10 Wrestling Messages Hidden In Plain Sight

Everything you're watching is real, but what exactly are you watching?

Brock Lesnar Undertaker
WWE

We are long past the period where all of the mechanisms that make pro wrestling function are kept secretive, but that era was dead long before Vince McMahon allegedly riddled the corpse with bullets.

The WWF owner didn't kill kayfabe when he had his wrestling show reclassified as Sports Entertainment in order to avoid some tax in 1989, but only because he was ahead of a generation that didn't really care. The time of a response other than "...so?" after the inevitable "you know it's fake, right" had already passed, with a generation of young fans discovering the dayglo World Wrestling Federation being told by friends and relatives as they watched that it wasn't on the up-and-up.

These were fans that couldn't get enough regardless and, in large numbers, embraced the every version of the wrestling internet that afforded them yet more secrets and lies that focused more on the show behind the show rather than the product itself. As wrestling had its second global boom in the late 1990s,1998's "Pro Wrestling's Greatest Secrets" special was panned for being painfully behind the times in the things it supposedly revealed.

These supposedly illicit revelations only added to the enjoyment of the theatre, if they weren't already known. The tricks of the trade are still there now, even if a Kevin Dunn-directed cameraman isn't zooming in an out of it in a seizure-inducing frenzy...

10. Big Show's Main Squeeze

Brock Lesnar Undertaker
WWE

A sweet one this.

The Big Show appears to have battled a number of trust issues over his strange and occasionally excellent WWE career, turning over 33 times since debuting at St Valentines Day Massacre 1999 to help Vince McMahon in his bloody steel cage battle with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Some switches have been down to the actions of others, but just as many have been because of his own questionable judgment or bizarre indecision. One can only hope the family he's taken in for Horsin' Around-adjacent Netflix sitcom 'The Big Show Show' are mindful of his formerly fickle nature - he's not been particularly reliable on the other show he's starred in.

Thankfully, his personal life hasn't been quite as tumultuous, and he's been telling us so almost every time he enters for battle. Wight's been married to Bess Katramados for 18 years, and often tacitly sends her an "I Love You" on screen with three small squeezes on his arm.

Maybe he is a nice guy after all-annnnnd he's turned again.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett