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105-731: Steve Keirn made his professional wrestling debut in 1972, working mostly in the Southern territories of the United States. Keirn often found himself working as a tag-team, most notably alongside Mike Graham in Championship Wrestling from Florida. Keirn had joined the Continental Wrestling Association in 1981 as a face and held both singles and tag-team gold. Stan Lane made his professional debut in 1978 and like Keirn had worked mainly in

210-563: A Loser Leaves Town match to wrap up a storyline in the specific territory. At times a wrestler will make a surprise debut for a company, with the storyline presenting that the wrestler in question does not actually work for the company. In NXT , kayfabe is often broken post-match when a wrestler is promoted to the main roster, with the rest of the roster applauding them, regardless of storyline relationships. Before then, these breaks are apparent when they are promoted from OVW , or when they retired. Most notably, The Undertaker broke kayfabe as

315-507: A dentist . Heels can also be other characters held in low esteem by the public such as a repossession agent (a role played by Barry Darsow as Repo Man). Heels typically inspire boos from the audience and often employ underhanded tactics, such as cheating and exploiting technicalities in their fighting strategies, or using overly aggressive styles to cause (the perception of) excess pain or injury to their opponents. A wrestler may change from face to heel (or vice versa) in an event known as

420-486: A turn , or gradually transition from one to the other over the course of a long storyline. Wrestlers like André the Giant , Roddy Piper , Hulk Hogan , and "Macho Man" Randy Savage could work across the entire spectrum and often gain new fans as a result of each "turn". Matches are usually organized between a heel and a face, but the distinction between the two types may be blurred as a given character's storyline reaches

525-468: A DVD about Dusty Rhodes , which was released on June 6, 2006. He made several appearances on WWE 24/7's Legends of Wrestling series as part of a panel which discussed famous pro wrestlers of the 1980s. He also hosted classic episodes of Championship Wrestling from Florida on WWE 24/7 Classics . Graham's father was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, with Mike representing him at

630-535: A book from Vince McMahon argue that strategies of components of the Republican party closest to Donald Trump can be explained by kayfabe. An example of kayfabe being broken outside of professional wrestling was in 2004, during the I Love Bees alternative reality game used to promote Halo 2 , when one of the calltakers who voiced the AI that had hacked the website in the game's storyline broke character to tell

735-479: A car drinking and using cocaine . The first public acknowledgment by a major insider of the staged nature of professional wrestling came in 1989 when World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey State Senate that wrestling was not a competitive sport. The admission on McMahon's part was to avoid interference from state athletic commissions and to avoid paying

840-607: A character with an audience, as occurred when the audience widely rejected a traditional "face" character, Rocky Maivia, who transitioned the character with huge success to a "heel" as The Rock. The divide can also be separated by fan demographics: where older male fans may tend to cheer for heels and boo the faces, kids and female fans may cheer for faces and boo the heels, as it happened with wrestlers like John Cena and Roman Reigns . Many storylines make use of kayfabe romantic relationships between two performers. Very often, both participants have other real-life relationships, and

945-495: A code word of sorts for maintaining this "reality" within the direct or indirect presence of the general public. Kayfabe, in the United States, is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions , such as feuds , angles , and gimmicks in a manner similar to other forms of fictional entertainment. In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe would be likened to an actor breaking character on-camera. Since wrestling

1050-548: A competitive sport, despite being presented as authentic. Initially, people "in the business" (either wrestlers or those working behind the scenes) used the term kayfabe as a code among those in the wrestling profession, discussing matters in public without revealing the scripted nature. As a concept, kayfabe involves both the fact that matches are scripted and that wrestlers portray characters for their shows. Unlike actors who portray their characters only when on set or on stage, professional wrestlers often stay "in character" outside

1155-406: A fake injury as part of a storyline or creating a story line reason to explain the absence of someone due to a legitimate injury. Sometimes a wrestler will be kept off shows to demonstrate the severity of what happened to them previously as part of a story line. Prior to the spread of the internet, this was a common tactic used to explain the absence of a wrestler when said wrestler would tour Japan or

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1260-738: A few. In December 1990, the Fabulous Ones reunited in their old stomping grounds in Memphis, which was now known as the United States Wrestling Association , this time with Jim Cornette as their manager. On January 7, 1991, The Fabs won the USWA Tag Team Championship from Tony Anthony and Doug Gilbert . They held on to the titles for approximately three weeks before a match against Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett got out of control and

1365-464: A heel because he was still not being recognized by his peers or the crowd. He also revealed his legitimate injury history and his separation from his first wife , and they divorced in 2008. Edge , Lita , and Matt Hardy engaged in a feud in mid-2005, after Lita had cheated on Hardy with Edge (who was friends with Hardy), which resulted in Matt being legitimately fired due to social media misconduct. He

1470-542: A heel, as the storyline was changed on short notice. This is also true for the members of the Raw roster that were faces at the time, when they also congratulated her on the news. Rollins was not included as he was a heel at the time of the announcement. On May 12, 2020, Sami Zayn 's WWE Intercontinental Championship was stripped due to him refraining from competing during the COVID-19 pandemic . On June 11, 2024, Ricochet

