Professional Wrestling is usually full of concepts from different types of shows. Each match is roughly choreographed. [[{{WWE}} World Wrestling Entertainment]]'s programs remind one of nothing so much as a SoapOpera for guys, complete with all the emotion, melodrama, and occasional comic relief that that phrase implies. Other organizations, such as Ring of Honor, strive for a more gritty, realistic presentation, but still incorporate many soap opera elements.

The history of pro wrestling is a bit convoluted; until the late '80s/early '90s, promoters claimed that wrestling was a legitimate sport, and attempted to hide the fact that it was scripted at all costs. The truth is the performances are as standardized and stylized as Japanese {{Kabuki}} theatre, or ''[[CommediaDellArte commedia dell'arte]]'' -- each match is a miniature set piece, using stock characters, "plots" and "twists". This has become more obvious in recent years with the increased sense of theatre provided by the major promoters and programs. As more and more wrestling fans grew wise to the fact that wrestling was scripted and choreographed, promoters had no choice but to reveal [[{{Kayfabe}} the secret]] that everybody already knew by that point anyway. Vince [=McMahon=] went so far as to televise a speech on an episode of Monday Night Raw, in which he promised to "stop insulting (fans') intelligence" and referred to Raw as an "action-adventure" series.

However, as many SitCom plots have implied, ProfessionalWrestling is very real in the sense that mistimed inexperience can leave someone seriously injured. Professional wrestlers are like stuntmen; they're acting out a scene, but ''physically'', and with the chance of injury. A professional wrestler literally puts his life in his opponent's hands several times in a single match; the slightest misstep could result in a broken bone, a broken neck, paralysis, possibly even death. I guess what we're trying to say here is, DontTryThisAtHome.

If you see a word you don't understand, it may be helpful to refer to these links:
* For jargon, terms, and special vocabulary, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms here's searchable list of wrestling terms at the other wiki.]]
* For names of wrestling moves you aren't familiar with, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling#See_also the other wiki also has an index of lists.]]
* If you see an unfamiliar name, it's very likely that it is a famous wrestler's real name or earlier persona. It's easier to just use the search function at the other wiki rather than try to use a list. As a general rule, the wrestler's most famous persona will be used instead of their real name, although different fans will have a different opinion as to which persona was the most famous, and then to add to the confusion, the WWE/F has the annoying habit of copyrighting wrestler's names so [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellwig#Trademark_and_libel_litigation the wrestler can't use it after they leave the promotion.]]

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'''[[TropeNamers Tropes Named]]'''
* AllAmericanFace
* BadlyBoringBlock
* CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown
* CheapHeat
* CoolMask: Especially in ''Lucha Libre''.
* {{Face}}
* FaceHeelTurn
* FingerPokeOfDoom
* FinishingMove
* FiveMovesOfDoom
* GarbageWrestler
* GimmickMatches
* GlassJawReferee
* GorgeousGeorge
* {{Heel}}
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor
* HeelFaceTurn
* TheJimmyHartVersion
* {{Jobber}}
* {{Kayfabe}}: related to NoFourthWall.
* LoserLeavesTown
* NoSell
* PartsUnknown
* PrejudicedForPecs
* ShockinglyCoolCounterAttack
* ShockingSwerve
* SmartMark
* SquashMatch
* TheatricsOfPain (a.k.a "Sell")
* WildSamoan
* WorkedShoot
* WorldsStrongestMan
* WrestlingFamily
* WrestlingPsychology
* XPacHeat

