The Top 5 Common Beliefs About Pro Wrestling by Non-Wrestling Fans

What's worse than debating another wrestling fan who thinks he knows it all, and won't let you make your point?

Debating a non-wrestling fan who is just as arrogant.

It's amazing, the amount of knowledge that non-wrestling fans do not have, and how much of what they think they know seems to be aimed at making you want to put your fist through the wall.

It's true, pro wrestling fans are a passionate bunch.

So, what drives you crazy about these folks who know zero about the business, but like to talk about it anyway?  What opinions do they have that make you see red?

Never fear, because there's a good chance that you may find one or two of those gripes on this list.

5- Wrestlers Are All Friends Outside the Ring

"Yeah, they're acting like they hate each other, but you know what?  They're all really friends on the outside."

A great one to start off with, and comes from that odd place in a non-wrestling fan that causes them to somehow sound knowledgeable about an industry they know nothing about.

The truth is, pro wrestling is like any other line of work.  Sometimes you like your coworkers, and may even hang out with them after hours.

Other times, you might hate the guy sitting next to you, and would like to push him in front of a train.

But, most of the time, there is a big difference between friends at work, and friends outside of work. For pro wrestlers, the same holds true.

However, there is good reason for wrestlers to get along as much as possible.  The fact is that while you may not personally like the guy you're going to work in the main event, you have to trust him.

After all, you are putting your life, your livelihood, in his hands.  If he does not protect you in the ring, then you may not make it out in one piece.  

By the same token, he knows that by being careless, or letting personal feelings get involved, will cause you to not fully protect him either, whether intentional or not.

But, respect for the other man may not always translate to being friends.  You shake hands before and after the match, and then go about hating the guy's guts afterward.

It's human nature, and that's the way it is.

Bret Hart was not really trying to break Shawn Michaels' leg in the Sharpshooter, but he also couldn't stand the guy.  Hart was a professional and did the right thing in the ring.

But, BFF's?  During those days?  Forget about it.

4- Hulk Hogan Is a Great Wrestler

This one goes to the genius of Vince McMahon.  Why?

Because only a genius could convince the world that Hulk Hogan, the guy who doesn't know a wristlock from a wristwatch, is a great professional wrestler.

A real genius, with a gift for selling.

He packaged Hogan as a comic book character, a larger-than-life type who believed in taking vitamins and saying prayers.

He sold that character as a man who always did the right thing, who was loyal to his friends and faithful to his fans.  He hid the man's shortcomings as a technical wrestler by surrounding him with great workers, and shifting the focus onto his appeal as an attraction.

He made the WWF into a Hollywood production, and cast Hogan as the hero of the piece.

Hulk Hogan a great wrestler?  To the non-wrestling fan?  Absolutely.  To the average wrestling fan, yes, he may be one of the best ever.

To the real wrestling fan?  Not even close.

Hogan is a great entertainer.  There's no doubt, at that, he is one of the best of all time.  There is no arguing that. But, as an in-ring performer, with the ability to make his opponent look good, and sell a great match?

That one will never be mutually agreed on.  It's just not happening.

3- The Majority of Wrestlers Take Steroids

"Oh man, look at that guy, you know he's on the juice."

Is there anyone on the planet who doesn't believe that all pro wrestlers are taking steroids?

Anyone?  Hello?

The truth is, this is one that we have to expect.  It has happened so often, and there have been so many steroid scandals over the years, that when someone who's not a wrestling fan makes the comment, there's not much you can say.

What do you say, at this point?  How do you defend guys that you personally believe are not taking a thing, without fear of it coming back to haunt you?  

It's a tough call, to  be sure.  And, while I am under no illusion that not only has it happened, but that it's also happening right now, I have to admit that I am extremely sick of hearing about it.

Yes, some wrestlers are guilty of it.  No, not all of them are.

It's those men and women that steroid accusers are insulting, demeaning, and belittling.  The truth is, no one knows, until the truth comes out,

So, while the steroid stone is one that will always be thrown, don't forget that when it's proven true, there's not much you can do about it but hang your head a little and move on.

And, when the accusations have no merit, there is nothing you can do to stop non-wrestling fans from believing it anyway, because they feel that the business is so evil that it demands condemnation.

That's the price you pay for being a fan.  That's just the way it is.

2- Pro Wrestling Is a Male Soap Opera

How often have you heard this one?

"That wrestling is just like a soap opera, with a bunch of men."

The reason for this view, of course, is the obvious drama that plays out in any pro wrestling promotion. This has been the case for a long time, and will likely never end.

Betrayal.  Revenge.  Deception.  Jealousy.  Greed.  Everything that makes a good soap opera good and cheesy, all of these have been the name of the game in the business for years now.  It's the same thing, right?

No, it's not.  Stop it.

Pro wrestling is a physical art-form, an entertainment industry like no other.  Everyday regular men and women get in the ring and put their lives on the line for a sport that they love, and work very hard to become the best at.  

On the independent level, these people get into their cars and drive a hundred miles to work a match in front of fifty fans.  With any luck, they may leave with enough gas money to get home.

On the WWE level, they leave their families for 300-plus days a year, wrestling night after night, wrecking their bodies until many of them break down physically and cannot make it through the day without a painkiller.

Not exactly the Young and the Restless.

Pro wrestling is not for the faint of heart.  It takes real love of the sport, a commitment to getting better, and a little bit of luck, to become a real success.

You want to call that a male soap opera, have at it.  I'm not doing it.

1- Wrestling Is Fake

Hate this one.  Seriously.  Hate it to pieces.

It's the one "fact" that anyone who does not follow the business, does not care about the art-form of it, adheres to, like it's one of humanity's great truths.

The world is round, all men are created equal, and pro wrestling is fake.

After being a fan my whole life, and having been involved in the business since 2001, I would like to say that I'm over it.  I would like to say that it doesn't bother me anymore.  

But, it really does.  When I hear someone say it, or see it written on a column here on Bleacher Report, I get very defensive, very quickly, as if I am being attacked.  

I suddenly feel the need to stand up for the sport that I love, the business that I watched with my dad when I was three years old, the same business that my three-year-old son now watches with me.

Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes?  Fake.

The Road Warriors vs. The Horsemen?  Fake.

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart?  You guessed it.  Fake.

The automatic dismissal of the industry by people who really don't understand what it is and how it works, is, in a word, infuriating.  At this point, the best thing to do when they start talking is to just tune them out, or change the subject.  There is no winning in that discussion.  Not at all.

It's the word itself, that gets to me.  We all know that the outcome of most pro wrestling matches is predetermined, and that the guys in the ring do not always hate each others' guts, like they would have you believe.

But we also know that every Hollywood blockbuster action movie has a predetermined outcome as well, and that the villain is not really trying to kill the hero.

However, that does not stop people from laying down 12 bucks a pop at the theater, the same ones who hurl the word "fake" at pro wrestling, whenever they feel the need to rip on it, or its fans.

Bottom line, it's all entertainment.  That's what matters.  And, that's why we watch.