Mid 20th Century
112-611: Shoichi "Sho" Funaki ( 船木 勝一 , Funaki Shōichi ) (born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestling manager , color commentator and retired professional wrestler signed to WWE , where he is a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion . He currently works for WWE as a Japanese-language play-by-play commentator. Funaki started as a shoot style wrestler in Yoshiaki Fujiwara 's Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi promotion and moved to its successor promotion, Battlarts . He later found
224-614: A Beat the Clock match . He suffered a defeat to The Great Khali on April 21, 2008, in Khali's SmackDown return match. On June 6, 2008 Funaki appeared on SmackDown's main event teaming with Batista , Colin Delaney and Nunzio defeating Edge , Chavio Guerrero, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder . Funaki legitimately broke his nose at a joint SmackDown/ ECW taping in Houston , Texas , during
336-435: 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
448-487: A brainbuster onto the interview platform. At the Royal Rumble , Funaki faced Kid Kash in a match for the title, when he was entered into a Cruiserweight Open along with four other Cruiserweight champions, including the champion Kash. Funaki was pinned in this one fall match by then Raw superstar Gregory Helms , who won the match and title. At No Way Out , Funaki participated in a Nine Man Cruiserweight Match for
560-455: A dark match against Vladimir Kozlov . On October 10, 2008, Funaki revealed his full name to be "Kung Fu Naki" during a backstage segment with R-Truth . This was used as the basis for a gimmick change for Funaki; he then came to the ring dressed in a gi and tweaked his moveset to incorporate theatrical martial arts moves. His first match as Kung Fu Naki saw him scoring a pinfall win over Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Shelton Benjamin in
672-415: 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
784-415: 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
896-572: A 15-minute hardcore battle royal for the WWF Hardcore Championship . Funaki pinned Viscera after a diving shoulder block from Bradshaw but he was later pinned by Rodney . Hardcore Holly ultimately won the match and became the official champion. At Unforgiven , Funaki once again participated in a hardcore battle royal which was won by the defending champion Steve Blackman . In 2001, Kai En Tai started participating in non-televised matches before pay-per-view events such as
1008-413: 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
1120-606: A brawl that involved the other SmackDown! cruiserweights and the then-Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms. At No Way Out , Funaki participated in a Cruiserweight Open match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship but was pinned by the champion Helms. On the May 18 episode of SmackDown! , Funaki was made short work of by recently returned superstar Mark Henry . On the June 29 episode of SmackDown! , Funaki got
1232-532: 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
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#17328011002981344-519: 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
1456-585: 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
1568-496: 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 . SmackDown (WWE brand) SmackDown is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that
1680-404: 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
1792-410: 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
1904-424: A handicap match. Over time, the stable turned into a tag team , as in 1999, Teioh and Togo (and manager Yamaguchi-san) were given their releases. Michinoku and Funaki were often used for comedic purposes, often having their pre-match promos dubbed—while Michinoku would "deliver" the majority of dialogue for the duo, Funaki would "respond" strongly with a simple "INDEED". At WrestleMania 2000 , Funaki participated in
2016-405: 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
2128-799: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2240-424: 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
2352-736: A new brand extension was introduced on July 19, 2016. SmackDown drafted the WWE Champion and the Intercontinental Champion. As SmackDown was lacking a tag team championship and a women's championship , Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan introduced the SmackDown Tag Team Championship and SmackDown Women's Championship . In the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up , the Intercontinental Championship was moved to Raw and in exchange,
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#17328011002982464-440: 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
2576-531: A non-title match. On the March 11 episode of SmackDown! , Funaki participated in an 8-man cruiserweight tag team match teaming with fellow cruiserweights Rey Mysterio , Último Dragón and Billy Kidman against Tajiri , Akio , Sakoda and Jamie Noble . At WrestleMania XX , Funaki participated in a Cruiserweight Open for the Cruiserweight Championship but was pinned by Jamie Noble. On
2688-406: A result of the brand extension, an annual " draft lottery " was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups. SmackDown! was the home brand for many top WWE stars including Eddie Guerrero , Batista , Big Show , John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), Kurt Angle , Edge , The Undertaker , Rey Mysterio , John Cena , and Torrie Wilson . Guerrero would go on to become
