When the Wrestling Thread Got the Answers, HE Changed the Questions

[The Chris]

Yeah I don't get it too, and I also have an immense love of both. It's just not necessary.

 

[MMMMM...Pancakes]

Would be interesting if this was a work, but probably just Dana being a *****e.

 

[Wheels]

Would be interesting if this was a work, but probably just Dana being a *****e.

He's done this multiple times over the years so I doubt it's a work.

 

[DarkSentinel]

Papa Flapjack, you get my PM?

 

[Donnie Darko]

Yeah I don't get it too, and I also have an immense love of both. It's just not necessary.

Me too. I get that one is "fake," but that's like saying "I don't watch that fake The Wire crap. I watch Cops, bro." Why not watch both?

 

[Lantern Venom]

Me too. I get that one is "fake," but that's like saying "I don't watch that fake The Wire crap. I watch Cops, bro." Why not watch both?

Whenever someone questions me about pro wrestling by saying, 'How do you watch that fake stuff?" I respond with, "In the same way you watch your fake stuff."

 

[Mani-Man]

Wrestling being "fake" is something i never understood as an insult.

Tv shows, Movies, Reality shows etc are all fake, yet people dont use it to insult someone.
Everybody who has taken his time to understand professional wrestling, knows that its not just smoke.

Even though the punches and throws are planned, it really hurts.
You need to be able to withstand much pain, your condition needs to be high, training is not easy.

Dana White is a guy who can be a real ******* when he wants, but also can be a cool guy...you just have to meet him in his right mood.

I feel like the UFC fans, Fighters etc are more the bullys of MMA.
Pride and all the other leagues seem to have more laid back and calm fans and fighters.
I always have the feeling that the UFC comes off as a bit too "agressive" overall.

 

[SpideyVille]

My girlfriend has a theater background and I used the analogy of wrestling being a play where the actors are improvising for the most part. They are putting on a performance just like stage actors, the only difference is everything is not 100% rehearsed. Sure, the promos may be scripted completely, but in the ring, you have guys calling the moves or sequences during the match and you get good matches from experienced guys. The story is the last part that comes into place, and more often than not its there to motivate the guys so the conflict feels somewhat believable.

 

[Pink Ranger]

My girlfriend has a theater background and I used the analogy of wrestling being a play where the actors are improvising for the most part. They are putting on a performance just like stage actors, the only difference is everything is not 100% rehearsed. Sure, the promos may be scripted completely, but in the ring, you have guys calling the moves or sequences during the match and you get good matches from experienced guys. The story is the last part that comes into place, and more often than not its there to motivate the guys so the conflict feels somewhat believable.

I've always thought wrestling is very similar to musical theatre. The commentators are basically the chorus, the in-ring promo segments and backstage interviews are basically vocal solos and soliloquies where the characters reveal their inner thoughts and intentions, and the matches are the group song-and-dance sequences that tie the other moving parts together.

 

[DarkSentinel]

Pro wrestling is a violent male soap opera, and that's the way we like it

 

[DarkSentinel]

My girlfriend has a theater background and I used the analogy of wrestling being a play where the actors are improvising for the most part. They are putting on a performance just like stage actors, the only difference is everything is not 100% rehearsed. Sure, the promos may be scripted completely, but in the ring, you have guys calling the moves or sequences during the match and you get good matches from experienced guys. The story is the last part that comes into place, and more often than not its there to motivate the guys so the conflict feels somewhat believable.

Exactly. It's highly physical improvisational theater-in-the-round.

 

[runawayboulder]

Dana White isn't an idiot. He knows that there is a major crossover between wrestling fans and MMA fans. He knows his "fake" comments are going to tweak the s**t out of fans and professional wrestlers alike, who just like us, spend their money on a UFC PPV. He also knows that no matter what condescending comments he makes, we're all still gonna be suckers and still pay for his product. So this was more of a f**k you to everyone, "see you next month when you drop another 80 bucks". Dana White is just another arrogant rich dude.

