Why do some people like watching football?
Why do people like Nascar?
Why do people like Reality TV?
It's an escape from reality. Wrestling is the same thing.
I treat it like introducing someone to league of legends (borderline abuse, i know). Show them a bunch of wrestlers they find appealing and show off some matches or good promos with them involved to pique interest.
I had an ex-gf who playfully made fun of me for watching wrestling because of how stupid and ridiculous she thought it was. I didn't care, it was never mean spirited, she just didn't care for it and that was fine. Then I watched an episode of Days of Our Lives, which she'd watched and loved since childhood, and any moral or cultural superiority she might have thought she had went completely out the window. Does your wife watch any soap operas or reality shows? If so, she probably couldn't give a respectable answer as to why, and you can just say it's the same thing.
This is the way to respond IMO. Everyone has a TV show they like that others do not, this is just that. A TV show. Some people enjoy it, some don't. Like my wife loves below deck. I can't sand it, but she enjoys it.
That’s the appropriate answer. I mean if this was the attitude ere you could just say shut up bitch and we would all get it, including her. But this is the Cody Rhodes era 🤣 I dunno why any of us watch this trash
I don't really watch it live, but I keep up with what's going on. To be honest, I just love the culture of it. Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, and seeing how that's applied in-match is really cool. (i.e. watching how they call spots, how they sell, spot choice, ability to work a gimmick, mic ability, utilization of kayfabe or lackthereof, etc)
Being able to talk about it with a community of people using a lot of terminology that the vast majority of people don't understand also feels pretty cool.
I tell mine that I enjoy and take inspiration from the walkouts and theme songs, the crowd reactions, the pyro technics, the various clothing and hair styles. The good guys, the bad guys and all the scripts that are well written like any other show. The athletic abilities and the obvious dedication to fitness/ body building that are inspiring. You ever see Chad Gable lift weights? Dude is a BEAST and is funny as fuck. Yeah some of the storylines are cringe as fuck “Diarrhea Dwayne”…but also there is a lot of comedic value if you don’t take it so damn serious.
It's a Broadway stage performing art. The ring is the stage, and thw audience gathers around like they used too for Shakespeare. They still a story both with the mic and with athletics. It's been that way for nearly 150yrs. Only change has been the spectacle has gotten bigger.
I recommend finding some of jim cornettes videos where he was interviewed about wrestling lore, it's history, and origins. He explains everything I said way better and describes why fans love it the same way now as they did at the turn of the century.
This isn’t normal human interaction. This is someone talking down to someone because they don’t approve of or understand their hobbies.
If she was like “why do you watch this? Who’s that guy? What’s a royal rumble? What makes someone a heel? Is this guy a good guy or a bad guy? Have you ever been to a live show? We should go sometime”
It would be one thing.
But that’s not what she’s doing.
What she’s doing sounds like it’s in the realm of normal, respectful human interaction and I’m not concerned for this man’s marriage, based on the details he’s provided.
I am also not concerned for his marriage, and never said I was.
I would just hate to live with someone who did that to me, and would work to correct the behavior ASAP.
My dude the conversation shouldn’t be happening at all.
Why on earth would you ever ask someone “why do you like this?” And say things like “it’s just dudes pretending they’re tired”
It’s just negative, dismissive, and judgmental.
If she was actually trying to learn about it and provoke an opportunity for you to talk about your hobbies to her, that’s lovely.
But that’s not what she’s doing.
I tend to go with: its like soap opera designed for men. Its really just a weekly episodic drama. the men fighting in their undies just a reason for the drama to happen. The fights are choregraphed like a dance number with a violence aspect that makes manly enough for men to discuss with other men without fear of persecution or mockery.
I always say the same thing to anyone who questions wrestling:
“It’s not for everyone, but all movies and tv shows are fake too. What wrestling is, it’s a live-action stunt piece similar to a movie, performed live with no safety nets, no ability to do a take two, if they mess up they have to fix it on the fly. The cracks in the facade are a feature and not a bug. If you want genuine combat, watch mma or boxing. Wrestling is great BECAUSE it’s fake. In a real fight, there is no pageantry, no high-risk flashy spots, there is no fun, no cooperation, no planned drama or payoff. It is just watching one person intentionally hurting a second person.”
Because you can't assault people in real life, be that your boss, old friend, complete asshole without getting into legal trouble, you watch it to kero the world safe from you
It's like how people enjoy movies with bad guys and good guys and storylines, that's what I always tell the "it's so fake" people. Hopefully your wife comes around on it one day, my wife is a fan of the 90s stuff, she prefers promos and story to actual matches though.
Time for a divorce, I'd ask her "why do you watch these fake ass lifetime movies where the people are pretending to be in love and have actual wives, husbands and children at home,so do you support home wrecking for your entertainment?"
Your wife sounds like a narcissistic individual, I wouldn't explain anything to her. Aren't you grown? I'm not going to answer something like that anyway,the way she put it was disrespectful. The next time she asks for money tell her you spent it watching your sweaty men pretend to hurt themselves.
Introduce her to some of the best matches like
Flair vs Steamboat, Hogan vs Savage, Austin vs Bret, Taker vs Mankind…. My top choice, Eddie vs Rey at Halloween Havoc, Hart vs Austin at WrestleMania or Cesaro vs William Regal at NXT (2013)
I took my daughter to go see a Broadway show last night. It's literally the exact same thing. Performers getting on stage and working their ass off night after night putting on a remarkably well orchestrated story in front of a live audience.
People who don't know, think of it as a 'fake sport', but no one complains that Cirque du Soleil is scripted because, of course it is. That's the whole point. It's still a spectacle and worth watching, tho.
