It's Still Real To Me, Damnit!

So Sunday night I was watching the Royal Rumble with the youngest and he looks over at me with that look on his face that we all know. That questioning, uncertain look. Then he asked the question, "Wrestling is fake, right?" Then I had to go about explaining how yes the outcomes are determined, and their is fake things that happen, the wrestlers do still get injured. I had to explain about pulled punches, open fist punches, stomp punches, jumping for a suplex or bodyslam. I had to explain the art of landing flat on yuor back, the head hold on the bodyslam. Then Morrison did his Starship Pain move and he said to me, "How can that not be real?" So I slowed it down and showed him that while the move looked good, Morrison did not infact make contact with McIntyre. Then there were questions bout blood, "Is it ketchup?"

Do you remember when it was all so real to you that you couldn't believe it was fake until you were beat up side the head with it? Then when you started to believe that it was fake, some one older would put you in the figure four or cobra clutch and show you that is was indeed real. I mean who could argue with the pain. Right?

Even now knowing that it's fake, I still get caught up in the good matches. The seesaw of momentum, the occasional thrown punch or kick that looks just a bit too real. I wince at the chair shots, table breaks, and I hold my breath at the leaps from tall ladders. In the end, isn't that was professional wrestling is supposed to do? Make us suspend our disbelief. Make us accept what we know to be false?

I've grown further and further away from the backstage segments, the silly storylines. I hold my head in disbelief at people cheering the sight of Hornswaggle and Master's dancing tits. Is this what my wrestling has become? A joke to keep the kids entertained? Will I have to wait until this current group of fans ages another ten years before the next cycle of better scripts come along?

Now I spend most of my wrestling viewing hours waiting for the good matches. Waiting for AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Nigel McGuiness, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, CM Punk and Chris Jerricho to grace my screen. Hell I even wait for Sheamus. I like his style. The singling out of body parts, the stiff clothes lines and kicks.

So now I wonder will he still see wrestling as real. Even though the blinders have been messed with, are they still somewhat intact? I hope they are, so he can still enjoy it, until he's old enough to be taught about in ring story telling, the psychology of a good promo. I just hope that when he's finally old enough for those next lessons, that they still exist in the ring.