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The Internet has a polarizing presence in our lives, to say the least, especially for the pro wrestling faithful. It's great to see the Superstars shed their characters to be their real selves every once in a while. For the traditionalists, though, the internet has contributed to the steady demise of kayfabe.
The Undertaker is on Twitter and it's downright ridiculous yet refreshingly unique to see his tweets. It really is.
The staggering influence of the interwebs has forced WWE to adapt to the times. The company has immense clout online, and they need an unending supply of content to keep feeding it to their burgeoning online fanbase.
It's the reality era and content these days addresses both the real and reel life elements of professional wrestling, or sports entertainment as we've been conditioned to believe. That's been the recurring theme on all of WWE's podcasts and Network specials. WWE's photo albums on their websites after major PPVs have also ditched the age-old ideals of kayfabe.
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And even if they manage to conceal something - whether it is a photo or an interesting backstage detail - the Internet is inevitable and you'd eventually find it circulating all over the place.
In the slideshow, we've picked out 7non-kayfabe photos from recent times, which were ether released by WWE or just magically ended up online:
#7. Behind the scenes of The Boneyard Match
The fans will talk about the Boneyard match for years to come and rightfully so. It was cinematic wrestling done right. It rehabilitated a supposedly washed-out Undertaker and that says volumes of the match's success.
As you may have imagined, a lot of painstaking effort went into putting the match together.
It took eight straight hours to film the whole darn thing and it's safe to say that it was worth all the hard work.
Michael Hayes, Triple H and Jeremy Borash played big roles with both AJ Styles and The Undertaker also having major inputs in how the match was produced.
The NXT production worked tirelessly during the shoot all night and Twitter user @RJStylesB2R shared a few rare behind-the-scenes photos from the tapings.
The Undertaker and AJ Styles can be seen discussing spots of the match between shots and it's not something that we thought we would see right after they attempted to bury each other.
Undertaker and AJ Styles were really invested in the match, as according to WhatCulture's exclusive report, the WWE veterans went out of their way to help the druids get familiar with their roles.
That's not all, WWE also hired locals from the Orange County community to help with the setup and the veterans were everyone as equals.
#6. The Fiend isn't a monster after all
The Fiend terrorized John Cena in the Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36 and it somewhat restored the monstrous aura of Bray Wyatt's alter-ego that was destroyed by his unwanted loss to Goldberg at Super ShowDown.
The Fiend is the most terrifying character to have been introduced on WWE TV in recent times, and WWE, as well as Bray Wyatt, have gone the extra mile to protect the mystique of the gimmick. There is a reason why Bray Wyatt is not featured in any of the backstage photo albums uploaded on the WWE website.
However, the photo above manages to ruin the carefully protected eeriness of The Fiend.
The Fiend can be seen with a production member and it's hilarious as if you look closely, you would see Wyatt smiling through the mask.
The production team had no option but to let The Fiend in and he was nice enough to pose for a photo or two.
Say whatever about the man, The Fiend is a softie beyond the mask.
#5. Save the big cats or rest in peace
We have already seen shades of Mark Calaway during his WrestleMania 36 feud against AJ Styles, but in this instance, it's Mark Calaway with shades of the Deadman.
The photo is from a recent Public Service Announcement video in which The Undertaker and his wife Michelle McCool delivered an important message about preserving tigers.
The Deadman and the former Divas Champion spent a day at Myrtle Beach Safari and they also had the opportunity to catch up with Bhagavan 'Doc' Antle, who was one of the tiger trainers of the popular Netflix series 'Tiger King'.
The Undertaker sent out a message about the importance of saving tigers in the PSA, which you can watch below:
The Undertaker reignited his career in the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania as he put on a nostalgic performance in the show-stealer of the first day.
The Undertaker's new character is a blend of Mark Calaway, Big Evil and the classic Deadman, and he is expected to continue in the same vein going forward.
The Phenom is gearing up for the final phase of his career and he is making sure that he has a memorable last ride.
#4. Just Goldberg meeting Machka on a hot Rusev day in Saudi Arabia
Do you remember when Goldberg tripped during a brawl with Rusev on an episode of RAW in 2016? If not, this should refresh your memories.
Goldberg took on Undertaker at Super ShowDown 2019 and it would be better if we do not go into the details of the match.
