10 Times WWE Stars Broke Kayfabe With REAL Emotions
Nothing tells a better story than the human face.
Professional wrestlers are, for better or worse, actors. Very tough, athletic, half-naked actors.
Their ultimate goal is to tell a story through matches, promos, backstage segments. Fans know that these supernatural beings who can summon lightning, tip ambulances and give birth to hands in their 80s aren't real. But they have to do their best to convince them they are, like any good movie, TV drama or sitcom. While on camera, the façade must remain.
Not every actor can be Daniel Day-Lewis though.
Every now and then, as is the risk with live TV, mistakes happen, the façade occasionally drops, and the viewers get a glimpse of the man/woman underneath the lycra. It could have been that a mistake was made, circumstances in their personal life, or they could be totally overwhelmed by the atmosphere or the task before them. After all, there are over 40 muscles in the face alone, and they can tell a better story than any script could possibly do.
This list isn't about superstars who got angry at a botch, as there's already a great list of that here. Instead, these are moments where mask slips off of our Shangos and our Kaitlyns, and we get small dose of Charles Wright and Celeste Bonin.
10. Austin Aries - Extreme Rules 2017
Once one of the shining stars of the independent scene and one of the biggest names in TNA, Austin Aries didn't have the best time in WWE.
After a spell in NXT, Aries was brought over to the main roster as one of the faces of the cruiserweight division, competing on both Raw and 205 Live. Mainly feuding with Cruiserweight Champion Neville, his matches were some of the only times that the Cruiserweight title match made it to the main show of a PPV.
Aries tried multiple times to win the title but failed each time, last losing in a submission match at Extreme Rules 2017. This was his final WWE match, and judging by the face he pulled he probably knew that. At the time, Aries was not a popular character with the writing staff and, contrary to original reports that he'd asked for his release, he was in fact let go as creative had no plans for him.
The look on Aries face told the audience at home everything they needed to know, smirking straight down the camera as if to say "yep, I'm done here". He returned to TNA, now Impact, the following year.