There is not a singleWWEfan over the age of 12 in 2025 who believes in kayfabe. When we hear the inevitable “You know that’s not real?” we’re not even arguing anymore, we simply scoff and move on to enjoy our favorite form of entertainment. However, while the scripted nature of pro wrestling is an open part of the business nowadays, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should stop “believing”. The magic of this form of entertainment is that unparalleled capacity to suspend disbelief, and yet,WWE’s new show,Unreal, promises to destroy what makes pro wrestling unique.
Announced duringWrestleMania 41, the first trailer forWWE: Unrealdropped duringthe episode ofMonday Night Rawthat aired after the biggest PLE of the year. While its importance may have been lost during a night full of surprises and returns,WWE: Unrealpromises to do exactly what it says in the title, andtell the entire world just how fake wrestling is. Of course, everybody already knows that, butknowingandtellingare very different things. Just like with magic, once you explain the trick, the show loses much of its appeal.
WWE: Unreal Will Expose the Pro Wrestling Business Like Never Before
The New Show Will Lift the Curtain on What Goes on in the Backstage
Ever since he took over the creative side of the company,Triple H boldly embraced the scripted nature of WWE, treating the product like a television show rather than a sports spectacle. This approach yielded great results, as WWE focused on telling great, engaging stories that made the best use of the episodic television medium, marking a clear difference with the week-to-week booking of the McMahon era. However, even the man who coined the expression “sports entertainment” was wary of exposing the business too much. Vince understood that, once you show the trick, magic is no longer such, so he kept what was going on behind the curtains away from the public.
Now,Triple H has decided to expose everything. In an unprecedented move,WWE: Unrealpromises to bring viewers not just backstage but into the writers' room. The trailer shows the WWE Superstars rehearsing before a match, Triple H telling Jey Uso that he will “strap a rocket to his back,” and even a referee telling the people backstage through her microphone that Cody Rhodes is OK after a dangerous spot: “everybody is OK, he’s selling.” This last statement is particularly indicative of the issues this show may cause: if I am told that Cody’s pain and suffering after falling from a ladder are just acting, will I still be that invested in that spot or the entire match?
The Magic of Wrestling Is What Makes It Worth Watching
A Unique Form of Suspension of Disbelief Should Not Be Taken Away
Every adult wrestling fan has been asked at least once, “Why do you watch this?” While the answer is different for everyone, I think a big, shared reason is that wrestling can suspend disbelief like no other form of entertainment can. Thanks to its roots in “kayfabe” (the pretense that wrestling was not scripted that was held in place until the 1990s) and its nature as a live show, pro wrestling, and the WWE brand more than anyone else, can get fans involved and invested in what they are watching more than any movie or TV show ever could. With wrestling, we don’t have to make an effort to believe that the characters are alive and breathing: they are there, in front of us. The best wrestling stories often blur the lines between reality and fiction, building on real-life animosity or genuine issues.
What happens to this magic, however, once we see Triple H discuss with his writing team what to do with a certain Superstar over the course of the next year? It’s like watching the behind-the-scenes special content of a moviebeforethe movie itself: is that going to improve the watching experience or detract from it? It’s also quite weird that this show comes at a time when WWE is investing a lot in its storytelling as the driving force of its product. Ifthe result is that people will be less engaged in what they see on their screens,WWE: Unrealcould be a massive regret for the company. TheWrestleMania XLdocumentary was not that well received, after all (but The Rock’s statements had much to do with that).
This is a thin and dangerous line to walk on. Wrestling fans like their tongue-in-cheek references to the scripted nature of the product, but they also like to be “fooled” and get invested in what they are watching. Again, it’s no coincidence that the most successful storylines in pro wrestling history were always rooted in real life. WWE is surely taking a bold step with this newUnrealshow, but Triple H may be taking things too far with this unprecedented exposure of the business. After all, “It’s still real to me” is more than just a joke.
