8 Common Wrestling Terms Explained

As a life long wrestling fan, I often catch myself using terms when discussing wrestling with casual fans and then soon realise they have no idea what any of the wrestling jargon I am using means!  Thus with this in mind here are 8 common wrestling terms/jargon explained.

#8 Gorilla Position

A name given to the staging area just behind the entrance curtain where wrestlers await their music to cue & final instructions, before being seen by the audience.  For many years this spot was manned by Gorilla Monsoon & performers would be told to "go to Gorilla" just before their match.

#7 Shoot

In wrestling a shoot is when a wrestler deliberately goes off script breaking "kayfabe" (We'll get to that later) by making candid comments or actions etc.  The term/saying actually comes from “Shoot Style” wrestling from Japan, which is a very realistic looking hard hitting wrestling style.

#6 Jobber

A "jobber" is a slang term used to describe wrestling enhancement talent who are regularly booked to lose their matches in order to make their opponent look good & get them over.  The term dates back to the 1950's as the wrestler would be booked to “do a job” I.E. lose the match.  Prior to being referred to as “Jobbers” enhancement talents were known as "Carpenters".

#5 Heel

A pro wrestling “heel” is the villain/bad guy.  It is thought that the term dates back to around 1914 where a “heel” was a slang term for a “contemptible person”.

#4 Babyface/Face

The opposite of a "heel", a "babyface/face" is the hero/good guy.  Again the origin of "babyface" is attributed to old time slang, whereas "face" dates back to the 1990's and is just an abbreviated version of babyface.

#3 Dusty Finish

An ending to a big match where it appears that the babyface has won, only to later be subsequently  screwed out of the win by a technicality.  This originates back to Dusty Rhodes’ days as a booker in NWA & WCW where he would often book such finishes, hence the term “Dusty Finish”.

#2 Turned Up To 11

Most famously coined by Bruce Prichard on his "Something to Wrestle Podcast", it is now a common saying in wrestling (especially on podcasts) that the best wrestling characters/gimmicks are those who just play a version of themselves but “turned up to 11”.  This term is actually taken from the 1980's cult classic comedy movie “This is Spinal Tap” where guitarist (Nigel Tufnel) gets bespoke amps made that turn up to 11 instead of 10 (so his guitar is louder than all others).

#1 Kayfabe

"Kayfabe" is an old wrestling term, which basically meant that wrestlers would present wrestling as if it was legitimate/real.  Up until the late 1980's the idea of wrestling being portrayed as a real sport/contest was common practice, and wrestlers would live their public lives as if it was so.  Thus heel wrestlers would travel in cars together and even stay in different hotels as the faces, in order to create the illusion of what you see on TV is real.  The definitive origin of "kayfabe" is unknown, however many sources suggest it is a “Pig Latin” term for “Be Fake”.

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Credit: WWE.com (All photos/footage unless specified)