7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (May 5)
1. Kayfabe Was Dead; Now It's Buried
On Sunday, Braun Strowman was booked to not only defeat Roman Reigns cleanly, but to bloody him in WWE's first non-"accidental" blade job in aeons. This followed weeks of ultra-violent terrorism, in which Strowman essentially attempted to murder Reigns on flagship television.
Judging by the reaction to their main event, the ploy paid off. The intense and brutal match came across as a major deal. It was easy to get immersed in. But, later in the week, Titus O'Neil posted a picture of Reigns and Strowman on a Roman Coliseum jolly, undermining months of storyline in a literal instant.
Kayfabe has been dead for decades. The days of Jim Duggan getting fired for travelling with a heel are over - but the entire industry is predicated on suspension of disbelief. Fans were in on the con even decades before that fateful 1987 night, but they conspired and collaborated with promotors to maintain the pretence because they wanted to believe in it. The main event on Sunday worked as well as it did because the obviously manufactured tension felt palpable. Now, it has dissipated into nothing.
Actors pose with one another on film sets all the time, but pro wrestling isn't the movie industry. It requires a far more stringent approach to make it work because it's more patently phoney.
Even WWE, who do little elsewhere to present a realistic product, seem to agree that O'Neil's baffling social media activity was senseless. All posts were removed, but the damage had already been done.