The
Rasslin' Ring Glossary of Pro Wrestling
By Russ Ray
angle (n.) A wrestling storyline.
The manner in which a gimmick is applied to a feud.
See also: gimmick, feud, program
blade (v.) To intentionally
cut oneself with a razor blade in order to bleed.
See also: juice
blind ref (n.) A referee who
is distracted from seeing illegal tactics going on behind
him.
booker (n.) The person in charge
of writing angles and storylines and deciding who wins or
loses matches and what the outcome will be. A booker may also
be in charge of hiring and firing wrestlers.
bump (n.) An attack taken by
a wrestler, manager or referee that incapacitates them for
a period of time (most commonly referred to with referees).
See also: spot
card (n.) A series of matches
held at a venue on one night.
carry (v.) To increase the
workrate of a less-talented opponent.
cheap heat (n.) Heat caused
by a wrestler praising or bashing the fans in attendance or
their town.
See also: heat
clean job (n.) A loss without
interference or cheating affecting the outcome.
Opposite of: screw job
clean house (v.) To eliminate
every other wrestler in the ring.
count-out (n.) A disqualification
that occurs when a wrestler remains outside of the ring for
more than a 10 count (20 in Japan).
disqualification (n.) An ending
to a match where a referee witnesses a foreign object being
used or interference taking place.
draw (n.) 1. The ability of
a wrestler to attract fans and an audience. A wrestler's popularity.
2. A finish to a match that occurs when the time limit has
expired with no decision.
face (n.) A good guy. A heroic
or sympathetic character.
Also called: babyface
Opposite of: heel
fall (n.) A successful victory
gained by pinning an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a
referee's three count, making an opponent submit to a hold,
allowing an opponent to be counted out of the ring or an opponent
being disqualified for illegal tactics.
feud (n.) A series of matches
between two wrestlers, tag teams or stables who appear to
have a grudge for one another. Participants in a feud will
usually interfere in each other's matches, attack each other
from behind and bad mouth or threaten their opponents.
See also: angle, program
finish (n.) The events that
lead to the conclusion of a match, whether by a clean job
or a screw job.
foreign object (n.) an object
which is used as a weapon that is illegal to use during a
match.
gimmick (n.) The persona that
a wrestler uses to make himself noticeable or different from
other wrestlers.
green (adj.) Inexperienced
as a wrestler.
hardcore (n., adj.) A style
of wrestling which uses relaxed rules on foreign objects,
interference and countouts to produce more violent matches.
Also called: extreme
heat (n.) 1. positive or negative
attitude from the fans. 2. backstage animosity between wrestlers
or between wrestlers and bookers.
See also: pop
heel (n.) A bad guy. A villainous
or rule-breaking character.
Opposite of: face
high spot (n.) A dramatic or
exciting looking move by use of acrobatics or violence.
house (n.) 1. The fans in attendance
for an event. 2. A wrestling venue.
house show (n.) An untelevised
wrestling event.
job (n., v.) To intentionally
lose to an opponent.
Also called: doing the job
Opposite of: push
jobber (n.) An unpushed or
less-pushed wrestler who does the job for a pushed or more-pushed
wrestler.
jobber to the stars (n.) A
mid-card wrestler who does the job for an upper-card wrestler.
Also called: JTTS
juice (n., v.) 1. Blood. 2.
Steroids.
See also: blade
kayfabe (n.) The treatment
of wrestling as if it were real in front of an audience. To
"maintain" it, a wrestler acts the part of his gimmick and
keeps secrets regarding inside information on wrestling. To
"break" it, a wrestler acts as themselves and reveals inside
information about wrestling.
kill (v.) To reduce heat or
drawing power by jobbing a wrestler too often, jobbing a wrestling
against lesser opponents or placing wrestlers in unpopular
or boring angles.
mark (n.) A fan who believes
wrestling is real or is unaware of inside information regarding
wrestling.
over (adj.) To be popular with
the fans. To generate heat.
paper (n.) Free tickets that
are given away to make a venue appear sold-out on television.
pop (n., v.) A sudden reaction
by fans to a wrestler's entrance or a high spot.
See also: heat
post (v.) To throw an opponent
into a ring post.
program (n.) A series of matches
that tours house shows across the country to promote an angle
or feud.
push (n., v.) The promotion
of a wrestler, giving him more victories, title shots and
interview time.
Opposite of: job
put over (v.) To job to an
opponent that is receiving a push, often done by a higher-profile
wrestler to an up-and-comer.
See also: job
rest hold (n.) A hold put on
an opponent after being winded from a series of moves in order
to take a break from the action. Differs from a submission
move in that it is not meant to end a match.
run-in (n.) Interference by
someone who is not an active participant in the match.
See also: save
save (n., v.) A run-in done
to protect a wrestler who is attacked after a match is over.
See also: run-in
screw job (n.) A loss to an
opponent who cheated or benefited from interference.
Opposite of: clean job
script (n.) The planned activity
for a match.
sell (v.) To appear as if a
wrestling move hurts.
shoot (n.) 1. A match where
one wrestler throws out the script and deliberately tries
to hurt his opponent. 2. An interview which breaks kayfabe.
See also: kayfabe
Opposite of: work
smart (n.) A fan who believes
he knows all the inside information there is to know about
wrestling.
spot (n.) A turning point in
a match as a result of a good move or spectacular failure
of a move.
squash (n.) A match against
a jobber which allows a pushed wrestler to totally dominate
the action.
stable (n.) A group of wrestlers
who are united to watch out for one another. A stable can
have a common cause (domination of a company) or be united
through a manager or leader.
stiff (adj.) Clumsy. Ungraceful.
Not able to sell or perform moves well.
tap out (v.) To slap the mat
as a signal to the referee that a wrestler has given up to
a submission hold.
Also called: throwing in the towel (by a representative at
ringside)
turn (v.) To change fan allegiance
between face and heel.
tweener (n.) A wrestler who
is overtly neither a face or a heel.
work (n.) A wrestling match
that is scripted and the wrestlers execute wrestling moves
in such a way as to protect themselves and their opponent
from injury.
Opposite of: shoot
work rate (n.) The ratio of
good wrestling moves to rest holds in a match, which is estimated
by smarts to evaluate a particular wrestler's performance.
See also: rest hold
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