Sell (professional wrestling)
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In professional wrestling, the sell is the element of making the action appear to be at least somewhat realistic to the crowd, or at least the marks within the crowd. In other words, it has to do with the acting necessary to sell the storyline. Reactions to moves are often exaggerated, or "oversold", for maximum crowd effect.
The rise of a significant number of "smarks", fans who are aware of the staging of professional wrestling and many of its other conventions, has changed the "selling" process somewhat. As these audience members are aware of the element of acting, they tend to judge the worth of a match and its opponents largely upon the acting (selling) not being either over or underplayed. Along with booking, the caliber of the sell has much to do with the success of a promotion.
Certain wrestlers have long-established reputations for "no-selling" (generally refusing to sell) or overselling the opponent's moves. Many smarks consider The Undertaker to be a flagrant no-seller, although in his defense, his longtime gimmick of an undead individual has limited his ability to sell while keeping the character believable.
An example of a wrestler who established a reputation for overselling (or showing too much reaction to a wrestler's moves) was the late Curt Hennig. More often than not, however, inexperienced rookie wrestlers trying to sell their opponent's moves are guilty of this.
See also: professional wrestling slang