From not long after the show was announced, the Netflix docuseries WWE Unreal was a source of debate in the pro wrestling world. Sure, kayfabe’s been officially dead for a while. But bringing cameras into the writer’s room*? That would be “exposing the business”, right?
The impact and effects of Unreal on the business will likely remain a source of contention, especially as a second season is said to already be on the way. But the show’s main character, WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque,
doesn’t seem worried.
Triple H told WFAN’s Brendon Tierney and Sal Licata today (July 30) that the people complaining are already focused on rumors about the things covered on Unreal:
“People that are fans of our business are just as fascinated with the behind the scenes of what we do as they are seeing it take place and the entertainment that it provides in real time.
“The people that are complaining about us lifting that curtain and showing people behind the scenes are mostly the people that are already talking about it anyways. They’re on podcasts, they’re debating it with their friends, they’re already there talking about all of it.”
Which isn’t too surprising from a man who just a few months ago wished he could tell WWE’s critics to “f**k off” and “be a fan”, but it’s also a valid point. Add in the fact that many (most?) of the folks complaining will likely continue watching WWE regardless, and it’s also not surprising that The Game agreed with series director Chris Weaver that Unreal’s goal is to make new fans:
“I think much like Drive to Survive did for F1, I think this opens up the doors to a lot of people that aren’t necessarily fans, but that can watch this and appreciate all that goes into it and say, “Man, these people seem fascinating, they approach what they do with such an incredible passion, I want to see what the final product is that they put out.’ And hopefully that leads to them becoming WWE fans for life.”
If you’ve watched Unreal, do you think it “exposes the business”? Does that matter to you? Will the show succeed in making new Raw and SmackDown viewers?
Sound off below.
* As noted in some of our other Unreal coverage, the real kayfabe-exploding scenes in the show aren’t of the writers and producers, but of wrestlers interacting with each other out of character. This clip of Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes “debriefing” after their brutal match at Royal Rumble has been shared by Netflix and WWE on social media several times, and each gets a bunch of critical comments.
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