Are wrestling real or staged?

Question

I just wanna know are westling match, like ones that I glance through from time to time on friday nights, are they real fighting or are they staged. If they're real, then arnt they a bit to violent and one-sided? And if they are staged, who the hell is gonna want to be the guy who gets like a chair thrown at his face?
Isnt he gonna feel the pain or the humilation?

Answer 1

Everyone going into a "match" is aware of who is going to win. Understand that wrestling isn't "fake," it's scripted like a soap opera and choreographed like a dance number. Think of these guys like amazing stunt men. I mean, who can take a pounding like these guys are supposed to take and not have a mark on them the very next night?

Wrestlers in the ring call out numbers to each other as they work, so that they can anticipate what is going to happen to them. For instance, Wrestler A throws Wrestler B into the ropes and as he whips him, he says quietly (usually can't be heard over the crowd) "6" so that Wrestler B knows he's about to be drop-kicked and can get ready to raise his arms in front of his face and do a backfall to the mat. I once attended a match in the SF Cow Palace that was so empty, you could hear the calls.

Referees jobs are to make sure that a maneuver didn't seriously injure one of the wrestlers. You'll see them down close to a wrestler who's taken a "high risk" maneuver to ensure that the wrestler didn't get hurt. I don't know what the signal is - I've only seen one match pull up short when a wrestler torn a hamstring - but I was in the nosebleeds and couldn't tell. Frequently, a wrestler will inform the ref of a number to pass along to the other wrestler since he can't shout it across the ring. Refs are also ear-miked to they can be told to speed up or slow down a match for the TV network, and the ref will also signal when the winner should shoot the finishing move on his opponent to end a match.

Answer 2

It's usually decided between the wrestlers who will start the action and who will win/count out/call in his buddies at the end, but the in-between time is not always scripted. Some of the established stars like Roddy Piper or Ric Flair may have move-by-move scripts but that's mostly because they've suffered a lot of abuse over the years and don't want anymore. It is "real" as in the person has worked out, trained, fought and perfomed and been badly hurt, but it's "fake" when it comes to fighting between themselves--only a careless opponent would injure the other guy.
As for the chair, it's usually the flat of the chair that strikes, which makes a good noise and a noticeable dent, and the one struck stands or moves to absorb the blow (it stings like the dickens). Pain is just part of the job, and humiliation isn't really felt. The heel of today will be the babyface of tomorrow. It's just part of the show.

Answer 3

My dad was a professional wrestler long before it became the rage. When I was little we used to attend the practice sessions the night before the matches and then the actual match the night after. Most of the moves are choreographed but there are time when they hurt each other and blew the show out the window. Just like anyone else, they would have a temper flair up when they got hurt and adrenaline was flowing fast and really get P.O.'d at each other and then real blood would fly!
Most of the wrestlers (to include Andre the Giant!) would come over to our house after the matches though and have dinner and drink a few beers and talk about the matches. They always forgave and forgot as it was the "name of the game". So, in my experience it was mostly choreographed moves until some one got hurt and mad and then it was real. My dad looked so much older than he was as his forehead had so many scars on it from being ran into the corner posts when those tempers would flair! It was fun though, as a kid, and we always had some of the greatest people in our lives.
And after reading some of the other answers I have to laugh. There are no springs under the mat, the blood is very much real, and they do get hurt. Slamming your body around, no matter how much you practice, still hurts! And though there is a Dr at the matches, they are all responsible for their own healthcare and don't really make that much money. At least, they didn't used to.

Answer 4

Yes, most professional wrestling is staged. The pain that the wrestlers go through is well thought out, planned and staged to make it look like its really painful when in fact it isn't. Ever notice how when a wrestler hits another wrestler, they stomp on the mat? Its for the noise.

Of course, from time to time, wrestler need to endure some pain - its a part of their job. They get paid a lot of money to go out and dance around. There were some wrestlers, like Mick Foley, who got hurt a lot. Wrestlers, like Owen Hart, have even died when things didn't go as planned. The getting-hit-in-the-face-with-a-chair thing doesn't quite hurt as mush when you know that you get paid some huge sum for each blow. Plus, they have expert medical personnel, in case something does go wrong.

Answer 5

It's all staged, the floor on the ring, has springs, so when one falls on it, it makes it look much more painful.

They get paid millions of dollars every year. How do they feel the pain or humiliation then? Look at the Rock, and Hogan. How many movies, and merchandising they have made.

Owen Heart , also died during the wrestling match, and it was aired on Paper View. Look up on Youtube Owen Hear.

Answer 6

Its all staged. There is a storyline and its meteculously played out. But the action and the pain is all real. The wrestlers do take quite a heavy beating now a days.

cheers.

Answer 7

It's staged but when you get hit with a chair, ladder or barb wire that's real and there in it for money they got families too.....but some guys get hurt by accident like Triple H and Rey Mysterio and Shawn Micheals's concussion and knee....

Answer 8

The results are scripted and the moves are fake but the guys still get hurt due to accident. Like Triple H getting hurt a few months ago.

Answer 9

the answer to your question is that the matches are staged so yes the one wrestler knows he is going to win and the other does too. Even tho they are scripted sometimes the script gets abandoned in the application of the match.

Answer 10

staged but the falling off the ladders the slamming of the chairs foreign objects are real