The Unreality of Pro Wrestling

"You keep talking to me like this, I'm gonna take you to dinner and I'm paying." "You will NOT leave the TIP" what kings

“Acknowledge me” is a very smart catchphrase because even if he gets booed, he’s been acknowledged. He commands the crowd whether they like it or not, just like his cousins and Sammy.

I don't personally follow wrestling, but honestly, the sheer concept of grown ass body builders oiled up and doing meticulously choreographed method acting at each other for years at a time speaks deeply to my theater kid heart. All my love to this glorious art form.

dude joe anoa'i is such an inspirational figure. like not as roman reigns, just himself. to keep going in the face of hundreds of thousands of people hating you and a battle with leukemia and staying so strong is insane. an actual legend

How Joe Anoai did not fall into a deep depression or turn to alcohol or drugs to deal with the fans hatred for him is beyond me, most people in his position would've killed themselves if they went through what he did, gotta respect his mental resilience.

'A king driven mad by his kingdom' is such an insightful and perfect way to describe Roman's character arc.

After Wrestlemania 40, I desperately want some sort of sequel to this video. I doubt it. Heavily. I dunno if there’s even anything else to be said. But seeing this analysis of Roman Reigns only made the ending of Wrestlemania 40 stick with me all the more. A king driven mad by his kingdom, indeed.

I remember when I first heard about Roman Reigns and how hated he was. My immediate thought was: "This guy would make the perfect heel. Everyone already hates him; they would barely have to do any work!"

If you sat down any WWE fan around this time and asked them about Roman Reigns…they’d say they hated him. But if you continued the conversation, it would inevitably turn to how badly WWE was booking him. It was never his fault…he seems like a good dude from what I’ve seen in the undertaker documentary. In hindsight, the whole thing is awful and I feel really, REALLY bad for him. How horrible must it be to go to work and deal with this every day…now understand that your work exposes you to an international crowd. An inescapable nightmare that’s gonna make for an incredible documentary upon his retirement.

I like how the way to get people to love Roman was to have him do the exact same thing he’s been doing, but just be completely unapologetic about it. The art of not giving a fuck is quite the respectable trait

Another tiny detail I really like about Sami Zayn's involvement with the Bloodline: It was Roman that Seth Rollins hit with the chair to dissolve the Shield. And it was Roman that Sami hit in the very same way to break free of the Bloodline. Also, everyone knows Sami Zayn and El Generico are different people- El Generico retired from wrestling to go take care of the orphanage that Sami Zayn grew up in.

I just love how basic furniture is apparently a wrestler's Kryptonite.

I have never in all my life cared about wrestling but seeing the golden retriever man getting told "Don't ever wear that shirt again, I got you a new one" made me so genuinely happy for him that all I could do is smile.

I remember going to a WWE show. Roman was there, in a match with someone (I don’t remember.) I was around 6, and my brother was around 8 or 9. During Roman’s match, everyone was booing him. I didn’t really know why, cause at the time I didn’t know wrestling was fake. I didn’t understand corporate, etc. Point is, everyone was booing him… Except my brother. He was probably the most HARDCORE Roman Reigns fan, ever. During his match, Roman was gearing up for a Super Man Punch. He went to the top rope to play to the crowd a bit, probably to no avail. But then, he saw my brother. He was cheering and motioning his fists in the way Roman would. And I’ll never forget what happened. Roman looks directly at my brother, motions his fists in the same way, and hits a Super Man Punch. I could tell that to my brother, this meant the absolute most to him. But watching this video, made me realize that this probably meant more to Roman than I could EVER think of. Seeing even just one supporter, a very BIG one in fact, I can only imagine what that felt like to him. EDIT: thanks for the likes lol. and also, i’m pretty sure he was facing a member of the wyatt family if memory serves me right. if not, my bad. EDIT 2: Rest in peace Bray. I love you so much.

throwing a briefcase at a man portraying a fictional character is like the dumbest thing you can do

After Wrestlemania 40, I think it's time for a part 2 of Roman's story, and ultimately, Cody Rhodes finishing his.

The sad thing about Romans failed push was that we acknowledged that he could have become a star organically, but WWE completely ruined it by continously shoving him down our throats and their complete lack of understanding why it just won't work. I'd argue that the audience not so much hated Roman but the concept of Roman.

It takes a special, truly kind human being to not only endure the ages of vehement hatred that Roman did, but to -- after all of it -- give an honest thank you to that very audience. That clip fills me with equal parts sadness and admiration and I can't stop thinking about it.

I will never forget watching Seth Rollins hitting Roman with that chair. I was 10 years old and when that episode ended I ran to my room and cried

The fact that the boos against Roman Reigns turned from a curse that shrouded his mind into what drove him is just absolutely fucking peak story telling.