1575-431: A kayfabe on-screen authority figure), and escalated to a point where Daniel Bryan legitimately left Talking Smack because The Miz gave a shoot interview that got personal. There have been several examples of breaking kayfabe throughout wrestling history, although exactly what constitutes "breaking" is not clearly defined. It is rare for kayfabe to be dispensed with totally and the events acknowledged as scripted. Often

1680-533: A man that Bobby Eaton was familiar with, having feuded with him extensively in Memphis – Stan Lane. When Lane joined Eaton to form the new Midnight Express it put the final nail in the coffin of the Fabulous Ones, ending their 5-year run. Keirn, meanwhile, would run a wrestling school in Florida, which he trained future superstars like Mike Awesome , Dennis Knight , Diamond Dallas Page , and Dustin Rhodes , to name

1785-469: A modern professional wrestling show is to some extent scripted, or "kayfabe", even though at times it is portrayed as real-life, where it was once portrayed as real rivalries being conveniently settled by unscripted wrestling matches. Kayfabe was fiercely maintained for decades with the intent to deceive fans, but with the advent of the Internet wrestling community , and the sports entertainment movement,

1890-531: A month as they lost the titles to Bobby Eaton and the Dream Machine on November 22 but would regain them from the makeshift team only a week later on November 29. After dealing with Jimmy Hart's stable the Fabulous Ones suddenly got a whole different team challenging them for the gold. Luke Williams and Jonathan Boyd ( The Sheepherders ) had entered the CWA in the fall of 1982 and soon came head to head with

1995-414: A mysterious Deadman, as he hugged and kneeled down to offer his respects to Ric Flair on his retirement ceremony. Since then, Daniel Bryan's rivals (notably The Miz and Brock Lesnar ) broke kayfabe in interviews and on Twitter applauding his decisions to retire, although their rivalry resumed after Daniel Bryan returned as Smackdown General Manager (the position of "General Manager" itself being

2100-492: A number of retired professional wrestlers, attended. Kayfabe Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In professional wrestling , kayfabe ( / ˈ k eɪ f eɪ b / ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. The term kayfabe has evolved to also become

2205-407: A peak or becomes more complicated. In recent years, several wrestlers became characters that were neither faces nor heels, but somewhere in between—or alternating between both—earning them the term " tweener ", reflecting the rise in popular culture of the concept of the antihero ; such characters often display the underhand tactics and aggression of a traditional heel, but do so in ways sympathetic to

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2310-594: A road agent for World Championship Wrestling . Along with the likes of Paul Orndorff , Pez Whatley and DeWayne Bruce , Graham also worked as a trainer in WCW as part of the WCW Power Plant . At Slamboree 1993 , Mike represented his deceased father when he was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame . He was reportedly responsible for causing Chris Benoit , Eddie Guerrero , Dean Malenko , and Perry Saturn to leave

2415-444: A row between September 5 and October 12. The Fabulous Ones won what would turn out to be their last Southern Tag Team Championship on October 12, their 15th Southern Title all together. Few realized that an era in Memphis wrestling was ending when Bill Dundee and Dutch Mantel beat the Fabulous Ones for the titles on November 11. On April 19, 1986 the Fabulous Ones participated in the first ever Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup held in

2520-648: A series of unsuccessful challenges for the Express’ Southern Tag Team Championship . Once the Midnight Express lost their titles the Fabulous Ones started to gain victories over the trio both in regular tag and in 8 man tag team matches. On October 25, 1982 Lane and Keirn defeated Bobby Eaton and Sweet Brown Sugar to win the Southern Tag Team Championship, the first titles that the Fabulous Ones held as

2625-501: A storyline or kayfabe. The term kayfabe itself can be used in a variety of contexts, as an adjective, for instance, when referring to a "kayfabe interview", where the person being interviewed remains "in character", or when describing someone as a "kayfabe girlfriend", implying that she is playing a role, but is not actually romantically involved with that particular person. A person can also be said to be "kayfabing" someone, by presenting storylines and rivalries as real. According to

2730-401: A team. By this time the Fabulous Ones were a major draw in the CWA and with the Fabulous Ones holding the main tag team title in the promotion they only got more over. The Fabulous Ones’ popularity came not just from their wrestling skills but also from their charisma and sex appeal that made them especially popular with the female fans. Lane and Keirn’s first run with the titles lasted just under

2835-481: A three-time state AAU champion and a Junior Olympics champion at 198 pounds. Graham was a state champion in the 154-pound weight class and, as a sophomore, defeated senior Richard Blood (later to become Ricky Steamboat ) in the finals of a district meet. He left the University of Tampa to turn professional against the wishes of his mother Lucy. Mike was also an accomplished powerlifter who set state records in

2940-442: Is performed in front of a live audience, whose interaction with the show is crucial to its success , kayfabe can be compared to the fourth wall in acting, since hardly any conventional fourth wall exists to begin with. Because of this lack of conventional fourth wall, wrestlers were once expected to maintain their characters even out of the ring, and in other aspects of their lives that could be made public. In general, everything in

