Revision 62074192 of "Smark" 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 legions of fans of wrestling who use the [[Internet]] as their means of communication. Smarks also make themselves heard on [[television|TV]], 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 knows just a little too much.

Smarks define themselves by embracing the "[[workrate (professional wrestling)|workrate]]", or talent level, of wrestlers. They will spite the celebrated "big men" in favor of smaller, faster wrestlers with a wider variety of moves. As well, as 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.

Some smarks have turned to [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] and [[Ring of Honor]] rather than [[World Wrestling Entertainment]], as their supposed wrestling-based [[meritocracy]] is seen to them as superior to WWE's [[sports entertainment]] orientation. Others also investigate foreign wrestling, particularly [[Japan|Japanese]]. 

==Criticisms of Smarks==
Those who criticize smarks are just jealous



[[Category:Professional wrestling slang]]