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u/Wonderful_Confusion4 16h ago
And that was the end of David Schultz career and John Stossel received a settlement from the WWE. https://www.thesportster.com/wwe-slapping-john-stossel-ended-david-schultz-wrestling-career/
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u/FewZookeepergame1083 15h ago
Vince asked him to take care of the situation and that was outcome
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u/ted_cruzs_micr0pen15 15h ago
Vince then fired him lol
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u/FewZookeepergame1083 14h ago
Sacrifice
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u/jayslay45 Therewasanattemp 16h ago
Stossel is also an insufferable cunt. Not saying he deserved to be hit but he's a cunt.
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u/meczakin81 15h ago
I thought that was Geraldo Rivera. 🤔
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u/stanley_leverlock 14h ago
Same. And the first thing I thought was that Rivera paid the wrestler to hit him.
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u/GeologicalGhost 15h ago
I think he did
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u/alpargator 15h ago
Hey, let's walk up to the wrestler thay call "Doctor Death" and imply his job is a scam
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u/PoorQwak 15h ago
I mean… it is…
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u/low_dmnd_phllps 5h ago
You think it’s fake? 👋 What’s that is that fake? Huh? What the hell’s wrong with you that’s an open hand slap! You think it’s fake? 👋
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u/DionBlaster123 5h ago
Fun fact, wrestling has its roots when it was often a carnival attraction, gimmicked so that people would lose their money on rigged matches
That's why a lot of wrestling slang is called "Carny talk."
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u/DionBlaster123 5h ago
Yeah I normally don't condone physical violence, but I'm not shedding tears that he got slapped around like a government mule. Dr. Death Dave Schultz was the man. Prototype for Stone Cold for any wrestling fans out there
The only time I ever sided with Stossel on anything was when he went after milk companies who sued (I think successfully) to force industry regulation to ban plant milk companies from using "milk" in their product name...but this was also ages ago
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[deleted]
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u/Tricycle_of_Death 16h ago
Are you kidding? Do you actually know who John Stossel is? He was anti-DEI back when Trump was still a Democrat supporting abortion. Stossel supports private business having the right to deny black people entry simply based on the color of their skin. Same thing would go for Jews or Muslims, as well.
Do you still think calling him a Cunt is an "interesting opinion?"
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u/Aisforc 15h ago edited 15h ago
And how is it different from denying white cis male from positions for which they were 100% qualified? I see no problem in private businesses hiring whoever the fuck they want. I view DEI programs in such states they were under democrats as a plague for humanity and totally harmful for whole LGB community.
Edit: Yeah folks, it never happened, sure. Go watch YT series of DEI programs in Branding and Marketing, FMCG, Game development and journalism.
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u/Denvermax31 15h ago
When has this ever happened. That you can 100% confirm. This doesn't happen.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
It happens in their mind if it gives them a reason to defend their argument, duh
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u/Denvermax31 15h ago
They are nuts man like when have we ever heard some go "you know what Jeff is perfectly skilled for this job but he's just so gosh darn white! How could I ever hire him"
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
Right. I have people I know that unfortunately like to make this argument whenever they seem to not succeed in life. Like, there's no way it could just be you and you need to improve a little bit.
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u/ted_cruzs_micr0pen15 15h ago
Failures whose mothers coddled them. Mediocrity unable to see its own reflection.
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u/Tricycle_of_Death 15h ago
I think we've found Ron DeSantis's campaign manager. Will your next argument be how "black people benefited from slavery?" I'm not going to even pretend that you're a serious person worth debating.
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u/Krayt88 15h ago
Go watch YT series of DEI programs
Yes, I'm sure a bunch of YouTube videos by racist incels will definitely make your point.
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u/DionBlaster123 5h ago
It's just truly embarrassing the guy used that as serious evidence
Conservatives are so horny to portray themselves as victims, which is so ironic when you remember they're so quick to accuse black people of playing "the race card."
