Mid 20th Century
175-473: The Crist Brothers were an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers David Crist Jr. and John Crist, who are best known by their ring names Dave Crist and Jake Crist . They are best known for their time with Impact Wrestling where Jake was a one-time Impact X Division Champion . For much of their career, they wrestled on the Midwest independent circuit , most notably for
350-718: A Boot Camp Match at Tribute to the Troops , before losing to Wyatt yet again in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight on the December 22 episode of Raw . The feud between the two concluded when Wyatt defeated Ambrose in an ambulance match on the January 5, 2015, episode of Raw . At the Royal Rumble on January 25, Ambrose participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Big Show and Kane. Ambrose then began
525-487: A No Holds Barred elimination match in June. The following night on Raw , Rollins betrayed Ambrose and Reigns and aligned himself with The Authority, breaking up the group. Ambrose promptly began feuding with Rollins, which included the duo interfering in each other's matches. During this period, Ambrose and Reigns amicably separated as a team, with Ambrose debuting new ring attire and new entrance music. Ambrose competed
700-620: A fatal four-way elimination match involving Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, and The Miz . On the January 3, 2017, episode of SmackDown , Ambrose defeated The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. He participated in the 2017 Royal Rumble match in which he lasted almost 27 minutes before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar. On February 12, Ambrose took part in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at
875-670: A hardcore match taped for the Mercury Rising pay-per-view . At the Uprising event in Mississauga, Ontario , Canada , Moxley suffered a legitimate injury where his left nipple was nearly severed during a match with Jimmy Jacobs . His last match in DGUSA was against Homicide in January 2011, which Moxley won. At Full Impact Pro 's (FIP) Southern Stampede event on April 17, 2010, Moxley defeated Roderick Strong to win
1050-498: A lumberjack match , which Ambrose lost after Kane again interfered and Rollins hit Ambrose with his Money in the Bank briefcase. The following night on Raw , Ambrose faced Rollins in a Falls Count Anywhere match , which Ambrose lost by knockout after interference from Kane once again. After the match, Rollins curb stomped his head through cinder blocks, giving Ambrose kayfabe (fictional) "head and spine trauma" and causing him to take
1225-728: A triple powerbomb through an announce table to Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship , allowing CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain the title. The trio declared themselves The Shield , vowed to rally against "injustice", and denied working for Punk; however, they routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's opponents, including Ryback and the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No ( Daniel Bryan and Kane ), thus establishing themselves as villains. This led to
1400-446: 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
1575-459: A 20-minute non-title Iron Man match ; the match ended in a draw with neither man scoring a fall . A 30-minute rematch, in which the title was on the line, took place in September which Rollins won through sudden death rules . Ambrose beat Rollins in a non-title match in the first round of a tournament to crown the new FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion . However, Ambrose was unsuccessful in
1750-595: A Blood and Guts match, losing after Yuta forfeited. At the All In event on August 27, the BCC teamed with Santana and Ortiz to face Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo and Best Friends ( Orange Cassidy , Trent and Chuck Taylor ) in a Stadium Stampede match , but lost. The following week at All Out , Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy to win the AEW International Championship . However, he lost
1925-667: A No Holds Barred street fight match at WrestleMania 32, which Paul Heyman accepted on Lesnar's behalf. He then failed to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at the Roadblock event in March. He was also unsuccessful in defeating Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. Following WrestleMania, Ambrose began a rivalry with Chris Jericho. He defeated Jericho at Payback , and again at Extreme Rules in an Asylum match later that month to end
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#17327903583762100-430: A SummerSlam rematch, during which Braun Strowman made his WWE debut, helping Harper and Wyatt. At Night of Champions on September 20, Ambrose, Reigns and a returning Chris Jericho were defeated by Wyatt, Harper, and Strowman in a six-man tag team match. After Rollins legitimately injured his knee on November 3, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was declared vacant; Ambrose entered a 16-man tournament to determine
2275-413: 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
2450-436: A better champion. The two faced at All Out on September 5, where Moxley emerged victorious. Later that month, Moxley began a highly acclaimed rivalry with former friend Eddie Kingston , who was jealous of Moxley's success. He defended the championship against Kingston on the September 23 episode of Dynamite , which he won by making Kingston pass out to a chokehold. After retaining the championship against Lance Archer on
2625-532: 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
2800-519: 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
2975-585: 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
3150-441: 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 . Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He
3325-410: 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
3500-458: A feud with Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett . He failed to win the championship from Barrett at Fastlane and WrestleMania 31 . Ambrose defeated Luke Harper at Extreme Rules in a Chicago Street Fight on April 26, his first singles victory on a pay-per-view event since The Shield split up. The following night on Raw , Ambrose competed in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, but
3675-704: A frustrated Ambrose walked away from his teammates. On the October 22 episode of Raw , after Reigns announced the return of his real-life leukemia and relinquished the Universal Championship, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Ziggler and McIntyre to capture the Raw Tag Team Championship for the second time. However, Ambrose immediately attacked Rollins after the match, turning heel for the first time since 2014. Two weeks later on Raw , Ambrose attacked Rollins again, after Rollins lost
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#17327903583763850-414: 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
4025-482: A hiatus from WWE. Ambrose returned at Night of Champions in September and attacked Rollins. The duo faced off in a Hell in a Cell match the following month at the namesake event , where Ambrose lost again when the returning Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked him. After consecutive losses to Wyatt at the Survivor Series and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-views, Ambrose defeated Wyatt in
