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138-543: Joseph Curtis Hennig (born October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler . He is best known for his time in WWE , where he performed under the ring name Curtis Axel . Hennig signed with WWE in 2007 and performed under his real name, stylized as Joe Hennig , at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and was a one-time FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion and four-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champion . In 2010, after he competed on NXT under
276-643: A triple threat match to win the Intercontinental Championship , joining his father as the only father-son pair to have won the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Axel made his first televised title defense on the following episode of SmackDown , defeating Barrett in a rematch. On the June 24 episode of Raw , Axel saved CM Punk from an assault by The Prime Time Players ( Darren Young and Titus O'Neil ), at
414-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
552-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
690-529: A beatdown from the rest of the group, and was allowed to remain a member of Nexus, alongside Punk, Harris and David Otunga . The following month, Punk was announced as the WrestleMania XXVII opponent for Randy Orton, and as a result, each member of The Nexus was scheduled to face Orton in the month prior to WrestleMania, with McGillicutty lost to Orton on the February 28 episode of Raw , and after
828-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
966-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
1104-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1242-673: A contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On September 11, 2008, Hennig and Sebastian Slater defeated Nic Nemeth and Gavin Spears to win the Florida Tag Team Championship . On October 30, Hennig and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to The New Hart Foundation ( DH Smith and TJ Wilson ). On November 20, Hennig challenged Sheamus O'Shaunessy for
1380-468: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Eric P%C3%A9rez Eric Alexander Pérez (born December 18, 1979) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who currently performs under
1518-510: A development contract. He was assigned to their developmental territory, Deep South Wrestling and began working under the pseudonym "The Puerto Rican Nightmare" Eric Pérez. During his time there, he wrestled in singles matches, in addition to teaming with Montel Vontavious Porter and later, Sonny Siaki with whom he formed the tag team, Urban Assault. The team won the Deep South Tag Team Championship once before
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#17327939696851656-620: A developmental talent. Pérez was subjected to surgery in October 2007, after sustaining an injury on his back, prompting several months of inactivity while in recovery. Pérez returned to action in January 2008, and continued his participation in the promotion. On January 26, 2008, he participated in a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship . Pérez won
1794-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
1932-598: A feud with Santino Marella during one of WWE's Latin American tours, trading victories. As his promotion to the main roster approached, a character based on Jonathan Goldsmith ’s The Most Interesting Man in the World was pitched for Pérez by writer Jenn Bloodsworth, vignettes for it were recorded but the concept was ultimately abandoned. On September 28, 2009, he performed in his last dark match against Primo , losing by pinfall. The following night, Pérez made his debut on
2070-409: A four-time tag team champion. The following day, they dropped the championships back to Los Aviadores. McGillicutty then took part in the second season of NXT , with Kofi Kingston as his pro. He made his NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of NXT , teaming with Kingston to defeat Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon . In
2208-535: A four-way match. Former AAA World Heavyweight Champion Dr. Wagner, Jr. and his son, Hijo de Dr. Wagner , were originally scheduled to be in the match, but failed to attend the event without offering an explanation. On September 6, 2013, Los Mamitos defended their titles by defeating the AAA World Tag Team Champions, The Mexican Powers ( Crazy Boy and Joe Líder ). Two days later, the team lost to Germán Figueroa and Joe "Hercules" Gómez in
2346-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2484-417: A group of young wrestlers titled Lucha Libre 101 , originally composed of Bryan Madness (Roberto Rubio), Chicano (Carlos Cotto) and Abbad (Enrique Sinigaglia). Several of the members of Lucha Libre 101 were either injured or abandoned the company while it was in progress which led to it being cancelled. After the company terminated this angle he acted as host of a talk show segment, but he was not interested in
2622-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