3045-686: Is supported by Chael Sonnen , or the phrase could be the Latin cavēre for "to keep cave" which is slang for "to keep care" or "beware" and also the origin for the French term qui vive to be vigilant before battle. The phrase "keep cavey" was also used by Jews in East London between World War I and World War II which could have been corrupted to the current form by US promoters and wrestlers at that time which where from Eastern Europe . While professional wrestling has been staged, or planned, from

3150-649: The Oxford English Dictionary , the earliest known written evidence of the word "kayfabe" is from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Yearbook for 1988, although the term is believed to be much older. Though the origin is not known with certainty, varied sources offer some possibilities. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary kayfabe could also be carny -speak for "be fake" which

3255-659: The Axis powers of World War II and Communist countries during the Cold War era, were commonly used in North American wrestling as heel-defining traits. Another angle of a heel could be approached from a position of authority; examples include Big Boss Man , a corrections officer; Mike Rotunda as Irwin R. Schyster, a federal tax collector; Jacques Rougeau wearing RCMP -inspired dress as The Mountie; and Glenn Jacobs (who would later become famous as Kane ) as Isaac Yankem,

Fabulous Ones - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-587: The New Orleans, LA Superdome but lost in the first round to The Fantastics ( Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers ), a team that oddly enough was a carbon copy ripoff of them!. On April 20 the Fabulous Ones was part of “WrestleRock”, A stadium show held at the MetroDome in Minneapolis, MN . Keirn and Lane lost to the team of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham (who previously worked as The U.S. Express in

3465-738: The Road Warriors but left the promotion after the Road Warriors went against Verne Gagne's orders and did not drop the AWA world tag team titles to the Fabs when they were told to. After failing to catch on in Texas and leaving the AWA, the Fabulous Ones returned ”home” to Memphis and were immediately thrust into the tag team title chase. On October 8 the Fabs defeated first the Nightmares then

3570-728: The WWF ). They then started working for Championship Wrestling from Florida , the territory where both men had made their debut. In a turn of events that mirrored their time with SWCW the Fabulous Ones “won” the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship in a fictitious tournament that supposedly took place in Portland, OR . Just like in the SWCW the team supposedly beat the Sheepherders in

3675-523: The "break" may be implied or through an allusion (for example calling a wrestler by their real name) and standards tend to vary as to what actually constitutes a break. In the WWF during and after the Attitude Era , the line between kayfabe and reality was often blurred. With the growth of the industry and its exposure on the Internet and DVD and videos , kayfabe may be broken more regularly. Whereas in

3780-445: The "fun loving pretty boy" gimmick but none more successfully than The Rockers , a team that started out in the AWA as the "Midnight Rockers" but soon rose to national stardom in the WWF. In ECW in 1996, Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie did an affectionate parody of the Fabulous Ones. They were also a main inspiration for other promotions. WCW created the team of The West Hollywood Blondes , while WWE modeled several teams after

3885-540: The Dirty White Boys before losing to Rick Rude and King Kong Bundy in a one night tournament to crown new Southern Tag Team Champions. Keirn and Lane soon got their revenge by winning their 8th Southern Tag Team title from Bundy and Rude on October 22. The team held on to the gold for a little over 6 weeks before losing it to the team of Don Bass and Roger Smith, also known as the Interns. On February 17, 1985

3990-412: The Fabulous Ones for Southern Tag Team Championship on June 17, 1985. The team was soon stripped of the titles due to excessive cheating but had the titles returned to them when Boyd and Morgan threatened to sue CWA management over the incident. Instead of taking the titles from the Sheepherders by stripping them the Fabulous Ones took the Southern tag team titles from them the old fashioned way – 4 times in

4095-591: The Fabulous Ones regained the Southern Tag-Team championship from the Interns before launching into a feud with the PYT Express (Koko Ware and Norvell Austin), a team that like the Fabulous Ones played on the “Pretty Boy” gimmick. On April 15 the PYT Express won the gold through underhanded means and continued to fend off the Fabulous Ones through various “shady” tactics until they were stripped of

4200-516: The Fabulous Ones was for them to dispatch the New York Dolls, then turn heel on Lawler and Dundee and be managed by Jim Cornette , but because of the overwhelming popularity of Lane and Keirn those plans were quickly changed. Their first feud was against Jimmy Hart ’s team of “Dream Machine” Troy Graham and Rick McGraw . Hart countered the promotional push of the Fabulous Ones by producing similar videos for Graham and McGraw – dubbing them

4305-535: The Fabulous Ones. The Dicks ( Chad Dick and James Dick ), The Heart Throbs , Well Dunn , and the team of Billy and Chuck were all inspired by the Fabulous Ones. In recent times, videos of The Fabulous Ones have become running gags on the WWE online comedy show Are You Serious? , where co-host Josh Mathews often cites them as the precursor to Road Dogg 's tag team, the New Age Outlaws . They have also been

