10 misconceptions that we had about WWE as a child

This was probably our reaction when we knew the truth about our childhood misconceptionsChildhood and professional wrestling is a deadly combination. The pleasure of seeing all those wrestlers perform in the squared circle was second to none and there was a whole sense of innocence about the things though we were witnessing in actual violence. We enjoyed the sport, but we did not know how the wrestling business worked.We did not know about what went behind the scenes and we clearly didn’t know how complex the whole thing was, this lead to a lot of misconceptions as well. Most of these misconceptions that we had about the wrestling business as a child turned into funny childhood stories as we grew up. And this list is going to kick you in that nostalgic part of your brain with all those childhood misconceptions.

#12 A worthy Mention: All those double meanings

Al Snow and The Head

What does everybody want? What does everybody need? What does everybody love? Head.

Am I the only one who thought that everyone just loved Al Snow’s mannequin?

#11 Another Mention: WWE was the only wrestling company out there

WWE wasn’t the only promotion

The fans in India would relate to this one more as WWE was the only company that they had exposure to. TNA later came in and then this magical place called Internet brought us the likes of PWG, CZW, Ring of Honor and all the others.

#10 They use blood packets

Nope, Not blood packets

This probably had a lot to do with your parents and it is a common mainstream misconception about professional wrestling as well. As children, we thought or were forced to think that wrestlers used blood packets to showcase blood. Some of us even thought that it was ketchup which wrestlers hid under the ring.

And since the wrestler mostly bled from their head, the suspicions went to a different level. However, as we grew up and came to realize that wrestlers actually bladed to bleed, and this misconception came crashing down. It was a hard realization, but it somehow made us aware of the pain that wrestlers went through to add originality to the sport.

#9 John Cena was the best wrestler

With all respect

Okay, this might be a controversial one, but Cena is not the best wrestler. In fact, it would be hard to pick one wrestler from the lot because of the vast nature of the business. But clearly, John Cena is not the best wrestler. He is a great entertainer and a solid in-ring worker but when it comes to being the ‘best’, Cena is far from the debate.

As children, we worshipped him. He was the definition of coolness and we wanted him to win every match. This misconception was one of the reasons for the eventual success of Cena. When we realized that wrestling was not about having five moves and good looks, we started seeing the talent that other wrestlers had.

#8 Referees were dumb

I’m blind brother

I mean, who would be so idiotic to not look into the big screen that is right in front of him? The wrestlers do all the cheap tricks in front of the referee and referees will be like ‘I didn’t see that brother, so you win’. It was actually a frustrating thing as a youngster since your favorite wrestler lost some matches due to the referee’s dumbness.

When we grew up and all the air surrounding the same cleared, referees became as important as the wrestlers who were performing in the squared circle. But then again, shouldn’t WWE make them a bit more intelligent?

#7 Undertaker really had magical powers

The deadman

Undertaker was scary, Undertaker was magical and Undertaker had the power to be alive even after being dead. These were classic misconceptions we had about Undertaker. The guy had a lot of theatrics and supernatural stuff that forced us to believe that all of this was real. And the best part was when Undertaker came back from death.

He came to be known as the Dead Man and most of us thought that he was actually a zombie. So whenever someone told you that they were going to kill you, you had a readymade answer that said ‘I’m Undertaker, I cannot be killed’. The good old days.

#6 It was okay to try it at home

Don’t try this at home

Despite all those disclaimers that WWE showed on television about not trying it at home, we had a different idea. These disclaimers were not good enough to keep us away from playing wrestling with our siblings and pets. At the same time, we broke one or two furniture inside the house performing the moves (I clearly did).

And then we grew up. We realized the complexity that was involved in each wrestling move. The way, in which they protected the head, the way in which they landed, the way in which they used the laws of physics that we hated in school.

Everything made sense and we understood the limits that we were pushing as children.

#5 Winning the belt made you rich

The belt does matter

All the wrestlers that you saw on Television were fighting for the belt. They were literally desperate to get their hands on the same and we, as children naturally thought that the belt was valuable. The belt is indeed valuable, but it did not give the wrestler any extra money or he didn’t have the luxury of selling it to earn some bucks.

At one point or the other, we imagined ourselves holding the belt and being rich. But all those ended up being just like another childhood dream that failed to materialize amidst the realities of life that we learned while growing up.

#4 Wrestlers made their theme and attire

It did not come from his house

This was an utterly ridiculous misconception but back then, we had all the right to believe it. We thought that wrestlers sang their own wrestling themes and bought their attires from their home. Now, the attire part might be correct to an extent when it comes to the independent circuit. But in companies like WWE, there are special teams that design the wrestlers’ attires.

And when it comes to the theme music, it is a rare sight to see wrestlers use the songs that they sang. It took us a lot of time to realize all these and till then, we thought that Undertaker bought his hat and coat from his house or from whichever spooky place that he came from.

#3 Undertaker and Kane are brothers

Brother from another mother

Back then, WWE did their job so well that we didn’t know what was real and what kayfabe was. Add the innocence of childhood to the same, and this guaranteed some great misconceptions. One major thing among the lot was about the relationship between Kane and Undertaker. We actually mugged up the whole story that WWE fed us with and came to a conclusion that Kane and Undertaker were really brothers.

Even, now, there are certain fans out there who do not know that there is no relationship between these two wrestlers. Were you one among them? Well, say goodbye to your childhood then.

#2 Wrestling is for kids

Not all fans follow John Cena

This was the lie we told ourselves to stop watching wrestling.

When we realized that most of our friends found it nerdy to be a wrestling fan, we concluded that wrestling was for kids and found other stuff to follow. In reality, wrestling is not just for kids. It is for everyone out there who enjoys art. It is for everyone out there who appreciates the care that wrestlers put in to choreograph each move. It is for everyone that realizes the pain that superstars go through to entertain us.

Yes, there are John Cena fans but the WWE Universe is not filled with them, there are grown-ups as well. So if you stopped watching wrestling due to this lie, tear it apart and come back.

#1 It is not scripted

This expression is not scripted, i repeat, this expression is not scripted

We actually thought that all of it was competitive. I’m not using the words ‘fake’ and ‘real’ as it would be a sin to do the same as a wrestling fan. However, as children, we did think that everything that went down in the ring was unscripted. All the winners, all the losers, all the chair shots, the storylines, everything felt like the real life scenarios that we would see anywhere else.

And then the crossroads came, we realized that it was scripted and lost some part of our interest. Some fans understood the depth and stuck around while others came up with the ‘it’s for kids’ excuse and left the building.

Did we miss anything? Let us know.