I think a more apt comparison isn't to athletes or politicians, but to musicians. You would praise a heavy metal rocker for his instrumental chops, and I don't think you'd ever go after him for, you know, learning his songs. Or say that the songs are easier to play just because he knows them by heart.
BTW, I don't care one bit for wrestling as such. Never got to it. But I recognize that hey, it's a show, and some people might be quite into that. Some people don't get heavy metal either, and it doesn't make it any less awesome
