Kayfabe
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In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced [ˈkeɪfeɪb] KAY-fayb) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as "real", that is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as unstaged or not worked. Referring to events or interviews as being a "work" means that the event/interview has been "kayfabed" or staged, and/or is part of a wrestling storyline while being passed off as legitimate. In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be likened to an actor breaking character on camera.
Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, storylines, and gimmicks, in a similar manner with other forms of entertainment such as soap opera or film. In the past, virtually all wrestlers adhered to kayfabe in public, even when outside the ring and off-camera, in order to preserve the illusion that the competition in pro wrestling was not staged. With the advent of the Internet Wrestling Community and the sports entertainment movement in pro wrestling, the maintenance of pro wrestling's backstage secrets are more difficult to keep than they were in earlier decades. Today, kayfabe is sometimes broken to advance storylines, to explain prolonged absences due to legitimate injury, as a tribute to a wrestler, or even for comedic effect.[citation needed].
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[edit] Origins
Pro wrestling can trace some of its stylistic origins back to carnivals and catch wrestling, where the term "kayfabe" is thought to have originated as carny slang for "protecting the secrets of the business." With money tight, a carny would call home collect, telling the operator their name was "Kay Fabian." This was code letting the people at home know they had made it safely to the next town. The family would then deny the call. This was a method of communicating without paying for the cost of a phone call or telegram.
The term "kayfabe" itself may ultimately originate from the Pig Latin form of "fake" ("ake-fay"), the phrase "be fake", the letters in the first syllables of "character fabrication", or possibly a non-standard Pig Latin form of "fabricate" (or fabrication) in the form of "CA(te)-FAB(ri)" (kayfabe).
The term "kayfabe" has been adopted (and arguably misused by most) by those outside the industry (i.e. fans and some members of the press) with the popularization of, first, insider newsletters, and later, insider information available via the Internet. In modern, popular usage "kayfabe" can refer rather broadly to narrative conventions—like not "breaking character"—which are common in theater. Originally, however, within the wrestling business, maintaining "kayfabe" referred rather narrowly to the socially-enforced demand not to reveal the predetermined nature of wrestling matches and the cooperative aspects of the performances. In practice, this imperative meant that wrestlers, promoters, their families and others close to the business, were socially forbidden from talking frankly about the nature of their work to fans or the press.
[edit] Heels and faces
The characters assumed by wrestlers can be distinguished into faces and heels. Faces are heroic characters, who enjoy the support of the audience, and who win matches on the basis of their technical skills. Heels are the antagonist, portraying villainous characters, who are generally booed and vilified by the audience. They are not beyond fighting dirty or cheating to win their matches. Fights are usually organized between a heel and a face.
[edit] Uses
[edit] Relationships
Many storylines make use of kayfabe romantic relationships between two performers. Very often, both participants have other real-life relationships, and the "relationship" between the two is simply a storyline. However, more than once, kayfabe romantic relationships have resulted either from a real-life relationship, such as between Matt Hardy and Lita, or ultimately developed into a real-life marriage (e.g., Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who married in 2003, more than a year after their kayfabe marriage ended).[1]
For years, the World Wrestling Federation presented real-life spouses "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth as a wrestler-valet relationship, with no mention that they were actually married. In 1991, the two began a kayfabe romantic relationship, which culminated in a wedding ceremony at that August's SummerSlam 1991. The storyline ended a year later with the couple's real-life divorce (and Miss Elizabeth's departure from the WWF).
Tag teams of wrestlers, who may or may not look alike, are often presented as relatives, though they are not actually related. Examples include the Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and his half-brother Kane), The Holly Cousins (Hardcore Holly, Crash Holly and Molly Holly), The Dudley family, etc.
Moreover, the Von Erichs, despite being a real life family, had a number of peripheral kayfabe relatives, most notably Waldo and his "son", Lance. Additionally, the "Von Erich" name itself was kayfabed; their real family name was Adkisson.
[edit] "You're fired!" and "I quit!"
Through kayfabe, wrestlers often quit or get fired, or are said to have been booked to lose a match where their jobs are on the line (e.g., a "loser leaves town match"), only to return at a future time.
