Wrestling superstars are adored and idolized by people around the world. Many of the more popular babyfaces are held on a pedestal as they are larger-than-life superheroes, embodying all that is good about humanity. Look no further than John Cena, who lives and breathes hustle, loyalty, and respect, as he often preaches about. The record-tying world champion is a superhero to children around the world and has been for years, fighting the good fight and spreading the positive message.
Before John Cena, Hulk Hogan was hailed as a superman, as he stood up and fought for everything that was right and just. These two superstars set records for the highest merchandise sold in the history of the company, and justifiably so, as they were heroes to millions.
On a somewhat darker note, Steve Austin is regarded as a hero to many wrestling fans as well. He was a vastly different character from Hogan, and would frequently stomp a mudhole on people who did not deserve his wrath but Austin routinely defied his evil boss, and people loved him for standing up for himself and fighting his way through the corruption of Vince McMahon week after week, often ending the night by stunning McMahon to a round of applause.
The Reality of Pro Wrestling
However, pro wrestling has another layer hidden behind the glitz and the glamour, the character and the athletic spectacle, a world outside the lenses of the camera. Once those cameras stop rolling, the backstage area where these heroes head to is an entirely different realm and the wrestlers are completely different people once they shed their gimmicks and characters.
The very same babyface who stressed the importance of honesty and justice in the ring as the cameras were rolling, might head to the boss's office with the intention to stifle the push of another wrestler, as a means to secure his spot at the top.
Ironically, the two wrestlers quoted above, John Cena and Hulk Hogan are quite guilty of this crime, as the two megastars have often used their backstage influence in order to halt the momentum of those on the rise. Hogan, however, is more controversial out of the two, as an audio leak a few years exposed Hogan as a racist, and the wrestling world was flipped upside down, with the childhood hero coming under fire from fellow wrestlers and fans alike.
The recent Dark of the Ring episode, which covered the infamous “Plane Ride from Hell”, is another example of wrestling heroes going too far in real life, as such was the case during the aforementioned plane ride where drunk wrestlers brawled throughout the aircraft and according to a testimony of the victim herself, Ric Flair sexually harassed a flight attendant while drunk.
The airing of the particular episode shook up the wrestling world and Ric Flair, who is often regarded as the greatest professional wrestler of all time and is looked up to as a hero, suffered much backlash. The ramifications of this episode continue on in real life but it is safe to assume that many people will never see Flair as a hero, ever again.
Even those who were considered "locker room leaders" can be riddled by awful allegations. Beloved wrestling icon The Undertaker was recently accused by Rene Dupree of defecating on his possessions. As well, Undertaker was shown in his "The Last Ride" documentary sporting clothing in support of the "Blue Lives Matter" which many feel stand in direct opposition to the "Black Lives Matter" movement.
Pro Wrestling Is Not Forgiving To The Body
Moreover, the wrestling industry is brutal not just on the mind but on the body as it is a constant grind each and every day, with bump after bump, pain upon agonizing pain. The toll of being a professional wrestler is often talked about and while the business has progressed by the introduction of the wellness policy and proper concussion testing protocols, the heroes of the old eras are the most painful examples of what wrestling does to a human body.
Even years after their last wrestling match; these athletes feel the lashings of the industry on their bodies, each and every day. The Iron Sheik is one such example, as the wrestling legend is in constant, agonizing pain every second of the day, with both his knees blown up as he wrestled all his life. Many of these older wrestlers limp when they walk, hiss in pain when they have to move their body, and cannot do basic tasks themselves as the business took a lot out of them.
They say don’t meet your heroes, as you will likely never see them the same way again. Your favorite wrestler might not be the same hero you admired on camera. Moreover, they might not be able to shake your hand without hurting themselves, a far cry from the badass wrecking machine you used to cheer for back in the day.
That is the sad and brutal reality of the wrestling business and ever since the advent of the internet, pro wrestling has lost a lot of heroes, some of which were never one, to begin with.