Alpha Academy is a heroic professional wrestling stable performing in WWE on the Raw brand composed of Otis , Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa . Otis and former co-founder and leader Chad Gable are former one-time WWE Raw Tag Team Champions .
116-592: Formed as a tag team, Gable and Otis are longtime best friends in real life, with their friendship dating back to 2011, where they trained for the Olympic Games together in Colorado Springs. The two are now neighbors on the same street. On November 13, 2020 episode of SmackDown , Chad Gable opened the "Alpha Academy" (a nod to his former tag team of American Alpha with Jason Jordan ) and recruited Otis as his client. The team made their debut on
232-530: A Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex in her debut singles match. As the team was celebrating backstage, Imperium 's Gunther took offense to Dupri's match win and mocked the team. Ludwig Kaiser then challenged Gable to last five minutes in the ring with Gunther, which Gable accepted. Despite Gable beating the clock, Gunther demanded the match to continue and defeated Gable. On the August 7 episode of Raw , Gable defeated Tommaso Ciampa , Matt Riddle , and Ricochet in
348-562: A Lumberjack match to win the NXT Tag Team Championship for the second time. On 5 December at NXT WarGames , they would successfully defend their titles against Kyle O'Reilly and Von Wagner . On April 2, 2022 at NXT Stand & Deliver , they would lose the titles back to MSK in a triple threat tag team match also involving the Creed Brothers , ending their reign at 158 days. Barthel's final NXT appearance
464-473: A unit of distance . The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia , listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. For the first thirteen Olympics, the stadion footrace was the only event contested, and victory in that sprint was so valued that the next Olympiad was named after
580-471: A cost overrun of 76%, Sochi 2014 of 289%. It has been documented that cost and cost overrun for the Games follow a power-law distribution , which means that, first, the Games are prone to large cost overruns and, second, it is only a matter of time until an overrun occurs that is larger than the largest to date. In short, hosting the Games is economically and financially extremely risky. The final cost for
696-522: A fatal four-way match to be the number one contender to Gunther's Intercontinental Championship. Later that night, Otis lost to Kaiser after an interference from Imperium. Two weeks later on Raw , Gable challenged Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship and won by countout. However, as championships do not change hands by countout or disqualification, Gunther remained champion. The group expanded with Akira Tozawa joining
812-458: A model for future Games. Budget overruns are common for the Games. Average overrun for Games since 1960 is 156% in real terms, which means that actual costs turned out to be on average 2.56 times the budget that was estimated at the time of winning the bid to host the Games. Montreal 1976 had the highest cost overrun for Summer Games, and for any Games, at 720%; Lake Placid 1980 had the highest cost overrun for Winter Games, at 324%. London 2012 had
928-710: A national Olympic festival held annually from 1796 to 1798 in Revolutionary France also attempted to emulate the ancient Olympic Games. The competition included several disciplines from the ancient Greek Olympics. The 1796 Games also marked the introduction of the metric system into sport. In 1834 and 1836, the Olympic games were held in Ramlösa, Sweden , and in Stockholm , in 1843, organised by Gustaf Johan Schartau and others. At most 25,000 spectators saw
1044-524: A particular candidate city. After being narrowly defeated in their bid for the 2012 Games, Parisian mayor Bertrand Delanoë specifically accused the British prime minister Tony Blair and the London bid committee , headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe , of breaking the bid rules. He cited French president Jacques Chirac as a witness; Chirac gave guarded interviews concerning his involvement but
1160-544: A reduced number of disciplines and events. Over 14,000 athletes competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics combined, in 40 different sports and 448 events. The Summer Olympics have grown from 241 participants representing 14 nations in 1896, to more than 11,300 competitors representing 206 nations in 2020 . The scope and scale of the Winter Olympics is smaller; for example, Beijing hosted 2,971 athletes from 91 nations in 2022 . Most of
1276-542: A series of segments between Dupri and Gable where they both wanted Otis to be on their respective teams. Dupri joined Alpha Academy on the May 15 episode of Raw when she cheered on Otis and Gable eliminating ma.çé and mån.sôör in the Intercontinental Championship number one contenders' battle royal match . In the weeks that followed, Alpha Academy began to slowly turn face with their crowd reactions growing louder and louder. After weeks of training, Dupri made her in-ring debut on
SECTION 10
#17327972753021392-417: A six-man tag team match for all of British Strong Style's championships. On 30 December 2018, Barthel made a surprise appearance at Progress' Unboxing event, where he was defeated by Eddie Dennis . In 2017, after leaving wXw, Barthel signed with WWE , performing under his real name, where he was assigned to WWE's developmental territory NXT that June, losing to Roderick Strong at a live event . On
1508-591: A six-man tag team match. After the match, Gable, together with the newly-aligned Creed Brothers (Julius and Brutus), continued to convince Otis, Tozawa and Dupri to reunite. Otis refused and were beaten down by Gable and The Creed Brothers. On the November 25 episode of Raw , Otis and Tozawa defeated The New Day, seemingly triggering a massive breakdown regarding Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston's near ten year friendship. Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games ( Olympics ; French : Jeux olympiques, ) are
1624-521: A substitute for Riddle's original partner Pete Dunne , winning the NXT Tag Team Championship . After successful title defenses against teams like Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch and The Undisputed Era , on the 26 August episode of NXT , Imperium would lose the titles to Tyler Breeze and Fandango , ending their reign at 105 days. On the 26 October special episode of NXT: Halloween Havoc , Barthel and Aichner would defeat MSK in
