Is WWE WrestleMania 39 acting and staged, real, or is it a mixture? Exploring the age-old question ahead of this year’s Showcase of the Immortals.
It’s finally here! The Show of Shows is descending on Hollywood for the two-night wrestling extravaganza known the world over as WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 39 takes place on the 1 and 2 April 2023, live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home of NFL teams the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
It is the WWE’s flagship PPV event that attracts millions of viewers from all over the world. The Greatest Spectacle in Sports Entertainment has a mouth-watering card, headlined by WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.
However, the age-old question remains. Is WWE WrestleMania acting and staged, real, or is it a mixture? Let’s explore the complicated answer.
Is WWE WrestleMania 39 acting and staged or real?
Ever since the WWE became a global brand there’s been scepticism about its true nature. Fans on one side of the argument have maintained that WWE – and WrestleMania – is acting and staged, while others claim it’s real.
The truth, however, remains somewhere in the middle. WWE WrestleMania is fake in the sense that everything is entirely scripted.
Unlike any other ‘sport’, the results of WrestleMania are pre-decided and pre-determined way before the event, with professional script writers hired by the WWE to craft out storylines.
Kayfabe and the idea of sports entertainment
Kayfabe is a term often used in professional wrestling which refers to the fact of convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic.
This also refers to wrestlers staying in character and keeping up the pretence that in-ring feuds are real when actually they’re just part of the storyline.
Importantly, though, the WWE has always positioned itself as ‘sports entertainment’ rather than just a sport. It’s really a mixture of theatre, improv, TV drama, soap opera, sport, stage combat, stunts, reality telly all rolled into one unique thing.
The idea is to create as much drama and as big of a spectacle as possible, with the sole intention to entertain the audience. That’s why wrestlers often ‘sell’ an opponent’s move in order make it look more painful than it actually is.
Read Related Also: Spotify's pet playlist feature is the perfect way to bond with your furry friend
In reality though, wrestlers have honed these moves and perfected choreographed sequences before the actual match takes place in order to minimise damage.
In this sense, the WWE, and WrestleMania, is acting and staged.
However, WWE WrestleMania is clearly also real
However, saying that would be to simplify and reduce wrestling to less than what is actually is. WWE WrestleMania is very real in the sense that the action is completely legitimate; the wrestlers really are performing dangerous manoeuvres, jumps and throws that they have perfected over time.
The blood, sweat, bruises, breaks and injuries are also very much real, and it takes supreme skill to pull off punches, kicks, and clotheslines without actually injuring an opponent.
This, of course, can sometimes go wrong. One of the most famous examples of this is when The Undertaker threw Mankind, better known as Mick Foley, from the top of the 16-foot high cell to the announcer’s table on the floor during a ‘Hell in a Cell’ match. Foley suffered a dislodged tooth and separated shoulder and the long-term affect it had on his career can’t be understated.
There’s also no doubting that WWE level wrestlers are incredible athletes at the very pinnacle of their game. They are regularly performing high-flying moves that the average person simply wouldn’t be able to do – or would seriously hurt themselves if they tried.
While the outcomes may be predetermined, there’s no doubting the toll that wrestlers regularly put on their bodies.
In conclusion: WWE WrestleMania is mixture of both
It’s a complicated question and in truth, WWE WrestleMania is acting, staged, and real, all at the same time. Crucially, though, the fans are very much aware of this delicate balancing act, and buy into the storylines because it’s so entertaining.
Having the outcomes of a match already decided doesn’t detract from the drama of a match, nor does it take away from the skill and athleticism the wrestlers display.
It is therefore useful to see wrestling through the prism of sports entertainment rather than it being just a sport.
The affection and love for the WWE that millions of fans have is real enough and ultimately that’s all that counts.
In other news, Is WrestleMania 39 free on Peacock? Streaming options, PPV costs and more
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘
fbq(‘init’, ‘677672980820926’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
