Mid 20th Century
153-478: James Morris (born July 5, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler and current radio host, better known by his ring name , Hillbilly Jim . He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1984 to 1991, and in the series Hillbilly Moments . Morris became interested in wrestling after watching Georgia Championship Wrestling on television. He
306-609: A DLC in WWE 12 and as an unlockable character in WWE 2K14 . He appears as the Macho King as a DLC in WWE 2K15 , in WWE 2K16 as a starting wrestler, in WWE 2K17 , WWE 2K18 and as an unlockable wrestler through the in-game currency "VC" (Virtual Currency), and WWE 2K19 as an exclusive DLC character for the Collector's edition of the game, entitled the "Wooooo!" Edition, WWE 2K20 as an unlockable character through
459-508: A Las Vegas Death match on October 26 at Halloween Havoc , which Savage won. On January 24, 1998, at Souled Out , Savage lost to Luger. Luger also won a rematch between the two on February 22 at SuperBrawl VIII . Savage faced Hogan in a steel cage match at Uncensored on March 15, which ended in a no contest. When Hogan failed to recapture his "nWo" title from Sting, it was Savage's turn, and he got his shot on April 19 at Spring Stampede . Hogan tried to make sure that Savage would not win
612-551: A Triangle Elimination match with the nWo. He lost to Page in a no disqualification match on April 6 at Spring Stampede , but defeated him in a falls count anywhere match on June 15 at The Great American Bash , as well as in a tag team match at Bash at the Beach on July 13. At Road Wild on August 9, Savage lost to the Giant, and on September 14 at Fall Brawl , Savage and Scott Hall lost to Page and Luger. Their feud ended in
765-420: A WarGames match . On October 29 at Halloween Havoc , Savage defeated Luger. At World War 3 on November 26, Savage won his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship by winning the first-ever 60-man three-ring battle royal . On December 27, he lost the title to Flair at Starrcade ; earlier that night, he defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan . Savage won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship back from Flair on
918-444: A diss track aimed at Hulk Hogan. Savage promoted Be a Man with a concert tour featuring Brian Adams as his bodyguard and Ron Harris as touring manager. During this time, the development of a second album was already in progress with Savage exclaiming, "We are absolutely going to have more records." However, no further albums were released. Just three months before his death on February 2, 2011, EpicLLOYD and Nice Peter made
1071-646: A feud with then Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion Tito Santana over that title. During the November 2 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event III , he unsuccessfully challenged Santana for the title (Savage won the match by countout , but not the title because the title did not change hands by countout). In a rematch on WWF on NESN on February 8, 1986, he won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship at
1224-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
1377-600: A "VIP section" at Nitro events. At Uncensored on March 24, Savage and Hogan won a Doomsday Cage match against Flair, Arn Anderson , Meng, The Barbarian , Luger, The Taskmaster , Z-Gangsta and The Ultimate Solution . On May 19 at Slamboree , Savage and Flair were paired in the Lord of the Ring tournament , where they defeated Anderson and Eddie Guerrero , but lost to Public Enemy ( Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock ) by forfeit after Savage attacked Flair during his entrance as
1530-621: A "fun" character, rarely getting involved in any serious storylines. His theme music was a folksy barn dance tune called "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy", which Morris danced along to with his partners, the ring announcer and/or children from the crowd. His first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania 2 on April 7, 1986 as part of a battle royal . At WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987, Jim teamed with Haiti Kid and Little Beaver to defeat Bundy, Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook . On November 24, 1988, at Survivor Series , Jim, Hogan, Randy Savage , Hercules and Koko B. Ware defeated
1683-413: 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
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#17327911245041836-532: 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
1989-519: 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
2142-585: 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
2295-463: 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 . Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name " Macho Man " Randy Savage ,
2448-686: A fan favorite in the process. On the October 3 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XII , he got his shot at The Honky Tonk Man and the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, but lost out on the title when The Hart Foundation ( Bret "Hitman" Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart ), who along with Honky were managed by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart , interrupted the match, getting Honky disqualified. In
2601-410: 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
2754-652: A feud between Savage and Flair, where, on May 21, Flair attacked Savage's father, Angelo Poffo , at Slamboree following the main event where Savage and Hogan defeated Flair and Vader . Savage participated in the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship tournament, defeating The Butcher in the first round and "Stunning" Steve Austin in the quarterfinals. He then interfered in Flair's match against Alex Wright , attacking Flair and causing Wright to get disqualified, which set up
2907-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has 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
