What does pro wrestling have to do to get some respect in the mainstream media?

[Lonestar327]

No doubt you heard about the fall between the NBA and WWE over the arena booking, after it was all settle I was listening to the radio and I heard a on air personality call wrestling a "in bread retard, hilbilly sport, and if your a fan wrestling you obviously dont have a girlfriend"

That got me thinking, is wrestling ever going to get any kind of real mainstream respect? I know it get pops once and a while but will it ever be seen as more than just some "inbread hillbilly waste of time"?

 

[chicago]

Once it stops being like a drag queen broadway show and more like an actual sport minus the elaborate costumes and fake injuries, then it will get more respect, I think.

 

[badreligion]

Once it stops being like a drag queen broadway show and more like an actual sport minus the elaborate costumes and fake injuries, then it will get more respect, I think.

You obviously don't know how dangerous wrestling really is . Some wrestlers have had serious injurys that were real not just shoots .

 

[chicago]

You obviously don't know how dangerous wrestling really is . Some wrestlers have had serious injurys that were real not just shoots .

Ok, dancing can be relatively dangerous too, and it seems like wrestling is just as choreographed. Once it stops doing that, and focuses on the actual act of wrestling, instead of the theatrical skits between "characters" versus athletes, it will not be so looked down upon.

 

[Armpit_licker]

Once it stops being like a drag queen broadway show and more like an actual sport minus the elaborate costumes and fake injuries, then it will get more respect, I think.

If we are talking about WWE wrestling.... well, it's NOT a sport.. and it doesn't act like it's a sport. It's world wrestling ENTERTAINMENT.

It's there to entertain.. and shouldn't have to compete with sports....it should compete with other entertainment type shows... and I think it does a great job doing so since Raw is the number one show on Mondays.

 

[InspectorJapp]

Once it stops being like a drag queen broadway show and more like an actual sport minus the elaborate costumes and fake injuries, then it will get more respect, I think.

Yes, that worked in Japan (strong style).
But I honestly quite like the broadwayshow with all the bells and whistles.
So if mainstream media chooses to ignore TV-shows that millions of people watch, and PPV's that continue to set attendancerecords where they are held, then so be it.

 

[badreligion]

Ok, dancing can be relatively dangerous too, and it seems like wrestling is just as choreographed. Once it stops doing that, and focuses on the actual act of wrestling, instead of the theatrical skits between "characters" versus athletes, it will not be so looked down upon.

Thats what professional wrestling is . If you want actual wrestling watch college wrestling . Of course wrestling is choreographed but sometimes moves get botched resulting in serious injurys so to say that the injurys are fake is just flat out wrong .

 

[chicago]

If we are talking about WWE wrestling.... well, it's NOT a sport.. and it doesn't act like it's a sport. It's world wrestling ENTERTAINMENT.

It's there to entertain.. and shouldn't have to compete with sports....it should compete with other entertainment type shows... and I think it does a great job doing so since Raw is the number one show on Mondays.

As entertainment, it's fine, but people should realize what it is and stop wishing it could be considered a sport like boxing or basketball.

Thats what professional wrestling is . If you want actual wrestling watch college wrestling . Of course wrestling is choreographed but sometimes moves get botched resulting in serious injurys so to say that the injurys are fake is just flat out wrong .

So when someone fucks up, they get hurt. That doesn't really make it a sport. Otherwise, cooking would be a sport too. Professional wrestling will never be taken seriously though.

 

[badreligion]

As entertainment, it's fine, but people should realize what it is and stop wishing it could be considered a sport like boxing or basketball.

Well I agree with you there its not a sport .

 

[gilmourwaters]

wrestling HAD the respect of the mainstream media for years! Starting way back in the 50'S the media LOVED covering wrestling and treated it as they would any "legitimate" sport. The belts the wrestlers held actually meant something and a belt changing hands was big news and always had mainstram coverage................then a little snot nosed punk squirt named vince mcmahon jr showed up and the whole thing quickly changed to an empty shell of what it once was..No longer was wrestling respected..no longer did belts mean anything..no longer did wrestling get "respectable" mainstream coverage ...unless somebody died. Now wrestling is nothing more than a cartoonish freak show....where the only way they can get real interest is to dig up and brush off the legends of decades past and get them to step into the ring to "wave there little hats" for the crowd.....a major sign that the product of today isnt really worth watching....................................i'd take an hour of wrestling from the days of bruno and bob backlund over anything wrestling as put out since 1990......sorry hulk but you never had any talent..sorry stone cold but "what!?" doesnt make you a good wrestler...sorry hhh but marrying the bosses daughter doesnt make you a real star....sorry wwe but you aint the wwwf and sadly you never will be

