Mid 20th Century
131-493: Agatupu Rodney Anoaʻi (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was an American professional wrestler . He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna . He was also known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Great Kokina . Anoa'i's character was portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler, with his ring name being
262-435: 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
393-415: 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
524-415: 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
655-478: A " Bodyslam Competition" aboard the USS ; Intrepid , a decommissioned aircraft carrier , on Independence Day . Many wrestlers and athletes failed to slam Yokozuna until Lex Luger flew in by helicopter, stepped forward, and slammed him on the deck. Commentator Bobby Heenan claimed Luger's move was a hiptoss, not a bodyslam, as Yokozuna was running at Luger, but the slam was ruled legitimate. This made Luger
786-413: 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
917-690: A battle royal won by his cousin Rocky Maivia . For a second time, Yokozuna went to his home in Los Angeles to lose weight through exercise and dieting, being replaced by other wrestlers on a late November 1996 tour of the United Kingdom . Despite dropping a reported 100 lb (45 kg), he still could not lose enough to satisfy the WWF officials, and was not medically cleared to wrestle in some states because of his physical condition. Yokozuna
1048-532: 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
1179-519: 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
1310-585: 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
1441-667: A commentator, until leaving the company in January 2003 and joined Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling until its collapse a year later. In 2005, after accepting an invitation from Kensuke Sasaki , Saito worked with the Diamond Ring promotion as a supervisor and manager/advisor to the promotion's younger talent. Diamond Ring ran its last show in February 2014. After Diamond Ring, Saito moved back to his home in Tokyo. Saito's style
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#17327871506991572-423: 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 . Masa Saito Masanori Saito ( 斎藤 昌典 , Saitō Masanori , August 7, 1942 – July 14, 2018)
1703-404: 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
1834-410: 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
1965-634: A great tag team partner to face off against The Smoking Gunns ( Billy and Bart ) at WrestleMania XI for the WWF Tag Team Championship . At the event on April 2, Yokozuna, now weighing in at 641 lb (291 kg), was revealed as his partner, and the team defeated the Gunns to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. The two retained the titles against the Gunns in a rematch on May 14 at In Your House 1 and against
2096-405: 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
2227-675: A loss to André the Giant , El Canek, and Villano III in May 1992), as well as again unsuccessfully challenging El Canek for the UWA World Heavyweight Championship on several other occasions. He made his final appearances with the promotion in August 1992. In 1992, Anoaʻi was contacted by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and offered a roster spot along with The Samoans (Fatu and Samoan Savage). On
2358-744: 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
2489-424: 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
2620-440: 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
2751-758: A ninth stint with NJPW in March 1992 as part of the "Big Fight Series", once again teaming with Wild Samoan as the Samoan SWAT Team; the main event of the final day of the series saw the Samoan SWAT Team and Big Van Vader lose to Keiji Muto, Masahiro Chono, and Riki Choshu in the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo . In June and July 1992, the Samoan SWAT Team wrestled on the "Masters of Wrestling" tour. Anoaʻi made his final appearances with NJPW in September 1992 as part of its "Battle Autumn" tour. His last match took place at
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#17327871506992882-520: A reference to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan . While Anoaʻi wrestled as a representative of Japan, he was a Samoan American and was billed as hailing from Polynesia . However, he was managed by the Japanese character Mr. Fuji (in reality a Japanese American) who would follow Anoaʻi to the ring with a wooden bucket of salt while waving a Japanese flag . In the WWF, Anoaʻi
3013-627: A second victory the following year, this time with Shinya Hashimoto . Saito had a couple short stints in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). His first came in 1990, which saw him team with The Great Muta for the Pat O'Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade '90: Collision Course , which they lost to The Steiner Brothers in the finals. It wouldn't be until five years later that Saito briefly returned, which included an appearance at Starrcade '95 . Wrestling as part of
