What Ekta Kapoor could learn from the longest-running soap opera: It has more stars than Hum Saath Saath Hain, a bigger budget than Dharma

The season goes on the entire year (imagine Salman Khan taking his jacket off in Big Boss for 365 days), and the gruelling part of the business comes to light when you realise that the new season begins the very next day of the season finale. No breaks, no time-outs. It doesn’t matter if you got thrown out of the ring by a 7-foot-tall man last night, or the script required you to get hit by a steel chair right on your head. When Monday Night Raw starts right after Wrestlemania, you show up. This ever-evolving process of travelling the entire country (sometimes the world for foreign events), putting your body through enormous amounts of pain and suffering, while showing your face during every press tour, merch signing, and interview, is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and it proves that wrestling isn’t fake; it’s rehearsed beauty.

The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. (Photo: WWE)

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From the get-go, you notice that the documentary isn’t trying to give a history lesson (like Mr McMahon); they throw you right into the mix of things, and the biggest employees, like John Cena, CM Punk and Rhea Ripley, give the fans insight into what their position is in the company right now. The off-camera persona of these stars isn’t exactly the polar opposite of their actual personalities. The in-ring characters they are playing are products of a hidden and trodden part of themselves, something Rhea talks about and says, “I like to say that it is the side of me that would get arrested in everyday life. It’s all the sides that I don’t like to show in my actual life.” For the longest time, WWE superstars were supposed to carry their characters with them everywhere they went, whether it was random guest spots at SNL, fan interactions, or talk shows. I mean, Ted DiBiase (Million Dollar Man), who was a heel, once offered a kid from the audience $500 if he managed to dribble a basketball 10 times. Just as the 6-year-old kid got to dribble number 9, he kicked the ball. He would have loved actors like Irrfan Khan, because that is true dedication to your role. This loyalty to one’s in-ring persona slowly changed, and wrestlers started to act like normal human beings during interviews.

John Cena and CM Punk. (Photo: WWE)

Now Unreal has completely broken ‘kayfabe’ (the story that is being portrayed on the screen); you see superstars hugging and congratulating each other minutes after beating each other to an inch from death. You see the spots (positions or moves you are supposed to carry out in the ring) being planned, stories being meticulously broken down before being green-lit, and you see how all segments, matches, and camera angles are part of an orchestra, and the CCO, Triple H, is the conductor. Sure, the German Philharmonic doesn’t necessarily break tables and chairs (even though a true classical music fan might be moved to), but watching Hunter (Triple-H) dictate every move, every shot, and every decision tells you exactly the amount of skill it requires to perform live in front of a packed-out stadium. Mind you, WWE fans are some of the most cynical people on the planet, so if a punch doesn’t connect properly, or a signature move gets botched, they will notice it, and they will create a Reddit thread about it.

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The documentary then explains one of the most important aspects of WWE as a company, the Gorilla Position, named after a very famous wrestler from the yesteryears, Gorilla Monsoon. This is the room which serves as the backstage and kind of a PCR throughout the show. The explanation given in the documentary is less technical and more philosophical, as it gives the fans an insight into the room that controls the fate of the show and all the superstars in it. Netflix bends the ‘drive to survive’ format just the right amount while focusing on the psyche of everyone involved with the production of the show. You see a massive team of employees create this huge spectacle, only to tear it down at the end of the show. It works like the modern-day circus, and instead of animals being tortured, you see grown-ups jump through literal fire, metal and concrete, which justifies the exorbitant amount of money they make (it really does), and the huge pay cheque is just one of the similarities between Bollywood and WWE.

The Gorilla Position in every WWE arena.

Tell me if any of this seems similar: the current champion (top guy) is the son of one of the legends of the game, one of the greatest female talents of this generation is the daughter of another veteran, and the greatest wrestler of this generation is a complete outsider. I get that this could be anyone else, but Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan having similar career stories as Cody Rhodes, Charlotte Flair and John Cena is just something too fun to not mention. As Unreal tells the story of some other outsiders trying to make a name for themselves and nepo-kids trying to find relevance, they move on to breaking down the most important story that came from WWE this year.

Cena announced last year that 2025 was going to be his final year with the company, a decision that sank hearts across the world. The company and Cena both agreed on a farewell tour, during which Cena would face some marquee superstars with whom he has feuded during his illustrious career. This was a great plan, but everyone wondered whether, during the tour, Cena was going to become the ‘never seen 17’ time world champion or not. They had to make sure Cena wins the championship without making his run to the title too predictable. Here is where Unreal shines the most; in the hands of arguably WWE’s greatest star, the documentary suddenly shifts into a new gear and tells the story of one of the greatest heel turns of all time. It starts with Royal Rumble and whoever edited the footage of the event for this documentary deserves a raise, and a very big one. The camera focuses on key eliminations throughout the match, but the footage cuts in such a way that you feel like it was all happening at once. In one frame Cena could be eliminating someone in the left corner, while in the next frame he could be fighting for his survival near the top-right turnbuckle. It was cohesive, it was quick and it was the most efficient way of portraying WWE’s most chaotic event.

Triple-H and The Rock at Elimination Chamber. (Photo: WWE)

The heel turn of John Cena seems so much more impressive when you realise that Hunter and The Rock decided to keep the news from everyone, including the ring announcers and commentators. You can’t let information like Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker’s father out or leak the fact that Nandini’s son, who was kidnapped in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, was actually being raised by Parvati from Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki (Ekta Kapoor had a multiverse before the MCU). The shock on every kid’s face was genuine, and the commentator Michael Cole truly felt helpless for a few moments, as he saw the kid who grew into a superstar right in front of his eyes go against everything he stood for.

Graphic showing the people who knew about John Cena’s heel turn. (Photo: WWE)

While Unreal doesn’t get all of it right, it makes a valid attempt at being honest with the audience. The superstars are stripped of their characters, entrance music and costumes; it’s just them, laying it bare for the world to judge the legitimacy of this job. As you get to the last episode, you can’t help but feel a bit tired. You are hit with so much information that you just want to take a break. At that point you truly realise the relentless nature of this business, as the director shows Hunter with the script of Monday Night Raw just as Wrestlemania 41 ends. It’s an orchestra, it’s a circus, it’s a performance, it’s a spectacle, and Unreal does its best to show what all goes on behind the curtain and why the show must go on.