The One Thing Everybody Gets Wrong About Wrestling

Jon Moxley
AEW/Lee South

Years and years of anxiety orchestrated by WWE has obscured the very way that professional wrestling is meant to function. Professional wrestling is high-stakes drama. It was never meant to be this meaningless volley of sh*t patter spliced between several matches, the stakes of which are diluted, the sporting, competitive purpose behind which lost in a haze of talk show segments.

This sh*t is meant to make your heart race. It's meant to feel like all or nothing. Everything to win, and everything to lose. One shot, no comfort of the mandated rematch. Wrestling shouldn't be comfortable. Stakes should be driven onto that apron. There should be a gravity to this. When you worry about whether or not a wrestler is getting buried, that's what wins and losses are meant to feel like when wins and losses matter.

You are meant to feel like the loser has nothing left afterwards. This is a good thing. This informs every move. This informs the searing drama of every near-fall. But they of course do have something left afterwards. It's fiction. We should remember that.

CONT'D...(4 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!