WWE: What is Fake?

[jkid101094]

I'll say this upfront. Do NOT use Google. Do NOT research the subject until after you've seen the answer. It's more fun this way.

So I often times here the phrase "wrestling is fake!" being thrown around in an attempt to discredit the WWE. Of course most of it is staged, you twit. Why do you think it's called "Sports Entertainment" instead of just being called a sport? Wrestlers are the same as actors, in a sense. They have a group of story writers that direct their feuds and everyone involved is usually let in on the act. Wrestlers often give each other signs in the ring in order to help coordinate matches and to help make sure no one is seriously hurt. It's a lot like magic, in a way.

I've seen many UFC fans use the, "Wrestling is fake" argument and I understand why that would turn them off. I personally prefer the WWE because it's an illusion...I mean, no one really gets hurt...right?

Wind brought this argument up the other day when I was getting excited over WWE 2k15 and that actually got me thinking; how much does the average person think is faked?

So for you guys today, I have found several videos of various moments from the WWE. Your task from me is to correctly guess which of the following scenarios are, "fake". That is to say, that the pain involved is just actors acting. Sounds easy, right? If you can't wait to see if you're right, just highlight after the bolded ":".

Landing on Thumbtacks: Real, or fake?



This scene is: Thumbtacks only pierce the skin, so the tacks used here are absolutely real. They aren't just paper or something. Wrestlers like Randy Orton here actually have to feel hundreds of tiny pins stabbing them in the back all at once, though it hurts a lot less than it looks.

Tables of Fire: Real, or fake?

This scene is: Fake-ish...? The tables themselves are made of very cheap materials so that they break easily. Basically if you've taken a pencil and split it in half with your finger, you'd know that since it happens so fast and is focused on such a weak point that you hardly even feel the impact. It's the same principle but on a larger scale...The fire, however, is absolutely real. Thank God they keep fire extinguishers by ringside.

Hopping off the Titantron: Real, or fake?

This scene is: Have you ever had someone jump on you? Like, seriously? Even with all the padding in the world this would still hurt like fuck. Yeah, they prepare enough to make sure you don't die, but a fall is still a fall, especially when landing on skin, and it's going to fucking hurt.

Blood, Sweat and Tears: Real, or fake?

This scene is: The most commonly cited act in pro wrestling is indeed just that. Never once does the wrestler in question have his head busted open, but the commonly cited "blood packs" are only half the truth. You see, some wrestlers will either carry a razor blade out to the ring or have one given to them by the ref. During the match (and out of view from the fans) they then use it to slice open their foreheads. The blood than mixes with their sweat, making it seems like they're bleeding much worse than they actually are. Some wrestlers, however, refuse to use razor blades and instead burst open packs of fake blood.

So now I leave the discussion up to you guys. Did you ever really think about what was real and what was an illusion? Hopefully I've at least shown you that the line can be a bit more blurred than you think.

[Elija2]

Real (the tacks are embedded into his skin), real (can't imagine it hurt much though because the tables are designed to break easily and the fire was put out almost immediately), fake (I think he landed on a cushioned surface), and real (you can see the blood dripping out of him).

*checks answers*

I was mostly right about all of them except for the last one. Forgot about the fake blood packs but I didn't know about the razor blades. I guess the title of the video "blade job" kinda hinted about that.

Yeah, even though a lot of wrestling is fake the actual performance is very real and still takes a lot of strength and endurance to pull off. Wrestlers do occasionally hurt themselves and many of them die at a younger age due to their time in the ring. That's why WWE has toned down the actual violence over the years.