Wikipedia:WikiProject Professional wrestling/Style guide

General
Professional wrestling articles should be written so that everyone can understand its content, not just professional wrestling fans. They should not be written in-universe, which is outlined in the Manual of Style on written fiction. All articles should be written in past tense, excluding future events. The following guidelines should be followed in order for an article to be classified as a B-Class article, in order to be nominated and passed as a Good Article nomination, and/or as a Featured article candidate.

Show names
The first instance of a show's name should be written in full, with later usage trimmed to its common name. For example, Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live should simply be referred to as Raw and SmackDown after their first mention. If the show name is changed, such as SmackDown Live to Friday Night SmackDown, there is no need to list the new name.
 * In referencing both the show and brand, WWE's Monday night program is to be written Raw, with only an initial capital letter. Likewise, TNA Wrestling's Thursday night program is written Impact!.
 * CamelCases are optional on Wikipedia, but in the interest of uniformity, WWE's Friday night program is SmackDown, with a capital S and capital D. Post-January 2008 SmackDown references should be written without an exclamation point.
 * Italics are only to be used when referencing a show such as in these scenarios:
 * "On the January 21 episode of Raw"
 * "The following week on SmackDown"
 * Do not use italics when referencing a brand, such as in these scenarios:
 * "He was traded to the SmackDown brand."
 * "He was named the General Manager of Raw."
 * Pay-per-view events are to be written with no italics.

Terminology

 * When referring to a wrestler's alignment as a face or heel, the first usage should be wiki-linked and explained in parenthesis, e.g. Heel (bad guy). Alternatively, terms such as "fan favorite", "hero" or "villain" can be used.
 * Avoid parroting branding and marketing terminology used by promotions. Instead of using the terms "WWE Superstar", "WWE Diva", "TNA Knockout" or "sports entertainer", simply use "wrestler", specifying gender if need be. Similarly, avoid using "sports entertainment" as a substitute for professional wrestling. Additionally, avoid referring to WWE fans as "the WWE Universe" and the promotion as "The WWE".
 * The phrase "the late" should be removed before the names of now-deceased wrestlers.
 * Change "attacker" to "wrestler" and "victim" to "opponent" in move articles.

Headings

 * Limit heading titles to five words or less (not counting dates).
 * Try to limit headings by promotion, although some alternatives are acceptable. If the text for one promotion is getting long, it can be broken up with further subheadings. Use common sense.
 * Do not refer to the subject of the article within the article's headers.
 * Headers should never be wiki-linked.
 * Capitalize the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns in headings, but leave the rest in lowercase.

Text formatting

 * Taglines are to be written with italics and in quotation marks.
 * Album and video game titles are to be written with italics.
 * Song titles are to be written in quotation marks.
 * Full names should be used for each person upon first mention, and in tables/infoboxes, (i.e. the Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) or the Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner)).

Organization
Below are examples of how individual articles can be organized. These are merely suggestions; you do not have to conform to this format.

For biographies:
 * Early life
 * Professional wrestling career
 * Professional wrestling persona
 * Other media
 * Personal life
 * Championships and accomplishments
 * Luchas de Apuestas record
 * References
 * External links

For championship articles:
 * History
 * Reigns
 * Combined reigns
 * See also
 * References
 * External links

For event articles:
 * Production
 * Background
 * Storylines
 * Event
 * Preliminary matches
 * Main event matches
 * Reception
 * Aftermath
 * Results
 * See also
 * References
 * External links

Lead
Include Infobox professional wrestler and fill it out accordingly. In the case of multiple ring names, billed from locations, etc., the use of Plainlist is recommended. The actively used ring name(s) and billed location (if more than one) should be in bold.

The lead should typically open with the wrestler's real name that is supported by a reliable source, and if they are known by a ring name, it should be noted in one of the proceeding sentences. In the case of a reliable source not being present for their real name, the lead should open with the wrestler's common name instead.

Summarize the most significant events in the wrestler's career for which they are known, including their stints in promotions, and any championships, accomplishments, and awards that they have won. Tallies of the overall championships or world championships won should be avoided.

Professional wrestling career
Summarize the major events and key points of the wrestler's career. Avoid writing in proseline ("week-by-week" format) and adding excessive details.

Professional wrestling persona
For characters with notable qualities that cannot be fully covered in the career section. This includes background information, personality traits, inspirations, finishing moves, taunts, gestures, chants, outfits, etc. Commentary or reception from reputable sources is also recommended but must adhere to a neutral point of view.

