In the English speakingprofessional wrestling culture, a "dirt sheet" is awrestling magazine, wrestling newsletter orwebsite that covers professional wrestling from a real-life perspective as opposed to treating the storylines as real.[1][2][3][4][5] Another term sometimes used for these publications is "rag sheet."[6]
Many wrestlers in the past resented so-called "dirt sheets" since they felt that they ruined the business by breakingkayfabe, i.e. exposing professional wrestling as staged.[7] However, second-generation wrestlerBret Hart recalls that many wrestlers themselves were avid readers of the magazines in his youth because they too wanted to keep up with the backstage news;[8] other people such as wrestling journalists have backed up that this was the case in the past.[9] WrestlerSteve Austin often saw wrestling newsletters passed around thelocker rooms when he started out in the industry.[10] In the 21st century, some people in the industry, such asVince Russo,Bruce Prichard andEric Bischoff, still think that such publications hurt the wrestling business, as well as ruin the fans' immersion and enjoyment.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Some wrestlers have themselves written for news websites, e.g.Matt Hardy for 411Mania.[18][19]Chris Jericho created his own called Web Is Jericho.[20]
List of publications or websites often considered dirt sheets
^Patrick Jones, Joel Shoemaker;Do it Right!: Best Practices for Serving Young Adults in School and Public Libraries;Neal-Schuman Publishers: 2001 - Page 147
