that's entertainment

  Yes, I have been watching and a fan of professional wrestling for many years now. I can remember watching Big 8 wrestling out of Conn in the 1960's. Haystack Calhoun comes to mind. I knew it was entertainment long before they started calling it sports entertainment. I didn't need anyone to tell me that stuff was staged because I'm not an idiot. I had two brothers that had shown me what it felt like to be slapped, hit, punched and body slammed. I only had to watch those guys on television to know, no way is that real or that guy would have been killed! Yeah, back in the good old days we knew that stuff and just enjoyed the show.

 This is WrestleMania weekend. I will be watching with my subscription to Peacock. In the past I didn't watch the pay per view shows simply because the cost was too high. Years ago, they were like 35 dollars but have grown to be in the sixties. But Peacock is a monthly subscription for like $6.99 and also provides other shows to watch. So now I get to watch all WWE pay per events with that subscription. They are recorded as well so I can watch whenever I feel like it. It's great. I've seen WrestleMania grow into this huge event, this year in Philadelphia. Not that far away from me but I wouldn't go to it live anyway. You have to get tickets way in advance, and they are quite costly, the view is much better in my living room. 

 I have always thought of professional wrestling as a sort of soap opera for the guys. The stories are as varied as the characters. There are pretty women too. Violence and hot chicks, what more could a guy hope for. It wasn't always like that though, in the early years it was taken quite seriously, and you weren't supposed to know the outcomes were decided ahead of time. The wrestlers tried to keep that a secret like magicians do. Kayfabe they call that. It's a word invented in the carnival world to replace fake. Even the fans are supposed to participate in that little illusion. There are some that do that wholeheartedly, even today. That has fallen out of favor however, that's why it is called sports entertainment these days and fans explain to everyone that will listen that they know it isn't real. I just laugh about all of that. But today many feel it necessary to state the obvious, present it as some secret knowledge they have or something. A great deal of that falls under the term, "woke." 

 As I said I've been watching and have been entertained by that for many years now. It does require a great deal of athletic ability to perform those stunts and tricks. The very best have acting ability as well. That acting ability doesn't always work in regular movies though, witness Cena, the Rock and Hogan. All make movies but I wouldn't call any of them movie stars, wrasslin' stars for sure. The stories they tell have changed and evolved over the years. A great deal of the stories they used to tell twenty years ago could not be told today without offending the population in general. OMG they would be storming WWE headquarters in Conn like it was Jan 6th. And there were times even I thought, that's a bit much and that they should dial it back. But it's just business. Very entertaining in my opinion, but like a good soap opera you have to keep watching to understand the story. It's the good guys vs the bad guys. And the good guys turn bad and vice versa, happens all the time.

 This weekend is also the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for the WWE. Some of those old-time heroes will be there. Personalities remembered for their contribution to the story. It isn't any easy path being a professional wrestler. Many don't survive the business for many different reasons. Fortunately, the pay has become substantial for those that are successful. It should be remembered that those men and women are professional athletes just like football or baseball players. Their job is to entertain us same as all the others. I'm not much of a basketball fan but have to admire the skill those players have. I think the same should be said of professional wrestlers. Whether you enjoy that or not isn't the point, it does take a lot of skill and dedication to make it to the top tier, to the major league. 

 But here's the thing about being a fan of professional wrestling. You can be a fan of that, explain how you know it isn't real and do not support or agree with any of the storylines. You know that no one really acts that way, no one really believes any of that, but it's okay to pretend that you do, as long as you don't. Those entertainers can portray the vilest of people, immoral, lacking empathy, narcissists, misogynists, or just plain evil and that's alright, in fact, that's what makes them entertaining. But you don't believe any of that, agree with any of that, it's just for fun. Yeah, it's entertaining.