5. The WWE Has Its Extreme Moments Of Hardcore
Another one the smarks always seem to go off about the PG era is that "it's not hardcore". Now this really bugs me because if you have watched the WWE in the past few months you would notice a severe amount of hardcore action. Just because a superstar doesn't get his head smashed in with a chair anymore DOES NOT mean that there aren't other part of the body that aren't susceptible to pain. You have to remember that medical science and the repercussions of head injuries have come a long way since the ECW days. Lets look at a more recent case study. When WWECW was initilised, you can't tell me parts of it was not as hardcore as the old days. In fact I can name several incidents from memory that actually surpasses a lot of the mayhem from back in the day. Case and point, the Wrestlemania rematch between the New Breed and the Originals with Hardcore rules is one of the most brutal matches I have ever seen. And regardless of what you think of Bobby Lashley, NOONE I can recall in the history of wrasslin has anyone LEAPT THRU A CAGE. And I have watched it for nigh on 25 years now. But then something happened, and no, it wasn't "December to Dismember", it wasn't Paul Heyman being fired (although that was a major sticking point), it was one man, Chris Benoit, who destroyed hardcore wrasslin as we know it. For he did what he did due to the constant barrage of headshots and abuse he suffered in his career (which when you look back, was a lot more than even your average wrestler) resulting in a diminished mental capacity to the point of dementia. So the powers that be want to make sure that this never happens again and have acted accordingly by effectively outlawing headshots by anything foreign. But as I stated before, that does not mean the other parts of the body are exempt. I mean, have any of you ever watched Sheamus wrestle? The guy smacks his opponents around like he literally is in an Irish pub. Everyone he goes up against always end up fully welted and bruised after every match. And not only can he dish it out but he can take it. Did none of you see the welts left on his back after Alberto Del Rio lashed him with a belt. If that is not hardcore than I don't know what is. It doesn't matter how much training you have, if you fall thru the roof of an ambulance you are gonna get hurt. Add to that the cruiserweight influences of the current state of main eventer, the recent reemergence of the "Singapore Cane" (old school) & the beloved table and you my friend have a show that is quite simply, hardcore.