Wrestling Dictionary
Angle - A wrestling plot which may involve only one match or may continue over several matches for some time; the reason behind a feud or a turn.
Blade - The practice of cutting oneself or being cut with a part of a razor blade. Also known as juicing.
Blow up - To become fatigued or exhausted. The Ultimate Warrior was said to be one of a number of wrestlers who blows up on the entry ramp.
Booker - The individual responsible for angles, finishes, hiring and firing in a promotion.
Boys/The Boys - A term often used in the wrestling industry to describe the wrestlers themselves distinguishing them apart in the organization from people who work in other capacities.
Broadway/Going Broadway - A match that ends in a time limit draw.
Bump - A fall or hit done as a spot (see spot) which takes the wrestler (or other participant, i.e. referee, manager) out of the ring or out of action.
Bury - To book a wrestler in such a way that they lose drawing power, popularity or status. For example many of the wrestlers on the RAW roster have been "buried" as a result of always losing high profile matches, particularly when they work with Triple H. Chris Jericho and especially Rob Van Dam are good examples of this.
Canned Heat/Heat Machine - Using recorded crowd noise and cheering played through the sound system to make the crowd seem more lively and into the match on a wrestling TV show. The best examples I can think of are WCW Worldwide's TV show when it was on. You'd hear a lot of cheering and see the crowd just sitting there quietly. Goldberg's chants are also often done using "Canned Heat"
Card - The series of matches in a wrestling event.
Dark Match - A wrestling match that occurs during a wrestling television show taping or before the start of a PPV. This is often used to get a crowd warmed up, to try out new talent in front of a larger audience, and also to test the broadcast equipment. Most wrestlers in the WWE work several "Dark Matches" before they appear regularly on RAW or Smackdown.
Draw - To attract marks. n. the popularity of a wrestler, the ability to bring in marks.
Dusty Finish - Occurs when the finish of a match is done with a second referee coming to the ring to make the three count and declare a winner after the original referee has been "knocked out". The original referee then "wakes up" and reverses that decision. This type of finish was not invented by Dusty Rhodes but he used it very often while he was the Booker for WCW and as a result it is has name become associated with the use of it.
DUD - A particularly bad and totally uninteresting match.
Face - A fan favorite. A wrestler who plays the good guy.
Fall - A referee's count of three with the loser's shoulders on the mat.
Feud - A series of matches between two wrestlers or two tag teams, usually face vs. heel though face feuds and heel feuds are not unknown.
Gas/on the Gas/Gassed up - A term used to describe the use of steroids to make yourself bigger and more muscular. Prime examples of this are Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner and Triple H.
Gimmick/Gimmicked - This term is used to describe a few things in wrestling. A wrestler's persona or character is often called his gimmick. A gimmick can also be used to describe a weapon or object used during a match. Gimmicked is used to describe an object that is altered for use in a match for example a gimmicked table is pre cut to break more easily.
Go Home - This is an instruction wrestlers get either from each other or from a referee to finish a match.
Angle - A wrestling plot which may involve only one match or may continue over several matches for some time; the reason behind a feud or a turn.
Blade - The practice of cutting oneself or being cut with a part of a razor blade. Also known as juicing.
Blow up - To become fatigued or exhausted. The Ultimate Warrior was said to be one of a number of wrestlers who blows up on the entry ramp.
Booker - The individual responsible for angles, finishes, hiring and firing in a promotion.
Boys/The Boys - A term often used in the wrestling industry to describe the wrestlers themselves distinguishing them apart in the organization from people who work in other capacities.
Broadway/Going Broadway - A match that ends in a time limit draw.
Bump - A fall or hit done as a spot (see spot) which takes the wrestler (or other participant, i.e. referee, manager) out of the ring or out of action.
Bury - To book a wrestler in such a way that they lose drawing power, popularity or status. For example many of the wrestlers on the RAW roster have been "buried" as a result of always losing high profile matches, particularly when they work with Triple H. Chris Jericho and especially Rob Van Dam are good examples of this.
