#blacklivesmatter in the WWE: professional wrestlers negotiating kayfabe and authentic rhetoric through online political engagement

Abstract

ABSTRACT In traditional professional wrestling, kayfabe involves the performance of fictional characters and matches as authentic. Such performances may involve a presentation of self that does not reflect a wrestler’s beliefs and identity, but circumstances may compel such celebrities to act in accordance with their authentic self. This article explores the circumstances involving the Black Lives Matter (#BLM) protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. This context is used to consider how professional wrestlers negotiate their presentation of self on social media. Various World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstars’ Twitter accounts during this period contained tweets in support of #BLM, along with content promoting their upcoming shows. This article’s analysis attempts to understand the wrestlers’ rhetoric of authenticity versus their rhetoric of kayfabe as they, like other United States citizens, wrestled with the social, cultural, political and personal ramifications of this event. While various aspects of the tweets suggest an authentic presentation in response to the circumstances, the extent to which these Superstars are just performing in accordance with the WWE’s brand remains a possibility, suggesting an extension of the kayfabe concept.