Professional wrestling began during the traveling carnival days of the mid-1800s, when fans would line up to see wrestlers do battle against one another. In the beginning, these matches did not feature a script and the winner would actually have to beat his opponent, but carnival owners soon realized that more profitable methods existed. The term "mark" comes from this time in wrestling history, as promoters would seek out fans to pay to watch these events with predetermined outcomes.
Definition
In modern lingo, "mark" refers to any fan who spends money on a wrestling event. Originally, the term described fans who did not know about the fixing of wrestling matches, buying tickets and believing they had watched a legitimate fight. Now that most people know that professional wrestling scripts its matches, promoters and wrestlers sometimes refer to anyone who still follows the product as a mark because they make money from that person, according to the book "Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America."
History
While professional wrestling started as legitimate sport, carnival promoters soon began fixing the outcomes to maximize the sport's exposure and to give the fans a better show. In the early 1900s, the champion of a touring carnival would challenge any man in the crowd to a match for his title. The promoter would plant a man, called a stick, in the crowd to accept this challenge, although the match would have a predetermined outcome. Promoters and wrestlers alike began applying the term mark to the paying customers because they could swindle them out of their money at these shows, despite the lack of a legitimate fight.
Smart Marks
The wrestling industry has changed a great deal since its early days, and most fans now consider the shows theatrical, rather than legitimate sporting events. The wrestling industry remains very popular on the Internet, where a number of smart marks attempt to predict the outcome of a storyline before it happens. They also attempt to spot matches with an obvious fix by pointing out mistakes made by the performers over the course of the event.
Derogatory Term
Because of the origins of the term mark, many wrestlers and promoters alike view it as negative because it signifies the swindling or cheating of a fan. Based on its origins, however, it might not have a place in the wrestling industry anymore, since the majority of fans now know that events feature predetermined outcomes and pay to watch anyway.
References
- "Ringside: A History of Professional Wrestling in America"; Scott M. Beekman; 2006
- "Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle"; Sharon Mazer; 1998
- "Drawing Heat the Hard Way: How Wrestling Really Works"; Larry Matysik; 2009
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