just a question (to wrestling fans)

[coola]

now i've been a fan of wrestling, like most kids do... and also like most kids i grew out of it... but why does it have such huge appeal amongst adults ? when there are sports such as K-1, boxing, foxy boxing and such ?

i'm not tryin to be a jack-ass, i just want to know what makes you like the sport ?

[Shallow]

Most see it as pure entertainment and don't go for actual competition, because that's not what wrestling is. Real fight sports don't have the characters that wrestling does (or did, I don't watch much these days). Also, in places like Japan it is viewed as an art, like figure skating or gymnastics but with a lot of emphasis on inring story telling (not the talking, the actual wrestling). Every great wrestling match is a story that unfolds. Not a pulitzer prize winning complex story but a story all the same. A lot revolves around what moves are done, why and when they are done and whether they make sense (they don't always but the best matches with the best wrestlers usually do), and it also has to do with how well the move is executed. The idea is to make it look as real as possible but make it not hurt all. Someone like Harley Race could throw an uppercut so close to the jaw with out hitting you it looks amazing, while someone like RVD couldn't freamof doing that so he throws weak looking forearms because otherwise he'd hit you for real, like Vader who would just hit you with out caring if you got hurt (which is why he'd wear padded gloves and punch the side of the body so often). It's a very complex form of entertainment that Vince McMahon decides to make very goofy.

[HD]

Most see it as pure entertainment and don't go for actual competition, because that's not what wrestling is. Real fight sports don't have the characters that wrestling does (or did, I don't watch much these days). Also, in places like Japan it is viewed as an art, like figure skating or gymnastics but with a lot of emphasis on inring story telling (not the talking, the actual wrestling). Every great wrestling match is a story that unfolds. Not a pulitzer prize winning complex story but a story all the same. A lot revolves around what moves are done, why and when they are done and whether they make sense (they don't always but the best matches with the best wrestlers usually do), and it also has to do with how well the move is executed. The idea is to make it look as real as possible but make it not hurt all. Someone like Harley Race could throw an uppercut so close to the jaw with out hitting you it looks amazing, while someone like RVD couldn't freamof doing that so he throws weak looking forearms because otherwise he'd hit you for real, like Vader who would just hit you with out caring if you got hurt (which is why he'd wear padded gloves and punch the side of the body so often). It's a very complex form of entertainment that Vince McMahon decides to make very goofy.

 

[daWappla]

Most see it as pure entertainment and don't go for actual competition, because that's not what wrestling is. Real fight sports don't have the characters that wrestling does (or did, I don't watch much these days). Also, in places like Japan it is viewed as an art, like figure skating or gymnastics but with a lot of emphasis on inring story telling (not the talking, the actual wrestling). Every great wrestling match is a story that unfolds. Not a pulitzer prize winning complex story but a story all the same. A lot revolves around what moves are done, why and when they are done and whether they make sense (they don't always but the best matches with the best wrestlers usually do), and it also has to do with how well the move is executed. The idea is to make it look as real as possible but make it not hurt all. Someone like Harley Race could throw an uppercut so close to the jaw with out hitting you it looks amazing, while someone like RVD couldn't freamof doing that so he throws weak looking forearms because otherwise he'd hit you for real, like Vader who would just hit you with out caring if you got hurt (which is why he'd wear padded gloves and punch the side of the body so often). It's a very complex form of entertainment that Vince McMahon decides to make very goofy.

Well said, indeed. Nice!


Nowadays I´m not even that much interested in it anymore like when I was a kid.. even by far not as much interested I´d say... When I started watching wrestling I was 9 or 10... I was immediately hooked and wanted to watch every show... I never understood a single word that was said but the basic good versus evil was enough that had to be understood...  Nowadays I´m way more interested in backstage happenings... like possible storylines or reasons for actual storylines... I´d also say that nowadays I can take a good match just for what it is -  a wrestling match not the revenge of a face whose wife got turned into a hooker by the rivaling heel lol...

