Being A Pro Wrestling Referee Is So Much Harder Than It Looks

[KenH]

Quite interesting interview with my favorite referee in TNA Wrestling, Alice Lane.

 

[Salty]

Isnt Pro-wrestling really just fake wrestling?

 

[KenH]

Isnt Pro-wrestling really just fake wrestling?

No. The violence is real, but it is scripted to try to minimize the damage. It is like watching a live play with scripted violence.

As one learns in the video, the referee is important to flow of the match, as well as to the safety of the wrestlers.

 

[Salty]

If it is scripted - it is fake

 

[KenH]

If it is scripted - it is fake

Let someone drive you through a table, or hit you square on the back with a steel chair, or hit you with a 450 splash off the top turnbuckle, or hit you with a lumbar check, then you come on this thread and say that it "fake".

 

[Salty]

Well, I see it like this.
Someone might tell me there is some good food in the garbage can -
but that dont mean I am going to try it!

 

[KenH]

Well, I see it like this.
Someone might tell me there is some good food in the garbage can -
but that dont mean I am going to try it!

If you don't like professional wrestling, then don't watch it.

 

[Salty]

I dont watch it!
I have better things to do - like watching paint dry!

but I dont mind putting in my 3 cents worth!

 

[KenH]

I dont watch it!
I have better things to do - like watching paint dry!

but I dont mind putting in my 3 cents worth!

I don't know why you want to argue with me about something that you have no interest in.

 

[Salty]

not arguing - just giving my POV

 

[Charlie24]

I dont watch it!
I have better things to do - like watching paint dry!

but I dont mind putting in my 3 cents worth!

I have to agree! I have other things to do rather than watch grown men act as fools.

But I'm not ignoring their skill and bravery. Like a boxer in the ring, mama's boys need not apply.

 

[KenH]

I really don't see any point to anyone arguing over something he doesn't have an interest in.

This is how I operate:

I have no interest in Formula 1 auto racing. Therefore, I do not argue with people who do have an interest in Formula 1 auto racing.

If I see something about Formula 1 auto racing, I don't take time out of my day to argue with someone over it. I simply move along.

 

[John of Japan]

There's a great book from the 1930s, pretty rare I believe, with the title The Fall Guys. It tells how modern pro wrestling developed from the Catch-as-Catch-Can style of the day. Abe Lincoln only lost one match out of about 100 in that style, and I wrestled with it in High School in the 1960s. It is sometimes called "folk wrestling."

As for modern pro wrestling, the wife always objects so I never watch it.... However, go on Youtube and search for Japan's "Tiger Mask," who was an incredible athlete!

 

[KenH]

There's a great book from the 1930s, pretty rare I believe, with the title The Fall Guys. It tells how modern pro wrestling developed from the Catch-as-Catch-Can style of the day. Abe Lincoln only lost one match out of about 100 in that style, and I wrestled with it in High School in the 1960s. It is sometimes called "folk wrestling."

As for modern pro wrestling, the wife always objects so I never watch it.... However, go on Youtube and search for Japan's "Tiger Mask," who was an incredible athlete!

Thank you for adding substance to this thread, John.

 

[John of Japan]

Back in the 1930s, as pro wrestling became scripted, a genuine match was called a "shooting match," and probably still is today, though I'm not sure. Back when I was in high school I sometimes watched local matches on TV, I could tell which were shooting matches since I was a wrestler. The differences were palpable.

I remember one shooting match when Abdullah the Butcher took on a local amateur heavyweight, who I suppose wanted to turn pro. Abdullah knocked the kid out, then proceeded to wrestle the unconscious amateur as if he were still awake. It was an ugly sight, believe me.

 

[KenH]

Back in the 1930s, as pro wrestling became scripted, a genuine match was called a "shooting match,"

Yes, a real injury, storyline, etc., is called a "shoot". A scripted injury, storyline, etc., is called a work.