3144-511: A series of matches between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling, Saito lost his match to WCW representative Johnny B. Badd by disqualification. His last match for the company aired on May 18, 1996, on WCW Pro , teaming with Masahiro Chono , wrestling Harlem Heat to a double disqualification. On February 14, 1999, Saito wrestled his last match, which was a loss to Scott Norton . Upon retiring in 1999, he stayed in NJPW as
3275-418: A stretcher, a real forklift had to be brought to carry Yokozuna out, as it was the only way to move a man of his size. In May, Yokozuna returned at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog to wrestle Vader. During the event, a severe thunderstorm in the area caused the pay-per-view broadcast feed to blackout. In one of the matches not broadcast, Yokozuna defeated Vader. The event was rescheduled two days later, in which
3406-557: A third member of the team. Later in the year, Saito signed with the World Wrestling Federation . He formed a tag team with Mr. Fuji , which was managed by Captain Lou Albano . They began a feud with tag champions Tony Garea and Rick Martel , whom they defeated on edition of October 17, 1981, of Championship Wrestling to win their first WWF Tag Team Championship , though it was Fuji's fourth individual reign. They began feuding with The Strongbows ( Chief Jay and Jules ) in
3537-471: A third tour of Japan as part of NJPW's "Toukon Series"; during this stint, he again repeatedly teamed with Big Van Vader, while his opponents included Choshu, Kimura, Masahiro Chono , and Osamu Kido . Anoaʻi wrestled a fourth stint with NJPW in January and February 1990 as part of its "New Spring Gold Series". During this tour he once again teamed with Big Van Vader, as well as teaming with his future World Wrestling Federation tag team partner Owen Hart . On
3668-503: 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
3799-586: 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
3930-436: 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
4061-410: 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
Yokozuna (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4192-550: Is considered "very physical style that included lots of suplexes [...]" and "brought hard physicality with his clotheslines". One of these suplex is known as the Saito Suplex. Saito is credited also as the innovator of the Scorpion Deathlock / Sharpshooter submission hold. During his time in prison, he created another hold, which was named Kangokugatame, translated as Prison Hold. During his career, Saito played
4323-427: 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
4454-470: 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
4585-521: The 1964 Summer Olympics , placing seventh. Recruited to the professional game along with fellow Olympian Koji Sugiyama , Saito began his pro wrestling career in 1965 and quickly established himself in both Japan and the United States. Nicknamed "Mr. Torture" for his punishing and sadistic style, Saito held numerous titles while wrestling in North America and Japan. On July 13, 1968, Saito won his first title, teaming with Kenji Shibuya to win
4716-482: The Allied Powers ( Lex Luger and Davey Boy Smith ) on July 23 at In Your House 2 . At In Your House 3 on September 24, Yokozuna and Davey Boy Smith took on Shawn Michaels and Diesel (the back story being that Hart was with his wife as she gave birth to one of their children) with Diesel's WWF Championship, Shawn Michaels' Intercontinental Championship and Hart and Yokozuna's Tag Team Championship on
4847-549: The Anoaʻi wrestling family , with Roman Reigns , Rikishi , Samu , Rosey , Manu , Umaga , and The Rock among his cousins. The Usos and Solo Sikoa were his nephews and Afa and Sika were his uncles. He had two children, Justin and Keilani. He also suffered from arachnophobia , and claimed to devour 240 eggs, 12 pieces of chicken and a bucket-sized portion of Japanese rice every day. On October 23, 2000, Anoaʻi died in his sleep from pulmonary edema in his seventh-floor room at
4978-624: 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
5109-464: The Royal Rumble match on January 21, eliminating Bob Backlund , King Mabel , and Swat Team member #2 before being tossed out by eventual winner Shawn Michaels. Although Cornette tried to make peace between him and new acquisition Vader , many observers felt Yokozuna was being relegated. After several run-ins, Yokozuna left Cornette and began a short stint as a fan favorite . He spoke English to
5240-857: The San Francisco version of the World Tag Team Championship . The following year, he defeated Dale Lewis to win the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship . After losing the title to Jack Brisco on February 10, 1970, he continued to team with Shibuya in the Los Angeles-based NWA Hollywood Wrestling , winning the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship three times in 1971 and 1972. While wrestling in Los Angeles, he also won
5371-591: The Sharpshooter , when Mr. Fuji threw salt into the champion's face. Blinded, Hart was then pinned by Yokozuna, who won the WWF Championship. As he and Mr. Fuji celebrated, Hulk Hogan came to the ring to help Hart and was challenged by Mr. Fuji to take on the new champion. After Fuji accidentally threw salt in Yokozuna's eyes, Hogan came through with the win and captured his fifth WWF Championship. At
