When did kayfabe end for you?

[jakks1996collector]

When did kayfabe end for you? In other words, when did you realize that wrestling was scripted?

For me, it was the Montreal Screwjob. I didn't know any better, as a 12 year old kid, and the Internet wrestling community wasn't quite what it is today. Today, most 12 year olds would know it's fake.

When did you realize it was scripted?

[mikey1974]

i think i kinda knew for awhile, from the mid-90's or so....

but it really hit me in the early 2000's, around 2002-2003 or so,and,honestly,that's when things changed for me in how much i liked it...instead of just plain old wondering who was gonna win a match or feud or title,i began to wonder about people putting the other person over,or the angles, or whether the person would get enough ratings to have a title run,etc....and after it came to that point, a lot of the pure "joy" i felt for the product went away...

i really think part of the problem of what the industry became was when it was directly thrown in our faces that this was all a work,and scripted...it's one thing to think,even under the surface...it's another thing to have it confirmed and thrown in your face...

[JDSFullmetal]

I knew when I started watching it. But I still enjoyed it and continue to do so.

[redypiper]

Nov 5, 2011 17:53:36 GMT -5 mikey1974 said:

i think i kinda knew for awhile, from the mid-90's or so....

but it really hit me in the early 2000's, around 2002-2003 or so,and,honestly,that's when things changed for me in how much i liked it...instead of just plain old wondering who was gonna win a match or feud or title,i began to wonder about people putting the other person over,or the angles, or whether the person would get enough ratings to have a title run,etc....and after it came to that point, a lot of the pure "joy" i felt for the product went away...

i really think part of the problem of what the industry became was when it was directly thrown in our faces that this was all a work,and scripted...it's one thing to think,even under the surface...it's another thing to have it confirmed and thrown in your face...

well said.

[thespecialone]

Its still real to me dammit!

Hehe...someone had to.

I knew from the moment i saw it. But it was still a lot of fun!

[K5]

when i began watching my parents clarified that it was scripted so that i understood you couldn't behave as wrestlers do or treat other people in that way. i was 4, after all.

[Deleted]

yknow I cant remember........Ill have to think on this a bit

[ToastMaster General]

Late-1997, the promo where Vince McMahon basically threw it in your face. Broke my heart, lemme tell ya.

[wyleecyotee]

I don't think I had a set time... I remember being young and not knowing how fake it was but I don't remember ever being shocked or surprised at being told it's fake. I remember people saying its fake when I was young and knowing it was but not when I found out.

[jasonphoenix1]

Nov 5, 2011 19:39:19 GMT -5 K5 said:

when i began watching my parents clarified that it was scripted so that i understood you couldn't behave as wrestlers do or treat other people in that way. i was 4, after all.

^^This. My parents would tell me every time I was watching it how "fake" it was. But I loved it no matter how many times they said it. Now I have been wrestling for about 5 years now and most of the "boys" don't even know what the word means. Shows I have worked the heel would be out during matches and signing autographs or getting food when they should never leave the locker room unless it is they're part of the show.

[skribbel24]

I think I always lived in denial, because no matter how obviously unreal some matches were, I still believed!

[Deleted]

I was always told it was fake long before I started watching. I guess that means I always knew...but by the time 1997 rolled around I just didn't care. I was hooked.

[fallbrawl]

Wrestlemania 14. I don't know why i remember this but i was watching the ppv at my uncles house and during the kane vs undertaker match he said it was fake.

[The Assassin]

actually i don't ever recall any moment of realization. and i don't ever recall thinking it was real either.

strange though, you'd think as a kid i would have thought it was real, but like i say, i don't ever recall thinking wrestling was real.

[Deleted]

I always knew it was scripted but still believed the heels were bungholes and the babyfaces were nice guys. I remember drawing a picture of The Outsiders in like 97 and hiding it so my dad wouldn't find it because the nWo were the bad guys and we weren't supposed to like them....good times haha

[Deleted]

Survivor Series 2003 when the ad for "Un-scripted" came on, it broke my heart.

When I'm watching it though, I forget that it's scripted.

[nibs92]

i was told from the word go that it was scripted! it has never taken away my enjoyment of the product.

i always laugh at the people who put it down for being "fake".

people like that would happily watch films and TV programs yet have a go because wrestling benefits from a script.

[Deleted]

Nov 6, 2011 2:47:58 GMT -5 The Assassin said:

actually i don't ever recall any moment of realization. and i don't ever recall thinking it was real either.

.

yeah ditto man.sounds about right for me too man.......

[Lorenzo Alcazar]

Survivor Series 1997....I think for anybody old enough to remember it who still believed, that was the night it ended for all of us because it just totally exposed the business and let us in to what was happening backstage and with the contract, planning, and money aspect of everything.

[Raine]

The internet & documentaries like Beyond the Mat & Wrestling with Shadows, killed Kayfabe for me.