Lance storm commentary

[Guest]

Lance Storm Commentary: Is Wrestling Fake?

 

May 5,2002

That is a question I’ve been asked many times. It’s usually phrased, “Wrestling’s fake, isn’t it?” It starts as a statement but for some reason everyone adds the “isn’t it?” part at the end and it becomes a question. I guess no matter how sure you are about the nature of wrestling, until you’ve had someone, who actually does it, confirm your suspicions you’re never 100% sure. Now with the Internet and how open the industry is about it’s true nature this question isn’t as frequently asked. Fans and non-fans alike have come to there own conclusions and figure that wrestling is, in fact, a big fake fest.

 

I have always been against the use of the term “fake” when referring to what I do for a living, despite the fact that I do, on occasion, use the term myself. Let me set the record straight right now. With the possible exception of Mikey Whipwreck, wrestling is not FAKE! It never really was and is perhaps is even less so now.

 

Bret Hart made a statement to a friend of mine once. It’s was something to the effect, “We used to put on these [fake] matches and fans would believe they were real…. Now we go out and [beat the hell] out of each other and the fans, think it’s all fake…” I think the point Bret was trying to make was that fans have now decided that what we do is fake. They accept that and are fine with it and are still fans, so why are we out there [beating the hell] out of each other. The problem is that most of us now try to put doubt back in their minds by being extra stiff and [beating the hell] out of each other. I’ve got a reputation for being among the lightest and safest guys in the business and I too am guilty of this on occasion. Not so much in dishing it out but in a willingness to take it in an attempt to get that extra Ohhhh out of the crowd.

 

I think fans need to be aware that predetermined or choreographed doesn’t translate into “fake”. My biggest pet peeve is “Chair Shots” fans often describe them as if they are a fake wrestling move. There is nothing fake about a chair shot. It’s a real folding chair, which unless the guy puts his hands up really hits you in the head. Even with a hand up they hurt like hell. I know guys who have serious neck problems from taking chair shots and guys who likely have a degree of brain damage for concussions cause by chair shots. I’m not blaming fans for this; we bring in on ourselves more than anything. I just think it’s worth pointing out that we really take a physical beating in there, which should not be made light of.

 

I can’t count the amount of times I’ve had people complain about the lame chair shots I hit RVD with at ECW’s Barely Legal PPV. They ask why they were so lame. They even speculate that I hadn’t learned how to do chair shots yet. As if they are just a wrestling move you have to learn. The truth is I just wasn’t comfortable walloping a guy in the head with a steel object. It is against my nature to injure people. Through necessity, and the constant assurances from the recipients that it is okay I’ve become more relaxed in hitting people with chairs but I still don’t like it. They hurt and cause injuries and as Bret Hart points out, no one believes they hurt anyway.

 

This brings up a very interesting question, which is likely, the point of my commentary. Since fans know/think wrestling is “fake” should we accept that and not bother trying to lay it in and look real or should we really beat the hell out of each other to prove them wrong? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. We know movies are fake but we still expect actors to add the emotion and act, so we can enjoy the movie, but we also accept the fact that movie fight scenes and punches are unrealistic and accept them as movie punches and fight scenes. Perhaps that is the goal we should have as well. Fans deserve action that is believable at least by wrestling standards. No one wants to see a guy pull away from a clothesline or dropkick and no one should expect a guy to take a ridiculously stiff steel chair to the face either. There has to be a happy medium somewhere.

 

I bring this up because I have several friends on the shelf right now with serious injuries. Chris Benoit, Rhyno, Lita, and Scotty 2 Hottie are all out with serious neck injuries. The first three are recovering from surgery and Scotty is having his neck operated on very soon. I can’t help but think that their injuries are due to the ever-rising bar we set for ourselves. Fans constantly expect more and we constantly try to top ourselves. It’s a vicious cycle and we are all, in some degree, to blame.

 

Is there an answer? A way to make fans happy and protect wrestlers from injury? Likely not. Fans will always pop extra loud for the stuff they perceive as stiff or legit and the boys will always strive to get that extra reaction. I guess all I can ask for is for fans to realize that what we do isn’t fake and that we pay a price for what we do. And to the boys, we need to remember that when we go out there and beat the hell out of each other, a lot of times we are only fooling ourselves. If I can steel a line from Hill Street Blues, “Let’s be careful out there!”

 

All the best to Chris, Rhyno, Lita and Scotty, we miss you guys and want you back healthy.

 

Till next week,

Lance

 

credit: stormwrestling.com

[Guest]

Welcome Back, Lance!!!!!

 

I knew he wouldn't stay away for too long!

 

(Storm loves the "Smarks" of the world!)

[Guest godthedog]

i think the guys wouldn't have to do such harm to themselves if they just sold more.  to make themselves look tough, they do ridiculous things & just keep going.  during the ladder match at the rumble last year, chris benoit did a suicide dive RIGHT into a steel chair, and continued the match.  ten minutes later, he wasn't even selling it.  a suicide dive into a chair logically should've knocked him out cold.  but these guys had to make themselves look like main eventers, so they did that as just one of many insane spots that would've been causwe for an injury angle 6 years ago.  during that great benoit/austin smackdown match, i remember being extremely pissed that austin took 10 german suplexes & got right back up.  he was dazed and frantically reaching for the ropes, but come on: if you take 10 german suplexes in a row, especially with a bad neck, you'd better sell it like death.  brock lesnar lets himself get hit with unprotected chair shots to the head, and he doesn't sell it at all.  WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO NO-SELL A CHAIR SHOT TO THE HEAD?  what kind of corner is this man painting himself into, where a chair shot isn't even a credible finisher?  are chair shots going to be incorporated into his matches just as spots, & not as endings?

 

anyway: if the guys just sold stuff like this as injuring them (or at least inhumanly painful), then they wouldn't have to do it so often.

[Guest Risk]

Maybe match spots shouldn't be planned.  Maybe the wrestlers in the ring should make it up on the fly.  They could use shoot moves, like headlocks and arm bars.  It would be like the days of Ed "Strangler" Lewis.