 

[Goodieluver]

Despite "choreography" The moves still hurt

No matter how well you prepare yourself, a body slam is gonna mess up your back, bruise your body and if landed improperly, take the wind out of you. If i slap your chest with my bare palm, that can't be faked, esp when you start to blister on your chest

Granted the current crop of wrestlers are softer, just look at the prior generations of wrestlers who lost teeth, fingers, cauliflower ears, etc

As for respect, its treated near the same way as Nascar
"You like nascar? Hows the trailer with the rebel flag doing?"

 

[Redmage]

That got me thinking, is wrestling ever going to get any kind of real mainstream respect? I know it get pops once and a while but will it ever be seen as more than just some "inbread hillbilly waste of time"?

The problem is that, even though they call it "sports entertainment" these days, they still treat it as a sport. But everyone knows it's scripted. So it comes across as a cross between a soap opera and a carnival act.

These elements are basic to wrestling's fan appeal, but they also prevent it from being seen as respectable. Wrestlers may be great athletes, but many other athletes view them as prostituting their considerable skills and giving up the competition that nearly everyone thinks makes a sport a sport.

 

[Goodieluver]

The problem is that, even though they call it "sports entertainment" these days, they still treat it as a sport. But everyone knows it's scripted. So it comes across as a cross between a soap opera and a carnival act.

These elements are basic to wrestling's fan appeal, but they also prevent it from being seen as respectable. Wrestlers may be great athletes, but many other athletes view them as prostituting their considerable skills and giving up the competition that nearly everyone thinks makes a sport a sport.

But a major issue is wrestling never said it was real. It was the media that said it was fake. So it seems to me that the major media is the one who led the charge against pro wrestling.

 

[Soda Bobinski]

Professional wrestling shouldn't be "respected" as a sport. It is some of the silliest , most inane shit ever.

If you enjoy watching it & find it entertaining , that's fine ... but stop whining that it's not treated on the same level as legitimate sporting events.

 

[Goodieluver]

Professional wrestling shouldn't be "respected" as a sport. It is some of the silliest , most inane shit ever.

If you enjoy watching it & find it entertaining , that's fine ... but stop whining that it's not treated on the same level as legitimate sporting events.

Even tho they can draw more fans and viewers than legitimate sporting events?

 

[Fangz]

I pretty much consider pro-wrestling to be a joke but I was an avid fan up until the fans and wrestlers starting annoying me with Steve Austin's dumb ass "WHAT?" crap chanted after every move and every sentence spoken on a mike. I enjoyed watching Vince McMahon and his crazy hi-jinks but that WHAT shit simply made watching wrestling as enjoyable as having scalp lice. I can see the mainstream media insulting wrestling fans intelligence if they're gonna act like that! That being said I did gain a measure of respect back for the product after seeing the superb movie The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke.

 

[Oddjob0226]

I don't think it needs respect. There aren't a whole lot of impoverished wrestlers in the WWE. If they are having fun and making money, what's respect?

 

[MrMacphisto]

I'm no fan of wrestling, but I have friends that are into it.

As far as respect goes, I think it does get some respect from an unlikely source... film fans.

One of the highest rated movies in the last year has been "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke. It's a story that melds that of various real-life wrestlers into the character that Rourke plays. Supposedly, it's a really good movie, but I haven't seen it yet. It's currently #93 in IMDB's Top 250.

All that aside, I'm not really into watching muscular men in what amounts to little more than underwear grapple each other. I wouldn't mind watching women do that though... 😉

 

[Adam]

Personally, I'd like to see WWE focus more on the wrestling itself than all the microphone time and storyline drama. I mean, I understand they feel they have to do it to hype up their monthly pay-per-views, but it gets really old after a while. Just put on some good matches, and while there will still be plenty that see it as a "hillbilly sport", they may at least be able to concede that there's some quality athleticism there.