Five Things You Think You Know About Pro Wrestling (That You Might Be Wrong About)

Professional wrestling as we know it gained particular prominence in the mid 1980s- thanks largely to the mega-stardom of Hulk Hogan and a supporting case of "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Ultimate Warrior and Andre The Giant- and continued to blow up in the 90s through the success of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, D-Generation X and the nWo.

Chances are if you've watched TV in the last thirty years you've probably seen something of pro wrestling- and probably think that you have a good idea what this highly scripted, highly fake form of "sports entertainment" is all about. However, from a fan to a casual viewer, allow me to educate you on some of the things you may just be wrong about.

5) It's all about WWF(E)

When most Western people think about wrestling, they'll probably first think of Hulk Hogan. Then perhaps The Rock or "Steve Austin", and then maybe Vince McMahon. At some point amongst all that, the three letters "WWF" will probably come up. Some of you may be thinking of pandas- that's because the other WWF- the World Wildlife Fund- sued the World Wrestling Federation in 2000, eventually leading them to change their name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. But, regardless, WWE remains the top wrestling company in the world.

But that's not all there is to wrestling. It might be all most people see because of the monopoly it has on pro wrestling and therefore on it's own media coverage- but there are actually many wrestling promotions out there today, and have been for many years. The one organisation which threatened WWE's reign in the 1990s was World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The two fought head-to-head for Monday evening television dominance throughout the mid-to-late 90s, with WCW at one point beating WWF every Monday night in the ratings war for 84 consecutive weeks. WWF bought their only real competition- WCW- in 2001.

TNA airs its flagship show- IMPACT Wrestling- from
Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

The number two wrestling promotion in North America is currently Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and is hence probably the number two in terms of media coverage. Throughout North America are a slew of smaller independent promotions, colloquially known as the "indies", which Ring of Honor being the largest indy promotion in North America and also the third largest overall in North America.

Japan is also big into wrestling, boasting large promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJP) and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Mexico, another nation famous for it's passion for wrestling, features promotions such as CMLL and AAA.



4) The blood is fake

The famous still of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's bloodied face,
as he is locked in Bret Hart's Sharpshooter at WrestleMania 13

It often occurs that professional wrestlers bleed, for the sake of dramatic effect. But it’s just blood packs or something, right? Well, as a child I used to think this too. I used to wonder how they managed to get so much fake blood out of a blood pack like that. Well- that’s actually not the case.

In order to “get colour” wrestlers will actually make themselves bleed by “blading”. As the phrase may suggest, the effect is achieved by a wrestler cutting themselves with a piece of razorblade, which is usually concealed in their wrist tape or perhaps a kneepad.

The cut is usually made on their forehead, because it gives the most visible effect and produces enough blood without hurting the wrestler. The blood will mix with their sweat to make it seem like there is more blood than there really is.

3) Matches are completely choreographed

It's pretty much general knowledge these days that the outcomes of the matches are predetermined- there is no legitimate athletic competition. So, you may wonder just how the matches can happen if they aren't actually fighting each other for real prizes.

Many casual or non-wrestling fans may believe that the matches are completely choreographed, much like a dance routine. Well, let me assure you that this is not necessarily the case, and it all depends on the experience and skill of the wrestlers putting on the match.

Some wrestlers may wish to plot out the basic structure of the match- which leads up to the eventual predetermined ending- and also plan on having one or two particular high impact spots which either wow the audience or add to the story being told in the ring. Depending on the experience of the participants, they can plan as much or as little of their matches beforehand as they like- less experienced wrestlers may let their experienced opponent lead, whereas two veteran wrestlers may know what they're doing enough to be comfortable to simply "call it in the ring" and make it up as they go along.

2) They're all body-builders

Those who make fun of wrestling will often bring up the fact that it consists of big oily muscle men beating each other up. Over the years our televisions have been graced by the hulking figures of Hulk Hogan,  Ultimate Warrior, Lex Luger, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Batista and John Cena, and towering giants such as Andre The Giant, The Big Show, Kevin Nash, Kane and The Undertaker. It is often said that WWE chairman Vince McMahon "prefers big guys".

However, while the world of wrestling has had and still does have it's fair share of body-builder-looking stars and some outright giants, some of wrestling's most successful and memorable stars have been closer to what the average person would consider to be a more realistic physique.

Current WWE Champion CM Punk is no body-builder, but is
perhaps one of the biggest names in the industry today.

Popular, world renowned wrestlers such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho and current WWE Champion CM Punk have been hugely successful and yet were neither particularly tall or muscular. It also appears- in the case of mainstream wrestling such as WWE in particular- that wrestlers are getting smaller. This may largely be due to the government crackdown on the use of steroids in professional wrestling.

Professional wrestlers generally do not follow the kind of work out regimes which make them experience a large gain in muscle mass, as too much muscle would increase their risk of injury. Instead, wrestlers need to make sure that they carry their fair share of fat- think of it as cushioning, if you will- and may also wish to work on their muscle tone to look that bit more impressive.



1) They don't really hit each other

When you tell a non-wrestling fan that you like wrestling, one of the first things out of their mouths is usually "... you know it's fake, right?"

First of all, wrestling is as "fake" as any soap opera such as Eastenders or All My Children, but that's considered a normal thing to watch on TV, right? I will never, ever claim that professional wrestling is a sport or a genuine athletic contest, because it is not. If you want genuine, competitive wrestling, then the closest you will get is amateur or Olympic wrestling. Professional wrestling is all about the spectacle, rather than the result- which, as we have said, is predetermined.

But, there is no way you can "fake" the majority of the stuff that wrestlers do to each other. There is no way to fake being slammed back-first onto a hard canvas ring- you just have to know how to land to minimise the pain and damage it causes you. If you're locked in a submission hold, you're really locked in it- you just have to hope that the guy or girl putting the hold on you doesn't give you a particularly good wrenching. If I hit you with a steel chair, you'll feel it- because I hit you with it. (Steel chair shots to the head have been banned in the WWE for the potential injuries and head trauma that can be caused by such a stunt). Punches are usually pulled and not delivered with closed fists, but wrestlers get hit many a time.

in a professional wrestling match, wrestlers must trust one another to protect each other, and keep them as safe and as injury-free as possible. For effect, some wrestlers may decide that they really do want their opponent to leather them will stiff kicks and knife-edge chops to the chest. And, of course, sometimes there will be accidents. But, the bottom line is that wrestlers love doing what they do and do it for a living, and they can't possibly fake the kind of stuff that they do to each other- only make sure they don't get hurt too badly while they're doing it.

World-renowned veteran David "Fit" Finlay explains just how fake wrestling is