Which kind of sports-entertainment was best?

[:]

Yes, they're both really lame now, but which was better?
'Sports-entertainment' - the phrase used by the WWF in the 1980s as some people finally realised "hey, this isn't real" - can also be used to describe Gladiators I suppose, and the rip-offs which followed it (mostly on ITV UK).

Here's my special, inaccurate ratings system (marks out of 10. Although it's impossible to actually get 10):

REALISM
Wrasslin' 2, Gladiators 7
MEMORABLE CHARACTERS
Wrasslin' 9, Gladiators 5
APPEAL TO THE WHOLE FAMILY (except grandma and grandad)
Wrasslin' 4, Gladiators 9
POPULARITY (as a fad at least)
Wrasslin' 8, Gladiators 8
STEROIDS
Wrasslin' [off the chart], Gladiators [not sure]

Okay, that's a stoopid system, but what does everyone think?

[#1 :]

Do you really view those shows as a form of "entertainment" on TV? To be perfectly honest: I think they're stupid. Not as stupid as those Japanese "TV-Shows" where people do everything to be aired just once in their lifetime.
Anyway, MTV-Jackass and CKY is one of my favorites... coz they've got a kind of self-distructing sado-masochistic niveau...

[#2 :]

American Gladiators, hands down. Nothing beats watching some steroid monkey fire tennis balls from a giant cannon at some little scrawny guy, as he tries to hide behind some poorly constructed gym floor mats.

Oh, and PS, I can't stand Jackass. Pure, lowest common denominator programming.

[#3 :]

^ There's no part of that post I didn't like.

[#4 :]

I go for WWE. I like watching it butnow it's not as good as it was use to be.

[#5 :]

 

By Stuart:
Yes, they're both really lame now

Correction: wrestling has been really lame always.

I'll vote for American Gladiators, because...well, just read asianlightning's post.

[#6 :]

Wrestling is nothing more than a comic book for illiterates.

[#7 :]

Wrestling is for comic-book fans who aren't pansies. :evil laugh:

But, yes, it's sucked horribly for the past few years. American Gladiators did suck, too.

But wait! There's more! In a stunning coincidence, former Las Vegas policeman and current WWF wrestler Rico Constanio did compete on American Gladiators, and did rather well, I think. All the way to the finals of one of the tournaments. All this in his 30s and after being shot while copping.

*is now ashamed of being the walking Wrestling Alamanac*

*cries self to sleep*

[#8 :]

 

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
 Correction: wrestling has been really lame always.

True, but it was really popular for a time in 1999-2000 (trouble is, there are only so many storylines they can make up before they start repeating themselves, so now it's a shadow of its former self...).
Remember Stone Cold? The Rock? And so on. Lame and popular!

[#9 :]

Gladiators, although both are REALLY poor, at least gladiators was funny.

[#10 :]

well to me nothing beats a good electrified barbed wire cage exploding ring death match from japan.

[#11 :]

I'm affraid neither float my boat 

[#12 :]

Ah you people sicken me! Both are more quality entertainment than the latest Reality TV crap. At least these were funny. Better than going out and smacking someone in the head too.

My vote goes Gladiators because it just ruled and still does. When it was popular in about 1994 we trained in school because a whole group of us really wanted to get on the show. Hmm... I wonder where all those people are now.

By the way, allegations of steroid use did dog Gladiators throughout its long life and the peoples' weight claims changed erratically from year to year.

[#13 :]

They both suck more than words can describe

[#14 :]

Gladiators, hands down, oh how I laughed when some scrawny blue collar schmuck got booted off a giant pyramid of gym mats, or knocked on his ass off that bridge by a huge swinging ball.

[#15 :]

Like The Gobbledy Gooker wouldn't kick those gladiators' asses.

[#16 :]

I can answer this in one word: Jet. 

This is the point where I find out that American Gladiators included a 20 stone guy called Jet...

[#17 :]

i was a big fan of this roller skating show. Where wrestling types skated around a ring knocking each other over. They made up a pretend league. It was great. They also were wearing some kinda leatard

[#18 :]

I used to watch wrassling alot in the early 90's and still watch it now and again, yes its really lame and it gotten even lamer in the last few years but sometimes extreme lameness can be funny.
Like the frenchies been the new bad guys is funny, I never get tired of foreigners slagging off america or the anti-war, college boys get booed off and beating up.
Also wrasslin fans are really homophobic how cum theres never been a gay good guy the gay guys are always the heels.
Its only a matter of time before they cum up with the ultimate heel, a french college educated, anti goveremnent, anti war, gay homosexual gender bender

[#19 :]

Yeah WWE can be lame somtimes. I only Like Stone Cold Steve Austin. but the other day when I was watching the pay per view Judgnent Day they showed this bikini match with Sable and Tori Wilson





I s'pose that wasn't lame for the men. I just think that did that to get hihg ratings.

