Who Says Wrestling Is Fake Funny
Eight Times Someone Told A Wrestler That "Wrestling Is Fake"
There is something wrestling fans need to say time and time again: "professional wrestling is not fake." Sure, the matches are predetermined, but the word "fake" isn't fitting. It implies that the events happening in the ring aren't happening and there are no consequences. The punches and kicks are real, even if the people performing them are pulling back a bit, and there is no way to fake being slammed onto a mat or falling off of a ladder, steel cage, or the numerous other tall objects these sports entertainers jump off of. It hurts, and you can't fake that.
To call wrestling fake is to call theater fake; it's like insulting a magic show or a magician, by saying that it's "not real magic." It relies on suspension of disbelief. And if the fans are a bit sore on this point, then the wrestlers are even more so. This is their living, after all. They feed their families on this. They trained for years to do this properly, and despite this, they have a frighteningly high injury and mortality rate.
Most wrestlers grit their teeth and patiently tell the reporter, for the umpteenth time, why wrestling isn't "fake," But a small percentage of wrestlers are more proactive--and violent--in the way that they respond to such questions.
Here are the 8 best times when people dissed professional wrestling, and the wrestler made sure they paid the price. And if you liked this gallery, check out the 12 Times Wrestlers Got Beaten Up In The Ring For Real, and 7 Times WWE Wrestlers Were Punished Backstage.
8. Finlay Popped Joints
He's Dave Finlay. He loves to fight. And he also loves injuring people, when the occasion calls for it. In this video, the wrestling veteran, currently working as a backstage producer for WWE, discusses how he used to react when people called his career fake or phony: He would grab their thumbs and bend them back until they dislocated from their sockets.
"I've done that hundreds of times," explained Finlay. "That's the sort of person I was."
7. Bill Maher Shut Down By Roddy Piper
Bill Maher makes a handsome living by being a condescending a**; he's the type of person that makes you feel dirty for agreeing with him. And after he dismissed wrestling as a fake joke on the ABC series Politically Incorrect, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper had enough. He stood up and pulled down his pants down to show Maher the bruises and welts on his skin.
Maher was taken back, and joked later in the show, "I'm not dropping my pants in front of other men."
To which Piper had the perfect comeback: "Well... how did you get the job?"
6. The Animaniacs Got Dr. Scratchansniff In Trouble
This isn't real like the other examples in this gallery, but it's too good to pass up.
Animaniacs was one of the best cartoons of the '90s. It came closer to capturing the zany ethos of the original Warner Bros. animated series than anything else has, before or since. And it had lots of five-minute, one-off episodes like this one, where Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (reluctantly) went to a wrestling show with Dr. Scratchansniff. The three of them spent the match calling everything fake, only for the wrestlers to mistaken Scratchansniff as the heckler. And hilarity ensued.
5. Vader Attacked A TV Host In Prank Gone Wrong
Due to a purported miscommunication, we got this comedy gold from Kuwaiti TV. According to former wrestler Vader, the show's producer told the Undertaker and Vader that they were going to ask a question about wrestling's scripted nature. And Vader agreed to make a scene, and threaten the host to give the show a ratings boost.
It's too bad that no one bothered to tell the host.
The poor man was frightened for his life, so much so that the police were called. And Vader was placed under house arrest at a luxury hotel for two weeks until WWE could sort out the mess.
4. Hulk Hogan Sent Richard Belzer To The Hospital
In 1985, Mr. T and Hulk Hogan were making the rounds to promote the first annual Wrestlemania. One of their stopover spots was on talk show Hot Properties, hosted by Richard Belzer (best known as that guy from Homicide and Law and Order: SVU). Belzer, while not exactly calling wrestling "fake," made light of how dangerous it was.
During a physical demonstration, Hogan put Belzer in a front chinlock, cutting off circulation to his head. Belzer passed out, and when Hogan let go, Belzer hit the floor with the back of his head. Blood pooled on the floor and ran down his jacket.
Belzer was later hospitalized and received stitches; he sued Hulk Hogan for millions of dollars and settled out of court.
3. Haku Bit A Man's Nose Off
In the bizarre world of professional wrestling, there is one consistent rule: do not mess with Tonga, better known as Meng in WCW or Haku in WWE. By multiple accounts, he is an entity to be feared--a legitimately dangerous man amongst people who pretend to be more dangerous than they actually are. He bit people. He gouged eyes. He broke off teeth. And this particular story, about Meng biting off the nose of a man who called wrestling fake, is one of the more horrifying ones..
For years, the story circulated around as a sort of an '80s urban legend; could the man have actually done this? But multiple wrestlers confirmed the story's veracity, and in a 2011 interview, Meng himself confirmed that it was true. Here is what happened, in the man's own words:
"It was in Baltimore Airport. There was a hotel there. We were staying at another hotel - the Marriott or something. There was another hotel there, though. It was hopping at the time. The music was playing and it was packed. It was during the week I believe. Me and Siva Afi went over and there were lots of babyfaces there at the bar.
"So we went and sat in the other corner away from them. When they were ready to close, we had a few drinks, and on our way out there were five guys just sitting there. Of course, the same thing came out. The "fake" stuff. 'Hey, are you guys with those guys -- wrestlers? The fake wrestlers on TV?' You know. I said, 'Yeah. I'll show you.' And I reached over without thinking -- there are four other guys there -- grabbed his face, and bit his nose off. Then the fight started. Me and Siva kind of cleaned house there and left. I'll never forget it."
2. Louis Theroux Puked At The Power Plant
In 1999, BBC presenter Louis Theroux was gaining fame for his "fish out of water" documentaries; he would follow demolition derby drivers, or UFO experts, or survivalists, and partake in their lifestyle. And one of his documentaries was on the world of American professional wrestling.
While backstage at a WCW show, Theroux asked WCW trainer DeWayne "Sarge" Bruce about wrestling's scripted nature; Sarge appeared legitimately uncomfortable by the questioning and excused himself. And later in the documentary, when Theroux showed up to WCW's training school, the Power Plant, Sarge got his payback. He forced Theroux to exercise until he could barely stand and was vomiting in a bucket.
1. Dr. David Schulz Slapped The Soul Out Of John Stossel
Back in 1984, television reporter John Stossel put together a documentary for 20/20 that exposed professional wrestling as scripted entertainment. This was still at a point in time when all wrestlers still maintained kayfabe, even in public, to get their gimmicks over. And even if some of the savvier fans knew that there was funny business going on, it was nothing close to the level of exposed that the business is today.
Which brings us to the best, most schadenfreude moment in this gallery. John Stossel went backstage at a WWE show in Madison Square Garden and told Dr. David Schultz on camera, "I think this is fake."
And the 6'6, 268-pound Schultz responded (hilariously) by slapping Stossel to the floor twice.
"You think it's fake? What's that? Is that fake? That's an open-handed slap! You think it's fake?!"
Stossel scurried away like he had seen a ghost and later sued the WWE; he settled out of court, claiming hearing damage as a result of the attack. Schultz would later maintain that Vince McMahon himself told him to do it. But regardless, he was suspended and fired soon afterwards.
Source: https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/eight-times-someone-told-a-wrestler-that-wrestling/2900-2749/
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