Difference between revisions 4127565 and 4131615 on enwiki

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Smark
A '''smark''' is abbreviated [[professional wrestling]] [[slang]]. The term is an amalgam of "smart mark," two other terms in their own right. A "[[Smart (professional wrestling)|smart]]"  is a person who is privy to the behind-the-scenes operations and understands that pro wrestling is scripted, whereas a "[[mark (professional wrestling)|mark]]" is one who believes that pro wrestling is real. A "smark," therefore, is a combination of the two, a wrestling fan who realizes that pro wrestling is scripted, but still enjoys the on-screen product as much as the sordid off-screen affairs.
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Smarks are a small and anomalous subset of the pro wrestling fanbase. They are not the stereotypical unemployed rednecks with mullets and missing teeth that the media likes to paint a picture of. Rather, they are often intelligent, middle-class and anywhere from "Internet [[geek]]" to "well-adjusted," usually in their teens to late 20s. Generally, smarks are politically [[conservative]] in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Many smarks are part of the "IWC," or Internet Wrestling Community, a general term for the legions of fans of wrestling that use the [[Web]] as their means of communication. Smarks also make themselves heard on [[television]], much to the chagrin of show producers: cities like New York, Philadelphia, and the major Canadian cities are notorious for having an audience that knows just a little too much.
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Smarks define themselves by embracing the "[[workrate (professional wrestling)|workrate]]," or talent level, of wrestlers. They will spite the celebrated "big men" like [[Paul Wight|The Big Show]], [[Hulk Hogan]], and [[Mark Callaway|The Undertaker]] in favor of smaller, faster wrestlers with a wider variety of moves. [[Eddie Guerrero]], [[Rob Szatkowski|Rob Van DamA.J. Styles]], and [[Chris Jericho]] are noted smark darlings, with 19-year wrestling veteran and Edmonton native [[Chris Benoit]] as the paramount among smarks.
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The main place to find smarks is on the [[Internet]]. [[Website]]s like [[The Smart Marks]] have forum communities with over 2,000 members who discuss not only wrestling, but current events, sports, film, music, education, relationships, and life in general.