Wrestling is Fake!? WWE isn't real? Today we go deep in to the topic of wrestling being 'fake' how it impacts us as fans. And the story behind when i told my wife that i watch wrestling! #wwe
I first met my wife during the beginning of the pandemic and made sure she knew that wrestling is my life basically and she immediately wanted to learn and engage with it. She’s now a fan. Loves Cody and Rhea and I am so lucky to have her
I can't tell you how many times I've had this same conversation. "Wrestling is fake." "So is everything on TV." "Na, I watch mostly reality television." "That shit is twice as staged and scripted as wrestling!" 😂😂
I worked the indies for nearly 2 decades. It was always a fun conversation when people found out I was a wrestler. "You're a fake wrestler?" "Yeah, for very real money" I learned not to get annoyed, but the best way to explain it. Wrestlers are live action stuntmen and women who perform our stunts in front of live audiences with 0 outtakes.
@judeelaman1902 yessir, there were a lot on IWA Mid Souths old channel, and if you could dig up the old OVW TV tapes, plus a bunch of other indy companies across the country.
My ex fiancee said, "You watch wrestling? You know it's fake, right?" I told her she was thinking of it the wrong way. I asked her if Harry Potter was fake. She said of course, it's a movie. I told her to sit down and watch the story that the two guys were telling us in the ring. It's performance art, told by some of the best to do it.
Some random guy on the wrestling with shadows doc said it best : " you have guys you like, you cheer, you have guys you hate that you boo, it's just fun, there's not a whole lot that's fun anymore" so true
It’s so true!! My wife saw me watching Wrestlemania 40 and when I explained the whole thing. She told me to cancel the network and question my life 😂 she was of course joking but it’s hard to argue. You either buy into the theatre or you don’t. I’m 45 and still love and won’t stop. I have to say this new channel is bloody great thank you
Wrestlers have it tougher than actors/actresses, no doubt. Actors can do as many takes as they need to get it right, but wrestlers have to nail it on the first try, in front of a LIVE crowd, where injuries are just part of the deal. Wrestling may be scripted, but the physicality is very real, done for the sake of entertainment. Wrestlers literally risk their lives every time they step into the ring, which is something actors and actresses definitely don't have to worry about when filming a movie. 😂
How is someone as genuine and nice as this guy. I wish wwe would hire this guy for interviews or Maybe video game ideas. he's really really good at what he does. Unraveled by anyone
Im so glad you brought up "reality" TV shows. Theres still a significant amount of their viewers out there who actually believe that is real. Whereas with wrestling, besides maybe some younger children, we all understand what it is that we are watching.
Great video and definitely relatable. I've had this exact conversation with my last 3 long-term partners. When you get the "it's fake" line, I used to try and show them something huge like the Undertaker vs. Mankind hell in a cell match and say "but look how brutal it is!" But that's really not the way. Explaining that it's a performance and explaining the characters and storylines is by far the best response. My partner started watching with me during the Kofi-mania build and when it came to that year's Wrestlemania she was like "we have to see what happens!" I'm lucky as she's been hooked since. Other shows like Dark Side Of The Ring and the Andre The Giant documentary also gave her a huge appreciation to what they do and the skill behind the craft. It's really fun seeing her explaining this to other people now too when they ask why she likes wrestling.
Back in the late 90's we didn't have to worry about that because everyone was a fan during that time. The way people talk nonstop about Football now that's how people would talk about wrestling then.
I am pleased to say, i got my partner not only hooked, but VERY interested in professional wrestling in the last year. I let them know it was fake as one of the last facts i gave them, and they were shocked like "How!?" Because of how enamored they were by the action and drama. So i feel its about how its presented to them initially more than anything else because the eyes of who you see it through matters because nobody but wrestling fans understand wrestling. Its a feeling you just have watching it.
I got lucky with my girl, she used to love and watch wrestling but stopped in 2014. Back in 2019 after having our daughter she started watching wrestling during the pandemic and been hooked ever since.