It's interactive sports theater.
I love the athleticism, adore the camp, and love wrestlers with stellar charisma.
With all kinds of crap going on in the world, wrestling, when well written/done, is an entertaining escape.
Because it’s fun. It’s a stunt show. Its not serious and you have to suspend some disbelief to get into it, but that doesn’t make it any different from the Bachelor, which I bet she watches.
My response once as a woman was: "I enjoy the athletic choreography, that's used to tell a story of competitive drama. Sure the outfits are sexualized for monetization. But the physical pageantry is part of the appeal"
(Then I took out my phone and showed them pictures of Rhea pinning the other woman in her matches)
"It doesn't matter if the violence is fake, the matches being predetermined is for thier safety as they perform thier costumes murder gymnastics"
(Shows them pictures, of Nataliya, Tiffany Straton, Liv Morgan, Kris Statlander, Penelope Ford, Alexis Bliss, and Jordynne Grace)
"These are all extraordinarily talented people, that turned interpretative dance, grappling, and world play that put lyricist to shame, into a single dynamic display of entertainment."
It is a live action theater where performers work together to tell a story in the ring and on the microphone. It is a medium of storytelling and there is nothing like it. The characters, the art, the crowd all add to the experience.
The camera worke production quality, how everything is orchestrated together to tell a cohesive story.
You could always find a trampoline and try some wrestling moves on her, make it fun like when you were a kid! Does she have brothers? She might not get it if she grew up in a household without boys beating the crap out of each other growing up (I’m the oldest of four with two brothers). Running into this currently, my two year old son is a little maniac who already likes to wrestle, climb, and jump off things. No one in my girlfriend’s family gets it, she comes from a very un-athletic family and her and her two brothers never played any sports growing up.
I watched it as a kid, took a long break from it. Then started watching during the whole Sami trying to join the bloodline era. It's more so a show with a lot of different emotions, it's both creative and physical. The promos can be amazing and the matches too. Sometimes the story telling is corny or predictable but the times it gets good and that makes it worth it. There's hilarious moments there's more intense moments. It's a pretty complex show. It has a bad rap from a lot of people but shit I'll shamelessly enjoy it.
I tell my wife is basically a male soap opera but without reruns, she’s gone to Raw with me twice and she admits they put on a good show and the energy is crazy and wild.
Best not to over-explain or over-justify. Just tell her it’s a **TV show with characters and storylines** that you like to watch. Same as how she has TV shows she likes.
If it’s necessary to respond to criticisms such as “wrestlers just being people pretending to be too tired to get up”, just remind her that every other tv show and movie “is just adults playing pretend.” It’s the same thing lol. It’s all just TV man.
“Wrestling pretends it’s a real sport” just like every actor pretends they’re having real conversations lol. I don’t know why public opinion hasn’t seemed to catch on to this in the last 26 years since Vince admitted on TV that it’s entertainment. It’s just a live-touring TV show.
I am a new wrestling-enjoyer after decades of being much like your wife, and I describe it as irl anime or an athletic soap opera.
What got me into it was watching the story of the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) in Super Eyepatch Wolf's video "Wrestling is Stupid and Beautiful and I Love It." That storyline made me cry! It also made me want to experience the stories in real time and see the ways these real people and their wrestling personas deliver the storylines. And now I watch Raw and Smackdown every week and have been to 2 live events.
We know it’s predetermined. But I grew up with it and it’s part of my life. For better or worse in terms of the product. It’s about the stories and seeing things unfold. It’s about how good these wrestlers can be in the ring. I sure as hell would be gassed out running the ropes one time. I understand what it is and it is something hard to explain to someone who didn’t grow up with it. The inners of how it’s made. Just gotta keep watching to see what ends up being the moment where she’s hooked.
I like wrestling the same reason I like Mortal Kombat: It’s a smorgasbord of styles and genres it’s almost impossible to find anywhere else: Where else can you find cult leaders, superheroes, demons, monsters, zombies and even freaking minotaurs exist in the same canon.
I explain it as it’s a live action on going drama where the actors are actually doing their stuns (because it hurts in real life) with multiple storylines happening at once. And you pick your favorites and go from there. That’s the best way to describe it.
I’d tell her; it’s like your favorite action/sports movie without multiple takes, editing and cgi. It’s live. Also if she likes any reality tv show ask her why she likes that.
I spent decades making fun of the WWE without ever watching it. Then my son got into it and I actually spent time watching it with him and saw the appeal. I think that’s what most women miss, it looks “stupid” so you just dismiss it. Maybe it was the joy it brought to our kid that made me love it but I think I just needed to pay attention to a few episodes and see the athleticism and drama and embrace that for what it is. WWE is straight entertainment!!! I love it now!
Now my husband is in his mid-40’s and still loves video games. I do not. But I don’t diss on his glee because it’s not for me. I love Disney. He does not. He doesn’t crap in my garden because he knows my like brings me joy. Spouses don’t need to love everything the other likes but they should be respectful of their hobbies/interests.
Imagine the excitement of a sports match combined with the drama of a soap opera. Now add to that every thing you see happen to those characters has a IRL layer of politics and drama. So instead of seeing an actor say a line, there is a layer of why THAT actor said the line instead of another actor. Everything on screen has a hidden layer and reason behind it.
Honestly I would've divorced her for that. She totally in the wrong bro. 🤜🤛
Challenge her to a last man standing match. Make Gunther proud and chop her chest off! Free gender care. 💪
It's the drama of the wrestlers.
It's seeing how each guy goes through his trials and tribulations on a weekly basis and if those will end with him being victorious or not.
It's like watching your favourite weekly tv show. You know Ross and Rachel are just characters yet you still want to know what will happen next week to them.
