WEBVTT - Wrestling is Full of Conspiracies 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:04.680 From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:09.080 riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:12.119 learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:14.800 production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.520 DA Welcome back. 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:33.800 To the show. My name is Matt, Goodness, my name's 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:37.160 not And in this quarter weighing in, it's six hundred 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:38.639 and sixty nine shadows. 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:40.040 She call him Ben. 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.520 How We're joined as always with our super producer Dylan 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.320 the Tennessee Hal Fagan. Most importantly, you are you, You 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.840 are here. That makes this the stuff they don't want 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:57.320 you to know. Let's get already to run gidding, gidding. 0:00:58.120 --> 0:01:00.720 We actually can't say it. We can not say that 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:01.600 phrase on air. 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:02.800 I don't want to. I don't want to hold you 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:04.880 up too much. Ben here, but how much duff a shadow? 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:05.800 Way right? 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:11.120 Well, tune in for our later pens the content of 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:12.240 the character of the shadow. 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:13.280 Yes, there it is. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:15.880 We Actually the reason I was doing that joke at 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:19.840 the top is we actually cannot say or do not 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.880 want to say that entire catch phrase, which should be 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.080 familiar to all wrestling fans on the air, because the 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:30.240 owners of that trademark phrase, the Buffer family, is known 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.200 for suing the heck out of people if they use it. 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:37.640 They even took on the Mouse for having a iteration 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.040 of We can say the phrase let's get ready to rumble, 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.679 but we can't say it in that intonation. 0:01:43.840 --> 0:01:45.720 And with that context, you. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:48.120 Take aim at the mouse, you best not miss, and 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.800 you best have an air tight case. So it sounds 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:51.760 like they know what they're doing. 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.480 Now, now hold on, we're talking about Michael Buffer, who 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:58.440 I remember from boxing, and then Bruce Buffer, that is 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.040 we know from UFCLE. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:03.360 A couple of buff Buffers if you ask me. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.400 And now TKO Holdings, which we'll get to. It's a 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:11.560 true story. The Buffer dynasty has made an estimated four 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:17.040 hundred million plus US dollars off trademarking and licensing the 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.240 phrase let's get ready to rumble, and of course off 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:24.600 of their notorious litigation cases. But if you're a fan 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:27.320 of wrestling, even if we didn't say the phrase fully 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.960 in that intonation, you know what that signals. What it 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:35.639 leads to, it's one of the most fascinating, strangest performance 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.919 sports in all of modern history. That's right, Fellow conspiracy 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.919 realist Tonight sort of live and kind of direct to you. 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:48.080 We are doing an episode all about professional wrestling and 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.639 the conspiracies of play inside and outside of the ring. 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:55.800 Quick note, quick disclaimer there will be discussions of some 0:02:55.840 --> 0:03:00.240 pretty dark, dark, violent things here, so this episode may 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.120 not be appropriate for old listeners. 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:05.840 Lots of punches and kicks, potentially some slams. 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:07.040 Getting ropes. 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:11.800 Oh god, don't even get me started on folding chairs, cages, yeah, pages, 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.919 cage matches. Do they still use spiked bats from time 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:17.399 to time? Or barbed wire? They have to know where 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.400 they slice themselves. That's we'll get into it. 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.560 Well, you got to check out the amateur wrestling now. 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:25.920 Our own metropolis of Atlanta and a lot of surrounding 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:29.480 counties in Georgia actually have a thriving scene that's a 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.839 little bit looser with the rules than WWF and WWE, 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:33.639 a little. 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:37.280 Bit looser with the problematic behavior as well, because I 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:40.120 went to one at like a VFW a handful of 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:44.200 years ago, and the heel wrestlers were all like Mexicans 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.840 or you know, Middle Eastern codd it was. It was 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:49.880 not good. And I just remember there's this one kid 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.240 who clearly had a glandular disorder who was just going 0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:53.960 kill them kill. 