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[HRK69]

Nut how is that different to watching a film or tv show? They're just pretending to beat people up for our enjoyment.

Fair point.

It's just a bit "too pretend" for me

 

[Braag]

WWE peaked during the Stone Cold x Rock x Limp Biscuit promo.

I was a teenager when Stone Cold vs McMahon was all the rage. Him dressing up in different costumes to jump Vince was hilarious tbh

 

[Just_one]

I can't believe people waste their precious time on this junk.... I've seen more convincing acting from Bollywood movies. I don't remember it being this bad 15 years ago so what the hell happened...

I would genuinely watch shit like this if they actually kicked eachother's ass for real but this fake crap I'll never understand and even less so the people engaged daily in such "entertainment".

But whatever...

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I remember watching WWE for the first time as a kid

The confusion was so real. I didn't understand what was happening. Why are all these people in the arena watching this obviously fake fight with bad acting?

And the worst part? The audience. Thousands of people screaming, cheering, and reacting like any of it was real. Were they seriously buying into this nonsense? How could anyone be entertained by something so blatantly staged and hollow?

Even as a kid, I couldn’t understand how anyone could sit through it without cringing. Every aspect of WWE, its fake fights, forced rivalries, awful dialogue, and cartoonish theatrics, felt like an insult to actual sports, real combat, and even just good storytelling. It’s one of the worst forms of entertainment I’ve ever seen, and to this day, I can’t wrap my head around why people still watch this shite

Wrestling is basically the equivalent to superhero movies. People in costumes acting weird, cheesy and doing crazy fights. Key difference is that as staged as wrestling is, at least they are super fit. charismatic, live fights and doing the acrobatics being tossed around getting banged up for real while movie stars are cheesy green screen fights, use stunt doubles, or do a million takes to get the action scene right.

Same kind of shit if you think about it.

I bailed on wrestling in early high school. I gravitated more to watching baseball and hockey whenever they were on. As well as 90210 and Melrose Place as cheesy as those were too. Heather Locklear and Alyssa Milano. Yum

 

[Loke]

I can't believe people waste their precious time on this junk.... I've seen more convincing acting from Bollywood movies. I don't remember it being this bad 15 years ago so what the hell happened...

I would genuinely watch shit like this if they actually kicked eachother's ass for real but this fake crap I'll never understand and even less so the people engaged daily in such "entertainment".

But whatever...

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Never knew that happened till the net came about. This one too. lol

 

[NickFire]

what is the reason in storyline?

I think it will end up being as simple as:
1) Cena is tied for all time title wins and wants to break record; and
2) He's older and rusty from going part time and thinks he needs help crossing the finish line to all time title winner.

 

[AJUMP23]

Going all in.

 

[DKehoe]

The wrestling industry being weird about people calling it fake and them trying to "protect the business" has only made it look weirder to outsiders.

 

[Fermbiz]

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

I was a teenager when Stone Cold vs McMahon was all the rage. Him dressing up in different costumes to jump Vince was hilarious tbh

Maybe it's fake as fuck but it's entertaining and hilarious.

 

[Diddy X]

John Cena's recent heel turn has been a major shock to the wrestling world. At the WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, Cena turned heel for the first time in two decades2. This move was part of his farewell tour and set up a dramatic storyline leading to WrestleMania 412.

Cena's heel turn involved aligning himself with The Rock, who has been playing a villainous role for over a year. Cena attacked Cody Rhodes, the current WWE Champion, after winning the Elimination Chamber match2. This betrayal was a significant moment, as Cena had been a babyface (good guy) for most of his career4.

Cody Rhodes, on the other hand, has been the face of WWE since defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. The Rock had offered Rhodes a chance to be his champion, but Rhodes refused6. This refusal led to Cena's attack, setting up a highly anticipated match between Cena and Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

Cena's heel turn has added a new layer of excitement to his farewell tour and has set the stage for an epic showdown with Cody Rhodes

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Fair point.