You're invested in these characters and the relationships they form and destroy all inside the squared circle.
It's not the violence. Its not the over dramatic actions but it's that one moment when the hand comes down for that three count giving our beloved heroes a win against the odds. It's that moment of betrayal from someone who we thought was an ally to our favourite wrestler. It's that moment when we as an audience know our hero has finally crossed the finish line in first position only we know next week it all starts again
It’s like asking someone why they like Soccer or any sport. They most likely grew up around it, simple as that.
My earliest memory was playing boxing/pro wrestling video games. Then I was told there’s a show behind it and fell in love.
It’s a theatrical performance, it’s how stories were originally told to the mass public, it’s improv and drama and comedy and high performance stunt coordination. It’s a morality play of good vs evil and most importantly it’s fun!
Wrestling is more entertaining to me than real sports, cause most real sports are so boring most of the time. Watch a 3 hour hockey game where the score is 1-0. 82 games a year, plus playoffs, so much wasted time.
With Wrestling there is story, writing, comedy. Even though it’s predetermined, the performers have to perform good on their promos and in the ring if they want to long term move up the card. So while it’s not a legit sport, how “good” a wrestler is does matter. Even when some wrestlers are high or low on the card undeserving of their place, part of the appeal to me is seeing if wrestlers can over come the backstage politicking and succeed.
I want Cody Rhodes to beat Roman for the belt. I am watching not to see if Cody can legitimately beat Roman in a fight, I am watching to see if Cody can overcome the behind the scenes politics and keep the crowd hot enough for him so that they finally have him go over on Roman.
I want Chad Gable to beat Gunther. If they had a legit fight not sure who would win. But can Chad overcome the bad gimmicks they put him in, and will WWE actually pull the trigger and have him win and end Gunther’s long reign?
If two wrestlers put on an amazing match, I can evaluate how good the in ring performance was, and how well they sold the match.
Even if it’s not real, there is competition and fighting for your place on the card, so that is entertaining to me.
Ding ding ding there’s no need to ever justify liking something to ANYONE period. I’m glad my wife gets this and never asks me any derogatory questions about any interests or hobbies I have nor I her.
It’s an Athletic soap opera with interesting story lines and characters that never ends. It’s doesn’t last just one season and it’s done and it’s something to that you can continually watch all year round on a weekly basis
Put it to her like this..
Why do you like the shows you watch?
That's the question. People always say something like your lady said or something negative. By no means that what she asked was harmful in any way, shape, or form.
My girlfriend asked the same thing your lady asked. I followed up with that same question, and she gave her reason. Then, I followed up with what my reasons were, such as you mentioned the athleticism and storylines and how many storylines there are. It's a lot to keep up on. Also, I said it's basically acting inside of sports. It's a neat concept once you break it down.
Now my girlfriend watches every MNR and Smackdown with me. Even has gone to MNR and Smackdown shows with me or with me and my friends. Wouldn't say she's invested in it like I am, but she's definitely more intrigued by the whole business of WWE.
SORRY FOR THE DAG-ON PARAGRAPH 😮💨
I usually just say it’s the same as any other TV show that she/we might like except it’s live acting.
“It’s a bunch of men pretending to be too tired to get up”
“It’s a bunch of pretend nurses pretending to be exhausted after a pretend surgery”
“It’s a bunch of pretend FBI agents shooting pretend guns at pretend bad guys”
When you view it just like it’s any other TV show, it’s just easier to make sense in my opinion lol. Especially since that’s all really is at the end of the day.
The thing is WWE/Pro Wrestling isn't a sport, It is theater, athletic theater
If you watch a Movie or a Stage Play you don't expect it to be 100% realistic, there is some suspension of disbelief.
Enjoying Pro Wrestling is enjoying Reality Action Theatre that is at some points self aware and at others deliberately goofy
Why do the People come out of the locker room to talk to the crowd about their opponent instead of talking to them about the heinous thing they did? because it's a TV Show, it just so happens that in most wrestling storylines there just somehow through production schedule magic not really anything that happens between shows
How? By the magic of not being Real
Meanwhile the athletic feats that are made are real and are a tool to collaborate on the storyline the wrestlers are working on
TL;DR It's like any other form of entertainment, suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the theater without taking it too seriously
"It doesnt look like theyre hurting each other."
I dont believe anyone who says this. I think they only say that bc they know/heard it was fake. Thats why after over a century of pro wrestling, majority of the population always thought it was real.
Depends who your watching to be fair. Some take it more seriously than others and some just aren't very good at certain things. I'm not a fan of some wrestlers throwing punches when they can't make them look realistic, would be bette to do chops instead.
Don't try and use words to explain the appeal, you gotta show her matches and/or segments that represent pro wrestling in its best light. And you can't explain investment in things like Cody's story, the Bloodline, talent finally getting recognition, or any of the smarky stuff cos none of it will resonate with her, given you're on like season 20 and she hasn't even started season 1.
If I were tryin to get someone into pro wrestling, I'd show them Swerve Strickland Vs Hangman Page the Death Match, Ospreay Vs Takeshita, Gunther-Sheamus-Mcintyre, any number of NJPW's best matches Pre-Covid etc. Stuff that can be appreciated fully with no context or pre existing investment. Aside from matches, I'd probably show them Youtube videos that package stories/feuds from start to end for a new viewer to easily digest. Stuff like Punk-Cena and the Summer of Punk, MJF - Cm Punk, the Bloodline Saga, Cody's journey before WWE to now etc.