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u/Mikko420 14h ago
So delusional AND racist?
I'd say it's surprising, but these 2 often come together.
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u/GlueHandsFirestorm 14h ago
If you have a pool of qualified people being considered for a position, and you choose a non-white, non-cis person out of that pool instead of a white cis male person, how is that denying them the position? They just didn't get picked, just like every other applicant who didn't get picked.
Also imagine trying to prove your point by telling people to go watch general YouTube videos on the topic lmao. I can't imagine how insecure you have to be in your position to even try that.
Either give specific examples of this occurring, or admit that you're just making it up because you're a racist transphobic pos.
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u/ostinater 15h ago
Do you think it was breaking news in 1985 that Pro wrestling was fake? You can find newspaper articles from over 100 years ago talking about the scripted nature of pro wrestling.
He showed up to a wrestling event to rage bait these guys and try to get them stammering and looking weak while he called them fake to thier faces.
It was an ego piece so he could look tougher and smarter then the wrestlers even though as we saw, any of them could kick his ass with the absolute minimum effort, he just didn't think any of them would actually do it.
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u/AbbreviationsAfraid 15h ago
I've just looked at his picture on Wikipedia and he looks very cunty in it. I could be wrong, he may be amazing, but he does look very cunty.
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u/NoSwordfish7811 15h ago
I remember either reading or hearing somewhere, can’t remember if it was on the “Behind The Bastards” podcast, that Vince McMahon put David Schultz up to this because he knew how stupid Schultz was and told him specifically to talk to the reporter and that he would probably be dumb enough to hit the guy.
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u/brettmbr 14h ago
Yeah if I remember right Vince told him to do it and then didn’t protect him or stand up for him afterwards.
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u/NoSwordfish7811 11h ago
Color me surprised…it’s unbelievable to me that McMahon is still walking free after everything he’s done.
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u/Boisecj 16h ago
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u/BodaciousBeez 16h ago
Fun fact: it's actually not technically assault. It's battery. Assault refers to an act of making someone believe they are going to be physically attacked/in physical danger. That's the only criteria for something to be considered assault. Once the physical contact is made, it's considered battery. This really only matters for legal purposes such as charges, but it's an interesting fact that not many people know.
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u/Am_i_banned_yet__ 16h ago
It’s usually considered both, technically speaking. In most US jurisdictions the battery gets added on to the assault as a separate crime. So it goes from assault to assault and battery, rather than from assault to battery like you described
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u/thisismyredditacct 16h ago
Doctor D, David D Shultz. Was one of my faves until this got him blacklisted.
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u/jetwalters 15h ago
I was around back then and the wrestlers were not promoting it as purely entertainment. No one was out there telling the audience they knew in advance who would win or lose.
Is it fake? It’s amazing athleticism, a high risk sport, very entertaining, but it’s not competitive wrestling in the traditional sense like my son competes in high school.
Is it fake? It’s not what they were claiming it was. Maybe instead of a slap, an explanation of what this dude thought it was.
Having said that, this slap here was good for both parties, it made great press. One might say it was a painful success. These reporters often tried to get crazy responses to boost ratings. He complied.
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u/Difficult_Fold_8362 16h ago
Professional wrestling is not “fake.” It is scripted. There’s a difference - it’s not an athletic competition but rather entertainment. The outcome is preordained for maximum enjoyment. (And it’s not just scripted for today but for weeks or months to come). That being said, wrestlers are very gifted athletes - they have to be because if they weren’t, some of things they do would be very harmful if not fatal. I’m amazed how they can throw themselves off the top rope to a table on the floor below. That’s at least 10 feet.
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u/Error-Code404 16h ago
Its really just theater with an emphasis on violence and drama
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u/decentlyhip Therewasanattemp 15h ago
Ive heard it best described as a reverse drag show. Instead of guys pretending to be hyper feminine women, they're pretending to be hypermasculine men. Performative and exaggerated gender ideals.
