A Glossary of Pro Wrestling Terms
Speaking the Language of Wrestling
Professional wrestling has developed its own rich vocabulary over more than a century, much of it originating as insider slang, or carny language, used by performers to talk about the business without letting the audience in. Today these terms are widely known among fans and are a fun and useful part of following the sport. Below is a glossary of common terms every wrestling fan should know.
Core Concepts
- Kayfabe - The portrayal of scripted events and storylines as if they were real; the shared illusion at the heart of wrestling.
- Work - Anything that is planned or scripted as part of the show.
- Shoot - Something real or unscripted, the opposite of a work.
- Worked shoot - A scripted segment deliberately made to feel real or unscripted.
- Angle - A storyline or plot that drives a feud or program forward.
- Program - An ongoing feud or series of matches between wrestlers.
Characters and Alignment
- Face - Short for babyface, a heroic wrestler the audience is meant to cheer.
- Heel - A villainous wrestler the audience is meant to boo.
- Tweener - A wrestler positioned between hero and villain, with mixed audience reactions.
- Turn - When a wrestler switches alignment, such as a face turn or a heel turn.
- Gimmick - The character, persona, or theme a wrestler portrays.
- Over - A wrestler or act that the crowd strongly reacts to and cares about.
- Heat - Negative crowd reaction directed at a heel, or backstage tension.
- Pop - A loud, positive crowd reaction, usually for a face.
In the Ring
- Spot - A specific planned move or sequence within a match.
- Highspot - A high-risk, high-impact move meant to excite the crowd.
- Bump - The act of taking a fall or being knocked to the mat.
- Sell - To react to moves convincingly to make them look painful and real.
- No-sell - To deliberately show no effect from an opponent's move.
- Spot can also combine into a false finish - A near-fall that makes the audience think the match is ending.
- Botch - A mistake or move that goes wrong during a match.
- Stiff - Strikes or moves delivered with excessive real force.
- Potato - An accidental hard blow that legitimately hurts an opponent.
- Selling aside, a spot monkey is a wrestler seen as relying only on flashy moves without storytelling.
Booking and Outcomes
- Booking - The planning of match results and storyline direction.
- Booker - The person who decides outcomes and creative direction.
- Push - A concerted effort to promote a wrestler toward greater success.
- Burial - Booking that diminishes a wrestler's status or credibility.
- Job - To lose a match, especially on purpose to help another wrestler.
- Jobber - A wrestler who routinely loses to make others look strong.
- Go-home - The final show or segment before a major event, meant to sell tickets or buys.
- Screwjob - A finish where a wrestler loses through unexpected or controversial means.
The Business Side
- Mark - A fan who believes in the product, sometimes used affectionately.
- Smark - A smart mark, a fan who follows the industry and its inside details.
- Promo - An interview or speech used to advance a storyline.
- Card - The lineup of matches for an event.
- Main event - The featured, top-billed match on a card.
- House show - A live, non-televised event.
- Dark match - A match at a taping that is not broadcast.
Backstage and Extra Terms
- Put over - To make an opponent look strong, often by losing to them or praising them.
- Cheap heat - Booing earned through easy shortcuts, such as insulting the local city, rather than through storytelling.
- Workrate - The quality, effort, and athleticism a wrestler brings to the ring.
- Green - An inexperienced or unpolished wrestler still learning the craft.
- Rib - A practical joke played among wrestlers backstage.
- Gorilla position - The staging area just behind the entrance curtain where wrestlers prepare to go out.
- Draw - A wrestler whose popularity reliably sells tickets and attracts viewers.
- Strap - Slang for a championship belt.
- Run-in - When a wrestler interferes in a match already in progress.
Learning these terms deepens your appreciation of wrestling as a performance art. Once you understand the difference between a work and a shoot, or why getting a wrestler over matters, you start to see the craft and strategy behind every match and storyline.
