialogue (do the wrestlers write their own lines?) as a precursor to the lacklustre matches, it’s hard to care about anything that goes on. Oh, and in the last 5 or 6 years the over-commercialisation of the sport leaves me with even less time for the money grabbing few who sit at the top of the WWE tree.
As someone who used to love it and still have fond memories of watching Raw on a Friday night and then practising the moves at school on the following Monday, it’s hard to tell whether my tastes have changed or the franchise itself has become weaker. I wish I could love it again, but it all feels too exploitative, money centric and poorly executed for me to regain any connection I once had.
Alex your article took me back 50 years when I used to watch wrestling bouts on Grandstand on Saturday afternoons with your Great Grandad.
In those days our heroes were Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks and the tag wrestling was favourite.
I also saw some live bouts at Saul Street swimming baths in Preston when the Big Plunge was covered over and a ring was built on top.
It was very exciting and I am sure some of it was staged for effect, although it seemed far more real and gritty than it does nowadays.
The difference for me is that WWE has the American razzamataz about it which sometimes builds things up to be more than they actually are.
There is a falseness in the sentiments which you feel you cannot trust and it’s so over produced it takes away from the actual wrestling.
Perhaps that’s a little harsh but, have you ever watched an old Film without all the special effects and realised the actors actually had to act?
Well I think that illustrates the difference between real wrestling oldstyle and WWE.
Sometimes it’s a relief just to see the real thing without all the hype, choreography and over Production.
Or perhaps I’m just getting old……….!
I completely agree with James C, I used to love WWF back in the attitude era but after that I just drifted away. I’d really love to get back in to it, but it just seems to lack the sheer awesomeness it once had. Maybe an article on why Attitude era fans should return to the wrestling world is in order?
Absolutely, would love a recap/reasons to watch type article, maybe with an update on what has been happening, who to look out for etc. My brother still watches it so I get glimpses every now and then and I suppose it is easier to be more critical when viewing isolated segments. So if Alex would take the challenge I would read it!