Although the wrestling shows organized by WWE are widely loved and watched by fans worldwide, there are still controversies surrounding it from people who aren’t willing to believe otherwise: The wrestling seen onscreen is nothing but a fake, scripted event. These arguments have noticeably enraged many wrestlers over the years, with its most recent victim being Austin Theory.
Yet while Theory’s frustrated argument with a journalist on this issue went viral on the internet, fans are forgetting that even this was not the worst reaction to the American professional wrestling promotion getting called ‘fake’. The most brutal of all was what happened in 1988 when David Schultz downright slapped a reporter over this same argument.
Austin Theory’s Response to WWE Wrestling Being Called ‘Fake’ isn’t as Bad as David Schultz’s
Recently, Austin Theory found his frustration peeking through an interview when a journalist called WWE and all its wrestling events and shows ‘fake’. In the clip shared on X by @WrestleFeatures, Theory seemed angry over the reporter’s comment.
When the journalist said, “I mean, it’s fake. Like, you’re not actually hitting each other,” Theory responded to him by saying:
“What do you mean? What? Hold on a second. You brought me in here and you’re gonna talk to me like this? No, man. Just cause you’re in charge of some sh-t here, man, doesn’t mean you can talk to me like this.”
Austin Theory responds to a journalist calling wrestling “fake”. pic.twitter.com/lD2IHNPpQx
— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) February 22, 2024
Realizing that he had humiliated the professional wrestler cum bodybuilder and had seemingly made him feel disrespected, the reporter tried to mend things before they got worse by saying, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
However, Theory was offended and didn’t hold back on showering hell on the journalist as he continued to say:
“Oh, you’re saying what I do is easy, and you’re in front of all your people in here, talking about my job’s easy. You couldn’t walk a damn day in my shoes. [Reporter: Is he…?] Got me in here, dude. Are you kidding me, man? I’ll smack the sh-t out of you right now. I’m not playing around. Bring me all the way here for some media, man. This guy’s talking his f—ing head off, man. What’s his problem, dude?”
While Austin Theory walked out before things escalated and he did something he would have ended up regretting later, this wasn’t even the worst response by a wrestler to getting their profession called ‘fake’.
The most fierce response by a wrestler to this claim of the WWE wrestling being ‘fake’ happened back in 1988, when former wrestler David Schultz straight-ahead slapped an interviewer over his comment.
In the clip of the viral interview shared by a user (@CDoggTHFC) on X, the retired professional wrestler was seen saying:
“You think it’s fake? (Slaps the reporter so hard he falls down) What’s that, is that fake? Huh? What the hell is wrong with you? That’s an open-hand slap. You think it’s fake? (Slaps the reporter equally hard again as he falls down once again) You think this is fake? Huh? What do you mean?”
Do these guys not know? pic.twitter.com/0471m63qZn
— ⋆ C ⋆ (@CDoggTHFC) February 22, 2024
Even though slapping the interviewer was taking it a bit too far, all of these incidents of wrestlers losing their calm over their profession being called a mere scripted event are all the proof the world needs to know that wrestling is not fake.
Austin Theory Sharing the Ring with Legendary Wrestlers Justifies his Response
While Austin Theory’s annoyed response is making rounds on the internet and among fans, the fact that he has actually shared the ring and won and lost against legendary wrestlers like The Rock and John Cena further justifies his frustrated reaction.
Last year in September 2023, Theory and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had a promo segment for an episode of Smackdown. Though by the end of it, he got the People’s Elbow, it only added to the proof that he actually got hit and wasn’t just ‘fake’ playing around in the ring with the legend.
Then there was his night one opener at WrestleMania 39 with John Cena, where Austin Theory ended up winning and retaining the US Championship title as he landed a blow on Cena and kept his shoulder on the mat until the referee counted to three and acknowledged his win.
Though all these events might further increase the questionability of WWE wrestling being real once again, looking at all of it realistically only proves that wrestlers actually do get hurt and aren’t just fake playing in the ring, as many spectators watching the match on TV would argue.
