Kayfabe

[Just John 0]

Reading the WWE comments that don't warrant a thread, I saw this interesting wwe.com bit that got me thinking...

 

With everything that’s happened leading up to One Night Stand, many have surmised that Edge has taken a pro-WWE, anti-ECW stance in recent weeks; the Rated-R Superstar, however, sees things a little differently. “I’m not necessarily pro WWE, I’m pro Edge,” he said. “I don’t enjoy ECW fans or people who claim to be smart about something that they have no clue about but think they do. I don’t enjoy people saying “this match rules” during Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka last year when that match had no psychology and no story whatsoever. It was a joke to me, and those people became a joke to me because they thought they knew what they were talking about; they thought they were being smart by showing how stupid they were.”

 

Now, I don't really care about the point Edge is trying to make here, but rather an issue that I've been thinking about for a while. Is it ok for wrestling promotions to openly shit on kayfabe like this? Vince Russo's angles where he did that are often criticized (like Goldberg not following the script), so what does everyone think about this? Is it alright for wrestlers to throw around non-subtle insults dealing with workrate?

 

Personally, I think kayfabe needs to be protected more than it is. As a net fan, that seems kind of weird, but I think it's true. Even if we know about and analyze the deeper aspects of a match or angle, we don't need them reminding us it's fake. Wrestling is just like any other form of entertainment. I think of it like a movie. What if in, oh say, The Matrix, after Keanu Reeves said something, Agent Smith responds with "Well, that was poorly acted"?

 

In a time where it's hard to suspend disbelief, a time of dirtsheets, "Five Star Match" chants, and wrestler blogs, how much should kayfabe be protected. I know that idea is often laughed at because it seems ridiculous. But then again, if kayfabe were to go away, what exactly would we be analyzing in wrestling?

[World's Worst Man 0]

Kayfabe needs to be maintained insofar as allowing people to suspend their disbelief, even when they know it's not real. That pretty much means that hinting that things aren't real or outright saying it is a no-no, as it puts the audience out of the moment and forces them to watch as if nothing is real, which in turn makes it somewhat of a joke.

 

Bad wrestling can achieve the same thing, when the laws of logic are stretched to such a degree that it becomes impossible to believe. Blatant no-selling, bad looking offense, contrived spots/setup to spots, etc.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Depends on the context. The Edge interview was kayfabed insofar as to put heat on Edge with him "shooting" on the fans, which is within the range of the "rated R superstar" character. I don't think him saying this on live television would fly, because the majority of the audience would be like "wtf does psychology have to do with rasslin?", but since this was an online quote directed at online fans (in particular hardcore ecw fans), where kayfabe is more openly broken, it is not an unusual quote to make, nor do I think it is one that hurts the illusion. Like I said, it's Edge trying to get heat on himself by insulting "smart fans", the comments were directed at those fans, so using the terminology those fans use is just a way of making it more real.

 

In regards to Kayfabe in modern day wrestling, it should be held on to more. That's the wrestlers' control over the fans, and most wrestlers nowadays have little command over them because they act all goofy and shit on myspace and then expect people to take them seriously in the ring.

[Guest Human Highlight Reel]

Kayfabe should be kept, but only on television. WWE.com is a touchy subject, but I was never for the website being kayfabe. The reason Russo's angles got such heat was for the reason you gave, you don't see characters in movies going "Hey, you're not following the script!" You do see them talking about the movie, out of character, in interviews, and wrestlers should have the same luxury.

[Guest The Great Muta]

I myself believe that reality needs to be suspended in a way that is "believable." For instance, Shawn Michaels flying and jumping around the ring when someone clearly doesn't hit him or hits him lightly (although I love it and its hilarious), is kayfabe but is too "unbelievable" for someone to suspend disbelief. The Undertaker shooting lightning bolts is another good example.

 

With that being said, someone like Steve Austin flipping the bird and beating down his boss is kayfabe, but something like that is certainly feasible. My point is that kayfabe shouldn't be too outlandish and cartoony to the point where we have to roll our eyes and laugh.

[Wrestlefreak 0]

Kayfabe is very important during the show, but people within the wrestling industry need to be willing to let go of it when their not performing, and to be able to critique the product(just like an actor does in interviews) openly and honestly. That way, fans can respect that wrestling is a craft that needs to be honed and improved constantly, just like any other form of entertainment.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I still try to play along with kayfabe whenever I run into a wrestler because of them expect us to stay that way since they're not fond of us being smarky smarks. Its kind of fun pretending though I have to admit.

 

Edge does make a good point though. I forgot who mentioned it, but somebody said it was funny seeing the ECW fans chant "You can't wrestle!" to Orton during his match with Angle, but yet the same people were going nuts for Balls / Tanaka.

[randomguy 0]

I think you are seeing something that happens a lot more often recently - the worked shoot and the self-aware work.

 

People know that wrestling is fake so characters and fueds not only rely on fake TV angles but also more real (but also fake) worked shoots, interviews, etc. It's sort of another layer of Kayfabe.

 

It's like when movies come out actors in interviews will pretend to be similar to their characters. For example when Mr. and Mrs. Smith came out Angelina and Brad gave interviews about how they like to go to the firing range. Everyone knows Angy and Brad are NOT Mr. and Mrs. Smith but what they might not know is that the shooting range stuff is also bullshit. It happens all the time. A guy is in an extreme sports movie and talks about how he loves extreme sports, etc, etc.

 

It's a way of staying one step ahead of the audience as the audience catches on.