Wrestlers: Respect Some of the Hardest Workers in Sports

My stupid cable went out tonight so I decided to lay down and play some Smackdown v. Raw on my PS2. Listening to Tazz's commentary for the umpteenth time about the guys in wrestling being the hardest working athletes made me realize that I had to write this piece. Granted, something similar may have been done before but I haven't read one yet.

Yes, wrestling is fake. Yes, the outcomes are planned. Yes, it is sports entertainment. What's your point? Despite all the controversy and the criticism that may surround professional wrestling, know that the men and women who are known as pro wrestlers are some of the hardest working people in this world.

What other sport has their athletes on the road over 250 days out of the year, in a new town every night? Sure professional baseball players play 162 games in a season and have spring training, but they get to have home stands and play teams three to four times in a row. Basketball stars play half the games baseball players do, and don't have such a busy schedule. In football, they practice and play six to seven months out of the year and half one game a week.

I am not taking anything away from the top three sports here, because they spend a lot of time perfecting their craft. Football, itself, is dangerous enough and one tackle can end a career. But, those individuals can spend a whole lot more time with their families than those who wrestle. When baseball/basketball/football players go over and showcase their talents across Europe for two weeks only to come back after a day off and play in a new city, then come back and talk to me.

Wrestlers in the WWE wrestle four to five days in a week. TNA has a much lighter schedule, sure, but they have to hit the road as well. Then you have the independent circuit, which is just as hectic. Aside from the wrestling, wrestlers must do promotional work, signing autographs, taking pictures, doing interviews, etc. Seeing the inside of an airport terminal or a rental car more time than loved ones.

You hear star athletes in major sports signing contracts paying them $10 million a year and even have players who had one good year out of five cashing in for millions as well. Pro wrestlers aren't that fortunate. How many stories have you heard about Michael Jordan playing a pick-up game in a remote part of Canada for a $10 payday? Keep thinking because the answer is going to be never. Ever hear Peyton Manning sleeping in his car while training to get where he is today? How many games has Alex Rodriguez played in where its freezing cold outside and there is no heat inside the arena?

Some wrestlers traverse the world to hone their craft. You'll have a wrestler born in Minnesota, skip college, go to Canada, practice and fight for 10 years before getting a shot for a top promotion. If they are lucky enough to get that shot and make it to the show, it's now all about staying there. You don't always have the luxury of someone else taking a shot at you like in other sports. Why doesn't that garner respect?

Wrestlers have to put up with a whole lot before they even get to the big time. The minor leaguers in baseball might not make the same money as their major league counterparts but one injury to a major leaguer and a Triple-A or Double-A star can make it to the big time and enjoy all the amenities. You don't always have that luck in wrestling seeing as how most wrestling promotions don't have a minor league. This is not like the Aflac commercial, If you're hurt and miss work, it will hurt to miss work. No work equals no pay.

Wrestling isn't ballet you know, though if a match is done properly it can look just as graceful. And yes it is fake because they plan the outcomes of matches and punches are pulled. Does a good wrestling show not entertain you like a thrilling playoff game in any other sport? Just because of the lack of realism does not mean the men and women of the squared circle do not feel ever little bump that they take. It takes a toll on their body as it does a catcher who crouches behind the plate 150 games out of the year for 10 years.

The top-3 sports in the US can always get higher television ratings than wrestling but take a poll around the world and see who more people recognize, Shawn Michaels or Eli Manning? "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or Albert Pujols? So know that the men and women who step into those rings are some of the hardest workers in the world. And that is something I and everyone else should respect.

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