4200-405: 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
4375-416: A losing effort to JCW Tag Team Champions Thomaselli Brothers . On May 26, the duo debuted as the masked tag team Ring Rydas. Jake, as Ring Ryda Red, and Dave, as Ring Ryda Blue, lost to Thomaselli Brothers. At Oddball Wrestling 2010, Ring Rydas defeated The Daivari Brothers ( Shawn and Ariya Daivari ). The following night at Bloodymania IV , the duo lost in a Fatal 4 way Tag Team match that also featured
4550-687: 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
4725-559: A match between the two, but this never came to fruition due to Foley not being medically allowed to wrestle. Instead, the rivalry was scrapped and Ambrose remained in WWE's developmental system. He competed in a dark match at the first tapings of NXT on May 17, in a loss to Xavier Woods . On an episode of FCW in June, Ambrose challenged Rollins for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship but lost. Almost
4900-495: A match in which Ambrose was defeated. Punk would later praise Ambrose after the match. Ambrose then began a feud with William Regal after he targeted Regal in an unprovoked attack. They would wrestle on the November 7 episode of FCW , with Regal winning. For the next year, Ambrose would obsessively request for another match with Regal. On December 7, Ambrose competed at tapings for an unaired pilot for WWE NXT under
5075-684: A match with the HWA. Now achieving their high school goal, the Irish Airborne entered HWA. They became instant fan favorites due to their performance in BPW and the shared fan base. Their first match was a four-way tag match teaming with Viper and Zeta against 4BJ, J.T. Stahr & Jimmy Turner & Ala Hussein. Airborne had continued success in HWA leading to a tag team title championship victory against Necessary Roughness in May 2005. As success came quickly for
5250-615: A new champion. After defeating Tyler Breeze in the first round, Dolph Ziggler in the quarterfinals and Kevin Owens in the semifinals, Ambrose ultimately made it to the finals at the Survivor Series main event on November 22 but lost to Reigns. "Crowd was more into Ambrose than [Roman] Reigns... Why does Ambrose continue to do more jobs when he's the most over babyface they have?" Wrestling Observer Newsletter writer Jeff Hamlin on Ambrose's recent losses in relation to his popularity with WWE audiences In December, Ambrose won
5425-440: 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
Crist Brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue
5600-653: A non-title match. Following that, Ambrose was moved to the Raw brand as a result of the Superstar Shake-up . He would then continue his feud with The Miz, who was also drafted to Raw in the Superstar Shake-up, eventually losing the Intercontinental title to him at Extreme Rules in June, thus ending his reign at 152 days. Ambrose continued to feud with The Miz, leading up to a rematch for
5775-407: A record of two wins and three losses, failing to advance from their block. On June 4, 2017, Jake Crist competed in a gauntlet match at ROH Gateway to Gold for a chance to compete against Christopher Daniels for his ROH World Title later that night. Dave joined the commentary booth for Jake's time in the ring. Dave was not invited to wrestle for ROH due to past conflicts with other roster members. Jake
5950-584: A result, the AEW World Championship was vacated, and Moxley was then inserted into a tournament to crown a new champion. At Grand Slam on September 21, Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in the tournament final to win the vacant title and become the first ever three-time AEW World Champion. On October 7, it was announced via press release that Moxley had signed a five-year exclusive contract extension with AEW that will see him take on mentorship and coaching roles, as well as continue to perform for
6125-498: A rivalry with Kane, turning into heroic characters in the process. The group defeated Kane and the New Age Outlaws ( Road Dogg and Billy Gunn ) at WrestleMania XXX on April 6. The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to cease working for Triple H, who reformed Evolution with himself, Batista and Randy Orton to battle them. On April 28, Ambrose surpassed MVP as the longest-reigning United States Champion under
6300-556: A singles match for the championship. He won the match by disqualification after Rollins shoved the referee , but did not win the title, as championships cannot change hands by disqualification. Regardless, Ambrose stole the championship belt from him and challenged Rollins to a ladder match for the title at Money in the Bank on June 14, which he narrowly lost. After Money in the Bank, Ambrose teamed up with Roman Reigns to defeat Wyatt and Harper at SummerSlam . The following night on Raw , Ambrose and Reigns fought Wyatt and Harper in
6475-952: A six-man Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match being set up for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 16, where The Shield defeated Ryback and Team Hell No in their debut match. They continued to aid Punk after TLC, both on Raw and at the 2013 Royal Rumble . The night after the Royal Rumble, it was revealed that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield to work for them all along. The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk. At Elimination Chamber in February, The Shield defeated Ryback, John Cena, and Sheamus . At WrestleMania 29 in April, The Shield won their first WrestleMania match against Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show . Ambrose made his singles debut against The Undertaker on
6650-508: A table for the win. They proceeded to attack LAX after the match, resulting in a double turn , with oVe turning from a face tag team into a heel faction also including Callihan. On the January 4, 2018 episode of Impact! , they lost the title to LAX, ending their reign at 164 days. The Crist Brothers and Callihan were later joined by Madman Fulton in March 2019. On the July 26, 2019 episode of Impact! , Jake Crist defeated Rich Swann to win
6825-582: A traditional Survivor Series match ; although Ambrose was the first man eliminated, Reigns would ultimately win the match for the team. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, CM Punk defeated The Shield in a handicap match after Ambrose was accidentally speared by Reigns. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Ambrose entered his first Royal Rumble match at number 11 and eliminated three participants, before being eliminated by Reigns. The following night on Raw , The Shield faced Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Sheamus in order to earn their spot in
7000-456: A triple threat match also involving Rollins, ending his reign at 29 days. Ambrose entered the 2019 Royal Rumble match at number 14, but was eliminated by Aleister Black . The following night on Raw , he interrupted Royal Rumble winner Rollins and Triple H, proclaiming that Rollins never defeated him clean without interference and provoking Triple H into booking them in a match, which Ambrose subsequently lost. A few hours after Raw went off
