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* Wrestling Terms *

A-Show - A wrestling event where the bigger stars wrestle.
EX: WWE RAW, Smackdown, and Pay-Per-Views.

A-Team - A group of wrestlers on an A-Show.

Abortion - A failed angle or match.

Angle - An event or series of events that is usually a confrontation between two or more wrestlers that intensifies a feud.

Arm Color - An arm that is bleeding.

Around the Horn - The trip to each town or series of towns that the promotion runs events in.

B-Show - A wrestling event where the jobbers and mid-carders wrestle.

EX: WWE Sunday Night HeAT or Velocity.

B-Team - A group of wrestlers on a B-Show.

Baby - Short word for “babyface”.

Babyface - The “fan favorite” or “good guy”. The person who is in a position to be cheered.

Backstage Politics - When something that happens backstage affects what happens on TV and in the ring.
EX: Triple H's refusing to lose to anyone outside of his Kliq.

Blade - The process in which a wrestler takes a razor blade and runs it along his skin to produce a cut that bleeds.

Blowoff - To end a feud.

Blowup - To become cardiovascularly exhausted during a match.

Book - To schedule a wrestler for a show.

Booker - A person in an organization who books and hires wrestlers, plans the long term direction of the company, plans angles, and decides who wins and who loses.

EX: Eric Bischoff, Vince McMahon, Terry Taylor, Kevin Sullivan.

Bootleg - An item that is illegally sold or traded, such as video tapes, T-Shirts, etc.

Bounce - The move which leads to the pin. This term is old and is rarely used.

Boys - The wrestlers.

Bozark - A female wrestler. This term is old and is rarely used.

Brass - Management.

Broadway - A draw.

Bull - Promoter. This term is old and is rarely used.

Bump - When a wrestler falls to the mat after receiving a blow to the body or a wrestling maneuver from his opponent.

Bury - ¹To attempt to defame someone or to criticize them. ²To lower someone in the eyes of the fans or the promoter.

Business, The - A term used to describe the wrestling business.

Call a Match - To inform an opponent of upcoming moves or spots throughout the match.

Canned Heat - Crowd cheering that is piped into the sound system or into a pre-taped TV show during post production.

Card - A lineup of the matches at an event.

Carney - Short for “carnival terminology”. It is the root for many of the terms found on this page from the time when wrestling had its roots in the early 1990’s.

Carry - ¹To call a match. ²To make a green opponent look good in the eyes of the fans.

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.

Color - Blood.

Comeback - The point in a match where the babyface takes over offense after the heel has been dominating him.

Cover - To make a pinfall; the pinfall itself.

Coverup - When a wrestler messes up a spot and a commentator changes the subject or makes it seem like something else had happened that what did happen.

Cut a Promo - ¹To do an interview. ²To demean someone skillfully.

Dagger - A razor blade with more of the razor exposed than necessary.

Dark Match - A match at a TV taping or house show that is not taped for broadcast.

Deal, The - Sometimes, a title belt is referred to as “The Deal”.

Do Business - To do the job.

Doing Business on the Way Out - To do jobs when one wrestler is on his way out of a promotion in order to get other talent that is staying over.

Double Juice - When both wrestlers blade in a match.

Draw - ¹A time limit draw with no clear winner of the match. ²A cash payment on the night of a show as an advance on the earned paycheck that will be paid later.

Dusty Finish - A specific finish to a match. 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 referee overrules the decision. The 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 - Short word for babyface.

False Comeback - The point in a match where the face starts back on the offense after the heel has dominated him for a long period of time, only to be stopped by the heel who goes back to the offense.

Feeding - The role the heel plays during a babyface’s comeback where he is repeatedly fended off by the face with a series of bumps which 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.

Finish - The ending of a match.

Finisher - The move that leads to the win.

Foreign Object - An object that is illegal to the match, such as a chair, brass knuckles, chain, etc.

Garbage Wrestling - A style of wrestling that consists of wrestlers frequently using foreign objects, blading, gimmick stipulations in matches, and brawling without much athleticism or ring psychology.

EX: FMW, XPW, Some of ECW.

Gas - Steroids.

Gate - Amount of money that is generated from ticket sales.

Geek - To cut one’s self.

Gig Mark - A scar from blading.

Gimmick - ¹The persona that a wrestler has. ²Slang for a foreign object.

Gizmo - And old term for a gimmick.

Glob - To stiff someone.

Go Home - When a wrestler says this to his opponent, it means to go to the finish of the match.

Gold - A Championship belt.

Go Over - To beat someone. A related term is to “put over”.

Go Through - A time limit draw.

Going Bush - When a wrestler moves from a full-time, major league-type promotion to the independent scene.

Good Hand - A wrestler that the other wrestlers enjoy working against. This person is usually in complete control during the match, does not get lost, and does not work too stiffly or too lightly.

Green - A term for an inexperienced wrestler.

Gusher - A deep cut that bleeds a lot; usually caused by blading. The severity of the cut may or may not have been intended.

Handles - Names that the wrestlers usually use themselves. Usually not the names that they use in the ring.

Hardway - A cut that is usually unintentional and without the use of a razor blade.

Heat - ¹The crowd’s reaction to a wrestler; usually cheers or boos. ²To “have heat” with someone in a 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 “rule breaker” who the promoter books in the position of being booed.

High Spot - A move that is perceived to be, or is, high-risk.

