While many people are pro wrestling fans, other people don’t understand it.
That latter group includes Larry David, who was apoplectic when Bill Simmons brought up the performance art of fake fighting during an interview on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“Oh yeah, that’s what I want to ask you,” the Seinfeld co-creator said after Simmons mentioned former WWE chairman Vince McMahon. “You watch wrestling?”
“Yeah,” Simmons replied tepidly.
“What is that?” David asked in typical Larry David fashion. “What is this with you and wrestling?”
The Sports Guy went on to explain that his pro wrestling fandom dates back to his childhood, to which David replied that he also watched pro wrestling when he was a kid, but then he grew up. Like many non-wrestling fans, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star took particular issue with the outcomes of the matches being predetermined.
“It’s performance,” Simmons rebutted.
“Oh, so you love the performance?” David said. “But they’re all the same, aren’t they? I mean, every match looks the same.”
Simmons proceeded to note that there is some “art” to pro wrestling, both in the matches and the storytelling. The Ringer founder even told David, “It’s not much different than what you’re trying to do with Curb. Trying to build two, three month arcs with different characters and have these different matches. There’s cool things to it.”
David remained unconvinced, insisting that while Simmons might be aware that the matches are predetermined, every fan in attendance at each show surely thinks the matches are real.
“The people who are there, they think it’s real,” David said. “No, they do, are you kidding? They go crazy. They wouldn’t go crazy if they didn’t think it was real.”
Simmons went on to discuss his upcoming Netflix docuseries about McMahon, convincing David to watch at least the first episode. Based on Simmons’ comments, the series appears to be close to finished — although it remains unclear how the new lawsuit accusing McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking that resulted in him resigning from WWE’s parent company will affect those plans.
Larry David is not a fan of wrestling 😞 pic.twitter.com/f8NydLr4gj
— Wrestling Magazine (@WrestleMagazine) January 31, 2024
David’s stance on pro wrestling is obviously full of fallacies.
No, not every pro wrestling fan thinks the matches are real — not even the ones at the shows. And to Simmons’ point, following the product and its storylines is really no different than enjoying a scripted TV show like Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm. I’d also challenge David to watch a match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar and a match between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay and tell me they’re even remotely the same.
But while one might assume that pro wrestling fans — like myself — would take offense to David mocking the entire concept of the industry, I actually enjoyed his rant. If anything, drawing the ire of the world’s most famous curmudgeon is something that wrestling enthusiasts should wear as a badge of honor.
