Claude 4 (anthropic.com)

A meaningless few who watch professional wrestling do so for any reason other than their enjoyment of the scripted entertainment, the nature of which has always been at best implicit but obvious. The internet, the rise of wrestling media, and the corresponding increased visibility on the business side of these promotions make maintaining the illusion of the scripted storylines through secrecy more difficult, and the effect of attempting to maintain the illusion to such a point that they deny the scripted nature of the business rather pointless.

Therefore, recent years have seen major promotions recognize that selectively pulling back the curtain on the illusion further by referencing the business itself in a self-aware way allows them some control over that reality while also continuing to build narratives around the characters that the wrestlers and other talent play in these scripted shows. The heightened characters and broader scripted plots that connect matches remain motivating factors, at the expense of chipping away at the traditional concept of "kayfabe".

amichail · 1d ago

But why would viewers care about whether the champion will make a lot of money for the company given that the vast majority of viewers will not receive any of that money?

starkparker · 1d ago

Because it's not about the money, it's about the conflict between the characters. Despite them talking about a real-world company, this still concerns the characters that the wrestlers are portraying.

Professional wrestling is by and large a scripted drama series about athletes, with scenes of interpersonal conflicts connected with stuntwork scenes of simulated competition.

What you're calling out is a plot point, even if it blurs lines with the real world. It's a storytelling property that modern wrestling employs, if not uniquely then distinctly; because the promotion knows that modern fans regularly argue over which wrestlers are most valuable to the promotion, the promotions use that to add heat to the character drama.

potato-peeler · 1d ago

I remember as a kid watching a wwf ad telling viewers, particularly their young audience, that even though the stunts are real this should not be attempted at home.

From a more bonafide interpretation of their strategy, it is good to remind viewers that these feuds or fights are only for entertainment, not to be taken seriously.

God knows we see meaningless fan fights over pop culture artists, on top of that imagine wwe fans disagreeing with each other and openly jumping over rooftops over their perceived adversary just because someone said their favourite wrestler’s hair colour sucks!

JohnFen · 1d ago

> It's a clear admission that match outcomes are predetermined.

It's no secret that WWE style wrestling is theater rather than an actual competitive sport. The majority of people who follow it are certainly aware of that.

> How is that good for business?

Because it lets them craft more compelling storylines and lore that stretches over years. Since it's a kind of theater, the story is the thing that people are paying for.

amichail · 1d ago

Most movies don’t do this.

Someone · 1d ago

But soaps do, as do many Hollywood franchises, to some extent. That other successful strategies exist doesn’t mean other strategies cannot be successful.

Boxing does something different, yet similar, by, rather than looking for opponents of about equal strength, scheduling bouts for upcoming talent that they’re expected to win.

JohnFen · 1d ago

Movies are an entirely different medium and take an entirely different approach to storytelling.

sherdil2022 · 1d ago

I know most WWE fights were scripted when I was watching those fights. You can see how the camera angle gets cut or changed when blows lands and needless jumping on the mat to distract. But it was entertainment. In that way, WWE is no different than day-time dramas, soaps. It is good for business or at least it is working currently - since WWE is still in business!