Thursday, March 28, 2024
EditorialRandom Thoughts & Opinions: The Magic of the "Mark Out" Moment.

Random Thoughts & Opinions: The Magic of the “Mark Out” Moment.

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Hello Reader,

When I decided to start writing articles for this website I mused over several possible topics
that I could write about; this article comes from one of those ideas I
discarded initially (not because it was bad but because I felt it needed
more thought).I genuinely believed until recently that the last time I
“Marked Out” was quite some time ago; excuse me for not mentioning the
moment now but I will be covering it later in the article. 

I had
honestly started to believe that those great moments of surprise that
define many’s favorite memories of wrestling were becoming a thing of
the past; we’re all so much more connected in our world today through
the internet and smartphones that it’s become common that if a wrestler
scratches his arse in Milwaukee then a guy in Manilla can see a photo of
it within minuets if not seconds. What kept wrestling so much fun over
the years was the unpredictability of certain events; and while it’s not
solely a result of our world changing around us in that way, there are
other factors such as the death of the territories, WWE’s main
competitors (such as WCW/ECW) and the effect those events have had on
the size of the recognizable talent pool for example, it is certainly a
big factor. This doesn’t just apply to wrestling; but it certainly has a
more detrimental effect when it comes to it.

Suspension of disbelief is a
key component of watching professional wrestling; I, like many of you,
caught the wrestling bug as a kid and have remained a fan into my adult
life. We know wrestling’s fake/predetermined/fixed/whatever but we don’t
care; it’s an art form of entertainment just as valid as film or the
theater. Yes as a kid the line is a bit blurred; but, as you stick with
it into adulthood and “smarten up”, you learn how it works and you
appreciate it on different levels. Whenever I’m met with the question
“How can you like wrestling; it’s fake?”; I answer something along the
lines of “You know Robert Downey Junior isn’t really putting on a
robotic suit and fighting crime yet you still enjoy those films; it’s no
different”. Wrestling is sports based theater yet it isn’t received as
such by those who are not fans; which is a failing on their part. As a
student of the theater there’s a very highbrow argument I could make
about wrestling being truer to theatrical principles, especially those
of the German practitioner Bertolt Brecht (relax; I’m not going to do it
here. Though it could be the basis of a future article…), than
something like “Mama Mia”; but people being snotty about wrestling is
one of those things you learn to put up with as a fan.

That’s what makes
the “mark out moment” so special; we like to think that we, as smart
marks, know what’s going on to the extent that we can make informed
predictions about what is going to happen. But, just once every so
often, wrestling throws up that moment that either none of us saw coming
or plays off our suspension of disbelief so well that it truly shocks
us; moments like Seth Rollins’ heel turn on last Monday’s Raw. Who can truly say, hand on heart, that, after what happened at Payback and how strongly The Shield had been put over in recent months, they saw that coming? And that’s what made it magical; and is also the moment that brought me back to my initially discarded idea.

So come with me as I look at a personal list of “Mark Out” moments and examine why they worked or didn’t work; I must stress that this is a personal list. In no way am I ranking these moments or saying that they are the greatest example of those types of moments; but they’re the ones I remember the most and can talk about in greater detail.

Let’s start with two that didn’t work so well…


The Debut of The Gobbledy-Gooker, Survivor Series 1990.

This moment fell flat for a plethora of different reasons; but I think it’s mainly because it was hyped up so much in the build up to the event. While I accept that the WWE was a different beast in those days; even as a six year old watching this unfold I felt extremely let down. But it qualifies as a “Mark Out” moment because who amongst you reading this can honestly say that when the massively hyped egg hatched you expected it to be poor Hector Guerrero in a turkey costume and that he’d proceed to dance a jig with Mean Gene Okerlund? Though a shameful moment in wrestling history and nowhere near as effective as the many example I will give for good “Mark Out” moments; it deserves it’s recognition as such simply for being completely unexpected (even though it was completely stupid).

DDP is the Stalker, Raw (June 18th 2001).

Poor “Diamond” Dallas Paige took a buyout on his Time-Warner contract because he wanted to be a part of The Invasion angle so badly; he’s such a positive son of a gun that it’s hard to imagine him being disappointed when presented with this storyline. But you’d have to think that even his reaction upon hearing it was “Come again?” I feel this one was ineffective because it wasn’t used right and the logic was off; why in God’s name would Paige (married to Kimberly at the time) stalk ‘Taker’s far less attractive wife for one? While the reveal of DDP could have been a real shot in the arm to The Invasion (remember; to this point we’d only really seen guys like Mike Awesome and Lance Storm attack WWE guys); the fact that there were stars in WCW with bigger marquee value than him was always going to undermine it. Plus, as with the entire Invasion angle, the fact that nothing meaningful came of it and Paige was quickly destroyed by The Undertaker during their feud just makes it all the more disappointing in retrospect. I honestly believe that, because they didn’t play up the obvious mind games aspect of the angle, that being perceived as the creepy stalker guy did more to harm Paige in the minds of WWE fans than anything else. So while this was a “Mark Out” moment; you have to put it in the cheep pop catagory simply because of the way things played out.

