- Man, you're gonna have a hernia.
- That's one ugly dude.
♪ (ragtime intro) ♪
♪ (invigorating rock music) ♪
- Wresting? - WrestleMania.
- WrestleMania!
- (commentator) It was rock legend Alice Cooper who was...
- I heard about it. I didn't watch it.
- (commentator) ...his guitar player, the amazing Nita Strauss
playing WWE's... - I like the red suit.
(loud boom) - I would pay for this.
- Oh, this has got so much hype to it.
Ohh! I'm here!
- (commentator) Shinsuke Nakamura! Oh no!
- (commentator) Wait a minute! - Let's do this!
That's gotta hurt!
- See, that's not fake. Those falls are for real.
- Oh, gosh! That was so fake!
- Ah, one, two, three! You're gone!
- (commentator) And a class act, Shinsuke Nakamura.
- Be nice. Don't do something mean.
Okay, good.
- So now they're friends again?
- (commentators) Oh! - Holy [bleep].
- Oh! - That wasn't fair. (laughs)
- Oh, I loved it. (chuckles) Especially the last part.
- It's supposedly fake. If it's not fake,
it looks very painful. I don't like to see pain.
- When television began, there was a lot
of wrestling on television. And we used to just watch it
and laugh, because it was so fake.
- That's what wrestling is all about. It's unpredictable.
We used to watch it, and that's the beginning of TV.
You'd be watching them, and then go like,
"Man, these guys are really [bleep] each other up."
- I used to enjoy some of the old timers.
I remember one guy, Freddie Blassie,
used to be famous for biting guys on the eye.
And then there was big Bobo Brazil, who was a huge guy.
A wide variety of guys like that that I thought
were all just entertaining.
- Wow! I recognize this guy. He's also an actor.
- John Cena. - John Cena.
- Has a nice body. - Wow, look at those pecs.
- Oh! He just disappeared!
- Oh. - Oh, the Undertaker.
- The good guy and the bad guy, huh?
- (commentator) Undertaker now looking for a choke slam of Cena.
Cena, though, go behind. - Oh my god,
where they grab him. (laughs)
- (commentator) Cena can't stop anything, coach.
If he wants any chance, he needs to keep his foot
on the gas pedal. - (commentator) That's right.
- (commentator) Set up! - (commentator) Oh!
- (chuckles) It's so funny.
- (commentator) Cena's going for a ride!
- Oh, let me pull up the pants. Oh, nice body slam.
- (commentator) Undertaker!
- That is so awful. He could've broken his neck.
- (laughs) And sticks his tongue out. That's one ugly dude.
- It looks just about as fake as something could ever possibly be.
But these fake guys are a lot of fun.
- When you drop somebody like that, it's gotta hurt.
And they have to know how to do it.
It's pretty brutal. You have to be in good shape.
- People like it, and it's not as vicious
as some other things, like boxing.
♪ (distorted electronic music) ♪ - Oh, wow.
Now, is this a woman?
- Oh, now we have the ladies.
- Charlotte Flair.
- Charlotte, her dad was a big-time guy.
Was it Ric Flair?
- (commentator) For 914 days, Asuka has remained undefeated.
- Undefeated.
- Whoa.
- (commentator) Getting that first blow... - (groans) Wow.
- (commentator) ...to the lower back of Charlotte.
- Whoa!
- (commentator) I'm beginning to believe that Charlotte Flair...
- Oh, they're just as vicious, aren't they? (chuckles)
- (commentator) Into the figure-four, trying to break into the figure-eight.
And there she does! - Oh, well she's got good flexibility.
Check this out.
- Oh, my nerves.
- (commentator) ...on her injured shoulder, but Asuka's still writhing in pain.
- (commentator) This is incredible! - That's some pretty
provocative positions there.
- (commentator) Oh my god! (bell rings)
- (chuckles) - She could've gotten out of that.
- She put her in the hold, and that was it.
- (FBE) In the past, the WWE has received criticism
for how its female superstars are portrayed.
However, many have recently praised the WWE,
because they've toned down elements of over-sexualization
and focused more on wrestling.
And they are now, for some, just as popular as the men
for their wrestling talent.
So what do you think of all the changes
the WWE has gone through in this regard?
- (chuckles) This is toned down?
It doesn't look toned down to me.
- I think it sucks, because I don't think women
should do that at all. I don't think men should do it.
- The only difference I see, they got a couple
of really tough girls out there.
- It's great that women can do the same thing as the guys.
That's a good thing.
And I like the fact that the men were somewhat sexualized too.
So if you're gonna sexualize the women,
sexualize the men, and then everything is good, right?
♪ (punk rock music) ♪ - Is that Ronda Rousey?
- Ronda Rousey, baby!
- And she obviously has a lot of fans.
- Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
- (commentator) Rousey, the rights and lefts go to the midsection!
- She's a tough woman.
- Oh, now she's fighting the guy?
- Oh, she's gonna take on the big guy!
- (commentator) Rousey, unloading on Triple H!