2800-558: A shot at the Cruiserweight title against Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero and Jamie Noble, but came up short. At The Great American Bash , he participated in a match for the Cruiserweight Championship which Hornswoggle won. On the December 14 episode of SmackDown! , he wrestled in a squash match against Edge . He also made a televised appearance on January 4, 2008, episode of SmackDown! where he lost to Chavo Guerrero in
2912-512: A six-man tag team match, where they defeated Pesadilla, Yoshinari Ogawa and Zack Sabre Jr. , with Scotty 2 Hotty pinning Pesadilla for the win. Funaki wrestled his last matches in Japan for Dradition Pro-Wrestling in October 2015, retiring from wrestling. Funaki cameoed for WWE as a special guest referee during their house shows in Japan in 2011 and 2013. Funaki made a special appearance in
3024-486: A tag team match with R-Truth. Kung Fu Naki then defeated MVP in a singles match on the November 14, 2008 episode of SmackDown when The Great Khali interfered and distracted MVP. His first loss in the character was against WWE Champion Edge on the December 5, 2008, episode of SmackDown . He wrestled in house shows until March 2009. He was inexplicably absent from WWE action until WrestleMania XXVI , where he took part in
3136-649: A talent exchange agreement, which meant that SmackDown talent could appear on ECW and vice versa. This allowed the United States Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship to be shared between the two brands. In July 2008, the Divas Championship was created for SmackDown, allowing the SmackDown Divas to compete for a title. With the brand extension ending in 2011, all Raw and SmackDown titles were merged . After five years,
3248-503: 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
3360-586: 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
3472-485: A video as a translator for Kenta 's first WWE interview with Renee Young . In September, Funaki returned to WWE's developmental program NXT to feud with The Ascension alongside Kenta, who was now going by the name Hideo Itami. Funaki would appear in the WWE Network show, The Edge and Christian Show , introducing the hosts, with his voice dubbed over by Howard Finkel in the first season and Luke Gallows in
Shoichi Funaki - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-618: A working agreement with Funaki to host his new professional wrestling school, named the Funaki Dojo. The school's first class started on January 15, 2011. On December 6, 2013, at TNA One Night Only: World Cup of Wrestling , as a part of Team International, Funaki and Petey Williams lost to Team Aces & Eights ' DOC and Knux . On December 6, 2014, Funaki worked for the Japanese Pro Wrestling Noah promotion, teaming with Scotty 2 Hotty and Super Crazy in
3696-436: 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
3808-410: 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
3920-427: 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
4032-470: 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
4144-612: The 2009 WWE draft in April, then WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to Raw while the World Heavyweight Championship also moved to the Raw brand after Edge lost the title to Cena at WrestleMania 25 , once again leaving SmackDown without a world title. SmackDown regained the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash when Edge invoked his WrestleMania rematch clause and defeated Cena in a Last Man Standing match to win
4256-624: 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
4368-676: The Royal Rumble and Judgment Day . Michinoku left the WWF in October 2001, resulting in Funaki moving to singles competition. At Survivor Series , Funaki participated in an Immunity Battle Royal which was won by Test . In 2002, Funaki moved to the SmackDown! brand after the WWF roster was split into two brands. He turned face and found himself as a lower card wrestler and adopted the gimmick of "SmackDown!'s number one announcer", performing backstage interviews between matches, while competing in
4480-474: The SmackDown! taping on January 10, 2006, that aired January 13, Batista had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because of a legitimate triceps injury suffered at the hands of Mark Henry the previous week. Long decreed a battle royal for the vacant title, which was won by Kurt Angle, who was on the Raw brand, but switched to the SmackDown! brand for the duration of his reign as champion. On
4592-514: The WWE Tag Team Championship and they revived the United States Championship. Over the course of the first brand extension, these championships switched between brands, usually due to the result of the annual draft. However, the Cruiserweight title was the only championship to never switch brands, staying on SmackDown from 2002 until the championship's retirement on September 28, 2007. In October 2007, SmackDown and ECW began
Shoichi Funaki - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-650: The World Wrestling Federation . Initially, they feuded with Taka Michinoku and defeated him and his partner John Bradshaw in a 3-on-2 handicap match at Over the Edge: In Your House . They lost to Michinoku and The Headbangers at King of the Ring in a six-man tag team match . Michinoku eventually turned villainous and joined the group. At SummerSlam , Kai En Tai lost to Oddities members Kurrgan , Giant Silva and Golga in