1740-512: A surplus in part by selling exclusive sponsorship rights to select companies. The IOC sought to gain control of these sponsorship rights. Samaranch helped to establish The Olympic Programme (TOP) in 1985, in order to create an Olympic brand. Membership in TOP was, and is, very exclusive and expensive. Fees cost US$ 50 million for a four-year membership. Members of TOP received exclusive global advertising rights for their product category, and use of
1856-674: A surplus of $ 40 million. This excess revenue was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation (also known as the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation), which maintains and operates many of the surviving Olympic venues. It was reported in 1999 that the Nagano Olympic bid committee had spent approximately $ 14 million on entertaining the 62 IOC members and many of their associates. The precise figures are unknown since Nagano destroyed
1972-478: A token of appreciation, Zayn gave Gable a title match on the April 15 episode of Raw but Gable was unsuccessful in winning the title. After the match, Gable turned heel and attacked Zayn as he was celebrating with his wife at ringside. On the following week, Gable said that he had spent too much time training "losers" such as Zayn and his stablemates. He then declared that the stable's focus will now be on Gable winning
2088-431: A trust to fund future Olympic Games. This trust was used to help finance the 1896 Games. George Averoff contributed generously for the refurbishment of the stadium in preparation for the Games. The Greek government also provided funding, which was expected to be recouped through the sale of tickets and from the sale of the first Olympic commemorative stamp set. Greek officials and the public were enthusiastic about
2204-521: A two-city race between Almaty , Kazakhstan and Beijing, China who hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics . The Guardian stated that the biggest threat to the future of the Olympics is few cities or countries want to host them. Bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics became a two-city race between Paris and Los Angeles, so the IOC took the unusual step of simultaneously awarding both the 2024 Games to Paris and
2320-566: A wealthy Greek-Romanian philanthropist, first wrote to King Otto of Greece , in 1856, offering to fund a permanent revival of the Olympic Games. Zappas sponsored the first Olympic Games in 1859, which was held in an Athens city square. Athletes participated from Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Zappas funded the restoration of the ancient Panathenaic Stadium so that it could host all future Olympic Games. The stadium hosted
2436-437: Is no scholarly consensus as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I decreed that all pagan cults and practices be eliminated. Another date commonly cited is 426 AD, when his successor, Theodosius II , ordered the destruction of all Greek temples. Various uses of the term "Olympic" to describe athletic events in the modern era have been documented since
SECTION 20
#17327972753022552-679: Is signed to WWE , where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Ludwig Kaiser . He is a member of Imperium . Before coming to WWE, he wrestled primarily in his native Germany under the ring name Axel Dieter Jr. , most notably for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). He also wrestled in the UK for Progress Wrestling . In wXw, Dieter was a two-time World Tag Team Champion and a 1-time Unified World Wrestling Champion . Barthel made his debut for Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) in January 2009, under
2668-670: The 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the host city for the Olympics has also played host to the Paralympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) signed an agreement in 2001 which guaranteed that host cities would be contracted to manage both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The agreement came into effect at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, and at
2784-643: The 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Two years before the 2012 Games, the LOCOG chairman Lord Coe made the following statement about the Paralympics and Olympics in London: We want to change public attitudes towards disability, celebrate the excellence of Paralympic sport and to enshrine from the very outset that the two Games are an integrated whole. In 2010, the Olympic Games were complemented by
2900-542: The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics combined, in 40 different sports and 448 events. The first-, second-, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals : gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. The Games have grown to the point that nearly every nation is now represented; colonies and overseas territories are often allowed to field their own teams. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies , including boycotts , doping , match fixing , bribery, and terrorism. Every two years,
3016-722: The 2021 Draft in October, Alpha Academy were drafted to the Raw brand . On the January 10, 2022 episode of Raw , Alpha Academy defeated RK-Bro ( Randy Orton and Riddle ) to win the Raw Tag Team Championship . They would both enter in the Royal Rumble match but failed to win. On the March 7 episode of Raw , Alpha Academy dropped the titles back to RK-Bro, ending their reign at 55 days. On Day 2 of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Alpha Academy failed to regain
3132-496: The 2023 WWE Draft , Kaiser and his Imperium stablemates Gunther and Giovanni Vinci (formerly Fabian Aichner) were drafted to the Raw brand . On the April 23, 2024 episode of Raw , Kaiser would attack Vinci after losing to The New Day . On the August 30 episode of SmackDown in his home country of Germany, Kaiser answered LA Knight 's open challenge for the United States Championship , but failed to win
3248-428: The 2028 Games to Los Angeles. Both of the bids were praised for high technical plans and innovative ways to use a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities. The Olympic Movement encompasses a large number of national and international sporting organisations and federations, recognised media partners, as well as athletes, officials, judges, and every other person and institution that agrees to abide by
