Here's a comparison I bet you didn't think you'd find on the internet today: professional wrestling and Super Smash Bros. These two things seem like they couldn't be less related. One is a predetermined event designed to look like a real sport, and the other is a video game staring a massive cast of Nintendo characters.
But if you dig a little bit deeper, you'll actually find quite a few similarities between Nintendo's platform fighting masterpiece and Vince McMahon's form of professional grappling.
We're serious, when you get right down to it, professional wrestling and Super Smash Bros. are basically the same.
1. Ridiculous Cast of Characters
Wrestling and Smash Bros. are both filled with some of the most interesting characters you'll find. Wrestling has larger-than-life people like The Undertaker, Kane, Hulk Hogan, The Rock, The Velveteen Dream, Kenny Omega, and the list of goes on and on.
In Smash Bros., not only are the characters interesting and diverse, just like wrestling, but there are iconic names like Mario, Bowser, Link, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and the list goes on and on. Between the wide range of character types offered in both wrestling and Smash, and the larger-than-life nature of the characters, it's easy to see how the two are basically the same thing.
2. Ring Outs
In Smash Bros., you defeat your opponent by beating them until they're launched off the platform and into their grave. In wrestling, if you're able to incapacitate your opponent outside the ring until the ref counts to ten, you win the match via count-out. See the similarities here?
But it goes further, as once a year the WWE has a special match called The Royal Rumble. In this match, you win by throwing your opponent over the top rope, thus eliminating them from the match. If this isn't just like Smash Bros., then I don't know what is!
3. Special Moves Galore
In the world of Smash, one of the most interesting things is the way the developers are able to integrate moves from all of these different games into one. Kirby can suck in his enemies and absorb their powers, Ryu is able to throw a fireball with quarter-circle motions, and so on. All of these moves are special to their characters, and they're worked into Smash Bros. in perfect harmony.
Wrestling is like this, too. Every wrestler has their signature moves, and these need to integrate with their opponent's suite of moves and styles. You might have a high-flyer taking on a powerhouse. Both wrestlers need to harmoniously get their special moves in. In both Smash and wrestling, fans want to see all of a character's cool moves, which is where they're very, very similar.
4. Fans Miss the Old Days
In both professional wrestling and Smash Bros., fans look back longingly at the old days. For many wrestling fans, it's all about remembering the days of the Attitude Era when Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were two of the most beloved (and entertaining) wrestlers in the WWE. The batter between WWE and WCW raged on, with the latter bringing characters like Goldberg and Hulk Hogan to the Monday Night War.
Fans of Smash, on the other hand, often look back fondly on the days of Melee on the GameCube. For some fans, they prefer to go back even further to the original Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64. Either way, if there's one way in which wrestling and Smash are similar, it's that fans love to look back at the old days and drink in the nostalgia.
5. But the New Days Have Some Positives
It's not all bad in the modern times though, in both wrestling and Smash. AEW is on the rise in the professional wrestling world, potentially spurting on a battle between it and the WWE, bringing fans back to the days of the Monday Night War.
And the latest Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo Switch is actually quite good. It has a ridiculously large cast of characters and stages to play on, and by all accounts, it captures much of the feel fans were missing from Brawl on the Wii U. While it's easy to look back at the past with rose-colored glasses on, the present isn't so bad either!
Super Wrestling Bros.
Next time one of your friends tries to tell you that wrestling and Smash Bros. are nothing alike (why are you even having that conversation?), you now have five good reasons why they're similar.
Heck, you and your friends might even manage to get the two confused if you're not paying close enough attention!