 

[chamber-music]

CM Punk in Frank Turner's music video The Next Storm
[YT]/P4IZbCl6iR4[/YT]

Well, many of the MMA guys come from Boxing, a sport in which if it wasn't for Floyd "Ray Rice of Combat Sports" Mayweather or (before the loss to Mayweather) Manny Pacquiao, would be very irrelevant.

I mean seriously, who the hell are the current heavyweight champions in boxing anymore? It used to be Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Buster Douglas, Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis in the 1990's and early 2000's. Before that it was Muhammad Ali, Joe Frasier and George Foreman.

The boring Klitschko brothers. The Ukrainian Brothers held every heavyweight belt at one point.

Vitali retired two years ago and is now a Ukrainian politician. He is currently the Mayor of the capital, Kiev.

Wladimir is still the reigning Heavyweight World Champion, holding the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles.

Wladimir defends his titles against British boxer Tyson Fury in October.
Wladimir is engaged to actress Hayden Panettiere.

 

[brainchild81]

Well, apparently Dana White called Wrestling "fake" which angered many wrestlers.....

So didn't he call CM Punk a world class athlete when he signed with the UFC? That makes no sense if he calls wrestling fake.

Is there an article or a video with this? I'd like to see the context

 

[Lobo]

Have they announced who CM Punk will fight yet?

 

[runawayboulder]

Have they announced who CM Punk will fight yet?

They've only announced that he's on track to fight in December or January at the earliest. I'd expect an announcement about his opponent a month and a half before then. It's going to be someone with only a fight or two under their belt at the most.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

For a school project, I wrote an argument as to why wrestling should be viewed as legitimate and respectable entertainment.

Spoiler

[FONT="]Pro wrestling, it’s fake, right? Well, yes and no. The WWE (formerly known as the WWF) is the largest and most well-known wrestling organization in the world and has held thousands of wrestling matches in its reign for three decades. All of those matches, no matter how small or large in promotion, had predetermined outcomes, that is, all the participants, wrestler and referee, (not to mention the company heads) knew who was supposed to and who was going to win the match. Wrestling shows follow a script and it is a wrestler’s job to follow the script. This makes wrestling the black sheep of sports, as it is the only sport that is not a true athletic competition. However, this writer argues that it is wrestling’s “fake” scripted nature that makes it better than the “real” sports.

[/FONT][FONT="]So if a wrestler knows ahead of time that he or she is going to lose their match, why bother competing (if that word can be used) at all? For entertainment, that’s why. All sports entertain their fans by the thrilling actions that happen in their respective games. When a quarterback throws a 50 yard touchdown pass with the clock running down and the game on the line, it is a miraculous toss-and-catch that almost had no chance. When a wrestler performs their signature finishing move and wins the championship belt, it was planned to happen. Wrestling guarantees the excitement of big moments in specific points that real sports can only hope to offer on arbitrary occasions.

[/FONT] [FONT="] Winning or losing a wrestling match is trivial. What is most important, or arguably how to truly win a match, is to entertain the audience. The three letters in WWE stand for World Wrestling Entertainment. Neither the WWE, nor any other wrestling organization ever claims on-camera or off that their product is a legitimate competitive sport. It’s a scripted show and the fans are smart enough to know that and they play along because it’s fun to pretend it’s real. The same can be said of almost all films and television shows; they are fake in the same way wrestling is fake, but that doesn’t prevent the Netflix audience from investing hours into watching the latest new hit drama or fans buying tickets weeks in advance to see the new summer blockbuster in theaters.

[/FONT] [FONT="] Wrestling is very comparable to stage plays; there are actors performing live in front of an audience trying to sell the story. Like a stage play, stories need characters, and the pro wrestling industry has never been short of colorful, romantic characters, complete with catch phrases, merchandise, and devout followings. Take for instance the Ultimate Warrior, a wrestler who had his heyday in the WWF (as it was known then) in the late 80’s, early 90’s. The Ultimate Warrior was billed from “parts unknown,” had a warrior’s mask painted on his face, and ran to the ring in frenzy. He shook the top rope almost psychotically before every match, beat his chest like a cartoon gorilla, and had a physique that lived up to his name. When he was dressed up in his work clothes, he looked like a man who would fight the sun if it came crashing down onto Earth.

