Mid 20th Century
108-477: The Gobbledy Gooker is a professional wrestling turkey mascot originally portrayed by Héctor Guerrero . In the weeks leading up to the 1990 Survivor Series , the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) hyped its debut by showcasing a large egg at live shows, causing much speculation among wrestling fans. Guerrero was jeered by fans in attendance when he hatched out of the egg and
216-435: 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 the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
324-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in 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
432-415: 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
540-474: A 3 way match for Wrestling In Ashwaubenon independent show in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. In 2000, he briefly appeared in the iGW promotion as a manager named Sugar Daddy. Ottman was one of the participants in the 20-man Gimmick Battle Royal match at WrestleMania X-Seven as Tugboat, and was eliminated by his former partner, Earthquake. He retired soon thereafter. On September 5, 2009, Ottman returned to
648-579: A WWE Superstar compete in a full Turkey suit is perhaps the most ridiculous concept ever". Bleacher Report and 411Mania each ranked the character as having the second worst debut/reveal of all time, second to the Shockmaster (portrayed by Fred Ottman , who also wrestled as Tugboat and eliminated the Gobbledy Gooker at WrestleMania X-Seven). During a 2008 episode of Legends of Wrestling , Dusty Rhodes, who had previously written for WCW and
756-413: 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
864-532: 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
972-519: 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
1080-585: 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
1188-447: 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 . Fred Ottman Fred Alex Ottman (born August 10, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler . He worked for
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#17328015150391296-404: 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 the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1404-410: 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
1512-405: 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
1620-799: 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
1728-424: 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 the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
1836-440: 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
1944-480: A promo explaining that he personally trained Tugboat and brought him to the WWF. Following Tugboat's win on that very same show Hogan came out into the ring and raised his arm, showing his full support. Tugboat railed for fans to send encouraging letters to Hogan after Hogan was brutally attacked by Earthquake. Tugboat aided Hulk Hogan in his feud with Earthquake and "Canada's Strongest Man" Dino Bravo . This coincided with
2052-537: A quick victory over him. He changed his name to The Super Shockmaster and departed in January 1994. He was also known as Uncle Fred . However, he did make a brief appearance on the March 12, 1994 episode of WCW Saturday Night , when Mean Gene Okerlund visited the set of Hulk Hogan's TV series Thunder in Paradise . In 2009, Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Dusty Rhodes appeared on a segment of WWE Raw to discuss
2160-532: A rock and roll rendition of " Turkey in the Straw " began to play and Okerlund and Guerrero danced in the ring. Despite the crowd's rejection of the segment, commentator Roddy Piper said that the Gobbledy Gooker had "won the heart of Hartford !" and his broadcast partner Gorilla Monsoon described it as a "big smash". Guerrero continued to tour with the WWF for a few weeks afterward. However, he suffered another gaffe during an appearance at Madison Square Garden ; he
2268-463: A six man tag match against Harlem Heat (Kole and Kane) and The Equalizer . The Shockmaster again scored the victory for his team by pinning Kole. Next at Battlebowl he took part in the Lethal Lottery tournament and was drawn to team with Paul Orndorff to face the team of bitter rivals Ricky Steamboat and Lord Steven Regal . Steamboat and Regal imploded and Shockmaster was able to pick up
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#17328015150392376-412: A substantial push that saw Tugboat emerging victorious on television against numerous opponents. He made his pay-per-view debut at that November's Survivor Series , where he teamed with Hogan, The Big Boss Man and Hacksaw Jim Duggan to face the team of Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Haku and The Barbarian . Tugboat was eliminated when he and Earthquake fought to a double count-out, and Hogan went on to be
2484-607: A two-part episode of the 1998 TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest , Ottman played Z'dak, in the second episode his name was featured solely in the credits though. Ottman retired from wrestling after WXO folded in 2001. In 2007 he lived in Lakeland , Florida and worked as a safety manager for Gaffin Industrial Services, a building cleaning service. He also coached the little league team of his two sons, Berkley and Beau, and daughter, Bailey. Berkley currently serves as
2592-503: 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
