More Than Just Kayfabe: WWE: Unreal Exposes the Heart Behind the Hype
Triple H says it best in the new docuseries WWE: Unreal.
“Our business is about telling stories,” he says addressing the camera.
That is why we all love reality shows, movies, TV shows or just a good old-fashioned print book. Remember those? We love stories and that is what pro wrestling is even if we want to admit it or not. It is a scripted athletic soap opera where larger-than-life heroes battle larger-than-life villains and those who dwell in the grey area pretty much make everyone’s lives miserable.
WWE: Unreal lets fans in on how those stories are written, staged and produced. Perhaps more importantly it gives a glimpse into who Phill Brooks, Demi Bennett, Bianca Nicole Crawford and others really are when the fireworks fade and the spotlights dim.
The five episode series follows the WWE as it makes it debut on Netflix and moves its angles forward with WrestleMania as the ultimate goal line. As HHH promises, the WWE does “lift the curtain” on how their narratives are created. No, it is not a portrait of the writers room as I thought it was. Actually, we see very little of those folks. It is a look at WWE production from how superstars prepare for their matches and angles, to what happens at the “gorilla position”, to real-life moments we don’t see on the other side of the curtain.
WWE: Unreal is just as much about the real people as it is about the fictional characters they play which these days often blurs the line between fantasy and reality. We see Cody Rhodes checking on Kevin Owens after their ladder match at the Royal Rumble. We see the aftermath of Rhea Ripley screwing up her shoulder when Liv Morgan “tossed” her into that wall. CM Punk and HHH talk candidly about the cruddy relationship they used to have and how, with time, they mended those fences to understand and work with each other so well Punk was welcomed back to the WWE with open arms.
WWE superstars reveal their true selves, the anxieties and fears they have as performers and as human beings. The doubts they experience before stepping through the curtain or into their wrestling boots. Qualities which often conflict with the bold and confident characters they portray. Demi Bennett is very different from Rhea Ripley. As Demi says, Rhea is the worst parts of her she would never let out except in a wrestling ring. These revelations may change how fans see the superstars, they may not. Fans often forget that wrestlers are real people who have friends, family and play roles, which are often parts of themselves or themselves turned up to 11.
Then, there is the WWE production machine. How the producers in the “gorilla position” communicate with the referees in the ring. How, with ear pieces, they are the link between the “writers” and the “actors”. How they convey important messages to and from production. If a wrestler was hurt during a bump or if production wants to change something and has called an audible.
It is also confirmed in one scene in scene that WWE does use extras for more than just “security guards”. We also see WWE superstars giving each other advice on how to do what they do in the ring such as how Rhea Ripley bounces ideas off Damian Priest’s head. He suggests less is more. It is all laid out for us to see and experience. All the things we suspected or thought all these years are verified in WWE: Unreal.
Just like when the business was exposed in the nineties, when a lot of the inner workings were revealed this docuseries may irritate, frustrate or even enrage some fans and industry professionals. I don’t see it as an issue in this day and age though. As a horror fan, I am always curious to find out how special effect magic works, some of the tricks of the trade. How certain scenes were staged and produced like cutting a notch or a groove in a machete blade to make it appear as if the blade was really slicing and dicing someone or how Rick Baker created the make-up effects for An American Werewolf in London. That won him an Academy Award for his work. It is too bad the same cannot be said of many professional wrestlers whose work equals that of any Hollywood performer.
Like a feature film or a television series, most fans know wrestling is a work. They know it is scripted. They know it is produced. They know wrestlers are actors. The rabbit was pulled out of the hat years ago and there is no going back. All the WWE is doing with Unreal is just confirming the obvious. Those who might or would complain, whine about this probably get Netflix confused with a Scandinavian sleeping aid, a brand of orthopedic shoes or that newfangled fax machine.
