Mid 20th Century
119-683: Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent , better known by his ring name , the Brooklyn Brawler . He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as an on-screen personality and promoter under the ring name Kimchee . He is best known for his tenure in WWE , as well as several independent promotions. Lombardi studied biochemistry at St. Francis College prior to his wrestling career. Lombardi began his WWF career in late 1983, competing under his real name, and being
238-674: A heel , primarily as an enhancement talent . His debut came on July 15, 1983, in Queens, NY where he was defeated by Swede Hanson . After facing Ivan Koloff and Sgt. Slaughter on house show matches, Lombardi made his TV debut on the October 29 episode of All American Wrestling where he was submitted by The Iron Sheik and carried out on a stretcher. He then began regular appearances on both television and house shows. After losing numerous matches that winter, Lombardi gained his first success on March 18, 1984, when he wrestled Jerry Valiant to
357-446: 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
476-401: A PPV, this time at the 1994 Royal Rumble . However unlike previous appearances, he earned his first ever PPV victory by defeating long-time foe Jim Powers. This was his only victory for many months as he entered another long losing streak, falling to Bob Holly and Bob Backlund on numerous house show events. The impending baseball shutdown of 1994 provided a window of opportunity for him, and on
595-413: 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
714-452: A backstage segment with Kurt Angle . As of 2024, he still wrestles in the independents. Professional wrestling 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
833-532: 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
952-519: 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
1071-585: 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
1190-531: A consistent string of success. While still losing to top level stars on television, he was now consistently trading wins with other entry-level talent that he previously had succumbed to. On the March 21 episode of Prime Time Wrestling he defeated SD Jones, and began trading wins with Brady Boone. However beginning in July his small push seemed to dissipate as he found himself consistently on the losing end to Paul Roma and
1309-525: 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 . Dan Spivey Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
SECTION 10
#17327809486291428-678: A draw. Another draw, this time with Terry Daniels came on April 24 in Mountaintop, PA. But apart from that he continued on as an enhancement talent, losing to much of the WWF roster including Big John Studd , Paul Orndorff , David Schultz , Iron Mike Sharpe , Rocky Johnson , and others. In the midst of another long losing streak, Lombardi then gained a second draw against Daniels on June 1 in Winston-Salem, NC. He made his Madison Square Garden debut on June 16, losing to Mad Dog Vachon in
1547-410: 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
1666-414: 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
1785-405: 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
1904-464: A losing effort. The following day in Hershey, PA Lombardi and Horowitz gained their first victory as a team when they defeated Scott Casey and Lanny Poffo in a match that aired on Prime Time Wrestling . The same night, they lost to The Killer Bees. The pairing continued into the summer. Later that winter Lombardi began a house show series with Brady Boone , and for the first time in his career enjoyed
2023-799: 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
2142-469: A month later Lombardi garnered the first win streak of his career when he defeated Dan Rignati and George Sanders on successive house shows. On November 14 defeated Dennis Goulet, and then on December 5 in Long Island, NY pinned Paul Roma, thus finishing with five wins for 1985. Lombardi remained a consistent presence on television and house shows, wrestling over 150 times. The company continued to pair
2261-440: 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
2380-646: A non-descript jobber. He upset Sivi Afi on March 1 in Landover, MD, then gained another surprise victory over Tony Garea a month later. On June 17 Lombardi participated in yet another debut, this time facing The Dingo Warrior (Ultimate Warrior) in Wichita Falls, TX. A month later, he began an on-again, off-again team with Barry Horowitz , losing to The Young Stallions on the July 26 episode of Wrestling Challenge . Four weeks later, on August 21 in Detroit,
2499-522: A piece of Brawler". In another episode of "Five Questions," Cena made the claim that Lombardi was actually born in Detroit , and not in Brooklyn, however this was later proven false (and likely a work). On May 7, 2006, WWE.com announced that, as part of Jakks Pacific 's WWE Classic Superstars collection, they would be releasing a Brooklyn Brawler action figure . At Vengeance , Brawler appeared as Doink
SECTION 20
