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Wrestling With Marks At MSG
Kids are scolded if they tease the animals at a zoo. Fans at sporting events are kicked out if they taunt the athletes on the field. But nothing stops you from having a little fun at the expense of pro wrestling fans who truly believe it’s real on some level.
Professional wrestling developed from strong man challenges at traveling carnivals. Therefore, the terminology is referred to as “carny talk.” The good guys are “babyfaces,” the bad guys are “heels,” grapplers who never win their matches are called “jobbers,” and uncultivated audience members are “marks.”
The boom period of the mid-to-late 1980s is often credited to the popularity of World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion Hulk Hogan. My college friends and I attended many events at arenas in the New York metropolitan area, such as the Nassau Coliseum, New Jersey Meadowlands, and Madison Square Garden. During its peak of popularity, the WWF booked monthly shows that rotated all three venues. While this ultimately burned out the audience, it achieved the secondary purpose of keeping rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), owned by Ted Turner, from making any inroads in the tri-state region.
We were mostly in the dark about the inner workings of pro wrestling. But from day one, we understood that the performers — winners and losers — knew what was happening before their music…
