Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: Wrestling Language Part 3
By Sean Taylor
Nov 7, 2009 - 3:16:31 AM
"Mark Henry is manhandling the massive Johnson in the corner"
- Jim Ross
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Classroom. I hope everyone enjoyed the study break last time as KMA_Jackson and I presented The Teacher’s Lounge IV. We had a lot of great feedback and in case you haven’t heard, we’re looking for more. We want to make Teacher’s Lounge V a show devoted to answering your questions. We want to know what you are thinking about. We want to know what you and your friends are talking about. We want you to control the content of LordsofPain.net’s exclusive wrestling audio show. Email us at teachersloungelop@yahoo.com or drop note in the feedback forum and we will answer every question you have. Don’t be shy. Wrestling questions or queries related to something else are welcome. Send your questions and make the Teacher’s Lounge your show too.
Ok enough shameless self-promotion. What a difference a week makes. In the recently posted Fact of Fiction, I was posed the question of will TNA sign a major name in the next year. I said no. I knew there was a chance I could have been wrong. But how the hell could I have known that I would be THAT wrong? Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff in TNA. Who would have thought? Sure, Hogan teased coming into TNA a few years ago but come on, did anyone really see this coming? Yeah, right. The next thing you’ll tell me is that you predicted the end of Saw. Anyways, my bad on that one. Obviously, the question is could this start another Monday Night War? Honestly, it’s too early to tell. We don’t know how Hogan will be used in TNA and we don’t know what they are going to do with him on a business end. Maybe this topic would be better explored with two people in an audio format. If only there was a way to ask a wrestling audio show host to discuss it on his show . . .
Speaking of TNA, I actually caught the first half of October 29th episode of Impact and I was impressed with the mic skills of Nigel McGuiness aka Desmond Wolfe. I don’t quite agree with putting him against Kurt Angle right away. That seems to be TNA’s M-O. Hopefully, they won’t “Samoa Joe” Mr. Wolfe. Speaking of impressive debuts, I have to admit being impressed with Sheamus this past week on Raw. He seems to have that unteachable “it” factor. I don’t want to get too pumped up but I think we’ve finally seen a rookie that has that superstar quality right from the start. Something I haven’t really seen since a smiling “blue-chipper”. I’m just saying.
Ok, the pre-class chat is over. It’s time to take your pencils, pens, notebooks, and textbooks.
This time around we’re going to do some rapid-fire defining of some of wrestling’s better-known wrestling terms in no particular order. I hope you remembered the last Pop Quiz. We’ll be taking up that answer later on.
What’s In A Name?
Dusty Finish – noun (duhs-tee fin-ish)
Definition: an ending to a match involving multiple referees and/or finishes resulting in confusion for the audience.
Do you remember the Randy Orton vs John Cena match from SummerSlam a couple of months ago? It ended four times. Orton was disqualified but the match was restarted. Orton was then counted out but the match was restarted again. Using the ropes for better leverage, Orton pinned Cena but a second referee convinced the first referee to restart the match yet again. Finally, after interference from a rowdy fan, Orton was able to pick up a clean, decisive victory to retain his title. This is a prime example of a “Dusty Finish”. Dusty Rhodes made this style of finishing a match famous when he was the head booker (matchmaker) for Jim Crockett Promotions in the mid-to-late 1980s. He would end matches with controversial finishes with the idea that the controversy would entice the audience to attend or watch the next show. It was a successful formula but his tendency to end many matches in this same fashion led to this style of finish to be named after “The American Dream”.
Gorilla Position – noun (guh-ril-uh puh-zish-uh-n)
Definition: the area of the stage directly behind the entrance curtain.
Directly behind the black entrance curtain that wrestlers walk through on their way to the ring, sits a table or two filled with monitors and computer equipment. This station is used by members of the production crew to ensure that wrestlers are entering at the right time, the correct lighting is used, and the proper music plays. Former professional wrestler and WWE President Gorilla Monsoon spent the much of his time as the lead producer in this area for the WWE later in his career. Monsoon was so efficient in his role that it was only appropriate to name the position after him upon his death on October 6th, 1999. Monsoon’s dedication to the success of the wrestling business lives on today in all wrestling promotions where the Gorilla Position is utilized.
Hulk Up – verb (huhlk uhp)
Definition: to regain strength and adrenaline after being beaten down for an extended period of time; a seemingly superhero comeback.
It’s classic way for the hero to make his final stand against the villain. When all hope is lost, the hero digs down and deep and finds the last ounce of strength to fight back and defeat the opposition. Movies like Rocky, Superman Returns, and Die Hard are all prime examples of this phenomenon. In the over-exaggerated world of professional wrestling, this comeback is readily used to excite the audience and tell them that the end of the match is coming. WWE Hall of Fame member and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan used this technique as a key factor in his success in the late eighties. After being beaten down for the majority of the match, Hogan would dramatically kick out of the following pinfall. He would jump to his feet and shake his head wildly. This action told all of the little Hulkamaniacs to get ready to celebrate their hero’s victory. Over time, the repetitiveness became a staple of Hogan’s repertoire that the action of an unbelievable comeback became know as the Hulk Up.