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Provides examples of:
* AscendedExtra: ...to anyone over enough with the fans
* AscendedFanboy: Pick a wrestler who named a famous pro-wrestling event as the reason they got into the business, e.g. Mick Foley, Edge, etc.
**Edge was named "Most Likely to be WWF Champion", was in the audience as [=WrestleMania=] VI, won a training camp to become a wrestler by writing an essay, it was destiny.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: All the time.
* BShow: Xplosion to Impact, Thunder to Nitro. People often cite Smackdown as a B-Show compared to RAW, but it's more like a second A-Show in terms of this trope.
** The modern ECW is almost a middle ground of this trope. It has its own storylines and World title and is considered an actual brand that is given PPV time, but its main purpose is to get talent ready for the A shows by giving them television experience and having them work with seasoned veterans such as William Regal, Tommy Dreamer, Finlay, etc.
* BadAss: Take your pick, Stone Cold, Taz, Goldberg, Lesnar...
* BadassGrandpa: Would YOU mess with Harley Race? Or Ric Flair? Or Terry Funk? Or Hulk Hogan? Or, for that matter, the 64-year-old billionaire who lets himself get hit in the head with steel chairs on national television?
** And God help you if you piss off The Undertaker.
*** And for that matter, '''Batista''' is actually, in real life, a grandfather. Yes, THAT Batista.
* BoringInvincibleHero: A complaint most infamously leveled against Hulk Hogan, currently at John Cena. Tends to get invoked against any {{Face}} champion, though.
** Triple H, from 2002-2003 on. Since he was often a heel, the accusations were more along the lines of VillainSue.
*** Ditto for Jeff Jarrett from 2003-2006, so much that fans call him "Triple J" and call for him to "DROP THE TITLE!" whenever he appears.
* BraggingRightsReward: See:MacGuffin entry below.
* BreakupBreakout
* CatchPhrase
* CharacterDerailment: Normally the result of a poorly-executed gimmick change.
* CoolOldGuy: Any wrestler who's in their late 40s above who cam still kick ass and take a beating.
* DemotedToExtra: The pro-wrestling term for this trope is called ''bury''.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: All the time.
** Notable examples include Tatanka, the Undertaker (moreso early in his career, but even now it's considered a formidable task), Hulk Hogan in the 80's, Rob Van Dam as ECW World Television Champion, Brunno Sammartino's legendary world title reign, and most famously of them all Bill Goldberg.
** So far averted with The Undertaker at [=WrestleMania=]. 17-0. It's basically a new gimmick; in the leadup to every Wrestlemania, somebody steps up and claims they're going to end the streak.
* DiabolusExMachina: The Montreal Screwjob is the most infamous example.
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Can happen alongside BreakupBreakout.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Triple H and The Big Show have both said this to fans that have called them by their birth names. If you meet a wrestler, it is usually a good idea to address them by their ring name.
* DracoInLeatherPants: The pro wrestling term for this trope is called ''Popular Heel''.
* EasilyDistractedReferee: You have to wonder if these referees have ever seen a woman before, given their reactions to a valet shaking what God/their friendly plastic surgeon gave her.
** Hey, have you SEEN Stacy Keibler's ass? Wouldn't YOU stop to stare?
* EnsembleDarkhorse: A side effect of prolongued exposure to the BoringInvincibleHero.
* EvilForeigner
* EvilIsCool: Also a type of ''Popular Heel''.
* EvilIsDumb: Edge has nearly been bent in half by the World's Greatest Tag Team, bloodied in steel cages and forced to wrestle giants with a broken hand and ''not'' use his cast. He was still able to win through sheer determination and will to win. As a {{Rudo}}, he can hardly win a match without relying on shortcuts, outside interference, manipulation of the general manager or outright cheating.
* FanDumb: Like you wouldn't believe. From the people who say that only WWE matters to the elitist snobs who only watch ROH and NOAH, wrestling fandom is filled with back-biting StopHavingFunGuys and fans who invoke RuinedFOREVER a bit too often.
* FanHater: Yes, we know it's staged! You can stop "informing" us.
* FascinatingEyebrow: Thanks to The Rock
* FoeYay
* FunWithAcronyms: Rosey, Super-Hero In Training, The S.H.I.T?
** Also, in WCW for a short time, Lance Storm held the Saskatchewan Hardcore International Title.
** Terri Runnels also ran the Terri Invitational Tournament in 1999.
** {{TNA}}. That is all.
* TheGambler: Kinda. Wrestling ''had'' a The Gambler, but he wasn't very lucky.
* GameBreakingInjury: Submission artists employ this tactic all the time. They will use a variety of locks and holds that target a specific part of the human body until it will become too painful to use. Not actually referring to Triple H's quad tears.
* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity
* TheGiant
* GoodIsDumb: Generally played straight, sometimes [[WallBanger Wall-Bangingly so]], although occasionally subverted. Batista, who [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] when he heard his stablemates plotting against him and who displayed above average keeness as a face, is the biggest of those.
** The most [[TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame egregious]] example? Sting, who is commonly referred to as "the dumbest man in wrestling".
* HelloNurse
* HopeSpot
* HotBlooded
* HoYay
* IAmHeroHearMeRoar: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUYiBAiBD8E The Hurricane's]] recent return to ECW was topped off with a roar powerful enough to flatten his opponent and force him out of the ring.
* ItsPersonal
* LargeHam
** Mostly the wrestlers, but more than a few of the announcers are guilty of this, especially when dealing with a wrestler or faction they show particular favoritism towards.
* LeotardOfPower: An older wrestling costume design that still shows up nowadays every once in a while.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Have you ''seen'' the build-up to some of these high-profile matches?
* LovableRogue: The Rock, Ric Flair, Eddie Gurerro at the end of his life.
* MacGuffin: Has anyone seen the belts DO anything other than look cool?
** Does hitting your opponent with them count?
* MaskedLuchador: See CoolMask.
* MonsterClown: Doink The Clown's shtick while a heel.
* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours
* MyNameIsInigoMontoya
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Employed against faces to build heat, and against heels when they get their comeuppance.
* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught
* PaintedOnPants
* PopularityPower: Wrestling runs on this.
* PowerStable
* PunchPunchPunchUhOh
* TheQuisling: Usually American heels who sides with an EvilForeigner.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Wrestlers' real-life issues often provide fodder for their self-based characters' wrestling storylines. One of the most famous examples is the Matt Hardy/Edge feud: Edge stole Matt's girlfriend (Lita) while he was out with an injury (and subsequently released by WWE); when Matt returned, his first feud was with Edge, and much ado was made of the Edge/Lita/Matt triangle.
* RedemptionDemotion
* RefugeInAudacity: The Attitude era and [[VinceRusso Russo-booked]] {{WCW}} and {{TNA}}, for starters.
* ReviewsAreTheGospel: There are people (at least the smart marks) who swear by Dave Meltzer's (of the ''Wrestling Observer'') reviews of matches.
* RingOldies
* RuleOfCool
* RuleOfFunny
* SeriousBusiness: There is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with a wrestling match on PAY PER VIEW! ORDER NOW!
** Kayfabe, in the old days, was major SeriousBusiness, with at least one instance of a wrestler losing a court case because he would not break kayfabe, even under oath.
** Then there's the FanDumb. Everything from what qualifies as a "world title" to how seriously wrestling should take itself. The fact that wrestling draws upon the framework of a sport while actually being entertainment creates a lot of this thinking, since fans often try to see some kind of order or hierarchy that doesn't exist.
* SevenYearRule
* SoBadItsGood: Probably the only thing that's allow pro wrestling to survive so long.
* SpotlightStealingSquad
* SpotMonkey
* TagTeamTwins
* TakeThat: Especially during the Monday Night Wars.
* TalkShowWithFists
* TearJerker: Ric Flair's retirement match at Wrestlemania 24? Mick Foley's 1998 King of the Ring match, which should have ended in the first five minutes. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero winning their main event matches and hugging at Wrestlemania XX.
* ThreeMonthRule
* ThrowingDownTheGauntlet
* TenMinuteRetirement
* TonightInThisVeryRing
* UnderwearOfPower: You want a list? Too many to count.
* UltimateJobSecurity
* UnnecessaryRoughness
* UnpleasableFanbase: The Internet Wrestling Community
* UnrelatedBrothers
* TheWesley: Happens to wrestlers who the fans feel gets overpushed.
* WildCard: The pro wrestling term for this trope is called ''Tweener'', [[RenamedTropes which previously served]] as the TropeNamer.
* WorldOfHam: Wrestling is home to so many enormous slices of ham. When someone as hammy as John Cena looks fairly normal by comparison, you know you're in a WorldOfHam.
* [[{{ptitle79rdan6v}} Wrestling Doesn't Pay]]

