Mid 20th Century
116-543: Death Triangle was a professional wrestling stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) consisting of Pac and The Lucha Brothers ( Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix ), alongside their manager, Alex Abrahantes . The trio are former one-time AEW World Trios Champions . Additionally, since the team's formation in March 2020, The Lucha Brothers became one-time AEW World Tag Team Champions , while Pac and Fénix won
232-505: A Black Mass on Pac to win the match. After the match, Hart celebrated the victory with The House of Black, becoming the stable's newest member, finally leaving The Varsity Blonds, and leaving Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison in shock. Next, the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals took place as Adam Cole faced Samoa Joe . As the match was continuing, Bobby Fish distracted Joe long enough for Cole to take advantage and perform
348-541: A Fire Thunder Driver on Deeb to retain the title. Following this was an Anarchy in the Arena match between The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard) against The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley), Eddie Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz. When the latter were entering from various places in the arena, the brawl started while Moxley’s " Wild Thing " theme song continued to play. Later, Jericho smashed
464-435: 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
580-528: A fatal four-way match to become the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion . After Forbidden Door, Death Triangle competed in a tournament to crown the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions , but were eliminated in the first round by United Empire ( Will Ospreay and Aussie Open ( Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher )). However, after the championship was vacated on the September 7 episode of Dynamite , Death Triangle defeated Best Friends that same episode to win
696-523: A guillotine choke on Allin. Back in the ring, Allin performed the Last Supper cradle pin attempt on O'Reilly for a nearfall. In the final moments, O'Reilly performed three PK kicks on Allin, and landed a knee drop from the top rope for the victory. Subsequently, Thunder Rosa defended the AEW Women's World Championship against Serena Deeb . Rosa performed a Death Valley Driver on Deeb for
812-415: 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
928-415: 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
1044-523: A roundhouse kick on Kazarian, with Sky following up with a TKO on the latter for the victory; since American Top Team won, neither Kazarian nor Guevara are allowed to challenge for the TNT Championship again as long as Sky is champion. This marked Paige VanZant's first win in AEW. Next, Darby Allin took on Kyle O'Reilly . When Allin went for another suicide dive , O'Reilly countered and applied
1160-411: A six-man tag team match . Penta landed a Canadian Destroyer on Matthews on the apron. Pac performed a 450 splash on Black from the top rope. Abrahantes distracted the referee while Pac took advantage and hit Black with a low blow . Pac went up top for a Black Arrow , but the lights went off. When the lights turned on, Julia Hart was standing in the ring and blew a mist in the face of Pac. Black hit
1276-425: A steel cage match , with MJF serving unsuccessfully as the special guest referee; should Wardlow win, he would be officially released from his contract with MJF, but would be banned from obtaining a new AEW contract and be required to remain under MJF's employment if he loses. Following the match between Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho at Revolution, where Kingston emerged victorious, Kingston attempted to shake
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#17327935980721392-503: A "fucking mark ", his microphone being cut off, and the screen going black. The next day, MJF's profile was removed from AEW's website and his merchandise was pulled on AEW’s merchandise site. On the June 3 episode of Rampage , CM Punk announced that he was injured and required surgery. He initially wanted to relinquish the title; however, Tony Khan decided that an interim champion would be crowned until Punk's return. Punk would then face
1508-470: A Buckshot Lariat, allowing Punk to perform the GTS and win the title. This marked Punk's first world championship win since 2011. Double or Nothing received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics; however, much criticism was drawn towards the overall runtime of the event. For CBS Sports , Brent Brookhouse wrote that the event was an "uncharacteristically uneven" pay-per-view event for AEW. Cargill-Jay
1624-569: A Jaded on Jay from the top rope to retain the title. Following the match, Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet held up Jay for Cargill. Kris Statlander ran out and stared down the trio. They were interrupted by Athena in her unannounced AEW debut, who allied with Jay and Statlander. Hathaway led The Baddies out of the ring without any physicality. The next match was between Death Triangle ( Pac , Penta Oscuro , and Rey Fénix ), who were accompanied by Alex Abrahantes , against The House of Black ( Malakai Black , Buddy Matthews , and Brody King ) in
1740-413: 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
1856-532: 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
1972-519: 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
2088-585: 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
2204-583: 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 . Double or Nothing (2022) The 2022 Double or Nothing was the fourth annual Double or Nothing professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place during Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 2022, at
2320-404: 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
2436-410: 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