Yokozuna (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-700: The UWA World Heavyweight Championship . In April 1991, Anoaʻi and his cousins Fatu and Samoan Savage (with the trio collectively billed as the " Hawaiian Beasts ") defeated Los Villanos for the UWA World Trios Championship . Los Villanos regained the titles in a rematch the following month. For the remainder of his tenure in the UWA, Anoaʻi continued to wrestle primarily in two-out-of-three falls matches (including teaming with Black Scorpio and Buffalo Allen in
5633-793: The Wild Samoans ( Afa Anoaʻi and Sika Anoaʻi ) trained him from an early age. He debuted in 1985. He spent the early years of his career performing for promotions such as International World Class Championship Wrestling , Texas All-Star Wrestling , the Universal Wrestling Federation , the Continental Wrestling Association , and the Continental Wrestling Federation under a variety of ring names , including "Giant Kokina", "Great Kokina", "Kokina", and "Kokina
5764-494: 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
5895-431: 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
6026-806: The "Battle Autumn" tour, again teaming with Wild Samoan. At the end of the Battle Autumn tour, Anoaʻi took part in the "Memorial Battle in Yokohama " event at the Yokohama Arena , teaming with Wild Samoan, Pegasus Kid, and Brad Armstrong to defeat Black Cat , Kengo Kimura, Osamu Kido, and Shiro Koshinaka . In October 1991, Anoaʻi and Great Kokina took part in the Super Grade Tag League ; they defeated Kim Duk and Tiger Jeet Singh , but lost their other five matches, ultimately placing in joint last place with two points. Anoaʻi made
6157-600: The "Battle Hold Arena" event at the Yokohama Arena, where the Samoan SWAT Team lost to Raging Staff (Super Strong Machine and Tatsutoshi Goto). In 1989, Anoa'i received his first major exposure in the United States when he joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as "Kokina Maximus". Managed by Sheik Adnan El Kassey , he depicted a disheveled Samoan wild man, and was billed as the biggest Samoan wrestler ever. In late-1989, an angle
6288-515: The "Explosion Tour", once again teaming with Wild Samoan. Anoaʻi returned to NJPW for a seventh stint in April 1991 during that year's "Explosion Tour". This stint saw the Samoan SWAT Team primarily wrestle six-man tag team matches , teaming with Scott Norton or Pegasus Kid . He made a sixth stint with NJPW in July 1991 as part of the "Summer Crush" tour and a seventh stint in September 1991 as part of
6419-584: 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
6550-400: 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
6681-460: 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
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#17327871506996812-689: The AWA in 1986 on Christmas night, aligning himself with Larry Zbyszko and Super Ninja . He remained with the AWA until April 1987. He briefly returned alone in February 1988, but brought Riki Choshu with him three months later. It would not be until November 1989 that Saito would come back and would bring Koji Kitao over with him to train. In February 1990, at 48 years of age, he won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Larry Zbyszko at Super Fight in Tokyo Dome . His victory made headlines on newspapers, but
6943-653: 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
7074-648: The August 17 episode of Prime Time Wrestling , the Samoans (soon to be the Headshrinkers) made their debut. Commentator Gorilla Monsoon made mention of another, larger Samoan that they would soon be seeing in the WWF. Anoaʻi made his initial debut as Kokina in an untelevised match on September 1, at a WWF Superstars taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania , defeating Ron Neal. This would be the only time that Anoaʻi wrestled under his former gimmick, as shortly after, he
7205-773: The Brisco Brothers. They lost the belts back to the Brisco Brothers three months later but succeeded in regaining them from Mike Graham and Steve Keirn later in the year. While wrestling in Florida , Saito also teamed with Sato to win the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on two occasions in 1978 and 1979. In 1979, he also won the Japan version of the North American Tag Team Championship , teaming with Hiro Matsuda to win
7336-525: The May 16 episode of Raw , Yokozuna lost to Earthquake in the only ( worked ) sumo match until WrestleMania 21 , between The Big Show and an actual yokozuna , Akebono . At King of the Ring on June 19, Yokozuna and Crush failed to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers ( Samu and Fatu ). Yokozuna then had to deal with the "rebirth" of the Undertaker, who immediately came after
7467-657: The Moat House Hotel on Paradise Street in Liverpool while on a wrestling tour of the UK for All Star Wrestling . He was 34 years old. His body was found by his crew's transport manager, and after paramedics came into his hotel room, it took six men to move his body. At the time, it was widely reported that he died of heart failure or a heart attack, but this was later found to be incorrect due to his lungs showing severe signs of fluid blockage. The Yokozuna Memorial Show
