By Alex Kroke WWE Superstars: Modern Day Gladiators?
Feb 24, 2016
By Alex Kroke
WWE Superstars: Modern Day Gladiators?
Spartacus, Batista, Commodus, Ezekiel, Verus, and Kane; remember these names. Some are Roman gladiators and the others are WWE wrestlers, but which is which?
Introduction
To begin, one major difference is the types of injuries that both gladiators and wrestlers attain during the actions they partake in, as well as the consequences of these injuries they suffer.
Injuries
Gladiators suffered from:Broken BonesInfectionDeath
Wrestlers Suffered fromBroken BonesTorn Ligaments
Injuries
Gangrene is the death of a body tissue or organ. - Carson-Dewitt (2009)
Staph Infection is caused by a bacterium that affects the skin, bones, and lungs. – McCoy (2009)
Injuries
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament is a major stabilizer of the knee. The highest degree of stress to the ligament occurs during: motions with a foot that is fixed and landing from a jump. – Schwager (2009)
Injuries
Another great difference between the Roman gladiators and World Wrestling Entertainment wrestlers resides in the way that these men are treated.
Treatment
WrestlersPaid Multimillion dollar contractsTravel the worldTrain religiously
GladiatorsTreated like slavesWorked extremely hard to surviveFought to the death
Treatment
Treatment
Image Courtesy of upload.wikimedia,.org
Ancient Gladiator School or “Ludus”
Image courtesy of lighthousewrestling.com
Weight and Training Facility used by Wrestlers
In spite of all these great differences, WWE superstars and Roman gladiators are very much alike. Both wrestling and gladiatorial games were made with the sole purpose to entertain the masses.
Entertainment
Gladiatorial EventsChariot RacesHuman vs. Human CombatHuman vs. Animal Combat
Entertainment
Entertainment
Courtesy of sacred-destinations.com
Pollice Verso ("Thumbs Down"), an 1872 painting of gladiatorial combat
Wrestling EventsTelevision Shows
RawSmackdownECWSuperstars
Pay Per ViewsRoyal RumbleSummerslamWrestlemaniaEtc.
Entertainment
Entertainment
Courtesy of wwfcharacters.googlepages.comThe Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels makes an extravagant
entrance.
In conclusion, gladiators and wrestlers come from completely different universes with separate lifestyles and situations, and have many similarities and differences. Are wrestlers modern day gladiators? You decide.
Conclusion