Wrestling is Scripted... but not Fake!

I have been a wrestling fan since I was seven years old. The first professional wrestling match that I saw was between "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat. It took me a few years to realize that every aspect is just scripted - from the wrestling moves they perform in the ring to the outcome of the match. The wrestlers who appear to beat the hell out of each other during a match may actually be close friends as soon as they are behind the curtains. Well, there are a few cases where there's genuine animosity between the wrestlers when they break kayfabe (i.e. wrestling storyline)



I thought that wrestling was for real for a good reason, because in the late 80's to the early 90's, the WWE (then known as the WWF) was really secretive about the scripted nature of the show. In Hulk Hogan's autobiography, he narrates an incident where he was being questioned by police officers after he was asked to pull over. His companions, who were wrestlers portrayed as savages, couldn't verbally defend him because they were portrayed on TV without the power of speech. They were afraid of digressing from the storyline because of the sanctions that might be imposed on them. Here's another example - The Million Dollar Man, Ted Di Biase, lived luxuriously and extravagantly outside wrestling in order to stay in character. He would stay in the most luxurious hotels, ride in a limousine, and pay a huge amount for tips. All of these were done to maintain believability. 


The operational word here is 'character'. These wrestlers are athletes, but more than that, they are performers and actors. In the late 90's, as the careers of a younger generation of wrestlers like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Triple H soared, the WWE started to draw the line between their show and reality. They became more transparent to the public, and they started to break their characters when they mingled and interacted with the fans.


I'm 28 years old, and being a wrestling fan may sound really juvenile. I have heard a lot of jeers from my friends that wrestling is scripted and fake. I would be the first to admit that it is scripted, but it's not fake. Every match is well choreographed, from the the sound of the opening bell until the end. They even whisper to each other on what the next stunt is going to be. The referee also acts as a guide to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Those shots using a chair, sledge hammer, kendo sticks, ladders, and other weapons are for real (just ask Mick Foley who has been busted wide open several times in his career) Oh, and by the way, the blood that you see is on TV is also for real. That is caused by blading, when wrestlers sneak and 'blade' their foreheads to cause bleeding.  

Aside from the wrestling matches, the WWE is really about entertainment. You will cry, laugh, and cheer, as the story lines in the script involving different characters stir your emotions. Familiar themes like family feuds, betrayal, gang warfare, bitter rivalries, illicit affairs draw the audience closer into the product.


All movies and TV shows are scripted. Same banana, but more violent though. Wrestling is the only soap opera that I will always watch.