Its funny because when you tell people you watch wrestling, the immediate reaction is "why? Its fake?" But when you tell people you are actively involved in a wrestling promotion, the whole conversation changes and thier eyes light up with so many questions 😂
Hey Matt, I really hope you see this comment...for me, wrestling has always been part of who I am, and it's kinda shaped me in so many ways as a person. I've always been pretty open about my fandom for wrestling, but it gets a bit intricate for me...I've always gotten the "oh you know it's fake right", and that entire concept of conversation. Yet, I've also found people who enjoy wrestling and we connect on different levels, depending on the person. Some people are casual and they kinda get it, but not completely. I've met people who are really hardcore fans like myself, and it's very fun and creates friendships for me. I think there's also this niche in the general population that see my fandom, and they yearn and crave to have the same passion for wrestling that I've always had. They sometimes really get excited and into it because of my high energy for it, and because I try to be welcoming to people regardless of their view of pro wrestling. Sometimes I don't tell someone that I'm into it because I am cautious of coming off as a mark, when it comes to a significant other....I try to be careful in how I present myself, when it comes to non wrestling fans. I don't wanna give the critics ammo to say "hey, I knew wrestling was weird" and try to weaponize wrestling against wrestling fans, all because there are some toxic fans out there. It's pretty wild how people can respond to pro wrestling, as you know....I don't have to explain that to you. I think the reason for this conversation is because there is a stigma and because sometimes wrestling can be cringe at times, as well as entertaining and the product makes sense. That's how I feel about it tho....
I've never looked at wrestling as any sort of guilty pleasure or secret I have to keep. Since I was a small child, always been very open about my love of it, never even really thought about it
This is funny, I haven’t watch wrestling since 20 years ago, prime undertaker, yokosuna, shawn michaels, razor ramon, etc, one day i bought discounted w2k22 for thanksgiving bc i saw the reviews of the improvements and i like it, then on 2023 RR i start watching and my wife was around and i explained to her, she thought it was real not stage, since that day she love it and we watch wwe weekly, she love the characters in the ring and outside the ring, now she’s super fan of Becky and Rhea, and I think we start watching in a really good time bc is getting super fun, have a great day love the content 💪🏼
I definitely relate in every way. Nowadays I defend against fake comments with well what do you like to watch that isn’t fake too? They tend to not be able to think of one. But after we get past the fake talk then I have a set of matches/storylines pending on the persons’ personality and or reservations from watching that is guaranteed to get them invested. They’re usually in from that point.
My wife didn’t know anything about it but was intrigued. She ended up loving the Alexa Bliss goddess character and Braun Stroman. She doesn’t really keep up much now because of time, but loves going to live events with me.
I started watching wrestling when I was a kid. My Uncle was going through video tapes to record over because he was Mud truck racing. I saw him watch WWE Saturday night's main event. This was in 1999 I believe I was 4 or 5. So my parents got me video tapes from the grocery store. Old video tapes. WCW Fall Brawl 1995 war games, bloopers bleeps & body slams the 90's version & grudges gripes & grunts the 90's version. My parents told me I could watch the ppvs monthly or get wrestling action figures. I wanted the figures so I never watched ppvs. My Dad used to tape WWE & WCW so I could watch it. I got my wrestling figures taken away in school because I was getting into fights in school. My Uncle bought WWE Unforgiven 2002. And Taped it so I could watch it. I rarely saw ppv's. I got my wrestling figures back. My parents would tape WWE so I could watch it after school. I learned how to tape TNA & WWE religiously. I skipped most matches & segments by fast forwarding. I watched WWE Network. Bought it since 2014 February. I watched NXT religiously. I saw wrestling live. Probably 4 times. I saw TNA Turning point 2010 front row 2 TNA Impact & 2 TNA Xplosion. I had the Dudley Boyz Table pieces they went through. I saved them in my bin of wrestling figures. I realized I dumped my bin of figures out. I lost the table pieces. I got vip meet & greet for TNA Turning point 2010. I got Jeff Hardy to take a picture with me not by the tables. He said only if I boo him at the show. I said I'd cheer for him. He said even better. I was huge into wrestling from watching NXT. I watched ppv's on Peacock. Which made me watch more wrestling than ever before. I got Wrestling dvd's from ebay produced by WWE. I got Ring of honor dvd's from highspots website. And I fell in love with wrestling since.
