Adam Thinks #7: Why the Death of Kayfabe is Great

Sooooo…I've been silent for a while around these parts. I've been quite busy finishing a book, working on others, and doing the whole dad/husband thing in addition to holding down a real job where they make me do stuff for an acceptable amount of money. One of the things that has suffered is my writing here at Cheap Heat. In addition, I've been working closely with the boss over many sweat filled half naked nights to try to find ways to make this a better site for you. Though I have to say we have GOT to stop having those meetings while in a sauna. It's getting a little weird. Either way, the point is that I have been a neglectful writer and I feel something similar to guilt over it. I myself haven't actually felt real guilt since the 11th century, but I'm told it's very much akin to this.

So I'm going to start you back up with a topic that's been rattling around the ol' noodle can for a while now. Kayfabe. That mysterious all-encompassing power that binds us together and guides…wait…nevermind. That's The Force. Way better than kayfabe. In fact, I'm not going to pretend that you don't already know what it is just to eat column space. Let's jump right to the important part of things. Kayfabe is dying. Not only that, but kayfabe dying is a GREAT thing for professional wrestling.

That's probably a bit of a reach without any background, so let's dial this back a tad and talk about the dying part first. It's been a long, slow process for certain. From way back in the old days people never broke character in public. You did everything you could to protect every aspect of the business. Then round about the Attitude Era, things slipped a little. People bent the rules of kayfabe a bit more. During the biggest boom period in wrestling history media coverage was consistent and intense. Unlike the previous boom in the 80's, the late 90's were a time of vastly increased threats to kayfabe itself. For one thing, the media that covered it was larger, broader, and more willing to take angles that hadn't been taken before.

It was a time of "behind the scenes" in all facets of entertainment and life and wrestling was no different. In addition, the largest portion of the audience had grown up with the rock n' roll characters of the 80's and had seen enough to spot things. Finally, the internet was exploding in size and power. The internet was fast becoming THE single driving force behind both progress and the uncovering of all manner of hidden truths. People of like mind gathered for the first time to compare notes and build theories on a myriad of topics, including wrestling. When that happened, the curtain opened and everyone got a peek inside.

Slowly but surely the next decade and change saw the curtain getting wider and wider as if it was Scott Steiner discovering steroids. There was some attempt to run with it, as we got the short lived reality era. Guys used their real names and portrayed realistic versions of themselves. It failed to stem the tide. The curtain continued to open wider and wider. The last generation of wrestlers who really believed in the kayfabe lifestyle began to retire and be replaced by those who grew up knowing real names and getting autographs from heels. Not to mention knowing what heels were to begin with.

Fast forward to today. Social media has exponentially increased the amount of access that fans and wrestlers get to one another. The WWE Network launched and featured several shows where wrestlers are blatantly not in character. Media interviews are often done with the performer instead of the in ring character. Over and over again this has become the story.

So, you remember what I said at the beginning? I mean, I hope so. It was like 3 minutes ago for you. The death of kayfabe is a very good thing. In fact, in my personal opinion it will lead to the next great wrestling boom. But how? Well, let's look at where we stand now. The most consistently popular show on the WWE Network (aside from NXT) is Table for 3. A show that almost explicitly out of character and is all about the performers talking about their lives and experiences as wrestlers. The most popular Youtube program under the WWE umbrella (ella ella ey ey) is UP UP DOWN DOWN, an out of character show run by Austin Davis (AKA Xavier Woods) that features wrestlers from all over the roster playing video games, hanging out, and generally letting us see exactly who they are.

I could go on and on. There is a large and growing list of things that performers (and companies themselves) are doing that follows this trend. For example, the WWE just started announcing debuts that happened at programs not scheduled to air for weeks. Think about that. In a few short years they went from never acknowledging on screen that show were tape din advance to blatantly telling you that new guys were showing up (and often with their names and personas intact). It's as if they've almost got a grasp on the fundamental truth that will change everything.

Modern fans want to support the performers themselves. Bam. There it is. There's the big truth. Not R-Truth, though. Although he's actually benefitted lately as the company has let him display a lot more of Ron Killings' natural goofy charisma and fans have gotten behind it. That seemingly random aside is actually a good example of exactly what I'm getting at, too. Look at the New Day. There have been comedy acts before. Even comedy acts that also had title success and were treated as capable wrestlers. Yet, The New Day might be the most over act on any given show. And a massive part of that is that the three performers have been allowed to do all manner of goofy, fun, inane thing they have thought of and because we have been given the chance to see them outside those characters being themselves. It makes us want to root for them as performers even as we pretend to boo them at least some of the time that we're supposed to. Not that WE are doing our job very well, since most of you probably made some kind of "penises on television" reference in your head as soon as I mentioned them.

I'll give you another example. A short while ago I watched the Table For 3 featuring Daniel Bryan, Ryback, and Dolph Ziggler. My wife actually sat down and watched it with me. Now she's not a wrestling fan. She generally knows what's going on. She can name a dozen or so people and recognizes the names of a bunch more. There even used to be a standing order than if Santino came on TV, I was to pause the program and go get her. So she's an outsider to our world, but she understands what she's seeing when she looks in. Well, as we watched tales of Daniel Bryan being a somewhat assholish prankster, my wife was surprised and delighted to find out that Ryback at his core was a somewhat serious and sensitive person who clearly had to work hard to deal with those pranks. Her instant feeling was that she wanted to root for him more. And also that she wanted to root for Daniel more because it was funny.

What does this anecdote prove? People are drawn to the performer. Which is good because that's the point I'm making and it'd be weird if I used an anecdote that didn't help that. That's neither here nor there, though. There are tons of stories out there that are similar to my wife's. The number is growing rapidly because the WWE and others have let their performers do these kinds of things more and more and more. They're embracing the concept little by little by little (and continuing to slowly crush kayfabe in the process). Not only has this led to people attaching to performers but also to a media presence that is much more respected than it has ever been in the past. Wrestlers on talk shows aren't treated as side show acts. They're treated as guests talking about a role. News coverage is suddenly a lot more positive a lot more frequently as they talk about wrestlers doing things in their communities and other coverage that doesn't consist entirely of who died and what drugs they were on.

All these factors are what lead me to my prediction of a boom period. All of the keys are right there. And all it took was the near death of kayfabe to get us here. The next step is up to the biggest companies and the fans together. You have to continue to make it clear that you're supporting the people behind the gimmicks. Keep telling Triple H that you appreciate the chance to boo him and love the work he's doing with NXT. Keep applauding John Cena's work outside the ring in movies and charity and Make-A-Wish while you express your displeasure that he's still a face. Keep telling them with your viewing choices that you love the programs where you get to see the people being themselves. When they get the idea right, let them know. When you have complaints, express them thoughtfully. I guarantee you things will flourish in a way they haven't before. As always, you're welcome to disagree with me in the comments below.

That'll do it for me for the moment, and I promise not to leave you cold and all alone for at least a little while. And I'll take this shameless opportunity to note that if you happen to think you could write better than me, we'd be more than happy to take you up on that theory and give you your own column at Cheap Heat. Just contact us via the website. We love getting the chance to share new voices who have things to say about a pastime we all love. Until then, have a safe one and remember to punch a vegan. WWSCSAD.