Rock 'n' Wrestling: "I think this is FAKE!"

Short version: Professional wrestling was a legitimate contest from its 19^th century origins until roughly a hundred years ago. Nobody is sure when exactly it happened. Wrestlers and promoters alike agreed that more of an athletic exhibition with predetermined outcomes was a better idea than a ‘shoot’ that could last up to four ponderous hours. Everyone would benefit from the change. Wrestlers agreed to cooperate in the ring in the interest of making

Toots Mondt.

more money. Promoters raked in the bucks at the box office and on the sly from local gamblers who were none the wiser. Audiences enjoyed the more action-oriented approach pioneered by then-wrestler and future promoter Toots Mondt, who created a style incorporating traditional Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling with various brawling techniques. Mondt’s “slam-bang Western-style wrestling” innovations would change everything, as it is what every wrestler we have loved and/or hated ever since has practiced in the ring.

Things were great until 1934 when one Jack Pfefer found himself on the wrong side of a business dispute between himself and his fellow wrestling promoters—a group that included Toots Mondt. Pfefer would get even by spilling the beans in an interview with the New York Daily Mirror. Fans had wondered about pro wrestling for a long time and now one of the top

Jack Pfefer: the ruiner.

matchmakers had confirmed that it was not a legitimate sporting contest at all! Wrestling’s popularity would then decline throughout the Great Depression, but the True Sport of Kings came back in the post-World War II era with the advent of television. Gorgeous George, Verne Gagne, and Buddy Rogers became some of the first TV celebrities in the 1950s as the industry itself gained a new lease on life. Televised wrestling would then settle comfortably into the realm of trashy American pulp entertainment that you all should know and love.

Sometimes some loudmouth know-it-all would bring up the fact that wrestling wasn’t “real,” but there was nothing phony about consistent television ratings and live attendance throughout much of the country. Plenty of fans simply enjoyed the entertainment and were unconcerned with how the illusion maintained itself. However, MANY fans still believed that the rivalries were the real deal; just ask the numerous

wrestlers attacked by rabid fans in arenas and parking lots throughout the years! Wrestlers were also encouraged by promoters to sustain believability in public, which could be problematic when confronted by outsiders questioning the integrity of their profession. I’ve read some cringe-worthy tales of life-altering injuries inflicted to keep kayfabe alive. Teeth were lost, bones were broken, and eyes were gouged out in many a bar or nightclub when drunken idiots picked REAL fights with FAKE ‘rasslers’! This was accepted behavior in the business for a long time—in many cases, losing the fight would also cost a wrestler his job. Similar things also happened to would-be grapplers and local tough guys looking to be on TV by getting in the ring. They usually quit after one training session with a seasoned pro who knew how to inflict serious damage and leave them with soiled trunks and a variety of injuries.

 Bob Roop dishes out a wrestling lesson to Florida Man.

Let’s flash forward to 1985 when American popular culture was embracing professional wrestling more than it had in a very long time. Cable television allowed regional promotions from Georgia and San Antonio to be viewed across our great nation while the WWF brought wrestling back to network TV after decades in syndication. Mainstream media outlets began paying more attention with a series of reports on pro wrestling’s increased popularity and its effects. Every single one of them made a point of mentioning that wrestling was not “real,” but “fake.” Not one ever bothered noting that this was no different from Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Show, or Miami Vice—after all, that would be building wrestling up rather than tearing it down like they wanted. However, one report tops the rest and I’m sure a lot of you know where this is going already.

 

My name is John Stossel and I HATE FUN.

20/20 investigative journalist John Stossel decided to take on the wrestling industry with a segment where he would expose the Real Truth to everyone—that professional wrestling was not a legitimate sport. Never mind that this had been public knowledge for fifty years. Stossel could have exposed the truth on 20/20 about promoters’ various business tactics that violated labor and antitrust laws, but that wasn’t as much fun as his crusade to simply make people feel stupid for watching wrestling. Wrestling was something that brought friends and families together—it was fun to watch and Stossel was going overboard. He was as condescending as can be in his report, speaking of his limited college wrestling credentials and referring to “rassling” in a white-trash accent. Stossel hammered home the word “fake,” making his point until it was taken and smashed into smithereens. He even had his own Jack Pfefer in Eddie Mansfield, a disgruntled grappler who hadn’t made it big in the

Eddie Mansfield blading for the camera.

regional territories. Not only was Mansfield willing to lead Stossel through the basic motions of a wrestling match on camera, but he also demonstrated the blading technique used to draw blood for effect!

Stossel took things to the next level by questioning individual wrestlers on camera about the legitimacy of their occupation, as if they would simply answer to his satisfaction. He even asked the Iron Sheik, who angrily challenged him to enter the ring and find out for himself. Stossel probably only saw him as a cartoonish fraud, but would not have lasted long against the Shah of Iran’s former bodyguard and onetime Olympian. He would then attempt a verbal joust against “Dr. D” David Schultz, a

Dr. D was Stone Cold before Steve Austin opened
his first can of Whoop-Ass.

nasty redneck heel from Tennessee who was essentially “Stone Cold” over a decade before Steve Austin opened his first can of Whoop-Ass™. Schultz was a product of the wrestling industry before its mainstream resurgence. His ornery onscreen persona was an amplified extension of his personality and publicly maintained at all times. Dr. D was simply doing his part by giving this scrawny reporter a hard time in describing professional wrestling as a business where only the toughest of the tough survive when Stossel decided to ask what he called “the standard question.” Actually, Stossel didn’t ask it at all. He made the standard statement: “I think this is FAKE!”

POW! Schultz slapped the ever-loving SHIT out of Stossel without any hesitation, knocking him to the floor! “That’s an open-hand slap!” said the good Doctor with an expert diagnosis.

“Did that feel ‘fake’?” Stossel slowly rose back to his feet in disbelief, only to be slapped right back down a second time before Dr. D ran him off under a hail of further verbal abuse. 20/20 anchor Barbara Walters was horrified at what Schultz had done to Stossel, who complained of lingering pain and buzzing in his ears weeks after it happened. Stossel would later sue the WWF for damages, settling out of court for $425,000. Schultz found himself in hot water with the New York State Athletic Commission, who suspended his license until he expressed his regret in an apology letter. However, Dr. D would soon be out of a job after a backstage altercation involving Mr. T. He would retire from wrestling after brief stints in

Dr. D: Bounty Hunter.

Memphis, Calgary, and Japan to become a bail bondsman and a professional bounty hunter working with the FBI, the DEA, and various police departments around the world. John Stossel would eventually express his own regret over the lawsuit, citing it as a frivolous example of America’s litigious society.

Dave Schultz may have gone too far, but people forget (or don’t know) that there are plenty of similar stories that make his reaction to Stossel look merciful in comparison!

Vince McMahon’s 1989 testimony before the New Jersey senate confirmed wrestling’s open secret, leading to increased exposure throughout the ‘90s. Insider newsletters like the Wrestling Observer went from being strictly underground publications to the leaders of wrestling journalism as more fans gained internet access. Wrestling evolved once again as people became completely aware that they were watching athletic entertainment designed to evoke desired responses. Fans extend more respect to the sacrifices involved in the physical theater. Interviews and podcasts discussing on-the-road stories and locker room politics are the norm now. Everybody knows what’s going on and no one seems to mind except for the occasional “ultimate fighting” fan blissfully unaware of modern MMA’s roots and inspiration. Although pro wrestling kayfabe is dead and buried, that might actually be a good thing because let’s be real—who in any occupation appreciates being called a phony…and who wants to lose an eye?