[/FONT] [FONT="] Without fan support of these other worldly characters, pro wrestling as we know it would cease to exist. Wrestling is the only sport that relies on fan input for the product. If a wrestler is well loved or despised, then that wrestler moves forward in the industry because they’re doing something right. Whether cutting good “promos” (laying a verbal smack down on the microphone) and/or doing impressive work in the ring, a wrestler works for the approval of the audience. Wrestlers want to get “over,” an industry term meaning that the fans are reacting in a positive, appropriate way in great volume to what the wrestler is doing. Getting over is what puts a wrestler in more high profile matches, more TV and pay-per-view time, and perhaps a coveted championship title.

[/FONT] [FONT="]The relationship between wrestler and audience is sacred. Without that strong bond, even the greatest athletes can fail to be great wrestlers. It’s not all body slams and chair shots to the head. A wrestler has to make a connection with the audience otherwise they’ll never get over and their career might be short lived or at the very least unfruitful. Without a loyal fan base, a wrestler has no direction.

[/FONT] [FONT="] So what is a wrestler? For one, a wrestler is an actor; they’re on stage playing a character. But of course, a wrestler is also an athlete and must be able to keep up in the ring, whether in grace or crudeness. Where wrestling can actually claim realism where many other scripted programs cannot is in the actual execution of the physical component. There is no faking a fall on the mat or a flip off the top of a ladder. Wrestlers train to get beat up, that’s their job after all and there are no stunt doubles in wrestling. It’s a live action show and a wrestler must be well trained in their craft in order to put on a good match but also avoid seriously injuring themselves or their opponents.

[/FONT] [FONT="]Wrestling is like a dance, choreographed and with a partner. While its cousin boxing has the “sweet science,” wrestling has its own art form. Wrestlers come in all shapes and sizes and each wrestler develops their own methods and signature moves. Since wrestling is about showmanship and not actually maiming your opponent, wrestlers work together to perform the best match that they can. So, essentially, wrestlers take turns hitting each other for the good of the show. Real sports can often end in one-sided, uninteresting blowouts. Wrestling matches, more often than not, offer the best of each competing wrestler.

[/FONT] [FONT="]A wrestler is a modern day song and dance man, albeit a more violent type. The ring is the stage and they throw themselves around it for the sake of entertainment. The primal fun of watching another person in danger goes back to Roman gladiators competing in a visceral slaying of opponents. Violence has become entertainment in many forms. Wrestling offers violence in a controlled and planned environment with a point to it. The violence in professional wrestling is just a part of a story. Professional wrestling is storytelling through combat.

[/FONT] [FONT="]Many stories go with the good vs. evil trope. Wrestling is no different and is reliant on that cliché for their stories. There are “babyfaces” (good guys) and “heels” (bad guys). The lines between each are clear and well defined. Babyfaces are cheered for their heroic and noble actions while heels are jeered for their arrogance and cowardice. Some wrestlers work better as good guy characters and some work well as bad guy characters and stay with that persona for most of their careers, but most wrestlers change sides when the story calls for it. This familiar device of good vs. evil is easily recognizable when watching a wrestling program, just as many other forms of storytelling use it as a backbone to the plot.

[/FONT] [FONT="]The dismissive tone towards wrestling because it is considered fake is undeserved, this writer argues. The practice of suspension of disbelief is necessary for any form of scripted entertainment. It is unjust to reject wrestling’s merit for doing something that is common and accepted in other forms. In one way, wrestling is more real than its more-accepted counterparts. Everything a wrestler does in the ring, whether actually wrestling or just talking in a microphone, happens live. It is being experienced simultaneously by both performer and audience member.