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#17327935980722552-552: A hold. Danielson took exception and fought with Kingston, with Moxley trying to break them up. Danielson drove a steel chair into Jericho's face and performed a running knee at the same time for a nearfall. Hager hit Danielson from behind with Jericho’s bat. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho on Danielson while Hager choked the latter with a cable. Danielson passed out, thus the Jericho Appreciation Society won
2668-405: 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
2784-744: A losing effort against The Elite.At Double or Nothing , Death Triangle reunited to challenge the Bang Bang Gang ( Jay White , Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn ) for the AEW World Trios Championship and ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship . After a near victory, Pac was ambushed by a returning Juice Robinson , before being pinned by White. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
2900-742: 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
3016-677: A men's and women's tournament of the Owen Hart Cup, and the winners would receive a trophy called "The Owen". It was also confirmed that the tournaments would begin in May with the finals to be held at Double or Nothing. AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan revealed that he had originally considered concluding the Owen Hart Cup at the Revolution , but decided on Double or Nothing so that Dr. Martha Hart could be involved due to her schedule. In deciding why there would be both
3132-718: A men's and women's tournament, Khan likened it to the Wimbledon tennis tournament, which also has both men's and women's tournaments. In the wake of CM Punk 's victory at Revolution , he set his sights on the AEW World Championship . Over the following weeks, Punk would defeat the likes of Dax Harwood , Max Caster , and Penta Oscuro . After conquering Dustin Rhodes on the April 20 episode of Dynamite , reigning champion "Hangman" Adam Page confronted Punk as
3248-424: 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
3364-583: A nearfall. Baker reversed it and got the victory and to win the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. After the match, Dr. Martha Hart was introduced by commentator Tony Schiavone , who thanked the fans for the warm welcome while Cole and Baker stood on opposite sides of the stage. She thanked various people from AEW and her children. Martha presented the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament belt that she handed to Cole first, and handed
3480-486: A nearfall. Deeb then applied a figure-four leglock on Rosa, where they ended up rolling out of the ring to the floor, which broke the hold. Back in the ring, Deeb applied the Serenity Lock, which she released and put Rosa down with a powerbomb. Moments later, Deeb avoided a charging Rosa, who crashed in the corner. Deeb went to the ropes and was cut off by Rosa, who executed a top rope superplex . Rosa followed with
3596-440: 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
Death Triangle - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-501: A promo, declaring that he was no longer MJF's bodyguard and no longer a member of the Pinnacle . On the May 18 episode of Dynamite , Wardlow, as part of a set of contract stipulations which would make him able to wrestle MJF, was lashed 10 times by MJF, only to be also ambushed by Shawn Spears . The succeeding week, Wardlow completed the final stipulation which guaranteed him a match with MJF at Double or Nothing by defeating Spears in
3828-454: A special appearance from Owen Hart 's widow Dr. Martha Hart , the in-ring debut of mixed martial artist Paige VanZant , and the first-ever Anarchy in the Arena match. Double or Nothing is considered All Elite Wrestling 's (AEW) marquee event , having first been held in 2019 , which was the promotion's first professional wrestling event and first pay-per-view (PPV) produced. It is held annually in May during Memorial Day weekend and
3944-536: A tornado tag team steel cage match to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship. At Full Gear , the duo successfully defended their titles against FTR ( Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood ). On the TBS debut episode of Dynamite on January 5, 2022, Penta and Fénix lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship to Jurassic Express ( Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus ), ending their reign at 122 days. During
4060-555: A trios match against the House of Black (King, Black, and Buddy Matthews ), which they lost. Fénix returned from injury on the April 27 episode of Dynamite , disguised as manager Alex Abrahantes, before attacking the House of Black and reuniting with the rest of Death Triangle. At Double or Nothing , Death Triangle lost to the House of Black in a six-man tag team match after interference by Julia Hart . At AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door , Pac defeated Malakai Black, Miro , and Clark Connors in
4176-503: 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
4292-586: 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
4408-436: 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
4524-410: 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
4640-427: 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
4756-470: 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
Death Triangle - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-536: Is one of AEW's "Big Four" PPVs, which includes All Out , Full Gear , and Revolution , their four biggest domestic shows produced quarterly. The event's name is a reference to its Las Vegas theme, which was where the inaugural event was held. After the previous two years' events had to be held at Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic ,
4988-506: The AEW World Championship , which was Punk's first world championship win since 2011 . In other prominent matches, Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. were the inaugural winners of the men's and women's Owen Hart Cup , The Jericho Appreciation Society ( Chris Jericho , Daniel Garcia , Jake Hager , Angelo Parker , and Matt Menard ) defeated The Blackpool Combat Club ( Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley ), Eddie Kingston , Santana, and Ortiz by technical submission in an Anarchy in
