10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Care About Kayfabe

Gall Levesque.

Joey Janela Kip Sabian
AEW

Some 24 years after the events of WCW SuperBrawl VI, at which Brian Pillman gleefully removed the first brick in the dam of onscreen kayfabe, we're not swimming in an ocean of atomised form; the mainstream product in the US is mostly a faithful interpretation of what always constituted professional wrestling, albeit self-referential in a way that infrequently conflates real-life failure with character weakness.

Worked shoot angles are aberrations mostly engulfed in and thus ruined by a certain irony; as soon as they tell you it's real, it becomes harder to believe. The old guard in meltdown over Pillman's transgression - and the Curtain Call - had little to fear. No fan felt betrayed at the revelation of an open secret, nor was this new storytelling form sustainable. There is a further irony, of course, in that those most protective of wrestling's sanctity are also those quickest to erode it, as if a different medium excuses them of their own, extremely pointless code.

The people largely still seek babyfaces and heels at war with stakes, hence why that is still sold as wrestling's flagship product. The talent mostly operates within kayfabe onscreen as a result - and it is very much YMMV as to whether or not transgressing upon it is good.

*Cartman voice*

Mostly...

10. Kenny Omega

Joey Janela Kip Sabian
AEW / Lee South

Some wrestling fans are peculiar.

It is as if they never quite shook the hero worship mentality conditioned in them to become fans in the first place, and those who stan J*m Cor**tte cannot think for themselves - nor even speak for themselves, looking at their pitiful attempts to lick his a*se.

I hate these cosplay wrasslers, too, Jim!

The existence of parody does not ruin that which is parodied. It is an asinine fallacy - imagine applying this take to film, and you might see how mental you are - regurgitated by morons because Corny takes wrestling a bit too seriously. Kenny Omega wrestled a nine year-old girl because it sparked the boundless creativity within him, and the match is a genuine triumph, a piss funny blend of unconscionable cruelty and, if you allow yourself to get on its wavelength, halfway convincing comeuppance. He didn't harm anybody's career, nor undermine his peers in a promotion with stricter rules and a more trad audience.

A man put on a comedy show, and somebody of influence campaigned for him to lose his job because he didn't agree with the content.

Apply that to stand-up, and some of you knackers would whinge "Snowflake!" at the critic quicker than it would melt.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!