I got back into wrestling because of Matt and his preview of WWE 2k23. My wife looked at me weird when I watched it. Then I asked her if she’d want to go to a live non-televised event. So it was out to Palm Springs and afterwards she said the crowd was more intense than a Stanley Cup playoff game. The next day her dad was “You know it’s fake right?” I calmly said “Actually it’s predetermined live physical improv.” I watched Cody put Drew through two tables and trust me, that’s not fake. Especially after the second table didn’t break properly and he had to then go to the top top and do a splash to make it break. lol
I got a friend of mine to understand why I like wrestling when I explained to her by comparing wrestlers to Hollywood stunt actors. Making things look the best they can in the safest way possible to entertain people.
Some of the things I say "Any wrestling fan over the age of 10 knows that it's staged...there are people who think Pawn Stars and Survivor is real." "No biggie, I'm not telling you to watch it." "Not everything as believable as The Flash". But I also love that we must look absurd to other people. You can tell who is coming in with one note of a song or one word...and often you know exactly what they're going to say with one word (I find those ones boring).
I never understood why people say that when they watch movies. They should know movies are fake and scripted. Same thing with games. Hell even sports has been faked, and some people took dives for money.
I feel absolutely zero percent of self consciousness or embarrassment for my love of Pro Wrestling. To me it's the superior form of entertainment especially with the shit that Hollywood has been delivering to us recently. I haven't watched a newly released movie in years. But you can bet your ass I haven't missed a single PPV since Trips brought back good Wrestling to the WWE.
I told my fiancée that I watch wrestling and also got the "But its fake" response. I went down the whole thing of it's not dissimilar to a live action soap opera. They tell a story. So, yes, they know who is winning...but the story and the journey make it interesting. I said I'd show her the best example of that - and one of my favourite matches ever - Bret Hart vs Stone Cold, Wrestlemania. She hated it. I loved it, though, so not all bad!
For me if I was told or asked if I know wrestling is" fake" I was typically like so is most people and the majority of things that you enjoy or in life itself!....😏....that usually got a nice reaction! 😆 Either way idc ... wrestling is a nice escape, just like video games.
The comments I hate is when I get told yeah I used to watch wrestling and then I grew up… and then they try to educate you on the product when legends come back in example Goldberg, and say that the BEST are coming back now.. and then have the nerve to say they bring them back because ratings are low
Man I needed this video, my girlfriend is always like “you know it’s fake” or “oh you’re watching your soap opera”. And sometimes it does kinda sting because I’m a hardcore fan to want to bash people like how wrestlers used to do back in the day. But I think I just explain how it makes me feel and how much wrestling helps with my mental health. Then she understands and sometimes she’ll see me stressed out and say “go watch your soap opera” or “go play your soap opera” because she knows how much this means to me. Along with friends it’s so fun to watch their faces and be like “I thought this was fake” and I feed them and be like okay let’s chop each other 😂. But on the real side, I think when it comes to wrestling we have such a hardcore fan base and we’re so defensive and toxic that we become repulsive to the world. Like wwe was so popular in the 90s because people thought they were real but now I think it’s just fans have gotten smarter so wwe has just evolved to be what fans know it to be and put on shows that keep us wondering if the beef is real or not.
I always say “it’s not fake it’s choreographed” then reference some fight scene from a movie they like and explain to them that the fact that the fact that the fight scene is choreographed doesn’t lessen their enjoyment of that particular film so why should it lessen my enjoyment of wrestling (I also tell them that wrestlers are basically stunt men that get to talk)
I love this content to be fair. i was your wife. i didn't know a thing,but my brother and dad watched wrestling. I didn't switch till tight before a live event my borother showed me a protype of wrestling. And i wanted to watch it. So years go by the three of us went to lives raws smackdowns, summerslam 2022 wrestlemania 37 and together watched the story finished! (Aka wrestlemania 40) and if you thought i just liked the shows oh no no no you shold see my wwe figure bin that some i play eith so much that theyve lost parts and ive played every 2k game sicence wwe 2k20 and tbh i thought it was pretty cool. What it was my first game....
I had the same problem with my girlfriend. She said at first all the questions about is it fake etc. She agreed to watch a documentary for how some it is done and then the first match I showed her was Shawn Michaels and Triple H from Summerslam 2002. Then Royal Rumble 2002. She loved those so we watched them all (literally over a few months lol). Anyway now it's got to the point where she is telling me what's happened on RAW and Smackdown. So she now follows it! Also Mygm mode she loves the management and it's got her to knowing all the wrestlers. I'm very lucky haha. Maybe next show her some other promotions. She doesn't like the very violent matches though since I tricked her into watching Triple H and Mick Foley, and the Hell in a Cell with Undertaker lol.
If you're looking for another promotion to watch as well I would recommend TNA. The lowest membership tier on YT is a dollar a month and you can watch Impact pretty much whenever you want, and they always have this weeks and the last two weeks on YT. The full library is on TNA+ for 10 bucks a month.
When people ask “you know it’s fake, right?” I get kind of offended because I feel like they view me as oblivious. Like, of course I know it’s fake. I can enjoy it the same way you enjoy your TV and movies by suspending my disbelief. I’m well aware of the fact that pro-wrestling is “fake”, but why is that the only thing people who don’t watch it say about the product? You can simply just not watch something if you don’t like it without trying to deflate my enjoyment for it.
I love and enjoy wrestling since I was a kid. I enjoy the storylines, the matches, the entrances, everything about it. But my pet peeve is when other fans can’t accept that it is… fake. I think the stigma persists only because some wrestling fans are unable to recognize that wrestling isn’t real just because people can get hurt doing it. Is an amazing spectacle, their acting and stunting, is a simulation of a competition, is theater and that’s absolutely cool as it is.
@@GREAT-DYNASTY It is fake, is fixed and choreographed fighting. The same with the storylines, they're acting. The fact that they can get injured doesn't negate the rest. Is a risk, like stunt people in movies and series take risks and it doesn't make the movie or series any more real than it is. Again, is something that will forever haunt wrestling fans if they don't start letting it go and try to claim that it is real when it isn't.
@@rafaelorona1395 you can say it's fake when you try and do the move then you'll mess it up and hurt your own self and next time you're opponent wouldn't care or try to save you Because deep down there are some asshole wrestlers that won't care about you're injuries.
Why can’t ppl believe that we watch, knowing it’s “fake?” Literally almost everything on tv is “fake”. It’s called acting and performing. You guys must hate Hollywood in that case 😂
When my fiance sees a wrestler cry she says "why they crying when they know they win or lose". I thought it was hilarious. But I took her to Smackdown this past Friday and she had a blast, especially with the crowd.
Having been a fan of wrestling since the 70s...I just tell people it's a soap opera with extreme violence. And it is. Imagine the Young and the Restless where they beat on one another and throw one another around the set. They already KNOW Victor will win. 😅
When I was in school, you'd never have caught me dead admitting to watching wrestling. I think it would've been easier to be gay than a wrestling fan back then! That wouldn't have been easy either! Over the years, I'd admit it on a need to know basis, I.e. If I met another fan. My wife found out and we would watch together for a while, after I took her to an ROH show and she started liking the Young Bucks. We watched AEW through the pandemic but we both started to grow tired of wrestling as a whole. For her, it was just too much to watch. For me, the internet communities really soured my enjoyment of it, with their insistence on tribalism. As a result, I just started associating wrestling with those people and stopped. I did enjoy Cody finishing his story though, but my fandom is largely watching RU-vid recaps now. Luckily, you seem like a very down to earth guy with sensible and well-rounded opinions. We need more of you and fewer extremist idiots on forums.
Don't tell her that the girly reality shows that she may watch are staged, Even the "wholesome" family oriented ones. You might end up with your stuff outside.
I had to break it to my girlfriend that I watch wrestling. I kept it hidden for months by only watching it on my phone at the gym. Then AEW did All In at Wembley, I had to explain why I was getting the train down to London with two mates, all of us in matching BCC shirts. I’m an English Literature teacher btw 🙁
Honestly believing anything in a show like the Bachelor is real is more ludicrous that believing anything in wrestling is real. No offence to your wife.
