Common
Wrestling Terms
If
you're really lost, and you dunno what the hell wrestlers or
wrestling fans go on about - the following terms and definitions
will help guide you to the way of life *lol* Hope they help ya
anyways =)
- ANGLE
- The current storyline or
sequence of events a worker is involved in.
- BABY
- Term uses to describe the
"good" wrestler. People on the net tend to use
the word "face" as the full name is Babyface.
Wrestlers themselves tend to use "baby".
- BLADE
- To cut oneself with a sharp
object (ie: to blade). May also refer to the object used
(ie: he used a razor blade to blade himself). Often used
by net people but wrestlers more commonly refer to it as
a GIG.
- BLACK HAT
- Black Hat: A one-time heel
who attains popularity with fans in spite of his outlaw
image. WWF champion Stone Cold Steve Austin is the
quintessential example.
- BOOKER
- One who sets and plans the
matches and storylines.
- BUMP
- The way in which a wrestler
lands on the mat, floor, etc. in order to lessen the
impact and damage on their bodies. Online fans often
refer to a person taking a nasty "bump". The
worker is in fact doing a spot while falling and then
taking the "bump" correctly.
- CARNY
- Most people on the net have
never heard of this and fewer still know what it means.
Carny is a "language" once used by wrestlers
(some still know it today) to call moves and spots in the
ring. The thought was that even if someone heard you call
a spot, they would not know that is what it was since the
wrestlers would be speaking "carny".
- FACE
- A "good guy"
wrestler promoters hope will be loved by fans. Derived
from Babyface, wrestlers use "baby" instead.
eg. "Kidman is a total face."
- FEEDING
- The act where an experienced
wrestler will set himself up in positions to let less
experienced wrestlers execute moves easier. Only formally
trained wrestlers can identify these moves in a match and
it is generally regarded as the sign of an excellent
wrestler. Ric Falir and Arn Anderson are some of the best
"feeders" in the world while Hulk Hogan, Kevin
Nash, Scott Hall and most other "top" names are
terrible feeders. Feeding your oponent is one of the key
elements of making your opponent look good.
- FINISHER/FINISHING HOLD
- A big move at the end to
bring the opponent to a pin. eg. The Corporate Elbow, The
Shooting Star Press, Tombstone, etc.
- GIG
- Same as blade but used by
wrestlers when speaking to one another. As with blade,
you can use a "gig" (sharp object) or
"gig" yourself (cut your self).
- HEAT
- The level that a crowd is
involved in a wrestling match and / or a wrestler. Good
heat ensures continued employment and a push. Wrestlers
often interject themselves in other wrestler's
"heat" situations to "steal" their
"heat". This is of course considered extremely
bad and unprofessional. There is also CHEAP HEAT which is
getting a crowd reation based not on any move or
character developement but on a proven, simple act (IE:
giving the fans the 'finger')
- HEEL
- The opposite of a face; a
dirty rule-breaker, deemed undesirable by the fans.
"Ever since he went to WCW, Hogan's been a
heel."
- HOOKER
- Years ago, wrestling would
from time to time become a legitimate contest (especially
if someone put a shoot on another wrestler). There were
wrestlers that began to learn moves that could seriously
injure a man to defend themselves against such a threat.
There were only a handful of these men - Ed Lewis and Lou
Thesz being two of the greatest ever. They were used
primarily to settle disputes - be it business or
territorial. Hooker's basically employed a full-blown
shootfighting style when the time required it. Due to the
"softness" and "weakness" of the
current wrestling scene, hookers no longer exist or are
used.
- INSIDER
- People in the wrestling
business. Workers or office personel that make their
living off the wrestling world. There are VERY few
insiders online and they will never let it be known who
they are. Information is NEVER leaked to the online
community by these people as they have information that
would upset most of the wrestling fans in the world.
There are currently NO ONLINE news services (including
Bob Ryder and 1wrestling.com) that are insiders. Bob
Ryder is presented information first but only information
that has been cleared to be released to the public.
