12 Days That Completely Killed Kayfabe

8. February 22, 2013 - Wayne Keown And Jake Hager Address The WWE Universe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwVEYS4mskM In early 2013, WWE repackaged Jack Swagger as an anti-immigration right wing radical, and brought Dutch Mantell into the company as his manager, Zeb Colter. It was the company's hope that the gimmick would get mainstream media coverage, and they were right - Fox News and insane "pundit" Glenn Beck criticized WWE, claiming that Swagger and Colter's characters were meant to parody the Tea Party movement. When Beck used the phrase "stupid wrestling people" to characterize the company, WWE fired back. Swagger and Colter cut a pre-recorded promo on Beck defending WWE and inviting him to Raw the following Monday - standard stuff. After the promo ended, though, the camera pulled back and revealed that Swagger and Colter were in front of a green screen. They relaxed their posture, and Colter went on to explain that what he just delivered was called a promo, and that it was all a form of entertainment. It didn't end there. Colter revealed his real name (Wayne Keown), Swagger's real name (Jake Hager), and explained that their feud with their friend Alberto Del Rio (whom he exposed as Jose Rodriguez) was all part of the storyline. It was surreal to see, and bizarre to think that anyone at WWE would think this would be of interest to anyone, fan or not. Nobody picked up the story, and soon the mainstream interest over Swagger and Colter faded.