#17327809486292618-458: A quasi-face turn for Lombardi as he was then matched up against various heel opponents for the remainder of 1991. Lombardi opened 1992 anchoring the dark match of yet another PPV, this time the 1992 Royal Rumble . He initially defeated Chris Walker with his feet on the ropes; afterwards WWF President Jack Tunney came out and reversed the decision. Lombardi returned to heel status with his Brawler gimmick, matching up against numerous faces during
2737-710: A return appearance in the November 15, 2010 "Raw Goes Old School" episode of Raw as the Brooklyn Brawler with Harvey Wippleman as his manager. He lost in a match against Ezekiel Jackson . The Brooklyn Brawler made a surprise return to pay-per-view on December 16, 2012, at the TLC pay-per-view (which took place at the recently opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn), teaming with the Miz and Alberto Del Rio to defeat 3MB ( Heath Slater , Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal ). Brawler won
2856-635: A singles match, but lost by Submission. On January 12, 1998, when he lost a Monday Night RAW dark match to Bart Gunn , who was then billed briefly as "Black Bart". Still working in as The Brooklyn Brawler. Lombardi retired from full-time active competition and instead worked primarily as a road agent for the WWF. He still made occasional appearances in ring, and the first came at Fully Loaded: In Your House where he hugged Vince McMahon , Sgt. Slaughter , Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco . His first match back he lost to Bob Holly on Shotgun Saturday Night episode October 3, 1998 (taped September 28, 1998). With
2975-590: A smattering of victories in May against Martin Roy , Jim Brunzell , and Brady Boone . During the summer he engaged in a house show series against the newly arrived Shane Douglas but was turned away in each encounter. The two wrestled in the dark match of SummerSlam 90. On October 9 Lombardi faced Davey Boy Smith in his first match back after nearly a two-year absence, and in December he went on his first overseas tour when
3094-457: A smattering of wins (Sivi Afi, David Sammartino, Jerry Allen, Tony Garea, and Outback Jack). Still an enhancement talent, he was now beginning to climb the ladder. Lombardi began 1988 with several squash losses, and then a win over Scott Casey on January 23 in Lexington, KY. Two days later at Madison Square Garden he resumed his partnership with Barry Horowitz and faced The Young Stallions in
3213-503: 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
3332-586: 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
3451-416: A victory over The Goodfather on January 13, 2001, in Detroit, MI after Billy Gunn interfered. He wrestled several house show matches that winter, facing Al Snow, Crash Holly , and Rhyno . After appearing in numerous dark matches throughout his career, Lombardi finally wrestled during the live broadcast of a PPV when he once again appeared as Kamala's handler Kim Chee at WrestleMania X-Seven and competed in
3570-583: A young PJ Walker . Finally in late September he enjoyed his first win streak, defeating Louie Spicolli and PJ Walker on numerous house show matches on the West Coast. However the WWF pulled the plug on the gimmick again, and Lombardi returned once more to the Brooklyn Brawler persona. Lombardi made his first PPV appearance of 1995 in the dark match of the Royal Rumble , facing Buck Quartermain . Wrestling now full-time as The Brooklyn Brawler, his career
3689-449: A young Scott Putski on a May 28 WWF Superstars dark match, as well as Vic Steamboat (wrestling as "Jesse Bolt") in another dark match at the July 29th WWF Superstars taping. In August Lombardi traveled to Japan again as part of another joint WWF/SWS tour and teamed with Rick Martel . The following month saw Lombardi engage in his first feud since 1989, when he became part of a short angle with newcomer Big Bully Busick to determine who
Steve Lombardi - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-566: A young Tommy Dreamer at a WWF Superstars taping on August 17. Two weeks later, on August 31, Lombardi finally received a new gimmick – that of a baseball player seemingly modeled after The Furies from the movie The Warriors . At a WWF Superstars taping in Grand Rapids, MI he debuted with the new persona and defeated Reno Riggins , then did the same the following day at a Wrestling Challenge event. A month later, as "MVP", he made his first appearance on Monday Night Raw and participated in
3927-410: 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
4046-428: 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
4165-653: The Big Show on December 30. At this point Lombardi's in ring appearances became sporadic. After working a string of house show matches in January 2002, he was inactive for the entire year. In 2003 he participated in the APA Invitational Battle Royal at Vengeance in Denver, Colorado on July 27. After being inactive during 2004, Lombardi returned on the April 18, 2005 edition of Monday Night RAW which
4284-722: The Dodgers played in the borough until moving to Los Angeles in 1958. Under the tutelage of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , the Brawler entered a feud with the Red Rooster . When the Red Rooster left Heenan's villain group and became a fan favorite , Heenan stated that he had made the Red Rooster a star and could do the same with anyone in the WWF. The Red Rooster defeated the Brooklyn Brawler on Saturday Night's Main Event XX , and then Heenan at WrestleMania V . The Brawler