Fabulous Ones - Misplaced Pages Continue

4410-417: The Fabulous Ones. The Fabulous Ones / Sheepherder feud stands as one of the most memorable and bloody feuds. A feud that would rage on in several promotions between 1982 and 1987. The “pretty boy”, well polished Fabulous Ones and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders made for the perfect opponents and repeatedly drew big gates all over the country. The matches started out pretty evenly with the Fabulous Ones and

4515-504: The Florida US Tag Team title to Kareem Muhammad and Hacksaw Higgins, the Fabulous Ones left once again. After dropping the Florida titles and the promotion folding briefly Keirn and Lane returned to the territory that they were most successful in, Memphis. In Memphis they once again became entangled in a feud with the Sheepherders in a rivalry that up until this point seemed like it would never end. In what would turn out to

4620-592: The Moondogs won the Southern tag-team title in their usual brutal fashion but were unable to keep the titles for long as the Fabulous Ones regained the titles in an equally brutal match only 3 weeks later. After disposing of the Moondogs the Fabulous Ones began to feud with a team they had faced early on in their career, Bobby Eaton and Duke Myers. Jimmy Hart’s team won the Southern Tag-Team Title but did not hold them for long before they ended up around

4725-406: The Sheepherders splitting the decisions but soon turned brutal and often without a definite winner. In December, 1982 the Sheepherders won the Southern Tag Team Championship from Lane and Keirn which only turned the intensity of the matches up a notch. Between late December and Mid February the two teams traded the belts back and forth 4 times with the Fabulous Ones ending up with possession of them in

4830-522: The Southern regions. Lane had come into CWA as a heel in late 1981 but turned face in early 1982 feuding with his former manager Jimmy Hart and his stable of wrestlers. Keirn and Lane were first brought together in early 1982. Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett decided to give the two ”Pretty boys” a big push right off the bat, shooting a couple of music videos starring Lane and Keirn set to ZZ Top ’s " Sharp Dressed Man " and Billy Squier ’s " Everybody Wants You " while wearing top hats, sequin tuxedos and

4935-410: The audience, or within the confines of some internal code e.g. only fighting obvious heel characters, criticizing authority figures. Particularly successful tweeners can find over time that they are enthusiastically adopted as "faces" by the audience without changing their tweener or antihero characterization e.g. Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels . Despite the wrestlers' character settings,

5040-544: The bench press. Michael Gossett started wrestling in 1972 in his father's Championship Wrestling from Florida , which was a National Wrestling Alliance territory. He was trained by his father, Boris Malenko and Hiro Matsuda . He would often tag team with his father upon his arrival, but also formed a successful tag team with Kevin Sullivan . Sullivan eventually turned on him to form his "Satanic cult", The Army of Darkness. After getting turned on, Graham teamed with

5145-699: The ceremony and the following night at WrestleMania XXIV . Graham then competed in a Legends Battle Royal won by Roddy Piper for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on January 29, 2011. He also held a weekly radio show called Talking Wrestling with Mike Graham. His former tag team partner Kevin Sullivan was the last ever guest in his radio show, recalling a chilling phone call where Mike was emotional and told Kevin he loved him; he killed himself six days later. In addition to his wrestling career, Graham also competed in offshore power boat racing. In 1993, Graham throttled Kiely Motorsports' 35' Offshore Class C catamaran to multiple championship finishes: Graham maintained position as

5250-437: The company for the WWF, granting their releases. In the early 2000s, Graham was a road agent for the short-lived Xcitement Wrestling Federation and for Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling . Graham defeated his arch rival Kevin Sullivan at WrestleReunion 3 on September 10, 2005. He made occasional appearances for the revived Florida Championship Wrestling. Mike Graham worked with World Wrestling Entertainment in early 2006, on

5355-476: The crowd and commentators know if the wrestlers are legitimately injured in serious or dangerous spots. The injured wrestler can squeeze the opponent or referee within a short time frame before giving thumbs up or wave to the crowd, if possible. If they cannot do so in a timely manner, the referee will cross their arms above their head to signal for medical help, often ending the match. The signal has been used as part of kayfabe in order to create drama partway through

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5460-399: The crowd may not react accordingly. This may be due to booking issues or a particular crowd's tendency to react positively to heels, and negatively (or at least in an indifferent manner) to faces. A strong audience reaction against the original push of a character can occasionally lead to booking a "turn" where the character begins to act in line with the audience's reaction; this can help reset

5565-521: The crowd. Faces usually win their matches on the basis of their technical skills and are sometimes portrayed as underdogs to enhance the story. Heels are villainous or antagonistic characters, whose personalities are crafted to elicit a negative response from the audience. They often embrace traditionally negative traits such as narcissism , egomania , unprompted rage, sadism , and general bitterness. Though not as prevalent today, xenophobic ethnic and racial stereotypes, in particular, those inspired by

5670-443: The distinction between fact and fiction and giving the audience complicity in creating the spectacle. The characters assumed by wrestlers can be distinguished into two alignments: faces and heels . Faces, short for "babyfaces", are hero -type characters whose personalities are crafted to elicit the support of the audience through traits such as humility , patriotism , a hard-working nature, determination, and reciprocal love of

