Wrestlemania is coming to Alaska. Here's everything you need to know.

A dozen wrestlers walk into Sullivan Arena …

No, that's not the setup for a weird hockey joke. It's a real thing that's going to happen this Saturday and Sunday when World Wrestling Entertainment brings some of its wrestling "Superstars" to Anchorage and Fairbanks on a two-day swing through the Last Frontier.

It's been close to four years since WWE last visited Alaska, and while fans are surely up to date on the storylines that will unfold in the squared circle, there will be plenty of parents, significant others, tag-alongs and chaperones who could find themselves lost in the action.

With that in mind, here's what the wrestling-uninitiated might be able to expect when WWE's Road to Wrestlemania live tour rolls into town.

First things first: Wrestling's fake, right?

It depends on what you mean by "fake." The term WWE uses to describe what they do is "sports entertainment." Are the outcomes of the matches predetermined? Yes. Are the piledrivers and powerbombs choreographed to look like they hurt more than they really do? Of course. But the athleticism on display — the jumps, the falls, the bodyslams — is all real. You can't fake a dive off the top rope when you're performing in person.

Can we check this show out on TV?

TV is just part of WWE's schedule. The events in Alaska are what WWE refers to as a "house show" — one that's performed just for the audience present and not filmed for TV. At a house show, you'll probably see a more stripped-down set than the giant video screens and pyrotechnics that accompany wrestler entrances on TV. You're also unlikely to see any of the titles (the championships symbolized by — but never called — belts carried or worn by the reigning champs) change hands, since those matches are news for WWE fans and generally saved for televised shows. House shows can also be chances for wrestlers to try out moves, promos or angles that could show up on TV at a later date.

Last year, WWE drafted all of its wrestlers into two casts — one featured on "Monday Night RAW" and the other on "Tuesday Night SmackDown" (formerly "Thursday Night SmackDown," formerly "Friday Night SmackDown"). The performers scheduled for the Anchorage show are from the "Monday Night RAW" roster, so the card on Saturday night will likely continue whatever drama is unfolding on "RAW" without advancing it too much.

Besides the fans in the audience Saturday night, there will certainly be a fair number of folks who don't follow wrestling. Any advice for them?

WWE is like a soap opera — there are long, endless, unfolding storylines around each of the wrestlers; there are good guys and bad guys ("faces" and "heels"); and it's a lot easier to care about what's going on when you have some sense of who's who and what they bring to the table. Saturday night's lineup is subject to change (one performer who was scheduled to appear, Seth Rollins, tore his MCL last week and has already been removed from the card), but here's a rundown of some of the wrestlers scheduled to appear, a few things to know about them, and some context to help non-fans in Anchorage and Fairbanks know what they might be able to expect this weekend.

Kevin Owens

Current WWE Universal champion

Currently feuding with: Sami Zayn, Goldberg, most of the WWE roster

A former darling of the independent wrestling circuit who joined the WWE main roster in 2015, Owens burst onto WWE TV in a fairly spectacular way, launching into a feud with then-United States Champion John Cena (yes, that John Cena, from the movies and the "Today" show). Owens is a strong wrestler whose signature finishing moves are powerbombs — lifting his opponent and slamming them into the mat. He's also strong on the mic, an antagonistic character known for picking fights (and for famously turning on Sami Zayn, his oldest friend). Owens is preparing to take on wrestling legend Goldberg at the Fastlane pay-per-view event in Milwaukee in March.

Chris Jericho

Current United States Champion

Currently feuding with: Sami Zayn

At age 46, Jericho is two years older than his former tag partner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and he's got more than a decade on the next-oldest wrestler on the card Saturday night. That said, Jericho is a showman, known for his flashy entrances (literally; he commonly wears jackets bedazzled with flashing LEDs) and strong mic work, and he's sure to entertain whether or not you know anything about the WWE Universe. Jericho and Owens are currently making a big show of being "best friends," a relationship that will almost certainly blow up at some point in the future.

Sami Zayn

Currently feuding with: Chris Jericho

Sami Zayn worked with wrestling promotions all over the world before signing with WWE's NXT developmental program in 2013. His debut on "Monday Night RAW" in 2015 actually put him on the sidelines for seven months, as he injured his shoulder waving to the crowd before he even stepped into the ring. Zayn is a high-flying cruiserweight wrestler with an energetic style. He has a long-running rivalry with Kevin Owens and unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the United States Championship on "RAW" this week, so expect to see a continuation of that feud at the house show.

