A newly released report has determined that professional wrestling (often shortened pro wrestling, or simply wrestling) is a mode of spectacle which combines athletic and theatrical performance.

The blockbuster report, issued following a 50-year study by the United Nations, divulges that wrestling takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a prizefighting combat sport.

Wrestling matches have predetermined outcomes in order to heighten entertainment value, and all combative maneuvers are executed with the full cooperation of those involved and carefully performed in specific manners intended to lessen the chance of actual injury.

By and large, the true nature of the performance is not discussed by the performing company in order to sustain and promote the willing suspension of disbelief for the audience by maintaining an aura of verisimilitude.

The practice of keeping the illusion, and the various methods used to do so, came to be known as “kayfabe” within wrestling circles. An entire lexicon of slang jargon and euphemism developed to allow performers to communicate without outsiders’ knowledge of what was being said.

Professional wrestling shows can be considered a form of “theatre in the round,” with the ring, ringside area, and entryway comprising a thrust stage. However, there is a much more limited concept of a fourth wall than in most theatric performances. The audience is recognized and acknowledged by the performers as spectators to the sporting event being portrayed, and are encouraged to interact as such.

The UN Report also discovered that, on April Fools Day, all sources of kayfabe, such as satirical websites, are required to report the mundane truth.

 

 

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