Hold Up - When a wrestler refuses to wrestle until he is paid more than what was originally agreed upon.

Hood - A masked wrestler.

Hope Spot - When a babyface is being beaten by the heel, he teases a comeback with a high spot or two, only to have the heel take over on offense again. It is just like the false comeback. Usually, the hope spot is just minutes away from the face making a full-fledged comeback.

Hot Tag - When a babyface, who has been on the receiving end of a heel’s offense, makes the tag to his partner.

House - The number of fans in the building.

House Show - ¹A live show not taped for TV. ²An arena that is consistently visited by an organization.

EX: The ECW Arena, MSG.

Job - A planned loss.

Jobber - A wrestler who loses in order to put over a pushed wrestler.

Jabroni - Slang for the word “jobber”. Used, but not invented, by The Rock.

Juice - ¹Another term for blading. ²Slang for steroids.

Kayfabe - Generally referring to the protecting of industry secrets.

Lead Ass - A wrestler who will not cooperate in the ring.

Light - When a wrestler works light or lightly, it gives the audience the impression that the wrestler isn’t laying in kicks or punches.

Loose - A wrestler who applies moves or holds with less force than usual.

Low-Carder - A wrestler that is either a jobber, a rookie, new to an organization, or has not paid his dues.

Main-Eventer - A wrestler that is in contention for the world title and usually wrestles in main event matches, hence the name.

Mark - ¹A person who believes that wrestling matches, angles, and everything to do with wrestling is real. ²A fan of, or participant in, the wrestling industry who believes that any part or aspect of the industry is more important than making money.

Mark Out - When a smart fan gets into an angle or a match and enjoys it as if he was a mark.

Marriage - A feud between wrestlers.

Marshmallow - A fat wrestler. This term is old and is rarely used.

Mid-Carder - A wrestler that is not a Main-Eventer, but also not quite a jobber.

Mouthpiece - An on-camera manager.

No Sell - When a wrestler stops selling moves for a moment to give 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.

EX: CNN Center, Titan Towers.

Over - To be popular with the audience.

Paper - To give away tickets to an event; often done for TV tapings.

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 and pretends to be a fan, yet participates in an angle.

Policeman - A wrestler that is intimidating enough, skillful enough, and strong enough who is able to shoot with another wrestler in a match to make a point with an unruly opponent.

Pop - A big rise out of the crowd, usually cheering or booing.

Post - To ram the head of one’s opponent into the steel ring post.

Potato - To legitimately hit an object or move with full force onto one’s opponent, whether it be accidental or on purpose.

Program - Same as a feud; includes matches, interviews, and angles.

Promoter - The head of a wrestling organization.

Promotion - ¹The wrestling company. ²The hype for an event.

Push - When a wrestler is promoted on TV and through other means in order to get that wrestler over; includes 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.

Red - Blood.

Ref Bump - When a referee takes a bump at a specific point in the match so that a wrestler, usually a 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 breathe in between high spots.

Ring Rat - A woman who hangs around the arenas and hotels after a wrestling show looking to sleep with one of the wrestlers.

Road Agent - Someone who travels with the wrestlers and oversees the house shows.

Screwjob - A finish to a match with a controversial ending, often upsetting the fans.

Sell - To act as if you were on the receiving end of a legitimate wrestling move.

Sheets - Slang for newsletters and journals that break Kayfabe.

EX: The Torch, The Observer, most of the Internet.

Shoot - ¹A work that becomes a legitimate fight. ²To hit or hurt one’s opponent on purpose during the course of a match. ³A 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 who believes he is smart to due to a certain amount of inside knowledge he has gained, but is perceived by someone else to be less informed that that person thinks he is.

Smart - One who has knowledge of the inner workings of the wrestling industry.

Smoz - A group of wrestlers involved in a pull-apart brawl.

Soft - Same as “light”.

Spot - A wrestling move or a series of moves.

Spot Show - A wrestling event in a town not often visited.

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.

Stocking - An old term for a masked wrestler.

Stooge - A person who tells the promoter something that the wrestlers would prefer to keep secret.

Strap - A Championship belt.

Stretch - To use a legitimate amateur wrestling hold on one’s opponent.

Stretched - To be injured, sometimes intentionally, by one’s 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 found in Japan where the action seems to be shooting and realistic looking because of the high spots 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 a comeback.

Swerve - ¹A joke that one wrestler plays on another. ²A false report that a wrestler or promoter leaks to the press. ³When the finish of a match is changed so that all of the industry insiders are left shocked.

Switch the Heat - To pass the blame.

Territory - ¹The area that a promotion runs it shows and airs its TV shows. ²Slang for actual territorial wrestling promotion.

Tight - When a wrestler works tight, he applies holds and moves with more force than average, making them look more realistic.

Trust - Alliance among regional promotions.

EX: The NWA organizations.

Turn - When a wrestler changes from heel to face or from face to heel.

Tweener - A wrestler who is neither a face nor a heel, but is in the process of turning from one into another.

Work - ¹Predetermined outcome. ²To wrestle skillfully.

Worker - A wrestler.

Workrate - The pace of a match, and the skill level exhibited throughout the match by the wrestlers.

Yard Tard - A backyard wrestler. In a way, wrestling without training is near-retarded.

Yard Tarding - Essentially, the act of backyard wrestling. Sometimes, garbage wrestling promotions are called this.