A smart in the sense of professional wrestling was, historically, a person who was fully aware that professional wrestling was entertainment and was scripted ("booking" is used) in order to increase fan enjoyment and excitement. This is in contrast to those who believed the matches and events surrounding them were real, who were referred to as marks, a knowing reference to the confidence game. // Professional wrestling is a form of performance art where the participants engage in simulated sporting matches. ... Entertainment is an amusement or diversion intended to hold the attention of an audience or its participants. ... Booking in the sense used in professional wrestling is the process of laying out in advance the general storyline of the match, to include what the eventual outcome will be. ... A mark is a professional wrestling fan who believes that everything associated with professional wrestling is real, instead of operating under kayfabe (that is, it is a work). ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...

In recent years, as pro wrestling has dropped the pretense of being an unscripted event, smart has evolved into a specific reference to people with first-hand, inside knowledge of the wrestling business. The term smark has been coined to describe a substantial group of fans who do not have direct inside knowledge, but are fully aware of the worked nature of the business, and still enjoy the entertainment aspects of pro wrestling. The tone of this article is inappropriate for an encyclopedia article. ... In professional wrestling, a work is slang for a staged event - that is, one that enforces Kayfabe. ...

See also

• Professional wrestling slang