Don't you feel smart when people who...

[Guest Mole]

Last Thursday when Smackdown was on, I had a bunch of friends over my house. I never watch wrestling with any of my friends because they hate it.

 

Anyway, they just started asking me all of these questions about wrestling, a certain wrestler, why Rikishi sticks his ass into people's face, etc. All of the questions were so easy to answer, and they knew nothing about wrestling.

 

This happens just about anytime I watch wrestling with someone because I've never watched wrestling with a smart mark. One of my friends at school was trying to tell me that Triple-Juice is a better wrestler than Kurt Angle. I told him why, and we got into this big arguement about it. I just said screw it, you're a mark and you'll never undetstand.

 

Do you fellas get the same thing from other people?

[Guest JHawk]

One of my friends is very unfamiliar with wrestling but stumbled into a smark chatroom, so I had to answer "what does mark out mean?"

[Guest BifEverchad]

There was a guy at work a while ago who used to ask me questions about wrestling all the time. Like, "whatever happened to that guy Tatanka?" or "do they really bleed?", "is that Scott Steiner guy really on steroids?", among other questions.

 

I dunno if this guy was just actually asking questions for the sake of wanting to know. Or was he just asking me them to get me going, and to make fun of me for watching wrestling so much.

 

Meh...

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

No, because gettin smarky on someone isn't exactly the best thing to do. More often or not you'll get the "oooooh" and then a condescending look.

 

In general, being smart is good cause people gravitate towards you - but not in terms of wrestling.

[Adam 0]

I got 'Why is Brock Lesner going to win the Royal Rumble'

[Guest Austin3164life]

Yes, this happens to me a lot of times I talk to one of my good friends about wrestling. He isn't your typical dumb mark, but he is not a smark by any means. Whenever we chat about workrate, he tells me that he thinks guys like Undertaker, Nash, Steiner, and Goldberg are all way past their prime and are bad athletes in the ring (according to him, which surprised me). When I asked him who he thought was the best wrestler, he named several names that most smart marks would name too (Guerrero, Mysterio, Benoit, Jericho, Angle, Austin). But when we got into details, for example, talking about why Austin was a great wrestler, he retorted that his natural charisma covered up his weak wrestling ability. It sounded to me like a mark trying to sound smart, but basing it on pure opinion rather than watching Austin's best matches and realizing his technical skill. When I began speaking as to why Austin, Angle, Benoit, etc. were all good workers (use psychology, storytelling, pacing, good offense) I could tell he was interested and he approved of my knowledge, and seemed to want to know more, so then we discussed backstage happenings and "behind the scenes". I felt cool that I helped educate a somewhat-mark who didn't really know about the "inside" of wrestling.

[Guest El Satanico]

Once at work some guy who was a complete and utter "mark" was saying some stupid shit. I started to try talking some sense into him, but quickly realized it was a losing battle and gave up.

 

Besides, I didn't feel like looking like a complete wrestling geek and be seen on the same level as that guy.

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

well lets see..

 

I used to get asked all the time

 

"Why do watch wrestling, you know its fake right?"

 

to which I would respond with my usual standard response of "Its no more fake than anything else on tv.."

 

anyway..more or less now I get asked

 

"You still watch that shit?"

 

to which my standard reply seems to be "Yes, I still watch that shit."

 

One time I even got asked if I was gay because "I liked to watch men roll around with other men in tights all lathered up in baby oil"..

 

Of course Im sure everyone here has been asked the same questions..

[Guest razazteca]

Well a friend ask if Goldust really had torrets, I said no it was just a gimmick but another friend went smarky crazy on him saying "Don't be a mark".

[Guest JHawk]

I used to get asked all the time

 

"Why do watch wrestling, you know its fake right?"

 

NEVER respond to that with "You know Friends is fake, right?" You might get slapped for that one.

[Guest Coffey]

I just don't acknowledge people whom aren't "smart" to the business.

[Guest Mole]

I used to get asked all the time

 

"Why do watch wrestling, you know its fake right?"

 

NEVER respond to that with "You know Friends is fake, right?" You might get slapped for that one.

I always use that one.

 

I just ask them, "What is your favorite TV show?"

 

"24"

 

"Well, is that real?"

 

"Ahhh, you can't compare those two. It is like comparing apples and oranges."

 

People just don't understand wrestling. They don't like it because it is 'fake', but it is the toughest sport there is. As we all know, just because it is 'fake,' it doesn't mean when they take a bump it doesn't hurt.

 

I tell them, for example, if Jason Kidd cuts his leg in a game he goes to the bench and gets it fixed. But in wrestling, if you get cut like that, there aren't any timeouts, you keep on wrestling. I always use the example of the Raw is Quad match, when Triple-Juice tore his quad. We all know the story, so I just tell them that and even though he tore his quad, he took a Walls of Jericho, which hurt it more, and got into the ring and hit SCSA by mistake. It sometimes makes them go aww, or just a shrug like they don't give a fuck.

 

I do tell them that I don't watch wrestling for a kiss my ass club, or other stupid ass shit. I tell them I watch wrestling for wrestling, the amazing stuff these men can do in the ring, night after night.

[Guest Downhome]

Everyone in the "real world" that I know comes to me for their Pro. Wrestling needs, both on how to get tapes and any questions they have.