2700-586: 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
2808-437: A white construction worker's helmet, very different to the character in its infamous debut. He entered last into the match and actually gained the victory for his team by forcing Kole to submit to a bear hug. This version of the character remained reasonably popular with live crowds and continued to appear at the final three pay-per-view events of the year. At Halloween Havoc he teamed up with Ice Train and Charlie Norris in
2916-464: Is a case to be made that The Shockmaster's debut at WCW Clash of the Champions XXIV is the greatest of all time – albeit for all the wrong reasons." The organization has also described the incident as "one of the most unintentionally funny moments in sports entertainment history," and "a debacle many still consider one of the worst gaffes in the history of sports-entertainment." While Ottman
3024-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling 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
3132-410: 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
3240-427: 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 a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
3348-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain 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 Gobbledy Gooker - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-766: Is now generally regarded as the worst debut in wrestling history, but he was able to capitalize on its notoriety after his in-ring retirement. Ottman was trained by Boris Malenko and got his start as Sigfried the Giant in February 1985, for Championship Wrestling from Georgia . He later wrestled for Texas All-Star Wrestling and the Continental Wrestling Association as Big Bubba. He wrestled as Big Bubba in 1986 and 1987 in Memphis for Jerry Jarrett 's CWA wrestling where he teamed with Goliath as
3564-624: 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
3672-698: The SWS Tag Team Championship defeating George Takano and Shunji Takano in Yokohama , Japan when WWF had a partnership with Super World of Sports . In July the Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc. to win the WWF Tag Team Championship . They lost the title to Money Inc. three months later. After Earthquake took a leave of absence from the WWF early in 1993, Ottman wrestled in singles matches before leaving
3780-544: The WWE Network show, The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness . On the show, The Shockmaster was given the opportunity to redeem the famous debut incident by walking through the show's banner. Ottman returned to the WWF as Typhoon in May 1994, taking the place of his former partner Earthquake in house show matches against Yokozuna after Earthquake left the WWF. Typhoon made his return to television on
3888-609: The World Wrestling Federation (later WWE) from 1989 to 1993 under the ring names Tugboat and Typhoon . As the former, he played a key babyface ally of Hulk Hogan . As the latter, he turned heel to form The Natural Disasters with Earthquake and held the WWF Tag Team Championship . In 1993, Ottman debuted as The Shockmaster in World Championship Wrestling and immediately fell over, losing his mask on live television while his teammates broke character and laughed. This botch hurt his career, and
3996-535: The angle , repackaging The Shockmaster character as a klutz in a series of pre-recorded promos (featuring Ottman in different attire, without a mask and using his own voice). It was this version of the character that went on to appear as planned in the main event of Fall Brawl, teaming with Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Davey Boy Smith in the War Games match. His ring attire for his match was a plain white shirt, jeans and
4104-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in 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
4212-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from 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
4320-496: The " Gooker Award " after the character. Furthermore, in The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists! , R. D. Reynolds listed the Gobbledy Gooker as the second worst wrestling character of all time, behind The Red Rooster , while The A.V. Club placed it on a list of wrestling's most regrettable gimmicks. Muscle & Fitness similarly described the character as being the worst dressed wrestler of all time, writing: "having
4428-584: 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
The Gobbledy Gooker - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-400: 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
4644-460: 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
4752-653: 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
4860-529: The DVD release of The Rise and Fall of WCW when Triple H brought up the subject of the Shockmaster's debut. During that segment, the WWE recreated the Shockmaster's stumbling through the wall, with Santino Marella portraying the character and Arn Anderson providing the voice. Anderson fled from the camera when the other wrestlers pointed at him. On February 22, 2016, Ottman returned as The Shockmaster for an episode of