3364-565: The Deaflympics and the Special Olympics . The IOC need to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. The abuse of amateur rules prompted the IOC to shift away from pure amateurism , as envisioned by Coubertin, to the acceptance of professional athletes participating at the Games. The growing importance of mass media has created the issue of corporate sponsorship and general commercialisation of
3480-685: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement , which encompasses all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Charter defines their structure and authority. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in numerous changes to
3596-561: The Paris Exposition in 1900 and the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis in 1904 failed to attract much participation or notice. Of the 650 athletes in the 1904 Olympics, 580 were American; the winner of the marathon was later disqualified upon discovery of a photograph of him riding in a car during the race. The Games rebounded with the 1906 Intercalated Games (so-called because they were
Alpha Academy - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-595: The Stoke Mandeville Games , Guttmann's event became an annual sports festival. Over the next 12 years, Guttmann and others continued their efforts to use sports as an avenue to healing. In 1960, Guttmann brought 400 athletes to Rome to compete in the "Parallel Olympics", which ran in parallel with the Summer Olympics and came to be known as the first Paralympics . Since then, the Paralympics have been held in every Olympic year and, starting with
3828-444: The ring name Axel Dieter Jr., losing to Dan Marshall. Dieter's next match in wXw wouldn't be until July 2012, when he and Da Mack defeated Walter and Michael Isotov. Dieter and Da Mack would go on to form a regular team, dubbing themselves "Hot & Spicy". On 16 November 2013, they defeated The AUTsiders (Walter and Robert Dreissker ) to win the wXw World Tag Team Championship . Dieter and Da Mack made 7 successful defences of
3944-486: The summer solstice —usually late August or early September. This "came after the annual harvest but before the picking of the olives." Heralds were sent from Elis to announce the dates. Competition at first was among only "legitimate sons of free-born Greek parents." However, after Macedonia, and then Rome, conquered Greece, the ten Olympic judges loosened the earlier standard and permitted anyone who spoke Greek to participate. Tens of thousands of Greeks would make
4060-519: The wXw Shotgun Championship , losing to Axel Tischer . After over a combined year as wXw World Tag Team Champions, Dieter and Da Mack were defeated by French Flavour (Lucas Di Leo and Peter Fischer) on 18 October 2014, bringing their reign to an end. On 22 November, he unsuccessfully challenged Walter for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship . In February 2015, Dieter took part in the Four Nations Cup, defeating Timothy Thatcher in
4176-438: The 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Drew Galloway in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Sabre, the man he defeated to advance to the final in the previous year's tournament. On 2 September, Dieter and Da Mack faced off against each other, with Da Mack coming out on top and retaining his wXw Shotgun Championship. In late 2016, Dieter joined Ringkampf , and on 10 December, he defeated Marty Scurll to win
4292-629: The 17th century. The first such event was the Cotswold Games or "Cotswold Olimpick Games", an annual meeting near Chipping Campden , England, involving various sports. It was first organised by the lawyer Robert Dover between 1612 and 1642, with several later celebrations leading up to the present day. The British Olympic Association , in its bid for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, mentioned these games as "the first stirrings of Britain's Olympic beginnings". L'Olympiade de la République ,
4408-561: The 1984 Summer Games by using existing facilities and only two new that were paid for by corporate sponsors. The Organizing Committee led by Peter Ueberroth used some of the profits to endow the LA84 Foundation to promote youth sports in Southern California , educate coaches and maintain a sports library. The 1984 Summer Olympics are often considered until that date, the most financially successful modern Olympics and
4524-529: The American rights. In the following decades, the Olympics became one of the ideological fronts of the Cold War, and the International Olympic Committee wanted to take advantage of this heightened interest via the broadcast medium. The sale of broadcast rights enabled the IOC to increase the exposure of the Olympic Games, thereby generating more interest, which in turn enhanced the appeal of TV air time to
4640-498: The August 8, 2018 episode of NXT , Barthel made his television debut, where he was defeated by Keith Lee . That December, Barthel would form a team with Fabian Aichner , where they would compete on both the NXT and NXT UK brands. They would later align themselves with Walter and Alexander Wolfe , forming the stable Imperium . On the May 13, 2020 episode of NXT , Barthel and Aichner would defeat Matt Riddle and Timothy Thatcher ,
4756-592: The December 11 episode of SmackDown in a defeat to the team of Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura . At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , Gable and Otis teamed with Big E and Daniel Bryan to defeat Cesaro, Nakamura, King Corbin , and Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn in an eight-man tag team match . On the February 19, 2021 episode of SmackDown , Gable ordered Otis to attack Rey Mysterio after their tag team match , thus turning them into heels . As part of
Alpha Academy - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-580: The Games. World Wars I and II led to the cancellation of the 1916 , 1940 , and 1944 Olympics; large-scale boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics; and the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 restrictions . The Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As