2760-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2898-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
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#17327939696853036-505: A nine-month winning streak in WLW, before suffering his first singles loss to Wade Chism. On March 31, 2007, Hennig, along with his family, represented his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony by accepting the award on his behalf. On the October 26, 2007, episode of SmackDown , Hennig teamed with Steve Fender in a loss to Jesse and Festus . Hennig then signed
3174-615: A non-title match to the WWE Tag Team Champions Air Boom. In late 2011, McGillicutty and Alex Riley had a series of matches on Superstars , which Riley won 2–1. On the February 23, 2012, episode of Superstars , McGillicutty defeated Riley, which would be his last televised win on a non-NXT show until he was repackaged as Curtis Axel in May 2013, resulting in McGillicutty losing more than twenty non-NXT matches in
3312-559: A non-title match, earning themselves a shot at the title. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , they would compete in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they were eliminated by Cody Rhodes and Goldust. At WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, they failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match. Axel and Ryback would continue their brief feud with Cody Rhodes and Goldust from earlier in
3450-532: A row, mostly on Superstars , but also on Main Event and Saturday Morning Slam . McGillicutty made his return to NXT , appearing from January 2012 on the fifth season NXT Redemption , but not as a rookie. In February, McGillicutty mocked Tyson Kidd 's lack of wrestling heritage, starting a feud on NXT Redemption . McGillicutty then beat Kidd on the February 29 episode of NXT Redemption . McGillicutty continued to insult Kidd by claiming that Kidd would never be
3588-510: A sketch in Spanish, deeming himself the future talent of WWE, subsequently defeating Kizarny . On February 26, 2009, he was booked to lose the championship against Hennig. He continued working with Yang on subsequent dates, performing jobs on March 17, 2009, prior to SmackDown's 500th episode, the August 3 edition of WWE Superstars and the August 4 edition of SmackDown . Pérez then entered
3726-469: A team formed by Wrestling Alliance Revolution (Ecuador) and Revolution X-Treme Wrestling (Panama) champions, Panama Jack Daniels 10 and El Mega Star. Their first encounter took place at Idols of Wrestling, concluding in a double disqualification when both team exited the arena and continued brawling. The company's management was responsible for employing the WWL's association with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide to book
3864-721: A team since August 2017. On the June 4 episode of Raw, The B-Team won a tag team battle royal to determine the number one contenders for the Raw Tag Team Championships . At Extreme Rules , The B-Team defeated Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy to win the Raw Tag Team Championship. On the July 23 episode of Raw , they successfully retained their title against Wyatt and Hardy. At SummerSlam on August 19, The B-Team successfully retained their title against The Revival ( Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson ). On
4002-504: A three-way that also included The Mexican Powers. However, since Pérez had his boot in the ropes while the referee counted, WWL General Manager Rico Casanova ruled that the World Tag Team Championship could not change hands. On March 7, 2014, Los Mamitos retained the titles against La Dinastía Máscaras ( Sicodelico, Jr. and Hijo de Dos Caras ), when Rubio unmasked Sicodelico, Jr. and employed the distraction to score
4140-606: A true ' Hart ', and Kidd received a rematch on the March 21 episode of NXT Redemption , where he defeated McGillicutty. McGillicutty and Kidd faced off in a third match on the April 11 episode of NXT , resulting in Kidd triumphant over McGillicutty. McGillicutty then formed an occasional team with Johnny Curtis for the rest of 2012. On the final episode of the fifth season of NXT on June 13, McGillicutty and Curtis lost to The Usos. After
4278-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
Curtis Axel - Misplaced Pages Continue
4416-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
4554-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
4692-627: Is also a professional wrestler. He graduated from North Hennepin Community College with an Associates of Science degree in business computer systems and management. Hennig trained under Brad Rheingans , Harley Race , and his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. He made his professional wrestling debut on July 13, 2007, in Waterloo, Iowa , for World League Wrestling (WLW), teaming with Ted DiBiase Jr. to defeat Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore by disqualification . Hennig later went on
4830-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