- That dude is huge.
- (commentator) ...vicious assault by Rousey.
- (commentator) Oh! - (commentator) The Game is down!
The Game is down!
- Oh, my nerves.
Pick him up and throw him down!
- That's amazing. - Oh, man!
You're gonna have a hernia.
- (Stephanie) My leg hurts! (screams) - (commentator) Oh my god!
Oh my god! Stephanie taps! Rousey may have broken her arm.
- You go girl. I knew she was strong, but...
- She picked up the man like it was nothing.
- It's violence, and you wonder why we have such a violent world.
- (FBE) So the woman who just won her first match in the WWE
is famous mixed martial arts fighter Ronda Rousey,
who is one of the most decorated female athletes of all time,
having won multiple Olympic medals and UFC championships.
What do you think of her now becoming part of the WWE?
- I think it's a step down for her.
She looked good, but she started to act.
And she's probably much better in reality.
- I don't think it's a step down at all.
I think it's a step up, because they're paid well,
and it's entertainment. - She is living her life,
and if this is what she wants to do, then let her.
- She should do whatever the heck she wants
in whatever way she wants to do it, and more power to her!
- I'm for it. I didn't know she was that good.
She's better than I thought. First I've ever really seen her.
- I'm glad she's venturing into something else,
because it keeps that money coming into her pocket.
- (chuckles) Oh. That's nice.
- And now in the middle of the audience.
- (commentator) Lesnar with Reigns on his shoulders.
He's not gonna do this, not here!
- Right on the table.
- Oh! Oh my god. Well, I hope that was a prop table.
- Oh, jeez. Is that blood all over his face?
- All of this bloody-looking stuff could be an indication
that things have gotten too rough.
- (commentator) Lesnar to retain! On Reigns! Got it!
(bell dings)
- Well, I don't think there's no phoniness
in that fight right there.
That was real, 'cause those guys don't like one another,
and they've been fighting.
- Wrestling may not be for real, but it's very entertaining.
- I prefer the theater or the ballet myself.
Having said that, it looks like fun.
- (FBE) So those were all clips from WrestleMania 34.
- Okay. - I've been watching wrestling
since I was a kid. - I did not realize it was this big,
and this exciting!
- (FBE) Well, the WWE has been around since 1952
when televised professional wrestling was among some of the first content
to be broadcast on television. What are your thoughts
on professional wrestling as a whole over the course of your life?
- I think that it's gotten bigger. It's gotten a lot flashier.
It's almost like a big party.
- My brothers used to watch it, and a couple of my brothers
were wrestlers, but I didn't like it. I still don't like it.
- It's entertainment. It's tough.
A lot of it is showmanship, but it's...
Not everybody can do it.
- Television was just starting out,
and I guess it was inexpensive to broadcast, and that's what was on.
- It's a lot of fun, and the fireworks and the spectacle,
it just keeps getting better and better.
My mom was a big fan, 'cause it's like a soap opera.
And that was true from the beginning.
- (FBE) So we wanna ask, how many professional wrestlers
can you name from any era? - (chuckles) I can't, period.
- Dwayne Johnson, The Rock. (ding)
- I remember some guy with long, blond hair.
They called him... Hulk?
- Gorgeous George, that was an early one.
Jesse Ventura.
- The Hulk, The Rock, and now Ronda.
- Mil Máscaras, Freddie Blassie,
Bobo Brazil, The Rock, John Cena.
- Gorgeous George, John Cena now, and she-- the Undertaker.
- Mark Henry. We know John Cena. He's everywhere.
Jimmy Snuka, the Hart Brothers, Jake "The Snake" Roberts,
the Undertaker, who's a great fighter.
- Triple H. Then there's Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Piper, André the Giant,
Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon.
His father actually started all this back in the '30s.
- (FBE) So finally, WrestleMania has been around for decades now.
The show, over time, has broken several attendance records,
has seen many celebrities make cameo appearance,
and is, in many ways, considered WWE's flagship event.
But despite the athleticism, many find it foolish,
feeling it's too scripted and quote, unquote, "not real."
What do you think? And why do you think
it's been popular for so long?
- You know, people want heroes in their lives.
And you get a hero every time on that show.
- Many things that are too scripted and not real are perfectly marvelous
and absolutely fabulous. And none of these people
should ever let anyone dull their sparkle.
- It's more of a soap opera, but some of 'em definitely work out
to be in good shape, to be able to do the theatrics that they do.
- It's been entertaining. André the Giant
went against Hulk Hogan in the Silverdome in Michigan
and 90,000 people there for it. It draws.
- Thanks for watching Elders React, and shoutout to Sully Gamer.
- Be sure to subscribe for new videos almost every day.
Shoutout to Jacky Cruz! - Happy Rusev Day!
- Hey, guys. Ethan here from FBE. Thank you so much for watching
this episode of Elders React. And if you wanna check out
behind-the-scenes content from everything that we do here,
be sure to follow us on Instagram, @fbe. Bye, guys.