4988-472: The IOC took control of sponsorship, the NOCs had responsibility for negotiating their own contracts for sponsorship and use of the Olympic symbols. The IOC originally resisted funding by corporate sponsors. It was not until the retirement of IOC President Avery Brundage , in 1972, that the IOC began to explore the potential of the television medium and the lucrative advertising markets available to them. Under
5104-424: The IOC's decision-making. His resistance to this revenue stream meant the IOC left organising committees to negotiate their own sponsorship contracts and use the Olympic symbols. When Brundage retired, the IOC had US$ 2 million in assets; eight years later the IOC coffers had swelled to US$ 45 million. This was primarily due to a shift in ideology toward expansion of the Games through corporate sponsorship and
5220-875: The IOC, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Although nothing strictly illegal had occurred, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. As a result of the investigation, ten members of the IOC were expelled and a further ten sanctioned. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids, and caps were introduced to define how much IOC members could accept from bid cities. Additionally, new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership, and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to
5336-421: The Intercontinental Championship. On the April 29 episode of Raw, Zayn defended his title against Bronson Reed, which he won by disqualification after Gable attacked him. One week later, Zayn attacked Gable during his match with Reed, causing another disqualification. It was then announced that Zayn will defend the Intercontinental Championship in a triple threat match against Gable and Reed at King and Queen of
5452-453: The July 3 episode of Raw in a mixed six-person tag team match with Gable and Otis against The Viking Raiders ( Erik , Ivar and Valhalla ). Dupri pinned Valhalla after performing a sunset flip on her. On the July 10 episode of Raw , Alpha Academy held a graduation ceremony for Dupri. At the end of the ceremony, Gable presented Dupri with her own Alpha Academy letterman's jacket . As Dupri
5568-825: The Ludwig Kaiser name, made his return to wXw for the first time since 2019. Representing wXw and Ringkampf, Dieter made his debut for Progress Wrestling in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2017, alongside Walter , defeating The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch). They returned to the promotion on 29 January, losing to The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper and Travis Banks ). They once again returned on 19 March, defeating The Hunter Brothers (Jim and Lee Hunter). In his first singles match, Dieter lost to Mark Haskins . On 23 April, Dieter, Walter and Timothy Thatcher unsuccessfully challenged British Strong Style ( Pete Dunne , Trent Seven and Tyler Bate ) in
5684-519: The Olympic Games. He felt that the Olympics "is worthy of study because it is one of the biggest meetings in a global context and has many political, economic, and other problems associated with it". He began Olympika in 1992, the first peer-reviewed academic journal focused on the Olympic Games. The International Society of Olympic Historians was founded in 1991, which publishes the Journal of Olympic History . Some economists are sceptical about
5800-686: The Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for snow and ice sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, the Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14 to 18, the five Continental Games ( Pan American , African , Asian , European , and Pacific ), and the World Games for sports that are not contested in the Olympic Games. The IOC also endorses
5916-648: The Olympic symbol, the interlocking rings , in their publications and advertisements. The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin were the first Games to be broadcast on television, though only to local audiences. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Italy were the first internationally televised Olympic Games, and the broadcasting rights for the following Winter Games in California were sold for the first time to specialised television broadcasting networks— CBS paid US$ 394,000 for
SECTION 50
#17327972753026032-443: The Olympics and its media exposure provide athletes with the chance to attain national and international fame. The Games also provide an opportunity for the host city and country to showcase themselves to the world. The Olympic Games have become a significant global event, fostering international cooperation and cultural exchange. At the same time, hosting the Olympic Games can also bring significant economic benefits and challenges to
6148-576: The Olympics displaced more than two million people over two decades, often disproportionately affecting disadvantaged groups. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi were the most expensive Olympic Games in history, costing in excess of US$ 50 billion. According to a report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development released at the time of the games, the cost would not boost Russia's national economy, but could attract business to Sochi and
6264-570: The Olympics in 1870 and 1875. Thirty thousand spectators attended that Games in 1870, though no official attendance records are available for the 1875 Games. In 1890, after attending the Olympian Games of the Wenlock Olympian Society , Baron Pierre de Coubertin , who aimed to promote international peace and friendship through sports, was inspired to found the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Coubertin built on
6380-771: The Ring . In a live event on May 13, Dupri lost to Shayna Baszler in the first round of the Queen of the Ring tournament, with Dupri replacing Latino World Order 's Zelina Vega who was not medically cleared to compete. At King and Queen of the Ring on May 25, Zayn successfully retained his title against Gable and Reed. At Clash at the Castle: Scotland on June 15, Gable failed to win the title from Zayn, ending their feud, after Otis and Dupri refused to interfere on Gable's behalf. Two days later on Raw , Otis, Dupri and Tozawa walked out on Gable, who in turn left Alpha Academy. At
6496-565: The Summer Olympics has a positive effect on the philanthropic contributions of corporations headquartered in the host city, which seems to benefit the local nonprofit sector. This effect begins in the years leading up to the Games and might persist for several years afterwards, though not permanently. The Games have had significant negative effects on host communities; for example, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions reports that