[Mo Z. Dizzle]

for me, i started watching wrestling when i was 5 years old (19 right now)
at that time and for quite a few years, i believed it was real (just like most, if not all, kids did)
anywho, i saw all these wrestlers and some became favourites...so i kept watching to see how these wrestlers would end up
and basically as i wanted to see how these favourites would do and end up, i got sucked into the other storylines and stuff to see what would happen

then i discovered websites for wrestling and like daWappla said, im more interested to see what they are developing and what happens backstage and all that

i also wanted to be a wrestler when i was young so i watched every damn show and tried imitating as much as i could...eventually i hit the back of my head against the fireplace and since then, my wrestling dream stopped  lol

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

started watching it about 8 or 9 years ago all the time with my dad when I was younger so.. I dunno just still enjoy watchin and since I started with my dad its cool cause reminds me of him all the time I guess

[P Nelson]

I used to watch wrestling when I was young but didnt understand any english... didnt understand shit lol... I was just interested in some gimmicks, it entertained me.. then I started to be interested in the actual wrestling but not all that much. I then fell completely in love with wwF and until now, i'm still a fan. I love the storylines when they are well done and well they fuck it up I find it funny. Every monday i HAVE to watch it, i never miss it.

[Trauma-san]

started watching it about 8 or 9 years ago all the time with my dad when I was younger so.. I dunno just still enjoy watchin and since I started with my dad its cool cause reminds me of him all the time I guess

me too.

There's a psychological thing to it, as well.  I was thinking about this the other day.  Men are wired to be protective, that's what's genetically instilled in you... men are agressive and testosterone driven.  The fantasy stuff in wrestling is appealing because it appeals to the protector and the agressive person in you, you see this big freak like Kane and you like him because you think "Man, nobody can fuck with him! He'd kill somebody!" knowing full well it's fake; it's just a fantasy of what you deep inside wish you were capable of. 

When I was a little boy, my parents broke up, I used to go to my grandma's on saturdays when my dad would go on dates or something... my grandma would watch wrestling with me and my brother when I was 5 or so, and we'd watch Hillbilly Jim and Hulk Hogan.  My brother and I loved Hulk, we thought he was incredible, we were little kids and thought Hulk Hogan was a god walking around among men.  My father reminded me of Hulk Hogan too, always taking care of us, he was big and strong (to me), etc.  So when we moved out of state, we missed our grandma, and my dad would get us wrestling tapes and let us watch Hulk Hogan on television.  I watched for years then kind of grew out of it a bit, then got back in when Hogan got interesting again when he started the NWO.  By this time, Hulk Hogan was a hero of mine.  Boys (and men) often have heroes, even if they're fake.  Yours might have been the Ultimate Warrior, or Batman, whatever.

Now that my father has passed away, when I watch wrestling, and especially when I watch Hulk Hogan, i'm reminded of the good times I had with him and my brother and my grandmother when I was a little tiny guy.  Wrestling and Hulk Hogan are permanently intertwined with me, I often find myself watching just to see if Hulk will show up.  When he DOES show back up, I'll be watching that night, and he'll be exactly how he was in 1984 to me; he'll look the same, he'll do the same moves, and he'll win like he always has.

That's why I watch it.  Of course over the years I've grown to appreciate many of the other wrestlers as well and enjoy them. 

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

I love it when Hogan's music comes on.. DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN-DUN DUN DUN When it comes crashin down and it hurts inside...

[daWappla]

I love it when Hogan's music comes on.. DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN-DUN DUN DUN When it comes crashin down and it hurts inside...

Yap.. it´s great...

http://rapidshare.de/files/22091577/WWF_-_Real_American_by_Derringer.mp3.html

^ Not his original theme that he used when he came to the ring but a slightly modified version from a WWF album... still gold

... and I love the end in this version.. lol