He says that the term ‘mark’ originated from carnivals many years ago, when carnies would refer to certain customers as ‘marks’ because they were easy to fool into spending their money on the carnival games. He says that WWE targets marks at every single show and they’re easy to spot; they’re the full-grown men with replica Title belts draped over their shoulders.
He clarifies that if a father buys a replica belt for their child because they want to make their child happy, that doesn’t make them a mark. Children are supposed to believe that wrestling is real, but a 30-year old who spends $300 on a replica fake Title is the definition of a mark.
Russo doesn’t understand why these marks actually get upset when someone calls them a mark. He says that if wrestling is your priority in life, then just accept and admit the fact that you’re a mark. He continues by saying that 75% of the wrestlers today are marks for the business and for themselves, where as Steve Austin and The Rock treated the business like a job.
That sums up today’s episode of Vince Russo’s The Brand. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya tomorrow for another recap!