Is wrestling real?
For as long as we can remember, wrestling has been a staple source of entertainment in most households. Childhood memories of watching our favorite superstars execute jaw-dropping moves on the canvas, immediately accompanied by us trying to emulate them despite the “Do not try this at home” warning that comes on at every interval.
Also, who can forget the Undertaker’s tragic story, of how he was betrayed and buried alive by his brother Kane, only to return as The Deadman for his revenge?
Oh! Those days!
And it doesn’t even stop there. WWE has put on some incredible shows in recent months and has a huge amount of momentum going into WrestleMania. The Bloodline storyline pitting Sami Zayne against the group has been one of the best storylines ever, filled with more betrayal than your average telenovela. And with big stars like Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and even John Cena set to do battle at WrestleMania 39, fans are hyped for the biggest show of the year to entertain them once again.
Unfortunately, growing up comes with wisdom (at least for some people), which means you start to notice certain things that were lost in the fugue of childhood enthusiasm. Like the entire story of the Undertaker and Kane, or even some of the moves. Which then begs the constantly-asked question, is wrestling real? Or is wrestling fake? Is it scripted, rigged, or another word for the same thing?
Well, the answer to all of those questions, as it is, is two-fold.
MORE IN THIS SERIES:
Is Wrestling Real?
That is not the correct question, because if Thanos taught us anything, it is that reality is subjective.
One person’s reality might not be another’s, since we all experience life differently. Hence, the correct question is, is wrestling fake?
No, it is not. What it is, is choreographed.
Now, you are probably quite confused and wondering what the hell is the difference between something being choreographed and being fake. So, let me put it to you this way:
Imagine you are watching a movie. The actors are clearly acting out a script, right? They have lines and cues and other what-have-yous, and unless you need the most real of reality checks (probably by Doctor Thanos above), you definitely know that Chris Pratt is not half-Eternal, Chris Hemsworth is not a Norse thunder god (even if he does look like one) and Chris Evans cannot run up to sixty miles per hour. So many Chrises.
But just because you know it is all acting does not stop you from enjoying the movie, because your focus is on the actors’ and actresses’ performances. How well they can portray whatever character they are acting as, and the amount of spirit they can pour into it to make it come to life.
Wrestling is no different.
So, to answer the question “Is wrestling real?”, when wrestlers enter the ring, they already know who is going to be the winner, and the whole match is choreographed to that end. Very much like a movie. However, the difference between a wrestling match and a movie is that stunts can go terribly wrong in wrestling. The most tragic example that comes to mind is that of Owen Hart, who died when his harness failed during a choreographed descent into the ring.
Try telling wrestlers like Mick Foley, who had his ear ripped off in the ring, or Scott Steiner, who was kicked in his throat during a match and required emergency surgery to repair his damaged trachea, that wrestling is “fake.”
According to former WWE Divas Champion Paige, it is taboo to call a wrestler fake. A more preferred term that appropriately defines the sport is kayfabe, a carny term thought to have originated from the Pig Latin for “be fake”, possibly originally by pronouncing it backward (“kay-feeb”).
A perfect example of kayfabe is the portrayal of the Undertaker as a dead man who was resurrected in the ring.
So, is wrestling real? Yes. But it’s also fake too. That’s what’s called an oxymoron.
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Is Wrestling Real: How does WWE work then?
The World Wrestling Entertainment organization hires writers to ensure a compelling storyline accompanies every bout. Although all wrestlers are accomplished athletes with years of training and experience, the fighting moves seen by fans are also choreographed into the story.
For instance, sources reveal that fighting scenes in WWE’s Women of Wrestling were choreographed like dance routines, where every move was scripted and practiced for a month in advance. While most matches are not prepared in advance, wrestling moves are planned before the games.
Typically every stage in a match is scripted by WWE scriptwriters. This includes storyline, themes, alliances, match duration, and the winner and loser. However, the fighting methods and finishing bouts are not dictated to the fighters, giving the fight a sense of mystery and suspense.
Also, there are no stuntmen to take the falls, and no second takes. It is live art, similar to theatre but with a great deal more risk and physicality. The hits are real. When they get thrown into the mat, it’s real. Those submissions that they lock each other in as they writhe around in pain? Any children who used to watch the WWE shows can attest that they do indeed hurt, since we all practiced them.
Injuries can, and do, happen in wrestling. Big stars like John Cena and CM Punk have spent years out of the ring thanks to injuries suffered in wrestling matches. The Rock cost the studio millions when he suffered an injury against John Cena at WrestleMania, delaying filming of Hercules for months.
