Originally Posted by pinartist  i think that the very fact that they televise some of the major tournies shows enough respect for wrestling. You rarely see wrestling on tv in us and canada. |
There is definitely more respect for wrestling in Russia than in America. Wrestling is considered a great sport and nobody dares to criticize it. However, Russians do not value wrestling as much as Iranians do.
Even the best Russian wrestlers call Iranian fans "crazy" about the sport. I heard during Soviet era Iranian fans could throw coins at you from the stands if they didn't like the way you wrestled or what you did.
Also, I heard in Iran people often wrestle on the streets. They have statues of wrestlers. That is more than I have ever seen in Russia.
As for showing wrestling on TV, again it is different in Russia than in America. In America mainly viewership determines the amount of broadcast. In Russia it can often mean respect for the sport or out of fairness or in order to get the public and kids more involved in the sport. Profit doesn't usually drive wrestling broadcasts.