Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets
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| Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the VHS version of the documentary. |
|
| Directed by | Don Weiner |
| Produced by | Don Weiner Troy A. Norton Bruce Nash (executive) |
| Written by | Dave Boone Michael Miller Bruce Nash |
| Narrated by | Nick Bakay |
| Distributed by | NBC Television |
| Release date(s) | September 22, 1999 |
| Running time | 52 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets is a 1998 documentary about professional wrestling. It was first aired on NBC television on November 1, 1998, and released on VHS on September 22, 1999 to overwhelmingly negative reviews. Nick Bakay narrates. The program reaired January 16, 2007 on MyTV.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The stars of Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets are eight real-life professional wrestlers who wear masks and work under pseudonyms to conceal their true identities. The reason given is that, by breaking "kayfabe" (literally, "the secrets of the business"), their careers and even their well-beings are at risk.
The documentary was roundly criticized for being sensationalist, misleading, and outdated in the presentation of the "secret tricks." Critics in and out of the wrestling business contend that many of the "secrets" exposed were already widely known by fans to begin with, and others were so obscure as to be non-notable.
Exposed! Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets was filmed mostly in a empty Los Angeles arena, although an audience was present for some scenes.
This program has achieved a certain level of notoriety among professional wrestling fans as an object of ridicule, and served to introduce the term "stunt granny" to the professional wrestling lexicon.
[edit] Participants
The wrestlers' names:
- The All-American Boy
- Booker: Harley Race
- Colossus
- Ben Hurt
- Brash Knuckles
- Brute Force
- Private Pain
- Skullduggery: Haku/Meng (Tonga Fifita)
- Slither
[edit] Other aspects exposed
- The role of stomping in matches.
- The difference between babyfaces (good guys) and heels (bad guys.)
- How tables and folding steel chairs are used.
- How specially-prepared foreign objects (a trophy in this case) are used.
- "Juicing" (causing oneself to bleed intentionally; also called "blading".)
- How "heat" is created.
- How "the sell" is vital to a successful match
- "Salt" in the eye (actually baby powder or weightlifters' chalk.)
- In-ring communication between the wrestlers, the referee, and the announcer.
- That some wrestling rings use a spring to add bounce.
- That loose sheets of plywood are placed under the ring canvas to enhance the noise.
- That microphones are sometimes placed under the ring to augment the sound.
- The roles of the referee, the booker, the promoter, the shill and the plant.
- How promoters hand out signs.
- Injuries and the risks wrestlers assume.
[edit] Reaction
While most of the professional wrestling world refrained from acknowledging the program, the night following its airing, Ernest "The Cat" Miller entered the ring during WCW Monday Nitro and sarcastically shouted in a melodramatic tone to the audience, "Now you know all our secrets!"
Likewise, Mick Foley on WWF Monday Night RAW announced, to tag partner Al Snow, "We didn't do so well last week, but last night, the secrets of professional wrestling were revealed to me!" Foley also poked fun at the program several times in his autobiography, Have a Nice Day!
