Mark (professional wrestling)
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A mark is a professional wrestling fan who believes that everything associated with pro wrestling is real, rather than recognizing the existence of kayfabe (that is, it is a work). Marks are often (but not always) children or young teenagers who are devoted fans of pro wrestling.
Some beliefs characteristic of a 'mark' are:
- That the wrestlers are actually striking each other (and causing injury as a result), even though the punishment they appear to be inflicting would badly incapacitate or kill anyone else (or at least leave a huge bruise). When this is pointed out to them, marks might sometimes justify that the wrestlers are strong enough to sustain such damage, hence their apparent durability.
- That the wrestlers' gimmicks are their real-life personalities, and that they engage in behavior associated with the gimmick outside the ring (even if said behavior is not socially or legally acceptable). Sometimes, a mark will believe that a wrestler who has changed gimmicks is a totally different person.
- That face and heel wrestlers truly despise each other.
- That rival wrestling organizations do not exist (especially if they are not acknowledged by announcers), and that the career of a veteran wrestler who is new to a promotion does not exist. This was especially common during the 1980s in the WWF.
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[edit] Background
Mark was originally used by wrestlers to derogatorily describe "dirt sheet" writers or fans that think they knew it all. It was then changed by these people to have another meaning.
The term mark derives from pro wrestling's early days as a carnival sideshow, where those who were unaware or not privy to the workings of the business were seen as gullible 'marks' who would believe anything they were told. Someone who fell for the operator's tricks would be seen as a mark. Allegedly, the operator's hands would be coated in chalk, so when the operator sportingly patted the victim on the back, he would "mark" him for the other operators as a promising prospect to exploit.
[edit] Followings
Following is a term for a wrestler's fan base. Followings are composed of marks that tend to favor a certain wrestler. They tend to have incredible loyalty to their particular wrestler. Wrestlers such as John Cena, Hulk Hogan, or Randy Orton are known for having large followings. Most of their followers tend to jump to their defense, despite the wrestlers being disliked by smarks.
[edit] Smarks and "marking out"
Not all pro wrestling fans are marks. Many, perhaps the majority in recent decades, are rather smarks who know that wrestling is staged but enjoy it anyway. Smarks often take great offense at being called a "mark", since it implies that they are stupid and/or gullible. Both marks and smarks also become offended when another person attempts to "educate" them on the sport's staged nature, since it would greatly insult their intelligence of the former to tell them that the "sport" of which they are a devoted fan is fake, and insults the smarks as they already are aware of that.
Marking out is a moment of enjoying professional wrestling 'for what it is' rather than analyzing its staged nature, and can be a sought-after experience for fans whose insider knowledge can make them jaded toward its entertainment aspect. It often occurs when surprise or nostalgia catch a fan off-guard.
"Marking out" consists of suspension of disbelief brought on by excitement about the happenings in the ring. Recent collective mark-outs experienced by fans include Chris Benoit's World Heavyweight Title victory at WrestleMania XX, much of Hulk Hogan's red and yellow push at WrestleMania X8, and usually when specific themes hit (specifcally The Undertaker). To better understand the wide-scale marking out over Benoit's win, consider that Benoit is a favorite of the smark community who had never before been rewarded with a WWE World Championship and was not expected to win with Triple H in the match. Hogan's return to his early character, particularly his tactic of hulking up, reminded many fans of his earlier days and thus their innocent enjoyment of his brand of slower paced wrestling.