5104-715: The Casino Tag Team Battle Royale to determine the next challengers for the AEW World Tag Team Championship . They challenged The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the tag team championship on the April 14 episode of Dynamite , but were defeated. This match was awarded a five-star rating from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . On September 5 at All Out , Penta and Fénix defeated The Young Bucks in
5220-624: 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
5336-571: The T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada . The event returned Double or Nothing to its home of Las Vegas, after the previous two years had to be held at Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Thirteen matches were contested at the event, including one on The Buy In pre-show . In the main event, CM Punk defeated "Hangman" Adam Page to win
5452-557: 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
5568-431: 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
5684-584: 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
5800-400: 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
5916-509: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
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#17327935980726032-484: The 2021 Casino Tag Team Royale . The Lucha Brothers also appeared for AEW's sister promotion, Ring of Honor (ROH), where they are former ROH World Tag Team Champions . On the March 4, 2020, episode of Dynamite , Pac formed a villainous alliance with The Lucha Brothers ( Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix ) called Death Triangle, attacking Orange Cassidy and Best Friends ( Chuck Taylor and Trent ). Pac would become absent from AEW television soon after as he
6148-735: The 2022 event returned Double or Nothing to Las Vegas. On February 23, 2022, it was confirmed that the fourth Double or Nothing event would take place on May 29, but unlike the inaugural event, which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena , the 2022 event was held at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada . Additionally as part of Double or Nothing week, both of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage , aired live on May 25 and May 27, respectively, at
6264-552: The Arena match , and in the opening bout, Wardlow defeated MJF , which freed Wardlow from his "contract" with MJF and officially "signed" with AEW. The event saw the AEW debuts of Stokely Hathaway (who aligned himself with Jade Cargill ), Athena (previously known as Ember Moon in WWE ), and Rush (who aligned himself with Andrade El Ídolo and became a member of the Andrade Family Office). It additionally featured
6380-653: 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
6496-457: The Boom on Joe for the victory and to win the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The sixth match was the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals as Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D faced Ruby Soho . Soho applied a sharpshooter on Baker, who grabbed the rope to void the submission. In the end, Soho went to the ropes and put herself on the shoulders of Baker before performing a victory roll for
6612-559: The Dynamite Diamond Ring, but the referee saw it and took it away. MJF tried to shake hands with Wardlow, who obliged and then held onto his hand. Wardlow would then perform ten consecutive powerbombs on MJF to win the match; since Wardlow won, he was granted his release from his contract with MJF and free to officially join AEW. Next, The Hardys (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) faced The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), who were accompanied by Brandon Cutler . During
6728-475: The Jericho Appreciation Society in an Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing. After remaining undefeated for a year, Scorpio Sky defeated Sammy Guevara to win the AEW TNT Championship on the March 9 episode of Dynamite . After the match, Paige VanZant , who helped Sky win the title, signed her AEW contract on top of Guevara's real-life girlfriend, Tay Conti . Although Sky lost
6844-408: 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
6960-488: 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
7076-564: The TNT Championship as long as Sky is champion. During the Double or Nothing Buy-In pre-show, Hookhausen ( Hook and Danhausen ) faced Tony Nese and Mark Sterling. In the end, Hook suplexed Sterling and tagged in Danhausen, who pinned Sterling to win the match. The actual pay-per-view opened with MJF facing Wardlow. At the start of the match, MJF ducked to ringside and told the referee to make Wardlow back up. A short time later, MJF donned
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#17327935980727192-608: The Thoracic Express on Strickland to retain the titles. In the main event, "Hangman" Adam Page defended the AEW World Championship against CM Punk. Page went for a Buckshot Lariat, but Punk countered and applied the sharpshooter on Page, who managed to touch the ropes to void the submission. Punk landed a roundhouse kick on Page, who performed the Go To Sleep on Punk for a nearfall. As Page went to
7308-412: The United States. Double or Nothing featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds and storylines . Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs, Dynamite and Rampage , the supplementary online streaming shows, Dark and Elevation , and The Young Bucks ' YouTube series Being The Elite . In September 2021, AEW announced
7424-406: The apron and attempted another Buckshot Lariat on Punk, the latter caught him and when he hoisted up Page for the GTS, Page’s boots incapacitated the referee. Page picked up the AEW World Championship belt and wanted to strike Punk with the belt, however, Page looked conflicted and tossed the belt back in a corner of the ring. In the culmination of the match, Page's knee buckled during the execution of
