Kayfabe (professional wrestling)

In professional wrestling, Kayfabe (pronounced kuh-fay-bee) refers to the portrayal that events within the industry are real, that is, that professional wrestling is not staged.

In recent years kayfabe has referred more to the suspension of disbelief required to mark out to the entertainment aspect of the industry, in a similar manner with other forms of entertainment such as soap operas and movies.

Examples of Kayfabe

• Wrestlers having 'stage names' like Justin Credible or The Undertaker, often with exaggerated personality traits like being 'evil' or having a gimmick
• Feuds between wrestlers which are highly implausible and would never happen in real life
• Suppression of 'internal events', such as when a wrestler is hired or gets fired; he simply appears or disappears without explanation
• Commentators referring to healthy wrestlers as "injured", either as the result of an "injury" suffered during a show, or to explain an absence. Some recent examples:
  • In the summer of 2004, Shawn Michaels took time off to be with his pregnant wife with WWE approval. He was written out of storylines as a victim of an attack by Kane that left him with a "crushed larynx"
  • Later in the same year, Kane was the victim of a "neck injury" inflicted by Gene Snitsky. This was used to allow him to film Goodnight, a WWE-produced movie
  • At the same time, WWE used a worked injury to allow John Cena to film another WWE-produced movie, The Marine. In Cena's case, he was the victim of a "nightclub stabbing" by Jesús, the "bodyguard" of Carlito Caribbean Cool, that left him with an injured kidney

See also

• professional wrestling slang