10 Bizarre Wrestling Facts We Just Accept

Here we are now, sports entertain us.

Vickie Guerrero Big Show
WWE

Facts are stubborn things. Wrestling fans? Even more so.

Yet the wrestling world is full of tropes that defy factual explanation. Adding much-needed flavour to even the dullest of cards, these widely accepted traditions keep us emotionally invested when the semi-intelligent part of our brain tells us to change the channel. You know, the part that hasn't been numbed by a million Steveweisers. Yet.

Pushing the audience's suspension of disbelief to parts unknown, these wrestling facts stand the test of time and are never far from WWE creative's playbook. They've become such a part of wrestling as we know it that the modern fan almost never stops to notice them. Smart marks, we are not.

In fact, we take these concepts so completely for granted that despite bordering on the absurd, it's difficult to imagine modern wrestling without them. From transforming an accountant into an elite athlete to teaching us ring gear is proper wedding attire, these wrestling conventions are deeply embedded in our psyche. But we wouldn't want it any other way, bay bay!

At least that's what we tell ourselves. Here is the nonsense we put up with...

10. Grievances Are Best Aired Publicly

Vickie Guerrero Big Show
WWE.com

Part of becoming an adult is learning how to constructively resolve conflict. In the workplace, this usually involves discreetly confronting a colleague or manager about their offending behaviour and offering a chance for them to make things right. With any luck, both parties leave the discussion with a newfound respect and understanding for each other. Can we get a hell yeah?

Yet WWE teaches us that any grievance, no matter how petty, is best aired publicly. With microphone in hand, superstars regularly air their dirty laundry before the WWE Universe. Presenting conflict as a zero-sum game, the only way to win is to humiliate your opponent by any means necessary. If that means destroying their car or crashing their dad's funeral, so be it. Putting them through a table? Even better.

Imagine pulling a stunt like that in your office boardroom. HR would bury your sorry ass faster than Ricochet. And it wouldn't be a kayfabe sorta thing. But in the landscape of wrestling, it's just par for the course. And our infantile brains love it.

Contributor

Private investigator and writer based in Vancouver, Canada. Fond of history, professional wrestling, and rock hubris. Once co-directed a Star Trek fan film with a budget of less than $200.