Mid 20th Century
112-595: George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler , better known by his ring name ( The ) One Man Gang . For three years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream" . Prior to this, he was the top heel for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), and UWF Heavyweight Champion for six months in 1986 and 1987. Gray was born in Chicago, but moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina , when he
224-587: A face ( babyface ) is a heroic, "good guy", "good-doer", or "fan favorite" wrestler, booked (scripted) by the promotion with the aim of being cheered by fans. They are portrayed as heroes relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains . Traditionally, face characters wrestle within the rules and avoid cheating while behaving positively towards the referee and the audience. Such characters are also referred to as blue-eyes in British wrestling and técnicos in lucha libre . Not everything
336-505: A prison guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary , until a recurring back problem forced him to quit his job. In later years, Gray lost a lot of weight following a heart attack in 2000. In July 2016, Gray was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The lawsuit
448-446: 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
560-661: A "family man" and supported their persona by appearing with their family members before and after matches. Steamboat famously carried his 8-month-old son Richard Jr. into the ring with him at WrestleMania IV before his match with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine , then handing him to his wife Bonnie before the match started, and was accompanied to the ring by his family during his rivalry with Ric Flair in Jim Crockett Promotions to contrast with Flair's party animal "Nature Boy" persona. These actions often relate to wrestlers promoting charity work or other actions outside
672-413: 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
784-658: A battle royal. In 1991, Gang worked in Texas for Global Wrestling Federation . On the March 5, 1991, taping of WCW Pro in Marietta, Georgia , Gray resumed his One Man Gang persona when he assisted Kevin Sullivan in attacking Ron Simmons after the latter's win over Joe Cruz. Gang went through a massive change in his gimmick, in which he was now schizophrenic and constantly lost his mind before, during and after matches. He
896-532: 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
1008-519: 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
1120-585: 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
1232-499: A change in character for the wrestler in question. For example, Batista's run as a face upon his return to the WWE in 2014 was met with overwhelmingly negative reactions from the fans. Because of this unexpected reaction, Batista turned heel within just a few months of his return. The reaction of the fans can also influence a wrestler's booking and position on the card. Faces that get more support than expected sometimes move closer towards
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#17327876575451344-491: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Face (professional wrestling) Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In professional wrestling ,
1456-505: A face wrestler does must be heroic: faces need only to be clapped or cheered by the audience to be effective characters. When the magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated went into circulation in the late 1970s, the magazine referred to face wrestlers as "fan favorites" or "scientific wrestlers", while heels were referred to as simply "rulebreakers". The vast majority of wrestling storylines involve pitting faces against heels, although more elaborate set-ups (such as two faces being manipulated by
1568-413: A face wrestler, Angle's character was arrogant and constantly reminded people of his Olympic glory, behaving as if he thought he was better than the fans. Angle's character served as a meta-reference to how wrestling had changed. Although his character was intended to be a heel and behaved accordingly, some commentators speculated that if Angle attempted to get over as a face using a more heroic version of
1680-410: 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
1792-414: 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
1904-695: A handful of War Games matches at the Great American Bash house shows and advancing to the semi-finals of the WCW World Tag Team Championship tournament with partner Black Blood over Big Josh and El Gigante. He was promoted to be part of the "Chamber of Horrors" match at Halloween Havoc '91 in October, but was fired by Jim Herd in September for refusing to lose to P. N. News . He took a hiatus from wrestling for
2016-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
2128-742: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2240-584: A member of Sullivan's burgeoning Dungeon of Doom . On the January 22 edition of WCW Monday Nitro , Gang lost to Hulk Hogan in a non-title match. Following the match, he joined members of the Dungeon of Doom and the Horsemen in attacking Hogan and Randy Savage . The next night, at Clash of the Champions XXXII , Gang successfully defended the belt against Disco Inferno . His title run ended at