4968-641: The Downtown Connection and was initially managed by Downtown Bruno . In September 1988, Ottman wrestled on the Gordon Solie -hosted TV shows of Championship Wrestling from Florida as a heel called Big Steel Man, managed by Diamond Dallas Page . He feuded with Dusty Rhodes , among others. He defeated Rhodes for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship on May 13, 1989. Ottman made his first appearance in
5076-478: The Gobbledy Gooker was that it would serve as a turkey mascot for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) akin to the San Diego Chicken . In addition to being a mascot, WWF promoter Vince McMahon intended the character to wrestle and sought a skilled performer for the role. After a recommendation from Dusty Rhodes , the WWF began contacting Héctor Guerrero in early 1990. Guerrero landed
5184-453: The Gold", an interview segment hosted by Ric Flair , in front of a live audience at Clash of the Champions XXIV , Sting and Smith were confronted by Sid and Harlem Heat , demanding to know the identity of their new partner. Sting exclaimed, "All I have to say is, our partner is going to shock the world, because he is none other than the Shockmaster!" The camera then zoomed in on a section of
5292-534: The Goobledy Gooker to attack Melina Perez . In 2013, WWE released a series of comical YouTube videos called "The Gobbledy Gooker Goes To Work". To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut, Xavier Woods of The New Day donned the turkey costume on the November 26, 2015, episode of SmackDown . Later that episode, Jey Uso disguised himself as the Gobbledy Gooker to attack his New Day partners. On
5400-498: The January 27, 1990 episode of Superstars under the Tugboat Thomas moniker and defeated Iron Mike Sharpe . His ring name was soon after shortened to Tugboat . His costume consisted of a red striped shirt, white pants, and a sailor's hat. Part of his gimmick included miming pulling the cord of an airhorn and making a "Toot-toot" noise, like a horn of a ship. On the May 20 episode of Wrestling Challenge , Hulk Hogan made
5508-626: The June 25 episode of Superstars (taped May 25), defeating Quebecer Pierre . He then primarily lost matches to Yokozuna on television and at house shows before departing in August. After leaving the WWF in August 1994, Ottman, still using the Typhoon name, began wrestling on the independent circuit in the East Coast . In December 1995, he went to Japan to compete in a one-night tag team tournament, held by WAR . He teamed up with Shinja and advanced to
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#17328015150395616-408: 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
5724-488: 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
5832-550: The November 21, 2017, edition of 205 Live , Drew Gulak dressed up as the Gobbledy Gooker, referring to himself as "the Gobbledy Gulaker". Gulak reprised his role as the Gobbledy Gooker for the thirtieth anniversary of its debut at 2020 Survivor Series , although his identity was not revealed during the event. During the pre-show, the character won the WWE 24/7 Championship by defeating R-Truth . Later that night, it lost
5940-458: The Shockmaster helmet (slightly modified as to avoid any copyright disputes with the Star Wars license) and the Typhoon singlet are available in the game's attire creation suite, and can be worn by any character in the game. On a two-part episode of the 1994 TV series Thunder in Paradise , Ottman played a palace guard named Yussef. He is also parodied in the 2014 RPG LISA as Shocklord. On
6048-474: The WWF in June 1989 in a dark match under the ring name Big Steel Man with Slick as his manager. He wrestled three more dark matches that summer, defeating Paul Roma and Boris Zukhov , and losing to Mr. Perfect . That September, his name was changed to Tugboat Tyler , then Tugboat Thomas , as he portrayed a fan favorite on house shows , defeating the likes of Barry Horowitz , The Brooklyn Brawler and Boris Zhukov . He debuted on WWF television on
6156-459: The WWF, Ottman found himself at the center of one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history as The Shockmaster . He had signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was to make his debut in a match alongside the fan favorite team of Sting , Dustin Rhodes and Davey Boy Smith in the upcoming eight-man WarGames match against the heel team composed of Sid Vicious , Big Van Vader , Kane and Kole at Fall Brawl . On "A Flair for
6264-701: The adults. It was for the children. Vince wanted to do something noble, which I take my hat off to and respect." Okerlund addressed Guerrero during his WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2006 , saying: "Héctor, we had a lot of fun, but all of this is forgotten". Paul Debendetto of Mental Floss disagreed with Okerlund's assessment, given the character's enduring legacy, writing: "the Gooker lives on. And Héctor wouldn’t have it any other way." Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
6372-401: 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
6480-418: 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
6588-561: 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
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#17328015150396696-400: The broadcast focused on Vicious for the duration of the voiceover. The announcers said nothing as the segment ended. Dusty Rhodes later claimed, on an episode of WWE 24/7's Legends of Wrestling show, the piece of lumber previously wasn't there during a successful practice run and it was later put there by David Crockett without informing Ottman. WWE, on its official website, wrote, "There
