The BUSINESS of Kayfabe (sorta)

By Scott Keith on April 28, 2013

Heya Scott, Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Anyway, coupla blog related questions that I think could be mighty interesting.
1. I was watching the rumble BEFORE MY FUCKING FEED CUT OUT RIGHT BEFORE THE MAIN EVENT, and noticed in one of the packages that the WWE is now doing Comic-con esque "Shoot" panels (I can't remember the name). Personally I think this is a great idea, but is also sorta killing Kayfabe (not that it exists that much anymore, anyway). Anyway, what are your thoughts on these sorta panels, and have they been going on for awhile and I've just missed them, or are they new?

I certainly had never heard of doing them before the Rumble ones. It's a great way to undercut the guys who are doing SHOOT INTERVIEWZ on DVD so I'm surprised WWE hasn't tried to get a piece of that pie sooner. So now of course we'll never get another one.

2. So it seems like the WWE is doing what it did in the pre-attitude era, trying to indoctrinate kids with cartoons, Saturday morning slam, fucking Scooby Doo(?), and part of me is thinking this is a GREAT idea because it's pretty much how the majority of folks first heard of wrestling, or it became part of their frame of reference.

Yeah, much like comic books, wrestling is a pastime that benefits greatly from forming a positive association at a young age. If I was trying to get into comics for the first time now, for example, I'd be totally lost as to what I'd even like reading. Same with wrestling, as obviously my fandom is shaped by years of trying to find another angle as awesome as Roddy Piper smashing the shit out of the Flower Shop on one leg.

3. How does the WWE typically handle Press access for big events like Wrestlemania? Does pretty much anyone that requests a pass from a popular outlet gain access, and if so, are they given strict rules about what they can and can't discuss in their articles / pieces / etc? I ask, for I applied for a pass!

I'm betting you didn't get one. And typically yes, press access is ridiculously strict and childish. You have a much better shot of getting UFC credentials.

4. I was pondering the gut-check challenge the other day, and was kind of wondering if in some bizarre world they started rating matches not by winner and loser, but instead by best match, etc etc, sort of legitimizing the art of fake-fighting. You think this sort of thing would go over with hardcore fans who really care most about work-rate and quality match production versus storylines and "I'ma kick you ass bro!" stuff?

I've long thought that wrestling in the Olympics could work in exactly that manner, as an artistic exhibition ala ballroom dancing or figure skating. Although you'd run into the problem of the Russian judges being from Minnesota.

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