Hazards of the Job
Juice – verb (joos)
Definition: to bleed.
Any fight carries the risk of blood being shed. To create the illusion of a heated battle, wrestlers often cut themselves with small hidden razor blade. The practice is well known today but it was one of wrestling’s most closely guarded secrets. In order to increase the blood flow from the cut, wrestlers would squeeze the skin around it. The similarity between this and squeezing fruits to extract the juice led to the act of bleeding being referred to as “juicing”.
Trachoma – noun (truh-koh-muh)
Definition: a chronic, contagious infection of the conjunctiva and cornea, characterized by the formation of granulations and scarring and caused by ring dust and sweat.
Sometimes, it’s the tiniest of things that cause the biggest problems. While trachoma has being nearly entirely wiped out from North American cities, the risk of contracting this serious disease increases in the wrestling business. Ring dust mixed with the salt and bacteria in human sweat can combine in the eye to cause scarring of the cornea. The scarring can lead to blindness and is highly contagious. It is primarily spread through the sharing of towels or washcloths where direct contact with the eye occurs. Wrestling legend Ed “The Strangler” Lewis was the most notable sufferer of trachoma along with former United States President Woodrow Wilson.
Need A Little Excitement?
Wheel – noun (hweel, weel)
Definition: a rookie in training assigned to perform menial duties for tenured wrestlers in day-to-day life.
In the Territory era of professional wrestling, breaking into the business wasn’t as easy as it is today. You first had to gain the trust of your teacher and “pay your dues”. Paying your dues required a rookie to perform gopher jobs for their teacher in addition to rough, painful training. These menial tasks often included carrying bags, paying bar tabs, or enduring endless practical jokes. The most important job was to drive the teacher and any friends to and from house shows (also called “spot shows”). Some trips would take up to twelve-to-fourteen hours for the roundtrip. Having to spend so much time driving earned the rookies the nickname of “The Wheel” or “The Wheelman”.
Rib – noun (rib)
Definition: a practical joke.
Life on the road is tough. With over 350 shows a year and a worldwide traveling schedule, life can get pretty boring. Travel, hotel, workout, eat, wrestle, sleep, get up, and repeat five days every week. Wrestlers need to relieve the boredom and their solution was the creation of the “rib”. Ribbing has been a part of the wrestling business since it’s genesis from the carnival days. To be ribbed by your peers means you have been accepted by the boys on the roster. Ribs can vary between the harmless (Trish Stratus getting a Denny’s manager to put a picture of Kurt Angle on the wall of the restaurant as the Employee of the Month) to the seemingly serious (Vince McMahon making Johnathan Coachman believe he’s being arrested for running a football pool) to the downright absurd (Triple H tricking Justin Credible into flashing his genitailia to an elderly couple). Some of the noted best ribbers in wrestling include Mr. Fuji, Curt Henning, Owen Hart, and Al Snow. The rib eases the tension from the rough road life and keeps the wrestlers from going stir-crazy during long tours. Besides, who doesn’t like to laugh?
Wrestler’s Court – noun (res-uhl-ers kohrt)
Definition: a manner of dealing with issues between or concerning wrestlers too minor to bring to the management but too major to go ignored.
Sometimes, wrestlers have a real backstage feud that begins to affect the rest of the roster. Sometimes, what started as a rib goes too far. These issues are too petty to bring to management’s attention and so they must be dealt with by the wrestlers themselves. What usually happens is a tenured wrestler (ie: The Undertaker in the WWE) will notify the defendant and all other members of the roster that a date has been set (ie: before the next SmackDown taping). Attendance is mandatory for everyone. The tenured wrestler acts as the judge and another tenured wrestler will act as the prosecution. Just as in a regular trial, the prosecution presents his case and the defendant will have their chance to state their peace. Finally, the judge determines the defendant’s guilt or innocence. Should the defendant be found guilty, a punishment is handed down. The punishment could range anywhere from relegated wheelman’s duty to a period of forced in-ring losses.
What Did You Call Me?
Mark – noun (mahrk)
Definition: a wrestling fan.
I know what you’re thinking. The definition above is not finished. It should read “a wrestling fan who believes that wrestling is real”. Am I right? Well, to explain the definition, we must first discuss where the term comes from.
The term “mark” began in the traveling carnivals of the early 1900s. Carnival owners would plant their own employees into the crowd awaiting entry into the fairgrounds. The plant’s job was to listen to the passing conversation of the people waiting to get in. Being experienced carnies, they would be able to tell if a person was more likely to attend shows under the Big Top, revel at the sideshow attractions, or stick to the midway games. He’d carry three different colours of chalk and draw an “X” on their backs in the colour representing each attraction. The act of literally marking the visitors made it easier for the other carnies to focus on the marked people and save their breath when the others walk by. Carnival visitors were marked by chalk making them “marks”. The carneys sought out the marks and, more importantly, their money.