Championships and accomplishments
The championships won by a wrestler and their accomplishments are compiled in a bulleted list format. Additionally, awards from notable publications (such as the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and Pro Wrestling Illustrated) are included. In the case of a non-wrestling personality, this section can be renamed Awards and accomplishments.


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2012)
 * Wrestler of the Year (2009, 2013)
 * Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009
 * WWE
 * World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with CM Punk (1), A. J. Styles (1) and Kane (2)
 * WWE (World Heavyweight) Championship (2 times)
 * WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
 * WWE United States Championship (1 time)
 * Money in the Bank (2012 – WWE Championship)
 * Royal Rumble (2005, 2006)
 * Fifth WWE Grand Slam Champion
 * Twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2017)
 * Slammy Award (3 times)
 * Match of the Year (2009) vs. Daniel Bryan on Raw on November 12
 * Match of the Year (2012) with CM Punk vs. John Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team elimination match for the World Tag Team Championship on August 16 at SummerSlam
 * Superstar of the Year (2009)


 * Promotions and publications are to be listed alphabetically and their name in bold.
 * Items should be tiered in this order: championships, accomplishments, awards. Each tier should typically be ordered alphabetically.
 * Parenthesis should follow most items. For championships, note the individual number of reigns with a link to its respective title history article. For accomplishments and awards, note the year it occurred with a link to its respective event article.
 * Other notes (such as oldest, youngest, first, last, only, etc.) are only covered in the relevant prose section and are not listed in this section.
 * With regards to the PWI 500 and PWI Women's 250 rankings, only the wrestler's highest position is noted.
 * Dave Meltzer's star ratings should not be included in this section. They may be worked into prose, if appropriate.

Luchas de Apuestas record
A record of the wrestler's Luchas de Apuestas ("betting matches"), prominent in lucha libre, is compiled in a table format. It spans the match winner (with their wager), the loser (with their wager), the location, the event, the date and a column for additional notes. Matches should only be included in this list if at least one of the competitors is risking their mask or hair.

In wrestling / Professional wrestling highlights
Until June 2018, this section was a standard part of professional wrestling biographies and team articles, but a policy-based consensus was reached to omit this section by default. If any of the content is significant to the subject of the article, it can be converted into prose; see the "Professional wrestling persona" section in the CM Punk article as an example. In rare cases where it may be beneficial for a specific article to use the format, a discussion on the article's talk page can be started to try and establish local consensus for its inclusion.

An overview of notable character information is compiled in a bulleted list format. This section should be limited to finishing moves, signature moves, managers (and/or wrestlers managed), nicknames, entrance themes, and wrestlers trained. Any taunts, gestures, or other descriptions are better suited for the article prose.


 * Finishing moves
 * Moonsault
 * Western Lariat (Lariat)
 * Signature moves
 * Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope
 * Multiple suplex variations
 * Belly-to-belly
 * Northern Lights
 * Tiger
 * Orange Crush (Vertical suplex powerbomb)
 * Shining wizard
 * Managers
 * Miss Elizabeth
 * Paul Heyman
 * Nicknames
 * "Best in the World"
 * "The Legend Killer"
 * Entrance themes
 * "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
 * "Here to Show the World" by Jim Johnston featuring Downstait
 * Wrestlers trained


 * Bret Hart
 * Brian Pillman
 * Chris Jericho
 * Christian
 * Davey Boy Smith
 * Edge
 * Jake Roberts
 * Jim Neidhart
 * Lance Storm
 * Mark Henry
 * Natalya Neidhart
 * Owen Hart
 * Roddy Piper
 * Steve Blackman
 * Tyson Kidd


 * All items should be sorted alphabetically. An exception is with entrance themes, which can be sorted chronologically if date ranges are sourced.
 * For signature and finishing moves, there must be one reliable source explicitly mentioning that it is a signature move of the wrestler. One reliable source merely mentioning that the wrestler performed the move is not enough.
 * A specially named move should be italicized, with the regular name following in parentheses and wiki-linked.
 * Cite episode should not be used for citing moves as commentators often call moves wrong or do not give full technical names, leading to speculation.
 * Track names in entrance themes should not be wiki-linked to articles about the compilation albums on which they are sold, unless the article contains further information on the track itself (not just name, number, and wrestler who used it).

Lead
Include Infobox professional wrestling championship and fill it out accordingly. The lead should cover the promotion where the championship was present, when it was established, the number of reigns and individual champions, etc. If the championship is active, note the current champion.

History
A summary of notable information throughout the championship's history, such as how it was introduced and when, the inaugural title holder, name changes, championship belt designs, and so on.

