The inspiration behind the creation of the For the Marks blog
I didn’t grow up watching the Attitude Era. I knew The Rock from The Mummy movies before I knew him as the People’s Champion. I was introduced to the Billionaire strut when Conor McGregor did it while entering the octagon at UFC 205. The only reason I knew what the DX Suck It gesture meant is because my teammates and I would do it to our opponents while playing soccer. Suffice to say, I am not one of those lifelong wrestling fans.
I wasn’t just not a fan of pro-wrestling, but I often ridiculed the very idea of it. Yes, I was one of those screaming “BUT IT’S FAKE” any chance I got. My stance on the matter was pretty firm until I watched a show on Netflix called GLOW in 2017.
After seeing more of what goes into a pro-wrestling production, I begrudgingly started to have some respect for it. Not long after GLOW, I checked out The Nature Boy episode of 30 for 30. I remember being particularly fascinated by the physical toll wrestlers put themselves through. Once again, I was forced to gain respect.
I didn’t actually start watching pro-wrestling until 2018. As an MMA fan, I felt obliged to pay attention to Ronda Rousey’s venture into the WWE. I watched the clips of her appearances on YouTube and even tuned in during her Wrestlemania match, but I still failed to see the overall appeal. Fast forward a few months and suddenly a woman by the name of Becky Lynch is taking over the internet. I’d see her all over my twitter and instagram. Videos of her were constantly popping up in my suggestion feed on YouTube and eventually I started watching them. I was instantly captured by the Irish Lass Kicker. Her promos made me want to follow her story and watching her wipe the blood off her face after having her nose broken made me forget to point out that pro-wrestling isn’t real.
Soon I graduated from youtube recaps to watching RAW and Smackdown weekly where I was introduced to more wrestlers. Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Charlotte Flair, and Asuka became some of my early favorites. I went to my first house show in February of 2019. By the time Wrestlemania 35 came around I was buying merch, I was a subscriber to the WWE Network, I was watching NXT, and I officially had to admit I was becoming a full blown fan. The years that followed weren’t ideal years to be watching the WWE by many long time fan’s standards, but somehow my fandom managed to keep growing. 5 years later and I am enjoying pro-wrestling more than ever. WWE remains my top organization, but I dabble in AEW, NJPW, and other programs as well. It is a great time to be a wrestling fan!
I have often been asked what I find so appealing about watching pro-wrestling and I tend to joke that it is the best soap opera I have ever seen. But those of us that watch know that it is far more than dramatic storylines and wild stunts. It’s the magical combination of wrestlers, performances, and fans. That combination creates an atmosphere that is so powerful it projects out of televisions and reaches millions across the world. The wrestlers themselves are obviously the key ingredient because without them there is no show. They pour their hearts and souls into this career. Regardless of if they are headlining or a glorified jobber, they are grinding to make the dream happen. They continue to grind while not only having the physical, but the mental toll to deal with as they constantly travel. Despite the hardships, they go out night after night to entertain a live audience. I often compare these live wrestling shows to theater shows. They are a spectacle of athletic abilities and thespian aptitude. It may look easy, but if you look close enough you can see the massive amount of effort put into the product. There are so many moving parts that have to come together in order for these performances to work.The cameramen, commentators, and the rest of the crew have to coordinate properly to draw in the viewers watching from home. The wrestlers need to have the right chemistry, the physicality, and perfect timing to captivate the crowd. An engaged crowd is so important. They are the final ingredient. When the fans are feeding off the wrestler’s energy, there’s nothing quite like it. The enthusiasm, the emotions, and the overall passion from the audience brings so much to the program. But my absolute favorite part of a great wrestling show is that it can happen in a sold out stadium packed with thousands of screaming fans or it can happen in a small gym in the middle of nowhere with a room full of fans clapping along. All that matters is that the wrestlers, performance, and fans come together and create that magic.
That brings us to why I am starting For the Marks. I know it is popular, especially among the IWC (internet wrestling community) to be overly critical of wrestling. I understand that we all have our biases and our gripes, but being all smarky about it helps nobody. I want this blog to be a destination known for positivity and passion for the magic of pro-wrestling. I want it to be a place where fans come to be enthusiastic over what we love rather than complain about the things we hate.
I say “we” because For the Marks will feature other voices besides my own. Some of those voices, I know for a fact, will state opinions that I do not agree with at all. That is the whole point of them being featured because differing opinions does not have to be a negative thing! Different tastes also matter because I eventually hope to bring a solid variety of content to this site, including coverage of indie organizations, match reviews, weekly show recaps, and maybe even some UFC talk. (Because anyone with a brain should know that MMA is pro-wrestling’s cousin.) So whether you are a lifelong old school fan or a new school fan like myself, I hope this is a space where you can feel comfortable coming to mark out!
