The Corner of Controversey and Criticism- 3/22/2015: Pro Wrestling Isn’t All Fake

This past Friday night Mexican Wrestling great Perro Aguayo Jr. died in a horrible accident during a wrestling with Tigre Uno, Manik and former WWE star Rey Mysterio. The accident occurred when Mysterio was setting up for his trademark move the 6-1-9. Aguayo was only 35 years old and still in the prime of his career. I am writing this because so many damn times when a wrestler dies I hear all these sports journalists say he’s on steroids, he’s on drugs, or something of that nature. A lot of pure sports fans hate pro wrestling and hate it when it’s compared to professional sports. 

There is no doubt the professional wrestling is pre-determined and a lot of it’s choreographed but it takes a lot of athleticism, conditioning and toughness to be in the pro wrestling business. Pro wrestlers are very protective of who gets in the pro wrestling business. I personally have experienced this in my life. If you aren’t trained then you better dare not get close to a ring. The worse thing you could do is try to perform without being properly trained. It makes you and others around you look horribly bad.

To the critics who say wrestling is fake have not seen the injuries these men and women occur over a 300 day a year schedule. Lets put this into perspective. The NBA has 82 games, the NFL has 16 games, the MLB has 162 games, and UFC fighters only fight 3 times a year at most. The WWE and other major wrestling promotions are on the road 300 days a year. Independent wrestlers perform 3-4 times a week. A guy like Colin Cowherd or other ignorant sports journalists wouldn’t be able to handle five minutes inside a wrestling ring. There are real life injuries that do occur that end a career and as we have seen end a life.

I think back to Darren Drozdov and how he was instantly paralyzed after a freak accident in the ring. Mick Foley took years off of his career by giving his all for the fans. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Edge and Paul Orndorff all have had major neck problems that cut their careers short. I will always hate the word “fake” when someone is describing pro wrestling. It is far from fake, and it is a lot more physical then what the sports purist thinks. 

Perro Aguayo isn’t the first to lose his life at a wrestling event. Owen Hart is the most recognized name to die in a wrestling accident. He was making a special entrance when he fell to his death. There have also been deaths due to wrestling related injuries. One of the most notable ones was Chris Candido. He had broken his leg in the match and died shortly there after due to blood clots after his surgery to repair the leg. If you want to get really deep into this topic look not further then to Chris Benoit. Look at all the brain trauma that occured in his wrestling career which led to his actions and his suicide. 

So to all the critics, to all the Colin Cowherd’ s and, Nancy Grace’s of the world I encourage you to step into a pro wrestling ring for ten minutes and come back and tell me that it’s not physical and that doesn’t take a certain level of conditioning, athleticism, and toughness.Pro Wrestling maybe entertainment, maybe pre-determined but it is far from fake! As always be safe, be strong, and believe in yourself. Controversy Doesn’t Come Without Criticism!