Mid 20th Century
116-512: Edward Smith Fatu (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an American professional wrestler , best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Umaga . Fatu was also known for his time with All Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid-2000s, where he was a main eventer under the ring name Jamal . He was a member of the Anoaʻi family , a renowned Samoan wrestling family. During his first stint with WWE billed as Jamal, he
232-537: A Bachelor of Arts in communications. During his studies, Stipich made it to second place in the Pacific-10 Conference in two consecutive years. Stipich trained as a professional wrestler under Dory Funk Jr. at Funking Conservatory , debuting in 1996 under the ring name "Shawn Stasiak" for the Vancouver -based independent promotion Pacific Coast Championship Wrestling. In 1996, Stipich sent
348-435: 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
464-706: A chiropractor . He currently works for the Advanced Comprehensive Medical team based out of Texas as a chiropractor . In 2007, he received a certificate in manipulation under anesthesia from the Academy of Physical and Manual Medicine in New York. In addition to his work as a chiropractor , Stipich also works as a motivational speaker and uses the Fobia character he created while in college during his talks with children. Stasiak appears in
580-415: 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
696-415: 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
812-413: 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
928-532: 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
1044-519: 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
1160-585: 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
1276-975: A cousin of several professional wrestlers, including Rodney Anoaʻi (Yokozuna), Matt Anoaʻi (Rosey) and Joe Anoaʻi (Roman Reigns). Fatu grew up in Samoa and played football in high school. Fatu trained with his cousin Matt Anoaʻi at the Wild Samoan professional wrestling school operated by members of their family. In 1995, with his training complete, Fatu debuted in his uncle Afa 's World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion. From 1999 to 2000, he worked for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan. In 2001, Fatu, along with his cousin Matt, signed developmental contracts with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and were assigned to Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), adopting
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#17327978728931392-491: 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 . Shawn Stasiak Shawn Emile Stipich (born July 21, 1970) is an American Canadian chiropractor , motivational speaker and retired professional wrestler . He
1508-575: A developmental deal in January 1998, and he began training with Tom Prichard in the Memphis, Tennessee -based Power Pro Wrestling , where he stayed until he was called up to the WWF in 1999. While with PowerPro, one of the angles he was involved in revolved around Jerry Lawler and his real life wife, Stacy "The Kat" Carter . Stasiak first won the services of Stacy for two weeks by beating Jerry Lawler in
1624-404: 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
1740-410: 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
1856-729: A feud with Marella. When they met at the Vengeance pay-per-view on June 24, Umaga was solidly in control of the match, but lost by disqualification when he disregarded the referee's instructions and continued to punch Marella. In a rematch on the July 2 episode of Raw , Umaga defeated Marella to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. On the August 6 episode of Raw , Umaga turned face by joining forces with John Cena to face Carlito and Randy Orton in
1972-572: A few months before he split from Terri after Terri saw Meat kissing Marianna , Terri's nemesis, on the Titantron. This led to her and Chaz attacking Meat. In the next couple of weeks, Stipich dropped the Meat name and began to compete under his Shawn Stasiak name. At Survivor Series , Stasiak was defeated by the debuting Kurt Angle . Stasiak was later suspended in December 1999 after he recorded
2088-507: A heated conversation between Davey Boy Smith and Steve Blackman without their permission. Although Stasiak stated that this was done as a joke, he was fired regardless. After WWF, Stasiak was signed by World Championship Wrestling in early 2000. After training in the company's Power Plant wrestling school with Paul Orndorff , he made his WCW debut on the April 10, 2000 episode of Nitro by attacking Curt Hennig . He later joined
2204-405: 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
2320-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2436-633: A match against the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy , which he won to win the Intercontinental Championship. After Bobby Lashley was named Trump's representative, the two began a feud which lasted even beyond WrestleMania. At WrestleMania on April 1, Umaga lost the Battle of the Billionaires' hair versus hair match and caused McMahon to get his head shaved. On the April 16 episode of Raw , Lashley interfered in