It's just a bit "too pretend" for me

Yeah... the 2000s really turned me off to WWF(E)
I miss when they did more wrestling than bullshitting, tbh.

 

[Bert Big Balls]

I can't believe people waste their precious time on this junk.... I've seen more convincing acting from Bollywood movies. I don't remember it being this bad 15 years ago so what the hell happened...

I haven't watched WWE for probably close to 20 years, and this honestly looks like absolute fucking garbage now. The acting is atrocious. Guy is fucked on the floor, Cena picks up the belt and the dude perks up so he can crawl over to get hit. It's not even done in a believable way.

 

[BlackTron]

I remember watching WWE for the first time as a kid

The confusion was so real. I didn't understand what was happening. Why are all these people in the arena watching this obviously fake fight with bad acting?

And the worst part? The audience. Thousands of people screaming, cheering, and reacting like any of it was real. Were they seriously buying into this nonsense? How could anyone be entertained by something so blatantly staged and hollow?

Even as a kid, I couldn’t understand how anyone could sit through it without cringing. Every aspect of WWE, its fake fights, forced rivalries, awful dialogue, and cartoonish theatrics, felt like an insult to actual sports, real combat, and even just good storytelling. It’s one of the worst forms of entertainment I’ve ever seen, and to this day, I can’t wrap my head around why people still watch this shite

It's DBZ trash talk devolving into a scripted corny fight by jacked dudes pulling western style punches over and over.

Some ingredients of the appeal are there, but they don't add up. Some are drawn to those ingredients while being able to ignore the others.

 

[T8SC]

What happened? I couldn't see him.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Load of pretenders

Big Daddy, real deal

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

I heard they trademarked break a wish

 

[Soodanim]

I can't believe people waste their precious time on this junk.... I've seen more convincing acting from Bollywood movies. I don't remember it being this bad 15 years ago so what the hell happened...

I would genuinely watch shit like this if they actually kicked eachother's ass for real but this fake crap I'll never understand and even less so the people engaged daily in such "entertainment".

But whatever...

 

[The Pleasure]

 

[Burning Blade]

Last time I watched WWF was when I was in early high school when Ultimate Warrior was the craze. Fun shit watching Hulk Hogan, Mr Wonderful, British Bulldogs, hot Elizabeth etc...

I think I quit watching around grade 10 or 11.

Leaping Lanny Poffo would always get his ass kicked but did awesome flips.

All Macho’s bro could do was cut promos. He was shit in the ring.

 

[bender]

Maybe it's fake as fuck but it's entertaining and hilarious.

Maybe?!?!?

 

[Trilobit]

These kinds of people don't really ever retire. It's more like a year long vacation and then they're back again.

 

[Mr Blobby]

the people coming on here to call out wrestling as fake as if they're blowing the lid on some giant secret.

 

[adamsapple]

the people coming on here to call out wrestling as fake as if they're blowing the lid on some giant secret.

look at this fake ass shit man

 

[Mr Blobby]

look at this fake ass shit man

haha that's awesome. you're looking at it the wrong way. It's well choreographed, redneck opera where all sorts of weird shit can happen and it's fun. Fake is some superhero swinging his fists over a green screen

 

[ChazAshley]

I know I know, it's 30 mins of a video why he enjoys pro wrestling but he tackles it a non-typical argument. Worth watching if you want to see why people like it (not convicing you to like it)

 

[Just_one]

Maybe it's fake as fuck but it's entertaining and hilarious.

the frying pan sound hitting vince´s head always gets me to this very day.

vince could be a pervert and everything else but goddamn he was the best heel of all time , hands down

 

[adamsapple]

Capcom's meme game is strong

 

[Marlenus]

The wrestling industry being weird about people calling it fake and them trying to "protect the business" has only made it look weirder to outsiders.

Fake implies they don't do the actual stunts.

