It's Not Fake
A/N: Hey, I'm putting up yet another one-shot for all of you. As you all may know, I'm a huge fan of pro wrestling and have been since 1997. So, I thought it would be cool to write a TMNT story about this subject. This idea sort of came out after I found out I'm gong to a live WWE event in my area. I can't wait. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.
Disclaimer: TMNT are the property of Mirage no matter how hard I wish for them to be mine. All WWE Superstars mentioned in this fic are property of Vince McMahon, though I think it would be awesome if I owned that, too.
Summary: Donatello conducts an experiment with surprising results and a lesson to be learned.
Splinter sat in his room in deep meditation. This was the time when he cherished his solitude. Being a father to four teenage boys was taxing at times, especially when fights broke out. If it wasn't for these meditation sessions, the old rat felt he would have lost his mind by now. He smiled as he thought about what his sons were doing. Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo were watching television while Donatello was in his laboratory. Now for some peace and quiet, Splinter thought.
"It's not fake!" Raphael yelled.
Well, maybe not. Splinter sighed in exasperation at the rude interruption. All thoughts of peace forgotten, he opened his door to see what was going on. Three of his sons were seated on the couch while Donatello was facing them with a notepad in his hand. The sensei decided to see where this argument was headed and would intervene if he saw fit to do so.
"Of course it's fake," Donatello retorted. "None of it is believable. I don't know why you guys even watch it."
"Don, not all of it is fake," pointed out Leonardo. "Some injuries have happened."
"Yeah, lots of wrestlers have gotten hurt," added Michelangelo.
"Give me examples," Don said.
"Triple H tore both of his quadriceps," Raph replied. "He had surgery and was out for a while."
"He probably faked the injury to have time off," pointed out Don. "Doesn't that happen sometimes?"
"Sometimes it happens," admitted Leo. "At other times it has been real though."
'Okay, but what about all the storylines?" inquired Don. "Those aren't real."
"For the most part, all storylines are scripted," Leo said. "It's very rare for a storyline to be real."
"Except for the time Edge had an affair with Lita," Michelangelo pointed out. "That was totally real."
"And don't forget Triple H marrying Stephanie," Raph added. "That really did happen."
"Okay, so other than those examples, wrestling's pretty much scripted," concluded Don. "So, do you guys think wrestling is just entertainment or that it's a sport?"
"Both," Leo replied. "The storylines are the entertainment part, but the action makes it a sport. The wrestlers train hard to do what they do and practice it often. I'd consider it a sport in that regard."
"I think it's mostly a sport," Raph replied. "Those guys go through a lot to give us a show. Sure, there's entertainment, but I could care less for that."
"I'm with Leo on this one," said Mikey. "I think it's both."
Don wrote some things down and then looked at his brothers again. "Why do you watch pro wrestling?" he asked. "What's the appeal for you?"
"I watch it for the action," Raph answered. "I love seein' guys get beat up."
"I watch it for the women wrestlers," Mikey said. "Some of those women are hot, right, Raph?"
"Yeah, they sure are," Raph replied.
"Okay, I can understand why you two would watch it, but why do you watch it, Leo?" Don inquired. He couldn't imagine his levelheaded brother wanting to watch something like pro wrestling.
"Because I see a lot of similarities between wrestling and ninjitsu," the blue-clad Turtle told him. "One thing I've noticed is that the wrestlers are fighting to win a match or a title. In ninjitsu, you have a goal to defeat your opponent in any way possible. The only difference is that the wrestlers aren't fighting for survival. Even if they lose, they'll still be alive in the end, but in ninjitsu you have to fight to survive."
"Interesting," Don mused. "Anything else?"
"I noticed in one match the wrestlers can use anything as a weapon to defeat their opponent," explained Leo. "It made me think of Sensei's lesson when he said that anything can be a deadly weapon in the hands of a true ninja. I guess wrestlers think the same way in that regard."
"But the matches are scripted, too," Don pointed out. "They plan what moves they're going to use to impress the crowd. In ninjitsu, you don't have any time to plan anything. You don't know what your opponent is going to do, and you pretty much have to plan as you go."
"True, but we're trained on what we can do if we get attacked," Leo responded. "The wrestlers may plan the moves, but they know how to perform them so no one gets hurt. They keep practicing so they know how to take each move. When I got attacked by the Foot Ninjas, I didn't have any specific plan, but I used some of Sensei's lessons to fight my way out of it because I knew what to do. It's the same with wrestling except that they plan the match."
'Okay, let's review," Don began. "Raph watches wrestling for the action, Mikey watches it for the women, and Leo watches it because he sees similarities between ninjitsu and wrestling. As for whether it's a sport or entertainment, all of you agree that it's both."
"You got it," said Mikey.
""So, what's the point of this experiment, Donnie?" Raph asked him.
Before Don could respond, Splinter came out of his room. "Yes, I would like to know that as well," he said. "May I see this?" He pointed to Don's notepad.
"Sure," Don said handing it over.
Splinter studied what Donatello had written. "This is very interesting, my son, but why do you want to conduct this experiment?" his father asked.
"Because I've always felt that pro wrestling was just something mindless idiots enjoyed," Don replied. "I thought that by studying my brothers, I could see whether they were just following a senseless trend, or if they really had a passion for it."
"An interesting idea," Splinter told him. "However, I do not approve of you only thinking that mindless idiots watch something you do not enjoy. You need to understand that while there may be some things you may not like, you should respect the fact that your brothers do like these things. Do your brothers think of you as a mindless idiot because you are so fond of science?"
Don shook his head. "No, they don't," he replied.
"Then you should apologize to them for thinking such thoughts," Splinter ordered. "Everyone is different, and we should respect these differences instead of assuming things that are not true. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Sensei," Don replied. "Sorry, guys."
"It's cool," said Raph.
"No problem, Donnie," Mikey added.
"It's all good," said Leo.
Splinter then turned to his other three sons. "And I am also disappointed in the three of you," he told them.
"What for?" Raph demanded.
"For not telling me that wrestling was on," Splinter answered. "I have missed some important things."
Don was flabbergasted. "Sensei, why do you like wrestling?" he asked.
Splinter smiled. "Because I enjoy a good story and some action," he said. "Besides, where do you think I have gotten ideas for our lessons?" And he settled in to watch the show while Don stood open-mouthed.
Donatello learned an important lesson that day. He knew that his family enjoyed wrestling for different reasons, but they weren't mindless idiots. They were just being themselves, and Don would never try to think differently of them again. He also knew that they loved him for his intelligence and never really belittled him because of it, even though they couldn't understand him at times. Maybe his brothers couldn't understand him, but they still loved him and respected him. He'd take a leaf out of their book and let them enjoy watching a good show. After thinking this thought, he sat down with his brothers to watch television as a family.
A/N: Okay, maybe that wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I tried. Feel free to leave a review. I'm sorry if it seems lame, but I just thought it would be neat to do something like this.