Do any of you follow pro wrestling?

[Dave Gray]

I know it's not a sport, but as it's athletic and has crossover, I thought this maybe the best place to put the thread.

I do not follow WWE, but I watched it some as a kid.  Then, it had a resurgence in college when some friends were into it.

I was amazed to find that pretty much everything ever is free to stream on Peacock.  Like, Wrestlemania was just free and live....not to mention every other Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Hell in the Cell, etc -- ever.

I went back and watched a few matches.

But what I've really been into lately is the behind-the-scenes stuff.  There is a show (you can watch it for free on Tubi or Pluto with commercials) (or on Hulu) called Dark Side of the Ring that is basically 30 for 30 on various wrestling stories and people.  And that shit is crazy.  I highly recommend it.  These are desperate people, on all kinds of drugs, led by egomaniacs, and probably many of them have mental illness.  It's a recipe for disaster and death and it keeps happening again and again.

Also, there's stuff I've never thought of, but there's a very gray area between wrestling someone and committing assault.  In these smaller, more hardcore settings, these guys would just do stuff the other guy didn't agree to, including tasing them, throwing them off of high stuff, and even stabbing them with knives.

Wild shit.

[Fau Teixeira]

My kid is into WWE right now, so we watch the premium live events on peacock and he watches smackdown on friday nights.

[Phishfan]

As a kid I loved it but I grew out of it. I sometimes watch the behind the scenes stuff if it is about someone from my era.

[Sunstroke]

I've never got into the whole fake-wrestling stuff. Pretty sure I've never made it past the 2-minute mark of any wrestling show without changing the channel and thinking "Surely there must be a real sport on another channel...."

[Dave Gray]

^ I think the mistake is to try to watch it like it's sports.  It's like watching a play or a soap opera or something that uses improv.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I follow it, used to be a huge fan and almost signed up for the ECW Wrestling School, but alas I was short and injured. That was a blessing in disguise since almost all of those guys are brain damaged or dead.

The WWE App being bought by Peacock is a literal dream for wrestling fans, the archive is insane. I think AEW may soon have something like that with Warner Bros but we won't know that until next week at the earliest when they do network upfronts.

[Sunstroke]

^ I think the mistake is to try to watch it like it's sports.  It's like watching a play or a soap opera or something that uses improv.

Like the parody they did on South Park for "Rassling".  Funny stuff...guess I just prefer that play in cartoon form.   

[MaineDolFan]

I love pro-wrestling.  I have since I was a kid.  You have not people watched until you've been to a live pro wrestling match.  You know it's fake scripted, I know it's fake scripted.  But there are people who do not and they are a joy to watch, almost as fun as the matches themselves.

[AQNOR]

I love pro-wrestling.  I have since I was a kid.  You have not people watched until you've been to a live pro wrestling match.  You know it's fake scripted, I know it's fake scripted.  But there are people who do not and they are a joy to watch, almost as fun as the matches themselves.

It's amazing how they can script it to get people to continue to watch and fill the large arenas these events are held in.  Some of these people would make amazing movie/tv show producers.

[Dave Gray]

You know it's fake scripted, I know it's fake scripted.  But there are people who do not and they are a joy to watch, almost as fun as the matches themselves.

There's something else at play, too.  Even if it's scripted, fans will get mad at the script.  (Just like TV)  Recently, some guy named Roman Reigns has had the belt for way too long and they built a guy Cody Rhoades up to beat him in this epic climax over years.  And then Cody lost anyway and the community was upset about it.  ....felt like they missed their window and stretched the story too long.

It's not all that different than a TV show making a choice you don't like.

Are there adults that actually think this is real at this point?

[AQNOR]

There's something else at play, too.  Even if it's scripted, fans will get mad at the script.  (Just like TV)  Recently, some guy named Roman Reigns has had the belt for way too long and they built a guy Cody Rhoades up to beat him in this epic climax over years.  And then Cody lost anyway and the community was upset about it.  ....felt like they missed their window and stretched the story too long.

It's not all that different than a TV show making a choice you don't like.

Are there adults that actually think this is real at this point?

Some of it is.  You can't fake getting hit with a chair or being thrown off the top of a steel cage onto a folding table at ringside.   There's a reason why wrestlers are so messed up by middle age and why a lot of them die early.

[Dave Gray]

Of course.  They're stunts.

They die early almost exclusively because of drugs, not because of wresting injuries.