Canned Heat/Heat Machine - Using recorded crowd noise and cheering played through the sound system to make the crowd seem more lively and into the match on a wrestling TV show. The best examples I can think of are WCW Worldwide's TV show when it was on. You'd hear a lot of cheering and see the crowd just sitting there quietly. Goldberg's chants are also often done using "Canned Heat"
Card - The series of matches in a wrestling event.
Dark Match - A wrestling match that occurs during a wrestling television show taping or before the start of a PPV. This is often used to get a crowd warmed up, to try out new talent in front of a larger audience, and also to test the broadcast equipment. Most wrestlers in the WWE work several "Dark Matches" before they appear regularly on RAW or Smackdown.
Draw - To attract marks. n. the popularity of a wrestler, the ability to bring in marks.
Dusty Finish - Occurs when the finish of a match is done with a second referee coming to the ring to make the three count and declare a winner after the original referee has been "knocked out". The original referee then "wakes up" and reverses that decision. This type of finish was not invented by Dusty Rhodes but he used it very often while he was the Booker for WCW and as a result it is has name become associated with the use of it.
DUD - A particularly bad and totally uninteresting match.
Face - A fan favorite. A wrestler who plays the good guy.
Fall - A referee's count of three with the loser's shoulders on the mat.
Feud - A series of matches between two wrestlers or two tag teams, usually face vs. heel though face feuds and heel feuds are not unknown.
Gas/on the Gas/Gassed up - A term used to describe the use of steroids to make yourself bigger and more muscular. Prime examples of this are Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner and Triple H.
Gimmick/Gimmicked - This term is used to describe a few things in wrestling. A wrestler's persona or character is often called his gimmick. A gimmick can also be used to describe a weapon or object used during a match. Gimmicked is used to describe an object that is altered for use in a match for example a gimmicked table is pre cut to break more easily.
Go Home - This is an instruction wrestlers get either from each other or from a referee to finish a match.
Green - Not good due to inexperience.
Hardway - A term used to describe a wrestler bleeding not due to blading. This is sometimes accidental. Often in hardcore style gimmick matches like barbed wire matches it's a natural part of the match.
Heat - Enthusiasm, a positive/negative response.
Heel - A bad guy in a federation. A heel often breaks the rules and receives a bad poor/hated response from the fans.
Hot Tag - A term used to describe when a face wrestler finally manages to tag in his fresh and rested partner after being dominated and beaten up for an extended period of time by the heel team. Again often used to increase crowd excitement.
House - The wrestling audience in the building said to be composed of marks.
Hulking Up - A term to describe a face who is making a comeback while after no selling the heel's offense for a bit. Hulk Hogan did this in almost every match he ever had and that's why the term bears his name.
International Object - Foreign object, something now allowed in the ring. Derived from an order not to use the world foreign by the Turner Broadcasting Company.
Job - A staged loss. A clean job is a staged loss by legal pin fall or submission without.
Resort to Illegalities - To do a job. Sometimes combined with a descriptive adjective (stretcher job, rope job, tights job.)
Jobber - An un-pushed wrestler who does jobs for pushed wrestlers. Barry Horowitz is probably the best known of these. Sometimes known as fish, red shirts PLs (professional losers,) or' ham-and-eggers.' Steve Lombardi (Brooklyn Brawler) is also a well known jobber.
Kayfabe - A carny word that means "fake". This is generally used to describe the act of keeping the secrets of the wrestling business. Exposing the inner workings or secrets of the wrestling business is said to be "Breaking Kayfabe". It is also used to describe the carny language wrestlers use to communicate with each other to avoid giving away the secrets of the business. Wrestlers also use the word Kayfabe to say to each other to warn them that an "outsider" to the business is coming near to let them know to keep quiet or change the topic of discussion to prevent giving away inside info or expose any secrets of the business.
