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GUEST EDITORIAL
By Brian M. Kettler of Richmond, Ky. - Certified Personal Trainer
PWTorch.com Reader

In light of the classic Ric Flair retirement weekend that just happened, and all the talk about being a "mark," I wanted to give my thoughts on a few subjects. Here is a little about my background in professional wrestling, so you have an idea where I'm speaking from.

I was trained by Al Snow back in 1997, and I have the utmost respect for him as a person. I also wrestled for a brief time at the old WCW Power Plant, back in 1996. I was only involved in wrestling for a little over a year, but had a lot of good memories, and got to learn a lot about how the business works. There were so many good things to speak of when it came to the guys I met, and the fun we had, but there was one thing that always rubbed me the wrong way.

Keep in mind, I haven't been involved in wrestling for over ten years, so things may have changed some since I was last around the business, and not all the wrestlers had this attitude. But, here is my biggest concern, and question about some of the wrestlers attitude about being called a "mark." As was talked about in one of the editorials this week, and by Wade Keller, a lot of the wrestlers look at being called a "mark" as the worst insult any wrestler in the business could be refered to, or at least a negative statement for sure. To me, this is just an old school train of thought that has long since worn out it's welcome.

For those who are not aware, the term "mark" usually just means you're a fan, or someone who doesn't know much about how the wrestling business works. In 2008, even that makes no sense anymore, as even the most casual fans have a decent idea of how things work nowadays. The old term "kayfabe," which means not exposing how the wrestling business works, well, Vince McMahon himself killed that completly about ten years ago. But, there are some wrestlers, or people within the wrestling business, that probably still look at being called a "mark" as a major insult. I can remember being at an indy wrestling show, and one of the other wrestlers talked about how he would watch Raw every now and then, but just to see if he could pick up any new moves. He went out of his way to make it clear that he only watched for that reason, as if actually being entertained, or just enjoying the show like any normal fan, would make him an idiot, like all the other "marks" out there. I'll never forget that, as I thought anyone who looked down on the fans that much, had no place being in professional wrestling to begin with.

In any other form of athletics, actually enjoying the sport, is just considered normal, and means you probably have some passion for that sport. Obviously professional wrestling is half sport, half entertainment, but the same train of thought still holds true. If you play football, you probably enjoy watching football in your spare time. You don't watch a football game with your buddies, and make fun of them for being a "mark," or taking it too seriously. Again, I want to make it clear that not all the wrestlers I was around had this attitude, but there were quite a few who did.

When it came to the Ric Flair retirement this past weekend, I think every person who has any heart or real emotions, was moved by everything we saw. For anyone in WWE, or the wrestling business, who would make fun of any fan or "mark" for being touched by all of that, in my opinion, should get the hell out of the wrestling business, and should have never been involved to begin with. When I read some of that attitude was going on, it made me sick to my stomach.

I mean the word "entertainment" is actually a part of the companies name now, every fan "gets it." This isn't 1970, where wrestlers think they're fooling some stupid fans into thinking the wrestling is real, everyone knows it's a performance nowadays. But the fans also know the amount of talent, skill, and athletic ability that it takes to be a great professional wrestler.

Ric Flair was a true legend, in every since of the word. And I'm proud to be called a Ric Flair "mark," just like I'm a proud Chicago Bears "mark." Hopefully, there isn't much of this attitude left within professional wrestling anymore, but I'm sure there is still some. So, for those in the wrestling business who don't "get it," and are still stuck in 1970, please do us all a favor and go home. Professional Wrestling has come so far over the past few decades, and I think it can go even further. But, with the term "mark" still being used in such a negative light by some, it will always keep part of the wrestling business stuck in the past, and not growing for the future.

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