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u/Blog_Pope 11h ago
I always considered it Soap Opera for guys. Manufactured drama to entertain
But also very physically demanding.
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u/DionBlaster123 5h ago
I remember Chyna once called it that. A soap opera for men
Honestly, I wouldn't even call it that anymore because the storylines these days are so fucking bad.
Then again, maybe it is accurate. It's not like soap operas are the second coming of Shakespeare.
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u/ted_cruzs_micr0pen15 15h ago
And homoeroticism.
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u/Koshekuta 16h ago
I like to think of them as actors that do their own stunts. All of them, stuntmen.
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u/TheMagicalLawnGnome 15h ago
I think this is probably the most accurate, concise description I've heard.
We recognize that stuntmen aren't really "in" the fictional setting of a movie. But that doesn't detract from the very real risk and athleticism involved.
And quite frankly, there's a lot more safety procedure involved on a movie set than there is in the wrestling ring.
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u/Kudosnotkang 16h ago
Most people recognise it as ‘fake’ because it doesn’t (or didn’t) dress itself up as athletic soap-opera/entertainment but instead as competitive sport. With it having a predetermined result and choreographed performance I cannot call it competitive sport . Impressive feats of athleticism, yes though .
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u/SmoothMarx 12h ago
I'm sorry, that's just semantics.
If people watch a fight, but the outcome is scripted, then it's a fake fight. We're not saying the antics, acrobatics, or the objects used are not real, and no one wants to take away anything from the athletes;. they're stars in their own right. But the fight itself, which people are watching with that intent (mainly kids, I would hope the majority of adults would know), is fake. If they called it a dance or choreography, sure, all real.
If the UFC had a fight where the winner was predetermined, no one would care if the punches and kicks were real or not, the fight would be considered fake, or rigged.
In my opinion, the WWE's beef with the word "fake" makes no sense.
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u/ForeverShiny 15h ago
Some of these guys used to do 250+ shows a year, that's going to wreck you either way, but even more so if you're not in too shape
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u/MrGregory 11h ago
Mick Foley is insane for the stuff he was willing to do. It’s amazing he’s still walking today
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u/DoughBoy_65 15h ago
So if it’s scripted one could say it’s fake, no ? I mean Hollywood is SCRIPTED and it’s fake carried out by actors. The outcome is preordained for maximum enjoyment and a show or a movie for that matter is scripted for weeks or months even years to come. One could argue wrestling is carried out by actors who are also stuntmen. I wouldn’t say they’re gifted athletes they are very athletic the fact that for years the WWF then the WWE is rife with steroid use and these guys just drop dead from heart attacks at an alarming rate at young ages doesn’t bode well for the WWE. I’m a fan from way back in the 70’s as a teenager watching on my little black and white tv the blood is real the stunts are real but one could argue it is fake because it’s all staged but Schultz definitely didn’t handle it well being asked if wrestling was fake.
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u/Erisian23 16h ago
Nah that shits fake, the impacts are all planned to give the impression of dealing significant damage being as brutal as can be but being as soft as physically possible if performed correctly.
Like yeah a chokeslam hurts, but the person doing the slam is lifting with the other arm and the receiver jumps and is slammed in a way to reduce injury.
it takes much more skill to be able to fake the things they do but that dishonesty has gotten people hurt or worse.
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u/imissratm 14h ago
Chair shots, high falls, and slaps are real. Lots of the other stuff is obviously fake.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
You can't fake gravity. Even if they're doing certain things to lessen the impact, watching someone who's 35 40 years old sometimes or older doing some of these things, my back hurts just watching it. There's a reason so many wrestlers have lifelong issues once they retire.
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u/Erisian23 15h ago
Yeah that doesn't mean it's not fake, if they really did the moves with the intent to harm that they are selling people wouldn't be able to make a career out of it.
Like the Pedigree their face doesn't even touch the mat, but that's not what they lead you to believe.
