Even though kids thought wrestlers were the toughest people on the globe, certain injury angles did add some much-needed realism to proceedings. When Shawn Michaels collapsed mid-ring, selling the after effects of a concussion and head injury, fans were stunned - here was this remarkably strong and resilient athlete, showing that he was just like everyone else, human. It made for fantastic TV, and gripping drama, but younger fans didn't really grasp the concept that being a pro wrestler hurts like hell. Each bump stings, and whilst grapplers do build up toughness and resistance to their rough lifestyle, there's still only so much the human body can absorb, before it starts showing ill-effects of all the gruelling punishment. To kids, because pro wrestlers just bounced back up from a body slam, or recovered from being punched in the head relatively quickly, it couldn't hurt all that much. It was skirting a strange line, one unique to wrestling - the entire point of each match was to show a test of endurance, and prove who was the tougher man, but children didn't think that it could hurt all that much either, because there was little in the way of sustained injury.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