7175-503: 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
Crist Brothers - Misplaced Pages Continue
7350-532: 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
7525-401: A winning effort over Team Raw. He would face Styles once again in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the WWE title. During the match, James Ellsworth interfered and pushed Ambrose off a ladder through multiple tables, allowing Styles to retain the title. Ambrose would then fail to become the number one contender for the reverted WWE Championship in
7700-576: A wrestler, to the point of feeling physically ill. His experience was corroborated by both Jericho and various anonymous WWE wrestlers and staff. On May 1, Good—having reverted to his former Jon Moxley gimmick and name—posted a video on his Twitter account to promote the gimmick's return, which showed him breaking out of a prison. The video was created by wrestler-turned-filmmaker Nick Mondo . On May 25, Moxley made his unannounced debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) during Double or Nothing , AEW's inaugural event, attacking Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega , and
7875-399: A wrestler. He supported himself by working minimum-wage jobs in factories, restaurants, and warehouses, but was constantly getting fired because he would skip work if he was booked to wrestle a match that clashed with his job; however, he continued to do so because he knew he "could always find another minimum-wage job". He often used drugs such as cocaine as a teenager, during which time he
8050-427: A year after their first match, Ambrose and Regal rematched on the final episode of FCW on July 15. The match would conclude in a no contest after Ambrose repeatedly kneed Regal's head into a ring turnbuckle , causing Regal to bleed from the ear. On November 18, 2012, Dean Ambrose made his WWE main roster debut at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, as they delivered
8225-663: Is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the reigning AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth reign, as well as the leader of the Death Riders stable, formerly known as the Blackpool Combat Club . He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and a former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion . He became widely known for his tenure with WWE , where he performed under
8400-410: 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
8575-428: 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
8750-450: The 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match on June 29, which Rollins would win after Kane attacked Ambrose. Ambrose was scheduled to face Rollins at Battleground on July 20, but he was ejected from the arena by Triple H after a pre-match brawl with Rollins. Rollins was later announced as the winner via forfeit , prompting Ambrose to return to the arena and attack Rollins. Ambrose and Rollins eventually wrestled at SummerSlam on August 17 in
8925-647: The 2016 WWE draft , Ambrose was drafted to the SmackDown brand, being the brand's first draft pick and bringing the WWE Championship with him; that same night, he pinned Rollins to retain the championship. At Battleground , Ambrose retained his title against Reigns and Rollins after pinning Reigns. Ambrose then successfully defended the renamed "WWE World Championship" against Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam in August. At Backlash on September 11, he lost
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#17327903583769100-492: The AEW International Championship in September 2023, making him the company's first wrestler to hold both the world championship and a secondary championship. Afterwards, Good would win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Windy City Riot , becoming the first and thus far only wrestler to hold world titles in WWE, AEW, and NJPW. He has headlined 14 AEW pay-per-view events , the most in
9275-502: The Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Shield lost after The Wyatt Family ( Bray Wyatt , Erick Rowan , and Luke Harper ) interfered, thus starting a feud between the two factions. The Shield would lose to The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, due to Ambrose abandoning his teammates midway through. After their feud with The Wyatt Family, The Shield moved on to
9450-756: The Haters , The Briscoe Brothers , and The Kings of Wrestling . At 2011's Up in Smoke, the duo defeated Mad Man Pondo and Necro Butcher to become JCW Tag Team Champions. At the next JCW iPPV "St. Andrews Brawl" they defeated the Haters in their first title defense. On July 28, the Ring Rydas lost the JCW Tag Team Championship to U-Gene and Zach Gowen . However, Gowen forfeited the championship after realizing that U-Gene cheated to win and gave
9625-928: The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) as The Irish Airborne , where they won the HWA Tag Team Championship a record six times. They also wrestled for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Chikara , IWA Mid-South (IWA MS), and Ring of Honor (ROH), as well as Canadian promotions, Far North Wrestling (FNW) and UWA Hardcore Wrestling (UWA). After years of being The Irish Airborne, they changed their name to Ohio Is 4 Killers (OI4K). The team also competed for Juggalo Championship Wrestling as The Ring Rydas , where they are former JCW Tag Team Champions . They are also known for their time in Impact Wrestling, where they are one-time Impact World Tag Team Champions . Under
9800-501: The Impact X Division Championship . Jake then retained his title in a five-way match at Unbreakable and against Rich Swann on the August 23 episode of Impact! . At Bound for Glory , Jake lost the X Division Championship to Ace Austin in an intergender ladder match also involving Tessa Blanchard , Daga , and Acey Romero , ending his reign at 93 days. In June 2020, Dave Crist was accused of sexual assault by his ex-girlfriend in
9975-624: 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
10150-456: The New Year's Smash event on January 6, 2021, but he was attacked by Omega and his allies The Good Brothers ( Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows ). Moxley challenged Omega for the championship at Revolution on March 7, in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch , but lost. After losing to Omega, Moxley began an alliance with his erstwhile rival Eddie Kingston, who came to Moxley's rescue after
10325-616: The Quake by the Lake special episode of Dynamite on August 10, the lineal AEW World Champion CM Punk returned and confronted Moxley, entering into a title dispute. A match to determine the undisputed AEW World Champion was then scheduled at All Out , however, due to heated confrontations between the two, it was announced that the match would instead take place on the August 24 episode of Dynamite , in which Moxley quickly defeated Punk to win his record-setting second AEW World Championship, becoming
