Don't Call It Fake, Dangit*!

Here is the promised blog entry written by my friend, Brett Warren Huff, about WWE. Enjoy.

"As many of you know, I am a wrestling fan. And as a wrestling fan, I get a lot of heat from people who do not understand the appeal of the squared-circle. They tell me that it is fake, it is not a real sport, and the acting and storylines are terrible. And I don't dissagree with them. But if that is all you are looking at, then you really don't see the real art of professional wrestling.
Wrestling is not about sport. The winners are decided well in advance. But there is a competition that happens in the ring that not everyone sees. Wrestlers who win matches don't win because they beat their opponent up. They win because the company has confidence in them to entertain the fans. Usually this means that they are good at creating the illusion of what we see as fighting. Pretending to get hurt almost hurts as much as actually getting hurt. I know that sounds funny, but these men inflict pain on themselves every day, but they inflict just enough to make it believable and not enough to put anyone out of commission. This takes a great deal of skill and practice, much like any real sport.
The acting is usually terrible, but what else can you expect from these guys? They are paid to get hurt and get a crowd excited. The acting has to be over the top in order to generate a response in front of a live crowd, just as stage actors act differently than those in films or on television.
I know what you're thinking: maybe I can believe the part about the wrestlers being athletes, and maybe I can understand the bad acting, but why should I find it entertaining? The answer is this: two of our societies favorite pastimes are sports and drama. Wrestling combines both of these. All it is is scripted sports, and what could be better than that? During real sports broadcasts, the broadcasters are always trying to find some drama in the game that will intrigue us. Example: Shaq and Kobe. Ooooooo, can't you feel the tension between them? Or when Ron Artest went into the stands and attacked fans. That was in the news for weeks and we just ate it up. Or how about that episode of Friends where they play football on Thanksgiving day? That's one of the best episodes they ever did. Combining sports and drama is one of the best ways to entertain people.
So don't tell me wrestling is fake. It is no more fake than the rest of the shows you'll watch on television. That's like telling someone that those people on Lost aren't really the survivors of a plane crash. And any injuries those characters suffer aren't real. But wrestlers hurt themselves everyday to entertain us. They will even cut themselves when you're not looking in order to make it realistic (Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels do it on a daily basis, I think). Tell them its not real. I'm sure you'll get a knife edge chop accross the chest. Woooooooo!"

* Edited from original version.