Getting into WWE and pro wrestling: how it works, the shows, and what the terms mean

TUREFF• •0

Professional wrestling is one of the strangest and most rewarding things to start watching as an adult. The results are planned, the storylines are written, and the athletes take real risks with their bodies every night. Once you accept both halves of that, it makes a lot of sense.

What pro wrestling actually is

Pro wrestling is sports entertainment: a performance staged as a competition. The winners are decided in advance by the promotion's creative team, and the matches are worked cooperatively so that both wrestlers can perform night after night. That does not make it fake in the physical sense. The falls are real, the athleticism is real, and injuries happen regularly. A good match is choreographed in outline but largely called in the ring, a bit like improvised theatre with a high degree of physical danger. Think of it as a long-running drama in which the fights are the climax of each story.

The key terms

Face: a hero the audience is meant to cheer.
Heel: a villain the audience is meant to boo.
Turn: when a face becomes a heel or the reverse, often one of the biggest moments in a storyline.
Kayfabe: the convention of presenting the stories as real. Breaking kayfabe means stepping out of character.
Promo: a speech, usually on the microphone, that sets up a feud.
Feud or programme: a rivalry between wrestlers that builds over weeks to a match.
Push: when a promotion invests in making a wrestler look important.
Finisher: a wrestler's signature move that usually ends a match.
Spot: a planned high point in a match, such as a dive off the top rope.
Work and shoot: something scripted versus something genuine.
Pop and heat: cheers for a face and boos for a heel. Both mean the act is working.

The major promotions

WWE is the largest company in the world, with weekly television, huge arenas and the biggest stars. Its main brands are Raw and SmackDown, with NXT as the developmental brand where new talent is built up.
AEW (All Elite Wrestling), founded in 2019, is the main American alternative, with a style that often leans towards longer, more athletic matches.
NJPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling) is the leading Japanese promotion, known for hard-hitting, sport-like matches and its January show at the Tokyo Dome.

There are also many independent promotions, women's promotions and regional companies in Mexico (lucha libre), the UK and elsewhere.

Weekly shows and premium live events

Wrestling runs on a weekly cycle. Television shows build the stories, and the big premium live events (what used to be called pay-per-views) pay them off. In WWE the biggest are the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series, with WrestleMania as the annual peak. If you only have time for a little, watching the big events and catching recaps of the weekly shows works well.

Where to watch

Since January 2025 WWE Raw has streamed on Netflix, in the United States and in many other countries. Outside the US, Netflix also carries the other WWE shows and the premium live events in many territories, while in the US those events have stayed on Peacock. Some countries have separate deals with local broadcasters. Rights change, so check WWE's official "where to watch" page for your country. AEW and NJPW have their own television and streaming arrangements.

How to start watching

Pick one promotion and stick with it for a month so you learn the characters.
Start a few weeks before a big event so you can follow a feud to its end.
Look up "best matches" lists from the last few years for an idea of what each company does best.
Do not worry about decades of history. Every show is written so that new viewers can follow it.

Who was the wrestler or match that got you hooked? Share your recommendations for newcomers in the comments.