10500-484: The Speaking Out movement . On June 22, due to the allegations as well as mounting concerns around unprofessional behavior in the ring (refusing to apologize for causing injuries, being forced out of the locker room, etc), Dave was released from his contract. On December 15, Jake announced his departure from the company. On the September 2, 2021 episode of Impact! , Jake answered Josh Alexander 's open challenge for
10675-776: 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
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#173279035837610850-486: The event of the same name , where he eliminated Baron Corbin with a roll-up pin only for Corbin to attack him afterward, allowing Miz to eliminate Ambrose. A match was set between Ambrose and Corbin at the WrestleMania 33 pre-show on April 2, where Ambrose retained his Intercontinental Championship. Two nights later on SmackDown , Ambrose wrestled in his final match for the brand, in a losing effort to Corbin in
11025-550: The interim championship at the event. On June 12 at New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall event, Tanahashi defeated Hirooki Goto to be confirmed as Moxley's opponent at Forbidden Door. At the event, Moxley defeated Tanahashi to win the interim AEW World Championship. Also that month, the debuting Claudio Castagnoli would join the Blackpool Combat Club as its newest member. At
11200-497: The ring name Jon Moxley. The following year, Moxley won the HWA Tag Team Championship twice, with Jimmy Turner and Ric Byrne respectively. He captured the HWA Heavyweight Championship twice in 2006 by defeating Pepper Parks on both occasions but lost the title to Chad Collyer and Brian Jennings respectively. From mid-2007 to early 2010, Moxley continued to work in the tag team division and held
11375-442: The vacant FIP World Heavyweight Championship . He held the title for 441 days before relinquishing it in July 2011, due to his signing with WWE. Moxley also won Combat Zone Wrestling 's CZW World Heavyweight Championship twice in 2010 by defeating B-Boy and Nick Gage , respectively. Good signed a developmental deal with WWE in April 2011 and joined its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) under
11550-519: The " hokey " material he had been given. After weeks of teasing a reunion, Ambrose reunited with Rollins and the recently returned Reigns on the March 4 episode of Raw , after they assisted Ambrose from an attack by Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Elias the previous week, turning Ambrose face once again. At Fastlane on March 10, The Shield defeated the team of McIntyre, Lashley, and Corbin. In his final singles matches in WWE, Ambrose would lose to McIntyre several times on Raw . On
11725-406: The "Moral Compass of WWE". Ambrose defeated Rollins at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December to win the Intercontinental Championship, beginning his third reign with the title. Throughout the following weeks, he successfully defended his title against Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews , and Rollins, before losing the championship to Bobby Lashley on the January 14, 2019, episode of Raw , in
11900-584: 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
12075-400: 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
12250-509: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
12425-411: 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
12600-569: The Airborne announced that they would no longer be wrestling under the names of Lotus and Crazy J, but instead under their real names of Dave and Jake Crist. John decided to use the first name "Jake" rather than John because at that moment there were too many well known Johns in professional wrestling. On March 11, 2006, at Arena Warfare the Crists were able to earn a roster spot with ROH as they took on and defeated Tony Mamaluke and Sal Rinauro at
12775-506: The April 26 episode of SmackDown , which he lost by submission . On the May 13 episode of Raw , The Shield's undefeated streak as a team ended in a disqualification loss against WWE Champion John Cena and Team Hell No. At Extreme Rules , Ambrose won the United States Championship by defeating Kofi Kingston . He would successfully defend the title in the following weeks with the help of Reigns and Rollins. On
12950-565: The April 8 episode of Raw , Ambrose was scheduled to face Bobby Lashley in what was billed as Ambrose's last match on Raw . However, the match never took place as Lashley insulted Ambrose's wife, Renee Young , resulting in a brawl that ended with Ambrose being slammed through the announce table. After Raw went off the air, Ambrose joined Rollins and Reigns to address the fans, thank them for their support, and comment on his past accomplishments before celebrating with his Shield teammates. The following week on Raw , he made another appearance after
13125-473: The Arena match , but lost. On the June 3 episode of Rampage , AEW World Champion CM Punk announced he would not be able to defend his championship against scheduled challenger Hiroshi Tanahashi on June 26 at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door due to injury. On the June 8 episode of Dynamite , Moxley defeated Kyle O'Reilly , the winner of a Casino Battle Royale in the show's opener, to earn the chance to face for
13300-597: The Arena match at Double or Nothing on May 28, which the BCC won after assistance by Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita , who attacked Omega during the final moments of the match. At the Forbidden Door event on June 25, Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta teamed with Takeshita and Shota Umino to take on The Young Bucks, Page, Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii in a ten-man tag team match, but were defeated. At Blood and Guts , Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta teamed with Takeshita and Pac to face The Elite and Kota Ibushi in
13475-653: 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
13650-456: The August 13, 2018, episode of Raw , Ambrose returned with a new look consisting of short hair, a full beard, and a more muscular physique. He assisted Rollins against an attack from Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler. Six days later, he assisted Rollins in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Ziggler at SummerSlam . The following night on Raw , Ambrose and Rollins aided Universal Champion Roman Reigns in attacking Braun Strowman when
13825-481: The Bank In May, Ambrose qualified for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match , which he would win. Later that same night, he would cash in his Money in the Bank contract and defeat Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Ambrose made his first title defense against Rollins on the July 18 episode of Raw , which ended in a draw after a double pinfall. The following night at
14000-535: The Bank ladder match but failed to win despite interference from Reigns and Rollins. In August, The Shield allied themselves with Triple H and joined his group The Authority . Ambrose continued to retain his United States Championship against Rob Van Dam at SummerSlam , Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions , and Big E Langston at Hell in a Cell . At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, The Shield teamed with Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger to take on Rey Mysterio , The Usos , Cody Rhodes and Goldust in