7540-401: 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
7656-418: 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
7772-561: 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
7888-424: The back of Luchasaurus. As Luchasaurus went for a double chokeslam , Lee and Hobbs both grabbed him and slammed him instead. Hobbs leapt from the ropes and performed a double blockbuster on Lee and Luchasaurus. Moments later, Starks had Boy pinned and used the ropes for leverage until Cage shoved his feet off the ropes. Lee held up Boy while Strickland performed a Swerve Stomp. In the end, Boy and Luchasaurus performed
8004-465: The backstage tension between MJF and AEW owner Tony Khan about MJF's contract and payment he felt he should have, as well as doing an interview with Ariel Helwani without telling management. On the following episode of Dynamite , MJF stated that he was not being respected by the fans and Khan. He eventually mentioned all the "ex-WWE" guys that he believes Khan treats better than him. The segment ended with MJF demanding to be fired by Khan, calling Khan
8120-424: 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
8236-418: 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
8352-423: 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
8468-461: 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
8584-540: 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
8700-405: 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
8816-603: The establishment of the Owen Hart Cup , an annual tournament to honor the legacy of Owen Hart , a prominent wrestler for WWE (at the time was known as the World Wrestling Federation) during the 1990s, who tragically died at that company's 1999 Over the Edge PPV . The tournament was established in collaboration with The Owen Hart Foundation . On December 17, AEW revealed that there would be both
8932-603: 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
9048-614: The fans and the Inner Circle did not appreciate him, and that Kingston embarrassed him by making him tap out. He then dubbed the stable as "sport-entertainers" who beats up "pro-wrestlers". On the May 11 episode of Dynamite , Kingston along with Santana and Ortiz, united with the Blackpool Combat Club to fight off the Jericho Appreciation Society. The following week, Kingston agreed to team with Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson , along with Santana and Ortiz, to wrestle
9164-470: 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
9280-610: 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
9396-460: 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
9512-443: The hand of Jericho, who stated before the match he would do so if Kingston defeated him, but Jericho instead refused and left the ring. On the following episode of Dynamite , Jericho turned heel by attacking Kingston and Santana & Ortiz with the help of 2.0 , Daniel Garcia , and Jake Hager , ending The Inner Circle , and forming a new stable named "The Jericho Appreciation Society". The following week, Jericho stated that
9628-526: 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
9744-480: 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
9860-496: 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
9976-520: The interim champion to determine the undisputed champion. To determine the interim champion, AEW set up matches called the AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series that will culminate in a match at Forbidden Door on June 26, a co-promoted event between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The first two matches took place on the June 8 episode of Dynamite . A Casino Battle Royale opened
10092-463: The latter had ascended the top of the rankings to become the number one contender for Page's championship. The following week, the match was subsequently scheduled for Double or Nothing. During MJF 's match at Revolution, Wardlow , who began developing tension with MJF in December 2021, turned on the latter, thus turning face . On the following episode of Dynamite , Wardlow cemented his turn in
10208-414: The match by technical submission . In the penultimate match, Jurassic Express ( Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus ) (accompanied by Christian Cage ) defended the AEW World Tag Team Championship against Swerve In Our Glory ( Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland ) and Team Taz ( Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks ). Boy attempted another suicide dive on Strickland, but Lee caught him and powerbombed him onto
10324-516: The match, Fénix was chokeslammed off the apron through a table by Luchasaurus, which dislocated his left elbow upon landing. On the February 23 episode of Dynamite , Pac teamed with Penta, who was now using the name "Penta Oscuro", to defeat Kings of the Black Throne ( Brody King and Malakai Black ). During Revolution 's Buy-In pre-show, Pac and Penta would team with Erick Redbeard in
10440-469: The match, Nick performed a springboard into a facebuster on Jeff. Later, Matt Jackson gave Jeff a Twist of Fate . Outside the ring, Jeff landed a Swanton Bomb on Matt Jackson through the steel steps. Back in the ring, Matt Hardy performed a Twist of Fate on Nick for a nearfall . In the end, Matt Hardy performed a second Twist of Fate on Nick and tagged in Jeff, who followed with a Swanton Bomb on Nick to win
10556-496: The match. After that, Jade Cargill defended the AEW TBS Championship against Anna Jay . Mark Sterling made his way to ringside with a crutch in hand and argued with the referee. Jay performed a leg sweep on Cargill with the crutch for a nearfall. John Silver ran out and performed a brainbuster on Sterling. Stokely Hathaway walked out and stood at ringside, making his unannounced AEW debut. Cargill performed
10672-498: 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