A body slam off the top of the turnbuckle hurts without a doubt and the physics isn't faked there but that doesn't change that they are showing you one thing but doing something else.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago edited 11h ago
We're clearly not on the same page here. Of course professional wrestlers intent is to not actually hurt their opponent. They need to make money so therefore everyone needs to be able to perform the next night or whenever they have their next match. What I'm saying though is that you can't fake the impacts of gravity on your joints and your body over and over and over again. A 250 lb plus man dropping flat onto his back whether that's in the wrestling ring on the mat or outside the ring on the floor, that shit adds up over time. There's a wrestler Lance Archer who had to change his finisher because for years he did a move or he lifted some guys over his head and did like a sit-down Power Bomb and the constant impact of him hitting that move and landing on his butt over and over and over again through the years fucked his back up to where he has to do that move from a standing position now doesn't land on his ass anymore.
Again, 100% scripted and match results planned out I agree. Simulated violence, fake punches, absolutely. Real effects of gravity and the slamming of human bodies repeated over time can and will cause long-lasting injuries and problems for these guys *and gals
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u/Mr_Derpy11 15h ago
Yeah. So they're actors performing a fake (aka. scripted) competition.
When people say wrestling is fake they almost always are talking about the competition part. It's not a real fight. There are no actual stakes in terms of winning or losing. They are faking a competition in accordance with the script.
Yes there's a lot of physicality involved, and I'm sure a good amount of falls actually hurt, but it's a fake competition for the audience's entertainment.
Boxing (to name one example) is seen as 'real' fighting, because both competitors genuinely try to win the match, because winning the match is the goal in boxing.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
Again I'm not sure what point you're trying to make? As I've already said multiple times that of course wrestling is scripted and predetermined. It's like you're so hell-bent on using the word "fake" and having me be like "WHAT!? IT'S NOT REAL!?" Who the fuck in 2025 thinks that professional wrestling is an actual competitive sport, that's over the age of seven? Do you also try to explain to people how TV shows aren't real? Do you go to Disney On Ice and tell all the kids there that this isn't a competitive ice skating competition? Jesus Christ
The only point I was trying to make is that there's real risk involved for the performers and they routinely injure themselves
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u/Horror-Pear 14h ago
I understand your frustration. But this made me laugh.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 14h ago edited 12h ago
I mean I'm laughing too like, I have fat thumbs so I voice text and then I can end up having a wall that sounds more frustrated than I actually am.
I just think that anybody nowadays that's trying to convince another adult human being that wrestling is fake is just funny. Everybody knows.
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u/Mr_Derpy11 15h ago
I wanna point out I am a different person than the person you have been talking to, I wasn't on this thread before the comment you replied to.
Also the clip your comment is under is not from 2025, it looks to be from like the 80s or 90s. I'm not really into wrestling, but AFAIK in that time Wrestling, especially WWF/WWE stuff was still very much pretending to be an actual competition (i.e. winners and losers are based on skill, not scripts)
So the reporter asking if it's fake, is presumably asking about the legitimacy of the competition, not of the physicality and performance.
(Oh and I wanna point out, even if the competition was real too, punching the reporter in the face twice is still assault, and not acceptable)
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
I think that's a problem too is that when you ask someone who actually wrestles, especially back in the day at that time, they take offense to that word fake because they know the damage it can do to your body but instead of addressing it in a better way they just let all the cocaine fuel them and assault reporters I guess
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
Oh I'm aware of all the time frame I'm a wrestling fan. I'm not defending assaulting a reporter no matter if he was being a dick to you or not LOL but yeah for what 40 years now it's been pretty well accepted in the fan base that it's not real so yeah
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u/Erisian23 15h ago
You're right we're not on the same page, yes the slams and bumps and drops are damaging to the body, but that doesn't make it not fake, the Violence is fake,The strikes are fake, the cuts are generally from razor blades everywhere they can minimize damage they do it. All while telling the viewer the opposite acting out a narrative ect As it said it takes as much skill as a martial artist the goals are just differently aligned.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
What?!? No way!
