1

April Gilbert
Dr. Walter Bosse
English 101-02
28, October 2015
The Wrestling Fan
Professional wrestlings most mysterious hold is on its audience, Luke Neely.
Professional wrestling has been entertaining audiences since the 1860s but what exactly is
professional wrestling. Pro wrestling is an athletic form of entertainment that is based on the
portray al of highly exaggerated combat. It began in carnivals, shortly after the civil war, and
gained widespread popularity in the 1980s thanks to the reappearance of World Wrestling
Federation, WWF, on network television. Through the years, pro wrestling has continued to
captivate its fans. Although viewed as a barbaric, uneducated group of individuals, professional
wrestling fans are a group with many forms of communications through their own slang terms,
live events, and blogs. Through this ethnography, we will analyze the terminology I have come
to know and use while watching or attending wrestling shows, a script from one of the wrestling
shows I have seen, the reactions from it, and blogs I have read online about wrestling and its
performers. By the end of this ethnography, you will gain an understanding that wrestling fans
are just like any fandom, we are passionate about the show we watch. We are a very educated
group of individuals, probably more than other fandoms, because we can acknowledge the
wrongs about wrestling without getting angry and picking fights.
To begin, there are many misconceptions about wrestling fans, the main being that they're
just a bunch of uneducated, young, barbarian men. To try and dispute some of these we will

examine the viewer demographic of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Fifteen million
fans, in the United States alone, tune in on a weekly basis to watch WWE. In 2014, WWE
reported that thirty-five percent of their audience was female and in reports this year has showed
an increase of two percent. The increase in female viewers have been contributed to the changing
dynamics of their female roster and how people have come to view female athletes. While the
target audience is for individuals eighteen and younger, surprisingly WWE has reported that their
biggest audience is made up of viewers that are fifty and over. This year WWE reported that
thirty-eight percent of their viewers were over the age of fifty, a three percent increase from last
year, while eighteen percent are under the age of seventeen, a three percent decrease since last
year. Seeing as how their biggest group of viewers is already well into their careers and may
have families, it disputes the fact that wrestling fans are just a bunch of young punks.
Secondly, to begin the understanding of wrestling fans, we first must gain an
understanding of the terminology or slang they have created over the years. The creation of these
terms was established to not only describe the wrestler, but also the fans and the overall show.
Most of these terms are used more widely when discussing national promotions, like WWE and
Total National Action (TNA), then independent promotions or the indies, like the World
Wrestling Alliance (WWA) an indy company based out of Central City, Kentucky. There are
basically two types of wrestlers: superstars, who are the male competitors, and divas, who are the
female competitors. The superstars and divas can be either heel, a bad guy, or face, a good guy.
When the wrestler switches from face to heel it is called a heel turn likewise when they switch
from heel to face it is a face turn. The superstar and diva also portray a certain character or
gimmick when they wrestler, that may continue for a short or long time considering how the
fans react to it. When referring to the wrestlers status level, there are three overall types: the

jobber, who is usually a newer, unknown wrestler whose main job is to lose to the better known
wrestlers. The jobber may also be considered too green or inexperienced and prone to make
more mistakes. Then there are the midcarders who wrestle more in the middle of the event and
are seen as being a top wrestler but not a big money drawer. The highest status a wrestler can
achieve is to be considered a main eventer. A main eventer is seen as the best of the company and
one of the top money drawers on the roster and usually get to compete at the end of the show
also known as the main event. The individuals who accompany the wrestler to the ring but do not
actually complete are referred to as the wrestlers manager or valet. A manager is usually a male
who accompanies the wrestler while a valet is usually a female. The main goal of a manager or
valet is to put over or hype up their client by cutting promos or interviews about them and
making their opponent look weak. Like the NFL, national promotions have color commentators
who call the action in the ring and also speak about certain wrestlers and their feuds or rivalries.
Wrestlers and fans have also created terms to describe the more diehard fans. The main
three terms are: marks, smarts, and smarks. Marks are fans who believe that every aspect of
professional wrestling is real. Nothing is ever faked or predetermined and when the wrestlers
feud with each other they really do hate each other and are not acting. Sometimes the term mark
is also used to describe fans who may like a particular wrestler or promotion so much it is
considered excessive. A smart is an individual who possesses inside information on the wrestling
business and maybe even a certain promotion. Smarts are usually the individuals who run the dirt
sheets online, provide information about backstage happenings, and gossip about the wrestlers
and managements. The third type of fan is a combination of a smart and mark they are referred to
as the smarks. Smarks are fans who generally enjoy professional wrestling despite knowing
that it is staged.

