Is WWE Unreal the promotion’s attempt to intentionally expose the workings of itself and the pro-wrestling industry?
Three things in life are certain: death; taxes; and learning that pro-wrestling is ‘fake’.
The pro-wrestling industry has been a smear target by mainstream media: that it’s ‘fake’; that none of the moves are ‘real’; that no actual damage is caused to the bodies of wrestlers; that it’s all just a show and nobody actually wins. There is some truth to this fact. Pro-wrestling matches are ‘fixed’: that means that the outcome of the match is pre-determined by the booker (person in charge) of the show. It is the job of the wrestlers to put on an entertaining show that seems genuine and believable enough, but that’s not to say nothing can possibly go wrong. Lots can go wrong.
Several stars, including John Cena, Triple H, and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, have retired due to health complications from their long careers in wrestling and the toll it has taken on their bodies. In this year’s Wrestlemania 42 in Las Vegas, Randy Orton was sidelined for several months due to a back injury. This type of injury has nearly forced him into retirement in the past.
Pro-wrestling may be an act, but it’s a dangerous act. ‘Kayfabe’ is a term in pro-wrestling that describes giving something that is scripted, the appearance of being real. The wrestlers are being dropped onto a ring surface that contains wood underneath, and are throwing and landing on top of one another. WWE has had to ban several moves from being performed – including the piledriver and punt kick – due to the severe risk of injury that it causes to wrestlers. Some of these moves are still brought out, but only for very rare and special occasions. The question is: with all of these injuries that have reduced the quality of life and physical performance for WWE athletes, how can you fake that? How is that unreal?
In July 2025, WWE premiered on Netflix its homemade documentary series, WWE Unreal. The premise of Unreal is to reveal the inner workings of WWE: how it produces matches at both the creative and physical level; the purpose of different match types and the physical effort that goes into performing each match; how the wrestlers balance life and work, and how they respond to physical injuries; etc.
There is something ironic, however, about the biggest promotion in the pro-wrestling industry trying to expose itself: WWE has been famous for trying to cover up the many scandals that mire it. This includes allegations of steroid supplying; sex trafficking allegations under the leadership of Vince McMahon; the ‘Montreal Screwjob’ which was done to hurt Bret Hart, who then left for WCW; and the death of Bret Hart’s brother, Owen Hart, in which WWE decided to continue the performance despite his death earlier in the event.
On top of that, WWE and its wrestlers have been very protective about the practice of pro-wrestling: in 1985, Hulk Hogan demonstrated a wrestling move after the interviewer, Richard Belzer, asked Hogan to demonstrate a move. Within seconds, Belzer’s body became limp and when Hogan let go, he fell to the floor, splitting his head open: Belzer would then go on to sue Hogan and WWE over the incident. This is not the only incident in which a wrestler has caused genuine harm to somebody during an interview, as they try to defend the ‘real’ appearance of pro-wrestling.
Pro-wrestling is scripted, but all that you see – the feuds and rivalries and teams, the hero versus villain relationships, the winning of championships, the show of strength and endurance by each wrestler – they want you to believe that it is real. The heels truly hate the babyfaces of the company. The wrestler you approve of really did deserve to win that title, because he really did put up a tough fight against his opponent. In the background of all this, the booker is pulling the strings, but you can’t see the strings and what direction they get pulled in.
This technical aspect of pro-wrestling is what makes it so enjoyable for so many people and allows both the viewers and the wrestlers to become emotionally involved in the storylines that drive the business. WWE Unreal is breaking that down. By showing you how the strings are pulled, how they decided to pull what strings and where, the illusion produced by kayfabe is destroyed. WWE Unreal and what it teaches makes it harder to suspend our disbelief that pro-wrestling is scripted. What we know isn’t real is what we want to believe: WWE Unreal is making it difficult for us to do this. When you watch a match, you will remember how the strings are pulled, and suddenly kayfabe becomes a lot less believable.
The role of kayfabe has been known about for many years, and while it might not be taken as seriously now, it nonetheless remains an important part of the pro-wrestling industry. Even if everybody knows that wrestling is scripted, everybody still wants to have an enjoyable and almost believable experience. Understanding kayfabe and how it is incorporated into the business is undoubtedly a useful aid in helping to appreciate the art of pro-wrestling, but perhaps WWE should dial back how much it reveals of its cards so that fans can enjoy the spectacle and illusion of pro-wrestling. We don’t want to know it’s real; we want to believe that it is real.
