The biggest lie in pro wrestling has to be the very nature of the content itself - the whole thing is a lie. When you are watching John Cena and CM Punk have a great match you are witnessing a lie. You are listening to a commentary of lies from the broadcast team. But it isn't a bad lie. It is a deception which is an art in itself. There are layers of truth within the lie. The execution and absorption of 'moves' is all real. The athletic prerequisites are all real. The lie is now acknowledged. There is no need to maintain the deceit any longer, and WWE has openly stated that the product is staged. Wrestlers such as The Rock have commented about the nature of the lie, when asked about doing it for real, Rock is one of many WWE talents who admits he would not have a chance in real wrestling or fight based contests such as UFC. The industry has moved on from the days when people really believed what they were witnessing was real. Strangely enough, some fans still get flustered at accusations that wrestling is fake or a lie. There is an element of smart mark fans who grumble that pro wrestling is as real as anything because the guys are really doing the moves. But the truth is that the best wrestlers are the ones who never hurt their opponent. The most skilled wrestlers are the ones like CM Punk who can tell a lie so well that the audience really buy into what he is saying and doing. An example of this was the stunning 2011 promo in which Punk criticized Vince McMahon and Triple H. Fans loved it, Punk was saying what he really thought - but he wasn't. Punk finished that promo and went backstage to share high fives with McMahon and Hunter. The best wrestlers and best storylines will always be the best liars and lies, and to buy into believing something as real when it is fake is the true art of pro wrestling. Long may the deception continue.