Could it also be the word 'wrestling'? Every time i say it to people, they think roman qreko. I say no wwf/e, and i get the weird looks. For me its an escape from reality cause the world is nothing but depression. If we can just turn our attention away just for 2 hrs. It also beings us back to our childhood and being a kid, they were like super heros to us maybe still are.
pro wrestling is such a unique form of entertainment for fans like us at this level of devotion to it. there is no other form of entertainment where we are so invested in not only the product itself but the meta of it all. Like how we can if there's someone that has heat backstage or if there is genuine beef between two wrestlers or whether a wrestler who doesn't get featured enough is getting booked right. Things normal casual fans don't give two sh*ts about.
@AssembleWrestling I’m not lucky enough to a wife yet but with my stepdad who is an wrestling fan he is the ladder of I just watch it to enjoy the wrestling aspect of it as for me I’m on the other side who loves to get into the nitty-gritty of it all
Why do people always say the same thing: l ike i always say. Its not fake, its a premformance art....they still get hurt ans if they think its fake and nothing hurts how bout they get in the ring
We both made our peace with this, but I have to admit my girlfriend is having a little trouble with the fact that Rhea Ripley just got married and how that's completely outside of Kayfabe. It kind of broke the illusion for her, just a little bit. But we're both still all in
I hate the fact it’s this way. Movies, TV and books aren’t real yet this is embarrassing to tell people somehow. But to be fair back when Vince was in chart of creative from the later 2000s until 2022 I was embarrassed to tell people I enjoy it. Watch that Baron Corbin and Roman Reigns program from 2019 as an example of why.
I always tell people that it's not fake. It's scripted. There is a difference. All those bumps they take are real. The injuries the stars suffer are real. The wear and tear on their bodies are real. The outcome of the matches are pre-determined. Which makes it scripted. And I agree with you Matt. Anytime someone hits me with the "wrestling is fake" narrative. I ask them what their favorite show is. Then proceed to explain how said show is just as fake as they think wrestling is.
You know how you feel silly about believing in Santa when you were little? And whenever some incident or video surrounding that belief is shown or talked about, you reflexively feel embarrassed and cringe at your younger self. I think for a lot of people that is what Wrestling is. When you're young explaining kayfabe to a kid is difficult so most kids grow up thinking Wrestling is real until one day it's revealed to them by perhaps a kid on the playground or an adult who isn't as gentle about revealing that reality than they would be if talking about santa. So with the reveal being so embarrassing I think by reflex people develop a sense of revulsion towards wrestling because they were stupid enough to believe it was real so anyone who watches it today is probably stupid as well. I think it's similar to how people react to adults playing video games or reading comic books or watching cartoons. Wrestling is a kid's thing to them because only kids and idiots can believe that it's real. And in their mind the only way to enjoy wrestling is to believe that it's real. The concept of knowing that it's scripted and still being able to enjoy it is a foreign concept to them despite the fact that just about every other form of entertainment media is all scripted content.
I usually deny watching wrestling unless I am wearing wrestling merch but those who know its merch watch too so it's a safe zone haha. I deny watching it because I never want to have to explain to my girlfriend why I enjoy watching guys rub dog food on the "top guy" like it's not too bad nowadays but the last 15 years a lot of shame came from watching WWE lol
Been watching wrestling around 53 years I am 63 don't watch it that much, but I have bought every wrestling game since 89 , got Xbox series x in March the best game all WWE 2k 24
I was dating this girl and she didn't know I watched wrestling.. and I told her I had to go to a friend's house for 2 nights because we're watching wrestling lol she said "BULL SHIT" yeah that relationship didn't last long lol
I love when Detroit Replaced all the Regular Cops with ED209s and they were faulty thus causing the beginning of The Robocop Enforcement agent..... Oh wait that was a movie and is fictional lol I imagine Ben Affleck in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back making hand signs and saying "FiCtIoNaL cHaRaCtErS "
I’ve been an unapologetic wrestling fan for 30 yrs, also a boxing fan and a comic book fan. 😂 my girlfriend was not into it and tried criticizing it..?HOWEVER after Bad Bunnys wrestliemania match is now a professional wrestling fan for 3.5 yrs I think I got lucky but I love when a hater hates calling it fake but likes biopics 😅
