I found a few polls, but I can’t say how scientific they are
http://www.opendebate.com/msg?topic=208&q=110 One percent of all polled believe it’s real.
http://www.dreamscape.com/throb/qpoll/qp0108.html Two percent of all polled believe it’s real.
Hey!
Old fart this, you pencil-necked geek.
to you too!
Peace,
mangeorge
good polls but of course that is the general computer population responding. One would imagine that the people who watch or go to matches would be a diiferent subsection entirely
I always get twitchy when people start using the words ‘real’ and ‘fake’ when talking about pro wrestling. As mentioned by several people above it is all very real in a danger sense, although scripted and pre-determined. Using the word ‘fake’ cheapens the work that a lot of talented professionals do, and also leads to people injuring themselves trying to copy stuff.
As already mentioned the WWE have moved to acknowledge that it is really just an entertainment show, and are making a big deal of the in-ring injuries to show how dangerous the work is.
Anyroads, the reason I’m posting is 'cos Vince McMahon was on “On The Record W/ Bob Costas” and quoting from the recap here.
Of course, it’s possible – even likely – that Vince just made that number up. It’s a data point from someone who should have some idea, for what it’s worth.
SD
Wrestling fan and proud of it.
I think 30-40 years ago a far greater percentage of fans actually believed that what they were seeing was “real”. I’m trying to remember his name, but at least one wrestler was stabbed by a fan who was upset about the wrestlers in-ring activities.
TV exposure and the general trend of the business has made it pretty hard to stay in the dark about how the show is run. But when TV coverage was much less and the regional promotions still ran the show I think the average fan was a little more willing to believe.