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#17327978728932552-485: A match and helped a planted fan, Santino Marella , defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship. On April 29 at Backlash , Umaga, Vince, and Shane McMahon wrestled Lashley for his ECW World Championship in a handicap match , winning the title for Vince. Umaga would continue to be involved with that feud, competing at Judgment Day on May 20 in a rematch for the ECW World Championship, which
2668-407: A match. He then claims that they have started a relationship, and he introduces Stacy to his "sister" ( storyline ). The next week, he introduces Stacy to his "mother", Mae Young . This begins a series of different matches between Stasiak, Lawler, Mae Young, and Stacy. He made his WWF debut on the April 18, 1999 episode of Sunday Night Heat as Meat, attacking Tiger Ali Singh . He soon became
2784-424: 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
2900-440: 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
3016-469: A push as a singles wrestler in early 2004. Entering that year's Champion Carnival , he failed to advance past the group stages, though earned a major upset win over Keiji Mutō . In May, he began a feud with Toshiaki Kawada , setting his sights on Kawada's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship . The two fought for the belt on June 12 in Nagoya, Aichi , where Kawada was victorious. After this loss, Jamal spent
3132-475: A second heart attack; he was ultimately pronounced dead at around 5:00 PM CST. He was 36 years old. Toxicology reports revealed that Fatu had the drugs hydrocodone (a painkiller), carisoprodol (Soma, a muscle relaxant), and diazepam (Valium) in his system. Houston medical examiners also found that Fatu had both heart and liver disease. It was determined that the combination of Fatu's repeated drug use and his heart disease ultimately led to his death, which
3248-461: A seven-year battle with cancer. On December 4, 2009, Fatu was found by his wife on the couch in their Houston, Texas home, unresponsive and with blood coming from his nose. A 911 call was made and Fatu was rushed to a hospital by ambulance. Paramedics determined Fatu was suffering a heart attack and they were able to restart his heart, although he showed no signs of brain activity. He was kept on life support for much of that Friday, and later suffered
3364-439: A tag team match on August 13, which they won. He defeated both Carlito and Mr. Kennedy in a triple threat match at SummerSlam on August 26 to retain the Intercontinental Championship. He then interrupted a match between Kennedy and the returning Jeff Hardy the following night on Raw , assaulting Hardy and leaving him lying in the ring, thus turning heel once again. One week later, on the September 3 episode of Raw , Umaga lost
3480-698: A tag team with Siaki. From October to August 2004, he teamed with Sonny Siaki to defeat the teams of Shark Boy and Mad Mikey, Danny Doring and Roadkill , and America's Most Wanted . Fatu made his final appearance on August 11, 2004, where he lost to Alex Shelley . Fatu debuted in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in November 2003 under his former ring name Jamal, immediately aligning himself with Taka Michinoku 's Roughly Obsess and Destroy (R.O.D.) stable. He most often teamed with fellow members Taiyō Kea and Buchanan , though he began to receive
3596-536: A tape consisting of vignettes to the World Wrestling Federation , with one of the segments seeing him dressed up as a Halloween character named Fobia and instructing kids on how to trick-or-treat safely. The character's origin story was based on a nest of spiders that lived under his bed. After reviewing the tape, the WWF gave him a tryout match in October 1997. Stipich was signed to
Umaga (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-503: 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
3828-586: 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
3944-436: 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
4060-410: 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
4176-615: Is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotions the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Shawn Stasiak and Meat . Championships held by Stasiak over the course of his career include the WCW World Tag Team Championship and WWF Hardcore Championship . Stasiak
4292-427: 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
4408-470: 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
4524-699: Is the son of former WWWF Champion Stan Stasiak . Though born in Hayward, California, much of the early years of Stasiak's life were spent on the road, traveling from territory to territory with his dad, before the family eventually returned to Canada and settled in Oakville, Ontario , near Toronto. He attended White Oaks Secondary School , where he wrestled in Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations events. After graduating, he attended Boise State University , where he graduated with
