It is an unfailingly strange cultural experience for me to hang out with someone who enjoys wrestling. A big fan of pro wrestling is deeply aware of the realities of the performances, both in and out of kayfabe, how and when things in the live performances might have gone wrong, how the performers deal with mistakes, the athletic portions versus "cutting promos" (talking trash on the mic) etc.<p>And then there's the inevitable Santa Claus factor, where a younger relative or someone enters the equation, so all adults present must now watch themselves so as not to "break kayfabe". I remember talking to a wrestling fan about Brock Lesnar, who has been in and out of legitimately competitive MMA due to injuries, and whose career fell back onto pro wrestling when he was too injured to compete in MMA any longer, and a kid was confused how he couldn't compete in MMA but he could "compete" in the WWE.<p>To someone who has always found sports cultures in general to be very odd and alien, this specific fandom is another level of remarkable and fascinating.