Congrats to Becky Lynch and Finn Balor

Beechwoodspark · 09-04-2019 08:19AM

What’s the congratulations for ?

Should we congratulate fair city characters if they win the lotto etc?

No, because it’s not reality. It’s a script.

But in fairness to the lady, well done on being involved in what I understand is a lucrative and successful form of entertainment

Yermande · 09-04-2019 08:24AM

Professional wrestling has its roots in vaudeville and travelling carnivals and in fact much of the terminology used, i.e. "heel" for the villain or "selling" a move, are carny terms.

For me it was at its absolute best when it embraced that silly heritage. When it began to be pushed as a 'sport' and began appearing on Sky Sports Box Office it lost something of its old magic (even though as an industry and entertainment it was growing exponentially).

Professional wrestling is not 'fake', it's scripted entertainment. Saying it's fake implies that somewhere out there there's a real version involving genuine competition. There isn't. Professional wrestling, as you see it on TV, is real professional wrestling. It is exactly what it's meant to be.

People that compare it to mixed-martial arts or even golf are completely missing the point. Professional wrestling has more in common with the Abbey Theatre than it does with competitive sport.

However the OP is playing into people's prejudices by congratulating a wrestler on their win. You don't congratulate the win, you congratulate the performance. The comedian/actor/director Stephen Merchant, when talking about his recent wrestling themed film Fighting with my Family, said that the real competition is winning over the crowd. The entire thing can be scripted, but ultimately you have to walk out there in front of 80,000 people and deliver an entertaining, highly athletic and extremely dangerous performance. Take a look at Jake 'The Snake' Roberts and the life he's lived and try telling him his career was fake.

I think the WWE is an abhorrent organisation however I'll always have admiration and respect for what the performers do. I personally don't find it entertaining anymore because ultimately it's quite adolescent in tone, but I would never deny the very real hard work it takes to create all of that fiction.

VinLieger · 09-04-2019 08:27AM

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

You can't congratulate a scripted winner OP.

I disagree, also i think theres a disconnect between many people congratulating her and the other people going "durr its fake and scripted".

People congratulating her are doing so in the majority because the fact she won is due to the WWE recognising that storyline would make them a lot of money and they would only do that IF she was incredibly popular with the fans due to her ability as an actress and technical skills in the ring.

People are congratulating her for achieving something that hasn't happened in the history of the WWE, being chosen to be the first female winner of the first female headline match at the top pay per view event of very popular entertainment show watched by millions around the world.

She was chosen to fill that role and 100% should be congratulated for that.

RocketRaccoon · 09-04-2019 08:39AM

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

You can't congratulate a scripted winner OP.

However, I have seen her interviewed and aside from the nonsense of her job she comes across as far more deserving, articulate and intelligent than Conor McGregor with his moronic "sport".

It's very similar to an actor getting an Oscar, they get congratulated despite the fact its all a big fix really.

bucketybuck · 09-04-2019 08:52AM

Yermande wrote: »

You don't congratulate the win, you congratulate the performance.

I liked the bit in the performance where the two girls were on the top buckle and you could hear them counting down from 3 before doing a move.

Yermande · 09-04-2019 09:02AM

bucketybuck wrote: »

I liked the bit in the performance where the two girls were on the top buckle and you could hear them counting down from 3 before doing a move.

Before performing the move.

bucketybuck · 09-04-2019 09:11AM

Yermande wrote: »

Before performing the move.

No, they did the move. They really threw themselves off that top buckle.

The move was fine, it was the performance that was the problem.

Gimme A Pound · 09-04-2019 09:21AM

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

What’s the congratulations for ?

Should we congratulate fair city characters if they win the lotto etc?

Ah now, there are some stretches on this thread but the above... :pac:

If a Fair City actor got a major role in Game Of Thrones, it would be deserving of a congratulation.

Yeah it is scripted but the work it takes, and the physical condition, are off the scale.

Yermande · 09-04-2019 09:22AM

bucketybuck wrote: »

No, they did the move. They really threw themselves off that top buckle.

The move was fine, it was the performance that was the problem.

The acting standard of wrestlers is usually on a scale between poor and pantomimic. If you've watched a clip of two wrestlers specifically to critique their acting then you've just wasted your time.

As I said earlier, professional wrestling was better when it was so overblown, and the acting was so outrageous, that it all just clicked together into a well-oiled camp machine.

The fact that you're on her commenting on the acting ability of professional wrestlers just goes to show that even its detractors take it too seriously.