4640-516: The Dudley Boyz . He was injured soon after and was out of action until late October. On November 18 at Survivor Series , Stasiak, in storyline, lost his job along with all of the Alliance members when Team WWF defeated Team Alliance. The Alliance members still worked house shows and dark matches for a while, however, until being ready to be called up to the main active roster. However, Stasiak
4756-624: 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
Umaga (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-543: The World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico, defeating Mr. Anderson (formerly Mr. Kennedy). In November, Umaga appeared on Hulk Hogan 's Hulkamania Tour of Australia under the ring name Uso Fatu. On November 24, Fatu defeated Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake , and two days later, he and Orlando Jordan lost to Beefcake and Mr. Anderson. On November 28, 2009, Fatu wrestled his final match, where he
4988-557: 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
5104-431: 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
5220-618: The storyline " boy-toy " of the Pretty Mean Sisters ( Terri Runnels , Jacqueline , and Ryan Shamrock ), although Shamrock left the company a few months later. Meat picked up many victories for a few months over the likes of Droz , Brian Christopher , and The Blue Meanie . However, he would soon be relegated to that of a jobber , with the on-air explanation for this was that he would tire himself out before matches by sexually pleasuring PMS. This led to Jacqueline leaving Meat and Terri by themselves. The character only lasted
5336-584: 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
5452-400: 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
5568-460: 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
5684-653: 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
5800-676: The Bank briefcase . On May 17 at Judgment Day , Umaga defeated Punk, but lost to Punk at Extreme Rules on June 7 in a Samoan Strap match, ending their feud in what was Umaga's last appearance in WWE. On June 8, 2009, WWE announced that Fatu was released from his WWE contract. It was later revealed that his termination was due to violation of the Wellness Policy ; even though this was only his second failure, his refusal to enter rehabilitation led to his dismissal. On July 11, 2009, Umaga appeared at
5916-723: The Insiders and became the World Tag Team Champions while Stasiak and Jindrak began teaming together. In February 2001, the Natural Born Thrillers broke up when Stasiak and Jindrak became jealous of Palumbo and O'Haire. The two teams faced off at SuperBrawl Revenge on February 18, 2001, for the World Tag Team Title, but Palumbo and O'Haire retained. In March 2001, Stasiak acquired the services of Miss Hancock as his valet, gaining
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#17327978728936032-483: The Intercontinental Championship to Hardy. Later that night, he teamed with Carlito in a handicap match against Triple H , after which Triple H struck him several times with his signature sledgehammer, injuring him. He was given a match against Triple H on October 7 at No Mercy , which was changed to a title match for the WWE Championship during the event when Triple H won the title earlier that night. Umaga
6148-681: The July 22, 2002, episode of Raw as 3-Minute Warning , a pair of villainous thugs. They were hired as enforcers of Eric Bischoff , attacking random wrestlers each week, after Bischoff either gave people three minutes to entertain him before they were attacked or decided that three minutes of a segment was enough before the team appeared to end it. They attacked numerous wrestlers at the orders of Bischoff, including D'Lo Brown and Shawn Stasiak . They also attacked non-wrestlers, including ring announcer Lilian Garcia and former wrestlers Jimmy Snuka , Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah . Their most notable event came when they attacked two lesbians on
6264-408: 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
6380-488: 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
6496-591: The New Blood and began feuding with Hennig. He was soon given nicknames such as "The Perfect One" and later "Perfect" Shawn Stasiak, the latter of which was a parody of Hennig's "Mr. Perfect" character. Stasiak picked up two victories over Hennig, one of which was Stasiak's WCW pay-per-view debut on May 7, 2000 at Slamboree . Hennig soon became impressed with Stasiak and briefly coached him before Hennig's WCW contract expired in June 2000. In late-May, Stasiak formed
6612-541: The Real World Tag League with Kea, however, they failed to advance past the group stages. Jamal left All Japan Pro Wrestling in December 2005. In December 2005, Fatu had re-signed with World Wrestling Entertainment . Fatu returned on the April 3, 2006, episode of Raw with a new character called Umaga, the same name of the final and most painful part of the Samoan tattooing process , meaning "the end"; he