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ProfessionalWrestling promotions of note:

USA:
* KaijuBigBattel (sort of)
* {{AWA}} (American Wrestling Association)
* [[{{CHIKARA}} CHIKARA Pro Wrestling]]
* {{ECW}} (Extreme Championship Wrestling)
* {{NWA}} (National Wrestling Alliance)
* RingOfHonor ({{ROH}})
* {{SHIMMER}} (An all women's wrestling fed based out of Chicago, with close ties to {{ROH}})
* {{TNA}} (Total Nonstop Action)
* {{WCW}} (World Championship Wrestling)
* {{WWE}} (World Wrestling Entertainment; the biggest professional wrestling promotion in the world)
* WrestlingSocietyX (Defunct)

Japan:
* AllJapanProWrestling
* {{AJW}} (All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling)
* DragonGate
* {{FMW}} (Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling)
* NewJapanProWrestling
* ProWrestlingNOAH

Mexico:
* {{AAA}}
* {{CMLL}} (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre)

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Known wrestling fansites:
*BillAndDoug
*{{Botchamania}}
*InsidePulse
*WrestleCrap

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Miscellaneous:
* BretHart
* ChrisBenoit - Following his death, he became one of the most controversial figures in professional wrestling history.
* DwayneJohnson, better known to wrestling fans as The Rock.
* EddieGuerrero
* HulkHogan - The most famous professional wrestler ever, and the industry's biggest icon.
* RicFlair - One of the most legendary figures in the industry.
* ShawnMichaels
* StoneColdSteveAustin
* VinceRusso - '''The''' most controversial figure in professional wrestling history.
* WrestleMania - WWE's signature show and the biggest professional wrestling event of the year.
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Fictional works featuring Professional Wrestling:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

*''Ayane's High Kick''
*''MetalFighterMiku''
*''{{Kinnikuman}}''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

*''TheWrestler''
*''NachoLibre''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

*''One Fall''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

*''RivalAngels''

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

*''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling''
*''MuchaLucha''
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