Obviously, the practice of marking someone’s clothing doesn’t happen today but the term “mark” still remains in its evolved form. Much like how the carnival goers were apt by nature to be drawn to specific attractions, so to are some people in today’s society to be drawn to wrestling. Some like the athletic contests. Some enjoy the stories that are told. And some simply love the kooky, over-the-top characters doing battle. For whatever the reason, those people are innately drawn to watch the action inside of a wrestling ring. Knowing this, promoters will target their product to those people essentially “marking” those people with their advertising. That makes any wrestling fan a “mark”.
Nowadays, companies hide the term mark behind words like “target audience” or “demographic”. They call it this new age terms but what they really mean is “mark”. Ever wonder why wrestling ads appear during commercial breaks for sporting events, science fiction movies, and in-depth-storyline drama television shows? It’s because people who watch those kinds of shows are more likely to watch professional wrestling. Essentially, the wrestling company will advertise where the marks are already watching. If you’ve ever argued with your friends over who is the greatest superstar, you’re a mark. If you’ve ever watched a wrestling DVD, read rumours or results on the Internet, or sat down in front of the television for the sole purpose of watching a wrestling show, you are a mark. And, yes, at some point or another they got their hands on your money.
Since the advent and popularization of the Internet, the term mark became known and soon wrestling fans became insulted by the mark. It was no longer “cool” to be considered a mark. Being a mark became seen as someone who still believed that wrestling was real and that the outcomes weren’t pre-determined. Incidentally, this is where the term “mark-out” comes from. For example: Tommy sees his favourite wrestler perform a fantastic move or completely up his opponent and reacts by cheering out loud in front of his friends. His friends call him on his outburst, ridiculing him for acting like a mark (someone who believes it’s real). Tommy, to save face, merely remarks that he had “mark-out moment”. Despite the fact that acting like a “mark” isn’t cool, his friends forgive him and save him a serious chastising because they all know that sooner or later, they will “mark-out” too. It’s an unspoken understanding that “marking-out” is what makes watching wrestling fun.
So circa 1996, when the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) felt that the term “mark” was beneath them, they decided to create a new name for themselves. The business was beginning to become exposed to the average fan and therefore, they felt they were smarter than the marks. So, they decided to call themselves “smarts”. Eventually, a hybrid of “mark” and “smart” was created to describe who “knows wrestling is fake” but doesn’t care – “smark”. Even though both “smart” and “smark” are commonly used nowadays, they are not real professional wrestling terms.
The shame around the term “mark” is irrational. There should be no shame in considering yourself as a mark. All it means is that you are fan; that you enjoy watching pro wrestling. It means that the people you up to, your heroes, your chosen celebrities all always trying to impress you. They are constantly trying to please you so that you’ll continue to come back. It’s the marks that created the great faces like Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and The Rock. It’s the marks that created the hated villains like Jake “The Snake” Roberts, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, and Mr. McMahon. It’s the marks that created the majestic spectacle that is WrestleMania. It was the marks that made the Monday Night War so important to the industry. Without marks, there is no wrestling business. Period.
Where’s the shame in that?
Well folks, that wraps up our look at the History Of: Wrestling Language. I have learned a lot researching this series and, hopefully, you have too. As always, any comments, questions, critiques, or charitable donations can be sent to here or if you’re a member of the Columns Forum, you can drop a line here. I already have some ideas for my next couple of columns. One will be the ever-popular After School Detention and the other will be unlike anything I have ever written so stay tuned to LordofPain.net for those in the near future.
Homework Assignment
This time around, your homework assignment is to send KMA_Jackson and myself questions for the next episode of the Teacher’s Lounge. For our last show, we had 523 downloads in just one week and that’s freakin’ awesome. We want to thank all of our listeners by making Teacher’s Lounge V all about you! You decide the topics! It can be something serious or something silly. Something about wrestling’s past, present, or future. It is entirely up to you! No question will be left un-answered. E-mail all of your questions to teachersloungelop@yahoo.com.
Also, I’m adding a special segment to the next Teacher’s Lounge – STUMP KMA. That’s right. Here’s your chance to try and stump KMA_Jackson about wrestling related trivia. Send your best trivia questions directly to me at trcowfoou@yahoo.com along with your answers and I will quiz KMA. If you manage to stump KMA Jackson, I’ll put your name into a draw and one lucky winner will receive a special Teacher’s Lounge Prize Pack.
There’s your homework assignment. I can’t wait to see what happens. The Teacher’s Lounge V is coming very soon so get your questions in as soon as possible.