4968-738: The WWE SmackDown tapings. On December 11, Pérez won the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship , defeating Sheamus O'Shaunessy , Joe Hennig and Drew McIntyre in a fatal four-way match . The following month, FCW's creative team changed his ring name to "Eric Escobar". During the following months, while still holding the title, Pérez performed on several dark matches prior to the tapings of WWE's main brands, working under his developmental ring name. On February 17, 2009, he wrestled against Jimmy Wang Yang before SmackDown . A couple of weeks later, Pérez performed
5106-787: The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal , but was eliminated by multiple wrestlers. On the May 11 episode of Raw , Axel turned face when he shook hands with Damien Sandow (who was impersonating Randy Savage as "Macho Mandow"), similar to the handshake of The Mega Powers , when they formed a tag team. After this, Axel began impersonating Hulk Hogan , while teaming with Sandow. The two were dubbed The Meta Powers. The Meta Powers were defeated by The Ascension at Payback ( Konnor and Viktor ). Axel and Sandow ceased their AxelMania and Macho Mandow imitations on July 24, after WWE fired Hulk Hogan and severed all ties with him. On
5244-891: The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal , which was won by Mojo Rawley . On the June 19 episode of Raw , Intercontinental Champion The Miz approached Axel and Bo Dallas , offering to make them "the stars [they] deserve to be" if they become his entourage, and later that night, Axel and Dallas appeared in bear costumes during an in ring segment between Miz and his wife Maryse , attacking Dean Ambrose, thus turning heel once again. Axel and Dallas, now dubbed The Miztourage , began helping Miz in his matches and occasionally teamed him with him, including winning efforts against Dean Ambrose, Heath Slater and Rhyno on June 26 episode of Raw and Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz ( Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy ) at SummerSlam . At No Mercy , they also helped Miz to defeat Jason Jordan to retain his title. At WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018, Axel participated in
5382-518: The FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship , but the match ended in a double disqualification, and a rematch was made, but Hennig was again disqualified. Hennig had another chance to win the title on December 11 when he participated in a fatal four-way match for the championship, but Eric Escobar won the match. On February 26, 2009, Hennig defeated Escobar to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. On April 5, it
5520-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
5658-855: The SmackDown brand . On January 17, 2010, he was released from his WWE contract. Pérez subsequently returned to Puerto Rico, performing in the IWA and Puerto Rico Wrestling Association, winning the heavyweight titles of both promotions. Pérez began his career in the International Wrestling Association in Puerto Rico, after receiving training with personnel from the company. Prior to debuting in professional wrestling Pérez had always had an interest in wrestling fueled by World Wrestling Entertainment and Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling . Pérez also stated that during his career he
Curtis Axel - Misplaced Pages Continue
5796-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
5934-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
6072-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
6210-509: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
6348-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
6486-574: The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but was eliminated by Kane. As part of the Superstar Shake-Up , Miz was moved to the SmackDown brand, while Axel and Dallas remained on Raw. On the April 16 episode of Raw , during a tag team match, Axel and Dallas turned on Miz, ending their alliance. On the May 14 episode of Raw , the duo adopted the new team name "The B-Team" and defeated Breezango ( Tyler Breeze and Fandango ), their first win as
6624-487: The André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which was won by Baron Corbin . In May, The Social Outcasts took time out to film The Marine 5: Battleground . The Social Outcasts returned on the June 27 episode of Raw , confronting Enzo Amore and Big Cass . The following week on Raw , The Social Outcasts were defeated by Enzo and Cass. As part of the draft , Axel was drafted to the Raw brand as its last draft pick, earning him
6762-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
6900-588: The Bank , Axel defeated The Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship, and later that night, Heyman turned on CM Punk. Axel was set to team with Heyman in an elimination handicap match against Punk at Night of Champions , and during the pay-per-view, Heyman begged Triple H to cancel the match, but Triple H refused, not only confirming the match, but making Axel defend the Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston, and Axel retained