2352-644: A nefarious outside party into fighting, or simply having a clean sportsmanly contest) often happen as well. In the world of lucha libre wrestling, most técnicos are generally known for using moves requiring technical skill, particularly aerial maneuvers and wearing outfits using bright colors with positive associations (such as solid white ). This is contrasted with most villainous rudos who are generally known for being brawlers, using physical moves that emphasize brute strength or size while often having outfits akin to demons or other nasty characters. Traditional faces are classic "good guy" characters who rarely break
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#17327876575452464-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
2576-400: A post-show dark match for Starrcade '95 . He upset United States Champion Kensuke Sasaki to win the championship. Although the match was subsequently restarted with Sasaki winning, WCW never acknowledged the second match and Gang remained the titleholder. His first US title defense came on the January 20, 1996, edition of WCW Saturday Night when he defeated Super Giant Ninja . Gang became
2688-625: A series of matches to "giant killer" Spike Dudley . He left ECW in October 1999. One Man Gang wrestled in a dark match defeating Flash Flanagan prior to the February 3, 1998 Raw is War taping in Evansville, Indiana, but was not hired. Gray made another appearance in the WWF in 2001 for the gimmick battle royal at WrestleMania X-Seven as One Man Gang, eliminating Michael Hayes and then getting eliminated by Kamala . The Iron Sheik won
2800-632: A three-way against Sabu and Yukihiro Kanemura . Sabu won the match. Gang wrestled at Heroes of Wrestling event on October 10, 1999, against Abdullah The Butcher in a double count out. On June 30, 2000, Gang made an appearance for i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling in Sydney, Australia defeating Tatanka for the i-Generation Australasian Championship. Also in 1998, Gang briefly joined Extreme Championship Wrestling , including appearing at their flagship event, November to Remember . He feuded with Rob Van Dam , Sabu and Shane Douglas . He also lost
2912-503: 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
3024-586: 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
3136-410: 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
3248-428: 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
3360-466: The 2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions where he started sporting a mohawk. He lost to Bruiser Brody in a chain match at Christmas Star Wars 1985. Also lost to Brody again on two occasions a in a steel cage match on January 26 and 27, 1986. It was as a protégé of Akbar's in the Mid-South territory where Gray would get the name that would stick with him the rest of his career. Making his debut in
3472-624: 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
One Man Gang - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-592: The Red Rooster , and Haku to battle the Mega Powers' team at Survivor Series in 1988. During the match, Akeem along with teammate Big Boss Man handcuffed Hulk Hogan to the ring post and were later disqualified. The two formed a team called the Twin Towers . They feuded with the Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and undisputed WWF Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage ) and throughout the summer and fall of 1988, with
3696-776: 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
3808-495: The WWE World Heavyweight Championship , to a triple threat match with Daniel Bryan which he would go on to win. Some face wrestlers often give high fives or give out merchandise to fans while entering the ring before their match, such as T-shirts, sunglasses, hats and masks. Bret Hart was one of the first superstars to make this popular, as he would drape his signature sunglasses on a child in
3920-515: The ring name Crusher Broomfield. Gray went in as part of a package along with Bragg, Westbrooks, and Ric Starr. One of Broomfield's major angles was that his contract was owned by ICW Champion Randy Savage and Savage's nemesis Ron Garvin defeated Savage in a match to set Broomfield free. He later worked for several National Wrestling Alliance -affiliated promotions, Mid-South Wrestling , and World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) as One Man Gang, billed as being from Chicago 's Halsted Street on
4032-778: The tag team titles defeating Rhodes and Mike Davis . Two months after they dropped the titles to Rotunda and Davis. In November 1984 as Panama Gang, he became the last NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) defeating Mulligan. Later the title was abandoned when Gang left the territory in 1985. Then Gang worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling from 1983 to 1984 and 1986 feuding with Giant Baba , Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta . He teamed with Bruiser Brody , Killer Tim Brooks and Stan Hansen . In 1984 he teamed with Goro Tsurumi. Then in 1986 he teamed with Jerry Blackwell , Harley Race and Tiger Jeet Singh . During these years he also worked in Canada, Central States and Texas. In