3060-501: A guardrail. On March 29, 1987, Savage wrestled Steamboat at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome . After 19 two-counts, Steamboat pinned Savage (with help from George Steele, who pushed Savage from the top rope seconds before he was pinned) to end his near 14-month reign as Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. The match was extremely choreographed, as opposed to the "on the fly" nature of most wrestling matches at
3213-557: A head when Roberts slapped Miss Elizabeth. The feud continued throughout the winter, ending after a match on the February 8, 1992 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XXX , which Savage won. Savage then began an on-screen feud with WWF Champion Ric Flair , who claimed that he had been in a prior relationship with Savage's wife Miss Elizabeth, going as far as presenting pictures of Elizabeth and Flair together. This culminated in
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#17327911245043366-413: A high quality showing. Later that month, he replaced Elizabeth (who stayed with Hogan) as his manager with former WWF Women's Champion Sensational Sherri . Savage co-main evented SummerSlam on August 28, teaming with "The Human Wrecking Machine" Zeus (actor Tiny Lister in character as his role from Hulk Hogan's movie, No Holds Barred ), against The Mega-Maniacs (Hogan and Brutus Beefcake), with
3519-405: 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
3672-489: A live snake in one of the newly married couple's wedding presents; Elizabeth was frightened when she opened the gift box, and the Undertaker blindsided Savage by knocking him out with the urn while Roberts pulled the snake from the box and menaced Elizabeth with it. Sid Justice ran off both Roberts and The Undertaker. Savage, still unable to compete due to his WrestleMania VII loss to The Ultimate Warrior, immediately began
3825-448: A manager. When his in-ring career resumed, Morris often either teamed with his family or André the Giant . He was traditionally matched up against the WWF's monster heels of the era, such as Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy . He also had a short feud with Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji , wrestling the latter in a series of tuxedo matches in late 1986. Hillbilly Jim was generally kept as
3978-799: 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
4131-440: 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
4284-450: A number of times following WrestleMania VII and the WWF's official story was that out of respect, Warrior generously allowed him to see out the final months of his contract before he was forced to retire. His last match was on April 1 in Kobe, Japan at a joint card between the WWF and Super World Sports, where he was defeated by Genichiro Tenryu . He also made an initial, untelevised return to
4437-548: A powerbomb on Savage (in a reversal of the situation from the previous year, in which Nash had attacked Hogan to help Savage keep his title, albeit unsuccessfully). Team Madness slowly started to disband, after Madusa and Miss Madness began fighting each other over who was responsible for Savage's title loss. Savage soon fired both of them and started a feud with Dennis Rodman , defeating him at Road Wild on August 14. Savage disappeared from WCW programming following his feud with Rodman and would make two more appearances: first on
4590-474: A public campaign to have himself reinstated as an active wrestler to gain revenge on Roberts; however, WWF President Jack Tunney refused. During a television taping for WWF Superstars of Wrestling on November 23, Roberts cut an in-ring promo to goad Savage into the ring. After he was lured into the ring, Roberts attacked Savage, eventually tying Savage into the ropes before getting a live king cobra to bite his arm. According to Hulk Hogan and Jake Roberts on
4743-700: A recurring theme for Slim Jim ads. In 1998, Savage accepted an award from Harvard University 's humor society Harvard Lampoon as Man of the Year . Savage appeared in many television shows in the mid-to-late '90s. He appeared on a wrestling-themed episode of Baywatch that aired in 1996 with fellow WCW wrestlers Hulk Hogan , Ric Flair , Big Van Vader , and Kevin Sullivan . In 1999, he appeared on popular television shows Walker, Texas Ranger and Mad About You . Savage appeared in his first theatrical film in 2000 making an appearance as his Macho Man character in
Hillbilly Jim - Misplaced Pages Continue
4896-635: A reluctant Ventura to the 3-count. The Mega Powers then began feuding with The Twin Towers (Big Boss Man and Akeem who was formerly the One Man Gang). In the case of the latter feud, Savage frequently became involved in Hogan's matches involving one of the two villains (and vice versa); the two rival factions captained opposing teams in the main event of the Survivor Series on November 24, which
5049-575: A rematch on July 16, Savage defeated Flair in a lifeguard lumberjack match at Bash at the Beach . Later that year, during part of the storyline in which Arn Anderson and Ric Flair turned on each other, Flair (looking for a partner to take on Anderson and Brian Pillman in a tag match) tried to recruit Savage to be his partner. Remembering the rivalry (and how Flair had attacked Savage's father), Savage refused. At Fall Brawl on September 17, Savage, Hogan, Lex Luger and Sting defeated The Dungeon of Doom ( Kamala , The Zodiac , The Shark and Meng ) in
5202-584: A retribution for Flair's attack on Savage in their earlier match. At Bash at the Beach on July 7, the New World Order (nWo) was formed when Hulk Hogan turned on Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger and joined " The Outsiders ", a tag team of former WWF wrestlers Kevin Nash and Scott Hall . After their inception, one of their main enemies became Savage himself, who was one of the leaders of the WCW crusaders against
5355-497: A series of remixes that feature samples from Be a Man which has received critical acclaim. Savage appeared in WWF WrestleMania , WWF WrestleMania Challenge , WWF Superstars , WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge , WWF Super WrestleMania , WWF Royal Rumble , WWF King of the Ring , WCW vs nWo: World Tour , WCW Nitro , WCW/nWo Revenge , WCW/nWo Thunder , WCW Mayhem , WWE All Stars , as
