Posted By James Walsh on 10/20/17


It is hard to believe but it has been nearly 20 years since NBC ran a documentary that was a total and utter hit piece on professional wrestling. I mean, the network went after wrestling with such disdain and venom, it might as well have been a piece about a Republican politician. I promise, that is the last political remark I'll make. Keep reading!

The documentary did have some legitimacy to it. It featured Harley Race, the Pitbulls, and Michael Modest nder pseudo names. But, it is hard to believe any of them would have taken part in such a hit piece if they knew what it would be once it aired.

You see, the documentary was designed to basically point the finger at the wrestling boom that was taking off and remind people, as if we didn't know, that wrestling was not a legitimate sport. Yes, sports fans, this was a documentary once again aimed at the majority of us who watch wrestling to paint us in a box of being stupid rednecks who do not get that what we see is predetermined. And, even in 1998, the average wrestling fan was just too smart for the media elites.

The narrator is the one who really gave this the most damning feel. Nick Bakay, who has done several things I've atcually watched since then including appearing on King of Queens and Mom, basically rips wrestling apart with his tone of voice. "I bet you didn't know THAT about your precious wrestling, you fool you!" may as well have been in his script. It certainly was in his tone. The only reason I even knew he was in the above mentioned shows is because I checked his IMDB page and was disappointed to find him still alive.

So, what were these secrets? Lets go through it.

Wrestlers help each other lift the other by jumping. The mat has microphones under it to make the moves sound louder. When a steel chair is used, they hit each other with the flat part of the bottom of the chair so it makes the most noise and does the least damage as opposed to hitting them with the harder edges. The ring is softer in the middle than at the corners.

Did we learn something from the above? No? Neither did anyone else in 1998.

This was a media elite attempt to curb wrestling's growing popularity because the media does not get wrestling and never has. From John Stossell getting smacked in 1985 by Dr. D David Schultz to recent Twitter videos posted by the President of the United States where most media outlets seemed confused by a clip of Trump performing a clothesline, the media has a long history of not respecting and not wanting to respect or understand pro wrestling. This documentary simply highlighted all their ignorance towards us, the wrestling public who KNOW what it is, GET what it is, and STILL LOVE what it is because.. Hey, the secret this documentary producer did not know? We never said ti was real, dummy.