# Why is professional wrestling STILL popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 12, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-professional-wrestling-still-popular/108710 "2002-05-12T23:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2002, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-professional-wrestling-still-popular/108710/41 "2002-05-22T07:17:19Z")
I’m going to say right up front that I think wrestling is a joke, and I think it’s goofy that people find it entertaining. If someone likes it, that’s fine and I don’t really care what they do on their own time, but I can still think it’s stupid. > [@](#): > > by **Dirty Earthworm** > The Rock has more charisma in his pinky finger than Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Deion Sanders, and Dennis Rodman have combined. Quick, anyone - name the last successful movie that any of the above “real” athletes have been in? (remember - I said _successful_) OK, how about a “real” athlete not on that list? Anyone? Anyone? Now, three words: The Scorpion King. And for another example, “Macho Man” Randy Savage is in the number-one movie in the U.S. right now, Spider-Man. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper starred in They Live which, IIRC, did get positive reviews. Jesse Ventura, Hulk Hogan, Jerry “The King” Lawler, George “The Animal” Steele and The Undertaker\* have also all had starring or supporting roles in films. Wrestling is part athleticism and part acting. Yep, the Macho Man is the reason everyone went to see Spider Man :rolleyes:. If you’re going to bring in supporting actors then we should bring up [Carl Weathers](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Weathers,+Carl), who played Apollo Creed in the _Rocky_ movies. What about Ray Allen, currently playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and co-leading actor (?) in Spike Lee’s _He Got Game_. Personally I would say that Allen’s dramatic role took more skill than The Rock’s action role. Just because you couldn’t think of any right off the top of your head doesn’t mean there aren’t any. So let’s get rid of the idea that wrestlers are more charismatic just because every once in a while one of them gets a hit “shoot 'em up” film. Let’s be honest, the only real “headliner” of any of those names you mentioned is “The Rock” and we’ll see where he is in five years. It’s also a gross exageration that “The Rock” has more charisma “combined” than all the players you mentioned. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson where both better athletes than any pro wrestler you can think of. I would also say they both generated more interest in their heydays than any wrestler. Kind of funny that you mentioned Rodman, since he did some moonlighting as a wrestler for a while. As someone else pointed out, sports players don’t need to act to supplement their incomes. > [@](#): > > Pro wrestlers make less money and take more risks than ‘real’ athletes, don’t have an off-season, and are much more injury-prone than their counterparts. There’s a reason that, for the most part, they don’t make as much: wrestling is not as lucrative as MLB, NBA, NFL. I would also bet that “The Rock” is pulling down more than the Lakers’ 12th man or the Expos’ utility infielder. I don’t know where you get the idea that sports players have an off-season. While the games may stop, a lot of athletes realize that it’s a year-round commitment and train non-stop. I’m not sure about that “taking more risks” bit either. The average NFL career is 3.3 years, the average NFL running back only plays 2.5 years. Retired football players can usually be spotted by the way the hobble around on rebuilt joints. That may be true for wrestlers too, but I’m not the one that came up with the ridiculous claim that wrestlers take more risks. > [@](#): > > Kurt Angle won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics for amateur wrestling - it’s true, it’s true!) If a baseball player gets a hangnail, he almost automatically gets two weeks off. Mick Foley (a.k.a. Mankind) is the example above about being thrown from a cage, and he wrestled again two days later! That, in my book, is dedication to one’s profession. I have a feeling Angle went where the money was. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with that, he should do what’s best for him, but how much of a demand is there for Olympic athletes after the Olympics is over? Maybe they get a cereal box cover or a Dr. Scholl’s commercial, but they have to make hey while the sun shines. An Olympian’s window for cashing in is small, even if they were a winner. Stop and think why a baseball player gets time off for a hangnail (this is most common with pitchers). If a team has millions of dollars invested in a guy, and needs him around so that the team can be successful, then yes, they’ll give him time off. It’s not because the player is a wimp, it’s because it’s the smart thing to do. I’ve read some other posters that have the idiotic notion that the amount of injuries or frequency of “playing hurt” = “dedication.” There’s a point when “dedication” becomes stupidity. One of the motivating factors of this “dedication” is that there are a lot of wrestlers out there that are stupider and are willing to take more punishment so they can get a shot at the big time. > [@](#): > > by **Dirty Earthworm** > But there is no ‘legitimate’ athlete that puts his body on the line night in and night out the way professional wrestlers do. Even minor-league baseball players, AFAIK, have a team bus to transport them from place to place - paid for by the team itself. Minor-league wrestlers have to transport themselves from show to show, and more often than not they doing more driving than performing. ] As I said earlier, the average NFL career is about three years. You need to lose the idea you seem have that “legitimate athletes,” for some reason, aren’t as good as wrestlers. I don’t see how having a “team bus” in a team sport means wrestlers that drive themselves around are putting their body on the line or more dedicated. It’s obvious that you are either extremely biased or don’t know much about sports. Maybe both. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-professional-wrestling-still-popular/108710.md?page=2)