Reigns
The championship's reign history is compiled in a table format using a combination of Professional wrestling title history top and Professional wrestling title history middle. The chronological list spans each overall reign number, the champion, the date, location and event of which it was won, the champion's individual reign number, the number of days held, and additional notes. When a championship reaches ten or more reigns, the list of reign history can be split off into its own article, e.g. WWE Championship → List of WWE Champions.


 * Optional columns:
 * Days recognized, if the promotion recognizes the number of days on certain reigns differently than what actually occurred.
 * Successful defenses, if the promotion keeps track of them.
 * Regarding tag teams:
 * For teams with a name, the team name should come first and the members listed in parenthesis on the next line with small.
 * If an individual has a different reign number than the team, the team's reign number goes first and the individual reign numbers for each team member, separated by a comma, should be listed in parenthesis on the next line with small.
 * The notes column should only include the following:
 * If the new champion defeated someone other than the previous champion.
 * If the new champion received the title through means other than a match.
 * Match types that were not standard singles matches.
 * Why the title was vacated or abandoned.
 * The date when the match was aired.
 * If the promotion recognizes the start or end date of the reign differently than what actually occurred.

Combined reigns
When there are multiple reigns by at least a single wrestler, an additional table section should be included that combines the number of reigns, days held, and successful defenses of each individual champion.


 * The table is sorted by the most combined days as champion.
 * If two or more wrestlers are tied in days, priority is given in this order: most reigns, most successful defenses, alphabetical.
 * If a wrestler held the title under multiple ring names, all of the names used while holding the title should be listed in order of which they were used.
 * Combined defenses is only included if the promotion keeps track of them.
 * Combined days held recognized by the promotion is only included if they officially recognize a reign as having lasted a different length than what actually occurred.
 * For tag team championships, there should be two separate tables, one for each team and one for each individual wrestler.

Lead
Include Infobox professional wrestling event and fill it out accordingly. For the poster caption, only individually list wrestler names if there are six or below wrestlers; for seven and above, use "various wrestlers". The lead should contain brief details of the event in typically three paragraphs. The first paragraph notes the promotion that produced the event, the date of the event, and the location and venue of the event. The second paragraph explains how many matches were scheduled on the event's card. It should also contain an overview of the event, elaborating the main event(s) and most hyped matches on the undercard. Do not list the process of scoring in this paragraph, only state the outcome of the match and the type of match it was contested in. Generally, the lead can be written in an in-universe perspective since many of the statements are explained in an out-of-universe perspective in the main body prose. The final paragraph covers the reception to the event, such as attendance and pay-per-view buys, and critic reviews of both the event and home video release. If a promotion's attendance figures are in dispute (for e.g. if the promotion has inflated them) then the infobox must present what independent sources say the real figure is, not the promotion's own claims.

Production
The production section comprises two sub-sections, background and storylines. If one of the sub-sections is not present, then the name of the present sub-section will take precedence as the section name over production.

The background section covers any aspect that pertained to the development and production behind the event. This includes the venue, location, ticket prices, broadcast information, theme music, commentators, etc.

The storylines section should contain details on at least three rivalries and contain no more than 1,000 words. When expanding this section, avoid using wrestling jargon. Generally, the first paragraph explains that the promotion holding the event was responsible for scripting the related storylines. Optionally, it can be stated that the scripted events took place on certain television programs of the promotion. If the event article is about a promotion that features a brand extension, the prose should state that is a storyline division of the company in which employees are assigned to a specific program, called a brand.

When beginning a sentence to describe a rivalry, the word feud should be avoided, unless an explanation of the term is given, which is staged (or scripted) rivalry. Alternately, words such as narrative and plot can be used to provide variance in the writing. The background should only summarize important events that enhanced the rivalry, such as key segments or matches that took place on television shows or pay-per-view events. Since professional wresting is a work of recorded media, Wikipedia's plot guideline should be adhered to; do not write in-depth or weekly results when describing a rivalry. In general, professional wrestling moves should not be described in the background section because this information would only be present if the editor is inserting week-by-week, play-by-play information into prose. The exception is if the move was performed outside an official match, in which case the format guidelines in the event section below should be followed.

Event
The event section generally focuses on the matches from the show itself. Relatively, backstage segments should not be covered unless they are considered notable. An example is from December to Dismember, where Sabu was found injured backstage, leaving him unable to compete in his scheduled match. This section should be split into two subsections, one labeled preliminary matches and the other labeled main event (or main event matches). In the case of pre-show matches (including dark matches and taped matches), they should either be covered in the main heading above these two subsections or given their own subsection, labelled pre-show. The preliminary matches are those that received low promotion by the company. The main event is the final match, but sometimes can include more than one match if other bouts were heavily advertised. When writing this section, transitions should be used from paragraph to paragraph, such as: "The first match was Samoa Joe versus John Cena in a Hell in a Cell match..."

