Glossary Of Wrestling Terms
Compiled By Daniel Greig
Abortion:
A failed angle or match.
Angle:
a) An event or series of events that is usually a confrontation between two or
more wrestlers that intensifies a feud. b) 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.
Babyface:
The "fan favorite" or "good guy". The person who is in a
position to be cheered.
Blade:
The process in which a wrestler takes a razor blade and runs it along his skin
to produce a cut that bleeds.
Blow
Off: To end a feud.
Blow
Up: To become cardiovascularly exhausted in a match.
Book:
To schedule a wrestler for a show.
Booker:
Person in an organization who books and hires wrestlers, plans the long term
direction of the company, plans angles, decides who wins and loses. Example:
Eric Bischoff, Kevin Sullivan & Vince McMahon.
Bump:
When a wrestler falls to the mat after receiving a blow to the body or a
wrestling maneuver by his opponent.
Bury:
a). To attempt to defame someone or to criticize him. b). To lower someone in
the eyes of the fans or promoter.
Broadway:
A draw.
Business,
The: A term used to describe the wrestling industry.
Call
a Match: To inform opponent of upcoming moves or spots throughout the match.
Canned
Heat: Crowd cheering that is piped into the sound system or into a pretaped
TV show during postproduction. Ex: The Goldberg chants.
Card:
The line up of the matches.
Carry:
a) To call a match. b) To make a green opponent look good in the fans eyes.
Cheap
Heat: Usually referred to as heel heat, when the heel swears, insults, or
makes obscene gestures to the fans in order to get himself over as a heel.
Comeback:
The point in the match where the babyface takes over offense after the heel has
been dominating him.
Cut
a Promo: a) To do an interview. b) To demean someone skillfully.
Dagger:
A razor blade with more of the razor exposed than necessary.
Dark
Match: A match at a TV taping that is not taped for broadcast.
Do
Business: To do the job.
Doing
Business on the Way Out: To do jobs when one wrestler who is on his way out
of a promotion in order to get other talent that are staying over.
Double
Juice: When both wrestlers blade in the match.
Draw:
a) A time limit draw with no clear winner of the match. b) Cash payment on the
night of the show as an advance on the earned paycheck that will be paid later.
DUD:
A particularly bad and totally uninteresting match.
Dusty
Finish: After a second referee comes into the match and makes the 3 count
leading to a pinfall after the original referee has been knocked down, the
original ref overrules that decision. This finish was not exactly invented by
Dusty Rhodes, but Dusty used this finish so often during his term as a booker,
the finish took on his name.
Enhancement
Talent: A 1990's term for the word jobber.
Face:
a) Short word for babyface. b) A Good Guy.
Fall:
A referee's count of three with the loser's shoulders on the mat. (Pinfall)
False
Comeback: The point in a match where the face starts back on offense after a
heel has dominated him for several minutes, only to be stopped by the heel who
goes back on offense.
Feeding:
The role the heel plays during a babyfaces comeback where he repeatedly is
fended off by the face with a series of bumps that is hoped to generate heat. A
face can also feed the heel in hopes of gaining fan support.
Feud:
A series of battles between two or more wrestlers.
Foreign
Object: An object that is illegal to the match, such as a chair, brass
knuckles, garbage can, etc.
In
the late 1980's, Ted Turner had a policy on his news networks that all
commentators were to not use the word "foreign", but instead use the
word "international". Wrestling announcers on TBS picked up on this,
and a foreign object is still occasionally, jokingly called the
"international object".
Garbage
Wrestling: A style of wrestling that consists of wrestlers frequent use of
blading, foreign objects, and gimmick stipulations in matches and brawling
without much athleticism or ring psychology. (Ex. FMW, many ECW matches)
Gate:
Amount of money the is generated from ticket sales.
Gig
Mark: A scar from blading.
Gimmick:
a) The persona that a wrestler has. b) Slang for a foreign object.
Go
Home: When a wrestler says this to his opponent, it means to go to the
finish of the match.
Go
Over: To beat someone. Another term is to "put over".
Go
Through: A time limit draw.
Good
Hand: A wrestler that other wrestlers like to work against. This wrestler is
usually in complete control during the match, he does not get lost, and he does
not work too stiff or too light.
Green:
A term for an inexperienced wrestler.
Gusher:
A deep cut that bleeds alot, usually caused by blading. The severity of the cut
may or may not be intended.
Hardway:
A cut that is usually unintentional, with out the use of the razor.
Heat:
a) The crowd reaction to a wrestler usually cheers or boos. b) To "have
heat" with someone else in the promotion is not good.
Heavy:
A wrestler that is hard to lift, usually that wrestler does not want to
cooperate with his opponent.
Heel:
The "bad guy" or "rulebreaker" who the promoter books in the
position of being booed.
Highspot:
A move that is perceived to be, or is, high risked.
Hold
Up: When a wrestler refuses to wrestle until he is paid more than what was
originally agreed upon.