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:57.800 It was a lot. 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.680 If we're talking problematic behavior, we're gonna get and plenty 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:04.680 of that, with some McMahon things and some other things. 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:06.400 Yeah, so let's dive in. 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.080 We'll have a word from our sponsors, and then we'll 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:13.760 meet you in the ring. 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:16.400 Here are the facts. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:21.359 We've got to separate two related concepts that are quite distinct. Okay, folks, 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.440 that's a little stage magic trick for that one. There 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:29.960 are two loose categories broad categories, so what we call 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:34.000 wrestling today. The first one, the actual Olympic level wrestling 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:38.200 is one of the oldest combat sports in all of 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:42.919 human civilization. It predates the written word. It's been independently 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:47.719 invented time and time again across cultures, primarily because you 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.760 don't need special equipment to do it, and also because 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.880 even as recreation, this type of wrestling can train people 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:59.360 for actual combat in the future. There are depictions of 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:03.640 it in cave paintings from France that date back fifteen 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.719 to seventeen thousand years. It's in the Iliad, It's in 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:09.680 the Old Testament. Remember how Jacob wrestles with either an 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.840 angel or God. It's in the Vedas, It's in like 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:17.440 ancient Babylon in Egypt, it's it's everywhere. 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:20.320 I do wonder about the techniques that were available to 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.160 Jacob as he wrestled with an angel or you know, 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.960 being of other origin like that. 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:28.039 Can't really do any below the belt hits with an 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.799 angel because they've got nothing down there. They're like kendles. 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:35.080 If it's a biblically accurate angel as well, then where 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:38.000 do you which wing do you grab onto, how do. 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:40.599 Youw do you grapple? Where were you talking about under 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:45.040 hook's where? And it's a very interesting thing. Maybe we 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.320 should point out here when we're talking about wrestling as 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:52.760 a sport versus a fighting technique, ben as we're talking 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:56.280 about in the sport, you're not hitting anybody. In wrestling, 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.320 it's not about attacking. It's about kind of imposing your 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:05.480 body's will on the other body by moving them outside 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:08.520 of some ring, by pinning them to the ground. You 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:14.159 it's not you're not hitting anybody or purposely hurting somebody. 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:16.520 It's a competition in the sporting. 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:22.120 World exactly, and it's huge still. Modern modern versions of 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:26.440 this ancient wrestling are incredibly popular all around the world today. 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:31.560 In fact, a fun little random piece of info here. 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:36.200 I believe the literal national sport of Turkey is still 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:39.840 oil wrestling. Yeah, it's exactly what it sounds like. These 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:43.840 guys are essentially in uh. I don't want to call 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:47.680 them diapers, but they're in their tidies and that's it. 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:50.920 And they get looped up and then they grapple with 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:51.360 each other. 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:53.480 Nothing. I'mrotic about that. 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:54.320 Not. 0:06:58.040 --> 0:06:58.600 But we are. 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.480 We are talking though, We're talking, not just about that. 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:04.320 Maybe we'll do a ridiculous history episode about that in 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:07.800 the future. Fellow conspiracy realists and wrestling fans, we are 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.440 talking about your favorite form of wrestling. It is inspired 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:14.320 by the original, but over time it went to a 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.960 wildly different and I think we would all argue wildly 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.680 entertaining directions. 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.000 That's the key word, isn't it, Ben, Yeah. 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.680 It's technically okay, so we call it just wrestling, but 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:29.360 you might call it pro wrestling or professional wrestling. And 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.240 if you look at the technical definition, it is described 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:38.400 as athletic theater yep, sort of like craft singles or 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.280 a cheese product cheese food product. 