6612-660: The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was reported to be JPY 1,423.8 billion (US$ 13 billion). This was achieved by balancing revenues and expenditures through various efforts to increase revenue and continuously review expenditures. The primary sources of revenue included the International Olympic Committee (IOC) contribution of JPY 86.8 billion (US$ 0.8 billion), TOP sponsorship of JPY 56.9 billion (US$ 0.5 billion), local sponsorship of JPY 376.1 billion (US$ 3.4 billion), an insurance payout of JPY 50 billion (US$ 0.5 billion) for
6728-599: The Youth Games, which give athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 the chance to compete. The Youth Olympic Games were conceived by IOC president Jacques Rogge in 2001 and approved during the 119th Congress of the IOC. The first Summer Youth Games were held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, while the inaugural Winter Games were hosted in Innsbruck , Austria, two years later. These Games will be shorter than
6844-425: The advertisers. This cycle allowed the IOC to charge ever-increasing fees for those rights. For example, CBS paid US$ 375 million for the American broadcast rights for the 1998 Nagano Games , while NBC spent US$ 3.5 billion for the American rights to air every Olympic Games from 2000 to 2012. Ludwig Kaiser Marcel Barthel (born 8 July 1990) is a German professional wrestler . As of 2017, he
6960-527: The allegation was never fully explored. Turin 's bid to host the 2006 Winter Olympics was also clouded by controversy; a prominent IOC member, Marc Hodler , closely connected to the rival bid of Sion , alleged bribery of IOC officials by members of the Turin Organising Committee. These accusations led to a wide-ranging investigation, and also served to sour many IOC members against Sion's bid which potentially helped Turin to capture
7076-471: The athletes and officials are housed in the Olympic Village for the duration of the Games. This accommodation centre is designed to be a self-contained home for all Olympic participants, and is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, and locations for religious expression. The IOC has allowed the formation of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to represent individual nations. These do not meet
SECTION 60
#17327972753027192-655: The auspices of the IOC would take place in Athens in 1896. The IOC elected the Greek writer Demetrius Vikelas as its first president. The first Games held under the auspices of the IOC were hosted in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens in 1896. The Games brought together 14 nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas had left the Greek government
7308-433: The budget announced in December 2020, and JPY 29.2 billion (US$ 0.3 billion) from the estimated budget in December 2021. This successful financial management resulted in a balanced budget for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Seeking a scholarly institution to independently research the Games, Bob Barney led efforts to establish the International Centre for Olympic Studies in 1989, endeavouring to write about sociocultural impacts of
7424-406: The championship, defeating the likes of The Sumerian Death Squad ( Tommy End and Michael Dante ), Forever Hooligans ( Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov ) and Kazuki Hashimoto and Ryuichi Kawakami . They eventually lost the championships to Matt Striker and Trent? on 15 March 2014, but won the championships back in a rematch one day later. On 6 April 2014, Dieter received his first opportunity at
7540-404: The commercialisation of the Olympic Games, even as these attitudes came to be seen as incongruous with the realities of modern sports. The advent of state-sponsored athletes from the Eastern Bloc countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur , as it placed self-financed amateurs of Western countries at a disadvantage. Brundage was accused of antisemitism and of racism in resisting
7656-419: The committee. Nevertheless, from sporting and business standpoints, the 2002 Olympics were one of the most successful Winter Games in history; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs. Over 2 billion viewers watched more than 13 billion viewer-hours. The 2002 Games were also a financial success, raising more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, leaving SLOC with
7772-420: The decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, and organises and funds the Games according to the Olympic Charter . The IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag , torch , and opening and closing ceremonies . Over 14,000 athletes competed at
7888-403: The difficult journey to attend the festival. Some sources say as many as 40,000 attended. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat sports such as wrestling and the pankration , horse and chariot racing events. It has been widely written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities
8004-400: The economic benefits of hosting the Olympic Games, emphasising that such "mega-events" often have large costs while yielding relatively few tangible benefits in the long run. Hosting (or even bidding for) the Olympics appears to increase the host country's exports, as the host or candidate country sends a signal about trade openness when bidding to host the Games. Research suggests that hosting
8120-491: The end of the night, Gable was attacked by the debuting Wyatt Sicks led by Uncle Howdy. Gable attempted to reunite with Otis numerous times but was ultimately rebuffed. On the July 15 episode of Raw , Otis, Dupri and Tozawa agreed to team up with The New Day 's Xavier Woods in his feud against The Final Testament . On the following week, the team of Otis, Tozawa and Woods were defeated by The Final Testatement's Karrion Kross and The Authors of Pain ( Akam and Rezar ) in
8236-435: The establishment of new NOCs to represent nations that qualify as "an independent State recognised by the international community". Consequently, the IOC did not allow the formation of NOCs for Sint Maarten and Curaçao when they gained the same constitutional status as Aruba in 2010, although the IOC had recognised the Aruban Olympic Committee in 1986. Since 2012, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles have had