However, such "departures" may also be used to advance a feud between two wrestlers. A classic example is the "masked man," where the wrestler (usually a face) who has supposedly lost his job makes appearances at subsequent events while wearing a mask, and then interferes in his heel opponent's matches; eventually, the masked wrestler's identity is exposed by his foe and the feud intensifies. This storyline was used for the Dusty Rhodes/Kevin Sullivan feud during the 1980s and also for the feud between Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan in 2003. Some more recent examples include William Regal losing a Loser Gets Fired match against Mr. Kennedy on the May 19 edition of Raw, (Regal was actually suspended for 60 days due to violation of the WWE Wellness Policy) and The Undertaker losing a TLC match against Edge at WWE One Night Stand where the winner would take the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
The "you're fired" gimmick has also been used to re-package a wrestler with a new gimmick.
On the August 22, 2005 edition of RAW, WWE Champion John Cena successfully defended his title by defeating Chris Jericho in a "You're Fired!" match. Eric Bischoff promptly fired Jericho, and ordered that he be taken from the arena by security. However, Jericho was not truly fired, as his release was a mutual arrangement. The match had been conceived to cover for Jericho's departure from the company, and he eventually returned to the WWE on the November 19, 2007 edition of Raw after an absence of just over two years.
In an episode of TNA Impact on December 6, Christopher Daniels was fired in the Feast or Fired match and due to the stipulations it was revealed that Daniels' briefcase contained the pink slip, immediately causing him to be released from TNA. He reappeared on January 24 under the guise of Curry Man, a masked character he has used in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
[edit] Breaking kayfabe
There have been several examples of breaking kayfabe throughout wrestling history. It should be pointed out that what exactly constitutes "breaking" is rather difficult to define. It is rare for kayfabe to be dispensed with totally and the events acknowledged as scripted. Often the "break" may be implied or through an allusion (for example calling a wrestler by his/her real name; which is done often) and standards tend to vary as to what is a break. In the WWE during and after the Attitude Era the line between kayfabe and reality was often blurred, while in the Hulkamania era and the time after that, Kayfabe was usually strictly adhered to.
With the growth of the industry and its exposure in the internet and DVD and video kayfabe may be broken more regularly. Whereas in the past it was extermely rare for a wrestler or other involved person to recognize the scripted nature of events even in outside press or media, WWE DVD's and WWE.com routinely give news and acknowledge real life. In the case of the former, it has ostensible adversaries and allies talking about each other, and the angles and storylines they worked and their opinions on them. On WWE.com real life news is often given which may contradict storylines.
As of late, WWE.com has included an "Industry News" section to their website, which regularly breaks kayfabe to deliver news about current and former WWE superstars, and even going beyond their former policy of not acknowledging their competition, TNA, by posting TNA iMPACT and pay per view results on their site. Live events for virtually every wrestling company around the world are also listed on a regular basis, as are tidbits regarding wrestlers, such as Nick Hogan's arrest and incarceration, the Ultimate Warrior's return to wrestling and challenging Vince McMahon to a match, etcetera.
Kayfabe has as mentioned above been broken many times, though it may not always be apparent to fans as we shall see. Some of the more notable examples are elucidated below.
[edit] Montreal Screwjob
The most popular example is the Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident) in which Bret Hart (WWF Champion at the time) was going to wrestle Shawn Michaels for the WWF championship. The agreed finish was to have Hart walk away with the title that night and come on RAW the next night to give up the championship. Hart had already signed a deal with World Championship Wrestling and still had three weeks after Survivor Series 1997 before appearing on WCW Monday Nitro. Vince McMahon, fearing that his championship would appear on his rival's TV show, felt that he needed to change the agreed finish without telling Hart. Vince went out and told the ring crew to ring the bell and say Michaels won the championship. Hart, very upset, spat on Vince (later punching him in the dressing room) and wreaked havoc on equipment around the ring. It was long thought that Michaels had nothing to do with the change, but it was later found out he was in on it as well. The incident was recreated as a storyline to screw Mankind. The same finish was recreated on the March 18, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, where McMahon screwed Shawn Michaels in a match with his son Shane in order to build up the feud between the two leading up to their match at WrestleMania 22.