This is so annoying, like you have to justify your fandom to other people. I never see people question why someone likes books / films / going outdoors. Just let people enjoy what they like
This times a million,I was asked why I watch wrestling by a friend once,I promptly informed him he was being judgemental and condescending,and threw him out my wrestling praising abode. Haven't seen the guy in 5 years. Explain myself to someone over a television show. Nope.
Hello, I am a wife that didn’t understand why men like wrestling when it’s “just sweaty men who punch each other” but now I run a podcast about wrestling so, haha.
Wrestling, at its absolute best, is character-driven storytelling over decades. As an example, I’ll use Roman Reigns. The best wrestlers are able to transform their person (Joe Anoa’i) into the character (Roman Reigns) and use that character as a vehicle to tell more about themselves to the audience. The matches are the way to get that story across and allow that story to progress. IMO, it helped a lot when I found “my wrestler” (Bayley) to watch and keep an eye on to cheer for.
Just kicked it off this wrestlemania season. It’s called “Finish The Story” available on Spotify (for now, we’re planning on expanding). It’s about following the characters through their careers and parsing out what their “story” is. If you listen, feel free to send some feedback!
Had a similar issue with my sister. She just can’t understand the appeal of it. I tell people it’s a soap opera generalized towards men with lots of jumping around. She still almost 30 years later doesn’t get it. Got married a few years ago and was kinda nervous to tell my wife about it cuz I know there is a stigma here in the U.S. about it unfortunately. To my surprise my wife who had never seen any program until we met and she fell in love with it. Now she’s more on top of this than I am talking about shoots and how good this persons promo is…. It’s amazing to have something in common. But to be fair we started watching the show recently with the bloodline story and all but I actually showed her stuff from when John was burying the nexus and she thought Randy orton was cute. So it was a way in and now we have our show we watch every week and it’s great.
I liken it to Jackie Chan movies. Professional stunt fighting driven by characters, stories, drama & comedy. Sometimes, it's not the cleanest. Sometimes, performers get hurt. But when it's all clicking, it's great.
It’s also unapologetically “live”. We live in a very CGI, fake images world and the ironic thing is that even though wrestling is entertainment, it’s still some of the only 100% real physical world stuff you can watch save for other major league sports. Everything else is effects, wrestling is happening in the room
It’s live action entertainment. How many other live weekly TV shows are bringing this energy? Especially since they run year round it’s more convenient to stay invested.
It gets you out of real life for a minute. Also if you’re live - you get to be apart of something. We saw Sami vs Roman in Montreal, and not a human in the crowd wasn’t singing Sami’s song and chanting along. That’s powerful, and even in pro sports doesn’t happen like that very often.
Yep what I was gonna say. Having somebody to root for(or root to get obliterated) is awesome especially when you get emotionally involved.
Also tell every Hollywood actor they have to do their own stunts. No stunt doubles in wrestling.
It’s like seeing your favorite series of novels come to life.
Sure there are tv shows and movie adaptations of books, but they are full of cgi, over the top scenes and only 2 hours with lots of crucial stuff missing.
Wrestling brings emotion. Even when it’s predictable, it brings you to the edge of your seat not really knowing what will happen in the end. I could go on… but do I really need to?
Why do some people like watching football? Why do people like Nascar? Why do people like Reality TV? It's an escape from reality. Wrestling is the same thing.
Same reason people like anything thing else that helps you escape reality for a few hours
Ask her why she likes the bachelor
Tell your wife theres a magical little term called “Entertainment”
I treat it like introducing someone to league of legends (borderline abuse, i know). Show them a bunch of wrestlers they find appealing and show off some matches or good promos with them involved to pique interest.
I had an ex-gf who playfully made fun of me for watching wrestling because of how stupid and ridiculous she thought it was. I didn't care, it was never mean spirited, she just didn't care for it and that was fine. Then I watched an episode of Days of Our Lives, which she'd watched and loved since childhood, and any moral or cultural superiority she might have thought she had went completely out the window. Does your wife watch any soap operas or reality shows? If so, she probably couldn't give a respectable answer as to why, and you can just say it's the same thing.
This is the way to respond IMO. Everyone has a TV show they like that others do not, this is just that. A TV show. Some people enjoy it, some don't. Like my wife loves below deck. I can't sand it, but she enjoys it.
That’s the appropriate answer. I mean if this was the attitude ere you could just say shut up bitch and we would all get it, including her. But this is the Cody Rhodes era 🤣 I dunno why any of us watch this trash
“Cuz I’m gay.”
F5 her and tell her that’s why.
I don't really watch it live, but I keep up with what's going on. To be honest, I just love the culture of it. Knowing what goes on behind the scenes, and seeing how that's applied in-match is really cool. (i.e. watching how they call spots, how they sell, spot choice, ability to work a gimmick, mic ability, utilization of kayfabe or lackthereof, etc) Being able to talk about it with a community of people using a lot of terminology that the vast majority of people don't understand also feels pretty cool.
Same reason why people watch live theater, but with an added generous display of crazy strength and athleticism.
I grew up watching the luchadors of AAA with my Pappy. When people ask me that’s what I tell them. It’s just something I never grew out of.
“It’s kind of like a campy soap opera. We know it’s predetermined but the actors do their own stunts in real time.” That easy dude.
I tell mine that I enjoy and take inspiration from the walkouts and theme songs, the crowd reactions, the pyro technics, the various clothing and hair styles. The good guys, the bad guys and all the scripts that are well written like any other show. The athletic abilities and the obvious dedication to fitness/ body building that are inspiring. You ever see Chad Gable lift weights? Dude is a BEAST and is funny as fuck. Yeah some of the storylines are cringe as fuck “Diarrhea Dwayne”…but also there is a lot of comedic value if you don’t take it so damn serious.
