A
professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised. Feuds may last for months or even years or be resolved with implausible speed, perhaps during the course of a single match.
Feuds are often the result of the friction that is created between
facesIn professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Not everything a face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be cheered by the audience to be effective characters...
(the heroic figures) and
heelsIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
(the malevolent, 'evil' participants).
A
professional wrestlingProfessional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is an athletic performing art where matches are prearranged by the promotion's booking staff. It is a non-competitive sport which contains strong elements of theatre, mock combat, and catch wrestling. Wrestling's origins date to 19th-century carnival...
feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised. Feuds may last for months or even years or be resolved with implausible speed, perhaps during the course of a single match.
Definition
Feuds are often the result of the friction that is created between
facesIn professional wrestling, a face or babyface is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains. Not everything a face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be cheered by the audience to be effective characters...
(the heroic figures) and
heelsIn professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling storylines. They are typically opposed by a babyface or more simply, face . Some tweeners exhibit heel mannerisms...
(the malevolent, 'evil' participants). Common causes of feuds are a purported slight or insult, although they can be based on many other things, including conflicting moral codes or simple professional
one-upmanshipOne-upmanship is a satiric course in the gambits required for the systematic and conscious practice of "creative intimidation", making one's associates feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them....
such as the pursuit of a
championshipIn professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition of a wrestler being the best in their promotion.A wrestler can earn a championship by defeating the current champion in a match or in other ways determined by the promotion, such as winning a tournament for a vacant championship...
. Some of the more popular feuds with audiences involve pitting former allies, particularly
tag teamIn professional wrestling, a tag team consists of two wrestlers who are working together as a team . Often, they are close partners and backstage friends who team with each other almost exclusively, while other times they are singles competitors who are booked together for just one match...
partners, against each other. Depending on how popular and entertaining the feud may be, it is usually common practice for a feud to continue on for weeks, usually building toward a match in a supercard.
Traditionally, most
promotersA professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that performs regular shows involving professional wrestling...
wanted to "
protect the businessIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real." That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked...
" by having wrestlers act in character in public, and thus further convince the live audience that the feuding wrestlers
really did hate each other and looked to outdo each other. Throughout the years, however, the wrestling business became more open, which allowed the fans to see otherwise. An incident involving the The Kliq occurred during a
World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
house showA house show is a short professional wrestling show run by a major promotion, such as World Wrestling Entertainment or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , that is not televised or taped...
, in which the face pair of
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
and
Scott HallScott Oliver Hall is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, which has spanned three decades, Hall has wrestled for the American Wrestling Association , the National Wrestling Alliance , Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , World Class Championship Wrestling , World...
embraced the heel pair of
Kevin NashKevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. Nash has wrestled under various ring names, but most notably by his own name, for World Championship Wrestling and wrestled by his own name and as Diesel in World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
and
Triple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, thus "breaking" this illusion.
Relationship to real life
While many feuds in professional wrestling are entirely fictional, there have been successful feuds that actually originated from a real life rivalry and/or animosity between wrestlers. A prime example of this was the off-screen feud between
Bret HartBret Sergeant Hart is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, author, and actor, best known for his time in World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under the persona, "The Hitman". A son of wrestling patriarch Stu Hart, he was born into the Hart wrestling...
and
Shawn MichaelsMichael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American professional wrestler. He performs for World Wrestling Entertainment , formerly the World Wrestling Federation, on its Raw brand...
, who had genuine disdain for each other, evidenced by a legitimate backstage fight between the two. Similarly, the on-screen feuds of
Matt HardyMatthew "Matt" Moore Hardy is an American professional wrestler. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment on their SmackDown brand....
and
EdgeAdam Joseph Copeland is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to an injury....
and later,
Mick FoleyMichael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American actor, author, comedian, voice over, and professional wrestler, currently signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is the storyline "Executive Shareholder"...
and
Ric FlairRichard Morgan Fliehr better known by his ring name, Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Also known as "The Nature Boy," Flair is one of the most well known professional wrestlers in the world....
both stemmed from a sincere dislike for each other.
See also
- List of professional wrestling terms
- Work (professional wrestling)
- Shoot (professional wrestling)
A Shoot in professional wrestling is a term that refers to any unplanned, unscripted or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. The name originates from a takedown, or shoot, in wrestling. This term has come to mean a legitimate attack or fight in professional wrestling and it's meaning has...
- Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real." That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked...