Feud (professional wrestling)
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A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or factions of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised. Feuds may be protracted and last for months or even years or be resolved with implausible speed, perhaps during the course of a single match.
Feuds are often the result of the friction that is created between faces (the heroic figures) and heels (the malevolent, 'evil' participants). Common causes of feuds are a purported slight or insult, although they can be based on many other things, including conflicting moral codes or simple professional one-upmanship such as the pursuit of a championship. Some of the more popular feuds with audiences involve pitting former allies, particularly tag team partners, against each other. Depending on how popular and entertaining the feud may be, it is usually common practice for a feud to continue on for weeks, usually building toward a match in a supercard.
Traditionally, most promoters wanted to "protect the business" by having wrestlers act in character in public, and thus further convince the live audience that the feuding wrestlers really did hate each other and looked to outdo each other. However, throughout the years, the wrestling business has become very open, which allowed the fans to see otherwise. A notorious incident involving the The Clique occurred during a World Wrestling Federation (WWF) house show, in which the face pair of Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall embraced the heel pair of Kevin Nash and Triple H, thus "breaking" this illusion.
While many feuds in professional wrestling are entirely fictional, there have been successful feuds that actually originated from a real life rivalry and/or animosity between wrestlers. A prime example of this was the feud between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, who despite having one of the WWF's and professional wrestling's most memorable on-screen feuds, really did have total disdain for each other, evidenced by many legitimate backstage fights between the two. The on-screen feuds of Matt Hardy and Edge and later, Mick Foley and Ric Flair both stemmed from legitimate dislike for each other.
