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But long before the two meet, Riesman introduces readers to what has arguably become the central conceit of both figures’ lives: the art of kayfabe.

Did you find it a challenge to separate the truth from the kayfabe — the wrestling stagecraft?

Or maybe, he says, the encore is like an act of kayfabe, referring to the portrayal of staged events in pro wrestling.

But the best parts of wrestling are where the line between the real world and the kayfabe reality of the ring begins to blur.

Characters openly explain terms like “kayfabe,” the performer’s commitment to insisting that the action and melodramas are strictly “real,” and the best way to hit someone with your elbow without actually hurting them.