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Professional wrestlers and their fans cannot seem to leave behind that stale old accusation ‘wrestling is fake” even after all these years.
Whether they were called out about their profession by reporters in the earlier days or by fans on social media in more recent times, calling wrestling fake is far too simplistic. Sure, it’s scripted, but real people put their bodies on the line in real time in a display of sheer athletic ability and power for millions around the world and that cannot be fake.
Here’s a look at five wrestlers who make it very clear what they think of the ‘’wrestling is fake” accusation:
#5 Alberto del Rio
The WWE has a huge following in India and in their bid to move forward, they sent Alberto del Rio on a three day visit to the country starting on 7 July 16, 2016. The visit caused quite a flurry among the faithful in Kolkata and Bengaluru where he visited.
While he was here, in an interview with a reporter from NDTV, you guessed it, he was asked what he thinks of wrestling being called fake. Now del Rio is supposed to be a nice guy but even he couldn’t hide his displeasure at the question.
You have to admit, no one likes their work being called fake and meaningless – especially when you work so hard at it.
He handled the question quite well. Here’s what he had to say -
"If someone thinks wrestling is fake... the storylines sure, but the matches are real … and if someone says I don't watch wrestling because it's fake, well, would you like to try doing it first?"
#4 Xavier Woods
Fans can really connect with their favourite pro-wrestlers thanks to social media. Unfortunately for the superstars, it brings a lot of hate their way too. Recently on Twitter, a user who is most definitely not a fan made the old mistake and called wrestling fake.
Xavier Woods, a man of many words, who’s most known for his loquacious persona, really brought the argument to him when he tweeted a message he had for the guy. His response was articulate and summed up everything professional wrestling should be seen as.
#3 Seth Rollins (and a few others)
Dana White recently called the WWE “fake s#&t” on Twitter when a fan tweeted that the WWE’s pay-per-view prices were better at $9.99 than the UFC’s. And boy did his tweet make both fans and the wrestlers of the WWE mad.
A number of superstars, new and retired, took to everyone’s favourite social media platform and let their opinions known.
Seth Rollins was quick to point out Dana White’s absolute ignorance about being a wrestler and treated his comments with the disdain they deserved. Quite a few superstars, such as Sheamus, Austin Ares, MVP and Mick Foley were quick to tweet their ire too.
#2 Paige and Alberto del Rio
Right after the Money in the Bank event in Las Vegas this June, it was reported that Paige and Alberto del Rio were involved in a disturbance and Paige was arrested. Now the truth of the matter is slightly different.
Turns out, right after the event when Paige and del Rio were outside another drunken couple called them “fake wrestlers” and that’s what started the altercation.
Clearly, Paige and del Rio were not in the mood to be called fake right after a night of hard work. The remark caused a bit of a scuffle and even though the police were called to the scene no charges were filed and no arrests were made.
#1 “Dr. D” David Schultz
Professional wrestlers get asked about wrestling being fake a bit too often for their comfort. However, the most extreme reaction came from David Schultz back in December 1984. Emmy-award winning reporter John Stossel was doing an expose´ on the WWE when he told “Dr. D” David Schultz wrestling was fake at an interview.
Schultz’s reaction? – He punched Stossel knocking him to the ground.
Later, Stossel claimed his hearing had been damaged from the attack and sued Schultz for his actions.
Don’t believe it? Feel free to view the video above.
