Every professional wrestling fan has heard some variation of this in their life.
“You know it’s fake, right?” they’ll say.
Predetermined? OK. But fake? Not even a little.
The intersection of sports and entertainment, professional wrestling, meets this weekend in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40 and its associated events.
The days of a few fools using headlocks and armbars as part of their four-attack skill for 80 percent of the match are long gone.
The modern WWE “superstar” regularly combines acrobatics, athletics, bravado and brutality to create a physical style of storytelling worthy of the title of professional athlete.
Increased athleticism has changed the game in WWE.
In recent years, WWE has primarily held tryouts with current and former college athletes to find their next stars. This trend continued during WrestleMania week at Drexel University, April 2-5.
The NXT developmental brand was previously led by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who now oversees all creativity in WWE following the exit of former owner Vince McMahon. It's now in the hands of fellow legendary wrestler Shawn Michaels, who continues to impress the next generation.
“I really enjoy that we are out there recruiting at these colleges and pursuing these young men and women. We had (a tryout on Thursday) and it’s breathtaking,” Michaels said.
“They are incredible athletes and the many we end up selecting have done it so quickly. I think that speaks very positively for the future of this industry.”
WWE legend and NXT creative director Shawn Michaels speaks during a press conference at WrestleMania Media Day on April 5 in Philadelphia. (Austin Hertzog – MediaNews Group)
Interested parties included Lehigh wrestling graduate Karam Chakif, two-time U23 wrestling medalist Jacob Cardenas, a large group of Division I men's soccer players; Former NCAA volleyball players made up a large portion of the women's hopefuls.
There is a long history of elite athletes finding professional wrestling. Arguably the greatest real-life athletes to come to WWE were wrestlers-turned-wrestlers: Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar.
After winning an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling in 1996, Angle was a natural and became a four-time WWE Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. Lesnar was an NCAA Heavyweight Champion before becoming the youngest person to win the WWE Championship, which he won seven times, and headlined WrestleMania five times.
Current talent Chad Gable competed for the United States in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2012 London Olympics.
Football also served as a breeding ground for WWE.
Look no further than the main event of WrestleMania Night 1. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns were Division I defensive tackles at Miami and Georgia Tech, respectively, before joining the family business.
WWE wrestler Bianca Belair (center) poses with fans during a Make-A-Wish event April 4 in Philadelphia. (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau)
The path has not completely changed. But the hit rate has.
The new generation came with Bianca Belair, who rose from Tennessee track and field to become a women's champion and WrestleMania main eventer. She will compete alongside Jade Cargill (Jacksonville Univ. Basketball) in a 3-on-3 tag team match on Saturday.
Up-and-coming talent includes Trick Williams (South Carolina football), headlining Saturday's NXT Stand and Deliver event at the Wells Fargo Center; the Creed Brothers, Julius (Duke wrestling) and Brutus (Otterbein wrestling); and Tiffany Stratton (USA Gymnastics).
Former NCAA and Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson has a developmental contract since 2022.
The composition of the best college athletes fits perfectly with the performance art of professional wrestling.
“The recruiting system we have with these athletes has been taught to them from a young age and their normal is to perform, get better and achieve goals,” Michaels said. “That’s why I think what we’ve done over the last few years is so amazing, because that’s all they know. We don't take them out of their everyday lives, we just teach them a new craft. They were born and raised to have a goal in mind and to achieve it.”
It's not exactly professional athletics, but a mix of it in the eyes of the veteran Tomasso Ciampo, who will have his first WrestleMania match on Saturday's Night 1 as part of the Undisputed WWE's 6-Pack Ladder match Tag Team Championship.
“I do not believe that. It's improvisation, right?” Ciampa said Friday at WrestleMania 40 Media Day when asked if he and his colleagues were professional athletes. “There’s an acting aspect to it, there’s a pro-sports aspect to it.
“I think there are wrestlers who are capable of that, like a Ricochet or Montez Ford, who has the vertical, the sprint is there, and who can probably do well at the combine. It would be embarrassing for the rest of us because we don’t train for the same thing.”
WWE wrestler Tomasso Ciampa (Courtesy of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Instead, professional wrestling is a unique blend of fitness, physical improvisation, endurance, looks, acting and showmanship.
“There are explosive elements, but also aesthetics,” Ciampa said. “A quarterback doesn’t have to worry about taking off his jersey, no matter what he looks like. You don't have to worry the same way about your appearance. I think there are elements of professional athletes, but I think in some ways it's more. It’s a completely different set of skills.”
Other sporting activities involve physical punishment, but in other sports the goal is to avoid it and not engage in it.
Ciampa knows this experience as well as anyone. His wrestling career began in 2005 before joining WWE in the developmental brand NXT in 2015. His NXT run included a tag team title run with Johnny Gargano – his DIY partner in Saturday's title match – a stint as NXT Champion and an iconic feud with Gargano ranks as one of the best rivalries in recent WWE history.
The road to his first WrestleMania required perseverance through countless injuries, including torn ACLs, neck surgery in 2019 and hip surgery in 2022.
“I don’t think there’s any way for people to understand it,” he said. “The games are one thing. They are short sprints with great stress. But then it's like, get in a car, drive a few hours, and get on an early flight because you don't have enough sleep. Your cortisol levels and inflammation are through the roof.
This is the hardest part. And there is no off season. So the hustle and bustle just continues.”
Philadelphia wasn't exactly kind to Ciampa in his earlier years, with some failed attempts on the independent scene and matches in Ring of Honor that “didn't live up to the hype for me.”
A ladder match is uniquely brutal in professional wrestling, where getting hit, being rammed into ladders and jumping off ladders is commonplace.
Still, it will hold a special place for him after WrestleMania 40, regardless of the physical toll that lies ahead.
“This ladder match should be at the top of the table for me,” Ciampa said. “This will be my greatest moment in wrestling ever.”
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