We've all seen them on TV- muscle bound men and women taking to a ring in an elaborate
display of physical skill and over dramatic acting, all to the roars of a cheering crowd.
But how much of the ensuing fight is real, and how much of it is just carefully coordinated
stunts?
Are professional wrestlers real-life modern gladiators, or just pumped up stage actors?
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're asking: You
vs a WWE fighter- could you defeat them?
The WWE was founded in 1952 by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt as Capitol Wrestling Corporation.
Originally a boxing and wrestling promotion company, CWC quickly began to grow into its
own entity and eventually became the World Wide Wrestling Federation, or WWWF, then the
World Wrestling Federation, or WWF, until finally becoming World Wrestling Entertainment
in 2002.
Today it is the largest professional wrestling company in the world and airs its programs
in more than 150 countries, with 12 pay-per-view events a year and 230 live events a year throughout
the world.
In 2014 it even launched the first ever 24/7 streaming network which showcases the entire
WWE video library.
Dubbed 'sports entertainment' for its highly orchestrated storylines and pre-rehearsed
matches, professional wrestling nonetheless is a grueling and challenging career that
takes top strength and stamina both.
If you're going to go up against a professional wrestler, forget what you've heard from your
friends about wrestling being fake- the moves may be highly orchestrated, but you're still
going up against one of the strongest and most agile professional athletes in the world.
Once described as requiring the grace of ballet performers with the strength of powerlifters,
professional wrestlers are in peak physical condition, with daily routines that include
total body strength training exercises and intense cardio training.
Their live are so intense and their performance schedules so packed that they are the only
professional sport without an 'off season'.
Professional wrestling also includes one of the highest injury and death rates of any
professional sport.
Some of the most famous injuries suffered included Sid Vicious snapping his leg in half
after a botched leap from the top ropes, Joey Mercury breaking his nose and requiring reconstructive
surgery after taking a ladder to the face, and even a ripped butt after WWE Superstar
X-Pac jumped onto a turnbuckle which ripped his anus in half.
That last one might sound funny, but it required major surgery.
Other injuries have included multiple broken necks, permanent spinal damage, ripped-off
ears, and a cut artery.
Shockingly most of these wrestlers continued to fight, often just days or weeks after their
horrific injuries.
And if you still think wrestling is fake and you could easily take on a WWE Wrestler, consider
the hardcore matches- special events were traditional wrestling rules such as disqualifications,
count-outs and tap-outs don't apply, and typically take place in unusual environments and involve
improvised weapons, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes and the such.
Popularized in japan which hosted several hardcore wrestling organizations, the style
quickly made the move to the US and became wildly popular across America and eventually
the world.
Focusing on shock-value, blood, sweat and gore over the technical skills and acrobatics
of regular wrestling, hardcore wrestling puts its fighters in serious risk of injury or
even death.
Hardcore matches are typically broken down into different categories, including:
24/7 title match, where a wrestler must defend his or her title at all time and at all places.
The premise being that the current champion could be jumped and attacked from out of the
blue, and some notable matches have taken place in hotel rooms, supermarkets, the airport,
and even an arcade.
A no holds barred match tends to take place strictly inside a ring and is the less severe
of hardcore match styles, with minimal use of foreign objects or outrageously dangerous
stunts.
A street fight match uses various elements of “no holds barred” and “no disqualification”,
but generally tosses most of wrestling's rules and regulations to allow for creative submissions.
A deathmatch is the most brutal form of hardcore wrestling, with heavy emphasis on the use
of improvised weapons and stunts that result in a great deal of blood loss.
Items commonly used in deathmatches include fire, barbed wire, thumbtacks, razor blades,
syringes, beds of nail, staple guns, and even cactus plants.
The point is to be extremely graphic, brutal and dangerous.
In recent years some state commissions have cracked down on the types and frequency of
weapons used.
A hardcore match, or Raven's Rules match, is not quite as bloody or brutal as a deathmatch,
but still involves the use of improvised weapons and takes elements from street fight in matches
perhaps starting in the ring but quickly spreading out of it.
Staple gun matches are more prominent among the lesser-known wrestling circuits, and typically
take the form of normal singles, doubles, triples, four ways, or melee matches with
the added caveat that some specific object must be stapled to an opponent's body- typically
dollar bills.
Though the intent of weapons and various implements used in hardcore matches is always to draw
maximum blood while doing nothing more than superficial damage, the risk of serious injury
or even death is still very real.
And with their limited adoption into the mainstream wrestling circuits such as WWE, if you're
planning on taking on a WWE fighter and winning you'd better be prepared to face an opponent
who is no stranger to death and extreme physical torture.
So could you take on a WWE Fighter and survive?
The average WWE wrestler has likely seen their fair share of hardcore matches either in their
days before joining 'mainstream' wrestling, or perhaps in special events during their
time with WWE, and even though a 'deathmatch' is only one in name, a real-life, unscripted,
and unregulated brawl versus a WWE professional wrestler could very well turn into a real
deathmatch for you.
Unless you're in peak physical condition and have trained in various martial arts yourself,
we're going to put our money on no, you could not defeat a WWE fighter.
Not even with the power of Despacito.
Think we're wrong?
Is wrestling all just a bunch of show, or are these men and women real professional
athletes?
Let us know in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video You vs Jason - Could You Defeat Him.
Thanks for watching, and as always, please like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.