4144-584: 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
4256-400: 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
4368-460: 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
4480-411: 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
4592-674: The African Dream", though Okerlund immediately called him out as the One Man Gang. This vignette received some criticism, as the Caucasian "Akeem" delivered a promo in which he spoke with an extremely stereotypical "jive" black accent and danced in the style of Dusty Rhodes . while an African ritual took place in the background. Akeem and the Big Boss Man captained a team who featured "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase ,
One Man Gang - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-653: 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
4816-492: The Attitude Era of the WWF. During this time, wrestlers like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Sting used tactics traditionally associated with heels, but remained popular with the fans. Professional wrestling had just come off a huge steroid scandal and was facing poor ratings compared to the 1980s, and as a result, professional wrestling transformed into an edgier, more mature product. In this new era of professional wrestling,
4928-453: The Gang often defeated enhancement talent and other lower card wrestlers with ease, he was often on the end of defeat when main eventing against bigger stars such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage , although Gang was a major part of the angle regarding Billy Graham being forced into retirement. On October 4, One Man Gang won what was technically the first ever Royal Rumble at a house show. This
5040-408: 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
5152-488: 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
5264-614: The Palace in San Francisco. He also made an appearance for Chikara 's King Of Trios 2008, teaming with Demolition , where they lost to the Fabulous Three of Larry Sweeney , Mitch Ryder, and Shayne Hawke. On March 28, 2009, Gang wrestled at an International Wrestling Cartel event. He was defeated by Jim Duggan in the main event. In 1992, Gray appeared in the movie Stay Tuned . After his wrestling career, Gray worked as
5376-537: The South Side. He was managed by Kevin Sullivan , Skandor Akbar , Theodore Long , Gentleman Jim Holiday, and Sir Oliver Humperdink in various territories. Gang worked for many territories during this time for three years. His biggest success was in Florida where he had a feud with Dusty Rhodes from 1983 to 1984. Also, he feuded with Blackjack Mulligan and Mike Rotunda . He teamed up with Ron Bass and won
5488-786: The Twin Towers and Slick advertising title match that night against Demolition while on Arsenio Hall 's talk show . They were also strongly involved in the storyline which would eventually cause Randy Savage to become a villain and defend his title against Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V . In the Royal Rumble , Randy Savage was accidentally eliminated by teammate Hogan, allowing Akeem and Bossman to double team Hogan and eliminate him. The Main Event show broadcast live on NBC on February 3, 1989, featured The Mega Powers vs. The Twin Towers. During
5600-476: The WWF until October 1990, his loss to The Boss Man at WrestleMania was his last high profile match in the company. He wrestled as the replacement Bad News Brown in Harlem Street fights with Jake Roberts on the house show circuit. Although he was beginning to be featured on television in a feud with Saba Simba , Gray left the World Wrestling Federation in October 1990 due to his fading role in the company at
5712-583: The World Title Tournament at WrestleMania IV , defeating Bam Bam Bigelow by count-out in the opening round. He drew a bye in the quarterfinals before being disqualified in the semi-finals against eventual-tournament-winner Randy Savage after Gang attempted to hit Savage with his manager's cane. Following his loss at WrestleMania, Gang was placed lower "on the card", feuding with Bam Bam Bigelow, Koko B. Ware , and Don Muraco . In September 1988, One Man Gang's manager, Slick, announced that Gang
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#17327876575455824-401: 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
5936-418: 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
6048-561: 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
6160-448: The audience. Rey Mysterio , who has been a face in WWE since his debut, would go to any fan (frequently a child) wearing a replica of his mask and touch their head with his head for good luck before wrestling. Other examples include John Cena throwing his shirts and caps in the crowd before entering a match and Big Show giving his hat to a fan when he was a face. Some faces, such as Bret Hart and Ricky Steamboat , promoted an image as
6272-405: The audience. Traditional faces similar to Hulk Hogan tend to draw on support from the crowd when it's time for them to make their big comeback. In addition to wrestlers, commentators also portray face and heel dynamics. It is the job of the face commentator to criticize the tactics and behavior of the heel wrestler and gather support for the face wrestler. The face commentator gathers support for