"The next match was..."

Give the name of the match type in which the wrestlers will compete in, along with a brief explanation as to details surrounding the match type and its objective. If the match is a singles match, the jargon term can be used as long as its later explained that it is a "standard wrestling match", which implies that it is a bout contested under regular wrestling standards. If the match is a tag team match, no explanation is necessary as it is a common term that does not require an explanation. However, if the term "ladder match" is used, its explanation should be written in a format that first introduces the transition to the match, the match type, and a brief explanation of the match type: "The following match was a ladder match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, where the objective was to climb a ladder and retrieve an object suspended in the air by a cable."

If the match is in an enclosure based match, such as an Elimination Chamber, it should be written in the same format as above but giving a brief explanation of how the ring has been altered for the match: "The main event was an Elimination Chamber match, featuring wrestlers fighting in a ring surrounded by a steel structure of chain and girders, called the "Chamber". In this match, two wrestlers began the match while four others were locked in pods made of acrylic glass; they were released at time intervals until all six competitors were inside the Chamber. Eliminations occurred through pinfalls and submissions."

For events that have yet to happen, managers and others who accompany the wrestler to ringside should only be included if they're part of the promotional material or have been confirmed to be at ringside. Speculating that someone might be there (because they usually are, for example) violates WP:CRYSTAL.

Only the most important moments during a match that affected the outcome of it should be covered; play-by-play detailing should be avoided, which includes detailing back and forth wrestling. If during a match, a controversial event takes place, such as an interference or a wrestler knocking down a referee, it needs to be noted that as a part of the storyline (or it was scripted) that the said wrestler or referee interfered or was knocked down, respectively.

To avoid jargon, professional wrestling moves should be wikilinked and explained in a brief and neutral point of view the first time they appear in the article. For example: "The Undertaker performed a chokeslam on Henry, lifting him by the throat and slamming him down."

If the name of a move is a nickname for the actual term, such as the "Batista Bomb" for the sitout powerbomb, the nickname should be in quotation marks. For moves that are more technical than others, like the sitout powerbomb, a brief overview of the move should be explained to avoid a sentence of great length and grammatical errors. For example: "Batista then executed a "Batista Bomb", in which he lifted and sat Cena on his shoulders, and slammed him down to the mat."

Submission holds, and how they are performed, do not have to be described such as throws and attacks because holds require steps that are explained in great length, as a result, it is best to simply wikilink them. Both submissions and pinfalls should be described as scoring conditions in a match, depending whether the match is a variant. Pinning variations, such as the roll-up, should be briefly outlined as to how they are performed.

When elaborating the ending of a match, a description of the process of how it ended and the scoring condition as to how a wrestler won the match, should be given, while adhering to the move description guideline outlined above. For example: "After hitting him with a sledgehammer, Triple H covered Shawn Michaels for the pinfall."

"Cena then performed the "Attitude Adjustment" on Michaels, in which he lifted and threw Michaels off his shoulders down to the mat. This followed with Cena gaining a pinfall."

Reception
Include attendance for the event, revenue from ticket sales, and the number of pay-per-view buys, if the information is available from reliable sources. If a promotion's attendance figures are in dispute (for e.g. if the promotion has inflated them) then the section must make clear, with reliable independent sources, what the actual figure is. The promoted figure should still be included, however. Aside from economy, reviews from critics should be included (see WikiProject Professional wrestling/Sources) and adhere to a neutral point of view. Not all critics need to be from generally reliable sources, but they should be from websites that have a reputation for their reviews, such as 411mania.com or WrestleZone.com, which are only reliable for criticism. Additionally, reception to the home video release of the event may be included. Note if the media is ranked by a major sales chart such as Billboard or if it is covered by review aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes.

Aftermath
Relevant happenings that followed the event. When covering the aftermath of a rivalry, the key points that affected the feud should be explained in the briefest way possible. Generally, each rivalry should be contained to its own paragraph.

Results
Matches are compiled in a table format using Professional wrestling results table. If the article is about a future event, this section is renamed Matches and includes planned matches and their stipulations in order of which they were announced. For an event that has taken place, the results are listed with their stipulations and their duration, in order of which they occurred. Other details should be established in the event section.