6804-424: 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
6912-418: 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
7020-543: The character change, Ottman began wearing a red, white and black singlet with a tidal wave on the front and "Typhoon" in black letters under it (to match the design on Earthquake's wrestling gear, seismograph lines and "Earthquake" in red letters across the middle). The Natural Disasters dumped Hart and turned into fan favorites in early 1992 - with Ottman's heel run having lasted less than seven months - feuding with Hart's new top team, Money Inc. ("Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster ). On April 17 they won
7128-423: 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
7236-423: The character was quickly dropped by the promotion. It subsequently attained a legacy as being one of the worst characters in the history of professional wrestling. After a lengthy hiatus, WWE began sporadically using the character again and several other wrestlers have donned the Gobbledy Gooker costume. Thirty years after its debut, it won the WWE 24/7 Championship at the 2020 Survivor Series . The concept for
7344-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
7452-486: The company in early summer. He worked house shows against Terry Taylor in the spring. He also put over a returning Bam Bam Bigelow in a series of house shows, and twice on televised Raw shows. He wrestled two televised matches against Yokozuna , losing one by pinfall and winning the other by disqualification. His final match saw him defeat The Predator in a house show match in Tampa on July 18. After departing from
7560-540: 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
7668-602: The egg at Survivor Series and speculated that it contained a dinosaur , balloons or perhaps the Playmate of the Month . After these comments, the egg hatched and Guerrero climbed out of it in the costume. He then approached Okerlund for an interview but spoke only by making turkey noises . This prompted Okerlund to call him "the Gobbledy Gooker". As fans in attendance at the Hartford Civic Center started to boo,
7776-405: 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
7884-603: 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
7992-470: 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
8100-594: The gaffe while Harlem Heat's Kole asked, "Who is this motherfucker?" and Smith exclaimed "He fell flat on his arse! He fell flat on his fucking arse!". Both of these comments were audible to the live audience and television viewers, but were bleeped in future showings of the footage by WWE. Ottman then began gesturing toward his would-be opponents several seconds before a menacing gravelly off-screen voice (provided by Ole Anderson , who could be heard laughing before speaking) started to threaten Sid and Vader. Sid Vicious, remaining in character, reacted in rage to Shockmaster, and
8208-610: 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
8316-460: 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
8424-526: 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
8532-480: 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
8640-496: 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
8748-498: 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
8856-472: The moniker during the " Gimmick Battle Royal ". He was quickly eliminated by Tugboat . Since 2008, WWE has sporadically used the character in storylines or skits during Thanksgiving week. The first such appearance was at the 2008 Survivor Series , where The Boogeyman dressed as the Gobbledy Gooker in a skit with The Bella Twins and The Colóns . The next appearance was on the November 23, 2009, episode of Raw , when Maryse Ouellet disguised herself as
8964-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of 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
9072-717: 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
9180-864: The ring as Tugboat losing to Martin Nolte at DWA 10 years event in Uelzen , Germany. He returned to North America on November 21 as Tugboat defeating Jason Static at ECPW in New York City. He once again retired. In 1992, he appeared as Typhoon (along with Earthquake) in the SNES version of the video game WWF Super WrestleMania . The Disasters were absent from the Sega version. On February 23, 2016, he appeared as downloadable content for WWE 2K16 . He appears along with Earthquake in WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18 as well. In 2K18,
9288-409: The role after a successful in-person audition months later and was set to debut at the upcoming Survivor Series event. Survivor Series typically takes place around Thanksgiving and this edition was to take place on Thanksgiving night. In the weeks leading up to the event, the WWF began hyping the new character by displaying a large egg at several shows. This caused rampant speculation about what
9396-660: The semi-finals, before losing to Genichiro Tenryu and Ultimo Dragon . In March 1996, he wrestled a tour of Malaysia for the National Wrestling Alliance feuding with King Kong Bundy . By the late 1990s, he was wrestling primarily in Florida, where he competed for FOW and WXO. In WXO, he was given a gimmick where he was too big to get out of his own car. He lost to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn on November 7, 1997 in Gainesville, Florida. On May 27, 2000 as Typhoon he defeated One Man Gang and Ron Harris in
