Ronda Rousey Makes Kayfabe Tap

Ronda Rousey recently appeared on Roddy Piper's podcast, Piper's Pit. If you don't subscribe to it, you should. Roddy's style is very informal, very conversational, and it's in that same style that he interviewed the UFC sensation.

Much of the program centered on Rousey's WrestleMania 31 spot of course and she spent a lot of time going into great detail about it. The planning that went into it, the execution of the spot itself, the fact that she was in the wrong position to give Triple H the hip throw and had to improvise, it's all there.

And as I listened to her laugh about the fun she had, it occurred to me that I wasn't listening to a podcast. I was listening to UFC's hottest attraction making kayfabe tap out. In fact, she practically broke its arm in the process.

Here's the thing. Fans know the deal and we have for quite some time; WWE cares more about the show than the storyline. If you need any proof of that, just check out the Superstars' social media when they're not in the ring. Very few of them stay in character and most of the time, you can see heels talking to babyfaces.

But we know that's how it goes right? Strict adherence to the fictional reality set forth by the company is a thing of the past. Fans no longer sit back and talk about the matches as much as they do the Superstars themselves.

The individuals are the driving force in WWE, not the angles. Oh we talk about how imporant good storylines are and why they should be fully developed to make the product as interesting and intriguing as possible.

But at the end of the day, kayfabe is thrown out the window. It's the reason why Triple H is polite to random fans on Twitter and why Stephanie McMahon's bio states that she "plays a bad guy on TV."

And it's also why Ronda Rousey went on Piper's show with full disclosure of everything that went behind the scenes for her Mania spot. Evidently at no point did anyone from WWE get in her ear and advise her that maybe keeping backstage information private was a good idea.

She didn't know to keep it quiet because she likely wasn't told to. And truth be told if she does indeed work WrestleMania 32, this oversight will not cause any less tickets to be sold. But for me, it just feels like a letdown. I know there's no real animosity between Rousey and Stephanie. I understand that it was all planned weeks, if not months, in advance.

I just don't want to hear it from them. Let me hang onto whatever slim thread of kayfabe that might still exist and let me just see what happens. Keep me guessing. No one wants to go see a magician, only to have the guy explain each trick as he does it. It's the same concept here.

We have to remind ourselves that it's WWE, it's not pro wrestling. Sports entertainment is the name of the game and in that world, workers break character all the time. It's an accepted behavior now, one that doesn't even turn heads anymore.

But it should. It always should. Too bad it didn't here.