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:45.400 Yes, well, that's why there's that entertainment word. At the 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.400 end of the world wrestling right. 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:53.800 Yes, yes, exactly, it's still pro wrestling. First off, we're 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.920 coming from a place of great affection and respect here, folks. 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:01.080 We're not haters on this. It's still ruffle around that 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:05.640 idea of mock combat, which the sport of wrestling originally 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:10.240 has always been. But historians make a really interesting point. 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:16.160 Wrestling in its original form was considered too slow paced 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.920 to really pull crowds in the United States. Keep in mind, 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:22.320 this is also the country that would later go on 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:26.800 to invent crack cocaine and supersized French fries, so naturally 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.920 audiences in the eighteen hundred seventeen hundreds they looked at 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.280 this kind of stuff, even when Abe Lincoln was wrestling, 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:37.480 and they were like, we want more. And that's why 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:41.360 the wrestlers, in a bid to get their industry more 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:45.520 well known and more popular, they privately agreed to start 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:50.600 fixing their matches. And they did this not purely for 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.960 a financial basis, to be honest, these are artisans studying 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:57.280 a craft, and they realized that, hey, if we have 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.559 a kind of narrative through line, if we can agree 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:04.720 on some kind of outline or course of events, then 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:09.640 we can pull off super spectacular, entertaining moves in choreography, 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:13.040 the kind of stuff you would never see in a 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:14.760 non fixed regular matter. 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:16.720 I mean, it's not for nothing that so many of 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:20.920 these folks have gone on to have very successful film careers, right. 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:23.719 I mean, it's it's acting of the highest order, and 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.760 it is a drama writ large, you know. I mean 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:33.040 it is essentially kind of a machismo enriched version of say, 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:34.400 daytime soaps. 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:34.800 You know. 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:35.960 I like that. 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:39.640 Yeah, well, but also think about action movies and the 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.319 things that are required of an actor in a big 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:46.640 budget action film. It's just being able to use your 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.760 body to do cool stuff and look good while you're 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:50.160 doing it. 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:51.280 That's me thing. 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:55.760 And the promoters are a huge aspect of this early 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:59.959 development of professional wrestling. They're the ones who really start 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.040 becoming the brain trust, and they script these matches which 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:08.280 allow for a kind of a bit of improvisation, but 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.520 they always have an end goal in their narrative. The 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:16.200 victor is decided it's going to be the most charismatic wrestler, 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:20.679 usually the people's hero noel. You earlier used the term heel. 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.120 That's wrestling lingo for the bad guy, the opposite of 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:28.040 that is the face which is the hero, the one 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.280 you're supposed to cheer for. They found that American audiences 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:36.360 really love this charismatic stuff. They loved this binary good 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:42.199 guy bad guy mentality. If your charisma was enough. In 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:46.880 the early nascent mergent days of professional wrestling, you didn't 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:51.360 actually have to be that skilled technically. You would get 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:56.079 more attention, more money, more popularity by adopting a stage persona. 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:59.680 You'd have various gimmicks like the legendary Undertaker, You'd have 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.440 weird lord, strange backstories, and then you'd also start getting 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:08.640 these other pretend characters that didn't actually wrestle, but they 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:12.920 were like your fake manager. Remember those guys like the 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.720 Grand Wizard and Sergeant Slaughter and so on. Grand Wizard 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:17.960 actually Jewish. 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:19.720 Guy whoa Okay, and I was gonna say, but I 0:11:19.720 --> 0:11:23.079 mentioned the thing about the local VFW Wrestling League and 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:26.200 some of the problematic heel characters that were, you know, 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:28.840 designed to be other other ring and to be like, 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.120 this is an enemy that you can kind of focus 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:35.600 your disdain on. And that absolutely was the case in 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:37.640 professional wrestling as well. I mean they were just taking 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.840 a cue from that. There was like wasn't there something 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.720 chic Iron the Iron Chic. 