Bring back the great wrestlers like Owen Heart and DX.

[#20 :]

Mmm, chicks that could beat the shit out of me, chicks making out in bikinis, shit, works for me.

[#21 :]

@ Juliet. Fuck Sable and Torrie. The company's called World Wrestling Entertainment, not World Cheap-Softcore-Porn Entertainment. This is why I can't stand to watch anymore. From what used to be a devout, long time fan, that's saying a lot.

[#22 :]

those girls are horribe excuses for women they are just dumb trailer trash!

[#23 :]

true that is why we don't need all of this.

[#24 :]

 

Originally posted by Juliet:
Bring back the great wrestlers like Owen Hart and DX.

Yeah, and Kurt Hennig, Rick Rude, Texas Tornado and British Bulldog!  Bring them all back!  Then we can have the corpse-match.

I'm with Evan, as he knows, I'm a long time Wrestling Fan, but have not been watching for quite a while.  I flatly refuse to refer to the WWF as anything but the WWF - and I miss the days of the Monday Night Wars.

For non-wrestling fans who debate the quality of entertainment on show, go rent/hire/see "Beyond The Mat".

[#25 :]

 

Originally posted by Juliet:
Bring back the great wrestlers like Owen Heart and DX.

Sadly, Owen was killed during an attempted stunt some time ago.  The Hart family tried suing the WWE, but little came of it.  There was a mini-documentary about Owen's life and death, following on from the rather brilliant doc. about Brett Hart called 'Wrestling With Shadows'.

[#26 :]

"Wrestling With Shadows".  It was a great documentary, leading up to the great Montreal Screwjob finish to Survivor Series 1997, which changed the face and fortunes of the WWF.

Not as good as "Beyond The Mat" though.

[#27 :]

I have to agree with some of the more negative sentiments here.  Having lived in the Mid-Atlantic region during my formative years, I grew up watching the NWA and AWA wrestling shows on TV.  I still remember going to my local "Y" and seeing the shows there, with what were big name stars then and now, including Ric Flair. 

These days, it seems like its all !@#$$%^ and T&A, with very little wrestling.  That's why I had a great time working some wrestling shows in Japan, as the people there were professionals, and they worked hard to put on a good show.  Mind you, it's not easy doing it, and I have enough injuries that I'm not going to ever try and do it again, though I do miss it.

That said, if anyone here wants to get an idea of what all wrestling involves, then you should rent or buy "Beyond the Mat", as it shows what happens to wrestlers, especially after they find that they really won't or sometimes can't quit.  It made me sad to see what happend to one of my favorite heroes of old Jake Roberts.

[#28 :]

Last time I heard, Jake Roberts had finally kicked his crack habit and was setting up a Wrestling Federation in the UK.

Wait, you Wrestled in Japan?

I agree, I hate the T&A, get back to the Wrestling.  When the WWF do good matches, they do GREAT matches, and they still have the ability to make a decent PPV.

WM-X7 was pretty damn good.

I hate the way that the WWF have had some of the greatest angles fall into their hands after the death of WCW/ECW, namely the "Invasion" and the "nWo", and they fucked them both up.  When there's no competition, one gets complacent.

The monopoly has made the product crap.

[#29 :]

Ok Ive been silent for too long, but now Im going to speak my mind about this. I think the best kind of sports entertainment where probably the gladiatorial games they had in ancient Rome. I mean what could be more fun than watching people fighting FOR REAL?

[#30 :]

ok, is it just me, or has american gladiators not been on TV since the George Bush senior Administration?????

[#31 :]

I used to watch it but its gotten so lame these days.
I'm sick of the t&A angle if I want T&A i'll watch a porn movie.
I hate the way the retards think they are being witty by saying pie instead of vagina and I'm really sick of listning to steriod pumped testical srunken wrestlers bragging about how much pie they get.

[#32 :]

How can anyone like Gladiators!!! It was the worst programme ever, dull and predictable. While Wrestling at the moment isn't at its greatest it is still better than alot of other things on TV. Everyone always seems to go on about how it is fake aswell, guess what, all TV and Movies are fake! People who insult wrestling are often those who can't understand it, and by the way, all wrestlers have drug tests now in every state before they can perform, so how can a wrestler take steriods exactly, that was stopped in the mid 90's for gods sake after everyone suddenly began to drop dead!! In short wrestling is far better than Gladiators could ever hope of being.

[#33 :]

Heh. Wrestlers finally stopped taking steroids in the mid 90's...what a bunch of heroes.

Sorry that you find Gladiators so predictable. Maybe if the show ever gets ressurected, they can make one of the washed up gladiators grow a crappy black beard and turn "evil", only to later turn good and wear his yellow underpants again.