5775-440: The duo competed in the “Best of Memphis” Tag-Team tournament which they won by beating Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert in the finals. Since then the Fabulous Ones only reunite on special occasions. Keirn retired from active competition in 2001, after a tour with New Japan Pro-Wrestling , while Lane retired in 2008. The Fabulous Ones have often been credited with being the innovators of the "Pretty Boy" gimmick for tag teams and one of

5880-718: The early 1990s, Vince McMahon responded via a series of videotaped comments defending his company and employees, and several full-page advertisements rebutting the allegations appeared in WWF Magazine and the New York Times . In the Reality Era (2014 and onwards, specifically after WrestleMania XXX ) and the era of social media, kayfabe is often broken when wrestlers go on tour. Feuding stars in storylines can be seen being civil to each other when they are not wrestling. Off-ring persona can be strikingly different from

5985-919: The early 21st century, this kayfabe practice has given way to reality in the WWE , largely due to the creation of the reality television program Total Divas where four " legit " (legally binding) weddings have occurred: Natalya and Tyson Kidd , Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan , Naomi and Jimmy Uso , and Eva Marie and her fiancé Jonathan. In TNA , after American Wolves disbanded, Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards and their "legit" wives, Alisha Edwards and Angelina Love-Richards wrestled against each other. Tag teams of wrestlers, who may or may not look alike, are often presented as relatives, though they are not actually related. Examples include The Brothers of Destruction ( The Undertaker and Kane ), The Holly Cousins ( Hardcore Holly , Crash Holly , and Molly Holly ) and The Dudley Brothers . The "Brother" tag team concept

6090-581: The end. On March 28 the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the CWA giving the Fabulous Ones ( Kayfabe ) credit for running them out of Memphis. After the feud with the Sheepherders ended the CWA sought to copy the success of that feud by having the Fabulous Ones face another team in the same mold as the Sheepherders: The Moondogs , in this case Rex and Moondog Spot . On April 4

6195-650: The feud when they are normally heels in other feuds and storylines. On May 10, 2020, Asuka won the Money In The Bank briefcase , which normally would allow her to compete against WWE Raw Women's Champion up to a calendar year from the day she won the briefcase. This would have continued a feud with Becky Lynch , who held the title for 399 days, but surrendered the title to Asuka after Lynch became pregnant with her first child with Seth Rollins , her then-fiancé and later husband. Asuka broke kayfabe by hugging and congratulating Lynch when Asuka found out that she

6300-417: The feuds between comedians Jack Benny and Fred Allen , and comedian/actor Bob Hope and singer/actor Bing Crosby were totally fake; in real life, Benny and Allen were best friends while Hope and Crosby were also close friends. A more recent example is the satirical feud between talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and actor Matt Damon which has been a running joke on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for many years and

6405-506: The first teams to popularize the use of music videos to help make them popular. With the success of the Fabulous Ones it wasn't long before promoters all over the country started to imitate their formula; even the Memphis promoters used the formula again and again with success. The first team to emulate the Fabulous Ones' formula was The Rock 'n' Roll Express , a fact admitted to by Jerry Lawler, and later on The Fantastics (who were originally billed as "The Fantastic Ones). Other teams have used

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6510-487: The general public. This resulted in Sullivan's wife actually leaving him for Chris Benoit when the two developed a real-life romantic relationship during their time together. Nancy ultimately married Chris in 2000. Chris Benoit killed Nancy and their 7-year-old son Daniel in a murder-suicide in 2007. Brian Pillman developed a "Loose Cannon" persona for himself while in WCW in 1996, conspiring with Vice President Eric Bischoff and booker Kevin Sullivan. Pillman's character

6615-530: The gold in June. After the PYT Express left the area Keirn and Lane easily won the Southern Tag Team Title once more defeating Ron Sexton and Billy Travis in a tournament final. Next for the Fabulous Ones was the return of an old Nemesis, the Sheepherders – in this case Rip Morgan and Jonathan Boyd teaming up as the “Kiwi Sheepherders”. Boyd and Morgan quickly made a mark on Memphis by beating

6720-456: The in-ring character with less disapproval. In some instances, the use of kayfabe to protect a storyline or a wrestler led to real life events mirroring the storylines. While working as a booker for WCW, Kevin Sullivan conceived an angle where Woman ( Nancy Daus Sullivan , Sullivan's wife both on-screen and off), would leave his character for Chris Benoit . Sullivan insisted that Nancy and Chris should travel together to preserve kayfabe for

6825-442: The injury was due to the attack. This normally would lead to the injured wrestler returning, later on, to "settle the score". Promoters have used in-ring accidents that led to injuries, or in extreme cases death, as a way to make a heel even more hated and unpopular. In 1971, Alberto Torres died three days after wrestling Ox Baker . Evidence indicated that Torres died of a ruptured appendix , but Baker's heart punch finishing move