14175-655: The Bank ladder match in 2016 . Upon leaving WWE after his contract expired in April 2019, Good reverted to his Jon Moxley character and made his surprise debut the following month at Double or Nothing , AEW's inaugural event. He started wrestling for NJPW in June 2019 and won the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in his first NJPW match, becoming the only person to have held the United States Championships in both WWE and NJPW. He would briefly vacate
14350-628: The HWA tag titles once with his trainer Cody Hawk and twice with King Vu. He won the HWA Heavyweight Championship for the third time from Aaron Williams in January 2010, before losing it to Gerome Phillips six months later. In September 2006, Moxley teamed with Hade Vansen to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship in the Puerto Rico based International Wrestling Association . They lost
14525-503: The Impact World Tag Team Championship. On the October 12 episode of Impact! , LAX invoked their rematch clause by challenging oVe to a 5150 Street Fight at Bound for Glory . At Bound for Glory on November 5, Sami Callihan would debut as well as establish his alliance with The Crist Brothers by helping them defeat LAX, with Jake Crist low blowing Ortiz before Callihan delivered a piledriver through
14700-549: The Intercontinental Championship at Great Balls of Fire on July 9, where he lost as a result of interference by The Miztourage ( Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas ). On the July 10 episode of Raw , Seth Rollins saved Ambrose from an attack by The Miz and The Miztourage. After Rollins failed to gain Ambrose's trust for several weeks, the two argued in the ring on the August 14 episode of Raw and eventually brawled with each other before fighting off Cesaro and Sheamus and reuniting
14875-440: The Intercontinental Championship back to Owens in a five-way match on the February 15 episode of Raw , after Owens pinned Tyler Breeze. At Fastlane on February 21, Ambrose faced Reigns and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32 , but lost after he was pinned by Reigns. The following night on Raw , Ambrose challenged Lesnar to
15050-422: The Intercontinental Championship for the first time after defeating Owens at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs . He successfully defended the title against Owens and Ziggler multiple times between December and January 2016. Ambrose competed in the 2016 Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which he lost after being lastly eliminated by eventual winner Triple H. Ambrose would later lose
15225-590: The International Championship on the October 10 episode of Dynamite , but was removed from the match due to not being medically cleared and was replaced by Cassidy, who defeated Fénix to win the championship. Cassidy defeated Moxley to retain the championship at Full Gear in November. Following this, Moxley competed in the Continental Classic tournament, but lost to Eddie Kingston in the finals at Worlds End . Going into 2024,
15400-849: The Irish Airborne formed Ohio is 4 Killers stable with Nevaeh and Sami Callihan . On September 27, 2014, at Deja Vu, OI4K defeated the Juicy Product to win the CZW World Tag Team Championship . On July 11, 2015, at New Heights, OI4K lost the CZW World Tag Team Championship to Team Tremendous. In Infinity Pro Wrestling, the Crist Brothers defeated Donnie and Jacob Hollows. The Irish Airborne debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling on May 16, 2010 in
15575-587: The June 14 episode of SmackDown , The Shield was given their first decisive loss, against Randy Orton and Team Hell No, when Daniel Bryan made Rollins submit. Two days later, Ambrose made his first pay-per-view defense of the United States Championship at Payback , where he defeated Kane by countout . The following month at Money in the Bank , he competed in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in
15750-408: 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
15925-488: 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
16100-561: The October 14 episode of Dynamite , Moxley was attacked by Kingston, who protested that Moxley had never made him submit. At Full Gear on November 7, Moxley defeated Kingston in an "I quit" match to retain the championship. Following this, Moxley rekindled his feud with Kenny Omega. At Winter Is Coming on December 2, Moxley lost the championship to Omega, thus ending his record-setting reign at 277 days, and giving Moxley his first singles loss in AEW. After taking an absence, Moxley returned at
16275-400: The October 6 episode of Dynamite , Moxley competed in a Casino Ladder Match for an opportunity at the AEW World Championship, but the match was won by Adam Page . Also that month, he was inserted into a tournament to determine the next challenger for the world championship. Moxley defeated Preston "10" Vance to advance to the semi-finals, but he was withdrawn from the tournament after it
16450-413: The WWE banner. The Shield defeated Evolution in a six-man tag team match at Extreme Rules . The following night on Raw , Triple H forced Ambrose to defend his United States Championship in a 20-man battle royal , which saw Ambrose surviving until the final two before ultimately being eliminated by Sheamus, thus ending his title reign at 351 days. The Shield once again defeated Evolution at Payback in
16625-449: The X Division Championship in a losing effort. On May 26, 2023, at Under Siege , Jake was revealed as the mystery partner of Rich Swann and Sami Callihan, defeating The Design ( Deaner , Angels , and Kon ). Jake Crist is married to fellow professional wrestler Nevaeh . The couple were childhood sweethearts while attending Tecumseh High School and have a daughter, Brooklynn, who was born when both were teenagers. Nevaeh gave birth to
16800-421: The air, it was reported that Ambrose had informed WWE officials that he would not be renewing his contract and would be leaving WWE shortly after WrestleMania 35 . WWE subsequently confirmed his decision in a statement. It was reported that he had been offered an improved contract by WWE, which he turned down due to long-standing frustration with the creative direction of his character and a particular dislike of
16975-401: 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
17150-418: 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
17325-561: 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
17500-412: 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
17675-453: The brothers, so did tension, ultimately leading to a bloody feud that began in the Fall of 2005 and lasted through early 2006. The feud culminated in a best of seven series in which each brother would attempt to top the other in amounts of violence and wit. The feud finally ended in one of HWA's bloodiest and most gruesome ladder matches to date. Both men realizing neither could top the other ended
17850-424: 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
18025-418: 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
