Topic: Need help from Wrestling fans...

[Caliban]

If it's simulated/scripted then it no longer is a competition, hence it is not a sport.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Caliban
If it's simulated/scripted then it no longer is a competition, hence it is not a sport.

Ah but technically you are competing because the better you pull off your moves in the ring, the better chance you have of moving up the ladder. Not to mention the fact that many matches take alot of athletic ability and there is a winner/loser. Also there are shoot matches from time to time which can be quite legitimate.

[that Baby guy]

Heck, gymnastics/acrobatics/diving/swimming are considered a sport.  The problem is that they aren't rated and they aren't really competing.  Ideally, you've got highly acrobatic improv acts going on in front of you, with a defined beginning and a defined ending, and no rating/scores being released publicly.  The physical performance is athletic enough to be sport, but the event itself is not really a competition.  It's strange when you think of it.

Put it in the soap opera/chick flick section of the movies.  Give the whipped me something they'll appreciate when they go to get a movie with GP.

[Louieturkey]

Well with Poker being a sport now, I guess anything is possible.

[Kairon]

Evan settled the "Are Videogames art" question, so only he can save us from the "Is Wrestling a Sport" question.

[vudu]

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
Ah but technically you are competing because the better you pull off your moves in the ring, the better chance you have of moving up the ladder. Not to mention the fact that many matches take alot of athletic ability and there is a winner/loser. Also there are shoot matches from time to time which can be quite legitimate.

The same things could be said about being an action movie star, but I wouldn't call Tom Cruise an athlete.

[Ian Sane]

"Ah but technically you are competing because the better you pull off your moves in the ring, the better chance you have of moving up the ladder."

No the better you kiss ass, politic, play games and make the right friends is how one moves up the ladder in wrestling.  Wrestling's history is full of "stars" that got pushed harder because they were related to the promoter or were themselves the actual booker.  It's also full of talented guys who never went anywhere because the old guys on top felt threatened and used their clout the bury the guy.  Unlike a legitimate sport where winning is earned through real talent in wrestling someone DECIDES who wins and loses and like getting a promotion at a regular job those decisions aren't always fair.

To be a sport wrestling would have to be like figure skating in that after the match is over someone rates how well executed the match was and people win based on that.  As it is it's a form of acting with its own unique sub-culture, though with the physical conditioning and legitimate injuries of a real sport.  Pro wrestling is the most unique thing I've ever seen.

In the WWE's case it's pretty much just a TV show as they no longer seem to really make any effort to pretend that it's coverage of a sport.  The second you have cameras in places where it doesn't make sense or wrestlers doing things on camera that another wrestler is unaware of despite the fact that it was FILMED you're just a TV show.  If something is just supposed to be coverage of a live sporting event then the invisible camera cannot exist.

[UncleBob]

Got it.

[that Baby guy]

Perfect!