4403-624: 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
4522-776: 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
4641-584: 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
4760-400: 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
4879-460: 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
Steve Lombardi - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-411: 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
5117-497: The 20-man battle royal to determine the champion for the vacated Intercontinental title. MVP was eliminated by Owen Hart. The following day at WWF Superstars he defeated Duane Gill, but at this point the WWF decided to shelf the gimmick and he was reassigned to temporarily play the role of Doink the Clown that had been vacated by Matt Borne. Wrestling as Doink, he was winless against Bret Hart, 1-2-3 Kid , and Bam-Bam Bigelow . Still in
5236-500: The 30 man battle royal as the Brooklyn Brawler. On the 15th anniversary of Raw on December 10, 2007, Lombardi appeared as Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz in a segment. When Triple H saw him, he exclaimed "I guess the Brooklyn Brawler was busy". On the 10th anniversary of "Smackdown" on September 29, 2009, in Boston, Lombardi appeared as The Brooklyn Brawler in a backstage anniversary party along with numerous other wrestlers. Lombardi made
5355-653: 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
5474-452: The Clown when he came out to the ring with Eugene during Eugene's match with Umaga . On August 1, 2006, Lombardi went to the ECW brand for a match against then ECW wrestler, Kurt Angle . Lombardi quickly lost when Angle applied an ankle lock on him. That same week, he appeared on SmackDown! against Vito , losing by submission . On the December 18 edition of Raw , Lombardi appeared in
5593-459: The February 28, 2000 edition of Monday Night RAW The Rock came out and said that he would become WWF World Champion at WrestleMania 2000. WWF World Champion HHH then came out and said that since The Rock was no longer the #1 Contender, he would have to start at the very bottom and work his way up. HHH then booked a match between The Rock and The Brooklyn Brawler, which Rock won in under a minute. On
5712-464: The July 16th episode of Monday Night RAW the WWF began hyping the impending debut of a new wrestler called Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz. In early August as the 1994 Major League Baseball strike began, Lombardi made his return as Schwartz. Basically a renamed version of the MVP gimmick, Lombardi's face was painted to look like a baseball and he wore a jersey with the number 00. In addition, he was accompanied to
5831-613: The July 4th edition of Smackdown Lombardi gained his first victory in several years when he joined Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki to face HHH in a 3 on 1 match. Lombardi pinned Helmsley after Chris Jericho interfered. Lombardi continued to be semi-active throughout 2000, wrestling in numerous house shows and facing Jerry Lawler for the first time at an event in New Haven, CT on August 9, 2000. He gained several more victories that year as well, defeating Joey Abs and Just Joe. The surge of in-ring activity continued, as Lombardi began 2001 with
5950-479: The Monday Night War in full-swing and business soaring for the company, Lombardi's activity picked up in 1999. He wrestled several times on a European tour in April 1999, facing Christian , X-Pac , and Al Snow . Lombardi wrestled his first televised match in two years when he appeared on the July 3rd edition of Shotgun Saturday Night in a match against WWF Hardcore Championship Al Snow. The referee in
6069-408: 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
SECTION 50
#17327809486296188-488: 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
6307-418: The November 15 episode of WWF Superstars he participated in another debut, teaming with Moondog Spot in a loss to the newly arrived The Can-Am Connection . Lombardi closed out 1986 with wins over Barry O, Jim Powers , Mark Young , Frankie Lane, and an upset of Tony Garea . Despite a tick upwards in in-ring success, Lombardi began 1987 seemingly cemented as an entry-level wrestler without an angle. But that
6426-445: The September 22 show at Madison Square Garden he unexpectedly won a 20-man battle royal to earn his first ever WWF World Title opportunity. On the following show on November 15, Lombardi received his shot. Coming out to Frank Sinatra 's "New York, New York", he wrestled for 15 minutes against Shawn Michaels and dominated the world champion; however he finally lost after Chyna and HHH interfered. On December 15, he faced Mark Henry in
6545-518: The WWF and briefly in 1993 as a singles wrestler after Kamala left him for the newly ordained Reverend Slick . In November 1993, Lombardi also returned to his Brooklyn Brawler gimmick, but was winless in encounters with Diesel, Tatanka, and Bob Backlund. He made his first PPV appearance of the year, wrestling in the dark match at the Survivor Series and losing to Billy Gunn . Still, he ended 1993 having enjoyed more success than at any point in