1wrestling.com has all of their news / interviews fully
worked. The news that you read (including the news that
is collected on this page) is clean, sanatized news for
your protection. If we let out just some of the insider
information we had the wrestling fan would turn a bitter
nose and head the other way. It is safer and for more
profitable to give nice, clean news (no matter what other
news pages may tell you and no matter how
"shocking" the news is - it can not even begin
to touch reality.)
- JABRONIE
- A new untested wrestler. The
second meaning is used by The Great One (The Rock) as an
insult. eg. "You jabronie!"
- JOB
- To lose a match - take a
fall. Jobbing is the core of the business and in recent
times we have scene an influx of top-card wrestlers
refusing to job. This is an indication of just how far
the wrestling world has slipped and just how bad of
ego-maniacs there are out there. A truly great wrestler
will job to anyone at any time and fully understands the
usefullness of jobbing to the business.
- JUICER
- Similar to Blade. A
match in which a competitor draws blood from himself on
purpose, usually with a hidden shank or razor blade, to
help create heat.
-
- KAYFABE
- Old carny term used to refer
to the level of secrecy about the inner workings of the
wrestling world. Once used to describe letting out even
the mildest of hints that wrestling was not real it is
now thrown around carelessly to describe any revealed
knowledge of the inner workings of the business.
- JOBBER
- A professional loser-usually
a journeyman paid by promoters to lose matches and to
make established talent look good in front of the fans.
- MARK
- A fan who takes wrestling
seriously and believes that angles, feuds and matches are
real. ("That dude in the Stone Cold Steve Austin
shirt is a total mark.")
- OVER
- To be popular or to have
people come to see a worker based solely on their
character and wrestling ablilty. Can refer to both heels
and babies but is usually reserved for babies.
- PALOOKA
- An over-the-hill wrestler
- PUSH
- Efforts by promoters to
increase fan interest in a wrestler, usually through
popular angles, interviews and high-profile matches.
- SCREW JOB
- When a wrestling match does
not have a clean finish in the middle of the ring. Can be
anything from a ref-bump to a run-in to having your feet
on the ropes. This finish has become more and more
popular as workers ego's grew and they refused to job.
Screw jobs are generally considered a let down to the
fans and a cheap way for a worker to get out of jobbing.
Occasionally, screw jobs can be used to further an angle
and if so, hold more crediblity.
- SHOOT
- When a wrestler breaks with
the pre-arranged script and refuses to lose-or job-to
another wrestler.
- SMART
- Sometimes called SMART-MARK.
Smarts came about as fans grew to know more and more
about the business. In recent times, "smart"
has taken on an almost negative image since from time to
time it is revealed just how little "smarts"
know. Most online fans and especially news-posters
consider themselves "smarts" or even somethine
above that (although few know what an insider is). In
reality, most online fans and especially news-posters are
MARKS. They may know it is fake but they have no idea
what it is really all about and they still find it
exciting and fun to watch. There is nothing wrong with
being either a mark or a smart.
- SOLD SHOW
- Indie promotions will
sometimes be able to get schools or other oranizations to
pay for them to wrestle. The school or other organization
then sells the tickets and takes the profit (minus there
cost for the show). Sold shows tend to be VERY profitable
and are preferred by indie groups. They are however hard
to get.
- SPOT
- A move or series of moves or
fall taken by a worker in the course of the match.
Difficult or aerial moves are often referred to as
"high-spots". Wrestlers must notify their
opponent in the ring of what spot is next and this is
referred to as "calling" the spot.
- SPOT SHOW
- Most independent promotions
rely on renting out a venue and then selling tickets.
This is referred to a spot show and is the most common
form. It is a dangerous venture as you must get enough
paying customers to cover the rental, paying your workers
and insurance.
- SWERVE
- When a wrestler changes story
aginst the script.
- WORKER
- Usually used to refer to a
wrestler but may also refer to a referee or manager. A
worker is anyone who gets into the ring. (except of
course those annoying fans who jump over the guard rails
and invariably get beat up by a referee!)
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