Millions of people every year take pleasure and enjoyment out of seeing sporting events live or on television. The drama of a late goal in the Premier League, a perfectly executed overtaking in Formula One and a brilliant hook shot in cricket that goes for a six.
But what you won’t hear on a regular basis is somebody saying “Did you see the match last night, when he jumped off from the top rope, it was amazing!” You’re now probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about.
For those who did understand that, well done. But if you didn’t I will let you know now, that I was making a reference to professional wrestling.
Many people’s knowledge about wrestling is limited. Knowing Hulk Hogan and The Rock is far as it goes. During the mid 1990s, wrestling made its way into mainstream television programming. With edgy characters and close to fatal matches, it became popular for all ages. But recently it has faded away again.
Before you start thinking about jacked up, tanned meatheads supposedly fighting, having battle royals (a match where the object is to throw your opponent over the top rope), I want you to stop and listen. I am not ignorant to the point that there are many people who believe wrestling, on the face of it, is a complete farce. They don’t actually punch each other and they always know who will win beforehand. That does not take away from the athletic ability that these wrestlers have. It seems as if sometimes wrestlers get a Raw deal.
All wrestlers partake in years of training and preparation in order to perform safely the moves and acts in the squared-circle and sell the manoeuvres they do, in order to create the illusion of pain. The athletes’ safety is the most important thing of all. These men and women take this career very seriously. so saying that the whole thing is “fake” is a huge insult to them. The competitors having a rough idea what will happen is sensible and reduces the risk of serious injury.
There are times when people say “it’s fake”. When I hear this I always show them a clip of one grappler being thrown 20ft to the floor, where there is no padding; it is just concrete he lands on. How on earth can you fake that? The fact is, you can’t. It’s a huge risk the men decide to take in order to create a crowd pop (a positive crowd reaction) and entertain.
That being said, there are far fewer injuries in professional wrestling than boxing, but most see that a far more respectable sport because the fighters actually bludgeon each other relentlessly for the enjoyment of blood-thirsty fans.
Other than watching someone getting a Smackdown put on them to entertain. With impressive feats of strength and bravery, high-flying stunts and stunning technical ability, all wrapped up in a well-planned slick pyrotechnics routine, it’s all there for the fans. Wrestlers create characters that convey hope, or make you hate them. This formula to make wrestling more entertaining was spearheaded by the WWE (formally the WWF), who re-formatted the profession to make it appeal to a wider audience.
One of the company’s most appealing workers is John Cena. His clean cut, never-give up attitude has made him incredibly popular with young fans, despite his occasional lack of basic wrestling ability. John Cena generates a huge amount of revenue for the WWE, through merchandise sales, I myself, own a bright orange John Cena t-shirt. This goes back to a real common theme in all sport now days. It’s a business, main purpose to make as much money as possible.
More recently, the WWE has tried to take a softer approach to physical combat. They have done this by disallowing weapon shots to the head, for instance. As a company, they have made vast improvements to healthcare and conditioning too. Back in the 1970s, if a performer couldn’t wrestle they didn’t get paid.
Until recently performers were expected to carry out ridiculous stunts with no compensation to themselves or their families if they were seriously hurt.
In May 1999, Canadian grappler Owen Hart died after an entrance stunt went wrong. He was being lowered by harness and wire to the ring from the arena rafters, when the clip holding him released early. He fell 78ft and landed on the top rope before being bounced into the centre of the ring. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead on arrival from internal bleeding. Many believe he actually died in the ring. Owen Hart was 34.
Nowadays, every wrestler has health insurance as part of their contracts, and clauses that ensure safety. This has made wrestling easier to watch for children and parents who are worried about what their children watch.
It has been made more exciting and accessible for children through more childish gimmicks escape from the seemingly brutal bouts of old. These gimmicks are sometimes tiresome, but that can be forgiven when you think about how good the rest of the show is.
I love professional wrestling and I always will. The fact that you never know what might happen next, whether a superstar will hit their finishing move or tap-out to a painful submission, it really does captivate me. I am always trying to get my friends and family to take more of an active interest.
So, I want to ask the people who think that wrestling isn’t a sport, what on earth is it then?
The answer I would suggest is, that it’s “sports entertainment”.
No comments:
Post a Comment