7598-792: The NWA Beat the Champ Television Championship twice in 1972. Saito's next championship came in Vancouver, British Columbia , where he teamed with Austin Britton to win the Vancouver version of the Canadian Tag Team Championship . They held the belts for almost four months before dropping them to Ormand Malumba and Guy Mitchell on March 3, 1975. Saito regained the championship later in
7729-408: 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
7860-488: 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
7991-651: The October 30, 1982, edition of Championship Wrestling . In June 1983, Saito went to Minneapolis and began wrestling for American Wrestling Association . While there, he formed a tag team with Jesse Ventura called the Far East-West Connection. After Ventura left for the WWF, Saito was aligned with Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan , before Heenan left for the WWF as well. He would remain with them until May 1985 when he began serving his sentence. After being released for good behavior, Saito returned to
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#17327871506998122-1231: The Samoan". In December 1988, he wrestled for the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) in Germany, unsuccessfully challenging Otto Wanz for the CWA World Heavyweight Championship . In August 1988, Anoaʻi began making appearances in Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as "Great Kokina". In August and September 1988, he took part in the "Sengoku Series" tour, where he faced opponents such as Super Strong Machine and Tatsutoshi Goto , and teamed with fellow gaijin including Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow and Scott Hall . Anoaʻi made his next appearances with NJPW in June and July 1989 as part of its "Summer Fight Series". During this tour, he repeatedly teamed with Big Van Vader and Mike Kirchner , with his opponents including Kengo Kimura , Masa Saito , and Riki Choshu . In October and November that year, Anoaʻi made
8253-410: The Undertaker inside the casket. He opened his eyes and said the Undertaker would not rest in peace; he then disappeared in a smoke and light show, rising to the top of the titantron and seemingly levitating all the way to the arena ceiling until vanishing. This storyline was used to allow the Undertaker to rest for several months to recover from lingering real-life injuries. In the Royal Rumble match,
8384-555: The World Tag Team Championship twice and would claim the nickname "Chopstick Charlie". In Japan, he wrestled for both top leagues, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He wrestled Antonio Inoki across Ganryujima island for over two hours in 1987. Saito was imprisoned in the United States for two years in the mid-1980s for physically assaulting police officers in Waukesha, Wisconsin , following an accusation of vandalism against his friend Ken Patera . Saito competed in freestyle wrestling for Japan in
8515-401: 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
8646-418: 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
8777-447: 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
8908-399: The belts on April 5. Wrestling in the United States again in 1981, Saito won the Alabama Heavyweight Championship twice, defeating Bob Armstrong and Ray Candy . That year, he was also involved in a controversy regarding the Florida version of the North American Tag Team Championship. The Assassins were stripped of the title when it was discovered that Saito was wrestling under a mask as
9039-424: 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
9170-418: 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
9301-401: The challenger from behind and threw him out of the ring to where Yokozuna was standing. Yokozuna knocked Duggan to the floor and nailed him with a leg drop, then rolled his unconscious body back into the ring as payback for the earlier attack. At WrestleMania IX on April 4, Yokozuna wrestled against Bret Hart for the WWF Championship . Hart had the match won with Yokozuna about to submit to
9432-423: 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
9563-461: 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
9694-540: 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
9825-405: 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
9956-464: The evening with the title on the line. To obviate the risk of outside interference, both title matches were scheduled to have special guest referees, with Mr. Perfect as the referee for the Luger/Yokozuna bout. Luger had knocked out Yokozuna with a running forearm smash in the middle of the ring, as well as Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette, but when he went for the pin, Perfect occupied himself with
10087-603: 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
10218-409: The fall of 1981. This culminated in a title match on June 28, 1982, at Madison Square Garden (MSG) where Strongbows won the titles. On the July 13, 1982, edition of Championship Wrestling , they defeated Strongbows in a two out of three falls match for Fuji's fifth and Saito's second WWF Tag Team Championship. The feud of these two teams ended after Fuji and Saito lost the titles to Strongbows on