5508-548: A singles match on August 27 at SummerSlam . After this, Savage started a feud with The Ultimate Warrior , who had defeated Hogan to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania VI . Warrior repeatedly refused to give Savage a title shot, instead choosing to defend the championship against Sgt. Slaughter at the Royal Rumble in January 1991. Savage attacked Warrior as he was making his entrance, and then later in
5661-588: A song along with a video for Epic Rap Battles of History of Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Kim Jong-Il having a rap battle . They noted his death with annotations in the video. Rapper Don Trip released a mixtape on January 24, 2014, entitled Randy Savage . All tracks have Savage's famous "Ohhh Yeah!!!" in the opening of the song; the track entitled "Cream of the Crop" has Savage's "Nothing Means Nothing" speech from an interview after WrestleMania III. In January 2015, DJ/rapper DJ Cummerbund began releasing
5814-526: A statement announcing the divorce appeared in WWF Magazine at about the same time, a rare break of kayfabe for the WWF at the time. For the better part of 1992, Savage and his old nemesis The Ultimate Warrior (who returned to the WWF at WrestleMania VIII ) peacefully co-existed. However, when it was announced that Warrior was the new number-one contender for Savage's WWF Championship, old tensions resurfaced and they had several heated exchanges prior to
5967-537: A tag team match on July 11 at Bash at the Beach between Nash and Sting against Savage and Sid Vicious, in which whoever scored the winning fall would win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship; Savage won his fourth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship when he pinned Nash. Savage's last reign as champion did not last long, as he lost the title to a returning Hollywood Hogan the next night on Nitro , when Nash interfered and hit
6120-604: A title match between the two on April 5 at WrestleMania VIII ; Savage won the match and his second WWF Championship. During this time, Savage and Elizabeth separated in real life, however, the Savage-Flair feud continued, and WWF Magazine published photos of Savage and Elizabeth, which were identical to those featuring Elizabeth and Flair; it was revealed that Flair had doctored the Savage-Elizabeth pictures. The former couple were divorced on September 18, and
6273-493: A tournament semi-final in which the winner would face the winner of the Sting and Meng match for the title at The Great American Bash . Savage and Flair's tournament semi-final match never took place, however, due to Savage and Flair brawling in the backstage area prior to the match and both being eliminated from the tournament. At the event on June 18, Savage lost to Flair after Flair stole Angelo's cane and hit Savage with it. In
Hillbilly Jim - Misplaced Pages Continue
6426-503: 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
6579-586: 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
6732-410: 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
6885-595: The Dexter's Laboratory shorts Dial M for Monkey . He also provided his voice in many other shows including the voice for "Gorilla" in an episode of King of the Hill and the voice of Space Ghost 's grandfather in an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast . Savage served as the voice of "The Thug" in Disney 's Academy Award-nominated 2008 animated film Bolt , which was his last theatrical film appearance. Savage reprised
7038-597: The 1994 Royal Rumble match on January 22, but was eliminated by Crush , leading to a Falls Count Anywhere match on March 20 at WrestleMania X , where Savage defeated Crush. Savage also made periodic appearances in Jim Cornette 's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion in May and made his final WWF pay-per-view appearance on August 29 at SummerSlam , where he served as the master of ceremonies. Savage's final WWF match
7191-702: The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship . He also teamed with Lanny to battle The Rock 'n' Roll Express ; this feud included a match on June 25, 1984, in Memphis, where in the storyline , Savage injured Ricky Morton by piledriving him through the timekeeper's table, leading to the Express winning by disqualification. Later in 1984, Savage turned babyface and allied with Lawler against Jimmy Hart 's First Family alliance, only to turn heel on Lawler again in early 1985 and resume
7344-698: The Boston Garden by using an illegal steel object stashed in his tights to knock out Santana. Early in his WWF career, Savage also won three countout victories (the first at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and the other two at Madison Square Garden ) over his future tag team partner WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (although the belt did not change hands due to the countout) as well as engaging in feuds with Bruno Sammartino and George "The Animal" Steele . Savage's feud with Steele began on
7497-450: The King of the Ring tournament later in 1987 . His popularity was rising to the point that he was being cheered by a majority of the fans despite being a heel , so he became less hostile towards the fans and Miss Elizabeth. When The Honky Tonk Man declared himself "the greatest Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion of all time", Savage began a feud with him to get the title back, becoming
7650-624: 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
7803-591: The One Man Gang on his way to the finals, where he defeated "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase (who had his bodyguard Virgil and André the Giant in his corner), pinning him with the help of Hogan. Savage retained the WWF World Heavyweight Title for a little over a year, defending it against the likes of One Man Gang, Big Boss Man and André the Giant. The Mega Powers' first feud was against The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André