 

They think it's cool, and I like to help out. I especially like to "teach" the younger kids about everything, to help them get started in this sort of hobby. Not just on what is going on now, but more importantly in my eyes personally, to show them about the history of the industry and everything.

 

They think I know all there is to know, it's kind of funny at times.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Where does the term "Mark" come from?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Where does the term "Mark" come from?

Freddy Blassie.

 

Oh wait, that was "Pencil Necked Geek".

 

Hmm...anyone know about the origin of "Mark"?

[Guest the pinjockey]

Isn't it carny for the suckers who they could get to play ring toss games and similar things. I think it just carried over into wrestling as the suckers who bought wrestling for real. And I think it just evolved from thinking it's real to not being smartened up to anything other than what is shown to you (no backstage or personal knowledge). Of course ask different people and you will get completely different answers to what a mark is today.

[Guest Downhome]

Where does the term "Mark" come from?

I don't know exactly, I've just never thought about it. I did find this over at a web site of Pro. Wrestling terms. I don't know what this site is, I just searched this question and got this...

 

Mark: 1. 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.

 

...so take it for what you will, lol.

[Guest mickberna]

My biggest pet peeve is when I meet someone who is a wrestling fan, but is a super smark. I'd much rather explain my fandom of wrestling to some regular Joe than try to engage in a conversation with someone who regurgitates Scott Keith rants as original thoughts.

[Guest mickberna]

P.S. A mark is a carny term used to describe the poor jerks that the carnys would swindle. Mark = sucker. Sucker = fan. Therefore, Mark = Fan.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

My little sister is a smark-in-training. She already hates Goldberg and she yelled at the people booing Angle at Smackdown last year, god bless her.

 

Oh, and it's rare that I get asked questions, though I have gotten them at times. The last one was a girl asking me if I saw the Mr. America thing. We both got a good laugh at it (This was the day after America debuted on Piper's Pit, so I still found it to be amusing at that point).

[Guest Mole]

Freddie explains it in his book, but I don't know what page it is and I don't remember.

 

I remember that kayfabe comes from either two reasons. There was this guy whose name sounded like Kayfabe in someway, and he was a mute and couldn't talk. So when a 'mark' would come around, they would just say kayfabe.

 

The other story about kayfabe guy with the simular name with kayfabe, was that he talked a lot and never kept his mouth shut. So, that is where it came from.

 

I'll look it up in a few and give the exact thing he said.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

One of my friends at school was trying to tell me that Triple-Juice is a better wrestler than Kurt Angle. I told him why, and we got into this big arguement about it. I just said screw it, you're a mark and you'll never undetstand.

[Guest Mole]

Okay, I found it. This is exactly what Freddie said: "In the carnival, when I'd walk into a room where a bunch of older wrestlers were talking, the'd all say, "Kay fabe. Kay fabe." It meant, "Shut up. There's a mark listening." I've heard a couple of theories about the origin of the term. Some people say that there was a deaf and dumb wrestler named Kay Fabian, so "kay fabe" implied, "Go mute." There's another story that Kay Fabian could hear and speak, but he was a real gossip and pain in the ass, so nobody told him anything."

[Guest Mole]

One of my friends at school was trying to tell me that Triple-Juice is a better wrestler than Kurt Angle. I told him why, and we got into this big arguement about it. I just said screw it, you're a mark and you'll never undetstand.

Oh come on Jobber, it is obvious that Triple-Juice is a much worse than Kurt Angle. It is like saying that Vin Baker is worse than Tim Duncan, it's almost a proven fact.

 

Yes, I was talking down to him about that. When it comes to wrestling, just about the only thing I very knowledgeable about, I talk down to people about it. Other than that, I am usually being talked down too, especially here at TSM. So

[Guest Sakura]

The carny origins of "mark" are true. My dad has used it(he is a magician) and he has never been into wrestling.

[Adam 0]

The first time I saw the word 'mark' was when it was used by Chris Jericho in WWF Magazine. I wondered if he meant he had changed his name

[Guest saturnmark4life]

I wiped my ass without assistance this morning. I felt so smart.

[J.B. Buzzkill 0]

My brother's jumping on the smark bandwagon. 3 months ago, he liked Hogan, but now he doesn't like him because I don't like him (same w/Jeff Hardy and Goldberg). He also likes Benoit and Angle now, and he used to hate them the most.

[Guest wwF1587]

I used to get asked all the time

 

"Why do watch wrestling, you know its fake right?"

 

NEVER respond to that with "You know Friends is fake, right?" You might get slapped for that one.

 

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Friends are as real as my own!!

 

 

[Guest croweater]

I've had a few mark run ins.

 

one of these was when I went and saw Backlash (I think). Where Rock was fighting Goldberg.

 

The guy I sat next to (cos we have to watch it at the cinema since WWE decided to screw Australia....... but then again it was only about $15US at the time) Asked me whether I thought GOldberg or The Rock would win. He was the kind of mark who was all of 100lbs heavier than me and looked as if he would punch me in the face if I disagread with him so I just said "Rocky of course" in my markiest voice and changed the subject.

 

I was about 10 when I got into wrestling, I'm 18 now, ( that's 8 years as a fan for any marks reading ), and at the time I dragged one of my friends in with me. We watch the same things, we go to the same sites and we know who has the best moveset as we practiced relentlessly against eachother. Yet the man is a mark for Goldberg, Nash and Cripple H. I think you must be born a smark or at least have smark potential at birth.