Kill - Diminish or eliminate heat or drawing power. There are a variety of ways to do this, but mostly it is done by having a wrestler do too many jobs. A house can be killed by too many screw-job endings.
Mark - A term that was originally used to describe someone who believes in the legitimacy of the wrestling business. It is now more frequently used as a derogatory comment or insult to describe a gullible fan. It can also be used to say you are a fan of or appreciative of something in the wrestling business. For example a big fan of Steve Austin would be considered a Steve Austin mark. This term is also used to describe someone who is the victim of a con artist.
No Sell - When a wrestler gives a move or a strike by another wrestler no reaction as if it didn't hurt him. Usually to give the appearance that they are "invincible". Wrestlers who have done this a lot in their matches are Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, and Goldberg.
Paper - Complimentary tickets. To give lots of complimentary tickets to make a house look good, particularly for a television taping.
Plant - A wrestler or someone who works for the wrestling company who is placed in the audience to pose as a fan and is used in a wrestling angle.
Pop - Sudden heat from a house as a response to a wrestler's entry or hot move.
Post - To run or be run into the ring post.
Potato - To injure a wrestler by hitting him on the head or causing him to hit his head on something.
Run-In - Interference by a non-participant in a match. save n. a run-in to protect a wrestler from being beat up after a match is over.
Screw Job - A match or ending which is not clean (definite) due to factors outside the rules of wrestling.
Sell/Selling - The art of acting as if you are legitimately hurt by a wrestling hold or move. Some moves do hurt legitimately but the ones that don't really require a wrestler to "sell" the hold in order to make it seem effective and believable to the audience.
Shoot - The real thing, i.e. a match where one participant is really attempting to hurt another. The opposite of work or fake.
Smart/ Smart Mark/ Smark - A term used to describe a wrestling fan who has a lot of knowledge of the inner workings of the wrestling business. Or in some cases they just think they do.
Spot - An event or sequence of events which makes a particular match distinctive, a high-point of a match.
Squash - A totally passive job where one wrestler completely dominates another. v.t. to win a squash match.
Stick - The Microphone
Stiff Chops - Hits or moves which cause real injury (though perhaps not more than a welting up of the opponent.) Big Van Vader has a reputation as a stiff worker. Not a shoot, but almost.
Stretch - A form of shoot where one wrestler dominates rather than injures the other as a proof of personal superiority.
Swerve - Swerve has three definitions in the wrestling business. It can be a prank a pro wrestler plays on another worker. It is also used to describe a false report leaked to the press by a wrestler or a promoter. It is also used to refer to a finish of a match that often shocks the fans and sometimes even wrestling insiders.
Turn - Change in orientation from heel to face or vice-versa.
Tweener - A term used to describe a wrestler who is not a face and is also not a heel but actually has characteristics of both. The character of Stone Cold Steve Austin is perhaps the best example of this at least it was when it really started getting popular.
Work - A deception or sham, the opposite of a shoot.workrate n. the approximate ratio of good wrestling to rest holds in a match or in a wrestler's performance.
Hardway - A term used to describe a wrestler bleeding not due to blading. This is sometimes accidental. Often in hardcore style gimmick matches like barbed wire matches it's a natural part of the match.
Heat - Enthusiasm, a positive/negative response.
Heel - A bad guy in a federation. A heel often breaks the rules and receives a bad poor/hated response from the fans.
Hot Tag - A term used to describe when a face wrestler finally manages to tag in his fresh and rested partner after being dominated and beaten up for an extended period of time by the heel team. Again often used to increase crowd excitement.
House - The wrestling audience in the building said to be composed of marks.
Hulking Up - A term to describe a face who is making a comeback while after no selling the heel's offense for a bit. Hulk Hogan did this in almost every match he ever had and that's why the term bears his name.
International Object - Foreign object, something now allowed in the ring. Derived from an order not to use the world foreign by the Turner Broadcasting Company.
Job - A staged loss. A clean job is a staged loss by legal pin fall or submission without.