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#17327911245047956-776: 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 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
8109-535: The WCW World Heavyweight Champion . He appeared at Starrcade on December 27, saving Hogan from an attack by The Three Faces of Fear , shaking hands with his friend and rival. At SuperBrawl V on February 19, 1995, Savage and Sting defeated Avalanche and Big Bubba Rogers . On March 19 at Uncensored , Savage defeated Avalanche via disqualification when a fan, who happened to be Ric Flair dressed in drag, attacked Savage. This led to
8262-473: The WWE Network in 2014. On October 10, 2016, Morris released his book, Hillbilly Jim: The Incredible Story of a Wrestling Superstar . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with
8415-572: The WWF Tag Team Championship . Money Inc. lost by countout but retained their titles. Savage and Warrior were to face Flair and Ramon at Survivor Series on November 25. Warrior was fired from the WWF weeks before the event, so Savage chose Mr. Perfect, executive consultant to Flair, as his partner to replace Warrior. Perfect initially laughed off the suggestion, but was angered by Bobby Heenan and his insinuations that he could never again wrestle at his previous level, and accepted
8568-584: 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
8721-400: 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
8874-460: 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
9027-411: 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 the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
9180-653: 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
9333-569: The August 24 episode of Championship Wrestling . His gimmick was a crazed, ego-maniacal bully who mistreated Miss Elizabeth and threatened anyone who even looked at her. He made his pay-per-view (PPV) debut for a 16-man tournament at The Wrestling Classic on November 7, defeating Ivan Putski , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat , and the Dynamite Kid before losing via countout in the finals to Junkyard Dog . In late 1985, Savage started
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#17327911245049486-621: The Carolinas, Georgia, the Maritimes, and the eastern Tennessee territory run by Nick Gulas . After a while, his father felt that his sons were not getting the pushes they deserved so he started the "outlaw" International Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion in the mid-American states. Eventually, ICW disbanded and Randy and Lanny entered the Memphis scene, joining Jerry Lawler 's Continental Wrestling Association (their former competitors). While there, Savage feuded with Lawler over
9639-471: The Giant), whom they defeated on August 29 in the main event of the first ever SummerSlam pay-per-view. The match, refereed by Jesse Ventura , was famous for Miss Elizabeth jumping up on the apron of the ring late in the match and removing her skirt to show red panties. This allowed both Savage and Hogan (who had been knocked to the outside) to get back in the ring and get the pin on DiBiase with Savage pushing
9792-490: The January 22, 1996 episode of Nitro . During this time, Savage brought Elizabeth with him into WCW as his manager once again. At SuperBrawl VI on February 11, Savage defended the title against Flair in steel cage match , however, he lost the title after Elizabeth turned on Savage when she allowed Flair to hit him with one of her high heel shoes. Flair claimed that Elizabeth gave him a sizable amount of Savage's money, taken in their divorce settlement, which he used to set up
9945-522: The January 4 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event IV , when Steele developed a crush on Miss Elizabeth. At WrestleMania 2 on April 7, 1986, Savage defeated Steele in a match to retain his Intercontinental Heavyweight Title. He resumed his feud with Steele in early 1987, culminating in two Intercontinental Heavyweight title matches, both won by Savage. His next feud was with Ricky Steamboat, where in October, Savage crushed Steamboat's throat against
10098-743: The Mega-Maniacs winning after Hogan hit Zeus with Sherri's loaded purse to get the win. Savage and Zeus faced Hogan and Beefcake in a rematch contested in a steel cage at No Holds Barred on December 27, but were again defeated. Meanwhile, as all of this was going on, Savage decided to challenge Jim Duggan for the King of the Ring title in September 1989, defeating him; Savage began referring to himself as "The Macho King" going forward, with Sherri becoming known as "Sensational Queen Sherri". Savage and Hogan met one final time on February 23, 1990, at The Main Event III , with Hogan once again putting
10251-408: 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
10404-488: 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
10557-483: The October 25, 1999 episode of Nitro , when he appeared in the ring with Gorgeous George and talked about passing the torch forward. His second, and final, WCW appearance would be on the May 3, 2000, episode of Thunder , when Savage returned to join The Millionaire's Club – a group consisting of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and other veterans – aiding them at the end of a 41-man battle royal. Despite Savage ending
10710-575: The Pick Your Poison DVD, the snake was holding on with the fangs and Jake had a hard time getting the snake off Randy. With help from the fans, Savage was later reinstated by Tunney, who announced a match between Savage and Roberts for This Tuesday in Texas on December 3, where Savage defeated Roberts, however, Roberts performed the DDT on Savage three times after the match, and things came to
10863-519: The September 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling (taped September 1), Savage lost the WWF Championship to Flair after interference from Razor Ramon . He then formed a tag team with Warrior known as the "Ultimate Maniacs", and after his title loss shortly after, an injured Savage backed Warrior to dethrone Flair. On the November 8, 1992 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI , they took on Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster ) for