Wrestlers have even died in the ring. Wrestler’s like King Kong Kurt and Mistuharu Misawa passed away during wrestling matches, while Owen Hart died doing a pre-match stunt that ended with him falling at a great height into the ring.
There’s also the backstage aspect of wrestling. It is sometimes more like a reality show than a sports broadcast. Half of the fun of wrestling is reading all the backstage rumours and arguments behind the scenes.
This even bleeds into the show sometimes. The rumours in 2014 were that Daniel Bryan wasn’t good enough to main event WresteMania. This led the fans to revolt and take over the show until he won the world title at the event.
Wrestler’s even use real things to add to their on-screen storyline. Eddie Guerrero’s death was used to promote Rey Mysterio’s Royal Rumble win in 2006, and weddings and divorces have been used in-storyline for years, no matter how tasteless.
Here are some terms you should know to further answer the question “Is wrestling real?”:
Smackdown, Raw and NXT
The WWE has two main weekly TV shows that feature a mix of pure wrestling and other talking segments: Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Currently, Raw (three hours) airs on Monday nights, and SmackDown (two hours) airs on Friday nights. Both are usually live.
There’s also NXT (which is for developing up-and-comers, be they homegrown by the WWE or signed in from other companies), and the upcoming NXT Europe (like NXT but led by British and European wrestlers and based on the continent). However, Smackdown and Raw are the main brands.
Wrestlers are usually “signed” to one show, but many flit between them despite that and there are semi-regular promotions from NXT and drafts and “shake-ups” between the brands. You can check out the full guide to current WWE TV right here.
And once a month, there is a special pay-per-view event (around 4-6hrs), more recently dubbed “Premium Live Events”. These are almost entirely made up of wrestling and are where the most important matches take place.
The most high-profile of these events is WrestleMania, which takes place annually in April.
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Pinfalls, Submissions, Faces and Heels
Every classic story needs a hero and villain. A good guy and a bad guy.
Faces or “babyfaces”: Sometimes known as “blue-eyes” in Britain and técnicos in Mexico, these are the good guys. They (often, but not always), stick to the rules and get cheered by the crowd. A classic example is John Cena.
Heels: Rudos in Mexican, these are the bad guys. They (often, but not always) cheat and are otherwise nefarious, and get booed by the crowd.
A heel turn is when a good guy goes bad, and a “face turn” is when a bad guy goes good. A “tweener” is an inbetweener; not quite face, and not quite heel. You don’t completely get what you get with a face, but you get a good crowd reaction.
Apart from these, there are countless variations and exceptions, but in your standard wrestling match, you can win in the following ways:
- Pin/pinfall: one wrestler holds down the other so both their shoulders are flat on the mat for three seconds
- Submission: one wrestler gets the other in a hold so painful that they submit, by saying they submit or tapping their hand to show that they quit
- Knockout: if a wrestler is knocked down and can’t stand up for ten seconds, they lose the match
- Count-out: if a wrestler is out of the ring for ten seconds, they lose the match
- Disqualification: if the referee disqualifies a wrestler for breaking the rules, they lose the match
Often (but not always) a title won’t change hands if the current champ loses by count out or DQ (or disqualification). There are also lots of other non-standard match types won in weird and wonderful ways, but the announce teams will usually talk through how those go.
Is wrestling real: Has any WWE match been real?
For fans, suspension, intrigue, and disbelief follow every match regardless of the ‘fakeness’ of the bouts. However, some fights in the WWE have been real. Here is a compilation of real fights that have occurred in the ring over the years.
- In 1999 an actual fight broke out between two tag teams, the Acolytes and their arch-rivals, the Public Enemy. According to the script, the Acolytes were supposed to win the match. However, the Public Enemy team decided otherwise and pummeled their opponents viciously.
- In 2001, a fight between former fighters Perry Saturn and Mike Bell ended in a real beat down. The fight has been linked to an accidental botched move by Bell.
- In 2004, former fighter Daniel Puder went off script in a fight against veteran Kurt Angle. The confrontation is said to have cost Puder’s career.
- Most recently, Brock Lesnar threw a real punch at Braun Strowman, The Monster among Men, during their Royal Rumble match in 2018.
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In Conclusion: Is Wrestling Real?
Professional wrestling is a mix of theatre, improv, TV drama, soap opera, sport, stage combat, reality television, unreality scripted television and a traveling circus. You’re clever enough not to ask if those are “real” or not, so you’ve got this.
Wrestlers, at their best, are master illusionists: Fans want to see specific things happen in the ring, and wrestlers, as experts in their craft, make them see it. You see what they want you to see, not what is truly happening!
So, is wrestling real? That’s for you to decide. But don’t forget what WWE stands for, after all: World Wrestling Entertainment.
