Dot Net Mailbag Readers respond to Twilling's "What to tell people that say professional wrestling is fake" blog By Rich Twilling Jul 6, 2008 - 11:20 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Dot Net readers had plenty to say regarding my latest blog: What to tell people that say pro wrestling is fake.. Although I was referring more to those people who think the athletic product is fake and nobody actually gets hurt, a lot of you made similar and solid points about television in general. Here is some of your feedback. I also agree with the sentiment that professional wrestlers are the greatest athletes on the planet. Sure, hockey and basketball players may play 82 games a season, but few of them make it a full season. Baseball players may play 162 games a year, but they get sidelined with such petty injuries such as a stubbed toe or broken nail. Wrestlers "play" through the pain 300 plus days a year, with absolutely no offseason or time to recuperate except in case of injury. Drew McConnell Twilling replies: A lot of people will never give wrestlers the same credit for what they put their bodies through as “real” professional athletes and that is likely to never change. Furthermore, one has to be athletic and coordinated to be a good professional wrestler. For every Triple H or Edge, there is also a Great Khali or Snitsky. *** Wrestling should be considered an interdisciplinary art form that mixes the skills of actors, stuntmen, dancers, and acrobats. While they are certainly in shape, there isn't any legit sporting competition, so to call them athletes would be as ridiculous as calling the star of an action film an athlete. Leonard Crist Twilling replies: This is the exact point that prompted the blog in the first place. Athleticism is not defined by whether or not the action is a competition. An action movie star has a stunt person and even if the actor did his or her own stunts, falling onto a trampoline or flying around on a zip line does not require one to be athletic. If the role required an athletic person to play the part, the actor would be considered an athlete, if he or she filmed for 300-plus days a year for multiple years. *** Big Show just recently had a nasty eye injury from a real cane shot, Mick Foley has lost real teeth, and Melina is currently out of action due to a broken ankle, after apparently falling onto a "fake" floor. Dan Strauss Twilling replies: There are several examples like this but people still do not get it. I show people Mick Foley’s fall from the top of the Cell through the table and not surprisingly, even that is shrugged off as fake. *** Wrestling is fake in the sense that the outcomes are predetermined and the dialogue—90 percent of the time—is usually written in advance. The action is real. The wrestlers do get hurt and they don't have stunt doubles. Jeremy Frampton Twilling replies: The comparison of wrestlers to actors is a common one and like you said, wrestlers have to handle the physicality by themselves. *** The use of the term "fake" has often bothered me. Predetermined? Sure. Choreographed? That is often the case. However, I'm not a big fan of the term "fake," with the primary reason being that there is nothing "fake" about the injuries these professional athletes can suffer in the ring. If wrestling were so "fake," legitimate injuries would be a rare occurrence rather than routine. Chris Olds Twilling replies: Very well said, Chris. This is a fantastic argument although I have found that most people do not care to see the difference between fake and predetermined. Although it was impossible to post everyone's responses, the feedback I received was fantastic. Nice job Dot Net readers. Keep up the good work. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! 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