Here's the thing which, just like Donald Trump himself being a fraud, should be blatantly obvious to one and all: wrestling is not real. No 'yeah, but's" or "well, here's the thing about that" or whatever else you want to say. What is called professional wrestling here in the United States is not real. Period. End of story.
It is entertainment. That fact is perfectly obvious, even more so than when I was a kid watching pro-wrestling every weekend, when it was still over the top, yet pales in comparison to how ludicrous and over the top today's pro-wrestling has become. Back then, it was known as the WWF - the World Wrestling Federation. But it legally had to change it's name, and so it became the WWE - World Wrestling Entertainment.
Entertainment. Not reality. Not actual drama, and not an actual competitive sport in the mold of other competitive sports. This does not have the dignity of the ideal of the Olympics, or the World Cup, or the major North American sports leagues. Those are about big money, which have corrupted the ideal, to be sure. Yet, there is a certain undeniable reality to those sports that "professional wrestling" simply does not have. This is Vince McMahon yelling and screaming, this is over the top heroes and villains giving an act to build up their rivalries (and obviously, generate revenue in so doing), and then stepping into the ring for staged, predetermined matches. Not actual, real competitive matches, in other words. If those guys actually did dish out the punishment on each other the way that it appears that they do when you watch wrestling, they would be visiting the hospital literally after every single match, and they would not be heading off to the next city for yet another match against the same opponent in another day or two or three. What they have the audience believe that they are doing would probably kill most people, or at least seriously hurt them. Pile drivers would break people's necks. Severe beatings would seriously damage someone's health, and they surely would not be wrestling again within a few days or weeks. All of the punches and surprise attacks and beatings and close lines and choking and foreign objects being used would do incredible damage, yet these wrestlers are right back at it within a few days? It does not take a genius to understand that it is not real. Hell, the wrestlers themselves have admitted to it not being real.
So how is it that so many people still seem so damn convinced that there is something more real, more substantive, to it? Why do so many people take it so seriously?
Yes, wrestlers have a point in saying that it takes athletic ability to do what they do, and yes, they definitely really get hurt. No arguments from me on any of those points. But at the end of the day, I agree with what NFL commentator Terry Bradshaw once said about former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, suggesting that he had come from "phony baloney" wrestling. Wrestling might cause serious injuries, and the athletes who participate in it are often physical specimens capable of doing many things that most ordinary people can only dream of. But that does not lend any more reality to what "professional wrestling" is, ultimately. What it is is fake. Merely entertainment, and nothing more.
It is to sports what Trump was to business, and what he now is to politics: all show and a considerable machine of hype. A kind of modern day version of smoke and mirrors, but with rather pathetic man once you pull the curtains. Unfortunately, too few people seem to want to pull the curtains these days for what seems, to me, an obvious fraud. There is nothing sincere or even real about Trump and his public persona. Yet, his supporters refuse to believe anything but their desired belief that this man was sent to this country by God Himself, that he can almost walk on water, and that, for all intents and purposes, he can do no wrong.
Truly scary to think that some people can look at Trump and see those kinds of things, yet clearly, some people do. Or, perhaps they at least claim to, which is worse in some ways, because it is so intellectually and morally dishonest.
The mystery with wrestling last perhaps longer than it should have. There is always that sliver of doubt, and so it seemed that there was enough of a mystery that doubts about whether it was fake or not persisted. Perhaps this was reinforced by the emotional reaction by some in the wrestling profession, most notably the infamous interview by John Stossel of "Dr. D. David Shultz, who famously slapped Stossel to the ground, twice, and apparently caused some permanent hearing loss. That might have been a seemingly convincing emotional backlash, but in time, professional wrestling did concede the point of being fake. Yes, injuries happen, and some of those guys who participate have a long list of injuries and scars and such. Still, that does not make the end result any more real. At the end of the day, professional wrestling is fake, it is pre-scripted, as it would kind of have to be. It is mere entertainment, and not an actual competitive sport.
If there is a mystery with Donald Trump, then it seems that only his loyal supporters are still convinced by it. For most of us, this man is shallow as a drop of spit, and his narcissism knows no bounds. He is a megalomaniac on a scale not seen before. Like wrestling, he tries to exaggerate his own accomplishments, and to come across as being real and sincere, and producing incredible results that, at least to his supporters, are highly entertaining as well. But like with wrestling, you really only have to dig a little - if even that, because it really just is something that most people know instinctively in their gut - that this man is an absolute an complete fraud. The tragedy regarding this man is that he has always managed to master the art of scamming people. And right now, he pulled off his biggest scam ever, convincing one-third of the American voting population that he is fit for office, and can produce miracles. Most of us understand that he would sell us snake oil along with all of that, to boot.
Some people are convinced that Trump is a real hero, much like some people are convinced that wrestling is real, despite all of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For the most part, these people have suspended their disbelief simply because they want to. And perhaps that is okay with wrestling, to some degree. But it is not okay with actually electing someone who is supposed to be a statesman. I have continually suggested that it is a joke, but given the actual tragic results of this presidency, that does not exactly feel right. This is a crime, an insult to our nation's collective intelligence, and the most dangerous White House administration in history.
Trump wants to pass himself as a serious and legitimate president, just like wrestling tried, and perhaps to some degree still tries, to pass itself off as a real sport. But Trump is not a real president, and he is far from the "very stable genius" that he claims himself to be. And the irony is that, like wrestling trying to pass itself off as real, Trump actually discredits himself even more every time that he goes over the top in trying to convince everyone of just how much of a genius and a God-send he actually is.