11016-426: The WWF Championship on the line. The pinfall was counted by new heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas despite Savage kicking out at two, Douglas then punched Savage in the face after Savage confronted and then slapped Douglas. Savage then began feuding with the "Common Man" Dusty Rhodes , losing a mixed tag match (along with Sherri) to Rhodes and Sapphire on April 1 at WrestleMania VI but beating him in
11169-420: The WWF as a wrestling fan known as "Big Jim" who routinely sat in the front row of live events and eventually decided to try his hand at wrestling himself. After appearing as a guest on Piper's Pit , Rowdy Roddy Piper offered his services to train him, but he chose to be "trained"' by WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan instead of the heel Piper. A series of vignettes were aired on WWF's TV programming in
11322-508: The WWF for Coliseum Video sales and later with Sony Videos. In 2005, Sirius Satellite Radio added Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee as a weekly program on its Outlaw Country channel 62. Every Saturday, Morris plays a wide variety of classic country music and Southern rock and tells stories of his days with the WWF. He made an appearance on the "Blast from the Past" episode of WWE SmackDown on April 10, 2012. In March 2018, Hillbilly Jim
11475-401: 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
11628-418: 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
11781-561: 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
11934-463: The babyface in their rivalry. However these plans were scrapped at a late stage due to the Warrior's refusal to turn heel after considering the collapse in merchandise sales which would have resulted. Instead, Savage lost the match by countout , after having his knee injured by Flair and Mr. Perfect, but retained the championship. After the match, Warrior helped a badly injured Savage to the back. On
12087-429: The back, which enraged Savage to the point that he abandoned Hogan later in the match. Savage and Hogan got into a heated argument with Savage declaring that Hogan was an inferior wrestler to him and that he wanted to steal Elizabeth from him. He then proceeded to attack his partner and attacked Hogan's friend Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake as he tried to intervene, before being separated by security, turning Savage heel for
12240-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling 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
12393-424: 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
12546-418: 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
12699-423: 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
12852-512: 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
13005-443: The company. Savage returned to WCW on the January 20, 1997 episode of Nitro hijacking the show, claiming to have been " blackballed " and refusing to leave the ring until Sting showed up, and the two left together. Savage appeared again with Sting over the next couple Nitro shows roving and watching events from the crowd as "free agents". At one point, WCW president and nWo member Eric Bischoff informed Savage that his WCW career
13158-468: 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 the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
13311-540: 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
13464-510: The early weeks of 1985, showing Hogan training Jim and providing him with his first set of wrestling boots. This introduced the character of Hillbilly Jim; a simple-minded, shaggy-bearded Appalachian hillbilly clad in bib overalls , and hailing from Mud Lick, Kentucky . Hillbilly Jim had his first high-profile singles match at The War to Settle the Score on February 18, 1985, in which he defeated Rene Goulet . However, just days later, Morris
13617-405: 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
13770-430: The end of the next week's show, he led a group attack on them. On December 5, at Turning Point , Savage, Jeff Hardy and A.J. Styles defeated them in his last match. Savage never signed a contract with TNA, instead working on a per date handshake deal. He was the celebrity spokesman for Slim Jim snack foods in the mid-to-late 1990s. His catch phrase in the ads was "Snap into a Slim Jim, oooooh yeah!", which became
13923-451: The ensuing beatdown, Miss Elizabeth ran back to the locker room and brought Hulk Hogan out to the ring to save Savage, leading to the formation of " The Mega Powers ". Savage would lead a team of five against Honky's team of five at the first annual Survivor Series on November 26, where Savage's team was victorious, avenging Elizabeth's honor. His feud with Honky continued into early 1988, where in their last high-profile matchup (aired as
14076-603: 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
14229-819: The feud with him over the title. This ended when Lawler beat Savage in a Loser Leaves Town match on June 7 in Memphis , Tennessee . In June 1985, Savage signed with Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He made his WWF debut on the July 6 episode of Championship Wrestling , defeating local competitor Aldo Marino. Billed as "the top free agent in pro wrestling", Savage's first appearances on Tuesday Night Titans featured several established managers (including Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , Jimmy Hart , Mr. Fuji , Johnny Valiant , and "Classy" Freddie Blassie ) offering their services to Savage. He declined their offers and chose Miss Elizabeth as his new manager on
14382-470: 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
