8 Things Non-Wrestling People Don't Believe About Wrestling

Every single wrestling fan at one point or another has felt compelled to conceal their passion lest they draw inevitable ridicule from non-fans who simply don't understand. To them, the fake sport is as childish as it is churlish - and admittedly, they can point to many historical and present day examples where this is unfortunately true.

But just as all of television isn't judged entirely based on output from, say, CBeebies, nor should wrestling be defined by its worst exponents. At its very best, wrestling runs the gamut of legitimate emotional pathos as good - arguably better - than any other form of drama.

Such was the tangible, even visceral, connection FMW fans felt towards their hero Atsushi Onita that they'd contribute tears to the blood and sweat he left on the canvas. Wrestling retirements are similarly fecund ground for stretching the heartstrings; amidst the melodrama, fans drew upon decades of shared experience as they said goodbye to Ric Flair after his WrestleMania XXIV loss to Shawn Michaels, as they did the latter two years later.

Hope, anger, melancholy, even love. No other form of entertainment forges such a long-standing, personal connection, yet receive such few plaudits for doing so.