[edit] 1996 MSG Incident
In the 1996 MSG Incident, real-life friends Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Diesel (Kevin Nash), and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) broke kayfabe by embracing in the ring at the end of a match between Michaels and Nash. Nash and Hall were on their way to rival promotion WCW, and the incident was a farewell from Michaels and Triple H. As punishment for breaking kayfabe, Triple H was relegated to working lower card matches and was booked to lose to Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the King of the Ring 1996 tournament, having previously been booked to win it. The event had a profound impact on the company overall in later years, in that Stone Cold Steve Austin was booked in Triple H's place to win the tournament overall, thus setting the stage for Austin's meteoric rise to prominence in the late '90s.
[edit] Hogan/Savage/Miss Elizabeth saga
Sometimes a real life issue that a wrestler is involved in outside of kayfabe will be used as a storyline.
The end of The Mega Powers, the alliance between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, was inspired by real-life tension between the two men over Randy's valet (and real-life wife) Miss Elizabeth.
[edit] McMahon Steroid Trial
In the build up to Hulk Hogan's match with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX, real life tension between the two men following McMahon's steroid trial was added to the storyline to generate interest in their match.
[edit] Sid/Scott Steiner
Shoot comments were a popular tactic of Vince Russo, who would often blur the line between kayfabe and reality. WCW, in its declining years of the Monday Night Wars (a term used to describe the time when the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling were in direct competition), would use real life incidents the wrestlers had as material for storylines, even though they could be seen as tasteless at times. A prime example of this is when Sid Vicious suffered a severe leg break in a match against Scott Steiner from a botched 2nd turnbuckle kick in January 2001.
[edit] Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita Saga
In 2005, Matt Hardy and Edge feuded after Hardy's real life girlfriend Lita cheated on him with Edge. Fans who knew about the real-life events reacted by booing both at WWE events. The two were eventually paired up on-screen and references were made to Hardy. Hardy was eventually rehired and returned to feud with Edge.[1]
[edit] Mick Foley and Ric Flair
Ric Flair and Mick Foley's real life issues were also built into a storyline, which used the real criticisms of each man against the other in their respective books as fuel for the storyline.
[edit] Triple H/Stephanie McMahon
This is a rather special case. The two were "married" in Kayfabe in 1999 and had a very unamicable divorce in 2002. After their characters split, the two were married in real life and at present are expecting their second child. On-screen however they remain divorced. When Stephanie McMahon was pregnant, Triple H and D-Generation X in general often dropped hints about real life situations with Triple H quipping "I wonder who the father is?" and saying "he must be hung till here" (pointing to his kneecap). On the December 10, 2007 edition of Raw, the McMahons were having a "family portrait" when Triple H interjected claiming he was also a member of the family. During this exchange Stephanie kissed him and as she left, he said to her; "see you at home". Although this could be seen in the context of their prior storyline (except perhaps the "see you at home" part) the actual present day relationship between the two was brought to the fore as many if not most fans are aware of it and the crowd reacted accordingly. In the Chris Benoit tribute show, Stephanie also mentioned that Benoit had been supportive of her relationship with Triple H (something that was rare backstage).
[edit] Special and Tribute shows
In specials and tribute shows, kayfabe is often broken. In the tribute shows for Brian Pillman, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and Chris Benoit, many wrestlers and officials, including those who had kayfabe feuds with them, spoke in their honor.
Kayfabe and real life came into serious conflict on June 25, 2007, when the actual death of Chris Benoit necessitated an appearance by WWE chairman Vince McMahon on his WWE Raw program which aired that same day, even though the character of Mr. McMahon had been "killed" in an automobile explosion on a previous episode. The actual deaths of Benoit and his family led McMahon to appear in person on the episode to establish that he, the person, was alive, although his character was apparently dead, a rare on-screen acknowledgment of kayfabe. He also stated that Benoit actually was dead, and that the episode that was scheduled for that night, which was originally intended to be a memorial to the Mr. McMahon character, would instead be dedicated to Benoit. The remainder of the episode consisted of WWE wrestlers and commentators making non-kayfabe comments about Benoit's life. This tribute was broadcast hours before police announced the circumstances of Benoit's death. As a result, the next night on ECW opened once again with McMahon, this time stating that no further tributes to Benoit would be made, and that the episode would feature regular wrestling matches in honor of the WWE itself. The breaking of kayfabe necessitated by the Benoit murder-suicide forced the Mr. McMahon assassination storyline to be abandoned, and it was not until the August 6, 2007 edition of Raw that McMahon revived his "Mr. McMahon" character, beginning a new storyline with himself as the central character. He modestly referenced and showed footage of his limo exploding, and admitted it was fake.