6664-563: The WWF joined forces with Super World Sports to promote in Japan. On December 6 in Hijemi, Japan he teamed with Nuboyashi Sugawara and Kenny the Striker to defeat Biff Wellington , Road Block , and Masao Orihara . Despite his return to enhancement status, 1990 proved to be Lombardi's most successful year in his career to date as he won 35 singles matches. Lombardi entered 1991 as probably
6783-401: 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
6902-418: 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
7021-561: 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
7140-412: 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
7259-424: 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
SECTION 60
#17327809486297378-418: 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
7497-423: 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
7616-581: The clown gimmick, Lombardi made his first appearance in the United States Wrestling Association on October 26 in Louisville, KY. Teaming with Brian Christopher , the two defeated Jeff Jarrett and Tony Falk . He continued to play Doink until Ray Apollo assumed the gimmick. Following the 1993 Survivor Series, Lombardi wrestled under his fourth gimmick of the year. Unofficially restarting his partnership with Barry Horowitz,
7735-512: 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
7854-468: 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
7973-534: The country. He consistently put over various young wrestlers such as Paul Roma , David Sammartino , Barry O , Terry Gibbs , and George Wells . On the June 29th episode of "All-American Wrestling" Lombardi teamed with Dave Barbie in a losing effort to The Killer Bees in their debut match. Lombardi went on to face numerous wrestlers in their debuts during his long career. Almost eleven months after his first ever victory, Lombardi gained another when he pinned Jack Armstrong on June 22 in Boston, MA. After numerous losses,
8092-598: The crowd. After sustaining numerous defeats to upper level talent such as Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior , Lombardi finally gained a measure of revenge by pinning The Red Rooster on March 18 in Calgary, Alberta. He began a winning streak against the Rooster, who soon departed the WWF. Lombardi wrestled the dark match of WrestleMania VI , losing again to Paul Roma. After another long string of defeats to Roma, Hillbilly Jim , Tugboat and others, Lombardi earned
8211-540: 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
8330-442: The decade, having garnered 23 wins. Over a decade into his tenure with the company, Lombardi now found himself as the long-tenured active wrestler within the WWF. Having returned to the Brawler gimmick however he remained in his enhancement talent role. He again participated in another wrestler's debut, this time facing Bob Holly on the January 29th episode of WWF Superstars (Fayetteville, NC). Lombardi earned yet another dark match at
8449-456: The duo competed as The Red and Black Knights (the Knights having been a Survivor Series team under Shawn Michaels, previously portrayed by Jeff Gaylord, Greg Valentine, and Horowitz). The Knights participated in several house show matches against The Smoking Gunns . A fifth gimmick was also used at points, as Lombardi portrayed Kim Chee ( Kamala's handler) during his 1986–87 and 1992 stints with
8568-405: 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
8687-603: 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
8806-470: 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
8925-610: 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
9044-485: The gimmick battle royal. After being inactive throughout the summer, Lombardi returned to the house show circuit to face Chuck Palumbo in October In November he was matched against MMA fighter Ron Waterman , who was working for the WWF at the time under a developmental deal. On November 26, Lombardi returned to television for the first time in over a year when he faced Perry Saturn on Jakked. He lost to
9163-460: 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
9282-526: 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
9401-492: 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
9520-480: 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
9639-496: 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
9758-460: The latter's first match back in the WWF in a decade. A month later on July 6 in Long Island, NY Lombardi gained his first pinfall victory when he upset Vachon in a return match. On July 31 he became involved in a mild angle with WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan during the company's initial "Championship Wrestling" taping in Poughkeepsie, NY. During a sub-minute loss to Kamala , Hogan came out to
9877-444: The match for his team via submission with a Boston crab on Mahal. At the July 15, 2013 Raw taping from Brooklyn, in a match taped for Superstars , Lombardi competed in a match almost thirty years after his debut. Wrestling as the Brawler, he was defeated by Ryback . In May 2016, Lombardi was released from WWE, thus ending Lombardi's 33-year career with WWE. On January 22, 2018, Lombardi made an appearance at Raw 25 Years in
