Good Ol' Wrestling

[J.Mizuno]

Odd, no one posted this as a topic. So does anyone watch wrestling?

[ladyshiro]

I used to

Back when it was good and Sting was good looking.

[The Million Dollar Prons]

We talking professional wrestling (sports entertainment) or olympic wrestling (sports)?

I like pro wrestling, I used to watch it religously, even during the NWO Wolfpack thing whicn most people say was the shark jumper.

Now I don't watch it as much, even though I'd like to, I just am too lazy to plug in my tv etc. etc.

As for olympic wrestling, that'll probably be in my olympics thread in General off topic :)

[Daishikaze]

Odd, no one posted this as a topic. So does anyone watch wrestling?

People have, its just that no one really wants to discuss it at length, so it fizzles out after about 20 posts, some of which are the obligatory "Wrestling is Gay" posts.

[KT Kore]

some of which are the obligatory "Wrestling is Gay" posts.

The funniest ones are the ones where someone says "Who wants to watch a bunch of half naked greasy men grabbing each other?" :lol: I bet every single pro wrestling hater has said something to that degree at least once. I see that posted almost every time wrestling is brought up somewhere.

Another one is "I stopped watching wrestling when I was [insert really young age here]" such as to imply that it only appeals to such a young demographic.

And, of course, there is always the "you do know wrestling is fake, right?" The people who say that are still stuck in the 80s I suppose. :P

[Nigokio]

I watch it and I'm not ashamed in any way.

[Totenkopf]

I used to but but it got kinda boring and repetive.

[Leader Desslock]

I find real wrestling (like you'd find at the Olympics) rather boring, in comparison to other martial arts. I'd rather watch boxing, judo or fencing.

As for what I'll call "wrestling" (in quotes) ... it's one of those things I just can't fathom how a person could find it entertaining. My grandmother used to love watching wrestling in the 70's. She was an otherwise intelligent woman, so I didn't understand what entertainment value she was getting out of it.

Here's how "wrestling" appeared to my 4 year old eyes, and how it still appears today: It's like a sock puppet play. There's no story being told, the action is highly simplistic and scripted, and there are a bunch of black hats and white hats posturing at one another. The progression and outcome of this posturing is as formulaic and predetermined as a Shounen Jump story arc.

But! Unlike say, a DBZ or Naruto, there aren't any cool effects or powerups, there are no interesting visuals... there are just big guys posturing in silly costumes. It's like ... take the character development, the effects, the plot, the moral, the transformation sequences and the mecha out of the Power Rangers, and "wrestling" is what you have left.

How anyone can find that entertaining, I have no idea.

But - if you find that entertaining and that's your thing, hey, more power to you. I'm not gonna tell you not to watch it. Watch away! Just don't expect me to understand how you can do it, 'cause I don't. I just don't see what there is to be entertained by.

[KabukiSaMuRaI]

Interesting points-of-view. My brother used to be a big fan and I watched intermittently. I kept up for a couple of years (this was about eight or so years ago but don't bother with it now. Not knocking it, yeah we all know it is is scripted and some or most of it is fake. I just got busy doing other stuff and lost interest.

More interesting though...a clue that may determine LD's actual age! :)

[Leader Desslock]

^ I thought we all knew I was old. Doesn't matter; Yuzuha's older. :lol:

Yes, the word "wrestling", for me, will always be associated with Andre the Giant and Chief Jay Strongbow. My grandmother used to love watching Andre the Giant. She met him before he got on the WWF circuit. She was in the crowd standing on the aisle, and since Andre wanted to look ENOURMOUS, he chose to walk up and stand behind her. My grandmother was about 4'10". When she turned around to see what people were staring at, she came face to face with his stomach.

As I was told, Andre then took off one of his rings. He asked my grandmother to do the same. He handed her his ring, and told her to drop her ring through the center of it. It dropped straight through without touching either side. Given the size of the man's hands, this is unsurprising, but she found this to be the most amazing thing and got quite animated discussing it.

[Trefellin]

I used to, but then I grew up. My favourite was Jake "The Snake" Roberts. That was when I was very young. I would take off my shirt, push my brothers off the couch and try to do moves.

[Trunks Santana]

I actually love WWE. Thanks for asking guy.

[KT Kore]

I used to, but then I grew up.

:lol: Here's one of the three I listed. [OBLIGATORY!]

As for LD's response, one thing you're right about is that wrestling is very simplistic. But you are very wrong in saying that it has no substance and tells no story. The stories themselves are very simplistic (most of the time), but they are there. There are stories of desire, there are stories of hatred and revenge, there are stories of proving one's self, stories of the little man vs. big authority, stories of clawing one's way to the top, stories of partnership and betrayal, and of course the classic "good vs. 'evil'" stories. Hell, you even have romance and mysteries these days.