7038-559: The January 4, 2016, episode of Raw , Axel turned heel, when he along with Heath Slater , Adam Rose and Bo Dallas, debuted a new stable and assisted Slater in defeating Dolph Ziggler , calling themselves "The Social Outcasts". At Royal Rumble , Axel would enter the Royal Rumble match at number 5, before being eliminated by AJ Styles . On February 21 at Fastlane , Axel defeated R-Truth, with interference from fellow The Social Outcasts members. At WrestleMania 32 , Axel participated in
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#17327939696857176-420: The July 29 episode of SmackDown , they made their only successful title defense against The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso). After CM Punk left The Nexus when his WWE contract expired on July 17, McGillicutty and Otunga competed against Santino Marella and Zack Ryder on the August 1 episode of Raw without any Nexus gear or armbands, and with all Nexus logos removed from their TitanTron, effectively signaling
7314-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
7452-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
7590-582: The NXT Championship from Seth Rollins. On the November 28 episode of NXT , Johnny Curtis cashed in his promised tag title shot from winning season four of NXT , with McGillicutty as his partner against Team Hell No ( Daniel Bryan and Kane ), but Team Hell No won the match. On January 2, 2013, episode of NXT , McGillicutty turned face (but only within NXT) after saving Bo Dallas from a beating at
7728-457: The October 18 episode of Raw , McGillicutty and Harris failed to earn a place in The Nexus when they lost to Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match. On the following Raw , in spite of their loss, Harris and McGillicutty were inducted into The Nexus. In January 2011, CM Punk took over The Nexus and had each of its members put through an initiation, and McGillicutty passed his initiation,
7866-505: The Royal Rumble", claiming that he still hadn't been eliminated from the match and that he deserved a shot at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a result. This involved Axel interrupting segments involving the likes of Dean Ambrose , John Cena, and Rusev to protest his cause, and also led to Axel starting his own hashtag , #AxelMania. At WrestleMania 31 , Axel participated in
8004-445: The September 3 episode of Raw , The B-Team lost the championships to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre, ending their reign at 50 days. At Survivor Series , The B-Team made up part of Team Raw as they took on Team SmackDown in a 10-on-10 Survivor Series tag team elimination match and Team Raw would go on to lose the match. At WrestleMania 35 on April 7, 2019, Axel competed in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but failed to win
8142-583: The Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship which Pérez won the championship for first time. Throughout the first three months of 2011, he entered a feud with Tua . The angle came to an end at Juicio Final, where he dropped the championship. Pérez remained off screen for several months following this show, occasionally posting updates in the IWA's Facebook fan page. In August 2011 he made his final appearance in this run on
8280-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
8418-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
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#17327939696858556-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
8694-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
8832-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
8970-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
9108-475: The championship in a four-way match that also involved Matt Hardy. In January 2013, Pérez was reintroduced by Hugo Savinovich as "Mr. E", reforming his team with Rubio and performing as one of the main talents in the World Wrestling League , a promotion based in Puerto Rico. Rebranded with a Latin lover gimmick and now known as "Los Mamitos", they were given a first feud against Los Mega 10,
9246-561: The championship to The Uso Brothers (Jimmy and Jules). On April 8, Hennig blamed DiBiase for the loss, and the two fought in a match to a double disqualification. At an FCW event on April 29, Hennig faced DiBiase, but DiBiase suffered a knee injury during the match, ending their storyline. On July 15, now using the ring name Michael McGillicutty , teamed with Kaval to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship from Los Aviadores ( Epico and Hunico ), becoming
9384-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
9522-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
9660-462: The company ended in April 2020. He returned in April 2022 as a producer for three months. Joseph Curtis Hennig was born on October 1, 1979, in Champlin, Minnesota , the son of Leonice Hennig and professional wrestler "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig . He is the grandson of professional wrestler Larry "The Axe" Hennig . He has a younger brother named Hank, and two younger sisters named Katie and Amy, who