The winner is pre arranged and the fights will have certain moves they want to perform but essentially it is a combination of ad-hoc choreography, a live stunt show and improv acting around some kind of loose story line.

You can't really call the Mankind Undertaker hell in a cell match fake in terms of the risk the performers are taking on.

 

[Sub_Level]

look at this fake ass shit man

AI generated. Yawn.

 

[Hohenheim]

Wow, this sport is so cringey it's insane.

 

[cormack12]

I remember growing up and everyone saying wrestling was fake and you clung to the idea it was real when you were a kid.

Seeing this, and also seeing wrestling live really vindicates all those arguments with my dad. It was real then, and it's real now.

 

[GateofD]

I remember watching WWE for the first time as a kid

The confusion was so real. I didn't understand what was happening. Why are all these people in the arena watching this obviously fake fight with bad acting?

And the worst part? The audience. Thousands of people screaming, cheering, and reacting like any of it was real. Were they seriously buying into this nonsense? How could anyone be entertained by something so blatantly staged and hollow?

Even as a kid, I couldn’t understand how anyone could sit through it without cringing. Every aspect of WWE, its fake fights, forced rivalries, awful dialogue, and cartoonish theatrics, felt like an insult to actual sports, real combat, and even just good storytelling. It’s one of the worst forms of entertainment I’ve ever seen, and to this day, I can’t wrap my head around why people still watch this shite

I dunno I think it’s worst that in boxing or ufc matches where the crowd cheers for people beating eachother up for real.

 

[March Climber]

I remember watching WWE for the first time as a kid

The confusion was so real. I didn't understand what was happening. Why are all these people in the arena watching this obviously fake fight with bad acting?

And the worst part? The audience. Thousands of people screaming, cheering, and reacting like any of it was real. Were they seriously buying into this nonsense? How could anyone be entertained by something so blatantly staged and hollow?

Even as a kid, I couldn’t understand how anyone could sit through it without cringing. Every aspect of WWE, its fake fights, forced rivalries, awful dialogue, and cartoonish theatrics, felt like an insult to actual sports, real combat, and even just good storytelling. It’s one of the worst forms of entertainment I’ve ever seen, and to this day, I can’t wrap my head around why people still watch this shite

WWE/WWF has always essentially been coordinated stuntwork with mic improv. The point of it is to emulate the feel of watching an action show or movie, but with it feeling 'live/in person'.

So imagine sitting in same room while watching this scene:

However, with WWE a director cannot yell 'cut!' mid-match, so the wrestlers have to make sure that their routine is rock-solid and coordinated for anywhere between 5 minutes to 20 minutes straight. Same goes for the camera men near the ring and the live editor outside of it, who have to make sure that they show the perfect angles for every move and moment.

As a performer, being really good at both mic and wrestling maneuvers/stuntwork meant that you would rise to a reasonable degree (or to the top) and get more coverage, accolades, and enough fame to potentially get you gigs outside of the company's umbrella.

The stunts themselves however, are very real and can be very dangerous. Look up Owen Heart's death, or the multitude of injuries sustained, especially from the 'high flyer' wrestlers who would always jump off of a turnbuckle, ladder, or cage to the mat or floor. Or look up CM Punk's tell-all podcast he did with Colt Cabana years ago when he had quit the WWE and hated the company, as he reveals a lot of the behind-the-scenes mess that occurred back then under Vince Mcmahon's leadership. Or even look up that one WWE training camp segment that they used to film showing people having to practice fall on the wrestling mat over and over and over until their bodies became accustomed to not only how it felt, but also so that they were able to land correctly without injury and maneuver immediately after doing so.

I think the issue is that people get so caught up on the punches thrown with no power, that they assume everything else is just as fake. To a degree, I understand why this thought process happens as you'd also see wrestlers 'sell' a punch or throw like a stuntman would do in a movie after getting a spinkick to the face, as I've posted in the gif above. However, when you add in all of the other factors I've listed above it should hopefully be understandable as to how people would find it entertaining.