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:44.320 Who later went on to open restaurants. 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:45.800 So he was a bad guy, wasn't He wasn't the 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:47.400 Iron Chic baddie. 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:51.679 I would say he's kind of an anti hero definitely. 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:52.600 Definitely to your. 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:58.640 Point about playing into racist or xenophobic attitudes in his heyday, yeah, 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:01.400 Iron Sheep was often kind of a heel. 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:02.280 Yeah. 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:06.200 Yeah, you guys remember a wrestler named Sting, Yes, way 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:11.000 back in the day, like childhoods and face Yeah. Uh. 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:13.120 He He lived next door to one of my best buddies, 0:12:13.320 --> 0:12:16.360 and we used to go over to his property. I 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:18.400 guess it's he was a huge property and he had 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.360 a little pond there and we would hang out by 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.040 his pond and like wait and try and spot to 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.320 Sting when he would come in or out of his property. 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.040 But he was never there. I guess he was always working. 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.240 Guys. I'm sorry to take a tiny little derail moment, 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.880 but I just looked up a list of racially insensitive 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:38.280 professional wrestling heels, and there are so many. There was Kamala, 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:43.120 the Ugandan giant, a quote savage jungle stereotype, wearing face paint, 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.040 achem the African Dream. It was a white wrestler that 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:50.760 was repackaged with like kind of these urban quote unquote mannerisms. 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:55.240 Saba simba, a tribal African gimmick, wearing a headdress and 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:59.280 holding a spear. Of course, you'll probably remember Yokozuna. It 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.600 was a samoeen wrestler who is actually I believe came 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:07.360 from Japanese sumo tradition, but was very much packaged as. 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:08.720 This exotic other. 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.800 And my personal favorite guys, The Mexicools, a Mexican trio 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:19.760 debuting on riding lawnmowers, essentially mocking the idea of day laborers. 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.640 And in this for a pop culture reference, folks, in 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:27.720 this we see an industry at play. One of the 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.920 best fictional examples of that in recent discourse is going 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:36.840 to be the way Vaught International handles and packages the 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.640 soups in the adaptation of. 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:41.320 The Graphic novel A really. 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.720 Good point be a lot of wrestling analogs there for sure. 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:44.079 Sure. 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:48.320 Yeah, like if you read the graphic novels, I don't 0:13:48.360 --> 0:13:51.040 know how often this happens in the adaptation, but if 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:55.720 you if you read the comics, there's this entire consistent 0:13:55.800 --> 0:14:01.440 through line of Vaught departments, counting and marketing and pr 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:05.320 and so on, going to this person and saying, okay, so. 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:07.120 Here's your background. 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:11.080 All right, you're in Atlantean Prince and the person with 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:15.440 the superpowers is going yeah, but also Atlantis isn't real, 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.040 and they're like, we'll get to that. We're going to 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.760 figure that one out in Q three. That's what happens 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:23.240 a lot with real life pro wrestling. It is a 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:29.080 massive success. It turns out that audiences don't really care 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:35.120 about anything past being entertained, right, and you can propagandis 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:38.000 like you're saying Noel with these heels that sort of 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:42.080 echo the concerns of the American zeitgeist over time, and 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:44.600 then later the Mexican Canadians, ZI guys, so on and 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:51.400 so forth. They make so much money, huge professional empires, WWE, WWF. 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.680 They are fundamental parts of American culture very soon after 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.120 their creation. Right now, these are the best stats we 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.880 have right now, folks, as of last year. As of 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.360 twenty twenty five, we're recorded on Friday July tenth, twenty 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:10.320 twenty six, the market size of the pro wrestling industry 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:15.280 overall is five point three three billion, dollars. That's not 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.840 the number that should amaze us. The number that should 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:22.200 amaze us is the forecasted growth an industry that will 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:26.760 be twelve point nine six billion dollars by twenty thirty three. 