Roman Reigns

Currently feuding with: Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe

Reigns is an example of what can happen when the company decides to make someone a star whether or not the fans are behind them. Born into a wrestling family (Reigns is related by blood or marriage to close to a dozen current and former wrestling stars, including The Rock), Reigns debuted on the main roster as part of a popular three-man tag team, The Shield, along with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. When Rollins betrayed his teammates, Reigns went solo, with a major push from WWE and its chairman, Vince McMahon, to make him the new face of the company. Crowds generally haven't been receptive to Reigns (he was booed as he entered last month's Royal Rumble match), and WWE has been accused of editing crowd reactions for television, so it will be interesting to see how Alaskans welcome him.

Braun Strowman

Currently feuding with: Roman Reigns

Strowman's conflict with Reigns goes back to his 2015 main roster debut, when he attacked Reigns and Dean Ambrose during his first appearance with the creepy Wyatt Family. Separated from the rest of the Wyatts during the 2016 WWE draft, the towering Strowman has gone solo, recently clashing with both Reigns and Kevin Owens. This week on "RAW," he emerged the victor in a four-on-one match and then disrupted Reigns' match against Samoa Joe, causing Reigns to lose; next month at Fastlane, he'll face off against Reigns again, so expect to see the two of them lock up.

Charlotte Flair

Current RAW Women's Champion

Currently feuding with: Sasha Banks, Bayley

If your perception of women's wrestling is based on the insulting bra-and-panties matches popular during the Attitude Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. Wrestlers like Charlotte Flair (daughter of 16-time world champion Rick Flair) have revolutionized the WWE women's division in a movement known as the Divas Revolution. No longer a "Divas" division populated with fitness models and men's magazine darlings, today's women are known as Superstars just like the men, and their wrestling is as athletic and technical. Flair is a compelling heel with a gymnastic style and a narcissistic character spun off from her father's flamboyant in-ring presence.

Sasha Banks

Currently feuding with: Nia Jax, Charlotte

As a tough-talking "Legit Boss" character developed with input from her real-life cousin Snoop Dogg, Banks is a compelling figure both in the ring and on the mic. Her current "RAW" storyline has her injured after a match with Nia Jax; this week, she didn't wrestle but sat backstage as Charlotte mocked her for being washed up. Look for her to clash with Charlotte.

The New Day: Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Big E

Currently feuding with: Muted colors, trombone fans, every tag team in the WWE

Initially debuting in 2014 as a babyface gospel choir-inspired group, The New Day leaned into the crowd's rejection of their gimmick, turned heel and evolved into one of the most unique and entertaining tag teams in the WWE (becoming the longest-reigning Tag Team Champions in WWE history along the way). If you're new to the WWE, you'll either love The New Day's energy and personality or be left completely confused (or maybe a bit of both), but don't let their colorful unicorn costumes, their goofy dancing and their beloved trombone blind you to the fact that all three are strong wrestlers. Kingston in particular is known for his acrobatics, put to the test each year in the annual Royal Rumble elimination match.

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Current Tag Team champions

In sharp contrast to the high jinks of The New Day, Gallows and Anderson are a forceful, frowning tag presence, crowned Tag Team Champions at last month's Royal Rumble pay-per-view when they took the title off Cesaro and Sheamus. Gallows and Anderson wrestled together for a variety of promotions before arriving in the WWE last year and are currently enjoying their first run as WWE's tag team titleholders.

Other Superstars scheduled to appear include Rusev, the Bulgarian Brute; cruiserweights Neville ("The Man Gravity Forgot") and TJ Perkins; and Sheamus, the Celtic Warrior, currently half of a tag team feuding with Gallows and Anderson.

Maia Nolan-Partnow is chief brand officer and in-house "smark" at Alaska Dispatch News.

WWE Live Road to WrestleMania is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. A second show will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. Tickets are $25-$115 (not including fees) and available at Ticketmaster.com.

Talk like a wrestler

Brush up on your wrestling vocabulary with these terms from the WWE vernacular!

babyface/face: Wrestling characters tend to be positioned either as good guys or bad guys. The good guys are known as "babyfaces," or "faces" for short.

bump: A hit in wrestling. To be on the receiving end of a move (and absorb it so it looks like it hurts more than it really does) is to "take a bump."

heel: The bad guy who antagonizes the babyface.

kayfabe: Industry term for the fictional storylines, characters and situations that drive the action. To "keep kayfabe" is to preserve the fantasy by pretending it's all real; to "break kayfabe" is to let reality break through the fantasy.

mark: A fan who wholeheartedly believes the fiction of wrestling. A "smark" (short for "smart mark") is a fan who knows it's all a show but willingly suspends disbelief in order to enjoy the show.

promo: A speech, interview or exchange, sometimes delivered ("cut") from backstage, sometimes from in the ring, often used to call out or mock a rival.

work: Used as a noun in pro wrestling, a work is something that's scripted to happen during a wrestling show. A "shoot" is something that's unplanned — so when a wrestler is injured in the ring, fans may want to know whether the injury is a "work" or a "shoot."