The End of The Streak, Wrestlemania 30 (2014).

It was one of the most shocking moments I can personally remember when Brock Lesnar pinned The Undertaker earlier this year to end the legendary Streak; I can’t remember a moment in wrestling that has left me feeling as hollow as that one. I knew it would happen one day; The Undertaker is too old school and respectful of the business to not have dropped The Streak to someone at some point before his retirement. But to me this moment will always be undermined by the fact that the match was poor (though by injury and not by design) and that the wrong person got the honor; though there’s plenty of logical storyline and character reasons that can be argued in favor of it being Brock who broke The Streak. But, in an ideal world, the breaking of The Streak should have been given to a rising star to help establish them; but don’t get me wrong. For pure unexpectedness and shock value this was a true “Mark Out” moment; I just wish it had gone down differently…

Are you still with me? Good; then let’s look at some of the ones that I feel worked, were great “Mark Out” moments and why they worked. Starting with…

Hulk Hogan Turns Heel, Bash at the Beach (1996).

The unthinkable at the time; the biggest and most popular babyface in wrestling history until that point turns his back on his fans; Hogan was such a star that knowledge of him transcended wrestling into mainstream pop culture. This “Mark Out” moment did more for WCW and it’s eighty-six week ratings domination over the WWE than most give it credit for; as people who were casual fans, lapsed fans and never were fans tuned into WCW programming to find out what exactly caused this cartoonish paragon of Americana and fighting for what’s right to turn to the dark side. The moment ranks (for me at least) as one of the most impact-full in wrestling history; the booking of the angle and the match that lead up to it was stellar and should be studied by all who wish to book wrestling. It seemed like a scenario we’ve seen play out a million times before; nasty heels dominate a company and wipe the floor with some of the more popular babyfaces; only for the biggest face in the company to come out at the darkest hour, turn the tide and drive the heels off. And that’s how it played out on the night; with The Outsiders retreating in the wake of the heroic Hulk Hogan hitting the ring and doing his shirt ripping routine. Except that, after he’d finished ripping his shirt and with a look of trepidation on his face, this time the hero turned around and leg-dropped one of the prone babyfaces he had seemingly come to aid. He then directed traffic as his new heel allies helped clear the ring then took the referee and threw him out of the ring himself; which to me is an oft overlooked touch that really helped to sell that Hogan was now the biggest heel in the world (especially at that point in time; you just didn’t ruff up refs). The turn was masterfully capped off with a blistering promo as rubbish thrown by the fans filled the ring; having Hogan stalwart Mean Gene Okerlund do the interview was another inspired touch that helped to sell just how momentous an occasion this was. Look it up on YouTube and watch it again; even though you know what happens (and despite Bobby Heenan’s best attempt to spoil it before it happens) it still has impact. A truly great “Mark Out” moment.

Jerry “The King” Lawler Invades The ECW Arena. Wrestlepalooza (1997).

ECW was known for it’s shocks and was a key factor in revolutionizing the business during the 1990s; but this is the one that stands out for this writer. It’s a testament to Paul Heyman as a booker that this angle played out so well and was ample distraction one of his biggest stars having his final match before heading off to WCW; and the fact it blended two wholly different story-lines together also serves to reinforce that. Raven vs Tommy Dreamer was arguably the greatest feud in the history of ECW; and though stretching over a number of years Dreamer, the babyface, had never beaten his rival. Raven was leaving for WCW so this match was a loser leaves ECW match and the blowout, for now at least, to the epic feud. After a brutal and hard fought match that went all around the arena; Tommy Dreamer, despite oodles of interference on the behalf of Raven, overcame the odds and finally beat his opponent. But there was no time to savor the moment; the arena lights went out and when they came back on Sabu, Rob Van Dam and Bill Alfonso were in the ring and attacking Dreamer. Just as Dreamer started to turn the tide the lights went out again; and when they came back up who should be standing in the ring with a (defective) microphone but Jerry “The King” Lawler. Lawler (once his microphone issues were sorted out) proceeded to direct traffic as he, Sabu and RVD laid waste to most of the ECW locker-room; only backing off once Taz finally hit the ring. It took the angle that had been building between Lawler and ECW (further enhanced by the ECW invasion of Raw the previous month) and used it to draw the focus away from Raven’s departure. Lawler was on imperious form on the microphone; drawing from his friend Andy Kauffman’s lines to further rile up the already incensed crowd. This angle worked for so many reasons; mainly the conflict of style both represented. ECW was reality based and violent; Lawler was seen as the representation of both the WWE and Memphis wrestling. Memphis had a reputation for being the most hokey and over the top wrestling organization out there; to the point that it was a saying in the business that something silly and over the top was “a little Memphis”. Yet there, in the middle of the ECW Arena, stood the figurehead of Memphis for many years now championing the hated WWE and laying waste to the ECW locker-room; note to Vince McMahon: THAT’S how you book an invasion angle.

Chris Benoit, Eddie Geurrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn Debut In The Crowd on Raw (31st of January 2000).

