ABSTRACT
People who do not watch professional wrestling always have the same question for fans-Do you think it’s real? However, this question of “reality” doesn’t really engage with the underlying reasons fans nd the sport so pleasurable. It has a long and storied history-moving from a more traditional version of Greco-Roman wrestling to the theatrical spectacle of sports entertainment that it is today. Professional wrestling oers its fans a complex form of entertainment with its own genre conventions and insider language. The complexity of this fan culture is often surprising to those who are not initiated.