 * The no. column represents either the order in which the matches were announced for a future event or the order in which the matches took place.
 * For future events, the matches column contains officially announced matches and should be modeled after the following example: [Wrestler A] vs. [Wrestler B].
 * The results column contains match results and should be modeled after the following example: [Wrestler A] defeated [Wrestler B].
 * The means by which the match was decided—e.g. by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or countout—should be added after the above text: [Wrestler A] defeated [Wrestler B] by [decision].
 * If a steel cage match ends in a victory via cage escape, it should proceed the example above with: by escaping the cage.
 * If a match has only one method of winning, do not proceed the example above, as stating how victory was achieved would be redundant in such a case.
 * If the match ended in no contest or draw, the result should read: [Wrestler A] vs. [Wrestler B] ended in a [decision].
 * In the case of a battle royal, the result should read: [Winner] won by last eliminating [Final eliminated participant]. The other participants may be noted below the table, if covered by a reliable source.
 * When a match participant is accompanied to the ring, typically by a manager or valet, they should be noted in parenthesis immediately following the participant's name: [Wrestler A] (with [Person B]).
 * The stipulations column is any other information relating to the match itself, such as the type of match, any championships being contested for, or a storyline stipulation in the match. The first word in each row under this column should be capitalized.
 * If the match is contested in a standard one-on-one match, Singles match should be listed. Similarly, if the match is a standard two-on-two match, Tag team match should be used.
 * If the match is contested in a different match type, the stipulations column should list the match type, e.g. Steel cage match.
 * If a championship is contested for in a match, it should be listed as [Match type] for the [championship], e.g. Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship.
 * If there is a stipulation to a championship or non-championship match, it should also be listed, e.g. Singles match; had Cena lost he would have had to join The Nexus.
 * A person given special authority over a match, such as a special guest referee or outside enforcer, should be noted following the match type, e.g. Singles match for the NXT Championship with Triple H as the special guest referee.
 * The times column should contain the length of each match as provided by a reliable source. If not available, the time should be left blank.
 * It is okay to wikilink articles in this section because tables are an exception to the overlinking guideline of Wikipedia.

Elimination matches
For elimination matches, a subsection is added under the results table, listing each elimination in a table with the following columns:
 * Eliminated – Numbered order of elimination.
 * Wrestler – Wrestler who was eliminated.
 * Entered – Optional column, for matches with staggered entry, such as the Elimination Chamber match. Numbered order of entry.
 * Eliminated by – Wrestler(s) responsible for the elimination.
 * Method – Method of elimination, e.g. pinfall, submission, etc. The move that resulted in the elimination should be excluded, and instead covered in prose in the Event section.
 * Time – Time in the match that the elimination occurred.


 * It is okay to wikilink articles in this section because tables are an exception to the overlinking guideline of Wikipedia.

Lead
The lead section should be brief. It only needs to include a one sentence introduction of what the article contains, such as "YYYY in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the word of professional wrestling." Along side this there should be the relevant info box for Year nav topic5 (e.g..

Sections
The sections the article may contain, should appear in the following order: Any section which would be empty, such as births in the 2015 in professional wrestling article is better to not include rather than to include an empty section.
 * Calendar of notable live events (broken out into months if the year contains more than 30 events)
 * Tournaments and accomplishments
 * Title changes
 * Awards and honors
 * Notable incidents
 * Retirements
 * Births
 * Deaths

Notability for inclusion
All events which contain their own page and meet Wikipedia's notability WP:GNG may be included in the events section. For example, the Brian Pillman Memorial Show was not produced by one of the below companies, however, it contains its own page and therefore can be included on in all four years it was presented. Supercards and pay-per-view events may also be included for the promotions listed in the next section, regardless of their own page existing or not. Events should be listed in the year they occurred, not the year they aired, (e.g. events included on Impact One Night Only (2017) which occurred in 2015, should be included on the 2015 page).

Currently, the only two awards that qualify for the awards are Pro Wrestling Illustrated awards and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.

Incidents for inclusion in the notable incidents section should contain their own page, or at least their own section within the article for inclusion. For example, events such as Death of Owen Hart and WWE Performance Center shooting do not contain their own page but contain their own subjection, therefore they can be included. Other events such as Black Saturday and the Montreal Screwjob which contain their own page are also notable for inclusion.

The criteria for inclusion of births, deaths, and retirements fall within the criteria laid out in WP:LISTBIO. No red links or unlinked names should be included in this section. Any birth, death or retirement from someone involved in professional wrestling, with their own Wikipedia page, may be included in this section, as long as the proper WP:RS is included.

Categories
Categories should be present at the end of each article and sorted alphabetically. Categories should not include sports specific categories.

For biographies:

For championship articles (e.g. WWE Championship):

For event articles (e.g. Slammiversary 10)

However, some may fall into sub-categories of those listed above (e.g. WrestleMania XXX):