18200-534: The championship but quickly won it back a second time, subsequently setting a record for the longest reign in the championship's history. He also won the AEW World Championship in February of that year, making him the first person to hold championships in AEW and NJPW simultaneously. He won the AEW World Championship twice more in 2022, setting records for the most world championship wins and longest cumulative reigns in AEW history. He would also win
18375-546: The championship on the April 15 episode of Dynamite , defeating Jake Hager in an Empty Arena No Holds Barred match. Moxley then made further successful title defenses against Mr. Brodie Lee at Double or Nothing on May 23, Brian Cage at Fight for the Fallen on July 15, and Darby Allin on the August 5 episode of Dynamite . Moxley then moved onto a feud with MJF , who began a Presidential-style campaign against Moxley's championship reign and decreed that fans deserved
18550-491: The championships back to the Rydas. On December 20, 2014, at Big Ballas, Ring Rydas lost the title against The Hooligans. On September 10, 2013, Big Japan Pro Wrestling announced that the Irish Airborne, representing CZW, would be making their Japanese debuts, when they take part in the 2013 Dai Nihon Saikyo Tag League , which runs from September 25 to November 22. The Irish Airborne finished their tournament on October 18 with
18725-423: 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
18900-461: 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
19075-518: The company's developmental territories of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and NXT , before joining the main roster in November 2012 as a member of The Shield alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins . Ambrose won the WWE United States Championship , his first championship in WWE, in May 2013; his 351-day reign became the longest United States Championship reign since the title came under WWE's ownership (breaking
19250-541: The company's history. In total, Good has held 15 total championships (including six world championships) between WWE, AEW, and NJPW. He won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated award for Most Popular Wrestler of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2022, and was named Wrestler of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2019. He was also ranked first on the 2020 edition of Pro Wrestling Illustrated 's list of
19425-468: 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
19600-421: The couple's second daughter, Johnnie, on November 23, 2015. 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 the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
19775-540: 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
19950-405: 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
20125-603: 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
20300-553: The feud and began to wrestle as a team once again. On January 27, 2006, the Crists were allowed to wrestle a dark match in Ring of Honor against each other in which Lotus defeated Crazy J. The following evening they were again allowed to wrestle in a dark match, this time as a tag team against Shane Hagadorn & Conrad Kennedy III in which they won. On March 4, 2006, at an Insanity Pro Wrestling show in Indianapolis, Indiana ,
20475-444: The feud. "To this point, Ambrose had lost almost every big match he has been in with Rollins, Wyatt, Reigns, Triple H and Lesnar all getting their hands raised at the end ... We already knew that Dean Ambrose had the ability to be the biggest star of The Shield. Maybe now, especially in light of recent news, he will be." Wrestling Observer Newsletter writer Steve Khan on Ambrose's WWE World Heavyweight title cash-in at Money in
20650-470: 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
20825-610: 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
21000-460: 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
21175-517: The group. After first losing to Danielson, Yuta was defeated by Moxley in a critically acclaimed match on the April 8 episode of Rampage , earning the faction's respect, and joining them. At Double or Nothing on May 29, Moxley and Danielson teamed with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz to face the Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia , Angelo Parker , and Matt Menard ) in an Anarchy in
21350-526: 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
21525-492: 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
21700-480: 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
21875-496: 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
22050-407: The latter attempted to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract, once again reuniting The Shield. At Hell in a Cell , Ambrose and Rollins were unsuccessful in defeating Ziggler and McIntyre for the Raw Tag Team Championship. In October, The Shield defeated Ziggler, McIntyre, and Strowman at Super Show-Down . Two nights later on Raw , they were defeated by the same trio in a rematch. After the match,
22225-426: The latter's main event match. In the main event of Full Gear on November 9, Moxley defeated Omega in an unsanctioned Lights Out match . After Full Gear, Moxley indicated his intentions to challenge for the AEW World Championship . Chris Jericho, who held the championship, attempted to bribe Moxley into joining his group, The Inner Circle . On the January 8, 2020, episode of Dynamite , Moxley initially accepted
22400-478: The match Jake would be attacked by both Moxley and Robert Anthony until Devon Moore made the save. Jake Crist return to CZW on May 14, 2011 in a losing effort against Ryan Mcbride however fans chanted Please Come Back after the match. On June 11, 2011 at CZW "Prelude To Violence" Jake Crist was told by CZW Owner DJ Hyde that if Crist wanted a CZW Contract then he would have to go and defeat Sami Callihan. However Callihan would go on to defeat Jake Crist again. After
22575-579: The match at Revolution. Over the following weeks, Moxley and Kingston would continue to feud with Omega and his allies, particularly focusing on Omega's friends The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). At the Double or Nothing event in May, Moxley and Kingston challenged The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship , but they were defeated. On September 5 at All Out , Moxley defeated Satoshi Kojima . On
22750-503: The match both men showed respect by shaking hands. Adam Cole and Mia Yim would come down to mock Callihan. During the verbal confrontation DJ Hyde would come out and lariat Callihan. Jake Crist would try to save Callihan but wound up attacked by DJ Hyde. On July 9, 2011 at CZW "New Heights" AR Fox would offer a CZW Wired TV Championship title match to Jake Crist. Jake Crist would go on to gain his first win in CZW by defeating AR Fox to become
22925-498: 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
23100-429: The name Dean Ambrose. Prior to his signing, Good wrestled three try-out matches for WWE in 2006 and 2007 and jobbed alongside Dick Rick against The Big Show in a handicap match on Heat in January 2006. Ambrose made his televised debut on the July 3 episode of FCW , portraying a villainous character and challenging FCW Jack Brisco 15 Champion Seth Rollins . The following month, Ambrose and Rollins had
