10 Most Fake Wrestling Weapons Ever

Look, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but wrestling is fake.

Also, Santa Claus doesn't exist and your bum does look big in that.

Why anybody thinks telling someone that wrestling "isn't real" will put them off liking it is a mystery. Does anybody ever get upset that Stranger Things is scripted? Or that the events in their favourite book didn't really happen?

Of course not! We're all in on the lie and that's what makes it so much fun.

Because wrestling is a form of performance, certain steps need to be taken to ensure that those performers don't get hurt. The idea of "safe violence" might sound silly, but in the same way that movies protect actors during action scenes, wrestling companies have to keep their wrestlers safe during hardcore brawls.

Unfortunately, sometimes a wrestling weapon or prop is so blatantly gimmicked that it's impossible to ignore. Especially when some website rounds ten of them up and makes a list.

We're not saying that these weapons don't hurt, we're just saying that they don't hurt as much as they should. We still don't want anything to do with them.

Let's start with one of the most iconic weapons in wrestling history.

The first ladder match in WWE took place in 1992 (not at WrestleMania X, as WWE would like you to think), but the stipulation's origins can be traced back twenty years earlier than that.

As well as providing greater scope for death-defying leaps and high spots, ladders are also really good at thwomping people with. They're big, heavy, and robust. At least, in storyline they are.

Most gimmicked wrestling ladders are actually hollow, made of a very light metal painted over to appear sturdier than they actually are. You can see this whenever a wrestler tries to climb one and it starts shaking like it's in the middle of a hurricane.

They're also gimmicked to snap in the middle to create the awe-inspiring visual of a wrestler crashing through one. There's a reason why every single ladder bump is taken in pretty much the exact same spot on the ladder.

Don't let this lure you into a false sense of security, though. If you see Terry Funk coming towards you, spinning the ladder round his neck like a deranged helicopter, then you best be running the other way.