14535-514: The first time since 1987. On April 2 at WrestleMania V , Savage dropped the WWF World Heavyweight Championship to Hogan after a reign of 371 days . Prior to the match, Savage had actually been hospitalized with an infected elbow but checked himself out of the hospital in order to wrestle Hogan and despite wearing a heavy bandage over the elbow and being sick as a result of the infection, still managed to put on
14688-610: 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
14841-460: 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
14994-526: 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
15147-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in 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
15300-480: 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
15453-496: 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
15606-624: The main event at Spring Stampede on April 11, which was won by Diamond Dallas Page. For a short time afterward, Savage interfered in DDP's matches to make sure that Page kept the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but when Kevin Nash won it on May 9 at Slamboree , Savage went after the title himself. It was around that time that Madusa and Miss Madness joined Savage as his other two valets; together they were known as Team Madness . On June 13 at The Great American Bash , Sid Vicious returned to WCW and helped Savage to attack Kevin Nash. This led to
15759-400: The match knocked him unconscious by breaking his royal scepter over Warrior's head, costing him the championship. Warrior responded by challenging Savage to a career-ending match at WrestleMania VII on March 24, where the loser of the contest would be forced to retire from professional wrestling. Savage lost the match, and was then attacked by Sherri as he lay dejected in the ring. This
15912-562: The match, Savage wrestled Piper in the next match, which Savage quickly lost to Piper by submission. After the next night on Nitro , Savage took a hiatus from the company to recover from at least two major knee surgeries. He made only one more appearance in 1998, helping Ric Flair defeat Eric Bischoff for the Presidency of WCW on the December 28 episode of Nitro . As nWo member the Giant was interfering on Bischoff's behalf, Savage entered
16065-406: The match. On August 29 (transmitted on pay-per-view TV August 31), Savage defended the title against The Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam . WWF writers had originally intended that Warrior should be the one to accept Mr. Perfect 's services - up for offer to either Summerslam main event competitor - turning heel in the process of winning the title and continuing his feud with the dethroned Savage, now
16218-412: The match. The duo defeated Flair and Ramon via disqualification. When Monday Night Raw began in January 1993, Savage served primarily as a color commentator. On January 24, he was the runner up in the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble , where he was eliminated by Yokozuna . Savage returned to pay-per-view on November 24 at Survivor Series as a substitute for Mr. Perfect. He also competed in
16371-498: 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
16524-400: The movie Ready to Rumble where David Arquette daydreams a sequence fighting Savage at a gas station. Savage's most famous film role was in the 2002 film Spider-Man as the wrestler Bonesaw McGraw (based on the comics character Crusher Hogan). Savage's memorable voice gave him voice acting roles for various television and film projects. He voiced the rogue alien wrestler "Rasslor" in
16677-401: The nWo. Savage threatened Hogan for months, often being attacked by the nWo. On September 15 at Fall Brawl , Savage was defeated by The Giant . At Halloween Havoc on October 27, Savage finally faced Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but lost when The Giant interfered and hit him with a chokeslam . Savage left WCW following the event, as he was unable to reach a new deal with
16830-512: 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 is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
16983-717: 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
17136-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise 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
17289-554: The ring on July 30 in Portland, Maine , at a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping when he substituted for The Ultimate Warrior and pinned The Undertaker . Following this, Savage subbed for Warrior on house shows in early August against Undertaker. The storyline with Miss Elizabeth continued, culminating with Savage proposing to her in the ring leading to an on-air wedding on August 26 at SummerSlam dubbed The Match Made in Heaven . It
17442-470: The ring wearing an nWo shirt but duped, low-blowed and clotheslined the Giant out of the ring and removed the shirt while exiting. Savage returned in April 1999, debuting a new look and theme music, sporting a slicked-back ponytail, earrings, and a new villainous attitude (though still embracing the fans), as well as introducing his new valet, Gorgeous George . His first action was as the guest referee in
17595-549: The ring, use of the finale from " Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1 " by Elgar as his entrance music, and signature catchphrase, "Oooh yeah!" For most of his tenures in the WWF and WCW, Savage was managed by his real-life wife, Miss Elizabeth . Savage had ten world championship reigns during his 32-year career, including two as WWF World Heavyweight Champion and four as WCW World Heavyweight Champion . As WWF Champion, he held similar drawing power as Hulk Hogan . A one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion , he
17748-679: The role in Super Rhino in 2009 for the short film featuring the cast of Bolt . Savage's music debut was on the WWF-produced WrestleMania: The Album in 1993, where he sang on the song "Speaking from the Heart", one of many songs sung by then-WWF wrestlers on the CD. On October 7, 2003, Savage released his debut rap album titled Be a Man . It includes a tribute song to "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig , as well as