9798-463: The company finished its business relationship with WWE. On May 1, 2006, Pérez competed in a tag team match at his first WWE house show . He would then appear at ECW house shows in late July and again on September 30. Alongside Siaki, he started wrestling on Raw house shows in February 2007. After Deep South Wrestling ended their working relationship with WWE, he was transferred to Florida Championship Wrestling , where he continued performing as
9936-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
10074-558: The conclusion of NXT Redemption , NXT transitioned into the renamed Florida Championship Wrestling developmental territory. McGillicutty continued appearing on the rebooted NXT , losing to Tyson Kidd on the first episode on June 20. On the August 8 episode of NXT , McGillicutty was inserted into the Gold Rush Tournament to crown the first NXT Champion , where he defeated Justin Gabriel in the quarter-finals. McGillicutty
10212-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
10350-400: The end of The Nexus. On the August 22 episode of Raw , McGillicutty and Otunga lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Air Boom ( Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston ), ending their reign at 91 days. After his dissociation with Otunga, he would largely be confined to wrestling on Superstars and NXT from late 2011. On the October 20 episode of Superstars , McGillicutty and Drew McIntyre lost
10488-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
10626-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
10764-495: The face, prompting a physical confrontation between both characters, which ultimately ended with Escobar turning into a face character . During his face run, Escobar was punished by Guerrero, who put Escobar in handicap matches against the Hart Dynasty ( David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd ) and Jeri-Show ( Chris Jericho and Big Show ). On December 18, Escobar wrestled in his final WWE match, losing to Kane in what
10902-436: The first poll on June 29, McGillicutty was ranked third, behind Kaval and Percy Watson . On the July 20 episode of NXT , McGillicutty earned immunity from elimination in the next poll by completing an obstacle course in the fastest time. On the following episode of NXT , he moved up to first place in the second poll. After six consecutive victories, McGillicutty suffered his first loss on the August 3 episode of NXT , when he
11040-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
11178-605: The following month at Rebelión En El Sur. On March 21, 2015, Perez participated in the International Cup tournament and defeated Shane Sewell in the final to win the eponymous trophy. Prior to this, he had advanced by defeating a cruiserweight wrestler in the opening round and Roger Díaz in the semifinal. On August 16, 2015, Pérez participated in Sin Piedad but did not wrestle, instead attacking IWRG Rey del Ring Ricky Cruz and taking that title with him. Later on
11316-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
11454-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
11592-478: The hands of Primo and Epico . On the next episode, Primo and Epico defeated McGillicutty and Dallas, though McGillicutty and Dallas would gain revenge when they defeated Primo and Epico in the first round of the NXT Tag Team Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champions on the January 30 episode of NXT . On the February 6 episode of NXT , McGillicutty and Dallas were eliminated in
11730-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
11868-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
12006-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
12144-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
12282-440: The main roster under the ring name Eric Escobar . He was placed in an angle with Vickie Guerrero and performing as a villainous character, during the tapings of SmackDown's tenth anniversary show. In his in-ring debut, he defeated Matt Hardy by pinfall, receiving a spot in the brand's team for the first edition of WWE Bragging Rights . In his debut for W WE Superstars , he was teamed with Drew McIntyre being placed over
12420-505: The match Orton punted McGillicutty in the head. McGillicutty returned on the April 11 episode of Raw with the other Nexus members, preventing Orton from earning a WWE Championship match. On the May 23 episode of Raw , McGillicutty teamed with fellow Nexus member David Otunga to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Big Show and Kane , with the help interference from fellow Nexus members Punk and Mason Ryan . On
12558-496: The match was cancelled due to Axel's legitimate hip injury. On the November 15 episode of SmackDown , Heyman ended his association with Axel. On the November 18 episode of Raw , Axel lost the title to Langston, ending his reign at 155 days. At Survivor Series , Axel failed to regain the championship from Langston. On the December 6 episode of SmackDown , Axel and Ryback defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust in
