Why can wrestler’s compete well into their 40s and sometimes 50s and stay in great shape and perform crazy stunts but actual professional athletes rarely play into their even late 30s?

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Please don’t just tell me because wrestling is fake because a quick Google search on wrestler’s injuries and you’ll see that it’s definitely not fake all the time and is very dangerous.

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13 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Anabolics mostly, wwe is not regulated like professional sports.
And if there is money made from character they will push it as long as they can

Anonymous 0 Comments

What they do isn’t actually harmful, sometimes they get hurt and accidents happen, but it’s not real fighting and they aren’t really hurting each other. It’s designed to look that way.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Although it’s not fake in terms of what they are actually doing it’s fake in terms of who will win. It’s predetermined.

This means that even though its tough job you are payed for your performance/acting.

The outcome of professional sports is purely the athletic skills and endurance and training of the athletes (at least officially). And since aging is taxing for the body and younger athletes most of the time surpass the older ones they stop competing at a certain age, which is commonly around 30 to 40 years. In those years the body is past its peak performance. Of course you can stay in great shape and be sporty and compete but its harder.

But it’s not uncommon to have athletes compete well into their thirties. Afaik Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novák Djokovic all are 30 plus.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Well, while wrestling still might cause injuries, it’s not nearly as competitive and brutal on the body as football, or basketball is. Players are playing longer than every, just look at the longevity of Tom Brady or Lebron James. This is due to diet, exercise, and an increased understanding of anatomy.

However, in football, basketball, UFC, boxing, if you put a 50 year old versus say, a 25 year old- the mat b is probably not going to be even at all.

I understand that you like wrestling, but competing against other wrestlers is not nearly as intense as running a football and getting nailed by the most athletic people on the planet.

Most NFL running backs don’t even play until their 30, the young ones beat them out. Like I’m not trying to offend you but the athleticism of a wrestler is no where near the athleticism of an NFL, NBA, or UFC athlete. Not even close.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wrestling is not necessarily fake, it’s just, let’s say, mostly arranged. As such it’s not really a competitive sport most of the time. And that means you can stay in the game longer – you don’t have to be better than younger wrestlers, you just have to be good enough for the show. While athletes have to give everything they have every time, and by their 30s they just can’t compete with youngsters anymore.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Because wrestlers are performers, not competitors. If you look at someone like the Rock or the Undertaker at all stages of their career you can tell when they are young or older by how fast they move. The other guy will work with them and give them time to make their moves. The people racing against Usain Bolt aren’t going to help him out like that.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Yes it is fake.

Gawd these comments. “Performers”. “Not necessarily fake”. “Might cause injuries”.

You’re splitting hairs if you think otherwise.

They’re not professional athletes when they do WWE. They’re actors, it’s so obvious. Yes they get hurt and some really bad. People get hurt on TV shows all the time due to human error or whatever. But it’s not real wrestling, it’s performance drama wrestling. Much of it is heavily prepped, acted out, well calculated and dramatized.

However, many of them have done competitive wrestling. Grecko Roman, straight collegiate, freestyle, olympic, etc. I’ve seen Kurt Angle compete in Olympic wrestling and it’s different as hell. You can stay strong and jacked well into 70s+ like all those big named wrestlers, but you will not compete in competitive wrestling at that age.

Anonymous 0 Comments

In wrestling, you win or lose in accordance with the script. Yes it is dangerous and they injure themselves but they aren’t actually competing, they are working together to put on a show. So you don’t age out of it because the script doesn’t age you out of it.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wrestling is not fake but it’s entertainment not elite sports.

The actors are fit and strong and able to pull off the stunts but they are stunts i.e. carefully planned and coordinated. Injuries do occur because even with the best of planning getting thrown from Great heights and hit with chairs etc is dangerous.

Professional athletes have to train and compete at a high level all the time against opponents who aren’t following a script and aiming to lose, they want to win as much as you.

The there is a new generation of athletes coming behind you and eventually your body just can’t do it to the same level.

Then there is life that changes priorities. When your young you’ve got all the time to train when you get older other priorities stop you training as much. That said in sports like football (soccer) many players are playing into their late 30’s with improved fitness and diet regimes compared to players of earlier generations. Some continue to play just not at the highest levels.

Anonymous 0 Comments

WWE wrestlers are professionals. They train hard and seriously and that involves a risk of injury. The events themselves are more performance than sport. That kind of performance requires skill and strength and involves risks of injuries too.

What distinguishes it from most other sporting events is that the performers are not asked to go to that ultimate level that many sports requires. There is a huge difference pushing oneself beyond the limits on a regular basis and doing something in a controlled fashion at 80-90% of the limit.

Think of a car as an analogy. Driven normally (even if fast) and maintained well, a modern car lasts for hundreds of thousands of kilometers, barring accidents. However any car used for actual racing will rarely last for more than a few thousand kilometers. Things that are constantly pushed to the limit reduce their useful life very quickly.