Paid Members JNLister Posted February 25 Paid Members Share Posted February 25 (edited) 1 hour ago, Thefatduck said: Kids are the best. They believe and love it when you do too.  Kid at the show I went to last night asked his dad if it was real and his dad blatantly lied. No, he didn't say "Yes, it's all real." He said "No, it's all fake and I write the scripts." Edited February 25 by JNLister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thefatduck Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Thatâs akin to the  âSanta thingâ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonworden Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I haven't encountered this in years to be honest. Wrestling seems a lot more accepted now for what it is. Most people seem to have memories and/or favourites to talk about from the past. Conversations usually end up joking about Randy Savage or the Warrior beingncoked uo maniacs or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 26 Paid Members Share Posted February 26 15 hours ago, no user name said: It's great when you go to a show and you can talk to hardcore wrestling fans. I think Iâd rather get the âyou know it fake, right?â patronising than have to meet random hardcore fans. Iâm pretty lucky that the friends Iâve been to shows with who take it fairly seriously as a hobby, be it real life mates (like Jazzy) or when Iâve followed Bennys bandwagon, have all had their heads screwed on. But most serious wrestling fans you meet in the wild are total bellends. Iâll never forget going to ROH in Liverpool without other fans for company, only my then-mrs who wasnât bothered, and actually paying attention to some of the guff that comes out of them. Within five minutes of joining the queue I learned the British Bulldogs split up because Dynamite raped Diana, within two minutes of getting inside the Olympia I was listening to a lad gibbering on to his mate that he guaranteed Mark Briscoe would do a Shooting Star Press off one of those balconies adorned by golden elephants, and later within 60 seconds of standing up to go for a whizz I got to observe some obnoxious little scally excitedly informing his mate down the phone that he thought the match heâd just seen was âfour and a half stars definitely, maybe three quarters.â I know, I knowâŚ. âDonât be a gatekeeperâ / âjust let people enjoy things.â But Christ, sometimes the worst thing about being a wrestling fan is other wrestling fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jazzy G Posted February 26 Paid Members Share Posted February 26 If somebody says this to me I'll concede that it is, but that when a match is worked well enough you can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the spectacle of it all. Case in point, and I'm sure @air_raidwill remember when we went to that PROGRESS show at the Ritz and it was, I think, Matt Riddle and Travis Banks having a particularly hard hitting match. At some point I ended up uttering something along the lines of "you know it's not real, right?" in some properly weedy high pitched voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 26 Paid Members Share Posted February 26 51 minutes ago, Jazzy G said: At some point I ended up uttering something along the lines of "you know it's not real, right?" in some properly weedy high pitched voice. Someone needed to tell them. I think there's a difference between worked well and actually leathering each other, that's not working. It's like Bret said, you want your stuff to look brutal but not hurt the other guy. Unlike Flair's chops which looked shit but actually hurt you, or Vader who looked like he was actually beating you up because he was actually beating you up. I absolutely loved Shibata's matches for structure, but he finished himself prematurely at the peak of his push because he was actually dropping the nut on people, and there's no need. Good storytelling can make you forget everything you know without going for over the top really-killing-each-other. We all knew going into the 2003 Rumble that they'd been preparing for Angle vs Lesnar for Mania 19 for months, but when Benoit got Kurt in that final crossface logic was out the window and I was shouting "TAP you bastard" because I was convinced Benoit was about to beat him. Just because they'd wrestled a smart match. I mean, not a great example considering what happened to Benoit in the end, but you know what I'm going for. Shit, three cancelled blokes mentioned in two posts. Well, two cancelled and one that should have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScarlettChad Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Usually I don't like looking down on wrestling fans but yeah, they can be quite bad. That Bulldogs story is a prime example of wrestling fans having zero social awareness. What the fuck made them think that was an appropriate thing to bring up in public? Christ.