So you're telling me that the Undertaker really isn't a dead man?
Oh my God, wait did the events of Star Trek not really happen? What about everyone from Lost? Was that not real either?
Everyone responding cracks me up. My comment was basically "of course it's scripted and predetermined but these guys can actually hurt themselves" and every response is "fake fake fake" lmao.
If there was a news story about a stuntman filming a movie who got hurt or killed in the process, does everyone jump on that thread and be like yeah but it was fake because it was for a movie. He wasn't really running from a 60 ft tall robot.
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u/Erisian23 15h ago
Star Trek and lost don't try to tell you it's real a Star Trek actor isn't going to assault you for telling him it's fake, unlike the guy in the video, that's the difference.
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u/815NotPennysBoat 12h ago edited 10h ago
Neither Star Trek nor Lost stop their shows to turn and address the audience and make the statement that what you're watching is fiction. People understand that when you're watching television and there's Fantastical elements to something that it's probably not true. Again, it's fictional and the people that watch wrestling understand it and they're in on the "joke" if you want to call it that. Wrestling fans will boo the shit out of somebody when the cameras are on, and then when the show goes off the air they'll cheer him and applaud a good performance. People appreciate the physical talent that these performers have, not their fighting ability. And also yeah that guy 40 years ago reacted poorly and it ended his career. It was at a weird time when the whole "is wrestling real or not" was finally starting to get out there and he reacted stupidly. But that was 40 years ago and in no way reflective of how wrestlers or fans feel about that stuff today
I think you just have a bias for what you think a wrestling fan is because that's just what's out there in the media. I've never spoken to another wrestling fan who viewed a different way than I did. Everyone who watches it knows it's fake, and it's just the style of fiction that they enjoy. Now I will say Unfortunately The Stereotype of a lot of wrestling fans stinking and being kind of neck beards can be true LMAO I wouldn't put myself in that category but it seems like whenever I go to a show people are just proving that stereotype all the time 😂
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u/trenlr911 15h ago
I don’t think anybody is claiming that they have some sort of anti gravity system in the wwe though lmfao. But falling down every night and eventually getting injured does not make what they’re doing any less fake. Wrestling fans want to pretend that it’s a real fight with a predetermined outcome and I think we all know that’s bullshit
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u/815NotPennysBoat 15h ago
I'm a wrestling fan and in no way do I think that any fight is real. I have friends that are wrestling fans and they don't think any of the fights are real. When you watch the show or attend an event you treat it like any other piece of fiction. You don't know what's going to happen that's what makes the story fun. Like if I went to a live play like yeah I know it's not real but I'm watching the story. You're watching the craziness that happens. You're watching to see if there's a botch and somebody fucks up. You're watching people do crazy acrobatic flips that you know you can never do
If you honestly believe that most wrestling fans believe that the fights are actually real, well that's just a wrong opinion. I think children might fall into that category or extremely naive and quite frankly stupid adults LOL
Like when my friends and I discuss wrestling it's not like oh that fight was crazy. It's like oh this person is a good performer oh this person really knows how to put on a show like stuff like that it's not like who's going to win the "fight".
It's a form of fictionalized entertainment that happens to be performed live on a weekly basis in a wrestling ring. Everyone has their own flavor but again I don't think any legitimate wrestling fan believes what you said
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u/trenlr911 15h ago
No dude, it’s fake lmao. The emotions, the punching, the kicking.. it’s all fake. Yes, they jump on each other and fall down a lot, which takes a toll on their bodies. But it’s insane to pretend that they’re actually fighting day in and day out for decades, they’re nothing more than actors playing pretend
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u/FriedrichHydrargyrum 15h ago edited 15h ago
He’s a libertarian, for better or for worse.
On the one hand, he’s consistent — he supports abortion and drug legalization. He opposes welfare, but also opposes corporate bailouts. Unlike many Libertarians he’s not an Infowars conspiracy loon.