12696-446: The match), Axel trended on Twitter following the event, and also received supportive tweets from former WWE wrestlers Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer and then later from current WWE wrestlers Xavier Woods , Zack Ryder , and David Otunga, the latter offering his legal services. Axel was defeated by Rowan on the following week's episode of Main Event . Axel then began an angle where he began referring to himself as "the true winner of
12834-640: The match. As part of the Superstar Shake-up , both Axel and Dallas were moved to the SmackDown brand. On the February 28, 2020, edition of SmackDown, Axel was defeated by Daniel Bryan, in what would be his final appearance in WWE. On April 30, he was released from his WWE contract due to budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic , ending his 13-year tenure with the company. In April 2022, Hennig
12972-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
13110-518: The nickname Mr. Irrelevant . After losing to the returning Neville , Axel then joined forces with former Social Outcasts member Bo Dallas, and they were defeated by Neville and Sami Zayn on the October 10 episode of Raw . The following week on Raw , Axel was attacked by Dallas after his match with Neville, thus turning face in the process. A week later, Axel received a pop from the crowd in his home state of Minnesota , before losing to Dallas. At WrestleMania 33 on April 2, 2017, Axel participated in
13248-411: The nickname "Cold Beer". Professional wrestling Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
13386-727: The number one contender for the Universal Championship . On May 29, 2010, Pérez was involved in an incident, responding to physical provocation by slapping a member of the audience. Following this event, he remained inactive within the promotion. On December 5, 2010 at Xmas in PR along with Roberto Rubio, Peréz made his return to IWA to attack the IWA World Heavyweight Champion Dennis Rivera to which apply an Sky High. On January 6, 2011 at Histeria Boricua Perez challenged Rivera for
13524-553: The pin. The teams met in a rematch two days later, wrestling to a double count-out. On October 18, 2014, at Insurrection, Los Mamitos lost the titles against Thunder and Lightning . While the two promotions were involved in a working agreement, Pérez made appearances in WWC, where he performed under a mask as a character known as "The Alien" and was assigned José Huertas González as manager. Rubio suffered an injury and while he recovered, Pérez reverted to his former ringname of Escobar and
13662-400: The pre-match stipulation. On the following day's episode of Raw , McGillicutty and Harris' identities were revealed, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full-time members of The Nexus. The following week on Raw , McGillicutty and Harris cost Cena a match against The Miz, prompting Barrett to give them the opportunity to win membership in The Nexus. On
13800-768: The promotion to work in FCW, he was inactive in WWC. During this timeframe, Pérez worked dates in Florida including his debut in American Combat Wrestling defeating ACW Kombat Champion Kennedy Kendrick. He would later go on to work for Combat Championship Wrestling in Florida. He returned to the World Wrestling Council in their annual event, "Camino a la Gloria", where he was included in a feud with BJ (Benjamín Jiménez). On April 24, 2010, he participated in an inconclusive Three Way Dance to determine
13938-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
14076-601: The promotion, cutting a heel promo criticizing the public. After leaving the IWA due to unspecified monetary differences in the fall of 2011, he joined the Puerto Rico Wrestling Alliance, a regional independent promotion. As Escobar he went on to win the PRWA World Heavyweight Championship on December 17, 2011, defeating Richard Young . In March 2012, Pérez retained over Michael Tarver . On May 26, 2012, he dropped
14214-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
14352-484: The request of Heyman and to the dismay of Punk. This led to a tag team match the following week on Raw , where Axel won the match for his team after he tagged himself in following Punk delivering the Go To Sleep on Darren Young and pinned him for the victory. Axel suffered his first loss since becoming Heyman's client on the July 8 episode of Raw , when he was pinned by Chris Jericho in a non-title match. At Money in
14490-402: The ring name Escobar . In 2005, Pérez signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he worked for developmental territories Deep South Wrestling and Florida Championship Wrestling , winning the tag team championship in both and the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship . In the fall of 2009, he was promoted to WWE's main roster as Eric Escobar , appearing on
14628-711: The ring name Michael McGillicutty , he debuted on WWE's main roster as part of The Nexus . He then won the WWE Tag Team Championship with David Otunga once . In 2013, he reignited his career under the Curtis Axel ring name, paying tribute to his father Curt Hennig and his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig and won the WWE Intercontinental Championship once . He then won the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Bo Dallas as part of The B-Team . His tenure with