10349-481: The fans, had Mr. Fuji wave an American flag during his matches, and challenged Vader to numerous matches. On March 31 at WrestleMania XII , Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts lost to Vader, Owen Hart and British Bulldog. Vader jumped on Yokozuna's leg on the April 8 episode of Raw , ( kayfabe ) breaking it. The splash was shown on television as a leg break, but in reality, it was performed to allow Yokozuna to take some time off to lose weight. However, instead of
10480-655: The final day of his tour, he and Vader unsuccessfully challenged Masa Saito and Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Tag Team Championship . He returned to NJPW for one week in July 1990 during the "Wrestling Scramble", teaming with Wild Samoan as the Samoan SWAT Team and unsuccessfully challenging Keiji Muto and Masahiro Chono for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. He had a short sixth stint with NJPW in September 1990 during
10611-646: The finals of the IWGP League 1987 to determine the first ever IWGP Heavyweight Champion , which Inoki won. To settle the feud, the two competed in an Island Death match on October 4, 1987. They were placed on Ganryujima Island and wrestled a match that lasted two hours and spread across the island. Ultimately, Inoki was victorious, defeating Saito by technical knockout . The following year, after leaving All Japan Pro Wrestling to return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling , Saito won his first IWGP Tag Team Championship while teaming with Riki Choshu . He followed this with
10742-543: The first man to knock Yokozuna off his feet (this was taped before Randy Savage knocked down Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble). On the February 6 airing of Superstars , Duggan succeeded in knocking Yokozuna down, only for Yokozuna to sneak attack Duggan with a bucket of salt Mr. Fuji had brought to the ring, and crush him with four Banzai Drops , the fourth being with the American flag draped over Duggan. Afterwards, Duggan
10873-470: 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
11004-578: The foe who had taken him out of action. The two met in another casket match on November 23 at Survivor Series , this time with actor/karate expert Chuck Norris as the special enforcer to keep the other heel wrestlers away from ringside. Without their help (although Irwin R. Schyster successfully interfered on Yokozuna's behalf), Yokozuna lost the match and ended up locked inside the casket. Yokozuna continued to wrestle briefly before taking some time off to increase his already huge weight advantage. In April 1995, Owen Hart began promising that he would have
11135-610: 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
11266-460: 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
11397-526: 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
11528-480: 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
11659-496: 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
11790-491: The last two competitors, Lex Luger and Bret Hart, fought and eliminated each other simultaneously. Since the winner of the Royal Rumble was to become the number one contender to Yokozuna's title, it was decided that both wrestlers would get a shot at the title at WrestleMania X . By virtue of winning a coin toss, Luger got to wrestle Yokozuna first at the event. The winner of that match would go on to face Bret Hart later in
11921-566: The line. During the match, Hart came to the ring, only to be pinned by Diesel. The next day, due to protests from the team and the legal help of Clarence Mason , President Gorilla Monsoon reluctantly returned the belts to Yokozuna and Hart, since Hart was not an official part of the match. Their second reign was shorter, as the Smoking Gunns defeated them that night for the belts. Yokozuna, by now weighing in at 660 lb (300 kg), had little continued success in 1996. He competed in
12052-463: The main event of WrestleMania IX , and the 1993 King of the Ring , to win his two WWF Championships, also headlining WrestleMania X against Hart. He was the third-fastest newcomer (after Brock Lesnar and Sheamus ) to win the WWF Championship after his debut. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. Anoaʻi grew up in a family of wrestlers, the Anoaʻi family ; his uncles,
12183-512: The match won, but a photographer , planted at ringside among a legitimate Japanese wrestling press group, shot a blast of fire into Hogan's face. This allowed Yokozuna to take Hogan out with a leg drop and regain the WWF Championship, after which he proceeded to hit Hogan with the Banzai Drop in the corner. Hogan then left the WWF to pursue other interests, leaving Yokozuna and Fuji to claim that they had ended "Hulkamania". To celebrate, he held
12314-409: The matches that were previously blacked-out took place again. Vader won their rematch. On August 17, he appeared at Free for All just before SummerSlam , where he lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin after he attempted a Banzai Drop on the rope, which broke under his weight, sending him crashing back down for Austin to win. The next night on Raw , Yokozuna faced then WWF Champion Shawn Michaels for
12445-498: 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
12576-429: The next major challenger to Yokozuna's title. On August 30 at SummerSlam , Yokozuna, now weighing 568 lb (258 kg), and Luger fought for the WWF Championship. Luger took control late in the match, scoring on Yokozuna with a bodyslam and flying forearm . Luger had metal plates put into his arm following an injury from a motorcycle accident (it was stipulated that Luger had to wear a protective pad over it, but it
