Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?

RE*AC*TOR

The title is a quote from the Woody Allen movie, Hannah and Her Sisters.

Here it is in full:

[Frederick is talking about TV]
Frederick: You see the whole culture. Nazis, deodorant salesmen, wrestlers, beauty contests, a talk show. Can you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling? But the worst are the fundamentalist preachers. Third grade con men telling the poor suckers that watch them that they speak with Jesus, and to please send in money. Money, money, money! If Jesus came back and saw what's going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up.

I am continually amazed by the very active wrestling forum we have here on boards (under the sports section too :eek:). Their zeal and passion about the subject amazes me.

I must admit, when I was about 12, I thought wrestling was the best thing ever. At that point though even I doubted the reality of it. So when you boil it down to its essence, there are no winners, there are no fights, merely there's a lot of homo-erotic men, with large muscles (members of the gay community would call them bears), jumping around in a choreographed "ballet".... oh and lots of advertising and merchandise.

The mind boggles.

Terry

i wouldn't say we're overly zealous.
for the most part it's discussion on the politics behind the scenes and the quality of the performance. oh, and they have plenty of women for us to ogle, unlike soccer, rugby, hurling etc. which also have a level of homo-eroticism attached, albeit in orgy form and plenty of merchandising. how much was your man u top?

wrestling is a completely different thing today as opposed to the 1970's version woody allen was referring to.

ok, it's not as sophisticated as a woody allen movie, but it has its moments and is simply something that many people find entertaining.

wwe raw being the highest rated and longest running weekly show on cable television in america and the highest rated show on sky sports 1 (with the exception of a couple of football atches) when it was on that channel should tell you that todays product has a very large fan base.

dangerman

it's entertainment. If you don't understand why it's entertaining then that's your porogative, but you could start the same thread about all kinds of sports, music, films and any other aspects of culture.

It's nice to see people passionate about a subject... and on the whole 'it's not real thing' well neither is Lost, or Star Trek or any of those... ever gone into any of those forums? It's entertainment in a Sports like vein... so stick it under that and let those who enjoy it continue enjoying it and those who loath it continue avoiding it.

Glad to see you are still using that sig after all this time, that was one of my favourites I ever did.

Ruu_Old

Sshhh you know theres a Pro Wrestling forum here! As the previous poster said, its entertainment and millions worldwide watch it.

Mossy Monk

whats with people watching the scripted wonders like Eastenders, Hollywood movies and so on

sparky360

yeah I like the wrestling. Its a laugh. Loads of fellas battering each other, story telling, wet 'n' wild matches and all that.

Films and soap operas are very much like wrestling. Mindless escapism.

bacon?

each to their own.

Dragan

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

So when you boil it down to its essence, there are no winners, there are no fights, merely there's a lot of homo-erotic men, with large muscles (members of the gay community would call them bears), jumping around in a choreographed "ballet".... oh and lots of advertising and merchandise.

The mind boggles.

Your right, better to watch soccer with the pretty boys with the 1000eu haircuts, sharp suits and small shorts, group hugs and team jacuzzi's, endorsement deals and half time advertising......oh....would you look at that;)

In all seriousness though , it's only a tv show!

I can respect the athleticism and grit and determination of the performers and what they do.

Jumpy

Woody Allen slept with his ugly stepdaughter, and he criticises people who watch wrestling?

Sleepy

I can admire the athleticism behind the choreography but I'd be about as likely to actually watch it as an episode of Eastenders, i.e. not at all.

I can understand the comment as it is incredibly low-brow stuff but then again, while Woody Allen's movies tend to be pretty high-brow comedies, he hasn't made anything good in years.

Dragan

Jumpy wrote:

Woody Allen slept with his ugly stepdaughter, and he criticises people who watch wrestling?

Cost me a mouth full of tea........legend!!!!

RE*AC*TOR

Well in response to some of the points, I don't think its fair to compare it to an actual sport like football. Perhaps if wrestling were a competition I could understand it. Plenty of sports have homo-erotic (boxing, swimming) or hetero-erotic (mmmm women's tennis) qualities, but they also have actual competition.

I'm not questioning anyone's right to watch or enjoy wrestling I just think you have a minor congenital defect (jk).

Perhaps my problem is that I don't view it as a soap-opera, because it isn't presented as such. But I suppose if I did view it like that, its no worse than any of that ****e that my fiancée watches.

ps - Dangerman - great sig, I couldn't possible better it - you should do more sigs.

Dragan

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

Well in response to some of the points, I don't think its fair to compare it to an actual sport like football. Perhaps if wrestling were a competition I could understand it. Plenty of sports have homo-erotic (boxing, swimming) or hetero-erotic (mmmm women's tennis) qualities, but they also have actual competition.

Actually, not really. Only if you look at them that way. Sport is sport, sex has very, very little to do with it tbh.

And i suppose in a way, wrestling is a competition along the lines of dance, or bodybuilding or art......purely subjective????

Tar.Aldarion

I even scorn people who watched tat tripe as a child.

