8. Hardcore Stood Up For Wrestlings Legitimacy...
A favourite myth commonly espoused by non-wrestling fans is that once you know how to fall, it is impossible for you to get hurt. Apparently, after mastering this technique, doubters claim, wrestlers can engage in steel cage matches, ladder matches and even scaffold matches without getting so much as a bruise. As any true wrestling fan knows, that is complete and utter b*llocks, but youd be surprised how many are prepared to people believe it, even to this day. If such a technique were real, why not teach it to construction workers and circus acrobats so it would lessen the dangers of their jobs? In fact, why dont we all learn it and spend all day jumping off buildings and ladders? It sounds like it would be fun. Still, the lack of logic in their collective reasoning did nothing to deter armies of wrestling haters from roundly taking the piss out of wrestlers and fans for several decades. They werent alone. In the 1990s, these infuriating idiots were joined by the legions of armchair experts who watched Secrets of Pro Wrestling Revealed and then summarily declared wrestling to be nothing more than an array of cheap tricks and weak gimmicks. He slaps his leg to make that sound! The ref acts as an intermediary! The ring has a microphone underneath it! Thats not a sleeper, thats a rest hold! Yes, and theatre companies also dont cast real ghosts in the role of Banquo. Did you know that? Oh, for a really good picture of Willy Wonka right now... In the 1990s, wrestling was reeling from the perpetual onslaught of non-fans queuing up to rubbish the sport we love and the athletes we admire. Know-it-all phrases like thats not a real table, you know and he stomps his foot when he punches the guy drove us all nuts for years. Then, suddenly, along came hardcore wrestling to totally shut all those idiots up. Almost overnight, it became impossible to deny that parts of wrestling, at least, were very, very real. Wrestling matches that utilized barbed wire, broken glass, baseball bats, fire, C4 plastic explosive and other torturous objects/devices could not possibly be faked. Could they? Even if they could (and sometimes were), never underestimate the power of a well-timed blade job. Hardcore made it impossible for ignorant non-fans to bash wrestling and call it fake. If that isnt protecting the business, then I dont know what is. Oh, you didnt like my moonsault? Fine. Watch me split my own head open then. PS f*ck you. The entire wrestling industry seemed to say, by way of a response.
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
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Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
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Latcho Drom,
- CQ
