Pro wrestling is fake! Did you know that? DID YOU? Good, now that we have that unsavoury bit out of the way, let's talk about how truly goddamn brutal sports entertainment can be to its participants. Because, despite what your Captain Obvious friend tells you, the repercussions of a match can be significant and terrifying. (See: Sid Vicious, Droz, Owen Hart, et al.) At its best, sports entertainment is made to simply appearhorrifyingly dangerous, while maintaining the safety of those performing it. Injuries happen, of course, but normally they stem from technically difficult maneuvers and otherwise precarious spots. The garden variety pummelling that these guys give to each other is just a good blend of mild thumping and overacting. Again, it's made to look much worse than it is. But boy, sometimes they're really good at making it look gruesome. Like...really good. Too good. They're so good at making their finished product look painful and horrific that one has to wonder if Vince McMahon is Eli Roth's biggest fan (I'm willing to be he probably can't fall asleep without Hostel playing in the background). The following examples aren't just bloody or barbaric, they're downright nasty and sickening to watch. And, perhaps tellingly, they're not all scripted...