9504-408: The set where two torches set off a small pyrotechnics explosion in front of a sheetrock wall. With a new costume consisting of a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet painted purple and covered in silver glitter, a pair of jeans and a large, black, puffy vest, Ottman attempted to make a dramatic entrance by crashing through the wall. While making his entrance, Ottman tripped over a piece of lumber that
9612-516: The sole survivor. Tugboat was the first true test of The Undertaker , who defeated him in numerous matches between December 1990 and March 1991. Tugboat received a shot at Mr. Perfect's Intercontinental Championship on the May 5, 1991 episode of Wrestling Challenge , but was unsuccessful. In May 1991, Ottman teased a heel turn by eliminating Hulk Hogan in a battle royal on NBC 's Saturday Night's Main Event XXIX . Ottman completed
9720-440: 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
9828-426: 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,
9936-450: The title to Akira Tozawa , who quickly lost it to R-Truth. The character made another appearance with R-Truth on the following episode of Main Event , where it was attacked by Retribution . The Gobbledy Gooker is remembered by many as one of the biggest flops in the history of the professional wrestling industry. The satirical wrestling website WrestleCrap named its annual booby prize
10044-519: 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
10152-471: 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
10260-541: The turn on the June 15 episode of WWF Superstars . Tugboat and The Bushwhackers were facing The Nasty Boys and Earthquake in a six-man tag team match when Tugboat attacked his teammates, allowing Earthquake to hit the Earthquake Splash on Bushwhacker Luke and pin him. On the June 17 episode of Prime Time Wrestling , Earthquake's manager, Jimmy Hart , reintroduced Ottman as Typhoon , and he and Earthquake became known as The Natural Disasters . As part of
10368-535: 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
10476-540: The win for his team after Steamboat hit Regal. In the Battlebowl Final battle royal Shockmaster was eliminated around the half way point by the Nasty Boys. In the final pay-per-view of the year Starrcade he faced Awesome Kong (accompanied by King Kong ). After both attacked the Shockmaster at the start of the match, bizarrely King Kong actually wrestled instead of his partner and the Shockmaster picked up
10584-420: 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
10692-425: 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
10800-488: 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
10908-438: Was framing the set, causing him to fall forward through the wall with his helmet falling off and sliding across the floor. His face accidentally exposed, he scrambled to put the helmet back on as Vicious, restraining laughter, exclaimed "Oh, God!", while Flair could also be heard saying "Oh no" under his breath. Ottman donned the helmet and got back on his feet, shifting his weight and dusting his hands off in an attempt to shrug off
11016-441: Was in the egg and the most popular theory was that multi-time world champion Ric Flair , who wrestled for the rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), was going to debut in the WWF by hatching from it. Mark Calaway had recently signed with the WWF and feared that the egg was to hype his debut. He ultimately debuted as The Undertaker in an unrelated segment at the same event. Announcer Gene Okerlund appeared next to
11124-491: Was initially displeased with the turn of events, he now finds humor in the incident. They put me in a Storm Trooper mask which they painted and covered in glitter, I couldn't see a thing. I got to the wall and put my hands up like a double axe handle and bust through. The top broke perfectly, but the bottom didn't give. The momentum took me through the wall and to the floor. — Ottman on The Shockmaster's debut Despite generating no crowd reaction, WCW tried to continue with
11232-571: 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
11340-528: Was responsible for creating the Shockmaster, revealed that he and McMahon would joke about which character was worse. WWE describe the debut as an "unmitigated disaster", but add: "Like an Ed Wood movie, The Gooker was such a terrible persona that it eventually endeared itself to the WWE Universe". However, Guerrero has defended the character, stating: "The Gobbledy Gooker is called the biggest flop in professional wrestling history, but it wasn’t meant for
11448-415: 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
11556-417: 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
11664-410: Was unable to see out of the head of the costume, which caused him to fall into the ring after a handspring . Despite initial plans for the Gobbledy Gooker to represent the company as a mascot, it disappeared from the promotion a month after its debut. The character was not seen again until WrestleMania X-Seven in 2001, when Guerrero returned to the persona for one night and wrestled his only match under
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