9996-435: The match was former heel manager Harvey Wippleman , who prevented Snow from using weapons while allowing Lombardi to use outside objects instead. Snow successfully retained his title. The following month during the WWF referee strike storyline, Lombardi worked as a ref during a Sunday Night Heat match. He concluded 1999 with a Jakked appearance, tagging with Mideon in a losing effort to Taka Michinoku and Sho Funaki . On
10115-498: 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
10234-493: The most prominent opening card act in the company, but the wins were not to continue. Wrestling still as the Brooklyn Brawler, he fell in defeat to almost every member of the roster and gained just six victories during the year. On the March 30th episode of WWF Superstars Lombardi faced Ricky Steamboat in "The Dragon"'s return match after a three-year absence. On March 24 he competed in the dark match of WrestleMania VII against Koko B Ware . Other notable losses saw Brawler lose to
10353-452: The new arrival, The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) . In December matters took a turn as Lombardi enjoyed the first sustained win streak of his career, defeating Jim Powers and Jose Estrada on multiple occasions and closing out 1988 on a seven match win streak. It was a sign of Lombardi's first major angle. After a breakup between The Red Rooster and Bobby Heenan, the latter invited Rooster onto the set of Prime Time Wrestling on January 23 to make
10472-544: The peace. When Rooster was about to shake Heenan's hand he was suddenly attacked by Lombardi, who hit Rooster and host Gorilla Monsoon with a stool. The next week Lombardi made his debut as "The Brooklyn Brawler" The Brawler character was that of a street fighter /thug, wearing battered jeans and a torn New York Yankees T-shirt, which was ironic, since the Yankees play in The Bronx and were hated by many Brooklynites when
10591-717: 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
10710-439: 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
10829-405: The rest of 1989. However, he retained the Brawler gimmick, a role he utilized throughout his career. Now firmly re-established as an enhancement talent sans Heenan, 1990 marked a first for Lombardi when he wrestled his debut match at a PPV. At the 1990 Royal Rumble he was defeated by Paul Roma in a dark match, which marked the first of several PPVs where he worked the opening dark match to warm up
10948-547: The ring by a carnival-like version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Later, the MVP name was used by Montel Vontavious Porter in 2006. On the August 15th edition of RAW he made his debut as Abe Schwartz, blaming the fans for the baseball strike. Although barely recognizable in the gimmick, Lombardi's career was little changed by the new persona. He continued to lose matches to Bob Holly, as well as dropping numerous contests to
11067-455: The ring to give encouragement to Lombardi. Nothing further came from this angle, and Lombardi closed out his second year as a wrestler with numerous additional losses to wrestlers such as Buddy Rose and a young Bret Hart , as well as a defeat to manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan . As the company continued to expand, Lombardi remained a young enhancement talent, although this time he was switched to face other similar talent in house shows across
11186-440: The scenes of WWE, including behind the camera with John Cena on his WWE.com show "Five Questions". Cena often makes references to Lombardi, even jokingly calling him the greatest technical wrestler of all time. Also, his face popped up in front of Cena's mouth to censor curse words , usually saying "nu-uh" or "brawler". On the June 2, 2006, episode of Five Questions, Brawler showed his face. He even censored himself, saying "you are
11305-458: The spring Lombardi defeated a young Scott Taylor in a tryout match in Sydney, Nova Scotia at a Wrestling Challenge taping. In the summer the Brawler was matched up against another young wrestler – The Predator ( Mike Bollea ), with Lombardi winning each match. He closed out the summer teaming with Blake Beverly and Little Louie against The Bushwhackers and Tiger Jackson , as well as defeating
11424-440: 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
11543-468: The team defeated Sivi Afi and Scott Casey . After gaining a pair of pinfall singles wins over the newly arrived Sam Houston , Lombardi then switched alliances to join Mike Sharpe. The two proclaimed themselves as "the tag-team of the future" in an inset during a match with The Young Stallions in August, but were unsuccessful. Entering the fall, Lombardi continued to lose regularly but was now gaining
11662-426: 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,
11781-519: 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
11900-471: 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
12019-405: 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
12138-535: 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
