Pro Wrestling Is Real: Difference between revisions

This is the default assumption in most related [[Video Games]], as a game that reflected the reality of [[Professional Wrestling]] would be difficult to effectively pull off. There are a handful of games that work without [[Kayfabe]], but they're mostly management sims--wheresims—where you either manage a promotion or a wrestler's career--rathercareer—rather than [[Wrestling Game|Wrestling Games]]s.

Compare to [[Kayfabe]], which is the real life practice of maintaining the illusion that Pro Wrestling is a competitive sport. It should be noted that while Pro Wrestling is staged in real life, it is still a highly physical and dangerous career. As Mick Foley once said, while who wins may be predetermined, there's no way to fake falling 20 feet off the top of a steel cage.

Not to be confused with [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Pro_Wrestling:Real Pro Wrestling|Real Pro Wrestling]], a short lived professional league of Olympic-style wrestlers.

* In ''[[AyanesAyane's High Kick (Anime)|Ayanes High Kick]]'', the eponymous protagonist dreams of becoming a professional wrestler and eventually winning the women's world title.

* ''[[Street Fighter (Comic Bookcomics)|Street Fighter]]'' has it both ways; R. Mika's actual wrestling matches (i.e., the stuff that happens off panel) are scripted, while Zangief is baffled by the concept and has never heard of such a thing before. This has roots in ''[[Street Fighter|SF]]'' canon; the series takes place in the same world as the ''[[Saturday Night Slam Masters (Video Game)|Saturday Night Slam Masters]]'' games. Not only is wrestling real, but Zangief's old sparring partner Biff Slamkovich is upset that some people think it isn't.

* Both [[WWEWorld Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]] and [[WCW]] had licensed comics at one point that depicted their product as real; WWF's was published by Valiant, while WCW's was by [[Marvel Comics]]. Later, [[Dark Horse Comics]] would acquire the WWF license, and began publishing comics featuring WWF wrestlers in their kind of stories (such as [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] as a rebellious [[Anti-Hero]] battling a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], and [[The Undertaker]] being the focal point of a power struggle in Hell).

** During [[Fantastic Four|The Thing's]] run in his 80s solo title, Ben was the champion of the Unlimited Championship Wrestling federation, which was full of fellow super-powered competitors in real fights. One of the notable characters to debut during this time was [[New Warriors|Vance "Jusice" Astrovik]]. By the UCW's most recent appearance, however, they've switched to scripted matches and primarily employ non-powered wrestlers -- thoughwrestlers—though guest commentator the Thing and manager Deadpool were forced into a real battle against a wrestling-obsessed [[Galactic Conqueror]].

* ''[[Super Pro KO]]'', which takes inspiration from ''Kinnikuman'' (without the whole "superhuman" angle, though). It's also somewhat notable in that while the fights are unstaged, wrestlers still have angles and scripted rivalries -- yourivalries—you know, to keep it interesting.

* ''La Mano Del Destino'' justifies this somewhat by explicitly taking place in an alternate universe. At least, more explicitly than most -- themost—the setting not only features lucha libre as 100% real, but popular on a level unheard of in reality.

* The first ''[[Spider-Man (Filmfilm)|Spider-Man]]'' film also depicted wrestling as real as a direct adaptation of his origin story. In that world, Spider-Man beat a wrestler named ''Bonesaw McGraw'', played by [[Randy Savage]]. This is a not-entirely-realistic depiction of a practice known as "hooking", in which a wrestler who actually is a skilled fighter is advertised as taking on anyone who cares to try their luck with a large cash prize on the line, and proceeds to mop the floor with the rank amateurs who come gunning for the prize while making the matches look more even and dramatic than they really are in order to entice more suckers -- errsuckers—err, contestants to step up, pay their entry fee, and try to win; it was so named because each actual wrestler involved would have a "hook", or a simple submission hold they could quickly execute to end a match in seconds if it stopped going his way. Not entirely realistic because, generally, steel cages aren't involved in shooting, nor do the marks (non-insider fans) have spider powers. Hooking isn't generally practiced in the post-[[Kayfabe]] era, but was done recently enough that some of its practitioners, the most prominent of which is [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] wrestler William Regal, are still active in the business today.

* ''[[Little House Onon the Prairie (TV series)|Little House On the Prairie]]'': In the 1979 episode "The King is Dead," the sport's early carny origins are exposed, although in the climatic scene the champion wrestler in this episode -- anepisode—an aging athlete suffering from heart failure -- defeatsfailure—defeats a loudmouthed challenger using his own, legit athletic skills (putting the arrogant challenger in a legit bearhug and refusing to let go until the mouthy youngster passes out); he dies shortly after winning the match. The champion wrestler's manager, played by Ray Walston (of ''[[My Favorite Martian (TV)]]'' fame) is named ''[[Hilarious in Hindsight|Jimmy Hart]]'' ... the real name of a young musician who would become one of the best-known WWF personalities in the 1980s and 1990s.

* ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]'': The 1985 episode "Body Slam" starred [[Hulk Hogan]] in a plot that made heavy use of Hogan's wrestling career (including footage from a 1984 match vs. Greg "the Hammer" Valentine, presented as legit), and featured several WWF faces as un-billed extras in a scene where they fight off that episode's villains. In the segment featuring the Hogan-Valentine match, the ending is altered to show the bad guys entering the arena to confront and assassinate Hogan (don't worry, they're stopped in time).

* ''[[Saturday Night Slam Masters (Video Game)|Saturday Night Slam Masters]]''

* Frequently this is the case in the [[Fighting Game]] genre as professional wrestlers are commonplace entrants in the various tournament (which is to say that they know that their moves are capable of doing real damage and thus can use it as a legitimate fighting style). The UDON Comics ''[[Street Fighter (Comic Bookcomics)|Street Fighter]]'' series [[Playing Withwith a Trope|plays]] with this. Pro wrestling is real, but the elements that back it (such as kayfabe, selling, etc.) are also accounted for, which confuses Zangief when he wrestles R. Mika. She uses chairshots and low blows, all the while congratulating Zangief on his ability to sell but in truth she's actually hurting him and by the end, he's battered and beaten while wondering how this is "pro wrestling".

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Rival Angels]]''{{context}}

== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 (Animation)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]: Fast Forward'', Pro Wrestling has ''become'' a legit sport. However, being from the past, Raphael is unaware of this and treats it like itsit's all a show, at least until he gets his shell kicked by a disgruntled wrestler.

* Played with in ''[[Futurama]]'', where the Robot Wrestling League is completely scripted, but [[Kayfabe]] is still intact and very few people outside the industry realize that it's scripted. Bender then rebels when the script calls for him to start losing, so it becomes a real match--exceptmatch—except Bender's massive, invulnerable opponent is being remote-controlled by a martial arts master, so Leela has to beat up the robot's controller. Leela wins her side of the fight, but Bender loses when the deactivated Destructor falls on him, pinning him to the mat for a three-count.

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]