6384-701: The battle royal. In 2000, he also worked for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico where he won the World Wrestling Council (WWC) Hardcore Title and feuded with Abdullah The Butcher , El Nene, and Carlos Colón . He left Puerto Rico in June 2001. He would retire from wrestling. Gray came out of retirement in 2007 after a six-year hiatus. He made appearances on the independent circuit . He teamed with Kamala as they lost to The Powers of Pain on October 19, 2007, at Wrestlefanfest Malice in
6496-412: 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
6608-451: The capital was not designated a flood zone , so he appealed for help through GoFundMe . 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
6720-456: The card, was awarded the belt via forfeit. He held that title for six months, mostly facing Duggan, Williams, and Ted DiBiase . In May 1987, Gray began receiving inquiries from the World Wrestling Federation about coming up to wrestle for them. He promptly agreed to terms, but returned to the UWF in order to drop the title to Big Bubba Rogers , who was there from his normal place in the NWA due to
6832-424: 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
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#17327876575456944-418: 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
7056-423: 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
7168-461: 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
7280-468: 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
7392-540: 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
7504-405: 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
7616-603: 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
7728-439: The fans. While clearly not championing rule following, nor submission to authority, Austin was still regarded as the face in many of his duels such as his rivalry with World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) owner Mr. McMahon . The portrayal of face wrestlers changed in the 1990s with the birth of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the start of World Championship Wrestling 's (WCW) New World Order (nWo) storyline, and
7840-470: 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
7952-610: 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
8064-460: 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
8176-714: The headline match for WrestleMania. The Twin Towers went on to face The Rockers at WrestleMania V and defeated them when Akeem pinned Shawn Michaels with a diving Air Africa after a powerbomb from the Big Boss Man. Though the Twin Towers never held the WWF Tag Team Championship , they did feud heavily with WWF World Tag Team champions Demolition at house shows after Wrestlemania, initially gaining wins by countout, later losing by pinfall after Boss Man would accidentally strike Akeem with his nightstick. The feud would continue even after Demolition lost
8288-473: 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
8400-492: 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
8512-480: 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
8624-496: 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
8736-415: The main event scene, while those getting less of a reaction than hoped might move down on the card. While Batista was getting bad reactions in 2014, another face Daniel Bryan , was getting incredibly positive support. Loud "Yes!" chants that had become synonymous with Bryan were present at any show he was on, and eventually the main event of WrestleMania XXX would be changed from Batista vs Randy Orton for
8848-417: The match, Savage's manager (and real-life wife) Miss Elizabeth was injured after Savage was thrown through the ropes and knocked her to the ground, which led Hogan to abandon his partner and carry Elizabeth back to the locker room for medical help. Although Hogan later returned to the match to help Savage defeat Akeem and Boss Man, Hogan's actions with Elizabeth caused Savage to attack him backstage, setting up
8960-498: 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
9072-576: The next few years. Gang returned to WCW in the fall of 1995, reverting his gimmick back to his normal biker's gimmick. He made his first appearance back on the November 16 taping of WCW Saturday Night when he defeated Scott Turner (the match aired December 2). His televised return came at the WCW World War 3 PPV on November 19, where he was the last person to be eliminated in the three ring, sixty man battle royal. Following this, he appeared in
9184-744: The next television taping, when he was defeated by Konnan in a match that aired February 4 on WCW Main Event . He lost a rematch at SuperBrawl VI the next month and left WCW shortly thereafter. After leaving WCW, Gang returned to Texas and wrestled in the Sportatorium, where he wrestled during his tenure in WCCW 10 years earlier. Gang defeated his former rival Terry Gordy on July 19, 1996. He feuded with Charlie Norris and Black Bart . On January 25, 1997, he lost to King Kong Bundy at NWA New Jersey. On November 29, 1998, he returned to Japan and made an appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in