17901-453: The second consecutive night, Nash came to Savage's aid, powerbombing Hogan. However, an interfering Bret Hart attacked Savage and preserved the victory for Hogan. Savage then joined with Nash and others to form the nWo Wolfpac , a split from Hogan's group. At Slamboree on May 17, Savage lost to Hart by submission. On June 14 at The Great American Bash , Savage teamed up with Piper against and lost to Hogan and Hart by submission. After
18054-496: The show claiming he was going to help the veteran group take out young New Blood group, he did not appear again in WCW before they folded the next year. On November 7, 2004, Savage returned to professional wrestling at NWA: Total Nonstop Action 's (TNA) Victory Road pay-per-view, confronting Jeff Jarrett . He made his Impact! debut on November 19, confronting the Kings of Wrestling (Jarrett, Kevin Nash , and Scott Hall ). At
18207-508: The spring of 1997 and worked as a road agent . On April 1, 2001, he participated in the "Gimmick Battle Royal" at WrestleMania X-Seven , where he was the last man eliminated by The Iron Sheik. He was the official WWE legend host of the highly successful WrestleMania Axxess tour for WrestleMania XX , WrestleMania 21 , WrestleMania 22 , and WrestleMania 23 in major malls across the US. From 1990 to 2001, Morris traveled worldwide representing
18360-440: 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
18513-541: The suggestion of his longtime friend and trainer Terry "The Goose" Stephens and Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) booker Ole Anderson , who said that the name Poffo did not fit someone who "wrestled like a savage". Savage eventually decided to end his stalled baseball career and join his father and brother to wrestle full time. He wrestled his first match against Midwest Territory wrestler "Golden Boy" Paul Christy . Savage worked with his father and brother in Michigan,
18666-474: The team of Big Boss Man , Akeem , Ted DiBiase , King Haku and The Red Rooster . In June 1989, Jim worked as a fill-in for John Studd, who departed the WWF in the midst of a major feud with André the Giant. Hillbilly Jim's last high-profile match with the WWF was during the April 28, 1990 (taped April 23) edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI , in which he lost to Earthquake . Months later, Jim
18819-426: 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,
18972-625: The time; Savage was a stickler for detail, and he and Steamboat laid out and rehearsed every spot in the match prior to WrestleMania. The match was named 1987's Match of the Year by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer . Steamboat and Savage were seen cheering with and hugging other wrestlers after the match. The two continued to feud on house shows, including in steel cage matches. During this part of his career, he became known for his stage costumes, which were created by Florida designer Michael Braun. Savage won
19125-426: The title because Hogan felt that he was the only nWo member who should be WCW World Heavyweight Champion, since he was the leader of the stable. With the help of Nash, however, Savage beat Sting for his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship, despite tearing his ACL in his knee during the match. The following night on Nitro , Hogan faced Savage for the championship, and it looked like Hogan had Savage beat, but for
19278-519: 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
19431-471: 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
19584-669: The undercard to Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan on the February 5 episode of The Main Event I ), Savage defeated Honky by count-out after he shoved Honky away from Elizabeth and into the ring post. At WrestleMania IV on March 27, 1988, he participated in the 14-man tournament for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship . During the tournament held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City , Savage defeated "The Natural" Butch Reed , Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and
19737-405: 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 a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
19890-535: 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
20043-420: 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
20196-408: Was Larry Herndon , who was also his roommate. Savage would swing a bat into a hanging car tire to strengthen his hands and utilize his legs during swings. The technique was so effective that Herndon used it during his career as a baseball coach. Savage injured his natural (right) throwing shoulder after a collision at home plate, and he learned to throw with his left arm instead. Savage's last season
20349-425: 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
20502-516: Was 1974, when he played for the Class A Tampa Tarpons in the Reds organization. He played 289 games over four minor league seasons, batting .254 with 16 home runs and 129 RBI. Savage first broke into the wrestling business in 1973 during the fall and winter of the baseball off season. His first wrestling character, The Spider, was similar to Spider-Man . He later took the ring name Randy Savage at
20655-557: Was a tour in Germany when he teamed with Bret Hart to defeat Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart on September 13, 1994, in Rostock . At the end of October 1994, Savage's WWF contract expired and he left to sign with rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Savage made his first appearance for WCW on the December 3, 1994 episode of Saturday Night , referencing the love/hate relationship he had with Hulk Hogan and stated his desire to be
20808-559: Was a well-known wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s, and his younger brother Lanny Poffo also went into wrestling. The Poffo family lived in Zanesville, Ohio , where Randy attended Grover Cleveland Middle School . He graduated from Downers Grove North High School in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Illinois . Poffo later moved to Staten Island, New York , before moving to Lexington, Kentucky , where he lived for many years. He