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 26 Paid Members Share Posted February 26 9 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said: Usually I don't like looking down on wrestling fans but yeah, they can be quite bad. That Bulldogs story is a prime example of wrestling fans having zero social awareness. What the fuck made them think that was an appropriate thing to bring up in public? Christ. I was actually going for the temptation to believe everything they read online, but that too. Given the lads' apparent ages in 2007 and how old they'd have been in 98, it's hard to learn social norms when you're running around school telling your mates to "Suck It" and demanding "show me the puppies" to the befuddled teaching assistant in Thursday last period French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thefatduck Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 And this is why the current Mrs Duck wonât come to the wrestling anymore. She did a few 1PW shows back in the day, enjoyed the matches and meeting the wrestlers but couldnât take anymore of the fansâ nonsense / odour / lack of social skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronSheik Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 There isn't as high a percentage of these types of people any more as wrestling's been wholeheartedly revealed as a fixed form of entertainment since the 90s. Back in the early 90s when American pro wrestling was exploring in the UK it seemed every second person was falling over themselves to say it was "fake", but not now. Don't get me wrong, people still laugh and take the piss, but I understand why as it is a very niche and over-the-top form of entertainment which mostly has people rolling and jumping around in their underwear and holding a mic to argue with an adversary who's standing 3 feet away. My wife's uncle recently said he found it hilarious how they bounce off the ropes and when you think about that, it is undeniably daft. But fuck it, it's a beautiful, mysterious and truly unique live performance art, which is as interesting behind the curtain as it is out front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thefatduck Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 I agree that it is a unique live entertainment - a great way to put it.  Watching it close up, seeing and hearing it is special. Also, seeing a moonsault live for the first time I genuinely thought they would die.  Suspension disbelief is easier in person- Oscar Wilde (probably). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted February 27 Paid Members Share Posted February 27 1 minute ago, IronSheik said: But fuck it, it's a beautiful, mysterious and truly unique live performance art, which is as interesting behind the curtain as it is out front. Itâs those types that are often the worst though. Would rather jibber on about the politics and booking implications for the next show than if the matches theyâd just watched were any good or not. Yes, Iâm aware of the irony as thatâs what we all do online, myself included. But itâs grating after a live show when you just want to enjoy your pint and say âThat was good, wasnât it?â rather than be surrounded by Tallicas excitedly babbling on that they knew Andy Local was losing because his girlfriends pissed the promoter off by recording TikToks backstage, and they had to a non finish in the main because Koji Kickpads isnât booked for next month so was never beating Pleather Clad Lad for the 3WEXCWPW World Heavyweight Championship (of Grimsby). But equally he wasnât doing a job because Small Japan Pro Wrestling never lets their exports job to Westerners. Especially after that stunt so and so pulled to whoever blah blah blah, rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 The thing that always amazed me was family friends or relatives would take the piss "what are you watching that for its fake" etc etc Funnily when I trained with the NWA and started doing shows with them, all of the sudden the same people were going, I used to love wrestling back in the day with big daddy giant haystacks etc, the difference between watching and competing always made me chuckle quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BomberPat Posted February 29 Paid Members Share Posted February 29 12 minutes ago, Vegeta said: The thing that always amazed me was family friends or relatives would take the piss "what are you watching that for its fake" etc etc Funnily when I trained with the NWA and started doing shows with them, all of the sudden the same people were going yeah, my parents and older brother were the main source of "it's all fake" when I was a kid, my brother in particular hated wrestling. Since then, my Mum and my brothers have come to watch shows I was booked on, and my Dad suggested that we take my nephews to a Megaslam show in Bridlington, and in the car after we'd dropped the kids off was full of questions about how it all worked and how you put a show together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted February 29 Paid Members Share Posted February 29 As previously mentioned by others, Iâve always been far more embarrassed by fans trying to defend it than I ever have by people who donât get it. It is fake. It is camp. It is stupid. Life becomes a lot easier when you admit that you love it regardless. Nothing will be achieved listing wrestler injuries or going full Jim Ross and screaming, âHOW DO YOU LEARN TO FALL OFF A FIFTEEN FOOT LADDER?!â Plus, in 2024, with the fetish Shawn and Hunter have for ladder matches? Wouldnât surprise me at all if there is a âFalling Off Ladder,â class at the Performance Center. The amount of rookies regularly being booked in ladder matches on NXT TV, Iâd argue that class is almost as important as the usual classes; âLook at the Hard Cam,â âShout my Inner Monologe,â and, âStare at my Hands in Disbelief.â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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