23275-648: The names Lotus and Crazy J, the Crists made their debut in Buckeye Pro Wrestling against Dean and Chet Jablonski in which they were defeated. The Airborne continued to wrestle their way through the ranks of BPW often feuding with the team of American Youth, ultimately defeating them on February 24, 2004 to become the BPW Tag Team Champions. During their time in BPW, the Irish Airborne had chances to work on cross promotion shows with Heartland Wrestling Association and were eventually offered
23450-597: The new CZW Wired TV Champion. Jake's Brother, Dave Crist would also make his CZW debut celebrating with his brother on a title win. On September 10, 2011, Jake Crist was originally supposed to defend his newly won title against Chrisjen Hayme. However, Hayme would withdraw from the match and was replaced by Dustin Rayz. Jake Crist would go on to retain against Dustin Rayz. Dave Crist though, would show more concern about his brothers' TV title than in Jake Crists well being. After
23625-597: The old ECW Arena . On April 9, 2011, Jake Crist was invited to compete in Combat Zone Wrestling's "Best Of The Best X" representing Insanity Pro Wrestling. Jake Crist would go on to lose in the first round losing against Sami Callihan in a triple threat match that also involved AR Fox . The next night on April 10, 2011 at CZW's "International Incident" Jake Crist would go on to wrestle Jon Moxley in Moxley's final match in CZW in another losing effort. After
23800-425: The promotion as an in-ring wrestler. On the October 18 episode of Dynamite : Title Tuesday, Moxley retained the AEW World Championship against Adam Page, in a match in which the latter suffered a legitimate injury after landing off a clothesline, causing a match stoppage. At Full Gear on November 19, Moxley lost the championship to MJF, after he was betrayed by Regal. Moxley started a feud in late November with
23975-717: 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
24150-476: The proposal and seemingly joined the group, before revealing it was a ploy and turning on them moments later. Moxley was entered into a tournament to determine the number one contender for the championship, defeating Sammy Guevara and Pac to win. Moxley faced Jericho for the AEW World Championship at Revolution on February 29, where he won the championship, becoming the first person to hold titles in AEW and NJPW simultaneously. Moxley made his first defense of
24325-439: 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
24500-624: The record previously held by Montel Vontavious Porter ). After widespread success, The Shield split in June 2014. Ambrose went on to win the WWE Championship once, the WWE Intercontinental Championship three times, and the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship twice (both times with Rollins), which made him WWE's 27th Triple Crown Champion and 16th Grand Slam Champion . He also won the Money in
24675-476: The referee after Jericho and Omega's main event match, thus establishing himself as an antihero character. Shortly after, it was announced that Moxley had signed a multi-year contract. Moxley had his AEW debut match at the Fyter Fest event in June, where he defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned match. After the match, Moxley was attacked by Omega in retaliation for his previous assault. A match between
24850-653: The returning Adam Page, who defeated him on the January 11, 2023 episode of Dynamite . Moxley defeated Page in a rematch on the February 1 episode of Dynamite . The two faced each other again in a Texas Deathmatch at Revolution , which Moxley lost by submission. On the March 8 episode of Dynamite , Moxley, Castagnoli, and Yuta beat down Page and his allies in The Dark Order following a match, turning heel. The BCC would then target Page and his allies Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, who would reform The Elite to challenge them. The two groups faced off in an Anarchy in
25025-415: The ring name Dean Ambrose from 2011 to 2019. Good made his professional wrestling debut in 2004, and competed as Jon Moxley in several independent promotions such as Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA), Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), Full Impact Pro (FIP), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA). Upon signing with WWE in 2011, he was renamed Dean Ambrose and began competing in
25200-537: The show Dustin Rayz would confront the Irish Airborne about Dave getting involved in his match against Jake. Rayz would then challenge Dave Crist at CZW "Cerebral". Dave would go on to win that match. Jake Crist successfully defended his Wired TV title against Latin Dragon earlier that night. On April 14, 2012, Dave defeated Jake with a low blow to win the CZW Wired TV Championship. Upon entering CZW,
25375-499: The show went off the air. His final contractual match occurred at a special event called The Shield's Final Chapter on April 21, where he, Reigns, and Rollins defeated the team of Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre. He revealed that he was paid only $ 500 for wrestling in the match which is the minimum WWE could pay him for the event. His contract expired on April 30. On Chris Jericho's Talk is Jericho podcast in May 2019, Good recounted his departure from WWE, though he began by saying he
25550-440: 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
25725-440: The tag titles back to Cesaro and Sheamus on the November 6 episode of Raw after a distraction from SmackDown's The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), thus ending their reign at 78 days. This led to a match between The Shield and The New Day at Survivor Series two weeks later, which the former won. In December 2017, Ambrose suffered a triceps injury, reportedly rendering him out of action for nine months. On
25900-434: The tag titles in a handicap match against AOP ( Akam and Rezar ). The following week, Ambrose burned his Shield vest and explained that being part of the group had made him weak. He would continue to taunt Rollins over the following weeks by stalking him, getting vaccinated against what he perceived to be Rollins's "illness", and ordering his own personal SWAT team to attack Rollins, subsequently christening himself
26075-534: The team. At SummerSlam on August 20, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, making Ambrose both a Triple Crown and Grand Slam champion in the process. Ambrose and Rollins successfully defended the titles against Cesaro and Sheamus at No Mercy , after Ambrose pinned Sheamus. On the October 9 episode of Raw , Ambrose and Rollins reunited with Roman Reigns. The newly reformed Shield
26250-426: 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,
26425-490: The title 17 days later to Rey Fénix at Dynamite : Grand Slam on September 20. During this match, he suffered a legitimate concussion that led to the scripted result of the match being changed to have Fénix win instead. Due to his injury, Moxley took an absence from wrestling but remained active on AEW programming, including providing commentary at the WrestleDream event. He was scheduled to return and face Fénix for
