“But it’s fake” is undeniably the most common rebuke I receive whenever I mention professional wrestling. Although through time, the magic behind the mayhem has been revealed as simple tricks to the eyes of the world, ‘fake’ is quite simply the wrong term to describe it. It isn’t real per se, but just like every TV Show or movie, it incorporates real life elements that make it worthy of watching. After all, professional wrestling is a form of sports entertainment with the purpose to do just that, entertain the masses the best way it can. As a fan of it all, I could talk about it for hours but I’d rather lay it out into five reasons why my fandom exists.

1. Nostalgia

I had my first dose of wrestling catching a glimpse of "WWE SmackDown" at the tender age of 5 when I saw The Big Show get saved from taking an L from The Rock after Shane McMahon whacked him in the head with a chair shot. Oddly enough, I was hooked, not necessarily due to the violence or the strange attire, but because I didn’t know why it happened and suddenly really wanted to, so I kept watching. This desire to know stuck with me and the world my younger self-was put into felt like a wonderful escape from everything. I witnessed ridiculous moments that went from serious to hilarious to bewildering, and I’m not just talking about the matches or backstage brawls; these superstars’ words held weight and actually meant something. Being older and understanding how the business works, you still chase that feeling from before; you compare the past to the present and hope you’ll see something that will excite you, anger you, etc. It’s something I’ve been unable to rub off, and though it’s largely in part to the company, it’s up to the performers to go out and make you want to see it all play out. This brings me to my next reason.

2. Promos

We all know the saying “actions speak louder than words” but boy, in the world of wrestling, especially when televised, what you say makes what you do actually mean something. When I was a kid, The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson, and no I’ll never call him that) made me believe he was the greatest thing on earth. He’d capture the eyes of everyone in the arena and would make everyone at home feel just as included. He would make you want to see him kick someone’s ass after burying them, whether good or bad, while wondering how he had the unmitigated gall to say such things. It inspired me to be more confident with my words. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the Rock, I wouldn’t be such a trash talker, nor confident with jokes, and if it wasn’t for Stone Cold Steve Austin, I wouldn’t know how NOT to talk to my boss.

In the same token, being older and knowing wrestling as a business, botches in promos are just as detrimental as botches in the ring. Think of comedians delivering their jokes incorrectly, or trying to smooth talk your crush and just completely butchering your words; as soon as it happens your moment is done and you may have to try again. As soon as wrestlers mess up, everyone knows. There is no room for mistakes and if they happen, they better hope to God it doesn’t occur again. That really sticks with me, because I can definitely relate.

3. Real World Aspects

As I grew up and my life got more interesting, I stopped watching, and learning that it was actually a scripted tale of athletes playing different characters fighting their off-screen friends in storylines didn’t help (thanks, internet). However, around the end of my high school tenure, I came across an episode of "WWE Monday Night Raw" to find out that CM Punk won the WWE Championship from John Cena at the ‘Money In the Bank’ PPV the night before, only to ditch the company right after. I was hooked again, this time because I wanted to know how. I was thus introduced to the off-screen world of professional wrestling.

I learned that these wrestlers came from different wrestling promotions, that other great wrestling promotions existed and that the best matches and moments for these men and women weren’t always in the WWE. ROH, PWG, NJPW, ICW, and CZW are all examples of companies these wrestlers came from before being employed by the WWE. This means they had different names and moves they used, while they simultaneously would keep what helped them become popular and succeed. In addition, a lot of these men and women who play enemies are friends, just like in a movie or TV show. Unlike in the '70s and '80s, wrestlers are seen with their off-screen pals all over the internet, and it's accepted that what they do first and foremost is a job. Winning a match doesn’t always mean you won the fans, and being an awesome performer doesn’t always mean you’ll be the one to get pushed to the top of the company. Like in any job, you want to be an asset right off the bat to succeed down the line.

4. Creativity

A chair is no longer something you can just sit on, tables aren’t just for dinner or office supplies, and ladders aren’t just for fixing things. Pretty much any everyday tool I look at now can and has been used as a weapon. At the same time, almost any area I’ve been in, from an office to a grocery store has probably been a part of some kind of segment as well. Seemingly everything can be used to make a wrestling moment occur and it creates room for more than just winning to steal the show. In addition, this opens the door for a desire to be more creative in the ring as well; wrestlers have to try harder to hype themselves up so their matches get the same attention. Many of the stipulations such as tables, ladders and chairs in a match or even a cage match, have been seen time and time again, so wrestlers now have to be creative with the match itself and use their surroundings in different ways. However, this also pertains to even the most normal of bouts themselves. These performers have to create different transitions to moves and implement new ways of setting up their finishers on their opponents. All of this achieves a sense of unpredictability which keeps you watching and waiting for that new moment to occur.

5. Evolving Nature

Today, wrestling is evolving for the better and becoming more progressive. Way back when, the biggest, buffest man ruled the land and the hottest girl was the most promoted. But nowadays, everyone has a shot and the worthy are heralded by the fans, regardless of their position in a storyline or in the card that particular night. Women like Sexy Star in Lucha Underground win the World Title, which normally meant to only go to men. In addition, the women themselves have begun to be more included as equivalent forms of entertainment for the product. Before, especially in the WWE, it was all bra and panties matches, segments where they’d show off their sexuality. Now they kick ass and do it well, creating great matches and at times, solid promos, where they just shit on each other without remorse. They are now praised more for their work as wrestlers than just their looks, which helps their targeted audience (these days, children) get a better sense of how to view each other- as equals.

In addition, the little guy isn’t always beat down nor shoved in a division of their own. Yes, I am aware the cruiserweight division exists, but short luchadores like Kalisto win the United States Championship and smaller wrestlers like AJ Styles win the WWE Universal Championship.

This makes the possibilities endless and as different promotions change the norm of the wrestling world, a domino effect occurs. They all slowly begin to open their eyes to newer possibilities that not only keep up with the way the real world thinks, but improves the product as a whole.