Why WWE Hall Of Famer Rob Van Dam Compares Wrestling To Porn

Rob Van Dam believes pro wrestling is a lot like cinema, though not the mainstream, traditional kind that many in the modern wrestling world would have viewers believe.

"Wrestling is porn...People watch it to escape," Van Dam said on "The Black Announce Table" podcast. "They want to believe in everything they're watching. They don't want to look at it like it's a production. They want to invest their emotions into the moment and the better the players, and the more committed the players are, the more it comes across as a desirable experience for the watcher."

According to Van Dam, wrestlers must be as focused on the moments as much as possible, as a false one could lead to breaking the fantasy that fans have. The WWE Hall of Famer thinks the issue is more structural, as wrestlers aren't getting the training that he did when developing his craft under Detroit wrestling legend The Sheik.

"If wrestlers would look at it that way, it would change the business," Van Dam continued. "I remember when The Sheik would train me, I was really young, and he just started choking me in the corner to see what I do, and I grab his hands and he goes, 'That's good, a lot of people, they just stay and they freeze, try an get out of my grip, push me back, or bend my elbow. Work at it...don't ever stop moving.'"

Van Dam says "all eyes are on you" until a wrestler gets behind the curtain, and that he was taught by The Sheik and his nephew, Sabu, that pro wrestlers need to remember to stay in character from entrance to exit. "That's what's missing right now," Van Dam concluded.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Black Announce Table" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.