6930-632: The last series of matches between the Sheepherders and the Fabulous Ones the Fabs dominated the matches and once again “Ran off” the Sheepherders. The feud with the Sheepherders turned out to be the last moment of glory for the Fabulous Ones as their 5-year run together was about to come to an end. Early in 1987 Dennis Condrey left Jim Crockett Promotions , abandoning the Midnight Express when they were scheduled to appear at an event in Los Angeles as he changed his plane ticket to go elsewhere in order to drop out of sight. Manager Jim Cornette brought in

7035-660: The late 1980s, he would again team with Keirn and wrestled in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (who he sold his father's territory to), with Keirn briefly around this time. He then went back to the AWA in 1988, where he won the Light Heavyweight Title again. In the following years, Graham & Keirn wrestled in Memphis as a tag team, and Graham went back to Florida to the newly renamed Florida Championship Wrestling, where he briefly teamed with Dustin Rhodes . Graham retired as an in-ring competitor in 1992. He became

7140-451: The like. This was one of the first times where music videos were used to get a wrestler ”over” (popular) in pro wrestling, a practice more common today. The CWA bookers also persuaded local hero The "Fabulous" Jackie Fargo to lend his endorsement to The Fabulous Ones (earning them the nickname ”Fargo’s Fabulous Ones”), which gave the team instant credibility in the South. The original plan for

7245-426: The likes of Steve Keirn and Barry Windham to feud with Sullivan's team and to capture several tag team titles over the years. He was a mainstay on the Florida circuit during the ’70s and early 80’s and was a favorite of Gordon Solie and Dory Funk Jr. He was also respected by Ric Flair , who noted "Mike Graham was as tough as they come, a phenomenal performer who never got the recognition he deserved because he

7350-479: The match, such as the main event of TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs (2017) . Wrestlers being publicly "fired" is a popular storytelling device, often for the fired wrestler to return under a mask or "earn their job" back through a match. In the days where the National Wrestling Alliance territories were at their height some wrestlers would travel from territory to territory, often using

7455-404: The past it was extremely rare for a wrestler or other involved person to recognize the scripted nature of events even in outside press or media, WWE DVDs and WWE.com routinely give news and acknowledge real life. In the case of the former, vignettes may feature ostensible adversaries and allies talking about each other, and the angles and storylines they worked and their opinions on them. On WWE.com,

7560-434: The pro-wrestling industry has become less concerned with protecting so-called backstage secrets and typically maintains kayfabe only during the filming of shows. It is occasionally broken during shows, usually when dealing with genuine injuries that occur during a match or paying tribute to wrestlers. Kayfabe is a shorthand term that involves acknowledging the staged, scripted nature of professional wrestling , as opposed to

7665-425: The real-life marriage became an open secret on television before being acknowledged by Triple H in 2009. The opposite also holds true, where the kayfabe story is based on, or as a result of, real-life events, from disclosing relationship status to starting family feuds. CM Punk's 2011 pipe bomb has claimed that Vince McMahon has the potential to be a billionaire, when in fact, Vince was at one point, before it

7770-785: The real-life news is often given which may contradict storylines. Before the Attitude Era and the advent of the Internet, publications such as WWF Magazine , and television programs broke kayfabe only to acknowledge major real-life events involving current, or retired wrestlers, such as a death (for instance, the death of Ernie Roth , who was billed as "The Grand Wizard of Wrestling"), divorce (e.g., Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth ) or life-threatening accident (such as Brutus Beefcake's 1990 parasailing accident ), especially if said event received mass mainstream coverage. In addition, when WWF top officials and employees were facing allegations of anabolic steroid abuse and sexual harassment during

7875-451: The recession. His friends also said that he had struggled with the death of his son Stephen. He was also rejected by his daughter, blaming him for the deaths in some part for his father and his son. In the final months in his life, Graham had felt responsible for the deaths of his father and son. A celebration of life for Graham was held in Largo, Florida , where nearly 500 people, including

7980-399: The relationship between the two is simply a storyline. More than once, kayfabe romantic relationships have occurred alongside real-life relationships, such as between Matt Hardy and Lita ; these real-life relationships may occasionally develop into a real-life marriage (e.g., Triple H and Stephanie McMahon , who married in 2003, more than a year after their kayfabe marriage ended). During

8085-415: The same day, Enzo Amore had been criticized by The Miz about him being thrown off the tour bus and banned from the locker room as he was a negative influence, while Amore answered back by saying The Miz's initial heel run in the WWE was because he wasn't a great in-ring performer despite having great mic skills. Under this feud, The Miz and Maryse also blurred the face/heel divide as they are built as faces in

8190-399: The scripted nature of professional wrestling. An example of kayfabe being kept even from family members was illustrated in an article describing how in the 1970s, the wife of James Harris (known under the ring name Kamala ) was celebrating that her husband had just won a $ 5,000 prize (equivalent to $ 28,000 in 2023) as he won a battle royal , not realizing that the prize money was simply

8295-499: The scripted nature of professional wrestling. The amendments to the Communications Act of 1934 , passed following the quiz show scandals in 1960, prohibited the televising of scripted contests but specifically only prohibited the rigging of games of chance or intellectual skill or knowledge, and thus rigged athletic competitions were still arguably legal to televise. While the scripted nature of professional wrestling

