Sylvester Stallone Defends Pro Wrestling Against Criticism

Sylvester Stallone understands that wrestling is as real as it gets because talents take legitimate risk and people get hurt doing it. The Hollywood veteran recently spoke to Sports Illustrated. He was promoting his upcoming prime action film Samaritan, releasing on August 26.

Speaking about wrestling, Stallone expressed his love for the sport. He mentioned how he wants his daughters to watch wrestling for the story:

“I love wrestling, it’s all about getting swept up in the drama. I love wrestling’s mythic qualities. I made my daughters watch wrestling—I wanted them to watch for the story.”

Sylvester Stallone also addressed the criticism wrestling gets for ‘not being real.’ He mentioned how things like jumping off the top rope or people bumping on you are real:

“I understand what goes into it. I hear people say it’s not real. Really? Gravity is real. Jumping off the top rope or having 300 pounds landing on you, that’s real."

Stallone later claimed that he feels the same way about action films. He discussed how the action genre is dismissed by people for being an act but the Hollywood star revealed that he has had over 30 operations due to action films.

Sylvester Stallone also named people like Bruno Sammartino and Gorgeous George. He credited them for helping forge his personality.