8352-464: The event, he teamed with Walter and Thatcher to defeat British Strong Style ( Pete Dunne , Trent Seven and Tyler Bate ). In March 2019, he participated in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament, defeating Marius Al-Ani in the first round, before being eliminated by Lucky Kid in the quarter final. On the third night, he reunited with Da Mack, where they defeated Jay FK ( Jay Skillet and Francis Kaspin). On 23 November 2024 at Broken Rykes, Barthel, under
8468-662: The exclusion of South Africa . Under the Samaranch presidency, the office was accused of both nepotism and corruption. Samaranch's ties with the Franco regime in Spain were also a source of criticism. In 1998, it was reported that several IOC members had taken gifts from members of the Salt Lake City bid committee for the hosting of the 2002 Winter Olympics . There were soon four independent investigations underway: by
8584-486: The experience of hosting an Olympic Games. This feeling was shared by many of the athletes, who even demanded that Athens be the permanent Olympic host city. The IOC intended for subsequent Games to be rotated to various host cities around the world. The second Olympics was held in Paris. After the success of the 1896 Games, the Olympics entered a period of stagnation which threatened its survival. The Olympic Games held at
8700-552: The festival's second day. (Pelops was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis . ) The winners of the events were admired and immortalised in poems and statues. Although a wreath made from the sacred olive tree in the precinct of Zeus was the only official prize at the Olympic Games, winners' fame brought them economic wealth, too, in the form of subsidies from their hometowns and wealthy sponsors. See, e.g., Finley and Pleket, and Perrottet The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad ,
8816-462: The final to win the tournament. In March, Dieter took part in the 16 Carat Gold Tournament , defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in the semi-final to advance to the final, where he lost to Tommy End. In October, after a short break, Hot And Spicy teamed together once again, taking part in the 2015 World Tag Team Tournament, making it to the semi-finals where they lost to reDRagon ( Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish ). In March 2016, Dieter once again took part in
8932-511: The financial records after the IOC requested that the entertainment expenditures should not be made public. In July 2000, when the Los Angeles Times reported on the tangled nature of how the IOC redistributes profits from sponsorships and broadcasting rights , Olympic historian Bob Barney stated that he had "yet to see matters of corruption in the IOC", but noted there were "matters of unaccountability". He later noted that when
9048-717: The first to be wholly amateur in nature and international in outlook, although only 'gentlemen amateurs' could compete. The programme of the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 was almost identical to that of the Liverpool Olympics. In 1865 Hulley, Brookes and E.G. Ravenstein founded the National Olympian Association in Liverpool, a forerunner of the British Olympic Association . Its articles of foundation provided
9164-455: The following week's NXT but lost the match 2-1 under British Round Rules . On the November 20 episode of Raw , Dupri teamed up with Diamond Mine 's Ivy Nile in a fatal four-way tag team match for a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship opportunity but was not successful. On the December 11 episode of Raw , Nile accompanied Dupri in her non-title match against Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley . Ripley won by submission but did not release
9280-742: The framework for the International Olympic Charter . In 1866, a national Olympic Games in Great Britain was organised at London's Crystal Palace . Greek interest in reviving the Olympic Games began with the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. It was first proposed by poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead", published in 1833. Evangelos Zappas ,
9396-597: The games. In 1850, an Olympian Class was started by William Penny Brookes at Much Wenlock , in Shropshire , England. In 1859, Brookes changed the name to the Wenlock Olympian Games . This annual sports festival continues to this day. The Wenlock Olympian Society was founded by Brookes on 15 November 1860. Between 1862 and 1867, Liverpool held an annual Grand Olympic Festival. Devised by John Hulley and Charles Pierre Melly , these games were
9512-427: The hold until Nile entered the ring to save Dupri. Dupri made her Royal Rumble match debut at the titular event on January 27, 2024, entering as the 18th entrant. She lasted over six minutes and was eliminated by eventual winner Bayley . During the buildup to WrestleMania XL , Gable was involved in a storyline where he trained Sami Zayn for his Intercontinental Championship match against Gunther, which Zayn won. As
9628-538: The host city nomination. The Olympic Games have been commercialised to various degrees since the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, when a number of companies paid for advertising, including Kodak . In 1908, Oxo , Odol [ de ] mouthwash, and Indian Foot Powder became official sponsors of the London Olympic Games . Coca-Cola first sponsored the Summer Olympics in 1928 , and has remained an Olympic sponsor ever since. Before
9744-468: The host city, affecting infrastructure, tourism and local communities. The Ancient Olympic Games ( Ancient Greek : τὰ Ὀλύμπια , ta Olympia ) were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, Greece . The date of the festival was determined according to a complicated formula whereby the midpoint of the festival would occur during the second full moon after
9860-484: The host country is an English or French speaking country: French is always spoken first, followed by an English translation, and then the dominant language of the host nation (when this is not English or French). The IOC has often been accused of being an intractable organisation, with several life members on the committee. The presidential terms of Avery Brundage and Juan Antonio Samaranch were especially controversial. Brundage fought strongly for amateurism and against
