10 Ways Wrestling Changes You As A Person

7. You Begin To Hate Yourself

CM Punk Change
WWE.com

Do you ever think to yourself, as Baron Corbin applies a rest hold to Finn Bálor during their ninth RAW match in as many weeks…what the f*ck am I doing with my life?

You could be reading the classic literature you pretend to. You haven’t seen 2001: A Space Odyssey yet. If you missed RAW, SmackDown and Sunday’s pay-per-view, you could instead binge watch the first season of Bojack Horseman. You like comedy shows, and it’s meant to be one of the best comedy shows of this generation. What’s wrong with you? Have you lost the heart to laugh?

But no: you’re going to watch Bobby Lashley apply a rest hold to Finn Bálor as Lio Rush grabs a microphone and witlessly drones “Lashley! Lashley! Lashley!” for the express purpose of completely pissing you off. You won’t get behind Bálor, not really. He’s had his match with Brock Lesnar, in which he portrayed himself as a main event-calibre wrestler, and now he’s back to where he was before, as if none of this actually matters.

If not full-on self-loathing, you have at least experienced one existential crisis—because wrestling has an inimitable way of insulting your intelligence.

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Contributor
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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!