12707-479: The officers, taking turns beating them until other officers arrived to subdue them. As a result of the incident, in June 1985, Saito and Patera were convicted of battery of a police officer and sentenced to serve two years in prison. On November 16, 2012, Patera was interviewed on KFAN radio based out of Minneapolis, MN. In describing the incident, he stated that he went to the McDonald's around midnight to get
12838-437: 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
12969-717: 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
13100-471: The ring; the All-Americans went on to win the match. Yokozuna's next title challenger was The Undertaker, whom he was eventually forced to accept a casket match with. The match occurred on January 22, 1994, at Royal Rumble , which Yokozuna won by shoving the Undertaker in the casket with help from multiple heel wrestlers. After the match, a mysterious figure appeared on the titantron , looking like
13231-440: 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
13362-412: The stereotypical salt-throwing Japanese heel, a role usually performed by Hawaiians in the 60s. In 2000, Saito was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease . He died from complications of the disease on 14 July 2018 at the age of 76. At the time of his death, Saito had been training to be a torchbearer for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. According to police, on April 6, 1984, Ken Patera
13493-426: 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,
13624-421: The time, Yokozuna held the record for the second shortest time (after Ric Flair ) to win the WWF Championship after his debut, with 173 days (currently, Yokozuna holds the fourth shortest time, after Flair, Sheamus , and Brock Lesnar ). On June 13 at King of the Ring , Yokozuna, whose weight increased from 505 lb (229 kg) to 550 lb (250 kg), challenged Hogan for the title. Hogan seemed to have
13755-531: The title in a losing effort. Afterwards, he only made appearances on house shows. He made his final televised WWF appearance at the Survivor Series on November 17, still going after Vader , however he only briefly entered the match illegally and it ended with all remaining wrestlers being disqualified. His final match in the WWF was on November 20, 1996, at a house show in White Plains, New York in
13886-419: The title. Yokozuna and Luger continued to feud until Survivor Series on November 24, where each chose a team of allies for an elimination match, which was billed as an All-Americans (Lex Luger, The Undertaker , and Steiner Brothers ) vs. Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Quebecer Jacques , Ludvig Borga , and Crush ) contest. Yokozuna was eliminated via double count-out after brawling with the Undertaker outside of
14017-445: The traditional mawashi without the tights to expose his buttocks (which Rikishi himself would later do). Anoaʻi also revamped his appearance as Yokozuna by gaining additional weight, becoming clean shaven and transforming his unruly hair into a chonmage . He made his pay-per-view debut on November 25 at Survivor Series , easily defeating the much smaller Virgil with his huge weight advantage. Yokozuna's career soon took off and he
14148-519: 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
14279-471: 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
14410-425: The unconscious Fuji and Cornette who were still lying on the ring apron. An angry Luger was disqualified after pushing Mr. Perfect, making Yokozuna the first villainous champion to successfully defend the WWF Championship at WrestleMania . Later in the night, Yokozuna defended the championship again, this time against Bret Hart, who had lost earlier in the night to his brother Owen Hart . For this match, Roddy Piper
14541-535: 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
14672-420: 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
14803-574: The year, however, teaming with Dale Lewis . Saito next wrestled in NWA Florida , where he teamed with Ivan Koloff to defeat Rocky Johnson and Pedro Morales for the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship in 1977. After losing the belts, Saito and Koloff won them twice more. Their final loss, on January 25, 1978, was to Jack and Jerry Brisco . Saito regained the title, however, teaming with Mr. Sato to defeat
14934-425: 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
15065-593: Was a two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Owen Hart ), as well as the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble . He was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, as well as the first Royal Rumble winner who (as a result of a direct stipulation) received a WWF world championship title shot at WrestleMania . He defeated WWE Hall of Famers Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan in consecutive pay-per-view victories in
15196-554: Was a Japanese professional wrestler , better known by the ring name Mr. Saito or Masa Saito ( マサ斎藤 ) . He wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multiple partners in various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories. Saito joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1981, where he teamed with Mr. Fuji to hold
