Comments on: A Funny Thing Happened at Staples Center: WWE Wrestling vs. NBA Basketball

By: Obligatory

Obligatory — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:37:03 +0000

Wait.. wrestling is scripted?

By: Trevor Seigler

Trevor Seigler — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:56:19 +0000

Vince knew something I didn’t; it’s Lakers versus Magic in the finals. When I wrote this up, it was still a series for the Nuggets.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:27:45 +0000

Yeah, I’m not exactly sure where the sport/non-sport line falls, but I feel pretty confident saying that there needs to be some level of actual competition and uncertainty about results in order for it to qualify. Think of wrestling as a Cirque du Soleil show, but with slightly less comprehensible plot and fewer guywires.

By: Matthew Belinkie

Matthew Belinkie — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:37:41 +0000

Wrestling has a lot more in common with dance than with gymnastics. In gymnastics, the outcome is determined by the performance of the gymnasts on that day. In wrestling, it’s decided ahead of time. I question whether something can be a sport if there’s no scoring and no winner. (Yes, I know that wrestling matches have winners, but the winners are decided by the script, not the physical skill of the wrestlers.) Don’t get me wrong, I love wrestling. But while it’s certainly a performance, and an extremely physically demanding one, I don’t think it’s a sport.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:18:59 +0000

I don’t know that I would call professional wrestling a fake sport. It’s a sport just as much as gymnastics is a sport. It may be a little more violent and physical than just a standard floor show, but they are still doing back flips off of the top rope or each other even. The winner may be scripted well in advance, but people don’t watch it for the winner, they watch it for the show.