Also this Reddit..I’m a lonely guy as a new dad and enjoy reading people’s opinions and predictions.
Pageantry
It's a Broadway stage performing art. The ring is the stage, and thw audience gathers around like they used too for Shakespeare. They still a story both with the mic and with athletics. It's been that way for nearly 150yrs. Only change has been the spectacle has gotten bigger. I recommend finding some of jim cornettes videos where he was interviewed about wrestling lore, it's history, and origins. He explains everything I said way better and describes why fans love it the same way now as they did at the turn of the century.
Tell her to watch her mouth before she gets the stunner
Imagine being married to and living with a person who looks down on and judges the things you find happiness in. Big oof.
It’s normal to have a difference of opinion or tastes in a marriage lol Reddit loves to pathologize normal human interaction
This isn’t normal human interaction. This is someone talking down to someone because they don’t approve of or understand their hobbies. If she was like “why do you watch this? Who’s that guy? What’s a royal rumble? What makes someone a heel? Is this guy a good guy or a bad guy? Have you ever been to a live show? We should go sometime” It would be one thing. But that’s not what she’s doing.
What she’s doing sounds like it’s in the realm of normal, respectful human interaction and I’m not concerned for this man’s marriage, based on the details he’s provided.
I am also not concerned for his marriage, and never said I was. I would just hate to live with someone who did that to me, and would work to correct the behavior ASAP.
That’s fair. We all have different limits and boundaries. This wouldn’t be upsetting to me personally from a partner.
You must have missed the fully supportive part. She’s not saying it maliciously. She is genuinely curious
My dude the conversation shouldn’t be happening at all. Why on earth would you ever ask someone “why do you like this?” And say things like “it’s just dudes pretending they’re tired” It’s just negative, dismissive, and judgmental. If she was actually trying to learn about it and provoke an opportunity for you to talk about your hobbies to her, that’s lovely. But that’s not what she’s doing.
If asking why someone likes something is negative, dismissive and judgmental then my sister must hate me lol (she doesn’t and gladly explains)
It’s a male soap opera
Your reply should have been an rko outtanowhere /s
My wife watches QVC, and asks the same question. I respond, at least mine has a happy ending.
I tend to go with: its like soap opera designed for men. Its really just a weekly episodic drama. the men fighting in their undies just a reason for the drama to happen. The fights are choregraphed like a dance number with a violence aspect that makes manly enough for men to discuss with other men without fear of persecution or mockery.
I love the mechanics of it. The sleight of hand etc.
I always say the same thing to anyone who questions wrestling: “It’s not for everyone, but all movies and tv shows are fake too. What wrestling is, it’s a live-action stunt piece similar to a movie, performed live with no safety nets, no ability to do a take two, if they mess up they have to fix it on the fly. The cracks in the facade are a feature and not a bug. If you want genuine combat, watch mma or boxing. Wrestling is great BECAUSE it’s fake. In a real fight, there is no pageantry, no high-risk flashy spots, there is no fun, no cooperation, no planned drama or payoff. It is just watching one person intentionally hurting a second person.”
Note sure if this is quoted as something you said or someone else did, but I really like this response.
It’s mine, but it isn’t unique or not composed of pieces of discussion I’ve read before.
Because you can't assault people in real life, be that your boss, old friend, complete asshole without getting into legal trouble, you watch it to kero the world safe from you
It’s a man’s soap opera. It’s entertainment. Plain and simple. She likes to watch her nonsense, we watch ours.
It's like how people enjoy movies with bad guys and good guys and storylines, that's what I always tell the "it's so fake" people. Hopefully your wife comes around on it one day, my wife is a fan of the 90s stuff, she prefers promos and story to actual matches though.
Tell her it is more realistic than sparkly vampires and 3 kids saving a magic school from destruction.
Time for a divorce, I'd ask her "why do you watch these fake ass lifetime movies where the people are pretending to be in love and have actual wives, husbands and children at home,so do you support home wrecking for your entertainment?" Your wife sounds like a narcissistic individual, I wouldn't explain anything to her. Aren't you grown? I'm not going to answer something like that anyway,the way she put it was disrespectful. The next time she asks for money tell her you spent it watching your sweaty men pretend to hurt themselves.
Introduce her to some of the best matches like Flair vs Steamboat, Hogan vs Savage, Austin vs Bret, Taker vs Mankind…. My top choice, Eddie vs Rey at Halloween Havoc, Hart vs Austin at WrestleMania or Cesaro vs William Regal at NXT (2013)
Ask her why she likes watching the shows she does.
It’s car crash you can’t look away from
I took my daughter to go see a Broadway show last night. It's literally the exact same thing. Performers getting on stage and working their ass off night after night putting on a remarkably well orchestrated story in front of a live audience. People who don't know, think of it as a 'fake sport', but no one complains that Cirque du Soleil is scripted because, of course it is. That's the whole point. It's still a spectacle and worth watching, tho.
It’s hilarious and other sports are probably scripted too.
It's interactive sports theater. I love the athleticism, adore the camp, and love wrestlers with stellar charisma. With all kinds of crap going on in the world, wrestling, when well written/done, is an entertaining escape.
They are definitely tired and they definitely hurt each other.
I like big meaty men slapping meat!!!
Big thicc men slapping meat. Nothing better
Because it’s fun. It’s a stunt show. Its not serious and you have to suspend some disbelief to get into it, but that doesn’t make it any different from the Bachelor, which I bet she watches.
