Difference between revisions 45420646 and 45422885 on enwiki

A '''smark''' is abbreviated [[professional wrestling]] [[professional wrestling slang|slang]]. The term is a [[portmanteau]] 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"(contracted; show full)

Smarks have been blamed many times by various wrestling promotions (mostly the WWE) of killing [[kayfabe]], or the suspension of disbelief within the business.


==Wrestlers well received by smarks==

*[[A.J. Styles]]
*[[Booker Huffman|Booker T]] (has a following from being built up through WCW).
*[[Bret Hart]] (somewhat mixed, some dislike him for using the same set of moves when gaining momentum).
*[[Brock Lesnar]] (mixed, while praised for his wrestling ability, some didn't like his sudden push and lack of dedication to the business).
*[[Bryan Danielson]]
*[[Chavo Guerrero, Jr.|Chavo Guerrero]]
*[[Chris Benoit]]
*[[Christopher Daniels]] (mixed).
*[[Chris Jericho]]
*[[CM Punk]] (mixed, great mic skills, but a wrestling style that may not be for everyone)
*[[Jason Reso|Christian Cage]] (praised for keeping his face pops even after leaving the WWE).
*[[Dean Simon|Dean Malenko]]
*[[Eddie Guerrero]]
*[[Adam Copeland|Edge]] (mixed, some hate him for his relationship with [[Amy Dumas|Lita]] while others feel he is the best heel in the WWE).
*[[Ken Anderson (wrestler)|Ken Kennedy]] (varies within the IWC, others will argue that he's overrated, mainly due to his mic skills over his wrestling ability).
*[[KENTA]]
*[[Kenta Kobashi]] (mixed, can still put on an epic match, but has a limited moveset)
*[[Kurt Angle]] (praised for his wrestling ability).
*[[Lance Storm]] (praised for his technical mastery and professionalism).
*[[Owen Hart]]
*[[Paul Burchill]]
*[[Randy Orton]] (mixed, has a following for his promise as a heel, but some dislike his lackluster skills as well as using Eddie Gurrerro's death as a way to get cheap heat). 
*[[Oscar Gutierrez|Rey Mysterio]] (mixed reactions for using Eddie Guerrero's death for cheap pop).
*[[Ric Flair]] (mixed, some dislike him for using the exact same routine for three decades).
*[[Rob Van Dam]]
*[[Joe Seanoa|Samoa Joe]] (mixed, some praise him for his style of wrestling while other criticize him for being overrated and being overweight).
*[[Shawn Michaels]] (mixed, some dislike him for his backstage antics in the mid and late [[1990s|90s]]).
*[[Shelton Benjamin]] (praised for his in-ring skills).
*[[Takao Yoshida|Taka Michinoku]] (praised for his in-ring skills and workrate).
*[[Toshiaki Kawada]]
*[[Triple H]] (mixed, some dislike him due to him using his connections to get backstage pull).
*[[Darren Matthews|William Regal]] (praised for his [[Great Britain|British]] chain-style of wrestling).

==Wrestlers often criticized by smarks==

*[[David Bautista|Batista]] (mixed; disliked by some for his push and lenghty title reign, though others approve of his workrate ).
*[[Marty Wright|Boogeyman]] (mixed reactions; some like him because of his gimmick, though others are pessimistic over about his wrestling ability).
*[[Carly Colon|Carlito]] (mixed, disliked for his wrestling ability and sudden push, but liked for his charismatic character).
*[[Chris Mordetsky|Chris Masters]] (for his main event pushes despite his poor workrate and the fact that he has yet to hold any championship gold).
*[[Bill Goldberg|Goldberg]] (mainly for his wrestling ability, alleged backstage attitude, and sudden push).
*[[Hulk Hogan]] (mixed, disliked for his wrestling skills and alleged backstage politics, though he has a huge following within the IWC due to the fact that a lot of them grew up watching him on TV when they were younger).
*[[Jeff Hardy]] (for his lack of dedication).
*[[Jeff Jarrett]] (disliked for his alleged backstage politics).
*[[John Cena]] (disliked for his wrestling ability, poor portrayal as a face and sudden push accompanied by a lenghty title reign).
*[[Kevin Nash]] (for backstage politics and wrestling ability). 
*[[Mark Henry]] (for his main event pushes despite his poor workrate).
*[[Matt Hardy]] (mixed, ring skills have gone under and he failed to capitalize on the Edge/Lita angle effectively)
*[[Randy Orton]] (disliked for his controversial behavior and lack of variety in the ring).
*[[Triple H]] (disliked for his alleged backstage politics).
*[[Warrior (wrestler)|The Ultimate Warrior]] (for wrestling ability and alleged backstage politics, also believed by many smarks to have only been in the business for the money).
*[[Mark Calaway|Undertaker]] (disliked for his lack of [[sell (professional wrestling)|selling]] and [[job (professional wrestling)|jobbing]], although the character has become more humanized in recent years ).⏎
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==External links==
* [http://www.smarkschoice.com/forum Smarkschoice]
* [http://www.forums.thesmartmarks.com The Smart Marks discussion forums]


[[Category:Professional wrestling slang]]