[/FONT] [FONT="]You can call wrestling fake if you want, but what isn’t fake is the emotional ride that an audience takes when watching a wrestling match. It is unrivaled by the likes of football, baseball, basketball, and any other real sport. The real sport athletes are playing against each other and do what they feel is right to do. A wrestler gets into the ring with the audience in their corner and does what the audience wants them to do. When a wrestler takes a [FONT="]death-defying[/FONT] fall, we fall with them and feel the crashing impact. When they win a match, we hold our arms above our heads in celebration with them.

[/FONT] [FONT="]It’s wrestling’s connection with the audience that is its greatest facet. Wrestlers live and die on fan support. When the likeable underdog wins the coveted championship, it is because it’s what the fans wanted. And when the ring announcer declares them the new heavyweight champion of the world, it is the wrestler who crowns the audience champion. As Daniel Bryan, a newly crowned WWE champion, was hearing the cheer of “You deserve it” from a thunderous crowd, Bryan said back, “I might deserve it a little bit, but I think you guys deserve it.” [/FONT]

 

[Lobo]

They've only announced that he's on track to fight in December or January at the earliest. I'd expect an announcement about his opponent a month and a half before then. It's going to be someone with only a fight or two under their belt at the most.

Thank you.

 

[Dr. Evil]

CM Punk in Frank Turner's music video The Next Storm
[YT]/P4IZbCl6iR4[/YT]

The boring Klitschko brothers. The Ukrainian Brothers held every heavyweight belt at one point.

Vitali retired two years ago and is now a Ukrainian politician. He is currently the Mayor of the capital, Kiev.

Wladimir is still the reigning Heavyweight World Champion, holding the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles.

Wladimir defends his titles against British boxer Tyson Fury in October.
Wladimir is engaged to actress Hayden Panettiere.

Wladimir is still fighting? Good lord. Things were a lot better in that division 15 years ago, because then you still had Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, even though Holyfield and Tyson by 2000 weren't what they were in 1997.

And now the biggest draw in boxing is the Ray Rice of Combat Sports, Floyd Mayweather.

 

[chamber-music]

Wladimir is still fighting? Good lord. Things were a lot better in that division 15 years ago, because then you still had Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, even though Holyfield and Tyson by 2000 weren't what they were in 1997.

And now the biggest draw in boxing is the Ray Rice of Combat Sports, Floyd Mayweather.

The press conference for the Fury vs Klitschko fight the other week was funny. Tyson Fury told Wladimir that he was boring and everyone can't wait for him to lose as he has no charisma and his fighting style isn't entertaining

 

[Dr. Evil]

So how is "fake" wrestling any different than doing a movie or TV show? Those are fake. The characters are fake or sometimes more exaggerated versions of the actual actors (such as the film "This is the End").

So when someone says that wrestling is fake, they tend to forget that the TV show or movie that they watch is also fake. Joe Rogan should know, he was on a "fake" TV show for four years (NewsRadio).

 

[chamber-music]

Is the wrestling is fake statement supposed to an insult ?

Wrestling still requires athleticism, skills, talent and training. Wrestling is entertainment and there is nothing wrong with that.

Sounds like a weak attempt at macho BS trying to go insult wrestling for not being real. It doesn't make you look big or clever saying wrestling is fake.

 

[Slushy]

Well, apparently Dana White called Wrestling "fake" which angered many wrestlers.....

So didn't he call CM Punk a world class athlete when he signed with the UFC? That makes no sense if he calls wrestling fake.

Yeah, Dana's a *****e. Makes a tribute post about Hot Rod then disses the industry he was a part of.

He won't apologize, but Bubba Ray Dudley got him back good:

Good thing you had "FAKE" @BrockLesnar in @ufc to be your biggest PPV draw of all time.

Sir, "do the right thing" and apologize to THE industry that laid the groundwork for YOUR industry. Have a great show tonight.

 

[Hunter Rider]

 

[The Apocalypse]

Nothing fake about that.