8400-408: The shows, especially when interacting with fans, trying to preserve the illusion of professional wrestling. In contrast, something that is not kayfabe, be it a fight or a statement, is referred to as a " shoot ". I remember the guy who would bring our jackets back to the dressing room. Every time he did, someone would yell "Kayfabe." ... Then one night, the guy decided to stand up for himself and told

8505-477: The subject of a comedy article on Cracked.com. Mike Graham (wrestler) Edward Michael Gossett (September 22, 1951 – October 19, 2012), better known as Mike Graham , was an American professional wrestler who was the son of Eddie Graham . Mike Graham was a Florida high school wrestling district champion his senior year in 1969 for Thomas Richard Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida . He became

8610-482: The taxation some states placed on income from athletic events held in that state, as well as to avoid the need to meet the requirement of having to employ medical professionals standing by, as was generally mandatory for legitimate contact sports involving substantial possibility of injury. The era of professional wrestling since then has been described by Abraham Josephine Riesman as "neokayfabe", in which storylines can become real life and vice versa, thus blurring

8715-477: The throttle man for each finish. On October 19, 2012, Graham was found dead by his wife of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at their residence in Daytona Beach, Florida during Biketoberfest . He was 61 years old. His father and son had committed suicide in similar manners on January 21, 1985, and December 14, 2010 (some sources state the 15th), respectively. At the time of Graham's death, he

8820-481: The time it was a sideshow attraction, the scripted nature of the performances has been hinted at over time. In 1934 a show held at Wrigley Field in Chicago billed one of the matches as "the last great shooting match", subtly disclosing that the other matches were kayfabe (in reality, even the "shooting" match was scripted). In 1957, comedian Groucho Marx described watching wrestlers "practice their match", hinting at

8925-753: The titles were held up, before losing the rematch, and the titles, to Lawler and Jarrett a week later. After leaving the USWA later that year, the Fabulous Ones disbanded in May 1991, after Keirn signed with the World Wrestling Federation , while Lane and Cornette later started Smoky Mountain Wrestling in October 1991, and formed The Heavenly Bodies with Tom Prichard in 1992. Since then, The Fabs only teamed sporadically, most notably in 1995 where

9030-468: The tournament final and just like in the SWCW the Fabulous Ones immediately started feuding with the Sheepherders over the gold. On October 7 the Sheepherders ended the Fabulous Ones’ first reign with the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship and would keep them away from the Fabs until Lane and Keirn finally got the better of them on November 30 where they regained the belts. After losing

9135-563: The turn of the year the Fabulous Ones and the CWA parted ways with the duo looking to cash in their success in other territories. The first place the Fabulous Ones show up after leaving Memphis is in Southwest Championship Wrestling from San Antonio, Texas . The Fabulous Ones supposedly won a tournament in Australia to become the first ever SWCW World Tag Team Champions . In reality, there was no tournament; it

9240-418: The two eventually married in real life in 2003. The Catholic priest at the wedding, not aware of the workings of the wrestling business, initially refused to marry the two when he found out about the kayfabe "wedding" from a choir boy who was also a wrestling fan. Linda McMahon later had to explain to the priest the difference between WWE programming and real life, allowing the marriage to go through. Afterward,

9345-538: The waist of Lane and Keirn once more. After the Fabulous Ones dropped the Southern Titles to The Grapplers ( Tony Anthony and Len Denton ) the team did not immediately regain the gold; instead, the Fabulous Ones would spend the rest of the year in the mid card until finally winning their seventh from the Bruise Brothers (Troy Graham and Porkchop Cash, not Ron and Don Harris ) on November 29. Around

9450-462: The whole dressing room: "I don't mind the yelling, but I want to let you know that my name is not Kayfabe. It's Mark." ... What he didn't know is that wrestlers called people outside of the business "marks"—that's why we were yelling kayfabe in the first place. The term kayfabe was often used as a warning to other wrestlers that someone who was not "in the know" was in the vicinity. This could include wrestlers' family members who had not been clued into

9555-522: The “New York Dolls” and dressing them up in tuxedos and top hats like Lane and Keirn. The Fabulous Ones and the Dolls fought week in and week out in the Mid-South Coliseum until the Fabulous Ones were able to beat the Dolls decisively. In the early days the Fabulous Ones also feuded with the original version of The Midnight Express ( Dennis Condrey , Randy Rose and Norvell Austin ) including

9660-453: Was an open secret , it was not generally acknowledged by people in the business. Often wrestlers and promoters would make sure that on-screen rivals were not seen eating or traveling together between shows and so on. There were a few occasional mistakes at the time, such as an incident in 1987 in which police arrested The Iron Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan , supposed rivals in an upcoming match at Madison Square Garden , as they sat together in

9765-515: Was based entirely on straddling the fine line of kayfabe, presenting it as if he had legitimate problems with WCW management. He would engage in on-camera actions that seemed to be unscripted, even to the other performers, and even breached kayfabe protocol when he addressed Sullivan on air as "bookerman". When Triple H and Stephanie McMahon entered into a kayfabe marriage in late 1999, Triple H and McMahon started dating in real life, and continued to do so after their onscreen marriage ended in 2002;