10788-595: The nearby Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay . There was also a fan fest on Saturday, May 28, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center . Tickets for Double or Nothing went on sale on March 4, 2022, in which first day sales drew over $ 1 million at the gate , marking the first time AEW crossed $ 1 million at the gate. In addition to PPV, AEW partnered with Joe Hand Promotions to air Double or Nothing in select movie theaters across
10904-437: 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
11020-717: 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
11136-500: The second Owen Hart Foundation Tournament belt to Baker. Later, American Top Team (Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, Paige VanZant) were accompanied by Dan Lambert to face Frankie Kazarian, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti in a six-person mixed tag team match . During the match, VanZant performed a Michinoku Driver on Conti for a nearfall. In the end, Guevara attempted a superkick on Kazarian, who ducked, causing him to hit Conti instead. Kazarian tossed Guevara to ringside, allowing Page to perform
11252-548: The soundboard to stop the music from playing. Garcia performed a piledriver on Ortiz through the steel steps. Jericho put Moxley in the Walls of Jericho on a table, but it collapsed a second after he applied the move. As Danielson and Moxley were applying the LeBell Lock and bulldog choke on Jericho and Hager respectively, Kingston walked down the ramp with a can of gasoline and poured it on Jericho while Danielson had him in
11368-440: 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
11484-426: 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,
11600-654: The title back to Guevara at Battle of the Belts II , he regained it two weeks later on the April 27 episode of Dynamite after defeating Guevara in a ladder match . On the May 13 episode of Rampage , Sky successfully defended the title against his former tag team partner Frankie Kazarian , following interference from Ethan Page and Dan Lambert. On the May 27 episode of Rampage , it was announced that Guevara, Conti, and Kazarian would face American Top Team (Sky, Page, and VanZant) at Double or Nothing where if Guevara's team loses, neither Guevara or Kazarian can challenge for
11716-519: 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
11832-471: 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
11948-567: The vacant Trios Championship, which also made Pac a double champion. On the 11 January 2023 edition of Dynamite , Death Triangle would lose their Trios titles to The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks ) in the finale of a Best of Seven Series . On March 6, 2024, episode of Collision , Pac made his return to save Eddie Kingston and his teammate Penta from an attack from The Elite (now including Kazuchika Okada ). On March 13 at Big Business, Pac and Penta teamed with Eddie Kingston, in
12064-535: 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
12180-420: 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
12296-425: 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
12412-477: Was "fun", and the main event was "a bit clunky at times" and "fine" when they just went at each other. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated opined that although Double or Nothing "ran too long", it still had its "share of standout moments". Barasso thought there was no more significant moment at Double or Nothing than Punk regaining his place atop the wrestling world, the tag team championship three-way match
12528-462: Was "outstanding", the Anarchy in the Arena match was an "unforgettable gore", Rosa-Deeb was a "technical brilliance", O'Reilly-Allin was "very good", and Baker-Soho was "one of the best on the card". Writing for Pro Wrestling Dot Net , Jason Powell stated that the event was "enjoyable". The Hardys-Bucks tag match exceeded his expectations, the six-man tag team was a "very good spotfest ", Rosa-Deeb
12644-530: Was "rough", the trios match between Death Triangle and House of Black was a "thrilling" action from start to finish, Baker-Soho was "a solid match that had a questionable winner", Deeb-Rosa was "a very nice showing for the AEW women's division" as both showed some solid technical skills and grit to put on a "fine match", the Anarchy in the Arena match was "a wild bloodbath", the tag team championship three-way between Jurassic Express, Swerve in Our Glory and Team Taz
12760-409: Was "well-worked", the Anarchy in the Arena was "crazy enough that it could spark more interest in the feud", the tag team championship three-way was "entertaining", and the AEW World Championship was "a good main event." Combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter assigned star ratings to the event, with the highest rated match being the Anarchy in the Arena, which
12876-488: 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
12992-650: 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
13108-570: Was rated 5 stars. Elsewhere on the card, the main event, the three-way tag, and the six-man tag team all received 4 1 ⁄ 2 stars out of 5. Rosa-Deeb was assigned 4 1 ⁄ 4 stars, and the Hardys-Bucks tag match received 4 stars. The lowest rated match on the show was Cargill-Jay, which was given 1 3 ⁄ 4 stars. During the Double or Nothing weekend, MJF no-showed a fan fest. When management tried calling him, he did not answer his phone. This came after months of rumors about
13224-415: 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
13340-417: 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
13456-597: Was unable to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic . During this absence, Alex Abrahantes became the manager of The Lucha Brothers. After an eight-month absence from television, Pac returned to AEW on the November 11 episode of Dynamite where he confronted Eddie Kingston , thus turning face for the first time since 2016. On the following episode of Dynamite , Death Triangle was reformed after Fénix and Penta saved Pac from an attack by Kingston and The Butcher and The Blade . At Revolution on March 7, 2021, Pac and Fénix won
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