Kayfabe

[[File:Sgt. Slaughter and The Grand Wizard.png|thumb|[[Sgt. Slaughter]] and [[Ernie Roth|The Grand Wizard]], both wrestling [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|characters]]]]

[[File:Sgt. Slaughter and The Grand Wizard.png|thumb|[[Sgt. Slaughter]] and [[Ernie Roth|The Grand Wizard]], both wrestling [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|characters]]]]

{{Professional wrestling sidebar}}

{{Professional wrestling sidebar}}

'''Kayfabe'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|eɪ|f|eɪ|b}} {{respell|KAY|fayb}}.}} is the portrayal of staged elements within [[professional wrestling]] (such as [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|characters]], [[Feud (professional wrestling)|rivalries]], and [[angle (professional wrestling)|storylines]]) as legitimate or real. Although it is primarily a wrestling term, Kayfabe has evolved into a code word for maintaining the pretense of "reality" and [[suspension of disbelief]] in front of an audience.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEMJ0erltH4C&q=kayfabe&pg=PA288 |title=Medieval Bedazzle |last=Washington |first=Tecoa T. |year=2009 |location=[[Mustang, Oklahoma|Mustang]] |publisher=Tate Publishing |isbn=9781606046951 |access-date=August 16, 2012}}

'''Kayfabe'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|eɪ|f|eɪ|b}} {{respell|KAY|fayb}}.}} is the portrayal of staged elements within [[professional wrestling]] (such as [[Gimmick (professional wrestling)|characters]], [[Feud (professional wrestling)|rivalries]], and [[angle (professional wrestling)|storylines]]) as legitimate or real. Although initially a wrestling term, Kayfabe has been widely used to describe any [[suspension of disbelief]] and pretense of [[reality]] that deliberately blurs lines between [[fact]] and [[fiction]]. name=botlet>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sr02|title=Everything Is Fake and Nobody Cares episode 2: Kayfabe Country|first=Jamie|last=Bartlett|year=2026|authorlink=Jamie Bartlett (journalist)|publisher=[[BBC]]|website=bbc.com|location=London}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EEMJ0erltH4C&q=kayfabe&pg=PA288 |title=Medieval Bedazzle |last=Washington |first=Tecoa T. |year=2009 |location=[[Mustang, Oklahoma|Mustang]] |publisher=Tate Publishing |isbn=9781606046951 |access-date=August 16, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://josie.zone/welcome-to-neokayfabe|website=josie.zone|first=Abraham Josie|last=Reisman|year=2023|title=Welcome to Neokayfabe|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828171329/https://josie.zone/welcome-to-neokayfabe|archivedate=2024-08-28}}

Kayfabe is essential to creating and maintaining the non-wrestling aspects of the industry, similar to other fictional entertainment; a wrestler breaking kayfabe is analogous to an actor [[breaking character]]. Since wrestling is performed in front of a live audience kayfabe can be compared to the [[fourth wall]] in acting, as little to no conventional fourth wall exists in wrestling to begin with.

Kayfabe is essential to creating and maintaining the non-wrestling aspects of the industry, similar to other fictional entertainment; a wrestler breaking kayfabe is analogous to an actor [[breaking character]]. Since wrestling is performed in front of a live audience kayfabe can be compared to the [[fourth wall]] in acting, as little to no conventional fourth wall exists in wrestling to begin with.

== Outside professional wrestling ==

== Outside professional wrestling ==

Kayfabe, while not referred to as such, has existed in other areas of show business, especially in feuds. For instance, 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 [[Damon–Kimmel feud|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 was even referenced when Kimmel hosted the [[89th Academy Awards]]. Other examples of kayfabe rivalries include that between [[Dwayne Johnson]] and [[Kevin Hart]],{{cite web|url=https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/the-rock-kevin-hart-feud-instagram-posts|title=The Best Instagram Posts From Dwayne Johnson's 'Feud' With Kevin Hart | publisher= Men's journal | author=Matthew Jussim | date=July 8, 2019 }} and that of [[Hugh Jackman]] and [[Ryan Reynolds]].{{cite web | url= https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2570006/the-history-of-hugh-jackman-and-ryan-reynolds-faux-feud-explained | title=The History Of Hugh Jackman And Ryan Reynolds' Faux Feud Explained | author=Philip Sledge | date= September 30, 2022}}

Kayfabe, while not referred to as such, has existed in other areas of [[show business]] and [[politics]], especially in feuds. For instance, 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 [[Damon–Kimmel feud|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 was even referenced when Kimmel hosted the [[89th Academy Awards]]. Other examples of kayfabe rivalries include that between [[Dwayne Johnson]] and [[Kevin Hart]],{{cite web|url=https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/the-rock-kevin-hart-feud-instagram-posts|title=The Best Instagram Posts From Dwayne Johnson's 'Feud' With Kevin Hart | publisher= Men's journal | author=Matthew Jussim | date=July 8, 2019 }} and that of [[Hugh Jackman]] and [[Ryan Reynolds]].{{cite web | url= https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2570006/the-history-of-hugh-jackman-and-ryan-reynolds-faux-feud-explained | title=The History Of Hugh Jackman And Ryan Reynolds' Faux Feud Explained | author=Philip Sledge | date= September 30, 2022}}

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".{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} In 2023, Abraham Josephine Riesman's book ''Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America'' argued that strategies of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] closest to [[Donald Trump]] can be explained by kayfabe.{{cite magazine | magazine=Politico | url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/24/trump-wrestling-mcmahon-villain-election-00088590 | date= March 24, 2023 | author=Michael Kruse | title=How Pro Wrestling Explains Today's GOP}}

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".{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} In 2023, Abraham Josephine Riesman's book ''Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America'' argued that strategies of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] closest to [[Donald Trump]] can be explained by kayfabe.{{cite magazine | magazine=Politico | url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/24/trump-wrestling-mcmahon-villain-election-00088590 | date= March 24, 2023 | author=Michael Kruse | title=How Pro Wrestling Explains Today's GOP}}