WWE, however, released a very intriguing video of the Superstars hanging out at the King Abdullah International Sports Stadium in Jeddah, Saudia Rabia ahead of the show.
The video provides a candid peek into the preparations for the PPV and one epic moment was when Goldberg and Rusev met each other.
What you may not know is that Rusev had taken a big shot at Goldberg on Twitter in the build-up to the show. The two Superstars even had a history of kayfabe tension from a couple of years ago and that made their interaction even more awkward.
Rusev was at his cheeky best, however, as he joked about almost beating The Undertaker at Crown Jewel a year ago. Never change Machka, never change!
#3. NXT rivals discuss their WrestleMania moments
Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley may be on-screen rivals but they share a friendly bond backstage just like most other WWE Superstars.
This photo is from the behind-the-scenes album published on WWE.com in which the NXT rivals are probably talking about their respective WrestleMania moments. We're just speculating here but it's a safe assumption to make.
Rhea Ripley faced Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women's Championship on day 2 of WrestleMania 36. Flair and Ripley put on a solid technical match that ended with The Nightmare dropping the title to The Queen.
The finish of the match came under criticism as many fans and pundits felt that taking the title off Ripley would derail her momentum. The WWE officials, however, felt that making Charlotte a two-time NXT Women's Champion will help boost the ratings of the brand. We'll see how that works out.
While Flair is expected to be regularly featured on NXT going forward, Bianca Belair made her full-time main roster move.
Belair showed up during the RAW Tag Team titles match at WrestleMania to assist her real-life husband Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins in their match against Angel Garza and Austin Theory.
Belair confirmed her main roster call-up by appearing again on the post-WrestleMania episode of RAW.
With Belair on RAW and Ripley set to be on NXT, we may not see them battle again anytime soon.
#2. Backstage at the Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble 2020 match was one of the best-booked Rumbles in years as Drew McIntyre winning the match got the ovation that it deserved.
In the photo, three of the final four competitors in the match can be seen sharing a cordial moment backstage. It's odd to see Orton congratulating McIntyre as we're used to seeing The Viper as a sinister heel on TV.
Randy Orton was 27th Superstar to be eliminated from the match by Edge and the Rated-R Superstar himself didn't last too long after the elimination.
It came down to Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre and The Scottish Psychopath rightfully went over in the end.
It was a great atmosphere backstage as the entire locker room realized how much the win meant to McIntyre. After years of ups and downs, he finally got the opportunity to live his WrestleMania dream, which was to take on Brock Lesnar for the biggest prize on Sports Entertainment.
The reactions of Orton and Reigns says a lot about how much support McIntyre has backstage.
The fans may not have been present at the Performance Centre to witness McIntyre's coronation at WrestleMania 36, but we all felt the feel-good moment from our homes and the new WWE Champion felt the vibes as well.
#1. Roman Reigns shares an emotional moment with his greatest rival
It was a shocker not just for the fans but also for the Superstars behind the scenes. On the episode of RAW on October 22nd, 2018, Roman Reigns announced that he had been privately battling Leukemia for 11 long years and the blood cancer had unfortunately returned.
The Big Dog had to relinquish the Universal Championship that he won from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam that year. It was a tear-jerking moment to fathom that broke promotional boundaries and brought the pro wrestling community in unison to support of Reigns.
The scenes backstage that day were particularly emotional as you'd expect. The Superstars hugged Reigns as soon as he came through the curtains after making his announcement. Reigns shared some intense moments with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Paul Heyman before he came face-to-face with Braun Strowman.
Strowman, who was the MITB holder at that time, was scheduled to take on Reigns and Lesnar in a Triple Threat Match for the title at Crown Jewel. Also, we don't need to remind you that Strowman and Reigns' feud against each other is the best that either man has had in their respective careers.
Strowman embraced Reigns and told him that he was a brother to him and that he could ask him for absolutely anything.
It makes more sense now that Strowman was picked to replace Reigns at WrestleMania 36 against Goldberg. The Monster Among Men even did what Reigns was originally supposed to do and that was to win the Universal Championship.
We just can't wait for these two to rekindle their rivalry soon once the coronavirus pandemic is a thing of the past.
Ex WWE writer blasts Liv Morgan HERE