14766-613: The ring. On the May 24 episode of SmackDown , Axel defeated Sin Cara . Over the next two weeks on Raw , Axel scored back-to-back non-title count-out wins over WWE Champion John Cena, due to distractions and interference by Ryback . On the June 7 episode of SmackDown , Axel defeated Chris Jericho , after Jericho was distracted by CM Punk, who was, at the time another client of Paul Heyman's. Three days later on Raw , Axel defeated Triple H twice, first by disqualification and second by forfeit. At Payback , Axel defeated Wade Barrett and The Miz in
14904-533: The same event, he counseled "Wonderful" Xander (Alexander Ortiz) and joined the rest of the Gentlemen's Club in a turn against Negrín. At Wrestlefest, Cruz won the first encounter between both by convincing the referee that a foreign object had been used, but Pérez retained possession of the title. In this event he formed an alliance with Hijo de Dos Caras and recruited Xander for unspecified reasons. On August 7, 2012, Pérez and his wife Jeannette Concepción became
15042-561: The season finale on August 31, McGillicutty ended the competition in second place, being beaten by Kaval, and at the end of the show, McGillicutty attacked Kaval with the other eliminated rookies, turning heel in the process. On October 3, 2010, at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view , a disguised McGillicutty and Husky Harris interfered in a match between John Cena and Wade Barrett , and helped Barrett win, forcing Cena to join The Nexus per
15180-496: The section and asked the company to give the role to Daniel Garcia Soto while he traveled to Mexico . While working in the IWA, Pérez acquired a job to work with the Federal Government of the United States , this limited the number of days he could perform with the company, after seven months in this office he notified that he was not going to be able to continue working a four-day schedule, and attempted to dialogue
15318-491: The semi-finals, when they lost to The Wyatt Family ( Luke Harper and Erick Rowan ). On the May 20, 2013, episode of Raw , he was repackaged under the ring name Curtis Axel (the name is a derivative of his father's first name, Curt, and his grandfather Larry 's nickname "The Axe"), with Paul Heyman as his new manager, and later that night, Axel faced Triple H in his re-debut match, winning by knockout after Triple H suffered concussion-like symptoms and collapsed outside
15456-478: The situation with the company's personnel. He was not able to contact staff of the company which led to him asking for a release, several months later a fellow wrestler called him and asked if he was available to work with the World Wrestling Council which led to a reunion between him and the company's vice president Carlos Colón, Sr. He noted in interviews that his experience with the company
15594-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
15732-411: The tag team of Hardy and R-Truth . On October 23, 2009, Escobar was one of five wrestlers removed from Team SmackDown of Bragging Rights. Escobar was included in his first and only championship match in WWE on November 27, 2009, losing to John Morrison for the WWE Intercontinental Championship . The angle with Guerrero was ended in a skit that featured a spot where she yelled at him and slapped him in
15870-604: The team in a four-way match for the AAA World Tag Team Championship at Triplemanía XXI , where they eliminated Jack Evans and Angélico before being eliminated themselves. After the event, Los Mamitos were involved in the first stage of a feud against Los Perros del Mal . Next was another four-way elimination contest to crown the first WWL World Tag Team Champions, where they defeated the teams of Eita and Tomahawk , El Hijo de Kato Kung Lee and Vengador Radioactivo, and Heddi Karaoui & Zumbi in
16008-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
16146-437: The title against Kingston. Later in the event, Axel was eliminated by Punk, but Heyman won the match after interference from Ryback. On the September 30 episode of Raw , Axel was defeated by R-Truth in a non-title match, which gave Truth a title match. At Battleground , Axel defeated R-Truth to retain the Intercontinental Championship. At Hell in a Cell , Axel was scheduled to defend his title against Big E Langston , however,
16284-488: The titles to Drew McIntyre and Stu Sanders on May 6, 2008. On July 17, Pérez and Colón reclaimed their titles by defeating McIntyre and Sanders. They later lost the titles to Nic Nemeth and Gavin Spears on August 16, 2008, when Colón was promoted to the main brands. Less than a month later, on September 15, Pérez performed in a dark match prior to Raw , defeating Gene Snitsky by pinfall. The following week, on September 22, he performed against Tommy Dreamer prior to
16422-458: The tournament after eliminating the final contender with the help of Eddie Colón . On February 23, 2008, Pérez and Colón, collectively known as The Puerto Rican Nightmares, defeated Steven Lewington and Heath Miller in a tournament final to become the first-ever FCW Florida Tag Team Champions . The team lost the titles to Brad Allen and Nick Nemeth on March 23, 2008, before winning them back via disqualification on April 15, 2008. They lost