When you talk about pivotal moments in “The Monday Night War”; then this was probably the most significant. It was the moment, to me at least, that you knew there was no coming back for WCW; these guys were the heart of the promotion and the few guys worth watching with any name recognition they had left. Benoit had won the WCW World Heavyweight Title less than a fortnight before this occurred for crying out loud! Sick of being held down and the political nightmare that was WCW at the time; these four (amongst others) had demanded their release before the belt had been put on Benoit. Despite WCW brass trying to charm Benoit into saying once the belt was on him; he stuck to his guns and walked out with his friends. This was at a time when the internet was still emerging; there were wrestling gossip sites at the time (anyone remember IOwrestling?) but this situation managed to pass me by. Though never the biggest WCW fan; these were guys I knew and enjoyed watching when I got the opportunity to watch Nitro. One of them jumping ship would have been news enough at the time; but ALL FOUR!?! AT ONCE!?! Even Eric Bischoff, on his enforced sabbatical from WCW at the time, recognized that this moment was not a good sign for the company. For impact and significance alone; there are few “Mark Out” moments that can come close to this one. And, through the retelling of my experience, a key example of my earlier point about the internet making these moments harder to pull off these days.

Jerry Lawler Stands Up For Jim Ross Against Tazz (2000).

Before you say anything; yes I know that’s not a picture of the moment I’m talking about and yes I’ve forgotten the exact show it happened on and can’t find it on Google. This moment stands out to me because it was totally against what you expected at the time; the legendary commentary team of Jerry “The King” Lawler and “Good Ol’ J.R” Jim Ross (only edged out as the best commentary team of all time for me by Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan because they were so damn funny) had been your standard babyface play-by-play guy and heel colour guy pairing. During the height of the Austin/McMahon feud the pair would constantly bicker over it (and other angles) from those respective points of view; they seemed to constantly be at odds with each other. Then came the night when Tazz, trying to get a commentary spot, started intimidating and threatening J.R.; clearly, as a heel, Tazz felt that Jerry Lawler would be fine with him chasing off his co-commentator and joining him. How wrong he was as “The King” made an unexpected face turn and stood u for his broadcast colleague. While not a moment most will rank in their top “Mark Out” moments; for me, this moment will always be remembered fondly. It was a nod to us “Smart” fans that though they may at times play characters that are in opposition; some of them, in reality, are really friends. It may be soppy; but, damn it, I’m not too proud to admit that I found it moving.

 WWE Buys WCW (March 2001).

Though strictly not a wrestling angle; few moments have made me “Mark Out” like the moment I logged on to (at the time) wwf.com and was greeted by this image. There’s very little more I can say about this; I didn’t believe it was a possibility until that moment. Plus I instantly got excited about the cross promotion opportunities; how foolish that was looking back, eh? I liken it to supporting your sports team and finding out they’ve won the derby game; but on a much stronger level as derby games happen at least twice a season and rarely does your rival team go out of business as a result.

Eric Bischoff Debuts on Raw (July 15th 2002).

“Holy sh… What the fu… DO YOU KNOW WHO THE FUCK THAT IS!?!” I screamed at my mother (before apologizing profusely) when I saw Eric Bischoff wander into shot during a backstage interview with Booker T. When I spoke earlier about not having a “Mark Out” moment for a long time; this was the last time I remembered having one before recently. I jumped out of my seat in total shock when I saw “ATM” Eric on Monday Night Raw; I couldn’t believe it. This was the guy who nearly drove the WWE out of business, who stole/acquired their talent on a regular basis, gave away the results of taped Raws on live Nitros and had Medusa come out and throw the WWE Women’s Title in the bin on live TV. How has this happened? Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen; and this is my personal favorite “Mark Out” moment of them all. It was completely unexpected and drove a genuine strong emotional reaction out of me; this is how you bloody do it. And to top it off with Vince hugging Eric? Jesus WWE; you just blew my mind…

Seth Rollins Turns on The Shield, Raw (June 2nd 2014).

Earlier that day I had been discussing Payback and The Shield vs Evolution match with my brother; I sated my view that The Shield were poised to overtake Evolution as the most successful faction of all time (in terms of world titles won); that’s how out of left field this moment was. I honestly do not believe anyone saw it coming; not the when or the how of it happening. I’m a fan of Seth Rollins and I was disappointed in how, when the inevitable discussions about the future of the members of The Shield as singles stars happened, he seemed to be an afterthought. Well; what a way to shove all that to the side. Undertaker losing at ‘Mania aside; this was genuinely the most effective and unexpected thing to happen in WWE in years. I feel it will  be remembered as one of the great “Mark Out” moments in the future; but we have to wait and see if time will tell. Also; how can you not love a moment that gives you a video like this:

In summation; it’s a shame that the way of the modern world and the state of the wrestling industry have made these moments all the rarer these days. When done right they’re magical and when done wrong they at least provide us with a talking point. The events of last Monday’s Raw show that it’s not totally beyond wrestling to make these moments happen; hopefully the industry will go to greater lengths to make them happen in future.

So. That’s what I think; how about you? Do you agree? Disagree? Can you think of some that I should have included that I didn’t? Please feel free to share your views and memories of your favorite “Mark Out” moments in the comments section.

Until next time.

JJKH  

 

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