9870-536: Was commonly used during the "territory years" (1950s–1980s) as a means to develop young talent, by pairing them with a veteran wrestler and giving the younger wrestler a "rub" by virtue of the association, such as the Valliant Brothers or the Fargo Brothers where none of the "brothers" were actually related. A wrestler or a promotion uses kayfabe in regard to injuries in one of two ways: "selling"

9975-723: Was considered too small to be a championship contender. His reputation was legit for his size. He was very tough”. In 1981, Graham wrestled in the American Wrestling Association and feuded with Buck Zumhofe over the AWA Light Heavyweight Championship over the next two years. Graham headed back to Florida in 1983, where he primarily worked as a tag team wrestler. His father Eddie died after committing multiple gunshot suicide on January 21, 1985, leading to Mike taking over his Championship Wrestling from Florida territory. In

10080-757: Was even referenced when Kimmel hosted the 89th Academy Awards . Other examples of kayfabe rivalries include that between Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart , and that of Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds . It has long been claimed that kayfabe has been used in American politics, especially in election campaigns, Congress, and the White House. In interviews as Governor of Minnesota , former wrestler Jesse Ventura often likened Washington to wrestling when he said that politicians "pretend to hate each other in public, then go out to dinner together". In 2023 News opinions and

10185-616: Was going "to become a mother". With the title, Asuka also became only the second Women's Grand Slam Champion , which required her to win the NXT Women's title, the Smackdown and Raw Women's titles and the Women's Tag Team Championship. Unlike Bayley, Asuka had also won a Women's Royal Rumble match before. Lynch was written out of storylines as she went on hiatus. It was later revealed that Asuka's reactions were legit and genuine despite being

10290-434: Was just a way to reignite the feud between the Fabulous Ones and the Sheepherders who had been with the SWCW for a while. On March 4, 1984, the Sheepherders defeated the Fabulous Ones for the SWCW gold ending Keirn and Lane’s brief stay in Texas. The Fabulous Ones wrestled in the AWA in 1984 until early 1985. Keirn and Lane had great success in the AWA feuding with wrestlers such as Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Saito, Bobby Heenan, and

10395-428: Was rehired after fan backlash and the love triangle became a highlight in their storyline rivalry. In June 2017, Big Cass broke away from Enzo Amore and cited that Enzo's off-ring antics made him a distraction in the locker room. On September 11, 2017, The Miz and Maryse revealed they were expecting their first child, having previously been mocked by John Cena for not having children after being married. neo On

10500-641: Was revealed he lost $ 750 million of his $ 1.6 billion net worth, losing 350 million in a day due to WWE's over-valued stock price and lower-than-expected WWE Network subscribers (his net worth currently stands at a reported $ 2 billion). He also referred to John Cena and Cena's beloved Boston-based sports teams as heels because they were all no longer underdogs, and they have all forged dynasties and championship teams in their respective sports ( Boston Celtics , Boston Red Sox , Boston Bruins , New England Patriots ). Kurt Angle had legitimately won an Olympic Gold Medal for Freestyle Wrestling, and built heat as

10605-550: Was scrapped, while she has moved to have the storyline with Drew Gulak . The segments for Raw 25 has also changed on hours' notice due to Jimmy Fallon unable to arrive in New York in time for pre-taped segments for Raw 25 where he was supposed to interview the current and former GM's in Raw and SmackDown, but instead, they only waved in a Hall-of-Fame-like lineup. Kayfabe, while not referred to as such, has existed in other areas of show business, especially in feuds. For instance,

10710-446: Was the kayfabe reason; the death was worked into Baker's wrestling persona by the promoters making Baker the most hated heel in the territory at the time. Acts exploiting personal tragedy or death became less and less prevalent by the turn of the century with fans being more aware of the worked nature of professional wrestling. On the other hand, due to the risks involved in professional wrestling, some measures are still in place to let

10815-399: Was unable to appear on specific shows. If a wrestler appears on a show after a "brutal" attack they would "sell" the injury by limping or having their arm heavily bandaged and so on. In other instances, when a wrestler was legitimately injured either during a match or during training, a story line would play out where a heel would attack the wrestler and "injure" them to give the impression that

10920-457: Was wearing his son's old work boots, and also frequently threatened committing suicide to his wife. He was also intoxicated, and according to his toxicology report, his blood-alcohol concentration was at 0.259. Graham suffered business misfortunes years prior to his death, and a restaurant he owned in Florida closed in 2011 after about two years of operation. He and his wife were also invested in Florida's real estate market, which suffered during

11025-480: Was written out of WWE after his contract nears expiration. He was assaulted and left in an ambulance, with Samantha Irvin , his real-life fiancé, leaving the arena in tears. WWE later issued an apology to her. Last-minute injuries, contracts, and marital statuses can also change the storyline or how a segment is presented. When Enzo Amore's contract was terminated due to withholding information about his sexual assault investigation, his romantic storyline with Nia Jax

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