5 Times WWE fooled fans into thinking it was real

The WWE, and wrestling as a whole, is a soap opera.

We all know that what we see in the ring, isn't real, and as much as Kevin Owens and Kofi Kingston may despise each other on TV, the pair are actually working together to create entertainment.

But there are times when the WWE will be able to out-smart their fans, who thanks to the internet have got consistently more savvy to the company's tricks.

Blurring the lines between kayfabe and reality, the company have been able to dupe even the smartest members of the WWE Universe over the years.

Here are five times WWE were able to fool even their most hardcore of fans into thinking something real was happening.

5: Shawn Michaels collapses

The Heartbreak Kid 'collapsed' in the ring during a match against Owen Hart in 1995.

When you put the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and the Rocket Owen Hart into the ring together, great things are going to happen, right?

Well unfortunately not during an episode of RAW in 1995, as just minutes into the match, Michaels collapsed in the ring, leading to a scary situation for everyone involved as the show went off the air.

It would be almost a decade later until the truth came out about this, as though many believed Michaels collapsed due to over-exertion, the truth was far from that.

In the WWE produced Heartbreak & Triumph documentary, Michaels confessed that not long before the match, he had gotten into a fight with some Marines, after hitting on the girlfriend of one, and his body wasn't up to the match.

Pushing on, WWE had the match last for a few minutes, before Michaels 'collapsed', allowing HBK to take the night off.

#4 Joey Styles 'quits'

Styles quit WWE in 2006 but very quickly found himself with Tazz on ECW commentary.

In the latest WWE NEWS, Joey Styles was the voice of ECW until the day the company folded and throughout his tenure gave a whole new level of excitement to the extreme promotion.

So, it wasn't that surprising when Styles was brought into WWE's fold in 2005, serving on the RAW commentary team in the absence of Jim Ross.

When J.R. returned though, the company wanted Styles out of the picture and at first, it seemed like the company had forced him to quit.

After being embarrassed by Jerry Lawler and the Spirit Squad, Styles 'quit' the show after a promo where he addressed many real issues in WWE, including Vince McMahon's tasteless feud with God.

A work from the start, Styles would be in the revamped ECW just months later, but many believed his RAW 'shoot' was real.

#3 Alexa Bliss 'dislocates' her elbow

The Petite Powerhouse was able to fool everyone into thinking she was really injured during Great Balls of Fire.

Since her call-up to the WWE main roster in 2016, Alexa Bliss has been one of the most prominently featured Superstars on both RAW and SmackDown Live.

A solid hand in the ring, Bliss has also shown herself to be a great heel and at the 2017 Great Balls of Fire event, proved that there is no depth she will not stoop to.

During her RAW Women's Championship match with Sasha Banks, Bliss seemingly suffered a horrible injury, as her elbow looked severely dislocated.

The reaction from the crowd was matched by the commentators, who believed Bliss was genuinely hurt until the petite powerhouse capitalized on the distraction to attack the Boss.

Actually double-jointed, Bliss fooled everyone and would retain her championship, albeit via a countout loss.

#2 Mark Henry 'retires'

With a tear in his eye, Henry's performance was Oscar-worthy.

By 2013, Mark Henry had done it all in WWE.

A former World Champion, Henry had led a historic career and had won the very-real claim of the World's Strongest Man in 2002.

So when the Texan appeared on the June 17, 2013, edition of RAW to announce his retirement, nobody was too surprised.

In a truly heartfelt speech, Henry thanked every fan who had supported him, and with a tear in his eye, embraced then-WWE Champion John Cena.

Shocking everyone though, Henry demolished Cena with an impactful World's Strongest Slam, proclaiming he had plenty left in the tank.

Though he would be unsuccessful in taking Cena's title, Henry proved himself to be one of the finest actors in WWE history, as his performance was just the latest part of the Texan's Hall of Fame-worthy career.

#1 Lesnar demolishes Orton

Fans didn't know what to think of Lesnar after his assault on Orton.

A bout many considered a dream-match (myself included), Summerslam 2016 saw the first ever encounter between Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton.

Two of WWE's youngest World Champions, many fans eagerly anticipated the match, though everyone was shocked by its conclusion.

During the brief contest, Orton was busted open and Lesnar continued to attack the Viper, leading to a Lesnar TKO victory and fans were outraged over The Beast intentionally harming the Legend Killer.

The truth of the matter, though, was that the angle was planned all along and both Lesnar and Orton knew the match was going to end in blood.

A truly shocking moment that led many fans (and even Chris Jericho) to react with genuine emotion to what unfolded, we have to give props to both The Beast and the Legend Killer for pulling this off.