WWE RAW Guest Star Bill Simmons Defends Pro Wrestling Against Fellow ESPN Personality

This week's Raw guest Bill Simmons appeared on ESPN's The Herd with Colin Cowherd today, where host Colin Cowherd continued his anti-wrestling stance.

Simmons, a lifelong wrestling fan, seemed like he knew it was coming. Cowherd has come under fire from wrestling fans for years for making derogatory and sometimes incorrect remarks about professional wrestling and the pro wrestlers themselves.

"I used to watch pro wrestling when I was a kid, but I also used to eat my boogers," Cowherd said. "You're a good looking guy with a big broad life and you're super smart, and you're going to be on WWE Monday Night Raw talking about guys fake wrestling. You would be the last person in the company I'd expect to like fake wrestling. What is it?"

Simmons retorted by asking Cowherd if he had been the the movies in the past year. Cowherd replied that he'd watched The Imitation Game recently and enjoyed it.

"Did you hold it against Benedict Cumberbatch that he couldn't really overthrow Germany? Did that ruin the movie for you?" Simmons said. Cumberbatch was the star of the 2014 historical thriller in which Cowherd referenced

"It's people playing parts and playing characters, and they're trying to beat the crap out of each other," Simmons said. "These guys take a lot of punishment. I think as athletes, they're amazing. There's no off season."

Cowherd jokingly asked Simmons if he knew it was fake, and Simmons said he didn't like that word. He asked Cowherd if pro wrestling could really be that bad if First Take host Michelle Beadle enjoyed it.

"Most people who like it I have utter disdain for. But when people I like watch it and I seek out their opinions, it disappoints me greatly. It'd be like if I found out our President played with Legos during summits," Cowherd said.

In 2012, Cowherd criticized then-WWE champion CM Punk for judging Nike's endorsement deal with Jon Jones, who had recently been arrested for DUI. Cowherd said that Punk didn't have the right to judge others due to the huge number of drug related deaths within pro wrestling. It has been well documented that CM Punk is extremely anti-drug.

Cowherd has offered minimal praise to Vince McMahon, however, calling him a visionary. Cowherd has put over some of McMahon's ideas that he had for his failed XFL football league, and said that McMahon had made "zillions off dollars off of speedos and body oil."