4816-571: The cruiserweight division . As part of SmackDown! brand, Funaki mostly wrestled on Velocity . At Rebellion , Funaki defeated Crash Holly . At Vengeance in 2003, Funaki participated in the APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl which was won by Bradshaw. For the rest of 2003, Funaki worked in house shows and made occasional appearances on Velocity with less TV time. On the March 4, 2004 episode of SmackDown! , Funaki lost to Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. in
4928-557: 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
5040-703: The lucha libre style more to his liking, so he moved to The Great Sasuke 's promotion, Michinoku Pro Wrestling . In that promotion, he joined with Taka Michinoku , Dick Togo , Men's Teioh and Shiryu in the Kai En Tai stable . Funaki also wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) where he won the UWA World Middleweight Championship from El Pantera on March 19, 1997, in Japan. In March 1998, Funaki, along with Teioh and Togo, joined
5152-431: 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
5264-584: 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
5376-400: 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
5488-460: 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
5600-406: The 26 Man Battle Royal match, which was won by Yoshi Tatsu . On April 22, 2010, WWE released Funaki, ending his 12-year stint with the company. After his WWE release, Pro Wrestling Zero1 announced they had signed Funaki to return to Japan and team with his former student Ikuto Hidaka . On December 4, 2010, San Antonio , Texas–based Branded Outlaw Wrestling (BOW) announced that it had reached
5712-495: The April 7 episode of SmackDown! (which was taped on April 4), Long revived the King of the Ring tournament after a four-year hiatus as a SmackDown! exclusive tournament. The tournament ended at Judgment Day with Booker T as the winner, defeating Bobby Lashley in the final. On October 16, 2007, the SmackDown! and ECW brands began a talent exchange, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand, as ECW
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#17328011002985824-653: 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
5936-602: The Bank contract to become World Heavyweight Champion, bringing the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw for the first time since 2005. Also that year, for the first time in the brand's history a women's exclusive championship was introduced, the Divas Championship , a counterpart to the Women's Championship that had been the only active championship competed for by Divas , but which was exclusive to Raw, meaning that
6048-415: The December 9 episode of SmackDown! , Funaki won a cruiserweight over the top rope number one contender's battle royal which included Chavo Guerrero, Paul London , Billy Kidman, Akio, Shannon Moore and Nunzio . At Armageddon , Funaki defeated Spike Dudley to win the Cruiserweight Championship. Funaki successfully defended the title against Spike Dudley, Akio and Nunzio. His last successful title defense
6160-453: The Divas on SmackDown had no championship to compete for. Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion by defeating Natalya on July 20 at The Great American Bash . On February 15, 2009, at No Way Out , Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship in Raw's Elimination Chamber match, thus making it a SmackDown exclusive title and giving SmackDown two top tier championships. As a result of
6272-399: The June 30 episode of SmackDown! , JBL won the match, but Long appeared afterward and stated that even though he had won the match SmackDown! did not need a championship anymore, instead revealing that JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship, at which point Batista , then World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown!'s final draft lottery pick. At
6384-408: 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
6496-488: 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
6608-525: The November 7, 2017, episode of SmackDown , AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship. On April 10, 2018, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Daniel Bryan was back as a full-time WWE Superstar for the roster after his in-ring return at WrestleMania 34 , therefore "graciously accepted Daniel's resignation as SmackDown General Manager". McMahon then named Paige , who had retired from in-ring competition due to injury
6720-543: The United States Championship moved back to SmackDown. The following year during the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up , the United States Championship was moved to Raw, but returned to SmackDown the next night. At Crown Jewel on October 31, 2019, SmackDown wrestler "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt won the Universal Championship , thus bringing the title to SmackDown. On the next night's episode of SmackDown , WWE Champion Brock Lesnar quit SmackDown and went to Raw, taking
6832-458: The WWE Champion as part of the show, thus becoming the main feature of SmackDown! throughout 2004 and the most popular wrestler of that year. The biggest star of the next decade, John Cena, started his WWE career on this brand and rose to stardom as "Doctor of Thuganomics" on the show, eventually winning his first WWE Championship during his tenure on the brand. On June 6, then WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown! to Raw as part of