9976-541: The ideas and work of Brookes and Zappas with the aim of establishing internationally rotating Olympic Games that would occur every four years. He presented these ideas during the first Olympic Congress of the newly created International Olympic Committee. This meeting was held from 16 to 23 June 1894, at the University of Paris . On the last day of the Congress, it was decided that the first Olympic Games to come under
10092-432: The leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch , the Games began to shift toward international sponsors who sought to link their products to the Olympic brand. During the first half of the 20th century, the IOC ran on a small budget. As president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, Avery Brundage rejected all attempts to link the Olympics with commercial interest. He believed that the lobby of corporate interests would unduly impact
10208-763: The most expensive Winter Games were Sochi 2014 at US$ 51 billion. As of 2016, costs per athlete were, on average, US$ 599,000 for the Summer Games and $ 1.3 million for the Winter Games; for London 2012, the cost per athlete was $ 1.4 million, and the figure was $ 7.9 million for Sochi 2014. Where ambitious construction for the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow had burdened organisers with expenses greatly in excess of revenues, Los Angeles strictly controlled expenses for
10324-422: The official languages of the Olympic Movement. The other language used at each Olympic Games is the language of the host country (or languages, if a country has more than one official language apart from French or English). Every proclamation (such as the announcement of each country during the parade of nations in the opening ceremony) is spoken in these three (or more) languages, or the main two depending on whether
10440-538: The option to represent either the Netherlands or Aruba . The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 found that, since 1960, sports-related costs for the Summer Games were on average US$ 5.2 billion and for the Winter Games $ 3.1 billion. These figures do not include wider infrastructure costs like roads, urban rail, and airports, which often cost as much or more than the sports-related costs. The most expensive Summer Games were Beijing 2008 at US$ 40–44 billion, and
10556-421: The postponement of the Games, and other sources including licensing. The expenditures included JPY 195.5 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) for venue-related costs and JPY 444.9 billion (US$ 4 billion) for service expenditures. The total cost also accounted for COVID-19 countermeasures amounting to JPY 35.3 billion (US$ 0.3 billion). Despite initial estimates, the total costs were reduced by JPY 220.2 billion (US$ 2 billion) from
10672-545: The progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games "Olympic" and established the custom of holding them every four years. The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labours , he built the Olympic Stadium as an honour to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a " stadion " (Ancient Greek: στάδιον , Latin : stadium , "stage"), which later became
10788-475: The rules of the Olympic Charter. As the umbrella organisation of the Olympic Movement, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for selecting the host city, overseeing the planning of the Olympic Games, updating and approving the Olympic sports programme, and negotiating sponsorship and broadcasting rights. The Olympic Movement is made of three major elements: French and English are
10904-456: The sale of television rights. When Juan Antonio Samaranch was elected IOC president in 1980, his desire was to make the IOC financially independent. The 1984 Summer Olympics became a watershed moment in Olympic history. The Los Angeles-based organising committee, led by Peter Ueberroth , was able to generate a surplus of US$ 225 million, which was an unprecedented amount at that time. The organising committee had been able to create such
11020-449: The second Olympics to take place within the third Olympiad), which were held in Athens. These Games attracted a broad international field of participants and generated a great deal of public interest, marking the beginning of a rise in both the popularity and the size of the Olympics. The 1906 Games were officially recognised by the IOC at the time (although not any longer), and no Intercalated Games have been held since. The Winter Olympics
11136-583: The senior Games; the summer version will last twelve days, while the winter version will last nine days. The IOC allows 3,500 athletes and 875 officials to participate at the Summer Youth Games, and 970 athletes and 580 officials at the Winter Youth Games. The sports to be contested will coincide with those scheduled for the senior Games, however there will be variations on the sports including mixed NOC and mixed gender teams as well as
11252-430: The southern Krasnodar region of Russia as a result of improved services. But by December 2014, eight months after the games The Guardian stated that Sochi "now feels like a ghost town", citing the spread-out nature of the stadiums and arenas and the still-unfinished infrastructure. At least four cities withdrew their bids for the 2022 Winter Olympics , citing the high costs or lack of local support, resulting in only
11368-420: The spotlight is on the athletes, it has "the power to eclipse impressions of scandal or corruption", with respect to the Olympic bid process. An August 2004, a BBC documentary, Panorama : Buying the Games , reported the results of an investigation into bribes allegedly used in the bidding process for the 2012 Summer Olympics . The documentary claimed that it was possible to bribe IOC members into voting for
11484-450: The stable and being assigned as a "junior member" on the October 23 episode of Raw . In a bid to prove himself to the stable, Tozawa challenged Bronson Reed to a match but lost. The following day, Tozawa appeared on Night 1 of NXT : Halloween Havoc and stole Noam Dar 's NXT Heritage Cup . Tozawa would return the Cup to Dar on Night 2 before managing to spook Dar into a match for the Cup on
11600-405: The strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organisations demand. As a result, colonies and dependencies are permitted to compete at Olympic Games, examples being territories such as Puerto Rico , Bermuda , and Hong Kong , all of which compete as separate nations despite being legally a part of another country. The current version of the Olympic Charter allows for