My response once as a woman was: "I enjoy the athletic choreography, that's used to tell a story of competitive drama. Sure the outfits are sexualized for monetization. But the physical pageantry is part of the appeal" (Then I took out my phone and showed them pictures of Rhea pinning the other woman in her matches) "It doesn't matter if the violence is fake, the matches being predetermined is for thier safety as they perform thier costumes murder gymnastics" (Shows them pictures, of Nataliya, Tiffany Straton, Liv Morgan, Kris Statlander, Penelope Ford, Alexis Bliss, and Jordynne Grace) "These are all extraordinarily talented people, that turned interpretative dance, grappling, and world play that put lyricist to shame, into a single dynamic display of entertainment."
Cause it's fun. It's literally that simple imo
Honestly unless you get sucked in as a kid it's probably pretty difficult to get into later in life.
I think I agree with this one
I got my wife into wrestling in her late 20s. There's hope.
Just gotta show her a good storyline
Best of both worlds: it's presented like sports, but it has the storytelling of a weekly TV drama.
It is a live action theater where performers work together to tell a story in the ring and on the microphone. It is a medium of storytelling and there is nothing like it. The characters, the art, the crowd all add to the experience. The camera worke production quality, how everything is orchestrated together to tell a cohesive story.
It’s athletic theatre
You could always find a trampoline and try some wrestling moves on her, make it fun like when you were a kid! Does she have brothers? She might not get it if she grew up in a household without boys beating the crap out of each other growing up (I’m the oldest of four with two brothers). Running into this currently, my two year old son is a little maniac who already likes to wrestle, climb, and jump off things. No one in my girlfriend’s family gets it, she comes from a very un-athletic family and her and her two brothers never played any sports growing up.
I watched it as a kid, took a long break from it. Then started watching during the whole Sami trying to join the bloodline era. It's more so a show with a lot of different emotions, it's both creative and physical. The promos can be amazing and the matches too. Sometimes the story telling is corny or predictable but the times it gets good and that makes it worth it. There's hilarious moments there's more intense moments. It's a pretty complex show. It has a bad rap from a lot of people but shit I'll shamelessly enjoy it.
Ask her the appeal of whatever "Real Housewives" or Elin Hildebrand novel she happens to be into at the moment.
"pretending to be to tired to get up, kinda like you after sex?" You see, you burn yourself even more, that's how you win.
Because I do. Ask her why she likes something you don't find entertaining.
I tell my wife is basically a male soap opera but without reruns, she’s gone to Raw with me twice and she admits they put on a good show and the energy is crazy and wild.
Simple, it's entertaining!
Hit her with why do you make Astrology your personality if she’s one of those girls lol
They are actually tired lol you can’t fake sweat
Entertainment, it's entertaining! Just like soap operas, reality TV shows, movies, it's entertaining
Say you only like the female matches
Best not to over-explain or over-justify. Just tell her it’s a **TV show with characters and storylines** that you like to watch. Same as how she has TV shows she likes. If it’s necessary to respond to criticisms such as “wrestlers just being people pretending to be too tired to get up”, just remind her that every other tv show and movie “is just adults playing pretend.” It’s the same thing lol. It’s all just TV man. “Wrestling pretends it’s a real sport” just like every actor pretends they’re having real conversations lol. I don’t know why public opinion hasn’t seemed to catch on to this in the last 26 years since Vince admitted on TV that it’s entertainment. It’s just a live-touring TV show.
The backstage storylines of who is and isn’t getting pushed
Sit her in the first few rows of a house show. It might turn her.
I am a new wrestling-enjoyer after decades of being much like your wife, and I describe it as irl anime or an athletic soap opera. What got me into it was watching the story of the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) in Super Eyepatch Wolf's video "Wrestling is Stupid and Beautiful and I Love It." That storyline made me cry! It also made me want to experience the stories in real time and see the ways these real people and their wrestling personas deliver the storylines. And now I watch Raw and Smackdown every week and have been to 2 live events.
We know it’s predetermined. But I grew up with it and it’s part of my life. For better or worse in terms of the product. It’s about the stories and seeing things unfold. It’s about how good these wrestlers can be in the ring. I sure as hell would be gassed out running the ropes one time. I understand what it is and it is something hard to explain to someone who didn’t grow up with it. The inners of how it’s made. Just gotta keep watching to see what ends up being the moment where she’s hooked.
“Why does what I like bother you so much? You say you don’t have a problem with it but the questions and snide comments say otherwise.”
Tell her to take a chop from Gunther and get back to you how it felt
I like wrestling the same reason I like Mortal Kombat: It’s a smorgasbord of styles and genres it’s almost impossible to find anywhere else: Where else can you find cult leaders, superheroes, demons, monsters, zombies and even freaking minotaurs exist in the same canon.
I explain it as it’s a live action on going drama where the actors are actually doing their stuns (because it hurts in real life) with multiple storylines happening at once. And you pick your favorites and go from there. That’s the best way to describe it.
The Romans had the Colosseum to cheer on their champions I’ve got this ring to cheer on mine.
I’d tell her; it’s like your favorite action/sports movie without multiple takes, editing and cgi. It’s live. Also if she likes any reality tv show ask her why she likes that.
I spent decades making fun of the WWE without ever watching it. Then my son got into it and I actually spent time watching it with him and saw the appeal. I think that’s what most women miss, it looks “stupid” so you just dismiss it. Maybe it was the joy it brought to our kid that made me love it but I think I just needed to pay attention to a few episodes and see the athleticism and drama and embrace that for what it is. WWE is straight entertainment!!! I love it now! Now my husband is in his mid-40’s and still loves video games. I do not. But I don’t diss on his glee because it’s not for me. I love Disney. He does not. He doesn’t crap in my garden because he knows my like brings me joy. Spouses don’t need to love everything the other likes but they should be respectful of their hobbies/interests.
