Kayfabe - A Break Which Is Apparent But Not Acknowledged

A Break Which Is Apparent But Not Acknowledged

In the ring as in theater many scripted things can easily go wrong, either due to wrestler or equipment error. Like theater, these are often covered-up and not apparent to fans. On some occasions mishaps have been brought into sharp relief due to the circumstances or actions of individuals, making the mistakes obvious.

• Bret Hart once talked about a match against Dino Bravo he was meant to win; during the match, Bravo threw Hart into a barrier outside of the ring and broke Hart's sternum. Without letting Bravo know, Hart battled on and was in severe pain. When he was thrown back into the ring, he rolled himself back outside the ring and was counted out without giving away his injury.
• In the 1995 Summerslam ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, Shawn Michaels twice fumbled in his attempt to retrieve the belt, the second time very obviously, forcing his opponent Razor Ramon to lie down for a lengthy period of time, far greater than what is normally associated with the bump that he took. It is generally believed, however, that this mistake actually made the match better than what it would have been with the scripted ending. It is often ranked as one of the best WWE matches of all time.
• At SummerSlam 1997, in another Intercontinental Title Match, a botched reverse piledriver administered by Owen Hart to Steve Austin resulted in a (real life) serious injury for Austin. He was clearly unable to move for several minutes and eventually only did so with great difficulty. Austin was booked to win, and Owen taunted him and the crowd for a while until Austin rolled him up for a weak pin and the win.
• On March 12, 2000 New Jack (legitimately) suffered brain damage and was temporarily blinded in his right eye, when he and his opponent, Vic Grimes, fell off a balcony, missed the tables that were supposed to absorb the force of their fall and landed on the concrete floor (with Grimes landing on New Jack's head) at Living Dangerously 2000.
• At SummerSlam 2000, in the three-way match for the WWF Championship between The Rock, Triple H & Kurt Angle, Triple H attempted to give Angle a Pedigree, his finishing move on the announce table. The table legitimately collapsed and Angle was rendered unconscious. The microphones from the collapsed announcers table picked up and broadcast Triple H whispering "Are you OK mate?" to the injured Kurt Angle. The other two participants improvised until Angle was able to regain consciousness so the match could go on to its scripted finish. However, Angle would later claim in his autobiography that while his injury was real, everything that led up to it as well as the aftermath was scripted.
• At No Way Out 2001, the Rock wrestled WWF Champion Kurt Angle. As noted in Angle's autobiography It's True! It's True! the finish to the match was supposed to be the Rock giving Angle a Rock Bottom to win the match and the title. He did so, but referee Earl Hebner stopped his count at two by mistake by almost counting three but stopping short, apparently forgetting the original finish. Ringside announcers Jim Ross and Tazz covered for Hebner's mistake by saying that Angle had kicked out despite the fact that Angle made no visible effort to do so. The Rock then gave Angle a second Rock Bottom and Hebner made a three count to finally end the match.
• On May 21, 2001, Triple H tore his quadriceps during a tag team title match. The injury happened as Triple H was breaking up Chris Jericho's Walls of Jericho while Steve Austin was in the hold. Although he was visibly in pain, the fact that he was apparently injured was not mentioned by Jim Ross or Paul Heyman, and Triple H managed to continue the match, taking the Walls of Jericho on the announce table at one point. Following the match, which Jericho and Chris Benoit won, Triple H would be out of action until the 2002 Royal Rumble.
• At Armageddon 2006, The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) wrestled MNM (Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury), Paul London and Brian Kendrick and William Regal and Dave Taylor. Mercury was struck in the face by a ladder, he was then rushed to the emergency room where he received five stitches to the inside of his nose, and fifteen to the outside. The WWE worked his legitimate injury into an angle, in which Mercury looked for revenge against the Hardys.
• At New Years Revolution 2007, Triple H tore his quadriceps again (the same injury as in 2001 but in the other leg) while performing a Spinebuster to Randy Orton in a Tag Team Title Match. The match then ended with Triple H (and tag partner Shawn Michaels) getting intentionally disqualified.
• In October 2007, John Cena battled Mr. Kennedy on an edition of Raw. During the match, Cena tore his pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss on Kennedy. For the duration of the match, Cena visibly favored his shoulder and arm. After the match, Randy Orton (then in the middle of a feud with Cena), attacked Cena, eventually performing his finisher, the RKO on him while on top of an announcing table. WWE worked Cena's real life injury into the Orton/Cena feud, stating that Cena's shoulder was injured due to the RKO. Though, Mr. Kennedy in his promos following that match, claimed he had put Cena out of action.
• On October 22, 2007, Candice Michelle battled Beth Phoenix on Raw for the WWE Women's Championship in a two out of three falls match. At the end of the match, Candice Michelle went for a diving crossbody off the top turnbuckle, where Phoenix had pushed the top rope causing Candice to fall on the mat, causing her to hit her head and neck. It was later reported that she had legitimately broken her collarbone.
• In June 2008, at the One Night Stand PPV, Triple H battled Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship. At one point during the match, Orton was supposed to attempt an RKO on Triple H, which was then supposed to be countered, resulting in Orton being thrown over the top rope to the floor. Yet as Orton hit the floor, he suffered a legitimate broken collarbone, and as he was writhing in agony, Triple H could be seen discussing with the referee and the EMTs whether or not to continue the match. In the recorded broadcast it can clearly be seen and heard as the referee advises Triple H to conclude the match early by saying "get the sledgehammer, the sledgehammer" and continuously telling him to "be careful". Triple H then took out his signature sledgehammer, and proceeded to hit Orton in the head with it, thus finishing the match.
• On an edition of RAW in January 2010, Kofi Kingston botched the ending of a match between himself and Randy Orton, which was to be Orton giving Kingston a Punt Kick to get the pinfall. While Kingston was out of place, it can clearly be seen and heard as Orton chastises him by screaming "Stupid! Stupid!". Orton then proceeded to hit the RKO finisher on Kingston to get the win.
• On the September 12, 2011 edition of WWE Raw, CM Punk referred to both himself and Triple H by their respective real names of Phil Brooks and Paul Levesque.
• On the February 27, 2012 edition of WWE Raw, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) described his earliest days in WWE when he used to get booed by fans in the arena, despite being presented by WWE as a babyface.
• On the October 8, 2012 edition of WWE Raw, CM Punk struck a fan while standing in the crowd after being push and shoved several times by many members of the audience.