11716-469: The time when his father was active as a professional wrestler. On the May 27 episode of SmackDown , Kaiser had his first match on the main roster teaming with Gunther to defeat Drew Gulak and Intercontinental Champion Ricochet . A feud with the Brawling Brutes ensued for several months, which also resulted in two Intercontinental Champion matches between Gunther and Sheamus . As part of
11832-533: The title. Barthel made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K22 , and later appeared in WWE 2K23 and WWE 2K24 . Barthel is a second-generation professional wrestler, with his father performing under the ring name Axel Dieter. Fittingly, Barthel's father was present for his first title win in Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), the wXw World Tag Team Championship . After
11948-462: The titles from RK-Bro in a triple-threat match also involving the Street Profits ( Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford ). On the March 13, 2023 episode of Raw , Gable found Otis backstage taking part in a photo shoot with Maximum Male Models (the team of ma.çé and mån.sôör , managed by Maxxine Dupri ). Otis then decided to leave with Maximum Male Models instead of Gable. This would start
12064-574: The wXw Unified World Wrestling Title. Dieter held the championship until March 2017, when he was defeated by Jurn Simmons . In April, Dieter announced that he would be leaving wXw to pursue further opportunities outside of Germany. On 30 April, wXw held a farewell show for Dieter, titled "wXw Die Matte Ist Heilig: Farewell To Axel Dieter Junior". In his final match as a full-time member of wXw, he teamed with Ringkampf stablemate Walter to defeat Da Mack, his longtime partner and Simmons, his longtime rival. Due to wXw's working relationship with WWE , Barthel
12180-405: The winner, e.g. "the third year of the eighteenth Olympiad when Ladas of Argos won the stadion." The Ancient Games varied over time, but they came to feature running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration , and equestrian events. Tradition has it that Coroebus , a cook from the city of Elis ,
12296-442: The world's leading international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions . The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition, with more than 200 teams, representing sovereign states and territories, participating. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during
12412-485: The year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994 , they have alternated between the Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad . Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games , held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded
12528-516: Was able to make occasional appearances for the promotion. At the 17th Anniversary Show, in an untelevised segment, Barthel and Alexander Wolfe made the save on Walter and Thatcher after they were ambushed by members of the Rise stable. On 30 October 2018, it was confirmed that Barthel, under the Axel Dieter Jr. name, would return to wXw as a part of their 18th Anniversary Show on 22 December. At
12644-409: Was about to put on the jacket, The Viking Raiders appeared on the ramp to distract the team. Valhalla then attacked Dupri from behind and stole her jacket. In the following episode of Raw , Gable and Otis fought Erik and Ivar in a "Viking Rules" match. Despite dominating the match, Gable and Otis lost but Dupri managed to take back her jacket. On the July 31 episode of Raw , Dupri defeated Valhalla with
12760-620: Was actually 11 days) was held in 1924 in Chamonix , France, in connection with the Paris Games held three months later; this event became the first Winter Olympic Games . Although, it was intended that the same country host both the Winter and Summer Games in a given year, this idea was quickly abandoned. The IOC mandated that the Winter Games be celebrated every four years in the same year as their summer counterpart. This tradition
12876-497: Was created to feature snow and ice sports that were logistically impossible to hold during the Summer Games. Figure skating (in 1908 and 1920) and ice hockey (in 1920) were featured as Olympic events at the Summer Olympics. The IOC desired to expand this list of sports to encompass other winter activities. At the 1921 Olympic Congress in Lausanne , it was decided to hold a winter version of the Olympic Games. A winter sports week (it
12992-503: Was known as the Olympic peace or truce. This idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were traveling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus. See also Finley and Pleket. The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend; one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as
13108-501: Was on the April 5 episode of NXT , when he and Aichner faced the Creed Brothers in a losing effort, with Aichner walking out of their match. On the April 8 episode of SmackDown , Barthel, under the new ring name Ludwig Kaiser, debuted with Walter, now known as Gunther, accompanying him in a squash match against Joe Alonzo. The Kaiser part of his ring name is a reference to Gustl Kaiser, an important wrestling promoter during
13224-400: Was the first Olympic champion, which indicates that the competition was not limited to the aristocracy. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, and the sporting events, which were held alongside ritual sacrifices honouring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in his temple at Olympia ) and Pelops (divine hero and mythical king of Olympia), did not start until
13340-483: Was upheld through the 1992 Games in Albertville , France; after that, beginning with the 1994 Games , the Winter Olympics were held every four years, two years after each Summer Olympics. In 1948, Sir Ludwig Guttmann , determined to promote the rehabilitation of soldiers after World War II , organised a multi-sport event between several hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics . Originally known as
13456-773: Was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the Panhellenic Games , which included the Pythian Games , the Nemean Games , and the Isthmian Games . The Olympic Games reached the height of their success in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, but then gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece. While there
#301698