6728-482: The September 9 episode of Raw . 3-Minute Warning then began a feud with Billy and Chuck , interfering in their storyline commitment ceremony , and defeating them on September 22 at the Unforgiven pay-per-view event . Rico , Billy and Chuck's former manager , also began to manage 3-Minute Warning during this time. On November 17 at Survivor Series , they competed in an elimination tables match , which
6844-484: The WWE "Talent Wellness" program. Fatu specifically was said to have received somatotropin , a growth hormone, between July and December 2006, after the "no drugs from online sources" rule was instituted. In June 2009, Fatu violated the Wellness Policy once again; due to his uncooperation and refusal to attend drug rehabilitation, he was released from his WWE contract. On April 27, 2008, Fatu's mother died after
6960-457: The World Tag Team Title two more times before splitting in early January 2001 when Stasiak and Palumbo won a tag team battle royal with O'Haire and Jindrak. Sanders declared both teams victorious and that one member from each team would start teaming together and get a tag team title shot against The Insiders ( Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash). Palumbo began teaming with O'Haire and they defeated
7076-401: 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
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#17327978728937192-418: 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
7308-561: 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
7424-589: The brand, on the January 30, 2009, episode of SmackDown , Umaga returned with a new entrance theme, defeating Jimmy Wang Yang . Umaga then suffered his first defeat since his return against Triple H by disqualification on the March 6 episode of SmackDown , after The Legacy attacked Triple H. On the May 1 episode of SmackDown , Umaga returned from a two-month hiatus, attacking CM Punk on multiple occasions, repeatedly interrupting Punk's attempts to cash in his Money in
7540-786: The brother of Umaga's former tag team partner Rosey, used his Samoan Spike finisher on Matt Riddle , a day after the 13th anniversary of his death. His son, Zilla, also uses the Samoan Spike as his finisher. As Umaga, Fatu appears as a playable character in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 , WWE 2K22 as downloadable content , WWE 2K23 , and WWE 2K24 . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
7656-424: 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
7772-418: 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
7888-423: 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
8004-461: 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
8120-540: 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
8236-405: 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
8352-603: 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
8468-470: 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
8584-490: The following week on Sunday Night Heat Stasiak was defeated by Goldust . Stasiak made his return on the April 15, 2002 episode of Raw with a new character that saw him claim that he was from Planet Stasiak, heard voices in his head, talked to himself with rhymes, and acted comically insane. On this same night, Stasiak was defeated by Big Show . Stasiak traded the Hardcore Championship several times with
8700-610: 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
8816-404: 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
8932-516: The hands of then WWE Champion John Cena . The following month, he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time, and won it for the second time in July 2007. He also appeared in the "Battle of the Billionaires" WrestleMania 23 match as Mr. McMahon's representative. He was released by WWE in June 2009 and wrestled on the independent circuit until his death in December of that year. Edward Smith Fatu
9048-526: 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
9164-480: 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
9280-496: 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
9396-477: The last episode of Nitro on March 26, 2001, as Stasiak defeated Bigelow in a tattoo match. Following this, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation and most of the talent contracts, including Stasiak's, were picked up. Stasiak returned to the WWF in July 2001 as part of The Alliance after WCW was bought by the WWF. Stasiak won at InVasion where he, Kanyon , and Hugh Morrus defeated The Big Show , Billy Gunn , and Albert . Throughout August, he
9512-738: The likes of Steven Richards , Justin Credible , Bradshaw , and Tommy Dreamer until he requested his early release on September 27, 2002, to pursue other business ventures. In 2007, Stasiak came out of retirement for the Texas-based independent promotion Professional Championship Wrestling wrestling three matches. On February 20, 2010, Stasiak wrestled his last match teaming with Rodney Mack as they lost to Prince Ali Farhat and Bash at Universal Championship wrestling in Ardmore, Oklahoma. After his release, Stipich retired from wrestling and became