The action has changed greatly from the simplistic body slams and punches and leg drops of the older days. While you still have that, you also have new-age wrestlers who can mix many different martial arts into one, which makes for some very entertaining watching. These guys are performers in every sense of the word, and it takes some real athleticism to do what they do. Aside from just performing cool moves, the best wrestlers will be able to tell a story in the ring as well. It's called "ring psychology" and the best performers at this will be able to put on the best matches. They know how to relate the match to the story being told, they know how to pace the match and how to get the crowd involved and excited. The best ring psychologists will give you the highest suspension of disbelief, which is what it's all about when it comes to a wrestling match.

It's nothing deep or intellectually stimulating, but not everything has to be. When it's good then it's just something fun that you can sit back, relax and enjoy. There is plenty to be entertained by.

[Chidori Raikiri]

Who wants to watch a bunch of half naked greasy men grabbing each other? I stopped watching wrestling when I was 6. You do know wrestling is fake, right?

[Daishikaze]

:lol: Here's one of the three I listed. [OBLIGATORY!]

As for LD's response, one thing you're right about is that wrestling is very simplistic. But you are very wrong in saying that it has no substance and tells no story. The stories themselves are very simplistic (most of the time), but they are there. There are stories of desire, there are stories of hatred and revenge, there are stories of proving one's self, stories of the little man vs. big authority, stories of clawing one's way to the top, stories of partnership and betrayal, and of course the classic "good vs. 'evil'" stories. Hell, you even have romance and mysteries these days.

The action has changed greatly from the simplistic body slams and punches and leg drops of the older days. While you still have that, you also have new-age wrestlers who can mix many different martial arts into one, which makes for some very entertaining watching. These guys are performers in every sense of the word, and it takes some real athleticism to do what they do. Aside from just performing cool moves, the best wrestlers will be able to tell a story in the ring as well. It's called "ring psychology" and the best performers at this will be able to put on the best matches. They know how to relate the match to the story being told, they know how to pace the match and how to get the crowd involved and excited. The best ring psychologists will give you the highest suspension of disbelief, which is what it's all about when it comes to a wrestling match.

It's nothing deep or intellectually stimulating, but not everything has to be. When it's good then it's just something fun that you can sit back, relax and enjoy. There is plenty to be entertained by.

Well said.

Of course the problem today is the lack of Ring Psychology being taught to the newer wrestlers. Most of the young guys are spot monkeys, their whole repartoir is made up of flashy moves that should be used to end matches. The problem with that is that they usually waste their moveset in the first 5 minutes and then they got nothing left when its time to end it.

They also aren't really learning mat skills, why?, because submission and Judo holds aren't flashy enough so the fans will chant boring until they do a triple kick-flip off the top turnbuckle. On the flipside you have the Brawlers and garbage wrestlers who run around just punching and kicking eachother or bash eachother in the head with flouresent light tubes. There is a right way to do these kind of matches, but once again, things like build up are thrown away for the sake of more brutality and gore.


Personally I prefer what Japanese pro wrestling, American Pro Wrestling just doesn't have anything interesting going on, they haven't since the territorial days. In Japan it is taken alot more seriously (aside from the comedy wrestlers), Its not as popular as it was throughout the 60s to the 90s (where it was the 3rd most popular "Sport" on TV after Baseball and Sumo), but the big promotions are still going strong. Their work ethic is stronger and hit harder than the wrestlers in the US, and at the end of a match they look like they've really been through the wars. And Unfortunately, because its a rougher sport over there, some people have died from injuries sustained in a match (Plum Mariko for instance).

[ladyshiro]

I just watched it because of the cutie half nakey guys. And plus Sting was just so cool. (I knew it was fake it's just a fun to watch) I've got autographics from a few of the wrestlers from WCW and from Impact.

[Thousand Eyes]

I actually grew up watching WWF wrestling back in the 80s when guys like Iron Sheik, Captain Lou Albano, Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Hillbilly Jim, Hulk Hogan, Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Ricky Steamboat, Big John Studd were around. I used to collect the tall rubber action figures (well, just King Kong Bundy and Bruno Sammartino) and Hostess Chips stickers too lol. Then I stopped watching after 1994 'cause I didn't have cable television anymore. A few years later, I got back into pro wrestling, but mainly WCW and ECW. ECW is probably my all-time favourite though. Everything about that promotion just clicked with me. Nowadays, I occasionally watch ROH and mainly Japanese puroresu like AJPW, NJPW, NOAH, Dragon Gate, K-Dojo, BJPW, etc. It's so much better than American pro wrestling IMO. It's more exciting, realistic and unpredictable.

[Trefellin]

:lol: Here's one of the three I listed. [OBLIGATORY!]


It's true though. After a few years they just start recycling old stories. I like watching the Mexican style stuff, Ultimo Dragon is one of the coolest bastards ever, but I've seen all they have to offer. Much of the time, the plot annihilates my Burmese village of willing suspension of disbelief with a massive tidal wave of pure cheese.