20961-505: Was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Savage was described by sportswriter Bill Simmons as "one of the greatest pro wrestlers who ever lived" – a statement echoed by multiple industry performers. He was recognizable by wrestling fans for his distinctively flamboyant ring attire and raspy voice, intensity exhibited in and out of
21114-525: Was an alumnus of Southern Illinois University–Carbondale . Savage was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a catcher out of high school. He was placed in the minor leagues to develop, where he mostly played as an outfielder in the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds farm systems. Savage was 18 when he began playing minor league baseball; one of his teammates on the 1971 Gulf Coast League Cardinals
21267-470: Was at this time that Savage was targeted by the now-villain Jake "The Snake" Roberts . On an episode of Prime Time Wrestling prior to SummerSlam, the announcers and several wrestlers threw a "bachelor party" for Savage, with Roberts' arrival deemed unwelcome by the rest of the contingent. In the post-SummerSlam wedding reception, Roberts and his new ally, The Undertaker , made their presence known by hiding
21420-605: Was brought into the business when he met Bruce Swayze at a Bowling Green High School gym, where Morris had been an All-State basketball player. He began his career with Stu Hart 's Stampede Wrestling and other promotions in North America under his real name. He then went to work for the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in the Memphis area under the name "Harley Davidson", a biker gimmick . In late 1984, Morris first appeared in
21573-488: 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
21726-557: Was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame upon its inception in 1996, with a posthumous WWE Hall of Fame induction following in 2015. Randy Poffo was born on November 15, 1952, in Columbus, Ohio , the eldest son of Judith ( née Sverdlin) and Angelo Poffo . His father was Italian American and his mother was Jewish American ; Poffo was raised Catholic . Randy's father
21879-617: Was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jimmy Hart . Morris has four children and seven grandchildren. After retiring from wrestling, he began working for a coin, currency, and stamp dealership called Champion Stamp Company Inc. He is known as a "staple" at coin and currency shows, but is largely there as a spokesman rather than for his expertise in numismatics , although he does collect some paper money and coins himself. He appeared in WWE cartoon series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling , which
22032-424: Was named by WWE as the greatest titleholder of all time and credited for bringing "a higher level of credibility to the title through his amazing in-ring performances". Savage was the 1987 WWF King of the Ring and the 1995 WCW World War 3 winner. He headlined many pay-per-view events throughout his career, including WrestleManias IV and V , two of the first five SummerSlam shows, and Starrcade 1995 . He
22185-440: Was over and he could only return as an nWo member. On February 23, Sting and Savage appeared at SuperBrawl VII , where Savage left Sting's side and joined the nWo by helping Hogan defeat Roddy Piper . The next night, he reunited with Elizabeth, who had joined the nWo several months earlier during Savage's hiatus from WCW. Savage began feuding with Diamond Dallas Page and his wife Kimberly . On March 16 at Uncensored , Savage won
22338-571: 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
22491-548: Was produced by DIC Enterprises . He is featured in the game WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain . He performed the song "Don't Go Messing With A Country Boy" for The Wrestling Album , which was certified gold. Its follow-up album, Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2 , also included a duet by Hillbilly Jim and a female singer credited as Gertrude, entitled "Waking Up Alone". He appeared in WWE Legends' House , which aired on
22644-464: Was released from the WWF and retired from wrestling, although he came back the following year to face Colonel Mustafa and The Berzerker at house shows . In 1992, he was one of the co-hosts of WWF Prime Time Wrestling . Hillbilly Jim returned in 1995 and became the manager of Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn , "cousins" who were pig farmers. He left managing after the Godwinns turned heel in
22797-597: Was sidelined by an injury he suffered at a show in San Diego while in Hogan's corner in a match between him and Brutus Beefcake . While chasing Beefcake's manager Johnny V around ringside, Morris slipped on a wet spot and injured his knee. To help fill in the six months during his recovery, similarly dressed "family" members Uncle Elmer , Cousin Luke , and Cousin Junior were introduced for Morris to accompany to ringside as
22950-415: 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
23103-417: 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
23256-467: Was too much for Miss Elizabeth, who happened to be in the audience, rushing to Savage's aid, fighting off Sherri and reuniting with her one-time love to huge crowd appreciation, with Savage becoming a fan favorite once again for the first time since 1989. Despite his retirement from active wrestling, Savage stayed in the WWF in a non-wrestling capacity while The Ultimate Warrior was fired by Vince McMahon after SummerSlam later that year. Savage wrestled
23409-710: Was won by the Mega Powers. Problems between Savage and Hogan developed in early 1989 after Hogan also took Elizabeth as his manager. On January 15, 1989, at the Royal Rumble , Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match and they started to fight until Elizabeth separated them. During the February 3 episode of The Main Event II , Savage and Hogan faced the Twin Towers, but Elizabeth accidentally got injured at ringside. Hogan carried her to
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