Wrestling - just for kids?

Welcome to another blog post straight from my mind. I know these are now few and far between but I feel like blogging when passionate about something is important. This one is about my renewed love of wrestling and in particular that of the WWE. I have had people tell me recently that at 31 years of age it is immature to like wrestling of any kind and that it is 'fake'. I am here to tell you why all of that is bulls**t.

Where it all began

Back in the 1990's we had a really crap TV reception. So bad that when all this country had was analogue TV (yes I know satellite and cable existed but we couldn't afford that when I was a kid) and only five channels existed my family could get four of those...on a good day. BBC 2 was pretty clear and ITV, BBC 1 and Channel 4 all had snow effect on them. Channel 5 just couldn't be got without satellite or cable and no companies would run cable to our village so we just didn't get that channel.

Channel 4 used to show some wrestling. I am trying to think back and I believe it may have been Smackdown. That would have been on a Friday night and my Dad would record it and show it to us on the Saturday after lunch. My favourites were The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mark Henry, The Dudley Boyz and, of course, The Undertaker! 

Me and by brother liked it so much he got a wrestling video game for his PS2 (I can't remember which game it was) and we played it a lot. My point being that we were kids and we loved it. This would have been Attitude Era stuff and it was a lot more violent and sexist in those days. It was awesome!

Coming back

Unfortunately Channel 4 stopped showing any wrestling a long time ago and it all went exclusively to the sport channels on a certain satellite company. As a result I lost out on watching stuff and had to keep up with storylines and wrestlers by looking stuff up online. 

When I moved in to the house I am now living in with my now husband we got cable and, following a jig around of finances, we realised we could afford the sports channels. The first thing we did was record the wrestling. The second thing we did was subscribe to the WWE Network so that we could watch the pay per views (PPV). I was soon back in the swing of it and remembered why I have always loved sports entertainment.

For me it is about the escapism. I know that the matches are pre-determined but that is not the point. The fun is in the storylines around the matches. It is about finding a wrestler that you get invested in. 

Mine is Seth Rollins. I'll get this out of the way now...yes he is hot. There, I said it (my husband knows this). However, looks are not everything. Rollins is one of the best workers in the company (actually in the world). He has won championships outside of WWE (Ring of Honor, etc.) and was the first NXT champion (when FCW changed to NXT and the new title was created). He is a light heavyweight who fights like a cruiserweight. He is high flying and very fast, there are no gaps between his moves and you could never describe his matches as slow paced. Also, because of his incredible fitness, he can wrestle for long periods of time. Recently he competed in a Gauntlet Match for 65 mins (a Gauntlet Match is one where two wrestlers begin and the one who is pinned or submitted is eliminated, the winner stays in the ring and faces the next person down the ramp). To wrestle for over an hour is a phenomenal feat, especially as he was facing two of the best in the business (Roman Reigns and John Cena). He was only eliminated after Finn Balor (another amazing athlete) put him out after another 10 minutes or so of fighting.

See, you get invested. Rollins is now a Grand Slam champion after adding an Intercontinental Championship win to his impressive collection of titles (he's been NXT, WWE, US champ and Money in the Bank).

So is it 'fake'?

The most impressive thing for me is the sheer fitness level of the guys and gals who enter the business. They are all insanely strong and they are all so quick and impressive. Even the biggest of the current crop, Braun Strowman, is agile and fast. Gone are the days of the giants lumbering around the ring (Strowman's finishing move is called a Running Powerslam and this is him running with the opponent on his shoulder before he slams them into the mat). If nothing else you have to give them credit for the work they put in down the gym to be able to do this. Also, they don't just perform on TV as they all take part in live shows (also known as house shows or dark shows) three of four times a week! They sacrifice family moments, holidays and more just to perform and make it in the business. Technically they are all freelance with contracts at WWE and that means they have to make their own travel arrangements (including flying to other countries) and spend days on the road. They work with producers to ensure that fights follow the storylines set out for them and they work on promotion skills (Roman Reigns took acting lessons to improve his mic skills) and they have to sell tons of merch to make any money.

Yes the matches are pre-determined to match storylines WWE are trying to tell but that doesn't mean that what the performers do is 'fake'. Like I have stated they are all physically fit (probably the fittest people on the planet) and work so hard to create fun and exciting matches for the fans. Everything they do in the ring genuinely hurts. I was told recently that a 'bump' is the equivalent to being hit by a car at 10mph...only they do this about 10, 20, 30 times a match. Just imagine being repeatedly hit by a car at 10mph, that is going to build up to a lot of pain.

Regularly they tear muscles and ligaments. They have had teeth knocked into their skulls (INTO!) and been bled, had broken noses and sprains. Often you will see them come out with bruises (in a recent promo before Wrestlemania Roman Reigns had a black eye from a house show match). Seriously, this is insane! The stuff they put their bodies through for the love of the work and for the fans is unbelievable! They have my total respect!

See...it's escapism

The world is crap. There are crap things going on everywhere from civil wars to mass shootings. I know people with cancer who are going through horrible treatments just to stay alive. The world is full of sadness and anger. Plus, being an adult...one who suffers with anxiety...is shit too! My issues are no where near those mentioned above but I have daily struggles and I am not afraid to admit that.

For a few hours a week I can watch the wrestling and forget about the crap. I get to see my favourite (Rollins) throwing himself around the ring for my entertainment and be able to awe at his fitness and skill. We have the video game version of WWE (2K18) and I can play as my favourites and control who has what title. It is fun. It is escapism. There is nothing wrong with that.

So is it just for kids?

Sure kids are huge consumers of wrestling. For them it is all real. They don't understand the concept of 'kayfabe' (of what is real and what is not). Kids look up to their favourite wrestlers and want to be like them. They are superheros. That is why they are so emotional should they get to meet them and that is why it is important that the performers meet them and do it with a smile.

The best thing is that families can get involved. My generation are having kids of their own and we are all bringing them into that world. For those of us without kids it is pure harmless fun. We just enjoy it.

Don't tell someone that the thing they love is 'fake' and boring. If you find it so then great. It is not for everyone. Don't be that person that makes someone feel bad for liking something that is just for entertainment. It does not make you immature or stupid if you like wrestling. In fact, the brightest and most fun people I know love it!

The other thing is that it is for everyone. People who like different music, film genres and come from different walks of life have all found a global community of fans who make them feel like home. It has been a while since I have been in a community of fans of something that have made me feel like I'm in a family. To tell me, someone with anxiety and with difficulties in trusting others and making friends (for very good reasons I don't need to go into here), that I am immature for liking (nay loving) wrestling is just not good.