Resort to Illegalities - To do a job. Sometimes combined with a descriptive adjective (stretcher job, rope job, tights job.)
Jobber - An un-pushed wrestler who does jobs for pushed wrestlers. Barry Horowitz is probably the best known of these. Sometimes known as fish, red shirts PLs (professional losers,) or' ham-and-eggers.' Steve Lombardi (Brooklyn Brawler) is also a well known jobber.
Kayfabe - A carny word that means "fake". This is generally used to describe the act of keeping the secrets of the wrestling business. Exposing the inner workings or secrets of the wrestling business is said to be "Breaking Kayfabe". It is also used to describe the carny language wrestlers use to communicate with each other to avoid giving away the secrets of the business. Wrestlers also use the word Kayfabe to say to each other to warn them that an "outsider" to the business is coming near to let them know to keep quiet or change the topic of discussion to prevent giving away inside info or expose any secrets of the business.
Kill - Diminish or eliminate heat or drawing power. There are a variety of ways to do this, but mostly it is done by having a wrestler do too many jobs. A house can be killed by too many screw-job endings.
Mark - A term that was originally used to describe someone who believes in the legitimacy of the wrestling business. It is now more frequently used as a derogatory comment or insult to describe a gullible fan. It can also be used to say you are a fan of or appreciative of something in the wrestling business. For example a big fan of Steve Austin would be considered a Steve Austin mark. This term is also used to describe someone who is the victim of a con artist.
No Sell - When a wrestler gives a move or a strike by another wrestler no reaction as if it didn't hurt him. Usually to give the appearance that they are "invincible". Wrestlers who have done this a lot in their matches are Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, and Goldberg.
Paper - Complimentary tickets. To give lots of complimentary tickets to make a house look good, particularly for a television taping.
Plant - A wrestler or someone who works for the wrestling company who is placed in the audience to pose as a fan and is used in a wrestling angle.
Pop - Sudden heat from a house as a response to a wrestler's entry or hot move.
Post - To run or be run into the ring post.
Potato - To injure a wrestler by hitting him on the head or causing him to hit his head on something.
Run-In - Interference by a non-participant in a match. save n. a run-in to protect a wrestler from being beat up after a match is over.
Screw Job - A match or ending which is not clean (definite) due to factors outside the rules of wrestling.
Sell/Selling - The art of acting as if you are legitimately hurt by a wrestling hold or move. Some moves do hurt legitimately but the ones that don't really require a wrestler to "sell" the hold in order to make it seem effective and believable to the audience.
Shoot - The real thing, i.e. a match where one participant is really attempting to hurt another. The opposite of work or fake.
Smart/ Smart Mark/ Smark - A term used to describe a wrestling fan who has a lot of knowledge of the inner workings of the wrestling business. Or in some cases they just think they do.
Spot - An event or sequence of events which makes a particular match distinctive, a high-point of a match.
Squash - A totally passive job where one wrestler completely dominates another. v.t. to win a squash match.
Stick - The Microphone
Stiff Chops - Hits or moves which cause real injury (though perhaps not more than a welting up of the opponent.) Big Van Vader has a reputation as a stiff worker. Not a shoot, but almost.
Stretch - A form of shoot where one wrestler dominates rather than injures the other as a proof of personal superiority.
Swerve - Swerve has three definitions in the wrestling business. It can be a prank a pro wrestler plays on another worker. It is also used to describe a false report leaked to the press by a wrestler or a promoter. It is also used to refer to a finish of a match that often shocks the fans and sometimes even wrestling insiders.
Turn - Change in orientation from heel to face or vice-versa.
Tweener - A term used to describe a wrestler who is not a face and is also not a heel but actually has characteristics of both. The character of Stone Cold Steve Austin is perhaps the best example of this at least it was when it really started getting popular.
Work - A deception or sham, the opposite of a shoot.workrate n. the approximate ratio of good wrestling to rest holds in a match or in a wrestler's performance.