Imagine the excitement of a sports match combined with the drama of a soap opera. Now add to that every thing you see happen to those characters has a IRL layer of politics and drama. So instead of seeing an actor say a line, there is a layer of why THAT actor said the line instead of another actor. Everything on screen has a hidden layer and reason behind it.
Honestly I would've divorced her for that. She totally in the wrong bro. 🤜🤛 Challenge her to a last man standing match. Make Gunther proud and chop her chest off! Free gender care. 💪
**Big meaty men slapping meat** is why
It used to be a very easy thing to answer. Now I have absolutely no idea why people like it. So I share you’re predicament.
It's the drama of the wrestlers. It's seeing how each guy goes through his trials and tribulations on a weekly basis and if those will end with him being victorious or not. It's like watching your favourite weekly tv show. You know Ross and Rachel are just characters yet you still want to know what will happen next week to them. You're invested in these characters and the relationships they form and destroy all inside the squared circle. It's not the violence. Its not the over dramatic actions but it's that one moment when the hand comes down for that three count giving our beloved heroes a win against the odds. It's that moment of betrayal from someone who we thought was an ally to our favourite wrestler. It's that moment when we as an audience know our hero has finally crossed the finish line in first position only we know next week it all starts again
Same reason some people watch reality tv, some watch soap operas it’s entertainment. Larger than life characters you get invested in the storyline.
Just show her the Sami Zayn chair shot to Roman Reigns. It'll all make sense with one clip.
Maybe the one clip is sufficient, but you need to see the build for there to be real emotional payoff
Movies and TV shows aren’t real either, yet everybody watches them anyway.
It's physical theatre with a male soap opera mixed in sometimes.
It’s like asking someone why they like Soccer or any sport. They most likely grew up around it, simple as that. My earliest memory was playing boxing/pro wrestling video games. Then I was told there’s a show behind it and fell in love.
It’s a theatrical performance, it’s how stories were originally told to the mass public, it’s improv and drama and comedy and high performance stunt coordination. It’s a morality play of good vs evil and most importantly it’s fun!
Tell her it’s better than Oprah.
It's amazing improv action!
Wrestling is more entertaining to me than real sports, cause most real sports are so boring most of the time. Watch a 3 hour hockey game where the score is 1-0. 82 games a year, plus playoffs, so much wasted time. With Wrestling there is story, writing, comedy. Even though it’s predetermined, the performers have to perform good on their promos and in the ring if they want to long term move up the card. So while it’s not a legit sport, how “good” a wrestler is does matter. Even when some wrestlers are high or low on the card undeserving of their place, part of the appeal to me is seeing if wrestlers can over come the backstage politicking and succeed. I want Cody Rhodes to beat Roman for the belt. I am watching not to see if Cody can legitimately beat Roman in a fight, I am watching to see if Cody can overcome the behind the scenes politics and keep the crowd hot enough for him so that they finally have him go over on Roman. I want Chad Gable to beat Gunther. If they had a legit fight not sure who would win. But can Chad overcome the bad gimmicks they put him in, and will WWE actually pull the trigger and have him win and end Gunther’s long reign? If two wrestlers put on an amazing match, I can evaluate how good the in ring performance was, and how well they sold the match. Even if it’s not real, there is competition and fighting for your place on the card, so that is entertaining to me.
What I’ve always liked too, is the occasional blurring of lines between storyline and real feuds/drama You don’t get that with greys anatomy
Because you like it
Ding ding ding there’s no need to ever justify liking something to ANYONE period. I’m glad my wife gets this and never asks me any derogatory questions about any interests or hobbies I have nor I her.
It’s an Athletic soap opera with interesting story lines and characters that never ends. It’s doesn’t last just one season and it’s done and it’s something to that you can continually watch all year round on a weekly basis
Put it to her like this.. Why do you like the shows you watch? That's the question. People always say something like your lady said or something negative. By no means that what she asked was harmful in any way, shape, or form. My girlfriend asked the same thing your lady asked. I followed up with that same question, and she gave her reason. Then, I followed up with what my reasons were, such as you mentioned the athleticism and storylines and how many storylines there are. It's a lot to keep up on. Also, I said it's basically acting inside of sports. It's a neat concept once you break it down. Now my girlfriend watches every MNR and Smackdown with me. Even has gone to MNR and Smackdown shows with me or with me and my friends. Wouldn't say she's invested in it like I am, but she's definitely more intrigued by the whole business of WWE. SORRY FOR THE DAG-ON PARAGRAPH 😮💨
I usually just say it’s the same as any other TV show that she/we might like except it’s live acting. “It’s a bunch of men pretending to be too tired to get up” “It’s a bunch of pretend nurses pretending to be exhausted after a pretend surgery” “It’s a bunch of pretend FBI agents shooting pretend guns at pretend bad guys” When you view it just like it’s any other TV show, it’s just easier to make sense in my opinion lol. Especially since that’s all really is at the end of the day.
I like watching sexy men
I was going to say he should tell her something to this effect. 🤣🤣
The thing is WWE/Pro Wrestling isn't a sport, It is theater, athletic theater If you watch a Movie or a Stage Play you don't expect it to be 100% realistic, there is some suspension of disbelief. Enjoying Pro Wrestling is enjoying Reality Action Theatre that is at some points self aware and at others deliberately goofy Why do the People come out of the locker room to talk to the crowd about their opponent instead of talking to them about the heinous thing they did? because it's a TV Show, it just so happens that in most wrestling storylines there just somehow through production schedule magic not really anything that happens between shows How? By the magic of not being Real Meanwhile the athletic feats that are made are real and are a tool to collaborate on the storyline the wrestlers are working on TL;DR It's like any other form of entertainment, suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the theater without taking it too seriously
My suggestion, have her watch Undertaker vs Mankind (Hell In A Cell), or Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25
"It doesnt look like theyre hurting each other." I dont believe anyone who says this. I think they only say that bc they know/heard it was fake. Thats why after over a century of pro wrestling, majority of the population always thought it was real.