Also there are many terms, when speaking or writing about the wrestling matches or their
segments in general. The match starts with the two opponents entering the ring, one is usually
face and enters to a pop or a cheerful reaction, and the other is usually heel and enters to heat or a
hateful reaction. During the match there a many bumps, hits, taken by both wrestlers that need
to be sold correctly in order for the audience to believe its authenticity if not those are considered
botches. Usually a heel wrestler, sometimes a face in the case of Eddie Guerrero, who also made
this term legendary, will play possum, fake an injury, to distract the referee so they can gain the
upper hand in the match. The matches wrestled during televised shows, like WWE, but are not
shown are called dark matches. Dark matches are usually done before or after the show to test
out new talent or send the audience home with a happy ending. Most all matches end when
the heel or face hits their finisher or their final trademark move and the referee counts the 1
23.
Thirdly, the biggest and most diverse form of communication by wrestling fans
and the promotions are done at live events. The WWE has a viewpoint when it comes to live
shows that state nothing can go wrong if its live. If a wrestler were to trip coming out or
getting in the ring, they were meant to do that, this is called Vinces Philosophy. The WWE has
seemingly everything written, whats happening before, during, and even after the event. It can
be easy to see how professional wrestling may relate to a soap opera.
In examining the script of WWEs Raw episode, The Evolution of Justice which aired
live on April 14th, 2014, we can see how the promotion tries telling a story while also trying to
manipulate its audience into reacting how they view is correct. Before the show begins crew
members are to Distribute Ultimate Warrior masks to the audience// Jerry Lawler pre-conditions
the audience to put on their Ultimate Warrior masks when they hear the Ultimate Warriors

music. The show then moves to the opening segment which has the WWE superstars and divas
on stage and a tribute is played to honor the Ultimate Warrior, who had just passed away. Its
written that this segment is to last about eight minutes and that the writers were: Steve G., Steve
O, and Kirsh. Once the segment is over the backstage crew can take a breathe and begin
preparing for the next segment. Once the show returns from its commercial break comes the next
segment which is a match between RVD and Alberto Del Rio. This match it to last six minutes
and was produced by: John Laurinaitis. Even though its prewritten who will get over or win, in
this case it is RVD, the commentators do not know exactly how the finish comes to be and are
able to commentate on the action as it happens. What the commentators say is mostly never
scripted, however, they do have a checklist of some topics they need to mention throughout the
show. During RVDs match one of the things they needed to cover was RVDs recent surprise
return and his win over Damion Sandow. Once that segment has concluded the crew has another
breath and then it moves into a backstage segment featuring: Triple H, Randy Orton, and
Batista. Everything in this segment has been pre-written including the words that are to be said
from each person. This is how it is written for the majority of the segments and interviews done.
What each superstar or diva is to say is already previously written for them by someone else.
However, there are occasions where a wrestler is just handed the mic and left to speak on their
own about a topic; for example CM Punks legendary pipe bomb on June 27, 2011 episode of
RAW. The rest of the show is written primarily similar to this, with the only changes being the
times, producers, and wrestlers.
As much as the writers and management can try and predict and sometimes try to control
how the crowd will react they are not always successful. For instance, during The Evolution of
Justice episode, the match between the Rhodes brothers and RybAxel was filled with chants for

the announce team, JBL and Jerry Lawler. Also, whenever Ryback would compete in the match,
the crowd would then form a Goldberg chant, mocking Rybacks similarity to the former
wrestler. One assumes since the heels are the bad guys of wrestling they would be booed
however the crowd that night cheered and chanted for Cesaro, sang along to Fandangos music,
and clapped along to Bray Wyatts music. The crowd even booed WWEs main event star, their
golden boy, John Cena, and sang along to his music with the words, John Cena Sucks. Live
audiences cannot be controlled and they have learned that. There unaltered reactions is what
makes the show the best.
Fourth, the biggest form of written communication is done online with the Internet
Wrestling Community, IWC. Most of their communications are done on spoiler sites, blogs or
threads. PWMania is a website dedicated to bringing the most current and accurate news from
wrestling promotions, national and Indy. They provide many things, including: information about
upcoming shows, event results, backstage/management news, and columns discussing their
opinions on various happenings in wrestling. In one of their many columns, Discussing If The
WWEs Taking Paige in the Wrong Direction, Dela Lozanova discusses how she believes the
WWE is failing at effectively establishing Paige as a heel. She begins by writing about how not
only is she happy to see the Brit a dominate heel again but so are the fans. However, she believes
the WWE is establishing Paige as the wrong type of a heel. Paiges recent heel gimmick is
a strange mix of AJ Lee + Natalya and most recently The Miz. Dela believes the best way to
make Paige a dominant heel is by basing her persona on her on creditable and not a mixture of
the other wrestlers. What Paige should be is a confident, dominant, and unapologetic heel. She
should base all her claims on her rich NXT past.stop looking for approval and fame. The
behavior reeks of desperation. She closes her column by suggesting more ways WWE could go

about creating Paige as a heel and then ask the readers their opinion on the matter, which so far,
has created a few comments. This column and the many more just like it are key examples of
how wrestling fans are well educated in their topic and can type or speak a logical opinion.
In conclusion, wrestling fans are just as passionate as any other sports fan. Most fans are
knowledgeable about the inner workings of the business and respect others opinion, while the
rare few are responsible for some of the biased stereotypes, like wrestling fans being a bunch of
uneducated rednecks. Wrestling fans have a diverse form of communication through the creation
of their slang terms, to their involvement at live events, and their online forms of
communications. Vince McMahon, owner of the WWE, said it best, To those who believe in the
beauty of professional wrestling, nothing needs to be said. For those who dont appreciate
wrestling, nothing could be said to change their minds.