RE*AC*TOR

Dragan wrote:

Actually, not really. Only if you look at them that way. Sport is sport, sex has very, very little to do with it tbh.

And i suppose in a way, wrestling is a competition along the lines of dance, or bodybuilding or art......purely subjective????

well not really - in dance and bodybuilding there are winners based on their performance and judges (subjective opinion).

In wrestling the winner is decided first, then comes the performance.

Dragan

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

In wrestling the winner is decided first, then comes the performance.

Indeed, but normally ( not always ) the winner is decided on the strenght of past performances.

Their skill etc goes a long way to winning over a crowd, as most of the time the crowd wants to see the more consistently good and skilled wrestler winning.

fabcat

Jumpy wrote:

Woody Allen slept with his ugly stepdaughter, and he criticises people who watch wrestling?

hear hear

Lambsbread

It's just a bit of fun, ffs!! I enjoy watching it the odd time, when i get a chance. Its a shame The Rock has left though ( I know that was a while ago).

monkeyfudge

I think of wrestling as being a bit like a pantomime. I used to enjoy it as a kid... but I soon grew out of it.

Rick Flair was the best... is he still at it?

nesf

It's harmless. I find it amusing that people seem to use it as form of intellectual one-uppance. Really, you might as well ask "Can you imagine the level of a mind that indulges in 99% of TV" tbh.

Tar.Aldarion

People that watch tv get similar scorn, *swirls brandy*.

monkeyfudge

Well the character that is being quoted here, who I think was played by Max Von Sydow, was a highly intellectual and cerebral person and it was one of the reasons his relationship wasn't working.

Pigman II

I used to love the WWF back before I found out it was it was fake. I think I was about 10 at the time - which kinda gives you a ballpark as to the mindset of the average wrestling fan imho.

I do think any adult who enjoys pro-wrestling on anything other than an ironic level does have a screw loose. All this talk about what great athletes they are is guff too. Most of them are just broken-down ex-football players.

YeAh!

I dont think its a question of intelligence. I know people who are smart and have a very keen interest in wrestling. They just watch it for a laugh I think, just a bit of fun. They know its not reality (I hope).
I personally think that its all a pile of sh*te! I could never sit down and watch that utter cr*p

nesf

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

People that watch tv get similar scorn, *swirls brandy*.

I reserve my scorn for Avril Lavigne fans. *swirls a more exclusive brandy*

Ruu_Old

monkeyfudge wrote:

I think of wrestling as being a bit like a pantomime. I used to enjoy it as a kid... but I soon grew out of it.

Rick Flair was the best... is he still at it?

Yeah hes still wrestling as far as I know. Now if you dont mind Im going to stop watching this rubbish and watch some Big Brother.:rolleyes:

Tar.Aldarion

nesf wrote:

I reserve my scorn for Avril Lavigne fans. *swirls a more exclusive brandy*

It seems my penis has let me down once more. *Earl Grey, hot*

pork99

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

I am continually amazed by the very active wrestling forum we have here on boards (under the sports section too :eek:). Their zeal and passion about the subject amazes me.

Imagine the level of a mind that can watch big brother for hours (even one hour) and there's a forum here for them too!

I tried watching the current BB, I thought I'd give it a chance as a sort of let's get in touch with the zeitgeist thing. Also I'd heard this was going to be the most twisted BB ever so I thought it might have been entertaining in a sick way. However I simply could not watch it for more than 15 minutes without feeling that my brain was turning to custard and running out my ears.

So to sum up - it's unwatchable and probably eventually turns you into a cretin.

Pigman II

Is Big Brother even part of the zeitgeist anymore? I think even those who championed it in the early years have had enough of it too.

Dirk Gently

I can't imagine the low level of a mind that complains about people who watch wrestling.

Why do some people not get humour and understand that wrestling is only entertainment. It seems to me that the people who slag off other people about watching it are not capable of understanding that people watch it for action and comedy.

It is no different to watching any other sitcom. WWE is like bottom on speed.

I use to watch it regularly for the trash talking and funny moments. The whole point about it is that it is really obvious that the story lines aren't real. That's the attraction, the wrestlers are not trying to convince people that the stories are real; they are playing up to the fact that the plots are obviously fake and purposely look silly as it is funny.

People who complain about it obviously don't understand its all about humour and outrageous storylines. As for the fights themselves, some are funny and others, although scripted are still great spectacles.

The only reasons I don't watch it anymore is because it’s not as funny as it use to be. No more milk tankers, no more supermarket beat em ups, no more good trash talkers. No more fresh rock, Austin or angle material. The jokes are getting old at this stage and new material needs to be injected.

pork99

Pigman II wrote:

Is Big Brother even part of the zeitgeist anymore? I think even those who championed it in the early years have had enough of it too.

oh I hope you are right

Anto McC

clown bag wrote:

The only reasons I don't watch it anymore is because it’s not as funny as it use to be. No more milk tankers, no more supermarket beat em ups, no more good trash talkers. No more fresh rock, Austin or angle material. The jokes are getting old at this stage and new material needs to be injected.

