I think the "top", when referring to Professional Wrestling, is always going to be that age old argument: Is it real or is it fake? And my answer is simple: Professional Wrestling is not black and white. It simply cannot be classified as "real" or "fake", because there are so many different aspects to it, "Professional Wrestling" as a whole, simply cannot be labelled.
The best word to use when tackling the "fake factor" of Pro Wrestling, is 'pre-determined'. Every match has a pre-determined outcome, that the participants are aware of well before the match starts. Certain important moments, or 'spots', are choreographed beforehand, but for the most part, matches are called on the fly, and are spontaneous.
Pro Wrestling doesn't help it's own argument much sometimes, and it's primarily the punches that give it such a bad rap. Watch any wrestling match and, yes, the punches are painfully fake. What you need to keep in mind is that whenever two (or more) people are in the ring, having a match, they are working together. This is not a competitive sport (in this sense) like MMA, where you are actively working to defeat your opponent. Their #1 priority is their safety, and the safety of everyone involved in their match.
One thing that is important to understand is simply this: wrestling hurts. Yes, most things are pre-determined and the wrestlers willingly do the maneuvers, but they are not landing on a SleepNumber bed here folks. The ring is padded for slight protection (otherwise they'd break their backs), but when you're taking 20+ falls (or 'bumps') on it every match, 4 days a week, it adds up.
Another popular "fake vs. real" topic to discuss, is the blood. Most people are convinced that the blood is fake. If everything is pre-determined and planned out, then how could someone end up seriously hurt like that? While it may not be logical to most, yes, wrestlers cut their own foreheads and make themselves bleed in matches. This is called 'blading'. And while World Wrestling Entertainment has completely stopped the act of blading, it does still regularly happen in other companies, such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
These are all things that I'm sure I'll come back to in later posts, but for now I think that about covers the basics. From here on out I'll be blogging completely in wrestle-speak, as I'll call it, so I'll try to define most of the strange words below, and if I happen to miss one, I'll make sure to explain in a later post. I get mighty carried away when talking/discussing wrestling, so I hope I can at least keep it interesting even when posts go longer than I expected them to, like this one. I expect I'll have another post up sometime next week, and I'll be getting into current events, issues and shows. Hope everyone tunes in!
P.S. Take it from a CreComm grad, folks:
"Fake is not a word I like to use because there's nothing fake about what I do. It's a show, it's a predetermined outcome; we're putting on a television drama, action, comedy, whatever you want to call it -- but it's not fake. Fake would be if I was just about to take a body slam, and my stuntman did it. Fake would be if I was going to take a chair shot to the head, and the chair was made of rubber. I'll tell the world that it's a show, but I hate the word fake. It's such an unfair term to us."
-Chris Jericho (WWE Unscripted, 2003)
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Wrestling Vocabulary
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Blade - The act of using a concealed blade to cut one's own head (or any other body part) and draw blood.
Ex. He did a pretty awful job of blading.
Bump - Describes any type of fall, whether it's onto your back, your front, your head, whatever.
Ex. That was a painful looking bump.
Card - Describes all the scheduled matches for an event.
Ex. The card tonight looks pretty good.
Job - The act of losing in a match.
Ex. I heard John Cena is expected to job to Funaki tonight.
Jobber - A wrestler whose primary function in the company is to lose in order to make his opponents look good.
Ex. Boy, MVP has become such a jobber lately.
Kayfabe - The Professional Wrestling world, not reality. To pretend or talk like events in Pro Wrestling are real, or when a wrestler speaks as his character not the actual person that he is.
Ex. Triple H said he hates Vince McMahon, but I'm pretty sure that was just kayfabe.
Mark - Uneducated wrestling fan. Someone who believes some aspect of Pro Wrestling is real, and that some storylines are real.
Ex. That kid is such a mark.
Over - Popular with the fans.
Ex. Chris Jericho is so over right now.
Pop - A loud positive reaction/cheer from the crowd.
Ex. Did you hear that pop when The Undertaker came out??
Sell - To make an injury look real, when it's not.
Ex. Wow, Randy Orton really sold that neck injury.
Shoot - Used to define something that's real, and not kayfabe. Opposite of a work.
Ex. I think Ric Flair's promo on Carlito tonight was a shoot.
Smark - Fans who have a good understanding of how Pro Wrestling functions, and who know that it is pre-determined. Opposite of a mark.
Ex. At least all the smarks got what he was talking about.
Spot - Used to describe a significant moment, maneuver, or series of events during a match.
Ex. Did you see that spot in Evan Bourne's match?? I thought he was dead!!
Squash - Used to describe a very short match where one wrestler was dominant for the entire match, and did not make his opponent look good whatsoever.
Ex. Hornswoggle got completely squashed tonight.
Stiff - Describes moves or punches/kicks that are harder than they need to be.
Ex. Mr. Kennedy was being pretty stiff with Cody Rhodes tonight.
Work - Used to describe events happening in kayfabe. Opposite of a shoot.
Ex. Was Rey Mysterio's injury tonight just a work?
Wow, that is a lot of information...I love it, I am so excited to read your blog!! This is so exciting!
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