Published 15:10 IST, September 26th 2019

Is WWE fake? Understanding 'Kayfabe' and how it should be perceived

If you are an ardent fan of the WWE, you more probably than not have encountered people who call WWE matches 'fake'. Read more as we explain how the WWE works.

Reported by: Mrigank Pandey
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If you are an ardent fan of WWE, you more probably than t have encountered people who call WWE matches 'fake'. While se people are t right, y are t technically wrong as well. WWE is a Sports Entertainment show that is supposed to elicit an emotional response from its audience. Let us take a look at how WWE works.

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'Kayfabe' and how it works

Imagine WWE to be a dramatic TV show, that is exactly what it is. WWE falls under category of 'Sports Entertainment', show uses sport of wrestling to convey a fictional story to audience and entertain. entire show is based on an alternative universe that is supposed to exist only inside bounds of show. Every WWE superstar is a fictional character who embodies personality traits that stand out and define ir identity.

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This is much like any or TV show which has a protagonist, an antagonist, and some supporting characters. Every WWE superstar is part of a storyline. se storylines show us journeys of good guys as y try and beat bad guys to get to ir eventual goal, which in case of WWE is Championship Belts. technical terms for se characters are 'face' and 'heel'. Let us use a current storyline to understand this - In Kofi Kingston vs. Brock Lesnar storyline, Kofi is 'face' aka good guy who goes out with positive intent and embodies ble values. On or hand, Brock is a 'heel' as he hurts people with little reason and embodies character traits which are generally perceived to be negative. refore, 'Kayfabe' refers to entire alternate universe of characters that only exist inside WWE and includes everything from rivalries to relationships that may be shared between superstars.

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Is wrestling real?

wrestling in WWE is both - real and fake. maneuvers that superstars use are very real but y are practiced in a way that y do t critically hurt performer receiving m. Wrestlers rehearse ir matches before shows and are supposed to kw what ir next move is. WWE fights are more of a atrical performance where fight is used to entertain audience with outrous stunts and moves while fight's result drives forward storyline which will lead to furr fights. Weapons like chairs and ladders are specially made so that y hurt less and are also used at angles and speeds which reduce impact. Sometimes, se moves go wrong and wrestlers actually get hurt. re are special signals that referees use to signal medics and let m kw if a performer is 'actually' hurt. Props like fake blood are used to magnify perceived impact of fight. Sometimes performers may bleed real blood through 'blading' but process of 'blading' is severely condemned in WWE and or wrestling promotions.

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So, to answer simple question...

Can Undertaker actually come back to life after being buried alive? Yes, but only on your TV screens. 

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09:08 IST, September 26th 2019