Hood:
A masked wrestler.
Hot
Tag: When a babyface who has been on the receiving end of a heels offense
makes the tag to his partner.
House
Show: a) A show not taped for TV. b) An event in an arena that is
consistently visited by an organization. (ECW Arena, MSG)
Job:
A planned loss.
Jobber:
A wrestler who loses in order to put over a pushed wrestler.
Juice:
a) another word for blading.
Kayfabe:
a) Generally referring to the protecting of industry secrets. b) Of or related
to inside information about the business, especially by fans. Origin is carnie
jargon talk for "fake."
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.
Loose:
A wrestler who applies moves or holds with less force than usual.
Mark:
a) A person who believes that wrestling matches, and angles and everything to do
with wrestling, is real. b) A fan of or participant in the wrestling industry
who believes that a part of any aspect of the industry is more important than
making money.
Some
people say that the word "mark" comes from the old carnival days. When
the operator of some scam spotted a real sucker, he would mark the back of that
persons back with a piece of chalk, which would literally be "marking"
the "mark". Other sources say that the term "mark" come from
when the scam "hits the mark", meaning that it was successfully done.
Mark
Out: When a smart fan gets into an angle or a match and enjoy it as if you
were a mark.
No
Sell: When a wrestler stops selling moves for a moment to give the fans the
impression that he is invincible. (Ex. Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior)
No
Show: When a wrestler does not show up for a scheduled appearance.
Office:
The headquarters of a wrestling organization (CNN Center, Titan Towers).
Over:
To be popular with the audience.
Paying
Dues: Term for gaining experience by showing respect to other wrestlers,
doing jobs to veterans, etc.
Pencil:
A booker or promoter.
Plant:
A wrestler, or someone who works for the organization, who is placed in the
audience who pretends to be a fan, yet participates in an angle.
Pop:
A big rise out of the crowd, usually cheering or booing.
Potato:
To legitimately hit an object or move with full force onto ones opponent,
whether it is accidentally or on purpose.
Promoter:
The head of the wrestling organization.
Promotion:
a) The wrestling company. b) The hype for an event.
Push:
When a wrestler is promoted on TV and through other means in order to get that
wrestler over and recognition, through interviews, match victories and TV
features.
Put
Over: To "be put over" is to get the win. To "put someone
over" is to do the job.
Receipt:
The act of getting revenge.
Ref
Bump: When the ref takes a bump at a specific point in the match so that a
wrestler, usually the heel, can commit an illegal act or move, such as
interference.
Rest
Hold: A move in the match which is lightly applied, to give the wrestlers
time to breath between highspots.
Ring
Rat: A woman who hangs around the arenas and hotels after a wrestling show
looking to sleep with one of the wrestlers.
Run-in:
interference by a non-participant in a match.
Save:
a run-in to protect a wrestler from being beat up after a match is over.
Screwjob:
A finish with a controversial ending, often upsetting the fans.
Sell:
To act as if you were on the receiving end of a legitimate wrestling move.
Shoot:
a) A work that becomes a legitimate fight. b) To hit or hurt ones opponent on
purpose during the course of the match. 3. A comment with some truth behind it.
Shooter:
One who shoots using skills such as amateur wrestling, karate, martial arts,
etc.
Showing
Light: To unintentionally expose to the fans that the move did not connect,
due to flawed execution of the move by the wrestler on offense.
Smark:
A fan that believes he is smart due to a certain amount of inside knowledge he
has gained, but is perceived by someone else to be less informed than that
person thinks he is.
Smart:
A person who has the knowledge of the inner workings of the wrestling industry.
Spot:
A wrestling move, or a series of moves.
Squash:
A match that is designed to put over a pushed wrestler, who dominates offense
over a jobber.
Stiff:
To hit or execute holds and moves with more force than most.
Strap:
Championship belt.
Stretched:
To be injured, sometimes intentionally, by ones opponent. Also refers to a
worked injury resulting in the wrestler being taken out of the arena in a
stretcher.
Strong
Style Wrestling: A style of wrestling, that is worked, found in Japan, where
the action seems to be shooting and realistic looking because of the highspots
used.
Submission
Hold: A hold that is used by a wrestler that leads the fans to believe that
the match will finish by a submission.
Superman
Comeback: When a wrestler no sells the opponents moves during his comeback.
Swerve:
When a finish of a match is changed so that all of the industry insiders are
left shocked.
Territory:
a) The area that a promotion runs it shows and airs it TV shows.
Trust:
Alliance among regional promotions. (Ex. all of the NWA organizations)
Turn:
When a wrestler changes from a heel to a face, or from a face to a heel.
Tweener:
A wrestler who is neither a face nor a heel, but in the process from turning
from one to the other.
Work:
a) Predetermined outcome. b) To skillfully wrestle.
Worker:
A wrestler.
Workrate:
The pace of a match, and the skill level exhibited throughout the match by the
wrestlers.
