WRESTLEMANIA FOR NEWBIES
The Super Bowl of professional wrestling invades Orlando this weekend.
Tens of thousands will fill Camping World Stadium on Sunday for WrestleMania, with big events planned for Amway Center, the Orange County Convention Center and smaller venues across Central Florida over the next few days.
If you have friends coming to town for the extravaganza, or just want to have an intelligent discussion around the water cooler, there are a few things you need to know.
The athletic spectacle of the WWE is a joke to some, a curiosity for others and a religion for a select few. Call it a sport and you can expect snickers from a few people; call it fake and you might get a real smackdown.
So are the superstars such as John Cena or Triple H really fighting? Of course not. And that’s exactly the point. The battle in the ring is just as fake as any action-movie scene. The cast of characters is more realistic than Mickey Mouse and his pals. But the key is suspending your disbelief and enjoying the thrill ride.
Wrestling has been called a soap opera for men, and that analogy makes a lot of sense. Just like you want to see Fitz dump his latest fling and get back with Olivia on “Scandal,” you want to watch Chris Jericho beat up his former best friend Kevin Owens to win the United States championship belt at WrestleMania.
“It’s about making an emotional connection with people without meeting them or shaking their hands,” said Shawn Michaels, a 25-year veteran and WWE Hall of Famer. “People are drawn to it when you can show sincerity — where it’s not an act, it’s part of who you are.”
Of course, just as sincerity is an attraction, the over-the-top