Work Cited
1. WWE. "Investor Presentation." Corporate WWE. WWE, 31 Oct. 2015. Web. 1 Nov.
2015. <http://ir.corporate.wwe.com/Cache/1001203893.PDF?
Y=&O=PDF&D=&FID=1001203893&T=&IID=4121687>.
2. Harrington, Chris. "Indeed Wrestling. WWE Viewer Demographics. Indeed Wrestling,
29 July 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2015. <http://indeedwrestling.blogspot.com/2014/07/wweviewer-demographics.html>.
3. Lozanova, Dela. "Discussing If the WWE's Taking Paige in the Wrong Direction."
PWMania Discussing If The WWEs Taking Paige in the Wrong Direction Comments.
PWMania, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. <http://www.pwmania.com/discussing-ifthe-wwes-taking-paige-in-the-wrong-direction>.
4. Michael. "Here's The Entire Transcript of CM Punk's Promo on WWE Monday Night
Raw!" Heyman Hustle. Heyman Hustle, 28 June 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.heymanhustle.com/167221-cm-punk-promo>.
5. The Evolution of Justice. Dir. Vince McMahon. Perf. Triple H, Jerry Lawler, RVD,
Alberto Del Rio, Batista, Randy Orton, Ryback, Cody Rhodes, Goldust, Curtis Axel, John
Cena, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt, Fandango, and JBL. The Evolution of Justice - April 14th,
2014. WWE, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
<http://network.wwe.com/video/v33083431>

Transcript of CM Punks Pipe-Bomb

John Cena, while you lay there, hopefully as uncomfortable as you possibly can be, I want you
to listen to me. I want you to digest this because before I leave in 3 weeks with your WWE
Championship, I have a lot of things I want to get off my chest. I dont hate you, John. I dont

even dislike you. I do like you. I like you a hell of a lot more than I like most people in the back.
I hate this idea that youre the best. Because youre not. Im the best. Im the best in the world.
Theres one thing youre better at than I am and thats kissing Vince McMahons ass. Youre as
good as kissing Vince McMahons ass as Hulk Hogan was. I dont know if youre as good as
Dwayne though. Hes a pretty good ass kisser. Always was and still is. Whoops! Im breaking the
fourth wall! (Punk waves to the camera) I am the best wrestler in the world. Ive been the best
since day one when I walked into this company. And Ive been vilified and hated since that day
because Paul Heyman saw something in me that nobody else wanted to admit. Thats right, Im a
Paul Heyman guy. You know who else was a Paul Heyman guy? Brock Lesnar. And he split just
like Im splitting. But the biggest difference between me and Brock is Im going to leave with
the WWE Championship. Ive grabbed so many of Vincent K. McMahons brass rings that its
finally dawned on me that there just that, theyre completely imaginary. The only thing thats real
is me and the fact that day in and day out, for almost six years, I have proved to everybody in the
world that I am the best on this microphone, in that ring, even in commentary! Nobody can touch
me! And yet no matter how many times I prove it, Im not on your lovely little collector cups.
Im not on the cover of the program. Im barely promoted. I don't get to be in movies. Im
certainly not on any crappy show on the USA Network. Im not on the poster of WrestleMania.
Im not on the signature thats produced at the start of the show. Im not on Conan OBrian. Im
not on Jimmy Fallon. But the fact of the matter is, I should be. This isnt sour grapes. But the fact
that Dwayne is in the main event at WrestleMania next year and Im not makes me sick! Oh hey,
let me get something straight. Those of you who are cheering me right now, you are just as big a
part of me leaving as anything else. Because youre the ones who are sipping on those collector
cups right now. Youre the ones that buy those programs that my face isnt on the cover of. And

10

then at five in the morning at the airport, you try to shove it in my face and get an autograph and
try to sell it on EBay because youre too lazy to go get a real job. Im leaving with the WWE
Championship on July 17th. And hell, who knows, maybe Ill go defend it in New Japan Pro
Wrestling. MaybeIll go back to Ring of Honor. (Punk looks at the camera and waves) Hey,
Colt Cabana, how you doing? The reason Im leaving is you people. Because after Im gone,
youre still going to pour money into this company. Im just a spoke on the wheel. The wheel is
going to keep turning and I understand that. Vince McMahon is going to make money despite
himself. Hes a millionaire who should be a billionaire. You know why hes not a billionaire?
Because he surrounds himself with glad-handed, non-sensual, douchebag (censored) yes men,
like John Laurinaitis, whos going to tell him everything he wants to hear, and Id like to think
that maybe this company will better after Vince McMahon is dead. But the fact is, its going to
be taken over by his idiotic daughter and his doofus son-in-law and the rest of his stupid family.
Let me tell you a personal story about Vince McMahon alright. We do this whole (anti) bully
campaign (Mic cut off.)