WWE Hall Of Famer Rob Van Dam Discusses Oldschool & 'Hidden' Kayfabe

Kayfabe was once synonymous with pro wrestling, but over the years the veil has slowly been lifted, resulting in many fans wising up to the many tricks the athletes would pull to make their matches seem more realistic. During a recent episode of his "1 Of A Kind" podcast, Rob Van Dam commented on kayfabe in the industry and hinted at how many fans are still unaware of multiple other aspects of the industry.

According to the Hall of Famer, kayfabe wouldn't work today in the same way, especially with MMA becoming popular. "Now that we have MMA, we have something to compare it to, and because of those reasons and just evolution, people evolving, fans, we can never go back in time and we couldn't still be passing off the same agenda necessarily."

Despite this, Van Dam claims there's still hidden kayfabe, and also alluded to an incident that recently happened where fans didn't know the real situation. "There is still a lot of hidden kayfabe where the fans think they know stuff but they really don't," said Van Dam. "Let's just say, somebody's reputation came in question recently in the media and the news. How many people were shocked about it, how many people weren't? That kind of stuff."

Van Dam also complained about how often the lack of kayfabe while in the ring hinders the sport. "I just wish people could be in the mindset when they're in the ring. Because they're not, it takes away from it, it takes away from the moment, it takes away from the misdirection, which takes away from people involving their emotion into it." 

He also noted that younger talent's overutilization of wrestling spots has also hurt the product. "I want someone to think that I'm actually going to get you then I wait until the very last second, that's exciting. It's different now because of the lack of kayfabe."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "1 Of A Kind" and provide Wreslting Inc. with a h/t for the transcription.