26600-425: The title to AJ Styles after Styles performed a low blow and Styles Clash while the referee was incapacitated. Ambrose was unsuccessful in regaining the championship at No Mercy on October 9 in a triple threat match also involving John Cena, who was pinned by Styles. The following month at Survivor Series , Ambrose made up part of Team SmackDown alongside Styles, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and Shane McMahon in
26775-402: The titles to Chicano and Jeff Jeffrey in November, ending their reign at 69 days. Moxley wreslted match in WWE in January 2007 losing to Val Venis . Moxley also wrestled several dark matches for Ring of Honor (ROH) between 2007 and 2009. Moxley started working for Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) in late 2009. He made his first televised appearance in March, where he defeated Tommy Dreamer in
26950-849: The top 500 wrestlers in the world . He has sporadically ventured into acting, most notably starring in the films 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown (2015) and Cagefighter: Worlds Collide (2020). Jonathan David Good was born in Cincinnati on December 7, 1985. He grew up in Cincinnati's East End , an area he later described as so deprived that shoplifting food and other essentials was a daily occurrence for everybody he knew. An avid fan of professional wrestling who idolized Bret Hart , he used wrestling as an escape from his rough upbringing by watching videos and reading stories about wrestling's earlier days. He attended Amelia High School in nearby Batavia , but dropped out one year after beginning to train as
27125-401: The tournament final against Leo Kruger . Ambrose later cost Rollins his FCW 15 Championship by attacking Damien Sandow during his title match with Rollins, causing a disqualification in the deciding fall. Ambrose later unsuccessfully challenged Sandow for the championship. At an FCW house show on October 21, Ambrose challenged WWE wrestler CM Punk , who was making a guest appearance, to
27300-519: 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
27475-471: 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
27650-504: The two began brawling after their match; William Regal, once a mentor to both men on separate occasions, made his surprise debut to break up the fight and force them to shake hands. With Regal as their manager, they formed a team which would later be named the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) in reference to Regal's career beginnings in the English town of Blackpool . The group would begin a storyline with Wheeler Yuta , who would aim to join
27825-497: The two was scheduled for All Out on August 31. However, a week before All Out, Moxley was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection in his elbow, and would undergo surgery to remove it. AEW subsequently revealed Pac as Moxley's replacement, and the match was rescheduled for the Full Gear event. Moxley made his return on October 2, during the premiere episode of Dynamite , taking out Omega during
28000-460: The undisputed AEW World Champion in the process. The following week on Dynamite , Moxley laid out an open challenge for anyone to face him at All Out, which was accepted by Punk. At All Out on September 4, Moxley was defeated by Punk, losing the undisputed championship and ending his reign at 11 days. Shortly following the event, Punk was suspended by AEW after getting into a legitimate backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. As
28175-405: 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
28350-535: 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
28525-403: The working title Full Sail Ahead at Full Sail University , where he was defeated by Leo Kruger. In March 2012, Ambrose had a confrontation with veteran hardcore wrestler Mick Foley , claiming that Foley needed to be held accountable for creating a generation of imitators. Ambrose continued to antagonize Foley through Twitter . According to Ambrose, the angle was supposed to culminate in
28700-420: 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
28875-425: 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
29050-477: Was also arrested multiple times for shoplifting. He has said that he would have most likely become a forest firefighter if he did not pursue wrestling. Good began working for Les Thatcher in the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) promotion as a teenager by selling popcorn and setting up the ring . He began training to become a professional wrestler at the age of 18 under the teaching of Thatcher and HWA wrestler Cody Hawk. He made his debut in 2004 under
29225-488: 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
29400-493: Was disqualified from the competition during his quarterfinal match with Sheamus, after interference from Dolph Ziggler. Ambrose returned to feud with Rollins over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, defeating him in a non-title match on the May 4 episode of Raw . As a result of this, he was added to Rollins's championship defense at Payback against Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Rollins would retain his championship. At Elimination Chamber on May 31, Ambrose faced Rollins in
29575-435: Was due to face the team of Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Kane, The Miz and Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a 5-on-3 handicap Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, but Reigns was replaced by Kurt Angle over an illness concern. Ambrose, Rollins, and Angle would go on to win the match. Ambrose and Rollins were scheduled to face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in an interbrand match at Survivor Series , but lost
29750-661: Was grateful for his time there, and cited achieving success. He decided to leave WWE after Vince McMahon made him give a promo on Raw where his character would get inoculated from various diseases out of fear of catching a virus from the fans. Good felt after this segment that his character was irreparably damaged. He left WWE citing the cause as mental and emotional exhaustion after six years of explaining to McMahon how his ideas for Good's character were "stupid". Due to McMahon's control over WWE, Good had to follow McMahon's writing, which left him unhappy. Good came to dread promos, which were previously his favorite part of performing as
29925-555: Was pinned by Jonathan Gresham . On August 17, 2017, at Destination X , Dave and Jake Crist made their Impact Wrestling debut under the name Ohio Versus Everything (oVe) , defeating Jason Cade and Zachary Wentz . At Victory Road , they defeated The Latin American Xchange ( Ortiz and Santana ) to win the GFW World Tag Team Championship . During their reign, the championship was renamed as
30100-650: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
30275-456: Was revealed that he had entered a rehabilitation program for alcoholism. Miro was subsequently unveiled as his replacement. Following rehab, Moxley returned in January 2022 with a healthier and cleaner look. He began a storyline with Bryan Danielson, who offered to team up with him, but Moxley stated that he would only consider teaming up with Danielson if they wrestled each other first. Moxley defeated Danielson at Revolution in March, but
30450-415: 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
30625-417: 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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