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:31.080 Now, hold on too much money, Ben, Is that including 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:36.000 all of TKO's stuff or is that is just so 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:40.680 that's all these various wrestling organizations across the planet. 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:44.240 Not including UFC okay, which is actual cost which is 0:15:44.280 --> 0:15:45.160 a sport for sure. 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:49.080 Yeah, and a sport and not choreograph. I think it's. 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:52.080 Also worth mentioning. I'm sorry, just that you can't get 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:55.200 numbers like that if you're only appealing to like fifty 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:57.880 percent of the population. Like there's this perception I think 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:02.280 they're wrestling fandom is exclusively or in large part like 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.400 folks that maybe live in the southern parts of the 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:08.440 country or resigning politically on the right. That is just 0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:12.320 so not true. Is so universally beloved. I have some 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.840 incredibly smart friends, you know, who have known for a 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:19.880 very very long time, who are obsessed with professional wrestling unironically, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:22.680 and I just wanted to point that out. Maybe that's obvious, 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.080 but it's something that didn't occur to me, and I 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:27.680 was maybe a little bit bubbled in my view of it, 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.440 but I had my perspective change just by knowing people 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:31.880 who are like really into this stuff. 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:32.800 Yeah, Jabelle run. 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:35.920 Also, while we're giving shout outs here, i'd love to 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.960 shout out our longtime friend erstwhile guest on the show, 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:45.480 Robert Lamb, a great, awesome author and very much on 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:50.800 ironically adores wrestling. Check out his awesome show that he 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:53.360 does with another friend of our show, Joe McCormick. It's 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.520 called Stuff to Blow Your Mind. It's available right now 0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:02.280 on Netflix. It is the best scientific exploration show on 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:02.840 the planet. 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.600 Smart boys and very nerdy in the best way I 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:07.719 mean that weirdly funny. 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.679 Also, also, I'll say it, Rob, don't get mad, but 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.280 as a great compliment, you do kind of remind me 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.200 of David Bowie and the seventh good looking man. 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:17.480 Good looking guy. 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:21.000 Uh, it's the cyburns. It's always been the cyburns for 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:23.919 me in the like slightly longer hair. Yeah, dude, I 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.600 just want to make one last point here when we 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:31.240 think about the universal appeal of this type of wrestling 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.520 that we're describing and the amount of money that it 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:38.359 can generate worldwide. Think about people like The Rock and 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:42.520 John Cena, and think about how many human beings on 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:46.320 the planet would recognize those two faces no matter where 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:50.080 you are on the planet, and how excited people get 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:53.080 when those folks show up anywhere, or when they show 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:57.280 up in a movie, and it's the universal appeal just 0:17:57.359 --> 0:17:58.560 cannot be downplayed. 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.560 Absolutely, And that's a great point, Matt. We know there's 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.280 so much money on the line. We also know that 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:08.600 in most cases, the individual wrestlers that you would recognize, 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:12.200 unless they're breakout superstars, they're not making as much money 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.560 as you think. Their jobs are really really tough, and 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:21.280 with so much financial heft this multi billion dollar industry, 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:23.480 it should not surprise you when we tell you that 0:18:23.640 --> 0:18:28.800 this industry is the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, some 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:32.199 of which are wholesome, we would argue, and some of 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:35.119 which are much darker than others. How about we take 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:37.640 a break for a word from our sponsors, and then 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:38.880 you know, hop in the. 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:48.160 Ring, ding ding ding. Here's where it gets crazy. 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.920 We have a word of the day for you folks, Dylan, 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:53.680 I don't know if we have a sound cue for this. 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:56.400 Let's get it out of the way. 0:18:56.440 --> 0:19:01.000 First, we explained the origins of quote unquote actual wrestling, 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.159 and then pro wrestling. We talked about how their match 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.119 fixes and scripted bouts larger than life personas, the stuff 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:12.480 organized crime loves, the stuff that a gambling public doesn't like. 