Professional Wrestling... Did You Ever Used To Think It Was "Real"?

Simply, did you ever used to believe that professional wrestling was real?

I most certainly did. My first experience of watching pro wrestling was as an 11 year old when WWF Heat was broadcast on a Sunday afternoon at 4pm on Channel 4 (end of 1999). Prior to that my only knowledge of wrestling was some vague memories from relations of British wrestling shows that used to be broadcast on ITV in the 70's with guys like Giant Haystacks.

I had no knowledge of what the business was but I was keen to watch it anyway. The first Heat episode I saw featured Mideon, so it was probably a miracle that I continued to watch!! Anyway I watched it and I enjoyed it, despite feeling that the participants must have been very odd to like being beaten up by each other. Then again, I thought, people seem to like being punched in the face with boxing so maybe this wasn't too different.

Following some episodes of Heat Channel 4 broadcast the 2000 Royal Rumble and that really convinced me that pro wrestling was real! After all the main event between HHH and Cactus Jack was sooo violent. How could it be fake? They were spilling so much blood and being hit, hard, by metal objects. It didn't make sense to me that they would be doing this if it wasn't real.

Anyway, I continued to watch WWF broadcasts on Channel 4 for must of the next two years and while I was quickly informed it wasn't real I still enjoyed it. I was still taken in by the storylines, wanting the good guys to win and the bad guys to lose and somehow it didn't matter that the action was pre-planned - or at least I didn't connect the idea of it being "fake" to the storylines not being real.

Anyway, fast forward 11 years or so and I still know that wrestling isn't real but i am not able to have the same connection with the storylines that I did previously. Is this a shame? Probably. Though it does allow me to have discussions with fellow internet bods like yourselves!

So, please answer the poll question so that I can find out if I am the only one who thought this and also maybe write a few lines about the first wrestling matches / TV programmes that you saw.

When I first got into wrestling as a kid and knew nothing about MMA I thought it was real. I soon learned it wasn't and as a teenager I grew away from it due to that reason. However I later came to appreciate it as a performance art (much like dance funnily enough...not that I'm into dance but it's a good comparison). Over the last few years I've been getting into MMA and as a martial artist myself do prefer the 'real thing'. But saying that I don't follow either MMA or wrestling religiously; I cherry pick what I like from both.

Funnily enough, the 2000 royal rumble match between Cactus Jack and HHH persuaded a 10 year old me that it must be real as well, despite my mum insisting it was fake

I think I accepted she was right shortly after, but that PPV was the first wrestling I ever sat and watched through, and I couldn't imagine how it could be faked at the time

Always knew it was "fake".

I think almost everyone would have believed it to be real when the started, I think I realised pretty quickly the deal with it though

This clip comes to mind right now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvTNyKIGXiI

Ché Guerrero wrote:This clip comes to mind right now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvTNyKIGXiI

ROFL Oh so that's where the expression came from!

There are certain things in wrestling that are real:

1. Ultimate Warrior really did shake those ropes like he he had a pair of jump leads attached to his you-know-what and was being electrocuted by Hulk Hogan from underneath the ring.
2. Hulk Hogan really is bald
3. Chris Jericho really is a man of 1004 holds

Growing up in kayfabe era of course I initially thought it was real. However you do realise pretty soon

Yea of course I did. I also thought the Undertaker was actually dead or at least some sort of superhuman. I was always told by many that it was scripted but I refused to believe it until I watched beyond the mat.

I used to, but I realised relatively quickly. I still think some of the weapon shots are real though !