That's true, but the showmanship does boil down to basically, fighting. Choreographed, highly-stylised, but still fighting.
I'm not saying it's a definite thing, but in an industry where having horrendously pumped up muscles is the key to success, it's extremely likely steroids are taken, if just to get an edge. Plus the way their veins stick out, even when they're not exerting themselves, there's something unnatural about the whole thing (aside from the obvious).
Having horrendously pumped muscles isn't the key to success, because there have been successful pro-wrestlers who aren't like that. Kurt Angle is an olympic gold medallist, for example.
There are of course, wrestlers like that. However they aren't muscley to a degree that CAN'T be achieved through training. Obviously you'd be forgiven for thinking so in such an image driven medium.
-AC
Deathblow - Many people think like you do. I'm not gonna try and change that view - but the way I see it is that wrestling is a show. Just like a show at a fun fair, or circus. These people are stuntmen, in essence. Except these guys get one "take" to get it right (they DO NOT rehearse matches in this day and age). That's pretty impressive considerring their lives are on the line.
Ever seen a real fight? It's boring! The fighters are serious, with no charisma. Wrestling provides that entertainment. Most people these days that enjoy wrestling KNOW its fake these days - they just accept that and enjoy the show.
As of late, WWE seems to be taking in more steroid-pumped losers (there weren't many of them, but recently all the new guys are jacked up and can barely move) and body builders as opposed to PROPER wrestlers like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. It's going to sh*t basically.
There's a big grey area when it comes to wrestling. You have good honest wrestlers like Kurt Angle, Benoit, Jericho etc who put on truly entertaining matches. Hell even Ric Flair in his old age is still better than the majority of new guys. WWE chooses to push and expose the chaff these days, as opposed to the wheat. That's why I think wrestling is mis-interpretted as crap, because half the time it is crap.
Originally posted by Red Superfly
That's why I think wrestling is mis-interpretted as crap, because half the time it is crap.
I appreciate everything you said there RS, you made a good case, but the quote above pretty much sums up wrestling, for me and the many others. It can't be a mis-interpretation of crap, if it is in fact crap. Call me snobbish, but the whole thing, from the big theme-tunes and entrances, to the ridiculous acting and of course, the pink lycra costumes...it just doesn't hold an ounce of appeal for me.
But as for the real fight thing, they're anything but boring. Fights, as in professional martial art fights, even choreographed ones, are works of art when involving skilled combatants, and real fights...I'm not in anyway encouraging street fights and whatnot, or saying I enjoy seeing them, but they're not boring. Anything can happen, and unlike wrestling, the outcome can never be predicted.
Well I meant half the time it's crap because at the moment wrestling is stuck in a bit of a rut.
Wrestling seemed to be getting it's act together around 1997 to about 2001. It introduced realistic-yet-colourful characters like Stone Cold, The Rock, HHH, Mankind etc (and the roster was bolsetrred by additions such as Jericho, Benoit, Kurt Angle etc later on) and had decent storylines, and the lower tier wrestlers such as the tag teams were flourishing. It was when the bad guys were bad, and the good guys were just as bad. The belts were quite credible and was helluva lot more fun.
Nowadays it is mostly crap. Half of the impressive moves have been banned. There's no incentive to put on a good show - no competition. Most of the guys are musclebound losers with absolutely no talent. Vince McMahon has a "big useless guy" fetish so it ain't gonna change anytime soon either.
Every now and then we get some really good matches. They usually involve Kurt Angle. The ONLY new guy with any sort of greatness to him is Shelton Benjamin, but because he was brought in during this "boring" stage in WWE's life, he hasn't got much of a gimmick, or character. That's the problem with modern WWE. It either has stupid gimmicks, or none at all. There's a fat guy pretending to be a superhero called Rosey. How lame is that? He's the current tag team champ. WWE has gone down the shitter ever since it bought WCW and sent ECW down the pan.
I mean, the guy we are talking about, John Cena, is one of the WWEs current big stars. He has like, ONE move. It's some sort of crappy fireman-carry slam he calls the FU. Possibly the worst finishing move of all time. There's nothing to these wrestlers anymore. Apart from a rap CD.
I might pick up my guitar, build up some muscle, come up with one decent wrestling move and I'll be the next big thing.