02/03/2010

Prologue - Wrestling Quotes


"For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation will be good enough"
- Old saying

The above line is much used by people within the pro-wrestling industry, with good cause, as it is incredibly apt.
The sport of wrestling dates back thousands of years, but it's current incarnation of "Sports-Entertainment" is only a million light years away from the sport practiced by the Greeks in biblical times.
Mainstream pro-wrestling in the West falls under this "Sports-Entertainment" banner, a genre coined by World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Essentially, it was the business, which had protected the truth for many, many years, coming clean about the fact that it was a choreographed spectacle with pre-determined results and a much heavier emphasis on the who's why's and wherefore's of matches than the actual athleticism of the "sport"

Pro-wrestling is an incredible money-making business and millions upon millions of dollars have been made and lost over the last thirty years. Companies have risen and fallen, men have reached superstar greatness and suffered unbelievable tragedy and this has played out on television screens the world over, the business constantly attempting to evolve, but usually falling foul of narrow-mindedness, bad practices or plain old greed.

I have been involved in the business on a super small scale as a backstage producer, student, wrestler and twenty five year fan. I have seen a history play out on TV ever since I was a child and have seen and read of the sacrifices and moral lows people will endure in order to make it in "the business" whether for fame and fortune in front of millions or just on an incredibly small, local independent level.

Pro-wrestlers are bizarre, passionate and complex individuals and much of the business is built on their talent and ego, as a result many things take place on and off camera that are far more dramatic then anything any promoter could have scripted for his workers. On the other side of the coin, sometimes moments are captured that propel a man to superstardom or capture the essence of the fine art of pro-wrestling in one photograph or spoken line.

Here is a list of Wrestling Quotes. These are single soundbites that tell many stories of the peaks and pitfalls that the wrestling business and the colourful characters within have been a part of for our entertainment. Moments that display the science and psychology of wrestling at it's absolute finest and the horrors of the business at its most depressingly tragic.

Please enjoy. Even if you are not a wrestling fan, some of these stories tell of the many dangers of trusting too much, believing your own hype and, most importantly, learning when to say "No"
As I've heard people exclaim many, many times:
"Only in pro-wrestling."

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If you are a faithful wrestling devotee, please don't be offended if I tell age-old stories or explain obvious terminology. I am writing this as much for people who have never watched a wrestling match in their lives as I am for those who have seen it all.

Many of these events can be viewed on YouTube or other video sites.

3 comments:

Hawk said...

'What a rush' better be in the top 10.

JohnnyBeatdown said...

Wow. I thought you were dead.

nathaniel p dawg said...

Yeah, he did die, because I saw him fall off the titantron when Droz pushed him, but Karma sorted that out.