Do WWE Wrestlers have a place at Sportsmania?

[DavidB]

It's very hard for wrestling fans to get into a debate like this because you get people coming at you from both sides - if you request them for Collectormania, you get told that they shouldn't be there, and if you request them for Sportsmania, you get told that they shouldn't be there either!

 

Personally, if I had to choose wrestling guests to attend an event (and ideally I'd like that to happen!), I would say that they'd be better at a sporting one than anything else. Yes, I realise we've all argued that they're eligible for Collectormania but there wasn't any other option at the time

 

I see 'wrestlers' being far more appropriate alongside other athletes than I do having them with film/tv people. It's tricky to discuss it without getting deep into the discussion about whether it is a sport etc, but I'll still personally say there IS a sporting and athletic aspect to it.

 

But in the end, it's up to Mark, and if he feels that they'd be a success then that's the most important thing for the event

[vampess]

The athletic abilities of the wrestlers, or even the demand for wrestling guests is not in dispute - there is obviously a demand for them ! But let's not loose site of the original question. Do they belong at SPORTSmania ? Personally, no.

[/quote

 

ok ok your view there which is fair enough so where do you think they belong if not at a sports event? like david said where ever we ask for wrestling guests we get told they dont fit so really us fans cant win either way

[TommyT]

The wrestlers train like any footballer, runner, swimmer etc,

So did the two professional ballet dancers I used to know - their training regime would put that of many professional sportspeople in the shade.

As dufresne said, nobody was denying their athleticism...

[adam_bomb]

Depends how you classify a sport. Personally, knowing a number of the WWE Guys, having done private autograph sessions with them in the past etc, I ve heard about the toll that the schedule and ringwork takes on their bodies and have nothing but respect for them.

 

To me the key attribute of sport is athletism, and for that, Id rate Pro Wrestling higher on the sports scale than Golf, Cricket, Darts and a lot of other so called "sports".

 

Do they quality in some sense for this event? Of course, unless some sort of pre determined rules have been set out which im not aware of. Will they draw crowds? Of course, and theres always a correlation between WWE fans and fans of other sports such as Boxing.

[Bohan_]

It is based on a genuine sport (Big Daddy & Giant Haystacks)

 

That was a joke yeah Kris? Daddy and Haystacks soiled the name of British wrestling and ultimately brought forward its downfall. The days of "world of sport" it was still entertainment exactly as it is today, it was never a genuine sport and always pre-determined.

 

Sportsmania should be purely that. Footballers, cricketers, snooker professionals - players of sports where you can actually place bets with a bookmaker on the outcomes

 

And actually this is wrong, during a boom period for WWE in the UK, William Hill were taking several bets on WWE. Betting was allowed on The Royal Rumble 2002 (How dumb was I, I predicted Triple H would win this 6 months before the event when his odds were 30/1 or something silly due to him being out long term with an injury and never bothered placing a bet!!!). And also in that year bets were being taken on who would end 2002 as WWE champion!

 

adam_bomb

 

Is your user name intentially based on crap 90's WWF gimmick performer of the same name?

Edited January 22, 2007 by Bohan_

[Count Fooku]

I don't think the betting thing is a valid argument as you can often place bets with bookies on the outcomes of storylines in soap operas.

 

For me the answer to the question as to whether WWE stars belong at this event or Collectormania rests with the answer to this question, aside from wrestlers, would the majority of wwe fans be more interested in meeting other sports guests or film/tv guests. If wwe fans are more likely to be interested in other sports people then I suppose WWE people belong at this event but if the interest is higher in TV/film then I would say they are better staying at CM.

[Bohan_]

Lots of WWE's core UK audience are of course fans of other sports, you have to consider that the channel which broadbcasts the product in this country goes by the name of "SKY SPORTS"

[Noddy]

It is never a sport but I see no great objections to it being at this event.

[DavidB]

Lots of WWE's core UK audience are of course fans of other sports, you have to consider that the channel which broadbcasts the product in this country goes by the name of "SKY SPORTS"

 

As well as the DVDs being in the 'sports' section of many shops, and in my TV guide wrestling comes under 'sport' etc ... it's not an argument about whether it's a sport or not, more about whether it's valid to associate WWE with sport and I believe it is, hence it being appropriate at this event. If in other cases WWE is put under the 'sport' banner then why not here?

[Banished_From_Rohan]

If the wrestlers themselves had a choice, appear at a sports event or a Collectormania one, I wonder which they'd prefer to be labelled as?

 

Personally I don't watch wrestling at all, but I think they may be more suited to the sports event. However what do I know?

[rickyparty]

I chose both, and selected Collectormania as the event for them to appear at all though I think there should have been an option for both there as well.

 

My take on this is that I'm not a big sports fan, so if there were WWE superstars at Sportsmania the chances of me going are slim. However there are of course people who are the other way around and prefer the sports to the usual Collectormania guests and so this would cater to them. Perhaps the more technical wrestlers such as a Chris Benoit would better suit Sportsmania while Collectormania would be a good place for the entertainment based wrestlers who's look and gimmick is more important than their wrestling ability such as the divas etc.

[tj wildfire]

As long as there is women`s wrestling and beautiful women wrestlers it will ALWAYS!!! have a place. (That`s just my opinion, of course).

[friday13thfan]

I'm a big wrestlig fan and I think it comes under both...coz predetermined as it is there is no doubting what some of these guys do is absolout athletism...personally I'd rather see them at collectormania coz although I love football etc I don't think I'd travel the 4hrs and pay the fee's for there autographs...wrestlers I would.

[chris_mk]

To me, it shouldn't be about whether or not WWE wrestling is a sport (I don't think it is, there's no element of chance)... it should be about whether or not Wrestlers would appeal to those who might be interested in a sports signing event. From this forum (and experience), I would suggest that there was sufficient enough of a crossover in fan bases for the wrestlers to appear at SportsMania. I don't think die hard sports fans would be interested, but then I'm not convinced they are the target audience anyway.

[Krypto]

i dont think i can really speak from everybody elses perspective, but from my own wrestlers would deffo be a pull to come but especially the older wrestlers especially from the late 80's early 90's like macho man randy savage, the ulimate warrior, jake the snake roberts, etc