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#17328011002986944-420: The WWE Cruiserweight Championship but Helms retained the title. Since that time Funaki, would regularly team with Scotty 2 Hotty during episodes of Velocity and SmackDown! . During one such Velocity taping, however, Funaki suffered a 2nd Grade concussion , where he was unconscious for just under two minutes. Funaki would resume wrestling later that year, forming a tag team of sorts with Scotty 2 Hotty, which
7056-401: 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
7168-418: 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
7280-561: 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
7392-578: The brand the champion was a part of. When the brand extension began, SmackDown became the exclusive home for the World Tag Team Championship and the original Cruiserweight Championship . In September 2002, the Undisputed Championship became the WWE Championship again and was moved to SmackDown, prompting Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship for Raw. SmackDown created
7504-424: 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
7616-418: 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
7728-635: The championship back. In addition, Raw and SmackDown exchanged both women-exclusive championships with Raw gaining the Divas Championship and SmackDown gaining the Women's Championship. This marked the first time in history that the Women's Championship had ever been exclusive to SmackDown. Raw and SmackDown also exchanged the United States Championship (which became exclusive to Raw) and the Intercontinental Championship (subsequently exclusive to SmackDown) for
7840-423: 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
7952-461: 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
8064-540: 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
8176-405: 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
8288-603: 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
8400-590: The final match of the WWE Mae Young Classic on September 12, 2017, Funaki served as Kairi Sane 's interpreter. Starting in September 2024, Funaki made appearances on NXT as a translator for Giulia . Funaki opened his training facility, Funaki Dojo in San Antonio, Texas in June 2012. Along with Japanese and English , Funaki is fluent in French , German , Portuguese , and Spanish . He
8512-470: 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
8624-469: The first time since August 25, 2002 . On the August 29, 2011, episode of Raw , it was announced that performers from Raw and SmackDown were no longer exclusive to their respective brand. Subsequently, championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for—this would mark the end of the brand extension as all programming and live events featured
8736-456: The full WWE roster. In a 2013 interview with Advertising Age , Stephanie McMahon explained that WWE's decision to end the brand extension was due to wanting their content to flow across television and online platforms. On May 25, 2016, it was revealed that the brand split would return in July. The 2016 WWE draft took place on the live premiere episode of SmackDown on July 19 to determine
8848-610: 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
8960-460: 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
9072-526: 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
9184-480: 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
9296-496: 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
9408-449: The lack of talent. In March 2002, WWF underwent the " brand extension ", a process in which WWF divided itself into two branches with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures . The two divisions, hosted by and named after Raw and SmackDown! , would compete against each other. The split resulted from WWF purchasing its two biggest competitors, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW); and
9520-498: 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
9632-431: The month-long 2005 draft lottery . This effectively left SmackDown! without a world title . On the June 23 episode of SmackDown! , SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long scheduled a six-man elimination match between Booker T , Chris Benoit , Christian (replacing Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Muhammad Hassan and The Undertaker to crown the first SmackDown! Champion. On
9744-662: The night before on Raw, as the new SmackDown General Manager. When SmackDown moved to FOX beginning with the October 4, 2019, episode, it eventually replaced Raw as the "A" Show. As a result, SmackDown became the home for the WWE's top stars such as Roman Reigns , Brock Lesnar , Drew McIntyre and the Usos . Initially, the Undisputed WWE Championship and the original WWE Women's Championship were available to both brands. The other championships were exclusive to
9856-437: 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
9968-717: 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
10080-398: The rosters between both brands. On the July 11 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon named Shane McMahon the commissioner of SmackDown . Then next week on Raw , Daniel Bryan was revealed as the new SmackDown General Manager. Due to Raw being a three-hour show and SmackDown being a two-hour show, Raw received three picks each round and SmackDown received two. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose
10192-504: The second brand split (2016–present), the brand's wrestlers have appeared in the interbrand Mixed Match Challenge , Worlds Collide , and annual Tribute to the Troops events. In its conception, according to Bruce Prichard in his Something to Wrestle podcast released in October 2018, the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) originally planned to make SmackDown! an all-women's brand but ultimately decided against it because of
10304-535: The second season. On April 1, 2016, at NXT Takeover: Dallas , Funaki appeared in a backstage segment with Shinsuke Nakamura . Funaki would later appear at ringside sitting next to Kota Ibushi . Since WrestleMania 32 , Funaki has been one-half of the Japanese commentary team for all WWE pay-per-view events, while also continuing his duties as an interpreter for Japanese wrestlers in backstage interviews. In an exclusive interview for WWE's YouTube channel after
10416-440: 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
10528-634: The subsequent doubling of its roster and championships . The brand extension was made public during a telecast of Raw on March 18, initiated with the first draft a week later on the March 25 episode of Raw and became official on the April 1 episode of Raw . Wrestlers began to wrestle exclusively for their specific show. At the time, this excluded the WWF Undisputed Championship and WWF Women's Championship as those titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, then WWE Undisputed Champion, Brock Lesnar , refused to defend
10640-426: 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,
10752-471: The title on Raw , in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! . The following week on Raw , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated number one contender Triple H . Accordingly, Lesnar's championship was no longer deemed "undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became a Raw exclusive as well. As
10864-519: 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
10976-471: 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
11088-535: 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
11200-420: 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
11312-425: 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
11424-448: Was SmackDown's first pick. After the return of the brand split, most pay-per-views became exclusive to one brand, (with SmackDown producing Backlash ( 2016 and 2017 ), No Mercy (2016) , TLC (2016) , Elimination Chamber (2017) , Money in the Bank (2017) , Battleground (2017) , Hell in a Cell (2017) , Clash of Champions (2017) and Fastlane (2018) ). From WrestleMania 34 onwards, all pay-per-views became dual-branded again. On
11536-713: Was a regular on WWE's short-lived Spanish-language show Los Super Astros , which was televised on Univision . On August 30, 2007, Funaki, along with nine other superstars, were named in Sports Illustrated as recipients of illegal steroids not in compliance with the WWE Talent Wellness Program. Funaki was said to have received somatropin in March 2006. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
11648-485: Was against Chavo Guerrero on the February 10, 2005 episode of SmackDown! , notably held in Funaki's birth country, Japan. Funaki lost the championship to Chavo Guerrero in a six-man Cruiserweight Open match at No Way Out . At Armageddon , he lost to Jamie Noble in a match on Heat . During an interview with then Cruiserweight Champion Kid Kash on an episode of SmackDown! , Funaki was assaulted by Kash, who gave him
11760-517: Was broadcast live from the same arena where SmackDown! was taped. During the 2008 WWE draft , WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to SmackDown, resulting in two world championships appearing on the brand – Edge was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time – and leaving Raw without a world title. However, Edge was attacked by Batista on the June 30 episode of Raw and immediately afterwards CM Punk cashed in his Money in
11872-488: 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
11984-415: Was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016. In addition to the television program, SmackDown wrestlers also perform on the branded and co-branded pay-per-view and livestreaming events . During the first brand split (2002–2011), SmackDown wrestlers also competed on an exclusive supplementary show, Velocity , and on ECW under a talent exchange program with the former ECW brand, while during
12096-448: Was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE 's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to SmackDown primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Friday Night SmackDown , also referred to simply as SmackDown . It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with Raw , collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension
12208-526: Was mainly used to put over debuting wrestlers or tag teams. Funaki made a one-off appearance at the Puroresu King Indy Summit, on December 31, 2006, reuniting with Kai En Tai DX in what was being billed as a Kai En Tai DX Revival Ten-Man Tag Match; Funaki reteamed with Taka Michinoku, Kaz Hayashi , Dick Togo and Men's Teioh to face five other wrestlers. Funaki returned to WWE television on the February 16, 2007 episode of SmackDown! in
12320-571: 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
12432-415: 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
12544-417: 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
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