9628-580: The match in jeopardy. Cena kayfabe refused a medical exam, the results of which could cause him to forfeit his title, and then defeated Umaga at the Royal Rumble on January 28 after wrapping a loosened ring rope around his neck during an STFU . On the February 19 episode of Raw , Umaga was named Vince McMahon's representative for "Battle of the Billionaires" with Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23 . Immediately after choosing Umaga, McMahon granted him
9744-498: 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
9860-438: The nickname "The Mecca of Manhood" in the process. He was also, in storyline , hinted as the alleged father of Hancock's baby, which later turned out to be a stack of 8x10 cameras in a stroller. As a heel , Stasiak used the cameras to take pictures of himself before throwing the pictures to fans as a way to show off his physique. While with Miss Hancock, he also started a brief feud with Bam Bam Bigelow . The feud culminated on
9976-437: 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
10092-473: The promotion three months later with Booker citing irreconcilable differences. They later reconciled and Zilla returned to working for ROW. During the weekend of August 30, 2007, articles posted by Sports Illustrated , the New York Daily News , and The Washington Post named Fatu as one of many superstars to have purchased pharmaceuticals from an online pharmacy , which was a violation of
10208-717: 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
10324-594: The rest of 2004 primarily focused on the tag division, and on December 1, 2004, he and frequent partner Taiyō Kea won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League tournament, beating Kaz Hayashi and Satoshi Kojima in the final. The following month on January 16, 2005, they won the World Tag Team Championship for the first time, beating New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) representatives Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yutaka Yoshie . Following this win, he
10440-440: 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
10556-725: The tag team called the Perfect Event with Chuck Palumbo , and they soon won the World Tag Team Championship after defeating KroniK ( Brian Adams and Bryan Clark ). After winning the title, they began feuding with KroniK over the title. In August, the Perfect Event helped form The Natural Born Thrillers alongside Mike Sanders , Sean O'Haire , Mark Jindrak , Johnny the Bull and Reno , while they were briefly "coached" by Kevin Nash . Stasiak and Palumbo would later win
10672-631: The tag team name the Island Boyz , and with Fatu using the ring name Ekmo. They won the HWA Tag Team Championship in November 2001 by defeating Evan Karagias and Shannon Moore . They also competed for Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), holding the MCW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Fatu (renamed to Jamal) and Anoaʻi (renamed to Rosey) made their main roster debut on
10788-426: 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,
10904-519: 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
11020-471: 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
11136-535: 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
11252-420: 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
11368-425: 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
11484-492: Was born in American Samoa on March 28, 1973, to Vera and Solofa Fatu. He was a member of the Anoaʻi family . His mother was the sister of Afa and Sika of The Wild Samoans . He has two older brothers who are also professional wrestlers: Sam (The Tonga Kid) and Solofa Jr. (Rikishi). He was also the uncle of Jacob Fatu , Jonathan (Jimmy Uso) and Joshua Fatu (Jey Uso), and Joseph Fatu (Solo Sikoa), as well as
11600-488: 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
11716-543: Was defeated by Anderson. Shortly before his death, Fatu reportedly reached an agreement to return to WWE at the Royal Rumble in January 2010. Fatu and his wife L.T. had four children. One of them notably is his son, Isaiah "Zilla" Fatu , who was training to become a professional wrestler in Booker T 's Reality of Wrestling as of December 2022. Zilla would make his professional wrestling debut on July 15, 2023, but left
11832-549: Was defeated by Triple H in their match. At Survivor Series on November 18, his team lost to Triple H's team in a Survivor Series match . On March 30 at WrestleMania XXIV , Umaga was defeated by Batista . On June 23, 2008, Umaga was drafted to the SmackDown brand, as a part of the 2008 WWE draft . Umaga suffered a torn PCL at a live event in Johnson City, Tennessee , on August 2. After two promos hyping his return to