I remember that,feckin hillarious all together

I agree too!

Dave!

Yeh, people shouldn't watch WWE; they should watch UFC!

faceman

What u mean its not real? sure they bleed sometimes n everythin!

Ruu_Old

faceman wrote:

What u mean its not real? sure they bleed sometimes n everythin!

Whoa, lets not go there. I am sure everyone on this thread knows its real....

funky penguin

Pigman II wrote:

All this talk about what great athletes they are is guff too.

Is this a serious statement?

Terry

even the press conferences are funny.
like this one from tuesday just gone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG2Z_NUJB0M

tman

i've been banned from the wrestling forum once (could have been more times actually...)

i guess it all comes down to whatever floats your boat...

Ivan

Wow, an actual intellectual debate. Shame its about Wrestling, but one step at a time...

I'm definitely in the "What do people see in it" camp. Alot of the so called athletic moves have been emulated by 12 year olds on YouTube etc. So, it cant be about that. But, at least 50% of the show is the fighting, so you have to wonder.

The trash-talking and dialogue is cheesy at best and not even the good kind of cheesy. Its the kind of cheesy that gives you a brain aneurism.

With all of that said (and boy was it good to finally get it out in the open ) I still have to rank it right up there with people who watch eastenders, home and away, emerdale, etc. and yes, Big Brother. Though, I am perhaps a little more forgiving of people who watch soaps, as they have a very definite picture of what they are getting, in mind. I mean, if you ask multiple Soaps fans, what they like about their shows, you will more than likely get the same answer. But ask wrestling fans and you might get several different answers. This, to me, says alot.

But anyway, enjoy the show, you are paying someones wages and at the end of the day thats what t.v. is all about.

simu

Wear the irony glasses when you watch wrestling, folks!

Pigman II

funky penguin wrote:

Is this a serious statement?

Yes indeed. Just because they talk a good fight, sweat a lot and walk around in their underpants half the time doesn't qualify them as athletes.

If it did then half the boards.ie community would be going to the olympics.

vorbis

eh, while some of them are most definetly on steroids, there are quite a few who would be quite entitled to describe themselves as athletes. Everyone knows the matches are fake, that doesn't mean that they're actually easy!

Keeping up a high tempo in a match requires you to be fit, taking knocks such as slams, jumping from the turnstiles, performing suplexes require you to be in shape. Wrestlers also perform what two or more times a week, you're not going to keep up with that schedule if you're in bad shape.

Crucifix

I read Mick Foley's autobiography "Have a nice day", which contained a list of the injuries he'd suffered. Frightening stuff.

Raphael

I know a guy who wrestles, and from talking to him I'd put it more on the same level as theatre than sport. The amount of training that goes in is unreal, and he has to spend the whole time in the kind of character he's been told he has to have.

So put it this way. Is rocky a waste of time because you know that the outcome is fixed?

adox

Complete and utter nonsense of the lowest form that surely only Americans can stomach?:)

Seriously,anyone over 10 that finds it entertaining is either not fully developed or socially inept.:D

Terry

Pigman II wrote:

Yes indeed. Just because they talk a good fight, sweat a lot and walk around in their underpants half the time doesn't qualify them as athletes.

If it did then half the boards.ie community would be going to the olympics.

i resent that statement. i do not walk around in my underwear half the time. i'm actually naked. the rest of it is true though.

adox wrote:

Seriously,anyone over 10 that finds it entertaining is either not fully developed or socially inept.:D

socially inept would be one way of describing me.

if you don't like it, that's fine. nobody is putting a gun to your head. i don't see the point in insulting those who do like it though.
please step down from that pedestal you have put yourself on. it wasn't meant for you.

Dooom

Backyard wrestling ftw.

adox

julep wrote:

i resent that statement. i do not walk around in my underwear half the time. i'm actually naked. the rest of it is true though.


socially inept would be one way of describing me.

if you don't like it, that's fine. nobody is putting a gun to your head. i don't see the point in insulting those who do like it though.
please step down from that pedestal you have put yourself on. it wasn't meant for you.

Its a discussion thread on wrestling and I gave my opinion.I know nobody "is putting a gun to my head",and good luck to anyone who wants to watch it,I certainly dont.
I fail to see how I have put myself on a pedestal.

Terry

the pedestal comment wasn't specifically directed at you.
it was a general statement to all those who think wrestling is too low brow for them.

constitutionus

well i havent read the rest of the posts so forgive me if im repeating something but when i read the title the first thought to enter my mind was "yes, its several hundred thousand leagues ahead of the kinda mind that looks at big brother!":D

its entertainment lads ,at least something happens! (and the girls are hot)

Dave!

Do any of you WWE people watch the UFC? It's not really shown over here, but you can download most of them, or you can probably buy the DVD's somewhere.

It's like WWE, sans scripts! It's great!!! Real fighting.