This is a debate I've been having with myself lately. How important is kayfabe? Should those involved try to protect the business or should they pretend as if the "Wizard's curtain" no longer exists?

Let's give a little something for the arguments here.

In a Q & A, Lance Storm answered a question about kayfabe by using the example of Vince & Bret after the "Screw Job." On national TV, Vince gave away that the match was supposed to have a different ending than it did. Bret used the internet and eventually the "Wrestling with Shadows" documentary to reveal his side of the argument. Two people who have dedicated their lives to the business revealed to the world that which the world was already fairly sure of. Wrestling wasn't "real."

This, along with the strong growth of "12 year olds in their mother's basement typing away at the computer," the presence of smark friendly company's such as ECW and shoot comments by talent at WCW helped peel back the curtain even farther. So now more fans than ever know the basics of backstage politics in wrestling. So what's the point of pretending that it's real?

Here's the counterpoint to all this:

If Kayfabe was truly pointless, indy promotions wouldn't rely on it to some extent. And they do. How so?
Am I to believe that Delirious is truly delirious? That chanting HUSS truly helps Jimmy Jacobs? That Jack Evans' flipping around whille selling is truly just because he's so small and everyone else is so big? That someone like Austin Aries could actually beat someone like Samoa Joe?

Sure, some of this involves ring psychology. But wouldn't ring psychology at some point also be considered kayfabe? Let's say that Kayfabe is part of the suspension of disbelief that is involved with wrestling. Therefore it's always in some way relevant to the art of professional wrestling.

Now discuss, bitches.

I agree with all the points you made. You have to keep both the marks and the smarks in mind, and I think the WWE is doing a good job of this. Sure, they have some really bad angles, but they've been increasing on the workrate as of late, and understand that a lot of fans have internet knowledge of the business.

I like being able to watch wrestling as a mark, and then being able to get on the computer and talk about it as a smark. It's kind of like a split personality.

Sometimes I wish I had never became a smark, as I realize how picky I can be about booking and things now a days, while way back when I just had fun watching it. Yes, the internet ruined wrestling.

But now that I'm a smark and will probably never be just a mark again, I'm fine with how it is now. Certain people like Low Ki try to protect kayfabe, which is alright with me. But then you realize that Ki wrestles for promotions where 95% of the fans are smarks already, and it seems kind of silly.

I really wouldn't want anything to change from how it is now. Enough with my rambling.

I gotta agree with RF'NS comment about the internet ruining wrestling. Before becoming a "smark" in the Fall of 2001, I watched anything and everything and ate it up with a spoon. Now I rarely enjoy wrestling because of it, and am rarely surprised by anything. The only time I really go into "mark mode" is for Wrestlemania, or when Hulk Hogan is around.

Kayfabe will always be somewhat a part of wrestling because of the simple fact that it's based around wrestling matches that are predetermined. That is obviously something that will never change in the business. But Kayfabe has changed it's meaning from the moment it was used because of how many changes there have been in the business in general. Plus, kayfabe will always remain in the sport as long as another constant in wrestling continues.......kids as fans. Kids will believe anything put in front of them in the context of wrestling and lets face it....they buy tons of shit. Their demographic will never be cut out of the business. That alone insures SOME sort of kayfabe in the business. ROH tries it on a different level, like when they did the riot at the first anniversary show. Shitloads of people bought that AT FIRST. Then things can get to a point where everyone feels so smartened up by the business their gut reaction to Owen Hart falling to his death was that it was suppost to happen. So regardless of how "into" the business you are....there is still kayfabe as long as you were a mark at some point and time.

I would like to see kayfabe around once again. There's just so many things that have changed, even technologically, that has brought its downfall, i.e. more television time for the promotions (WWE and WCW), documentaries on wrestling, internet, et cetera.

A lot of it is when the wrestlers and promoters want to justify what they're doing, and it's easier for them to say 'No-no. It's not real. It's all just an act.' rather than try to look like a bad guy in a situation.

But now you have things like the "Montreal Screw Job" where it turned real-life. And people don't know what's real or what's a story-line. And then people search to see what's real and what's not.

Growing-up, I always knew that wrestling wasn't "real". But mostly as an acting sort of way. Just because I knew wrestling story-lines were scripted, that didn't mean I didn't like. You don't go to a movie and think to yourself, "Wow. That's a good script." (Wll, most people that is.) You go and lift your suspension of disbelief. And that's the best way to treat wrestling now.

For everyone, they can pick a time where they felt was the death of kayfabe. I know for me, the moment that turned me away from wrestling - it wasn't the bad storylines or the attempt of trying to be "extreme" in the beginning of the Attitude era, or the cheesy gimmick - it was the death of Owen Hart, and then the Raw and Nitro the next night.

RFS hit the nail on the head with that line, I couldn't agree more.

I would like to see kayfabe return because it would increase the quality of the shows because the fans would really care about the characters in the matches and react better rather than sit there bored because they cannot suspend their disbelieve and pretend they are watching something real. I have also noticd that the less I know about a company, the more of a mark I am for their shows. The first time I ever watched ROH I was a little mark all over again and was totally soaking in all the angles and characters. It was fantastic, wrestling was fun again! When I watch WWE, I hardly get into mark mode anymore (though I did pout when HHH beat Benoit this week).

RoH! RoH! Bring back Special K!

Hahah. And then turned off the TV and threw the remote down.