It is to sports what Trump was to business, and what he now is to politics: all show and a considerable machine of hype. A kind of modern day version of smoke and mirrors, but with rather pathetic man once you pull the curtains. Unfortunately, too few people seem to want to pull the curtains these days for what seems, to me, an obvious fraud. There is nothing sincere or even real about Trump and his public persona. Yet, his supporters refuse to believe anything but their desired belief that this man was sent to this country by God Himself, that he can almost walk on water, and that, for all intents and purposes, he can do no wrong.
Truly scary to think that some people can look at Trump and see those kinds of things, yet clearly, some people do. Or, perhaps they at least claim to, which is worse in some ways, because it is so intellectually and morally dishonest.
The mystery with wrestling last perhaps longer than it should have. There is always that sliver of doubt, and so it seemed that there was enough of a mystery that doubts about whether it was fake or not persisted. Perhaps this was reinforced by the emotional reaction by some in the wrestling profession, most notably the infamous interview by John Stossel of "Dr. D. David Shultz, who famously slapped Stossel to the ground, twice, and apparently caused some permanent hearing loss. That might have been a seemingly convincing emotional backlash, but in time, professional wrestling did concede the point of being fake. Yes, injuries happen, and some of those guys who participate have a long list of injuries and scars and such. Still, that does not make the end result any more real. At the end of the day, professional wrestling is fake, it is pre-scripted, as it would kind of have to be. It is mere entertainment, and not an actual competitive sport.
If there is a mystery with Donald Trump, then it seems that only his loyal supporters are still convinced by it. For most of us, this man is shallow as a drop of spit, and his narcissism knows no bounds. He is a megalomaniac on a scale not seen before. Like wrestling, he tries to exaggerate his own accomplishments, and to come across as being real and sincere, and producing incredible results that, at least to his supporters, are highly entertaining as well. But like with wrestling, you really only have to dig a little - if even that, because it really just is something that most people know instinctively in their gut - that this man is an absolute an complete fraud. The tragedy regarding this man is that he has always managed to master the art of scamming people. And right now, he pulled off his biggest scam ever, convincing one-third of the American voting population that he is fit for office, and can produce miracles. Most of us understand that he would sell us snake oil along with all of that, to boot.
Some people are convinced that Trump is a real hero, much like some people are convinced that wrestling is real, despite all of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For the most part, these people have suspended their disbelief simply because they want to. And perhaps that is okay with wrestling, to some degree. But it is not okay with actually electing someone who is supposed to be a statesman. I have continually suggested that it is a joke, but given the actual tragic results of this presidency, that does not exactly feel right. This is a crime, an insult to our nation's collective intelligence, and the most dangerous White House administration in history.
Trump wants to pass himself as a serious and legitimate president, just like wrestling tried, and perhaps to some degree still tries, to pass itself off as a real sport. But Trump is not a real president, and he is far from the "very stable genius" that he claims himself to be. And the irony is that, like wrestling trying to pass itself off as real, Trump actually discredits himself even more every time that he goes over the top in trying to convince everyone of just how much of a genius and a God-send he actually is.
And here's something else, also: it is not intelligent. So, it is not real, and not intelligent. Which makes it fitting that Donald Trump should have a bit of a background in it, since he personifies both of those "qualities."
Both enjoy a certain niche popularity, and both kind of help define a certain crass underbelly of American society, one that people who probably feel superior to it often pretended like it did not exist. Many of those people thought that the possibility of a Trump presidency was non-existent, until he actually won the 2016 election. Now, I knew that these elements - the pro-wrestling and pro-Trump crowd, and let us not pretend that many of them are one and the same - not only existed, but have tremendous influence and a certain undeniable political power in this country. Again, though, neither defines reality, as much as they would like to. In fact, they are both as far from reality as you can get. And until we as a nation begin to treat them both as the utter, over-the-top nonsense that they are, we will continue to be laughed at, with good reason, by the rest of the world.
Both enjoy a certain niche popularity, and both kind of help define a certain crass underbelly of American society, one that people who probably feel superior to it often pretended like it did not exist. Many of those people thought that the possibility of a Trump presidency was non-existent, until he actually won the 2016 election. Now, I knew that these elements - the pro-wrestling and pro-Trump crowd, and let us not pretend that many of them are one and the same - not only existed, but have tremendous influence and a certain undeniable political power in this country. Again, though, neither defines reality, as much as they would like to. In fact, they are both as far from reality as you can get. And until we as a nation begin to treat them both as the utter, over-the-top nonsense that they are, we will continue to be laughed at, with good reason, by the rest of the world.
Mexico has an answer to the generally pro-Trump aspects of American "professional wrestling!"
This wrestling villain praises Hillary and invokes Obamacare. Meet the Progressive Liberal, who’s body-slamming his way through Trump country By JEFFREY FLEISHMAN NOV 04, 2018:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-progressive-liberal-wrestler-20181104-story.html
In Mexico, The Crowd Loves To Hate Pro Wrestler Who Plays Trump Supporter 3:57 DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT February 7, 20172:43 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered JAMES FREDRICK
https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/02/07/513883586/in-mexico-the-crowd-loves-to-hate-pro-wrestler-who-plays-trump-supporter
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