12257-447: The winter and spring such as Kerry Von Erich, Tatanka, and Big Bossman. Lombardi renewed his partnership with a returning Barry Horowitz on March 9 at a WWF Superstars taping, facing and losing to The Samoan Swat Team in the latter's tryout match. They teamed again in December against The Bushwhackers. He spent much of the spring and summer engaged in a house show series with Jim Powers, Jim Brunzell, Crush, and Tito Santana during which he
12376-420: 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
12495-472: The wrestlers that he had helped usher into the company – Dwayne Johnson . This came over a decade after a young Lombardi had faced his father Rocky Johnson. Johnson later recalled the match in his autobiography ; praising Lombardi as a stand-up wrestler. He wrestled only thirteen times that year, ending with matches against Sid and Bob Holly. Although his appearances were now occasional, Lombardi enjoyed his biggest moment thirteen years into his WWF career. On
12614-612: The young but now experienced Lombardi against other new wrestlers, and he faced newcomers such as Sivi Afi , Tony Parisi , Nick Kiniski , Dan Spivey , and Scott McGhee . He gained his first ever tag-team win when he teamed with fellow enhancement talent Lanny Poffo to defeat SD Jones and George Skaaland on April 13 in Brisbane, Australia. After dozens of defeats he gained his first pinfall victory of 1986 in singles action when he defeated Terry Gibbs in Pittsburgh, PA on August 9. On
12733-425: 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
12852-488: 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
12971-439: Was defeated by the Rooster again on the May 20, 1989, episode of Superstars of Wrestling . His alliance with Heenan was then phased out, though in storyline Heenan said it was an amicable departure, and Heenan continued to speak highly of the Brawler whenever a match featured him. Lombardi soon returned to his former enhancement talent status and won only five more matches ( Tom Stone , Jerry Monti , Paul Roma, and Al Perez ) for
13090-559: Was done in response to the Red Sox' defeat of the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series . He reprised his role as Kim Chee, having apparently reconciled with Kamala , on the August 11, 2005, edition of SmackDown accompanying the Ugandan Giant to the ring for his match with Randy Orton . He also appeared with him on the June 26, 2006, episode for Kamala's match against Umaga. In early 2006, he still worked behind
13209-451: Was held at Madison Square Garden. He appeared in a segment where Jon Heidenreich read a poem devoted to The Brooklyn Brawler. In response Brawler dismissed the poem, disowned the city of Brooklyn, and declared himself "The Boston Brawler". They then fought backstage. As part of an angle on SmackDown! , he adopted the moniker of the "Boston Brawler", shedding his customary New York Yankees apparel in favor of Boston Red Sox clothing. This
13328-399: Was not to last long, as he began to establish an on-screen presence as a heel. On the January 24th episode of WWF Superstars Paul Orndorff defeated Paul Roma; following the match Lombardi entered and tossed Roma from the ring. This led to a house show series between Roma and Lombardi, and for both wrestlers it was their first real feud. Despite coming out winless, Lombardi was now more than just
13447-522: Was now the last of the troupe of enhancement talent. As the Brawler, he made a non-wrestling appearance on the January 1st episode of RAW to present the "Steve Lombardi Trophy" to the winners of the RAW Bowl. His appearances from this point forward became much more limited. However, on March 10 at a WWF Superstars taping in Corpus Christi he participated in the debut of perhaps the most famous of
13566-650: 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
13685-503: Was seemingly devoid of momentum as he dropped matches to Lex Luger , Duke Droese , Man Mountain Rock , and Doink (Ray Apollo). For the first time in over a year, he resumed his partnership with Horowitz yet again and faced off against Tekno Team 2000 in their Monday Night Raw debut on May 16. They also lost to The Bushwhackers and The Smoking Gunns. With the WWF cutting back touring that year, Lombardi's appearances became less frequent. He
13804-415: 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
13923-417: 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
14042-479: Was the true bully of the WWF. On the October 28th edition of Prime Time Wrestling the Brawler defeated Busick by countout in what turned out to be the blowoff for the feud. Brawler defeated the Bully by countout and in a rematch one week later saw the Brawler dominate the Bully until the latter's manager Harvey Wippleman grabbed the Brawler's leg, leading to a controversial win for the Bully. The feud with Busick led to
14161-492: Was winless. He closed out 1992 on a lengthy losing streak to Jim Duggan . Going into 1993 Lombardi was back where he had been prior to the Brawler gimmick – stuck as enhancement talent with no clear path upwards. And it was finally during this year, a decade into his tenure with the company that he went on his longest winning streak to date. Matched again versus Jim Powers in numerous house show matches, Lombardi put together an eight match winning streak in March and April. Later in
#628371