Wrestling Isn't Fake... But It's Not a Sport Either

Seth Rollins after winning the WWE title at WrestleMania.

 By Mike Abelson (@MikeAbelson4324)

We're a little more than a week beyond WrestleMania. The show was fantastic, the finish was electric and Ronda Rousey judo tossed Triple H. It was pretty great.

During WrestleMania week, ESPN got in on the fun in a big way. Both Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, two of the players involved in the main event, appeared on SportsNation. Brock Lesnar broke the news that he had spurned the UFC in lieu of re-signing with the WWE and, during the show itself, several official ESPN Twitter accounts were sending out match updates throughout the show.

During last Sunday's late SportsCenter there was even a highlight package put together of the main event, right alongside the NCAA tournament and NBA news of the day.

It was all good fun. Except on Twitter. The “wrestling is fake” crowd showed up en masse to rain down its anger on ESPN.

Your WrestleMania 31 Primer

 By Mike Abelson (@MikeAbelson4324)

When it comes to professional wrestling, no event is bigger than WrestleMania.

This year’s showcase, the 31st in WWE’s history, will play out in front of nearly 70,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. With four hours of wrestling scheduled for Sunday night, I could spend 5,000 words previewing it all, but instead, here are my must-see three.

Wrestling Fans Hit Vince McMahon Where It Hurts with #CancelWWENetwork

When fan favorite Daniel Bryan was unceremoniously dumped from the Royal Rumble, WWE fans everywhere revolted.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Sunday night brought plenty of opportunities to watch pointless and, most likely, fixed competitions. But even with Miss Universe and the Pro Bowl on, the most significant predetermined event of the evening had to be the WWE's Royal Rumble.

For those unfamiliar, the Royal Rumble is a Pay-Per-View (PPV) that WWE puts on every January, serving as the beginning of the company's "Road to Wrestlemania." Basically, Wrestlemania is the biggest show of the year, and the Royal Rumble sets it up. The Rumble itself is a 30-man battle royal that main events the show, with the winner usually getting a world title shot at Wrestlemania.

It's a star-making show, with such legends as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin all getting major boosts from winning the Rumble.

Each year the company, effectively, names it's "next big thing" with the Rumble winner. This rising star usually goes on to win the title at Wrestlemania and enjoy a run of main event work.

But what happens when the majority of wrestling fans want one performer pushed, and the WWE goes in a completely different, but utterly predictable direction?