Why I Love Pro Wrestling!!

Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.

I'm going to tell you the worst kept secret in human history.

I love Pro Wrestling.

I've loved it since the first day I saw it.

The over the top action.

The larger than life characters.

The compelling storylines.

And most importantly for me, the killer promos.

That's what I love about Pro Wrestling.

"But it's fake"

It's a scripted show, the winners and losers of every match are determined long before the two wrestlers go out there. 

That's by design. 

But fake?

Far from it.

Come take one bump.

Take one chop.

Hit the ropes once.

You'll never say it's fake again.

Other scripted shows have stunt doubles for their main stars.

They have multiple takes to get it "just right".

They have post production.

They have "seasons".

Professional Wrestling has none of those things.

It's live, and you get one shot to get it right.

It's two people going out there, and literally trusting the other person with their life in that ring for the duration of that match.

They are trained professionals, who have honed their craft after many years of hard work.

But they are still human.

Mistakes happen.

People have been seriously injured in that ring.

I've seen people get paralyzed in that ring.

I've seen people die in that ring.

There's nothing "fake" about that.

Are the wrestlers punching, kicking, and stomping each other as hard as they possibly can?

Of course not.

That's the beauty of it.

That's where "selling" comes in.

It's a craft.

When I was a kid it was like watching a magic show.

I kept asking myself "How do they DO that?!".

Well now I know how they do each and every one of those things without killing each other.

And that makes it even more impressive.

Calling spots in the ring, on the fly, but you can't even see it, even if you're looking for it.

That's the mark of a true pro.

Then you have my favorite pro wrestlers, the talkers.

The ones who can cut a promo off the cuff.

The ones who can have an arena of 30,000 people and the millions of people watching around the world hanging on to their every word.

To every mannerism.

Stone Cold Steve Austin.

The Rock.

C.M. Punk.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage.

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.

Chris Jericho.

Great wrestlers, and great TALKERS.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

There are so many great talkers in pro wrestling that I could write a 700 page book, and it STILL wouldn't be able to cover just how great all of them are in their own unique way.

The talkers drive the narrative.

A live microphone in the hands of the right person has the potential for magic each and every time it happens.

Then there are wrestlers who are fantastic in the ring, but unfortunately, they don't have "The Gift Of Gab".

That's where managers come in.

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

Paul Heyman.

Jim Cornette.

Paul Bearer.

"The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart.

J.J. Dillon.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie.

They all had the ability to TALK for those wrestlers who couldn't talk for themselves.

If you had Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as your manager, you never had to say a single word.

You were a superstar just by association.

Bobby's quick wit and comedic timing were second to none, and he was an absolute MASTER whenever he had the chance to speak.

Bobby could make you look like a million bucks, even if you were only worth two cents.

So as I said before, the talkers are what drive the narrative in professional wrestling.

There are also wrestlers that are much better talkers than actual in ring performers.

But since they can TALK, they'll always have a JOB in pro wrestling.

The actual "wrestling" part can always be learned and improved upon.

But if you can ad lib in pro wrestling, you've already got a leg up.

Imagine an iconic line that you'll always remember from a movie or TV show.

That's what a great wrestling promo does for me.

It stays in my mind forever.

I know every single word from C.M. Punk's infamous "Pipe Bomb" promo from June of 2011.

If you've never seen it, even if you're not a wrestling fan, do me a favor, look it up.

Watch it.

Listen to it.

Digest it.

I promise you that after you've heard it, you'll know exactly why I love talkers so much.

Even from the outside looking in, talent can always be appreciated by anyone.

C.M. Punk made magic on that night in Las Vegas, there's no other way to put it.

Pure. Magic.

The best wrestling promos are the ones that come straight from the heart.

The ones you can FEEL.

They just take everything to the next level.

If the promo if focused on an upcoming match, now you can wait to see that match even more.

If the promo is meant to draw out love or hate for a certain character, then that is exactly what happens, when it's done right.

If I was going to sum it up, this is the best way I can think of.

I come for the professional wrestling.

I stay for the talkers!