Stephen Amell defends pro wrestling.
Former "Arrow" and "Heels" star Stephen Amell has crossed over into wrestling multiple times over the years. He competed at WWE SummerSlam 2015, and he also wrestled at ROH Survival of the Fittest 2017 and All In in 2018. Amell remains a passionate fan of the business.
Speaking with The Undertaker on his Six Feet Under podcast, Stephen Amell was asked about what initially drew him to wrestling.
“I like the performance of it, I like the athleticism of it, I like the storytelling of it. I don’t know if I understood that when I first started watching it. But there was just something about the performers and the packaging. I think also there was probably of an adversarial element to it because you would tell someone that you like pro wrestling, and then they’d have a problem with it. It’s like, ‘You know it’s fake.’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah.’ Well actually, when I was a kid, that is not what I said [laughs]. I said, ‘No it’s not.’ Now, I’m an adult, and I go, ‘No, it’s not,’ but for different reasons.’ Listen, anything that you put your blood, your sweat, and your tears into is not fake. Anything that resonates with people the world over is not fake. Anything that draws an emotional connection to the audience is not fake, in the same way that Phillip Seymour Hoffman, on a stage in the West End, eliciting something from an audience, that’s not fake. Is he reciting lines? Sure. Has he prepared? Has he rehearsed? Yeah, but there’s still something that takes over when you’re in front of a crowd that is just genuine and authentic. If it was just a flash in the pan, then it’d be like Gangnam Style. That thing happens, and then it goes away. But wrestling’s been happening for nearly a century. It’s stood the test of time," Amell said.
Click here to see what Amell had to say about potentially returning to WWE.
Amell previously joked that he was one match away from the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. Check out his comments here.
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