There's one four letter word that has haunted the professional wrestling industry since way back in the 19th century, back when the sport was performed in carnivals: "fake."While stars in the Golden Age of wrestling, back when the likes of a young Ric Flair graced the rings of the territories, did their best to protect kayfabe, or the art of wrestlers making fans suspend their disbelief, word got out that wrestling is predetermined. The matches are scripted and a winner is chosen due to what's best for the story, and wrestlers also aren't really punching their opponent in the face.
Punches are meant to be just glancing blows, ones that don't really injure the person being hit, or strikes that just miss the side of a person's face, though they flinch to make the punch look believable. These matches are choreographed and often practiced before the wrestlers get in front of fans, so both performers know what to do and what's coming next. The matches are also scripted to fit the time constraints of an event.
Not all moves are "fake," however, like a suplex. Wrestlers do take "bumps" in the ring, like falling flat on their backs. While the move itself is scripted, the fall to the mat or the floor is very real.
Other times, matches are called on the fly, depending on how well one opponent knows the other's style and how long they've been working together. Big moves, like the ending of a match or a high spot like a jump off a cage, are scripted and wrestlers work together to figure out how to get there in the most natural way possible.Wrestlers portray good guys and bad guys, known as babyfaces and heels, and their wrestling styles and moves are scripted to reflect their characters.
While the matches are scripted and choreographed, either to a degree or called in the ring around the result, and the winner predetermined, there's always room for improvisation. Wrestlers often play to the crowd, adding their own flare to a match, and things have to be changed on the fly if the worst happens and something goes wrong either due to a missed spot or injury. Accidents can and do happen inside the ring and one missed spot or mistake can cause a major injury to a wrestler. Wrestling matches may be scripted, but they're certainly no walk in the park for the athletes.
A recent example of a spot gone wrong in the ring, scripted or not, was Drew McIntyre gushing blood from a cut in his head during his cage match against CM Punk at Bad Blood in October. During the match, Punk swung a metal toolbox that connected with "The Scottish Warrior's" head, which cut him open legitimately. Sometimes wrestlers use a "blading" method in the ring where they cut themselves to draw blood for dramatic affect in a match, but McIntyre was actually accidentally cut open seriously. He had to get 16 staples in his head to close the wound after the match.
Sometimes spots leading to injury aren't scripted, but some small thing goes wrong during execution, causing injury to a star. One of WWE's biggest stars, Charlotte Flair, was seriously injured in an accident during a match on "WWE SmackDown" in 2023 that had "The Queen" on the shelf for over a year. Flair took a spill from the top rope while attempting a move on her opponent and landed awkwardly on her leg. The injury was confirmed to be serious and Flair had torn her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.
