A Great Time To Be A Wrestling Fan

I have been a fan of professional wrestling since March 29th 1987. That day I was invited to my cousins home to watch Wrestlemania III. This was an event put on by World Wrestling Entertainment and it was in Detroit Michigan at the Pontiac Silverdome and over 90,000 people were in attendance. This event saw Hulk Hogan body slam Andre The Giant to retain his World title. I am still a fan today.

I will be the first to admit, that many of our fans (wrestling fans) do not help the stereotype that many have about us. That we are uneducated, redneck, ignorant, and the lowest form of human. That is simply not true. As a whole, we are hard working, family orientated, many are highly educated, celebrities, and just enjoy 3+ hours of sports entertainment. And now might be the perfect time to get on board.

You can literally watch professional wrestling 7 days a week now. Between WWE, AEW, Impact, and ROH you can witness some of the best athletes around doing some pretty amazing things. This adult sports soap opera, has story lines that some times border on the totally ridiculous, to the logical. But simply put, it is a battle of Good vs Evil. Face vs Heel. And it can be a whole lot of fun to watch. Especially live in person.

Each organization has events and TV deals that generate millions of dollars for their talent. Between Pay-Per-View events and live events and those taped for television, it is an industry that is thriving right now. I recently watched AEW's All Out PPV in a theater with fans that were dedicated and invested in the product. There was cheering, clapping, booing and we all left after seeing one of the best PPV's I have seen in a long time. Great matches, great story telling, some amazing athletic moves, and a few big surprises.

For the record, sports entertainment and/or professional wrestling is pre-determined. Not fake...pre-determined. There is a big difference. When you see blood, or bruises on wrestlers...that is real. When you see guys getting hit with a chair, or going through a table...that is REAL, not fake. But the outcomes are decided ahead of time, and sometimes they surprise us or anger us as fans. And that means we are invested. Which is no different that cheering on your favorite sports team.

I encourage you to watch one of the wrestling shows on TV. Or take in a live event sometime. I am willing to bet you will find yourself enjoying it more than you might think. And even if you don't, that is OK. But for those of us who still enjoy it, it is a wonderful way to break away from our stressful lives for a few hours of pure enjoyment. And with the options and quality of the pro wrestlers that are working today, it might be the perfect time to start watching with your kids, or for yourself. It really is a lot of fun.