Submitted by SgtThund3r t3_yz2wun in nottheonion
I do not like wwe style wrestling. I would 100% support this as an Olympic sport. Wrestlers never get the credit of the absolutely insane intensity, complexity, care, and stamina it takes to pit on a show like that!
There's one major problem though. The Olympics test for steroids.
That just means the pro wrestlers who wrestle at the Olympics would have to be clean. That's not a bad thing.
..all 3 of them?
Exactly what I came here to say
I'm sick of people who try and make arguments like this to try and justify it as a "sport". It's not a sport. The best comparison for pro wrestlers is Hollywood stunt doubles.
A friend who used to do tech for the shows described them as "opera for the common man"
One definition of a sport is: "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment."
How does wrestling fall short of that definition?
>competes against another or others
I'm going to say right here. They aren't there competing to be the best. You'd end up having to treat it like any other 'entertainment' sport. You'd have to strip out most of the moves (because they are too dangerous) and really think of objective criteria to decide what the 'best' suplex is
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Beyond that there is another glaring problem: The Olympics generally focus on sports that people around the world tend to play. Outside of rednecks and teenagers in the US the only other place it is 'big' uses a VERY different set of rules
They are competing to be the best. The difference is the criteria is more how loud the crowd cheers/boos you.
and surely that has nothing to do with the 'story' and how charismatic someone is rather than their ability to do a move
It has a lot to do with their ability to do a move, particularly without killing themselves or their opponent. Nobody likes a dangerous worker
That last part is a terribly misguided assumption.
Bernard Suits, philosopher of games and gaming, defined sport as "the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles."
I think the definition we really lack is, "What makes an Olympic sport?"
Please correct me... But it's all planned out. Pro wrestling doesn't have competition except for popularity through being famous and infamous. It has choreography like some sports-- but there isn't a single true physical competition between pro wrestlers
And Jericho isn't suggesting that it is. He is suggesting that it should be looked at and scored in the same way that gymnastics, figure skating, or diving is.
I’m sure they would make some kind of pair routine, where your routine is compared to other pair’s routines. It also really wouldn’t be that different from Floor Exercise, a competition that is in fact at the Olympics, and is basically a combination gymnastic display and dance routine.
How do you define 'sport'? You have to be physically fit, you have to practice the moves for years. You don't have to like wrestling to recognize this. Wrestling has the show-part, so it isn't "just" sports, but also show, but it doesn't loose the sports-part because of the addition of entertainment. If you look at figure skating, they also wear specific clothing, use music and tell a story in their performance. If you see ice skating couples in a romantic dance performance, you know they are not really in love. There's a lot of "show" aspects in all sports.
I am right there with you. I might even like it as they would most likely lose the story lines.
I dont know. Maybe keep em, and that's the judging. You have the defeat storyline, and the victor storyline. Only the wrestlers know which, and they improv it. Youll have dramatic comebacks, close calls, people fake dying.. this sounds amazing.
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