Reality. It is what entertainment strives to be. From cinema to video games to television, entertainment tries fervently to emulate reality because that is what people live through ever day.

    A wrestler’s reality revolves around kayfabe. Any devoted pro wrestling fan will instantly recognize the term. But casual fans, many of which visit local wrestling circuits or WWE events when they come to town, may not be privy to the term.

    Kayfabe is the depiction of on-screen storylines, characters and relationships as “true” and not staged or predetermined. Is this key element still alive and well in the business today?

    Many will argue that it’s been dead for decades (rise of cable, advent of social media, to name a few pivotal events). But the same can be said for the contrary – it never went away.

    In the 1970s and 1980s, wrestlers prided themselves on their character. Their persona was their lifeblood and their connection to the fans. People flocked to pro wrestling events not to see shows of strength and wrestlers take flight – sometimes in today’s product for no reason – but instead to see bits of themselves imbued in the people on the marquee.

    Triple H appeared at NXT Takeover London just days after being decimated on TV.
    Triple H appeared at NXT Takeover London just days after being decimated on TV.

    Take names such as Ric Flair, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Bruno Sammartino, The Anderson Twins, Junkyard Dog to name a few. Each of these stars brought out certain qualities that fans could relate with in their daily lives. Bad versus good (villains and heroes, heels and faces) is a concept ascribed in culture for centuries.

    Fans felt a genuine pull towards wrestlers, one that yielded laud for faces and heat for heels. The good guys on screen worked not to garner cheers but to create them. Hulkamania united fans of all ages and created a phenomenon based on respect, honor and integrity. Dusty Rhodes provided fans with a grassroots character of humble origins that they could root for based on his hard work and diligence. Meanwhile, villains strove to be hated by the crowd and induce a reaction that made you angry and squeamish. The Four Horsemen, one of the greatest factions in pro wrestling history were hated by fans for two reasons: arrogance and jealousy. No one likes a bag of wind that can back up everything they say purely because they want to. Flair, the leader of the group, knew people deep down wanted to be like him because everyone has both good and evil sides. It’s what makes us human and Ric was slick – pun intended – to use that to his advantage. Comparable to Flair’s ostentatious nature was “The Million Dollar Man” Ted Debiase, a character whose rich background is enviable by anyone as evidenced by the recent Powerball hysteria.

    Moreover, heat is a byproduct of booking and creative. Longtime pro wrestling journalist and historian, Mike Mooneyham, known best for his wrestling coverage and the longest running newspaper column in the country in The Post and Courier, mentioned during a November 2015 appearance on Flair’s podcast WOOOOO! Nation with Ric Flair that the sort of heat the Four Horseman and other legendary characters collected will never again be replicated.

    This type of heat was epitomized on the September 29, 1985 edition of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as Flair and the Four Horsemen broke the ankle of Rhodes, who had just saved “The Nature Boy” from the attacks of Nikita Koloff and the Russians. Immediately, the crowd sympathized with Rhodes and in an incredible show of unity, the crowd rushed the cage that surrounded the ring from Flair’s title match with Koloff, and kept the horsemen from leaving the cage for almost an hour.

    It was not uncommon back then for heels of the business to suffer death threats or even attempts on their lives. But that was just more testament to the genuine nature of these characters.

    Bayley locks in the crossface on Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
    Bayley locks in the crossface on Sasha Banks at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

    Those same fans and workers of the pro wrestling world that believe kayfabe is dead will say the only time heat is created in today’s world is when nationalistic tones are involved. But that’s simply not true.

    Think about this reality for a moment. Did adult fans of wresting know in the 1970s and 1980s that it was show, not predetermined, but a show? The answer is yes. However, characters were so authentic and organic in that time that fans, children and adults alike, drew emotions from their actions.

    Those sorts of emotions are still possible in today’s product. And it starts with storytelling and talent.

    Last summer, WWE NXT stars Bayley and Sasha Banks squared off at the NXT Takeover event in Brooklyn in what some have deemed not only the greatest women’s wrestling match in recent history but one of the best pro-wrestling matches period. The cadence, finesse and raw storytelling created in the match by the two women, as well as the storyline that led up to the clash created a match that stole the show.

    Following that momentous showing, the two NXT superstars faced off in the first 30-minute woman’s Iron Man match in WWE history at the NXT Takeover Respect event in October. In that historic match, Banks drew the chagrin of the crowd by stealing the headband of the champion’s biggest fan, Izzy, and proceeding to mock her in the ring while also taunting her opponent. This small act, whether it was scripted or spontaneous, drew real heat with the crowd in attendance and at home watching.

    The real-life feud between Edge and Matt Hardy in the mid-2000s on WWE programming was another instance of real heat being generated in today’s wrestling world. Adding the superstars’ real names into the storyline – Adam Copeland, Amy Dumas, Matt Hardy – gave the feud legitimacy. Edge and Lita faced both on and off-screen scrutiny from fans. There was a real connection between Hardy and the fans on what had happened. And the creative direction that WWE took felt organic and compelling. In retrospect, both superstars have noted the matches of that feud as some of the best of their careers.

    Kevin Owens is an example of a modern day star who very rarely, if ever, breaks kayfabe.
    Kevin Owens is an example of a modern day star who very rarely, if ever, breaks kayfabe.

    Wrestling fans have never been stupid. Now more than ever, the curtain on the backstage scenes of the business has been lifted. But that has never caused any other form of entertainment to shutter its doors and walk away.

    Chris Jericho kicked the Brazilian flag during his run as a heel in 2012 at a WWE Live event in Brazil and was suspended by the company for those actions. Imagine if that event were caught on camera. It may have gotten national spotlight.

    “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, a man Vince McMahon called the “biggest draw” in his company’s history, often uses the analogy of kayfabe with movies on his podcast as well as in interviews when critiquing today’s product. He explains that people that go to see a movie know the main character isn’t actually a secret agent or superhero or jedi but people go to see it anyway. And the propensity for moviegoers or wrestling fans to believe in characters relies on the talent and storytelling to create both a sense of reality and credibility to those characters’ actions.

    It’s probably better that fans don’t pull out knives on wrestlers, or storm wrestlers at airports. The safety of wrestlers is a paramount part of the pro wrestling syndicate today because people understand more than ever the risk those individuals take every time they get into the ring to perform.

    Many factors could be proposed as to why kayfabe is such an issue in the present state of wrestling. It could be the old dating adage when it comes to introducing wrestlers to the crowd, “You never get a second chance on a first impression!” Or maybe for the most popular and mainstream company, WWE, it’s an overabundance of content each week for superstars. Is social media to blame for revealing to fans that superstars are people, too?

    Kevin Owens, formerly Kevin Steen, is one of WWE’s biggest rising heels. And that’s a welcome change of pace for a company that is lacking in authentic heels. Owens’ indifference to the crowd is the first ingredient. When he’s not on WWE television, he remains in character, most conspicuously on Twitter, where he has engaged with other superstars as well as fans in obnoxious rhetoric. Social media and prevalent exposure should not be excuses for not getting over with fans. They should be welcoming tools that help a superstar better show off his character.

    John Cena, one of the most popular wrestling stars in history, never breaks character. Why? Because the character you see on TV – the leader behind hustle, loyalty and respect — is the person you see in the airport or the person you imagine when you look at his Twitter. He has crafted an identity that is himself.

    The best wrestling characters on TV are those that can amplify their own nature and force that on the audience.

    Humans have not changed much from 30 to 40 years ago. We can still ascertain emotion from a superstar and distinguish the difference between one being sarcastic and smug to one being honest and fallible.

    So I pose this question once more, is kayfabe really dead?


    Images: WWE