kayfabe

Kayfabe is the professional wrestling term for the portrayal of scripted events and rivalries as if they are real. It involves wrestlers and promoters maintaining the illusion of genuine competition, emotions, and conflicts during matches and public appearances to engage the audience. Essentially, it’s the theatrical art of storytelling within wrestling, where the line between entertainment and reality is carefully kept blurred to preserve the illusion and enhance viewer experience. While it’s more openly acknowledged today that wrestling is staged, the concept of kayfabe is foundational to maintaining the spectacle’s authenticity for fans.