5 ms·

Why is it bizarre, its passionate, its enthusiastic, its physiscal, its brutal. A violent ballet with operatic storyline. Bizarre? No.

msla 9y ago
It's bizarre because it's the only form of fiction where some people are convinced the fans don't know it's fiction. Equivalently, it's the only form of fiction which some people think isn't "real". Try this on for size: "You know movies aren't real, right?" Can you seriously imagine anyone saying that? It would be utterly absurd. Yet in discussions of wrestling, it's par for the course.
- HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
  > It's bizarre because it's the only form of fiction where some people are convinced the fans don't know it's fiction. A fun way to make sure you aren't invited back to parties is to convince those people that you genuinely believe the UFC is a work while pro-wrestling is a legitimate competition.
- lmm 9y ago
  Nowadays "Reality TV" is in the same position.
- InitialLastName 9y ago
  When I was 10, a classmate hit me over the head with a folding chair in defense of the reality of pro wrestling. The adult fans might know it's fiction; children are still figuring out where that line sits.
- lllr_finger 9y ago
  Wrestling fans can be broadly defined as "marks" who buy into the illusion, and smart marks who understand the illusion and how it relates to business. Arguably the largest part of this illusion "kayfabe" has been dead for years and years - everyone knows wins and losses are predetermined. That doesn't stop promotions from using wrestling news and social media to blur the lines of what's real and fake when it comes to contracts, injuries, and alliances.
  - failrate 9y ago
    Vince McMahon was required to kill kayfabe to avoid litigation over steroids in sports. By redefining WWE as entertainment, certain anti-doping requirements were lifted.
- fullshark 9y ago
  Not anymore, except for small children.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
As an on-again off-again pro-wrestling fan, I find indie wrestling very bizzare. I really dislike when the performers itself treat it like a joke or don't take it seriously. We all know it's a story and not a real athletic competition, but watching all the fourth-wall breaking, winking, nudging and general silliness that goes on with a lot of indie stuff truly leaves me be-wildered. Even if the performers treat it as a joke, it's still incredibly dangerous and taxing on the body. So you have performers making no effort to suspend our disbelief while in reality they're injuring themselves just the same.
- deadmetheny 9y ago
  I dunno, I find some of the less-serious indies to be the most entertaining. Example, in Chikara, Eddie Kingston had a move called Backfist to the Future that he used on Archibald Peck that, in-story, sent him back in time to return later with a new gimmick. That sort of silliness would never fly in the more 'serious' promotions, but it was funny as hell and really differentiates them from the indies like Ring of Honor that focus more on technical wrestling.
  - dsnuh 9y ago
    Somehow I ran across a wrestling team called "The Osirian Portal" searching for something totally unrelated. I'm not a wrestling fan, but that shit is hilarious. I think wrestling is way funnier when it isn't trying to be serious.
- ZeroGravitas 9y ago
  I'm not a fan of any kind of wrestling, but I do love fourth-wall breaking stuff in many mediums. Comedians talking about their jokes not landing, author's making up books-within-books, films that play with conventions and cliches. I'm generally impressed with how, if done correctly, you can maintain the emotional connection that is often referred to as "suspension of disbelief" while making the unreality explicit.
  - HumanDrivenDev 9y ago

msla 9y ago

It's bizarre because it's the only form of fiction where some people are convinced the fans don't know it's fiction. Equivalently, it's the only form of fiction which some people think isn't "real". Try this on for size: "You know movies aren't real, right?" Can you seriously imagine anyone saying that? It would be utterly absurd. Yet in discussions of wrestling, it's par for the course.

HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
> It's bizarre because it's the only form of fiction where some people are convinced the fans don't know it's fiction. A fun way to make sure you aren't invited back to parties is to convince those people that you genuinely believe the UFC is a work while pro-wrestling is a legitimate competition.
lmm 9y ago
Nowadays "Reality TV" is in the same position.
InitialLastName 9y ago
When I was 10, a classmate hit me over the head with a folding chair in defense of the reality of pro wrestling. The adult fans might know it's fiction; children are still figuring out where that line sits.
lllr_finger 9y ago
Wrestling fans can be broadly defined as "marks" who buy into the illusion, and smart marks who understand the illusion and how it relates to business. Arguably the largest part of this illusion "kayfabe" has been dead for years and years - everyone knows wins and losses are predetermined. That doesn't stop promotions from using wrestling news and social media to blur the lines of what's real and fake when it comes to contracts, injuries, and alliances.
- failrate 9y ago
  Vince McMahon was required to kill kayfabe to avoid litigation over steroids in sports. By redefining WWE as entertainment, certain anti-doping requirements were lifted.
fullshark 9y ago
Not anymore, except for small children.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

HumanDrivenDev 9y ago

As an on-again off-again pro-wrestling fan, I find indie wrestling very bizzare. I really dislike when the performers itself treat it like a joke or don't take it seriously. We all know it's a story and not a real athletic competition, but watching all the fourth-wall breaking, winking, nudging and general silliness that goes on with a lot of indie stuff truly leaves me be-wildered. Even if the performers treat it as a joke, it's still incredibly dangerous and taxing on the body. So you have performers making no effort to suspend our disbelief while in reality they're injuring themselves just the same.

deadmetheny 9y ago
I dunno, I find some of the less-serious indies to be the most entertaining. Example, in Chikara, Eddie Kingston had a move called Backfist to the Future that he used on Archibald Peck that, in-story, sent him back in time to return later with a new gimmick. That sort of silliness would never fly in the more 'serious' promotions, but it was funny as hell and really differentiates them from the indies like Ring of Honor that focus more on technical wrestling.
- dsnuh 9y ago
  Somehow I ran across a wrestling team called "The Osirian Portal" searching for something totally unrelated. I'm not a wrestling fan, but that shit is hilarious. I think wrestling is way funnier when it isn't trying to be serious.
ZeroGravitas 9y ago
I'm not a fan of any kind of wrestling, but I do love fourth-wall breaking stuff in many mediums. Comedians talking about their jokes not landing, author's making up books-within-books, films that play with conventions and cliches. I'm generally impressed with how, if done correctly, you can maintain the emotional connection that is often referred to as "suspension of disbelief" while making the unreality explicit.
- HumanDrivenDev 9y ago