On the RAW fifteenth anniversary special the closing of the show featured both heels and faces enjoying a beer together with many WWE alumni.
[edit] A break which is apparent but not acknowledged
In the ring as in the theater many scripted things can easily go wrong, either due to a wrestler or equipment error. Like theater, these are often covered-up and not apparent to fans. On some occasions mishaps have been brought into sharp relief due to the circumstances or actions of individuals, making the fact a mistake has been made obvious.
- In the 1995 Summerslam Ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, Shawn Michaels twice fumbled in his attempt to retrieve the belt, the second time very obviously, forcing his opponent Scott Hall (who was in his Razor Ramon persona) to lay down for a lengthy period of time, far greater than what is normally associated with the bump that he took.
- At SummerSlam 1997, in another Intercontinental Title Match, a reverse piledriver administered by Owen Hart to Stone Cold Steve Austin resulted in a serious injury for Austin. He was clearly unable to move for several minutes and eventually only did so with great difficulty. Owen Hart's concern was apparent to all. Austin was scripted to win, and Owen taunted him and the crowd for a while until Austin rolled him up for a weak pin and the win.
- In the 1998 King of the Ring, the Hell in the Cell Match between The Undertaker and Mankind, had Mankind falling from the top of the cage twice; once onto the announcers table and once as the cage gave way, to the mat. The first was scripted, the second was not. In each case, the Undertaker was very noticeably shaken and Vince McMahon who was in a feud with Mankind at the time, broke character and rushed over to him. The Undertaker later recalled that he thought he had killed him.
- In October of 2007, John Cena battled Mr. Kennedy in an edition of Raw. During the match, Cena injured his shoulder while executing a hip toss on Kennedy. For the duration of the match, Cena visibly favored his shoulder and arm. Towards the end of the match, Randy Orton (then in the middle of a storyline feud with Cena), attacked Cena, eventually performing his finisher (the RKO) on him while on top of an announcing table. WWE worked Cena's real life injury into the Randy Orton/John Cena feud storyline, stating that Cena's shoulder was injured due to the RKO (and not that it was injured during the match with Mr. Kennedy).
- In June of 2008, at the One Night Stand PPV, Triple H battled Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship. At one point during the match, Orton was supposed to attempt an RKO on Triple H, which was then supposed to be countered, resulting in Orton being thrown over the top rope to the floor. But as Orton hit the floor, he suffered a legitimate broken collarbone, and as he was writhing in agony, Triple H could be seen discussing with the referee and the EMT's whether or not to continue the match, and it was obviously decided to conclude the match early. So Triple H took out his signature sledgehammer, and proceeded to hit Orton in the head with it, thus finishing the match.
[edit] Other
On the May 5, 2008 edition of WWE Raw, Roddy Piper mentioned Santino Marella's recent DUI arrest on Carlito's Cabana.
[edit] Storylines becoming real life
Some efforts to promote kayfabe have resulted in real-life consequences.
While working as a booker for WCW, Kevin Sullivan was involved in a wrestling feud with Chris Benoit. He booked Nancy, his wife both onscreen and off, to leave his character for Benoit's. Sullivan insisted that the two should travel together to preserve kayfabe for the general public. This resulted in Sullivan's wife legitimately leaving him for Benoit when the two developed a real-life romantic relationship during their time together. Nancy married Benoit in 2000.
Brian Pillman developed the "Loose Cannon" persona for himself while in WCW in 1996, conspiring with Vice President Eric Bischoff and booker Kevin Sullivan. Pillman's gimmick was based entirely on straddling the fine line of kayfabe. He would engage in on-camera actions that seemed to be unscripted, even to the other performers, and even breached kayfabe protocol when he addressed Sullivan on air as "bookerman." In the ultimate act of turning fiction into fact, Pillman convinced Sullivan and Bischoff that their storyline "firing" of him would seem more legitimate with the physical evidence of a release form. They faxed an actual WCW contract termination notice to him, complete with his name and the proper signatures, in order to preserve kayfabe. As this was a binding legal document, Pillman used it to leave the company for real for a more lucrative contract with the WWF[citation needed].
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Lilsboys (The Sun) (February 2006). Matt: I still will not die. Retrieved on April 12, 2007.