VinLieger · 09-04-2019 09:49AM

Yermande wrote: »

The acting standard of wrestlers is usually on a scale between poor and pantomimic. If you've watched a clip of two wrestlers specifically to critique their acting then you've just wasted your time.

As I said earlier, professional wrestling was better when it was so overblown, and the acting was so outrageous, that it all just clicked together into a well-oiled camp machine.

The fact that you're on her commenting on the acting ability of professional wrestlers just goes to show that even its detractors take it too seriously.

Its meant to be a pantomime though..... people really bizarrely seem to have a problem with it and i can't understand why. I don't even watch it but can appreciate it takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to get to the level that those currently at the top like Becky Lynch have achieved.

The cognitive dissonance displayed in your post is pretty damn funny though.

You complain about their acting ability and then go on the make the point that anyone complaining about their acting ability is taking it too seriously.....

JohnnyFlash · 09-04-2019 09:55AM

It is a bit weird that adults follow it though. I presume there’s a strong correlation between following it and also being a fan of Star Wars, wearing combat trousers, comics, computer games, and sporting a neckbeard?

Sabre0001 · 09-04-2019 09:57AM

Yeah, how dare people like a sport / form of entertainment that's predetermined! If only it was a real sport like boxing, soccer, etc. where people won things because of sporting prowess and results weren't arranged...Oh wait.

JohnnyFlash · 09-04-2019 09:59AM

Sabre0001 wrote: »

Yeah, how dare people like a sport / form of entertainment that's predetermined! If only it was a real sport like boxing, soccer, etc. where people won things because of sporting prowess and results weren't arranged...Oh wait.

Pretty dumb comparison, dude. Match fixing is a criminal activity and a relatively rare occurance. All wrestling is fixed - outcomes are predetermined by management and writers to maximise revenue.

RocketRaccoon · 09-04-2019 10:01AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

It is a bit weird that adults follow it though. I presume there’s a strong correlation between following it and also being a fan of Star Wars, wearing combat trousers, comics, computer games, and sporting a neckbeard?

Please try harder.

Necro · 09-04-2019 10:01AM

JohnnyFlash wrote:

It is a bit weird that adults follow it though. I presume thereâ€™s a strong correlation between following it and also being a fan of Star Wars, wearing combat trousers, comics, computer games, and sporting a neckbeard?

It's no weirder than anyone watching any of those reality TV shows tbh.

I dont get the point of them at all but loads of people like them otherwise they wouldn't make so many of the fooking things.

People like different things, oh what a shocker.

That stereotyping you're doing there though, bravo, it probably only exists ironically on some show you've probably watched that's as fake as wrestling but yeah the wrestling fans are the weird ones :rolleyes:

RocketRaccoon · 09-04-2019 10:01AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Pretty dumb comparison, dude. Match fixing is a criminal activity and a relatively rare occurance. All wrestling is fixed - outcomes are predetermined by management and writers to maximise revenue.

I assume judging by this reply, you don't watch any TV shows or movies?

Guy:Incognito · 09-04-2019 10:02AM

VinLieger wrote: »

Its meant to be a pantomime though..... people really bizarrely seem to have a problem with it and i can't understand why. I don't even watch it but can appreciate it takes a lot of effort and sacrifice to get to the level that those currently at the top like Becky Lynch have achieved.

The cognitive dissonance displayed in your post is pretty damn funny though.

You complain about their acting ability and then go on the make the point that anyone complaining about their acting ability is taking it too seriously.....

Nobody would be detracting from anything if the thread was in the wrestling forum. It's the trying to make it seem like something else and putting it here that's drawing detractors.

Deebles McBeebles · 09-04-2019 10:03AM

Surely it should be congrats to Vince McMahon, he's the only one making anything out of this.

Sabre0001 · 09-04-2019 10:04AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Pretty dumb comparison, dude. Match fixing is a criminal activity and a relatively rare occurance. All wrestling is fixed - outcomes are predetermined by management and writers to maximise revenue.

Exactly. And the audience (young kids aside) are aware of this. It's a play or movie, essentially, with people who are in great physical condition and committed to a craft.

Now, I will say that I don't understand the draw of gambling on it. That is where I would have questions about this hobby.

But as for general enjoyment, to each their own.

EmmetSpiceland · 09-04-2019 10:15AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

It is a bit weird that adults follow it though. I presume there’s a strong correlation between following it and also being a fan of Star Wars, wearing combat trousers, comics, computer games, and sporting a neckbeard?