15327-524: Was billed as a potential favorite to win the Royal Rumble match on January 24, 1993, doing so by last eliminating Randy Savage . Having cemented his movement towards main-event status, Yokozuna was a competitor in the first-ever match in Monday Night Raw history, defeating the much smaller Koko B. Ware with his signature finisher, the Banzai Drop. Soon after, Yokozuna was challenged by American patriot "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan , who aimed to be
15458-630: Was booked in which he repeatedly delivered a big splash to Greg Gagne , marking the end of Gagne's career. Anoaʻi made his final appearance with the AWA in April 1990, losing to Yukon John Nord in a lumberjack match at SuperClash IV . In February 1990, Anoaʻi began wrestling for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) in Mexico as "Great Kokina". He initially wrestled primarily in two-out-of-three falls matches . In March 1991, he unsuccessfully challenged El Canek for
15589-488: 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
15720-513: Was eclipsed by the Buster Douglas victory over Mike Tyson the next night at the same arena. He would hold onto the title until April when Zbyszko regained the title at SuperClash IV . Saito wrestled two tours for All Japan Pro Wrestling as part of Japan Pro Wrestling in January and May 1985. In 1987, Saito returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he became involved in a feud with Antonio Inoki . On June 12, Saito faced Inoki in
15851-727: Was held in Allentown, Pennsylvania in November 2001, shortly after the first anniversary of Anoaʻi's death. It was presented by the independent promotion World Xtreme Wrestling , although matches included wrestlers from multiple promotions. On March 31, 2012, Yokozuna was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his nephews The Usos and cousin Rikishi . Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
15982-498: Was offered a new gimmick : Yokozuna. Managed by Mr. Fuji , Yokozuna debuted on the October 31, 1992 edition of Superstars with his then new gimmick of a stereotypical sumo wrestler, who competed under the Japanese flag; though the WWF tactfully acknowledged his Samoan roots. He wore a mawashi as part of his ring attire, but wore long tights underneath the loincloth, something that Vince McMahon and Yokozuna's cousin Rikishi later felt wasn't needed and that he should've worn
16113-571: 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
16244-399: Was refused service at a McDonald's restaurant after the restaurant had closed, and threw a boulder through the restaurant's window in retaliation. The responding officers testified that later, when they arrived at Saito and Patera's hotel room to investigate someone matching Patera's description in connection with the criminal damage report, Saito was uncooperative and both wrestlers assaulted
16375-410: Was scheduled to take on King Kong Bundy in one of the event's two featured matches. However, Jake Roberts , who was scheduled to face Jim Neidhart in the other main event match, came to the ring for his match intoxicated and in no condition to wrestle. The promoters made a last-minute change and Yokozuna teamed with Roberts against Bundy and Neidhart, and Yokozuna's team lost. Anoaʻi was a member of
16506-415: 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
16637-487: Was suffering from ( kayfabe ) internal bleeding. On the May 10, 1993, edition of Monday Night Raw , Yokozuna served as one of the lumberjacks in a match between Duggan and Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship . Duggan, upon seeing Yokozuna, immediately charged at him and knocked him off his feet again; late in the match, after Bam Bam Bigelow distracted Duggan, Michaels attacked
16768-417: 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
16899-437: Was the special referee, attacking Cornette when he tried to break a pinfall. At the end of the match, Yokozuna seemed ready to hit his finishing maneuver, the Banzai Drop, but lost his balance and took a fall from the ropes. Hart pinned Yokozuna to win the title, ending Yokozuna's reign at 280 days. After dropping the belt, Yokozuna's main event status began to fade away. He briefly tagged with Crush , another Mr. Fuji charge. On
17030-404: Was torn off in the course of the match). However, Yokozuna was knocked out of the ring unconscious and lost via count-out, though he retained the title because it could not change hands via count-out. The contract Luger had signed for the match, as orchestrated by Yokozuna's new spokesman and advisor James E. Cornette , stated that if he did not win the championship, he would not get another shot at
17161-543: Was ultimately unable to pass a physical examination required for professional wrestlers by the New York State Athletic Commission , and was released from the WWF in May 1998. After his WWF career ended in 1998, he performed sporadically for various independent promotions , including Maryland Championship Wrestling . At the Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view event on October 10, 1999, Yokozuna
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