I’m Not A Fanboy…

I don’t watch Pro Wrestling nearly as much as I used to.  I feel that the current product is laughable compared to how it used to be.  The writing has gone way downhill, a lack of competition has made it stagnant, and there are still ugly stereotypes and precedents that insure that the less talented performers will rise above the harder working, giften performers.

With that said, I feel that I can offer a fairly unbiased view on Pro Wrestling.  On one hand, I understand why people like it, and I understand how the business works.  On the flip side, I also understand why other people think it’s ridiculous and why the ratings have gone down the crapper in the last ten years.

Speaking From Experience

One of my childhood friends is an independent professional wrestler.  I have seen him put his body on the line in front of as few as ten people.  I have seen him limping around for days following a match, and I have seen him suffer multiple concussions, and all of this for very little money.  The pay was less than minimum wage in a lot of cases!  The sad fact is that in less than a decade of wrestling, his speech patterns have been affected, and he’s suffered more physical pain than most people have suffered in the last twenty years.

The sad thing is that he doesn’t wrestle multiple times a week like the performers you see on television.  In fact, he doesn’t even wrestle every weekend!  The performers that you see on television put themselves through an enormous amount of punishment in order to entertain the fanbase.  And unlike other sports, there is NO off season for wrestling.  The wrestlers do not have time to heal from the bumps and bruises that they endure, and almost always have to resort to prescription painkillers in order to get by.

Here’s an even sadder fact of the matter.  Only the most popular wrestlers are paid well.  A lot of the mainstream wrestlers that you see on television are paid well under $200,000.  That divided up is less than $4,000 a week, which may seem like a lot until you add onto the fact that these wrestlers do not get any health insurance, they do not receive a retirement plan, and they are on the road 5 days out of the week paying for ALL of their travel expenses, including hotel rooms and rental cars.  To even get to this level of salary in the wrestling business is very difficult, and usually requires years of blood, sweat, and bruises, along with backstage politics, inevitable injuries, obsessive fans, and having to work multiple jobs in order to support the wrestling habit.

Back To The Point!

So now I’ve established that wrestlers sacrifice a great deal in order to move up the ladder, but let’s get back to the central question.  Is it fake?  Well, I would argue any spectacle where you can get killed or paralyzed on any given night is not “fake”.

Take Darren Drozdov. whose career was cut tragically short in October of 1999 when a botched wrestling move caused him to land on his head, rendering him a quadriplegic.  This was during a regular wrestling match, no gimmicks or additional hazards were present.  The match was also between two young wrestlers near the prime of their careers.  This is the danger that is present in EVERY SINGLE wrestling match that is scheduled.

Another example is the neck injury that Stone Cold Steve Austin suffered in August of 1997 that sidelined him for three months, and had a drastic effect on the remainder of his wrestling career, eventually causing him to retire prematurely.  This injury caused Austin to alter his wrestling style, perform less, and within six years had forced him to carefully select his matches, as he only had a limited number of them left in his career.  And after all of this pain and sacrifice, Austin most likely has a life full of constant pain and immobility to look forward to.

An Unfortunate List…

So is it fake or not?  I’ll let you be the judge.  I won’t continue to go into the countless injuries that have occurred in the world of professional wrestling, but if you’re unfamiliar with it, let me assure you that there’s at least a double digit number of them every year.  As for the darker side of wrestling, I’m going to give you a list of famous wrestlers who have died before the age of 65 since 1985.  I got this list from Eric Cohen at about.com.  So you tell me, do this many people who participate in a “fake” sport die?

Chris Von Erich – 21
Mike Von Erich – 23
Louie Spiccoli – 27
Art Barr – 28
Gino Hernandez – 29
Jay Youngblood – 30
Rick McGraw – 30
Joey Marella – 30
Ed Gatner – 31
Buzz Sawyer – 32
Crash Holly – 32
Kerry Von Erich – 33
D.J. Peterson – 33
Eddie Gilbert – 33
The Renegade – 33
Chris Candido – 33
Test – 33
Adrian Adonis – 34
Gary Albright – 34
Bobby Duncum Jr. – 34
Owen Hart – 34
Yokozuna - 34
Big Dick Dudley – 34
Brian Pillman – 35
Marianna Komlos – 35
Pitbull #2 – 36
The Wall/Malice – 36
Emory Hale – 36
Leroy Brown – 38
Mark Curtis – 38
Eddie Guerrero – 38
John Kronus – 38
Davey Boy Smith – 39
Johnny Grunge – 39
Vivian Vachon – 40
Jeep Swenson – 40
Brady Boone – 40
Terry Gordy – 40
Bertha Faye – 40
Billy Joe Travis – 40
Chris Benoit – 40
Larry Cameron – 41
Rick Rude – 41
Randy Anderson – 41
Bruiser Brody – 42
Miss Elizabeth – 42
Big Boss Man – 42
Earthquake – 42
Mike Awesome – 42
Biff Wellington - 42
Brian Adams (Crush) – 43
Ray Candy – 43
Nancy Benoit (Woman) – 43
Dino Bravo – 44
Curt Hennig – 44
Bam Bam Bigelow – 45
Jerry Blackwell – 45
Junkyard Dog – 45
Hercules – 45
Andre the Giant – 46
Big John Studd – 46
Chris Adams - 46
Mike Davis – 46
Hawk – 46
Steve Dunn – 48
Cousin Junior – 48
Dick Murdoch – 49
Jumbo Tsuruta – 49
Rocco Rock – 49
Sherri Martel – 49
Moondog Spot – 51
Ken Timbs – 53
Uncle Elmer – 54
Pez Whatley – 54
The Angel of Death – 54
Eddie Graham – 55
Tarzan Tyler – 55
Haystacks Calhoun- 55
Giant Haystacks – 55
Buddy Rose – 56
The Spoiler – 56
Kurt Von Hess – 56
Moondog King – 56
Gene Anderson – 58
Dr. Jerry Graham – 58
Bulldog Brown – 58
Tony Parisi – 58
Rufus R. Jones – 60
Ray Stevens - 60
Stan Stasiak – 60
Terry Garvin – 60
Boris Malenko – 61
Little Beaver – 61
Sapphire – 61
Shohei Baba – 61
Dick the Bruiser – 62
Wilbur Snyder – 62
George Cannon - 62
Karl Krupp – 62
Dale Lewis – 62
Gorilla Monsoon – 62
Hiro Matsuda – 62
Bad News Brown – 63
Bulldog Brower – 63
SD Jones – 63
Wahoo McDaniel – 63