You’ve pretty much described one of the guys from my place who took the day off to a tee, he’d be the leader of the bunch. He’s even got one of those long chin beards, a leather coat that goes down to his ankles, and big black boots. The guy must be around 40 years old!!

One time I overheard them talking about swords, I was about to join the conversation to show them the scars I have on my hands from an accident with a katana blade. Turns out the sword the big, well bigger, guy has is a rubber thing he uses for pretending to be an elf or something.

I kept my katana story to myself.

Yurt2 · 09-04-2019 10:20AM

Lol, katana sword injury. From your time fighting in the Satsuma Rebellion? You probably don't want to talk about it, brings back bad memories.

Cobra Kai all up in the house

Deebles McBeebles · 09-04-2019 10:23AM

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

You’ve pretty much described one of the guys from my place who took the day off to a tee, he’d be the leader of the bunch. He’s even got one of those long chin beards, a leather coat that goes down to his ankles, and big black boots. The guy must be around 40 years old!!

I think you work with The Undertaker. Explains why he took the day off (he said, hoping The Undertaker is still involved).

Yermande · 09-04-2019 10:30AM

VinLieger wrote: »

You complain about their acting ability and then go on the make the point that anyone complaining about their acting ability is taking it too seriously.....

I've complained? I've pretty much said that the poorer the acting, the better the show. The dodgy acting combined with the physical routine is the performance. The person I was replying to seemed to focus only on the acting, and if that's why you're watching a wrestling match then yes, you're taking it too seriously, not to mention completely missing the point.

upinsmoke · 09-04-2019 10:34AM

OP here and congratulating them on winning titles is like congratulating an actor on winning an Oscar. They are at the top of their field and tons of other wrestling promotions out their not a tenth as big as WWE so these wrestlers

Yes it is scripted and is fake but its like been drawing into storylines like any of the soaps or even game of thrones.

More adults than children watch WWE and is huge globally.

Yes everyone knows it's not real like films or TV shows but I find it entertaining.

JohnnyFlash · 09-04-2019 10:38AM

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Please try harder.

What? Stereotypes exist for a reason. Like you associate rugby guys with Heineken, docker trousers, and strange chanting with the lads they went to boarding school with.

And you associate adult wrestling fans with beards, wallet chains, huge bellies, comically, fantasy fiction, compulsive gaming, and questionable personal hygiene.

RocketRaccoon · 09-04-2019 10:40AM

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

What? Stereotypes exist for a reason. Like you associate rugby guys with Heineken, docker trousers, and strange chanting with the lads they went to boarding school with.

And you associate adult wrestling fans with beards, wallet chains, huge bellies, comically, fantasy fiction, compulsive gaming, and questionable personal hygiene.

Your son is a wrestling fan isn't he?

EmmetSpiceland · 09-04-2019 10:40AM

Yurt! wrote: »

Lol, katana sword injury. From your time fighting in the Satsuma Rebellion? You probably don't want to talk about it, brings back bad memories.

Cobra Kai all up in the house

Hahaha, no it wasn’t anything like that! The sword belonged to the father of a friend. We were in his house having cans when the friend showed it to us.

I had the blade resting in my palms weighing it up like I knew about sword balance and all that, which I didn’t. One of the others took the sword by the handle, causing the blade to tilt slightly and drew it across.

Left me with a nice little scar that runs across both my hands and I got grounded for a couple of weeks too.

Relikk · 09-04-2019 10:44AM

The ending to Becky's match was awful, and for all the hype the match was given in the run up to it, I doubt the crowd's reaction to it was what they were looking for. Fair play to Becky, though. Wrestlers do work hard and she deserves to be at the top due to the amount of time and effort she puts in.

09-04-2019 11:05AM

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

Not different from watching Game of Thrones or any other TV show

Exactly. The boss subsequently went home after and watched some mind numbing reality show that evening.

Fusitive · 09-04-2019 11:18AM

I don't watch wrestling tbh but don't get the hate. The girl achieved a lifelong dream of hers and reached the absolute pinnacle of her chosen proffesion. For some, that's an Olympic gold, a world cup medal, an Oscar or a Tony award or whatever. She's massively famous and is a really good representative of the Irish people and a role model as well.

Why begrudge her getting celebrated in her own Country? It doesn't make sense to me.

Congrats to Becky Lynch and Finn Balor

Comments