11948-504: Was depicted as a destructive savage who could be controlled only by his manager , Armando Alejandro Estrada . Umaga attacked Ric Flair in his debut at the orders of Estrada. He then defeated Flair at Backlash on April 30. In mid–2006, Umaga started a winning streak against the majority of the Raw roster, including going over top stars John Cena , Shawn Michaels , and Triple H . His next feud started on August 20 at SummerSlam , where he
12064-424: Was given the gimmick of being clumsy while trying to impress the Alliance's leader, Stone Cold Steve Austin . Every time he tried attacking major WWF stars such as The Rock or Kurt Angle , he would run into a wall, statue, milk truck, or just completely miss and trip over his boots. In late August, Stasiak was also briefly paired with Stacy Keibler again, but she stopped being his valet in late September to manage
12180-587: Was injured in late November and required surgery on his knee to remove his damaged bursa sac . He was later cleared to wrestle on January 1, 2002. In February 2002, Stasiak was sent to the Heartland Wrestling Association for training and to work off ring rust. Stasiak was later called up to the Raw brand in late-March 2002 and had his return televised match on the April 7, 2002, edition of Sunday Night Heat , defeating Tommy Dreamer and
12296-437: Was never pinned or made to submit on television, but he suffered two losses by disqualification and another in a double countout . For the rest of the month, Armando Alejandro Estrada played down Cena's victory, claiming it was a fluke, until a Last Man Standing rematch was signed for the Royal Rumble . On an episode of Raw between the two pay-per-views, Umaga attacked Cena causing a worked injury to his spleen and putting
12412-424: Was officially ruled to have been due to a heart attack brought on by an acute toxicity of multiple substances. On the day of his death, his nephews The Usos ( Jonathan and Joshua ) signed their developmental contracts with the company through Florida Championship Wrestling . Joseph , who goes by the name of Solo Sikoa in WWE uses the Samoan Spike as his finisher in tribute to Umaga (his uncle). Roman Reigns ,
12528-468: Was once again a handicap match with the McMahons and Umaga taking on Lashley, which Lashley won. However, Lashley did not win the ECW World Championship because he pinned Shane and not the champion, Vince. The feud culminated on June 3 at One Night Stand , with Umaga aiding Vince in defending the ECW World Championship against Lashley in a Street Fight, which Vince lost. In June, Umaga was re-entered into
12644-620: Was once again pushed in that year's Champion Carnival, earning big wins over established names such as Kawada and Kojima on his way to the final, where he lost to Kensuke Sasaki in Tokyo . With a strong record of wins against champion Satoshi Kojima, Jamal began to pursue the Triple Crown once again in August, culminating in a match between the two in Sapporo on September 1, where Jamal was once again defeated. After this, he once again entered
12760-431: Was part of tag team 3-Minute Warning , with his cousin Matt Anoaʻi , billed as Rosey. He was released from the company in June 2003, later going to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and becoming a mainstay for the company from late 2003 to 2005. In April 2006, Fatu returned to WWE under the ring name Umaga. Fatu went undefeated on the Raw brand throughout the year before finally suffering his first defeat in January 2007 at
12876-571: 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
12992-415: 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
13108-554: Was supposed to be an enforcer on behalf of Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon during their match against D-Generation X ( Shawn Michaels and Triple H ), only to be attacked by Kane as he made his entrance. Umaga feuded with Kane for the next two months until Umaga won a Loser Leaves Raw match on the October 9 episode of Raw , sending Kane off of the brand. After being separated by different brands, Umaga and Kane had one final match at Cyber Sunday on November 5, where Umaga again defeated Kane. Umaga, having still not been pinned,
13224-417: 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
13340-523: Was then deemed the number one contender for the WWE Championship and placed into a feud with then-champion John Cena over the title. Cena retained his belt at the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view by pinning Umaga with a roll-up , officially ending his undefeated streak, which had lasted 34 televised matches and spanned from his re-debut in April 2006 to January 7, 2007. In that time, Umaga
13456-491: Was won by The Dudley Boyz ( Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley ). The team lasted just shy of a year, with Fatu being released from his WWE contract in June 2003, reportedly after his involvement in a bar fight. On September 10, 2003, Fatu debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name of Ekmo Fatu, helping Sonny Siaki defeat D'Lo Brown in a casket match . He then formed
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