16560-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
16698-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
16836-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
16974-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
17112-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
17250-517: The year at Payback which they won, before losing the rematch at Money in the Bank . Ryback then took time off for surgery and returned as a singles competitor later that year, ending the team. At the Royal Rumble on January 25, 2015, Axel was set to enter the Royal Rumble match at number 6, but was attacked by Erick Rowan on the entrance ramp, rendering him unable to compete. As a result of not being eliminated (having never officially entered
17388-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
17526-503: Was announced that Hennig had suffered a serious injury and therefore he had surrendered the Florida Heavyweight Championship. Hennig returned from injury and formed a tag team with Brett DiBiase , known as The Fortunate Sons. On January 14, 2010, The Fortunate Sons won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters ( Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta ). On March 13, The Fortunate Sons lost
17664-426: Was another punishment for Escobar by Guerrero. On January 17, 2010, Pérez was released from his WWE contract. Consequently, Pérez returned to the World Wrestling Council on January 30, 2010, working under the ringname "Mr. Escobar". This character was based on his previous WWE gimmick. He was immediately booked in a feud with Ray González and Black Pain , forming a tag team with Orlando Colón . After Orlando left
17802-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
17940-458: Was defeated by pro The Miz . On the August 9 episode of Raw , the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match, in which McGillicutty teamed with Alex Riley and Husky Harris to defeat Kaval, Lucky Cannon, and Percy Watson. The following night on NXT , his team lost a rematch, when McGillicutty was pinned by Kaval, and in the next poll later that night, McGillicutty relinquished the first place ranking back to Kaval, slipping to second place. In
18078-451: Was eliminated in the semi-finals on August 15, when he lost to eventual tournament winner Seth Rollins . On the next episode, Tyson Kidd heaped more misery on McGillicutty as he and Justin Gabriel defeated McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis, but on the September 12 episode of NXT , McGillicutty gained revenge by defeating Kidd to become the number one contender for the NXT Championship. On the October 10 episode of NXT , McGillicutty failed to win
18216-445: Was good, although it was a long and tedious one based on the company's quality standards. While in IWA, Pérez wrestled in the United States with !Bang! a promotion owned by Dory Funk Jr. , against wrestlers including Brent Dail and several of !Bang!'s champions. He subsequently worked with the World Wrestling Council, winning various titles there. During September 2005, Pérez was contacted by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for
18354-466: Was inspired by the microphone skills of Chicky Starr and The Rock and by the in-ring ability of Kurt Angle . While visiting an event presented by the IWA in Carolina, Puerto Rico , Pérez was approached by Víctor Quiñones then president of the company, who asked to him if he was interested in receiving training to become a professional wrestler. His first angle with the company was as the leader of
18492-460: Was involved in an angle where he was portrayed as mentally unstable. On January 6, 2015, Pérez participated in the creation of heel faction The Gentlemen's Club. Despite being joined by a returning Rubio, the Los Mamitos gimmick was dropped and both reverted to their previous ringnames. The group then entered into a feud with a group known as La Rabia led by Dennis Rivera and won a trios match
18630-650: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
18768-725: Was rehired by WWE as a producer . On the May 30, 2022, episode of Raw , Hennig was seen as a security team member, breaking up the brawl between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins . Hennig was released 3 months later. Hennig has been married to Brooke Hennig since 2004. Hennig has three sons. He enjoys ice fishing and fantasy football . Hennig made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE '12 and has since appeared in WWE 2K15 , WWE 2K16 , WWE 2K17 , WWE 2K18 , WWE 2K19 , WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K Battlegrounds . He also makes regular appearances on fellow WWE wrestler Xavier Woods 's YouTube channel UpUpDownDown , under
18906-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
19044-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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