Is Wrestling Fake?

Pukhov Konstantin / Shutterstock.com

To answer the question whether wrestling is fake, it is first important to establish that there is not one type of wrestling but a multitude of styles. This is because wrestling is quite possibly the world’s oldest sport and is practiced in every corner of the globe. Below we take a look at the major types of wrestling both amateur and professional and discuss whether they are fake or real.

Amateur Wrestling

Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of wrestling and includes Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, collegiate wrestling, and folk wrestling. Below we take a closer look at each one, discussing whether or not these disciplines are 'fake'.

Greco-Roman Wrestling

One of the two types of wrestling that is practiced in the Olympic Games, Greco-Roman wrestling is a dynamic form of wrestling that forbids holds below the waist. This gives this form of wrestling a bigger emphasis on throws when compared to freestyle wrestling, which is also in the Olympic Games. As you would suspect from an Olympic discipline, it is in no way fake.

Freestyle Wrestling

Like Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling is competed at an Olympic level, as well as in competitions all across the globe. Originating in the traditional style of 'catch-as-catch-can' wrestling, the goal is to throw and pin your opponent to the mat. Like Greco-Roman wrestling, it is not a fake form of wrestling, which can be proven by its placement in the Olympic games.

Collegiate Wrestling

Collegiate wrestling is very closely related to freestyle wrestling and shares many of the same rules. It is competed in colleges across the USA and is most certainly not a fake form of wrestling given its prestige in colleges across North America. Many of its competitors go on to compete in Olympic freestyle wrestling, MMA, and professional wrestling.

Folk Wrestling

Folk wrestling is the catch-all term for all those local variations of wrestling that exist around the world. This can include Cumberland and Lancashire styles in the United Kingdom, Scottish Backhold wrestling, Mongolian wrestling, Turkish oil wrestling, and Schwingen in Switzerland. These types of events are contested with vigour and winning a local folk wrestling is a real honour. As a result, these styles of wrestling are in not in any way fake and are taken very seriously.

Professional Wrestling

Professional wrestling is what we all tend to watch on our TV screens. It can include Sumo wrestling, which is very common in Japan, and, of course, the famous WWE, but are they real or rehearsed? Read on!

Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is a very popular form of wrestling in Japan and one that most certainly isn't fake. Contested by large competitors who attempt to force each other out of the ring, it is one of the most explosive and dynamic forms of the sport of wrestling. To win a sumo wrestling match is an honour and one that must be rightfully earned and not faked.

‘Sports Entertainment’

‘Sports Entertainment’ is the phrase used to describe professional wrestling such as World Wrestling Entertainment and TNA Wrestling. This form of the sport can definitely be described as fake, as matches are not competitive and instead are both scripted and rehearsed. The athletes who compete in this form of wrestling, however, are extremely fit and whilst the match may not be a real competition, injuries are both genuine and common.

The entertainment value is always the first priority in 'Sports Entertainment' and it is for this reason that it is the most fake form of wrestling, and yet also the most popular.