The WWE remains the most watched wrestling product in the world, but the question ‘Is WWE fake’ is one that has refused to go away. From death-defying dives to punishing striking; is any of it legitimate? Here are the answers you seek.

Professional wrestling has been around since the late 1800s, when it first gained popularity following the American Civil War. It was not, however, until the turn of the 20th century that its exact nature became the topic of widespread speculation, with newspaper articles calling the veracity of the contests into question and sowing doubts in viewers’ minds. 

Regional promotions across the United States contributed to the continued growth of the discipline though, birthing superstars like Lou Thesz, Karl Gotch and Verne Gagne. Over the following five decades, however, the regional territories would lose ground with the rise of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), who – in their previous corporate guise as the WWF – not only became the first company to expand nationally in the late 1980s, but bought out its sole remaining competitor World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001.

While the question of its legitimacy has not discouraged fans all over the world from falling in love with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, it nevertheless is still a contentious subject. So, this is to set the record straight.

Is WWE fake?

WWE is not fake. While ‘fake’ is a loaded term within the industry itself, there is some truth to the idea that the competitors are not actively trying to hurt one another. 

This does not mean that the physical manoeuvres themselves are fake: when they grapple, punch, clothesline and slap (chop, in wrestling parlance) one another, the wrestlers are doing the moves for real. When a wrestler dives off the ropes and brings over 100 kg of muscle and bone crashing down onto another, that impact, and the consequence of it, is impossible to fake.

However, professional wrestlers – including those employed by the WWE – are trained to perform these actions in the safest manner possible. In the words of former wrestler William Regal who is widely considered one of the best in-ring workers in the history of the business, they “hit people very hard in very safe places.”

Was WWE fake in the 90s?

No, WWE was not fake in the 1990s, nor has it ever been.

Is WWE fake or scripted?

As we have established, ‘fake’ is not a proper term to use when it comes to professional wrestling in general, and the WWE in particular. 

Omos responds to claims about WWE being scripted

It is more appropriate to refer to it as ‘scripted’, in the sense that the outcomes are predetermined and the moves (as well as the order in which they are performed) are not only choreographed, but are sometimes practised beforehand.

If WWE is scripted, who decides who wins?

The decision is made by the WWE creative team, whose responsibility it is to map out storylines and angles on its weekly programming. For the biggest matches, however, especially those impacting long-term direction or concerning the world titles, there is often input from higher up in the company.