2023-03-19 07:00:00
WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker says there’s still room for kayfabe in pro wrestling.
Several leading online dictionaries have pages on kayfabe, including official entries in their slang dictionaries, but Grantland describes kayfabe as “the code of secrecy that underpins the professional wrestling industry by which the secret of its unreality is protected. Keeping kayfabe is the act of staying in character before, during, and following shows in order to maintain the illusion. As an adjective, it separates right from wrong, as in “He’s not my real brother, he’s just my kayfabe brother”. The term comes from carnie slang (perhaps a variant of the Latin pig) for “to be fake” or “to keep a secret”.
The Undertaker recently spoke with Chris Van Vliet for his podcast « INSIGHT » and was questioned regarding Kayfabe’s death. He first admitted that kayfabe died around the time he started speaking as the man behind the gimmik, Mark Callaway, but then said there were still guys living their stuff today today.
“I think, yeah, I think kayfabe died for sure when I came out and started speaking as Mark Callaway. I shouldn’t say that, no, you know what, because there’s a couple guys that are out there, they’re living their gimmick and doing a really, really good job at it,” Taker said. “And I think, obviously, we’re doing everything we can now to let everyone know what sports entertainment is. But I think and we did it even while I was working, okay. But the way I approach things and even with my character and my over-the-top gimmick like, you know, like The Undertaker, especially the last 10-15 years of my career. I really, the way I organized my matches and I tried, I always tried to suspend that sense of reality. I didn’t want people to think, like, I wanted people, when I punched I wanted people to go ooh, that’s different. Or the things I did to make sense, even before I did Old School, which is a stretch so someone grabs someone’s arm and can walk [la corde du haut]. But so, I was taking the time to work that arm and he was hitting that shoulder with the shoulder tackles and the shoulder tackles and this and that.
Taker went on to say that there is still room for kayfabe in today’s professional wrestling.
“I tried to make sense of things, and I always tried to involve people and forget everything we told them regarding what sports entertainment and wrestling is, and try to let them immerse themselves in what’s going on,” Taker continued. “And that’s how I approach it, and I think there’s a part of that that’s still applicable if you put in the effort to do it. I think basically there’s just this… okay, everybody, everybody’s in on it, and, you know, that’s the way it is. But I think, I think there’s still room for kayfabe. I just know that everything evolves and people have different views on this, but that’s mine. And I’ll be the first to admit I’m a dinosaur.
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