For many years, wrestlers and promoters viewed kayfabe as a principle they were responsible for upholding, in order to keep the nature of the business a secret. Throughout the many decades this convention was followed, people in the business thought, or at least acted as if, those on the outside thought the product was a shoot.
Realistically, suspicions around professional wrestling being a work had been around for almost as long as professional wrestling itself. Vince McMahon's admission of the WWF being "Sports Entertainment" to the New Jersey Athletic Commission in 1989, was more directed at the avoidance of incurring taxes that came with running true "sporting events", as opposed to pulling back the curtain for fans.
In 2018, no one is in the dark with regards to pre-determined match outcomes. Inside knowledge has become common currency for more wrestling fans than ever before. The internet, and later social media, have exponentially increased the circulation of this currency. These days, fans are just as likely, if not more likely, to be debating the booking of a wrestling show, as opposed to discussing the results.
Why not then, re-think the very fundamental nature of kayfabe? Instead of using kayfabe to protect the nature of the business, a more appropriate use of kayfabe would be to enhance fans' suspension of disbelief, and thus perhaps, their enjoyment of the product. No doubt I enjoy watching Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live on a weekly basis, but, as an old-school "wrasslin'" fan, I would enjoy it even more if the WWE Superstars put forward more effort with staying in character, and keeping "heel"-"face" alignments. Rather than using social media to allow fans to see them "in real life", these platforms present the opportunity to offer fans more “in character" or "worked" content than ever before. Imagine seeing the antics of Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy via Snapchat, or Bobby Lashley posting a workout photo to Instagram, with a caption about how he was training harder than ever to take the tile from Brock Lesnar. In my view, things of that nature would make the millions of Facebook and Twitter followers more inclined to tune in to the show.
Would this rethinking of Kayfabe…work? I think so, and that's a shoot.