Many people criticize professional wrestling, even going so far as to mock it, claiming that it is not real. That it is childish and stupid entertainment because the violence is choreographed and treated as if it were real. This is quite a strange criticism when you think about it. No one claims that film or theater are not valid forms of art or entertainment because there are actors playing a role, or that ballet or any kind of dance performance is less real because the dance is choreographed and not spontaneous. But that doesn’t happen with wrestling.
Wrestling is held to a standard of reality that we do not demand from the rest of fiction. Even before we were sold things that are fiction as reality, like reality shows, which are just as scripted or more than professional wrestling. But behind every wrestling event, there is a lot of very hard work, and a Netflix documentary has wanted to show us that.
A world much tougher than it seems
WWE: Incredible is a documentary series that delves into the inner workings of the world’s largest professional wrestling company, WWE, to uncover all its intricacies. Without restrictions. And it does so in a way that feels new and refreshing to the audience, treating it as if it were any other business. Analyzing all the different aspects of it, dealing with everyone involved in making each event and each match a resounding success.
The first season, which premiered on July 29, 2025, was a great success for both WWE and Netflix. And consisting of five episodes, it did a good job of explaining the ins and outs of the company.
In the first episode, New Era, they unraveled how the preparations for WWE RAW were made to premiere on Netflix from a technical and operational standpoint. In the second, Push, they focused on how one of the biggest events of the year, Royal Rumble, is scripted from inside the writing room. In the third, Worth the Wait, three injured wrestlers discuss their experiences with injuries, recovery, and how they feel about returning to the ring. In the fourth, Heel Turn, it explains how the controversial and not very successful heel turn —in wrestling jargon, turning evil— of John Cena happened. And the fifth and final one is a behind-the-scenes look at the big event of the year, Wrestlemania 41, where John Cena snatched the company’s championship from Cody Rhodes.
All of this was met with tremendous success and curiosity from the public, eager to learn more about a show they enjoy and adore. It was also met with no small amount of criticism from within the wrestling world, as well as from certain particularly purist sectors within it, who claimed that this was the final nail in the coffin of kayfabe.
But what is kayfabe? Kayfabe is the concept of treating everything that happens inside and outside the ring as real. If two wrestlers hate each other, kayfabe dictates that fans should not see them having a beer together. And for the same reason, exposing that everything is scripted and decided in advance, at least in the vast majority of cases, goes against the classic idea of kayfabe. Maintaining that illusion, which everyone knows is not true, that what happens inside the ring is strictly and necessarily real.
Of course, many people believe that kayfabe, in modern times, should be strictly adhered to in the same way as in any other artistic or cultural field. Not breaking the fourth wall and maintaining consistency within the fictional events of the product. Something that, as WWE: Incredible shows, they agree on in WWE.
The second season, for its part, promises to give us an even deeper look behind the scenes. What happens when creatives want to deliver a big surprise, even within the company. How parenthood fits in with being one of the company’s big stars. In addition to some other stories like what happens when a career is cut short, or how a new one is managed, in a second season that promises to continue developing that hidden side of WWE.
Hidden not because no one knows it, but because it happens behind the scenes. And if you want to know more, the second season of WWE: Incredible is now available on Netflix.