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:15.679 The thing is, this doesn't stop when they're out of 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:19.639 the ring. The wrestlers were and are, or superstars as 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:23.040 they're called by Vince McMahan. They're required to remain in 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.399 character even when they are in public, no matter what 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.840 it is of no consequence if they're actually fighting, if 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.600 they're in public, if there are cameras or civilians around, 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:39.119 they are in character. Mankind is always mankind. The Undertaker 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:43.679 is always the Undertaker. This stone cold Steve Austin is 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.119 always stone cold. It is due to about Goldberg, though, 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:51.919 is always Berg in the goings. This is the practice 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:56.119 known as kyfabe Word of the Evening k fabe. 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:58.440 Kay fabe. Oh. 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.800 Also another huge fan of wrestling, our own Jonathan Strickland 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:03.359 aka the quistor That's. 0:20:03.320 --> 0:20:06.919 Right, that clocks yeah, k fabe. It's almost like it's 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.920 almost a form of method acting, right, like saying the 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:11.000 character you know. 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:15.359 I like that, yeah, yeah, Daniel d Lewis style. It's 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:19.920 the etymology is so murky. You'll find people claiming it's 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:24.960 mangled pig Latin for b fake. You'll hear people say 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:29.320 it's named after a specific person K Fabian or k 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.560 space Fabe, or that it's a Latin alteration of the 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:37.520 word for beware, which is cave, just meaning keep cavy. 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:41.239 None of that has really been proven, but this is 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:44.359 so important to wrestling as a culture. It's kind of 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:47.840 like how carnies have their own insider language. It's kind 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:50.920 of like how magicians have the Code of Magic, which 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:56.239 says you cannot reveal your tricks to outsiders. Wrestlers have 0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:00.440 to do whatever is necessary to keep the illusion all live. 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:03.720 If there is one mortal suit in all of this 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:08.320 honestly problematic sport, it's not steroids. 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:12.360 It's not accidentally hurting people. It is breaking k fabe. 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:15.800 Right right, Yeah, those steroids are pretty important. 0:21:15.840 --> 0:21:18.479 They are important. You gotta get you, you gotta beave up. 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:25.359 There's so many analogs with like hardcore theatrical pursuits and 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.400 this kfabe and all of this stuff stage combat. Think 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:30.560 about that, like, I mean, there's so many aspects of 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.880 similarities between you know, folks that might do fighting in 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:38.040 film or on stage and the kinds of moves that 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:40.640 these wrestlers have to perfect, you know, stomping on the ground, 0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:42.040 you do a punch and things like that. 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:44.440 I love that point. Yeah, because two quick things about 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:49.199 k Fabe. Yes, this is the biggest conspiracy technically of 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:53.199 pro wrestling because it's central to the entire operation, the 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:54.159 entire initiative. 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:56.040 But it's also harmless fun. 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:57.840 It's kind of wholesome when you think about it, like 0:21:57.880 --> 0:21:59.480 the Santa Claus conspiracy. 0:21:59.600 --> 0:22:00.359 Look that one up. 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:02.040 We're not going to ruin it for you if you're 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:05.040 listening in here for some reason under seven years old. 0:22:05.640 --> 0:22:08.160 But this is like if your kid, you're watching your 0:22:08.200 --> 0:22:11.720 favorite action figures come to life. They're clear good guys 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:15.080 and bad guys. There's a moral prerogative baked in you 0:22:15.280 --> 0:22:19.000 know who to cheer for. And second, this I think 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:21.960 a point that we all really want to emphasize. 0:22:22.200 --> 0:22:24.199 Folks, Just because k. 0:22:24.400 --> 0:22:28.920 Fabe is in play, just because there's loose scripting, this 0:22:29.119 --> 0:22:34.280 doesn't make the wrestlers themselves any less athletic at all. 0:22:34.400 --> 0:22:39.639 These are professionals. They train at their craft constantly, sometimes 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:43.560 beyond the strictures of athletes in other disciplines. 0:22:43.600 --> 0:22:45.720 I mean, sure that, let's make one up. 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:50.040 That backflip, choked slam, double whammy, smell the rock, hallelujah, 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:54.080 hear me twice. Whatever that move is, it's probably planned 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:57.320 in advance, they probably practice it a lot. But we 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:02.199 cannot make the mistake. These folks really can fight, and 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:05.560