I can see what you mean when trying to sell to the mainstream - although I think most people would tell you that The Undertaker is probably the most popular and successful gimmick of all time.

But here... we all know what wrestling is. We're all very well aware of it, nobody is trying to pass e-fedding off as "real."

Also, honestly, WCW died when it went to full-on shoots an gritty realism. WCW from 1998-2001 or thereabouts didn't have anything wacky, just a bunch of dudes all talking about they were going to kick each others' asses. The most entertaining and popular wrestling on TV right now is probably Lucha Underground, which takes place in an ancient Aztec temple and has dragons and murder and shit. Things aren't that black and white, you know.

But, everyone likes their own thing. You can write a character who is just a regular human dude getting eady in a gym and wrestling matches... I've done it. I did it most of the time. If it's good and it's entertaining and it's better than what your opponent does, you'll win.