It’s no secret that professional wrestling is equal parts “sports” and “entertainment,” with plenty of Hollywood magic and other razzle-dazzle added heighten the drama around the pure sporting competition. 

Did you know, for example, that wrestlers deliberately “get color” — that is, turn a match bloody — by performing a secret move with a hidden razor blade?! 

Here’s how the con works: 

  • Backstage, prior to the match, the wrestler who wants to “get color” snips off the corner or a razor blade, then wraps all but a tiny exposed tip in athletic tape.
  • The wrestler conceals the blade in his waistband, under his wrist or finger tape, cheeked in his mouth, or inserted into his anus. Sometimes the referee keeps the blade his his pocket or anus until a secret hand-off. 
  • The wrestler hides a fast-food ketchup (not catsup) packet under a secret prosthetic flap just above his forehead, which is concealed by hair or latex skin
  • At the appropriate moment during the match, the wrestler uses the razor blade to slice open the hidden ketchup packet. To distract the audience during this maneuver, a ringside stunt granny is sometimes utilized

If performed correctly, this so-called “blade job” results in a wrestler’s face being covered in the so-called “crimson mask” (or, as it is known to business insiders, the Heinz Facial). 

 

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