I am not sure how many of you watch Wrestling… no, not the Olympic sport the entertainment one. WWE if u would like :). Yes, I occasionally catch it on tv.
Many of my friends over time have asked me (and if u watch im sure they ask you) “Why do you watch it? Isnt it sad? Dont u know its fake???”
Well here are the answers. I will base my answers on a few scientific and psychological explanations.
A long time ago man used to hunt(sad that few ppl still do it). This was basically for food which lets say there was no supermarket for :D. Over the years man began to grow crops and this reduced his requirement for hunting. Hunting was not only serving the purpose of food but also a way to release his human requirements… if you notice some apes show anger and behave violently from time to time. Its something that’s built into our systems and cannot be taken out.
As the modern era dawned all us ppl got engulfed into our day jobs. This served the food part but a part of us that needs to hunt keeps getting suppressed.
This is where violent sports come in.
Let it be football or Ice Hockey or Wrestling… we enjoy it when competition becomes everything, when our stars give it all to get to a dream. This filled the void. The same reason is why Gladiators were there in Rome.
Not to mention the combination of sex and violence, this is a bit more interesting than tea and biscuits. Consider this cheerleaders-football and divas-wrestling… ring a bell.
Now about the fake part….
We all have watched movies, tv shows and magic tricks… well they all are fake. It seems people don’t object to that but when its on stage or on screen. The fact is it takes more talent and training to be able to act live which is currently kept alive in the theater only. Don’t get me wrong im not saying Wrestling Entertainment is like Theater but save the fighting how different is it really.
Here is some food for thought… Magicians do a trick called buried alive… there is a match in wrestling called buried alive which does the same trick plus fighting.
I have not written this to promote wrestling. Its just that that question has been asked too many times…
Finally for all the people that think this sort of show corrupts young minds… I think so too but I don’t see a 18+ rule at this form of entertainment soon… lets be realistic more than half of the income is from below 18 year olds.