Every week millions of people all over the world tune in and pack venues to take in their favorite pastime, Professional Wrestling. However the question of what Professional Wrestling even is has never been less clear as it is now. At the turn of the 20th century Professional Wrestling was a major spectator sport and was 100% legitimate, however with time the fans grew tired of sitting for hours while two skilled grapplers jockeyed for position. To combat this wrestlers started “working” matches in the 1920s and 30s (some would argue earlier) and thus the era of sports entertainment was born. For decades wrestling promoters and wrestlers swore that the sport was still legitimate and it wasn’t until the the 1990s that the veil was finally lifted once and for all. For some this ended or at least hampered their love of pro wrestling, however for others it gave them a new appreciation of the athleticism and storytelling that was taking place. The word “fake” is thrown around a lot by non fans to agitate fans of wrestling and while this does work most of the time wrestling fans are quick to point out that wrestling is no more fake than any movie or tv show the masses enjoy. It’s pretermined nature doesn’t effect thier love for their chosen passion. These men and women perform amazing feats of strength and athleticism hundreds of times a year and all in one take in front of a live audience. Some fans see wrestling as performance art, some see it as choreographed combat, some look at it as drama series a kin to a soap opera while some see the colorful outfits and outlandish storylines and see wrestling as a superhero story like any other Marvel or DC title. Unlike so many other forms of entertainment wrestling at its best  doesn’t cater to only one demographic, want to see some of the best athletes in the world perform acts most can only dream of? Wrestling has that. Want to see larger then life characters battle under the age old guise of good vs evil? Wrestling has that. Want to see sophomoric comedy the likes of which you’ve seen in films like American Pie? Oh wrestling has tons of that. The biggest “Issue with Wrestling” is that you can’t tie it down to being just one thing…..and honestly that’s probably the best thing wrestling has going for it. 
Photo Credit: Samantha Crim