There is a good reason why UFC, for years, has tried to emulate the way WWE does stuff outside of the fighting itself. Having stories about heroes, villains, heel turns, face turns, twists, etc. adds to the engagement factor and makes the audience feel like they're part of an ongoing story.

 

[DKehoe]

Fake implies they don't do the actual stunts.

The winner is pre arranged and the fights will have certain moves they want to perform but essentially it is a combination of ad-hoc choreography, a live stunt show and improv acting around some kind of loose story line.

You can't really call the Mankind Undertaker hell in a cell match fake in terms of the risk the performers are taking on.

Sure, I would agree with you. Wrestling can take a lot of skill, creativity and physical toughness. So I don't say what I said to detract from wrestling as a medium. As a wrestling fan, I have a lot of respect for those who do it. But the reality is that people found it weird that wrestling insisted it's real when it's not. Imagine the response if an action movie star appeared on a talk show to promote their latest film and insisted they have superpowers, are a member of an elite military force, and genuinely hate the villain featured in their movie. Up until fairly recently that's basically the approach the wrestling industry took and I think that's where the "but it's fake" angle comes in with wrestling that's not present in other mediums. It's one thing to maintain the illusion within the confines of your own shows to build suspension of disbelief, but people aren't going to play along if you try and keep it up in the "real world."

So if the public view it as fake and will inevitably want to prod at that idea then there are two options. You can lay it out like you have and explain why calling it fake might be seen as disrespectful or inappropriate. Or you can insist that it’s real and physically assault people that ask about it. The wrestling industry did the latter for about a century and insisted to itself that it was getting one over on the public despite them knowing that it wasn't a legitimate sport. They thought that acting that way was "protecting the business." My point is I feel like "protecting the business" actually made it look worse.

Let's say you're an average member of the public in 1984, one who doesn't watch wrestling but you know it's not a legitimate contest like it claims to be. You watch a reporter put it to David Schultz that wrestling is fake and see Schultz slap him in response. Do you suddenly have a newfound respect for the professional wrestling industry or do you think they're weird and overly sensitive?

 

[Marlenus]

Sure, I would agree with you. Wrestling can take a lot of skill, creativity and physical toughness. So I don't say what I said to detract from wrestling as a medium. As a wrestling fan, I have a lot of respect for those who do it. But the reality is that people found it weird that wrestling insisted it's real when it's not. Imagine the response if an action movie star appeared on a talk show to promote their latest film and insisted they have superpowers, are a member of an elite military force, and genuinely hate the villain featured in their movie. Up until fairly recently that's basically the approach the wrestling industry took and I think that's where the "but it's fake" angle comes in with wrestling that's not present in other mediums. It's one thing to maintain the illusion within the confines of your own shows to build suspension of disbelief, but people aren't going to play along if you try and keep it up in the "real world."

So if the public view it as fake and will inevitably want to prod at that idea then there are two options. You can lay it out like you have and explain why calling it fake might be seen as disrespectful or inappropriate. Or you can insist that it’s real and physically assault people that ask about it. The wrestling industry did the latter for about a century and insisted to itself that it was getting one over on the public despite them knowing that it wasn't a legitimate sport. They thought that acting that way was "protecting the business." My point is I feel like "protecting the business" actually made it look worse.

Let's say you're an average member of the public in 1984, one who doesn't watch wrestling but you know it's not a legitimate contest like it claims to be. You watch a reporter put it to David Schultz that wrestling is fake and see Schultz slap him in response. Do you suddenly have a newfound respect for the professional wrestling industry or do you think they're weird and overly sensitive?

The stunts are real, yes they are done with the intent that everyone goes home at the end of the night, but they are dangerous and things can go very wrong.

The result is predetermined but that is not the same as fake because fake has connotations that the stunts are not actually dangerous which is very disrespectful given the injuries and deaths that have occured over the years.