Wrestling grew up with its own private language, built so performers could talk shop in front of the crowd without giving the game away. Most of these words are now part of every fan's vocabulary.
Start with kayfabe, the idea that holds the rest together. Our full history of it is at /kayfabe/, and the good guy and bad guy roles get their own page at /heels-faces-and-the-turn/.
Sandor Szabo heads to the ring, 1930s: Los Angeles Daily News, CC BY 4.0
The glossary
Definitions written in our own words, checked against the glossary of professional wrestling terms.
Term
What it means
Kayfabe
Keeping up the presentation that everything in wrestling is real, in the ring and out of it.
Face (babyface)
The hero of the story, the wrestler the crowd is meant to cheer.
Heel
The villain, the wrestler the crowd is meant to boo.
Turn
When a wrestler switches from face to heel or the other way around.
Work
Anything planned or staged. The opposite of a shoot.
Shoot
Something real and unplanned, such as a genuine fight or an unscripted comment.
Angle
A storyline. It can last one match or run for years.
Gimmick
A wrestler's character and persona, and sometimes a prop they carry.
Promo
A speech or interview that builds a character or a feud.
Bump
Falling to the mat or floor in a controlled way.
Sell
Reacting to a move so it looks like it really hurt.
No-sell
Showing no reaction to an opponent's offense, usually to look unstoppable.
Spot
Any planned move or sequence in a match. A highspot is a big, risky one.
Finisher
A wrestler's signature move that usually ends the match.
Hot tag
In a tag match, the moment a beaten-down face finally reaches a fresh partner, who bursts in with offense.
Run-in
Someone not in the match charging the ring to interfere.
Squash
A very one-sided match, often used to make a newcomer look strong.
Jobber
A wrestler whose role is mostly to lose and make others look good.
Pop
A loud, positive reaction from the crowd.
Heat
Negative crowd reaction, the kind a heel wants. Backstage, it can also mean real trouble with colleagues.
Mark
A fan who believes, or acts as if they believe, that wrestling is not staged.
Smart
Someone with inside knowledge of how the business works.
Card
The lineup of matches on a show. The biggest matches are at the top of the card.
Dark match
A match at a televised event that is not shown on TV.
Go home
The signal to move to the planned finish of a match.
Potato
A strike that accidentally lands for real.
Receipt
A deliberately stiff shot given back after someone hit too hard.
Blade
To deliberately draw blood during a match. Once common, it is now rare on mainstream TV.
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