I know what you're thinking. These guys aren't "real" athletes. The stunts they perform aren't real, and therefore they should be given zero credibility. You're thinking wrestling is no more than fancy women with big guys in tights fake punching each other. You're thinking, "Can you imagine the level of intelligence of a mind that watches wresting?" Do fans realize it's actually "fake"?
Well I'm here to clear up some confusion regarding professional wrestling..
Duh, isn't it scripted?
Yes, but so are TV shows, movies, books, and zillions of other forms of entertainment. And just because it's scripted, it didn't prevent 16 wrestlers from being killed in a span of about 6 years (football had 2 deaths that same period), an endless amount of guys who have had permanent injuries, (such as paralyzation and brain damage), and all the injuries faced day in day out. On any given day, it's said that on any given night at least 25%-40% of the guys wrestling are wrestling with some sort of injury such as broken bones, concussions, etc..
In a "real" sport, guys would be taken off the sidelines and given immediate medical attention of they are knocked out or otherwise severely injured. This isn't the case in wrestling, where guys have been "concussed" and have suffered broken bones, but the show had to go on.
So why watch it when the winners of matches are predetermind?
Same reason people watch anything else, for entertainment. The fact that Friends and other sitcoms are completely scripted doesn't dampen its entertainment quality. If anything, it improves it heavily, because a script allows for any multitude of things to happen that non-fiction just can't offer. And in a fight scene in a movie, i.e. Jackie Chan vs. six white guys, everyone knows Chan will win in the end, and even with the many cuts during the scenes, it's still fun to watch.
Aren't winners of matches so obvious to determine?
In some cases, yes, but no more obvious than the ending of movies where the protagonist goes over 99.9% of the time. Even so, with a full schedule to go on, the "good guys" don't always go over, and the winners is just as indetermined as in a "real" sport.
These guys don't need work hard to "win" if their matches aren't determined then do they?
A guy can only go up the "ladder" if he deserves it. Only guys that are fit enough, and give the impression and believability that he is "good" enough to be on top are up there. Only guys that put in great efforts day in day out are able to make regular appearances on TV and given "pushes", or credibility.
Whenever a wrestler becomes a cancer backstage or no longer gives his best effort every time, he will automatically be "depushed", and will stop making regular appearances. For the most part, guys that are too overweight or need to brush up on their skills are sent to the minor league systems to "tune up" before they have any chance of getting back up.
The average guy in the WWF typically a physique and fitness level as high as any professional football, basketball, hockey, or baseball player, if not higher.
Being a wrestler must be easy, with all the money they make without the struggles of making it there.
The money these guys make are considerably lower than what "real" athletes make. In the WWF, which is the king of wrestling, a majority of them make money in the low 6 figures, while only a handful break 7-figures. While it may sound good, it doesn't come with a medical plan, worker's comp, and even a guarenteed contract. If guys get injured and they can't perform, their pay will reflect it. There's no union either in wrestling either. Of course you can find all these benefits if you're working behind a computer desk all day, but not as a wrestler.
