Difference between revisions 63288046 and 63521875 on enwiki

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'''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 professional wrestling is choreographed, whereas a "[[mark (professional wrestling)|mark]]" is one who believes that professional wrestling is real. A "smark", therefore, is a combination of the two, a wrestling fan who enjoys following the on-screen product and the off-screen, backstage affairs equally.

Smarks are a subset of the professional wrestling fanbase. They come from many different social backgrounds and are often referred to as "smart" fans. Many smarks are part of the "IWC", or [[Internet wrestling community|Internet Wrestling Community]], a general term for the fans of wrestling who use the [[Internet]] as their means of communication. Smarks also make themselves heard on [[television|TV]] through signs and crowd chants, much to the chagrin of promoters and show producers. Cities such as [[New York City|New York]] and [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], as well as any city in [[Canada]], are notorious for having an audience who are "in the know".

Smarks define themselves by embracing the "[[workrate (professional wrestling)|workrate]]", or talent level, of wrestlers. They have been associated with the practice of criticizing "big men" (in weight and/or muscle) in favor of smaller, faster wrestlers with a wider variety of moves. Also, being followers of off-screen politics, smart marks typically despise those whom they see as wielding too much power backstage and support underdogs who they feel have been overlooked by management.

(contracted; show full)*[[Internet Wrestling Community]]
*[[Wade Keller]]
*[[Scott Keith]]
*[[411mania]]



[[Category:Professional wrestling slang]]