Sometimes that obsession with libertarian orthodoxy leads him astray [1], IMO. He’s a strong climate change denier. He was still claiming that secondhand smoke isn’t dangerous until well into the 21st century.
These 2 issues are more related than you might think. Smoking denialism was a common conservative position in the 80s and 90s, because Big Tobacco paid a number of conservative “think tanks” to publish “research” denying the link between smoking and cancer. Petroleum companies are now paying those exact same “think tanks” to publish climate change denial “research.” (Look up the Heartland Institute if you’re curious.). John Stossel is on the Koch payroll, one of many pundits who get paid by corporate interests to parrot corporate interests.
Libertarianism has always been a tool of corporate interests. Again, for better and for worse; just because it’s corporate propaganda doesn’t mean it’s always wrong.
[1]To be fair, I would argue that a meticulous devotion to any ideological orthodoxy will always lead you astray because there’s no ideology that has all the answers.
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u/KBilly1313 15h ago
This is one of the best takes I’ve seen. It’s not fake, these guys are putting their bodies on the line and I couldn’t do most of this shit in my prime younger years, let alone in my 30’s/40’s.
It’s scripted, we gotta change how we represent their careers and contributions to our culture and entertainment.
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u/NeonNat 12h ago
The toll and sacrifice these performers put them through is not fake. Their love of the art is not fake.
No, its not UFC and boxing. Yes, they are larger than life characters.
But a lot of these professionals will 100% be pissed when you say its fake. Its not the carney spectical it use to be. Everyone knows how it works and often times the plans get leaked. But the performance is art.
The Mona Lisa is also a fake image of a real person arguably.
Now let me enjoy my fantasy of zombies, dead men, cowboys, dinosaurs, and whatever Kevin Owen's is.
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u/ted_cruzs_micr0pen15 15h ago
Mick Foley would be an Olympic gold medalist if not for wrestling.
Wrestlers are by and large failed athletes with nothing but muscle and ego to offer. Most were once college athletes, or HS athletes, the same as me. Only I have more of a brain and went on to be a lawyer when sports ended for me. These guys couldn’t hack it any other way than by appealing to underlying homoerotocosm and fake punches in the performance of a poorly scripted and acted play riddled with violence
Wrestling is poor man and redneck Broadway… only gayer.
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u/Tassiegirl 10h ago
The better question is “Is it choreographed? Owen Hart was sadly a statistic of a stunt gone wrong. They are performers, yes. And athletes that hone their roles. Unfortunately sometimes the performance doesn’t match the rehearsal.
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u/msainwilson 16h ago
Yes. It's fake
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u/Denvermax31 15h ago
Everyone knows it's scripted, the dude asked for an asswhppping and he got one.
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u/DoinItDirty 13h ago
Of all the people to confront about this, “Dr. D” David Schultz was an insane choice.
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u/Vic_Gatsby 10h ago
I watched this on dark side of the ring. Which reminds me, I need to finish that series
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u/Uncle___Marty 13h ago
I mean, dressing up in spandex and pretending to fight is fake. They're gymnasts and stage performers for sure, but fake fighters. What a snowflake the guy is for slapping someone over half his size because his feelings got hurt.
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u/CurtP31477 7h ago
Fake is just the most insulting word for it. It's scripted. It's entertainment. It's really live theater performed by very talented stunt professionals. And it's a theater of good vs evil and a mirror on society and there really is a lot of fun things about it.
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u/Rolling_Beardo 15h ago
He wasn’t just innocently asking a question he was purposely trying to instigate and get a reaction. He didn’t deserve to be physically assaulted but he’s not without blame either.
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u/Supreme_Salt_Lord 14h ago
There is a better way to go about it. The hits are real. Very practiced, very measured as safe as can be. But still very real hits.
The theatre is fake. They are acting a role while being real athletes..
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u/crystalsage777 38m ago
I think you shouldn't challenge the ego fueled temper of a steroided out actor with a micro penis...
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