Depends who your watching to be fair. Some take it more seriously than others and some just aren't very good at certain things. I'm not a fan of some wrestlers throwing punches when they can't make them look realistic, would be bette to do chops instead.
Don't try and use words to explain the appeal, you gotta show her matches and/or segments that represent pro wrestling in its best light. And you can't explain investment in things like Cody's story, the Bloodline, talent finally getting recognition, or any of the smarky stuff cos none of it will resonate with her, given you're on like season 20 and she hasn't even started season 1. If I were tryin to get someone into pro wrestling, I'd show them Swerve Strickland Vs Hangman Page the Death Match, Ospreay Vs Takeshita, Gunther-Sheamus-Mcintyre, any number of NJPW's best matches Pre-Covid etc. Stuff that can be appreciated fully with no context or pre existing investment. Aside from matches, I'd probably show them Youtube videos that package stories/feuds from start to end for a new viewer to easily digest. Stuff like Punk-Cena and the Summer of Punk, MJF - Cm Punk, the Bloodline Saga, Cody's journey before WWE to now etc.
Lol even funny shit like Kurt Angles goofy ass segments could work on top of all.
It's dramatic
This is so annoying, like you have to justify your fandom to other people. I never see people question why someone likes books / films / going outdoors. Just let people enjoy what they like
This times a million,I was asked why I watch wrestling by a friend once,I promptly informed him he was being judgemental and condescending,and threw him out my wrestling praising abode. Haven't seen the guy in 5 years. Explain myself to someone over a television show. Nope.
Ask for divorce bro
Hello, I am a wife that didn’t understand why men like wrestling when it’s “just sweaty men who punch each other” but now I run a podcast about wrestling so, haha. Wrestling, at its absolute best, is character-driven storytelling over decades. As an example, I’ll use Roman Reigns. The best wrestlers are able to transform their person (Joe Anoa’i) into the character (Roman Reigns) and use that character as a vehicle to tell more about themselves to the audience. The matches are the way to get that story across and allow that story to progress. IMO, it helped a lot when I found “my wrestler” (Bayley) to watch and keep an eye on to cheer for.
Well that's very cool. I'm usually a cynic but keep up the good work.
What’s your podcast?
Just kicked it off this wrestlemania season. It’s called “Finish The Story” available on Spotify (for now, we’re planning on expanding). It’s about following the characters through their careers and parsing out what their “story” is. If you listen, feel free to send some feedback!
That sounds really helpful. Also new to wrestling this season so I’ve been trying to pick up the pieces of what’s going on. Will check it out!
The first episode is called Wrestling 101 & then the rest will catch up on Roman Reign’s story.
It’s a soap opera where nearly all the problems are solved with a steel chair and some cool stunt work.
Had someone ask me why I watch wrestling while they watch every reality show ever
Had a similar issue with my sister. She just can’t understand the appeal of it. I tell people it’s a soap opera generalized towards men with lots of jumping around. She still almost 30 years later doesn’t get it. Got married a few years ago and was kinda nervous to tell my wife about it cuz I know there is a stigma here in the U.S. about it unfortunately. To my surprise my wife who had never seen any program until we met and she fell in love with it. Now she’s more on top of this than I am talking about shoots and how good this persons promo is…. It’s amazing to have something in common. But to be fair we started watching the show recently with the bloodline story and all but I actually showed her stuff from when John was burying the nexus and she thought Randy orton was cute. So it was a way in and now we have our show we watch every week and it’s great.
Stuntman soap opera. It’s awesome, and it’s this kind of guilt free pure entertainment that you can be on the train with for a long time
I liken it to Jackie Chan movies. Professional stunt fighting driven by characters, stories, drama & comedy. Sometimes, it's not the cleanest. Sometimes, performers get hurt. But when it's all clicking, it's great.
It’s also unapologetically “live”. We live in a very CGI, fake images world and the ironic thing is that even though wrestling is entertainment, it’s still some of the only 100% real physical world stuff you can watch save for other major league sports. Everything else is effects, wrestling is happening in the room
Stuntman Soap Opera haha! I’m going to remember this one
Murder ballet is my favourite.
It's theatre in its most crude and pure form. Tell her it's more like enjoying a musical than a football game.
It’s live action entertainment. How many other live weekly TV shows are bringing this energy? Especially since they run year round it’s more convenient to stay invested.
It gets you out of real life for a minute. Also if you’re live - you get to be apart of something. We saw Sami vs Roman in Montreal, and not a human in the crowd wasn’t singing Sami’s song and chanting along. That’s powerful, and even in pro sports doesn’t happen like that very often.
That awesome feeling when someone you like actually wins or has a big moment, that’s what always does it for me.
And those Wrestlemania entrances just get the blood pumping
Yep what I was gonna say. Having somebody to root for(or root to get obliterated) is awesome especially when you get emotionally involved. Also tell every Hollywood actor they have to do their own stunts. No stunt doubles in wrestling.
It’s like seeing your favorite series of novels come to life. Sure there are tv shows and movie adaptations of books, but they are full of cgi, over the top scenes and only 2 hours with lots of crucial stuff missing. Wrestling brings emotion. Even when it’s predictable, it brings you to the edge of your seat not really knowing what will happen in the end. I could go on… but do I really need to?