9296-717: 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
9408-439: 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
9520-448: The recent sale of the UWF to Jim Crockett . Gray made his debut in the WWF on May 12, 1987, being managed by Slick , in a match against Jesse Cortez. He spent much of his early WWF run defeating enhancement talent in extremely short matches in order to build him up, most notably in a match where he Gourdbustered his opponent after the bell and then did the same to the referee, thus being ( kayfabe ) fined $ 10,000 for his actions. While
9632-507: The regional territories, he was a member of Skandor Akbar 's "Devastation Inc." as well as working with Gary Hart in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). He would feud with The Von Erichs teaming with Rick Rude . Also, he feuded in singles competition against Kerry Von Erich , King Parsons , Chris Adams , and Bruiser Brody . On May 5, 1985, he lost to Kerry Von Erich in a hair vs hair match at
9744-466: The ring, blurring the lines between scripted wrestling and their personal lives. In the ring, traditional faces are expected to abide by the rules and win matches by their own skill rather than by cheating, outside interference etc. Because heel wrestlers take little issues with using such tactics, the face enters many matches already at a disadvantage to the heel. By putting the face in a difficult situation, it can help to draw out sympathy and support from
9856-498: The rules, follow instructions of those in authority such as the referee, are polite and well-mannered towards the fans and often overcome the rule-breaking actions of their heel opponents to cleanly win matches. While many modern faces still fit this model, other versions of the face character are now also common. A good example would be Stone Cold Steve Austin , who despite playing a heel early on in his career would start to be seen more of an antihero because of his popularity with
9968-434: The same character, he would have failed. Unusually, Angle did not use any of these heroic mannerisms when playing a face character, instead acting as somewhat of an antihero with a few elements of the " lovable loser " character archetype. The majority of the time, faces who are low-carders, or lesser known, are used as jobbers . These wrestlers usually lose matches against established wrestlers, often heels that then lose to
10080-440: 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
10192-409: The standard face was more profane, violent, and uncontrollable. In contrast to the emerging new breed of faces, Kurt Angle was introduced to the then-WWF with an American hero gimmick based on his gold medal win at the 1996 Summer Olympics . Angle presented himself as a role model and stressed the need to work hard to realize one's dreams. Although such a personality appears appropriate for
10304-426: 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,
10416-639: The territory by interfering in matches and assaulting the fan favorite , Mid-South announcer Bill Watts would say about the then-unnamed assailant "He's a one-man gang!" The Gang worked on-and-off in Mid-South in between tours of Florida , Toronto , Japan , and Texas . He would also return to his hometown territory, the Carolinas, to work for Jim Crockett Promotions , where he was initially billed as "The One Man Gang, George Gray." He worked in Texas All Star wrestling where he feuded with Big Bubba. It
10528-664: The time. He had been advertised to be a part of Sgt. Slaughter's team at the 1990 Survivor Series alongside the Orient Express. Due to his departure, he was replaced by Boris Zhukov , (Slaughter's old AWA enemy and former Cobra Corps tag partner in JCP as Private Jim Nelson) On December 28, 1990, Gang would make his only appearance in United States Wrestling Association in Memphis where he won
10640-619: The title to the Brain Busters with the Towers and André the Giant facing Demolition and Duggan (now "King Duggan") at Summerslam '89 with Smash pinning Akeem after Duggan struck him with his 2x4. In early 1990, Big Boss Man refused to be part of a payoff from Ted DiBiase to get DiBiase's " Million Dollar Championship " belt back from Jake "The Snake" Roberts and turned on both his manager Slick and his partner Akeem. He then defeated Akeem at WrestleMania VI . Although Akeem remained in
10752-410: The top faces. Fans sometimes dislike face wrestlers despite the way they are promoted. Some reasons for this include repetitive in-ring antics, a limited moveset, a lengthy title reign, lack of selling their opponents' moves, or an uninteresting character. This often results in wrestlers who are supposed to be cheered receiving a negative or no reaction from the fans. When this happens, it can prompt
10864-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
10976-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
11088-405: 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
11200-535: 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
11312-420: 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
11424-425: 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
11536-528: Was 5. Gray trained with longtime local independent wrestler and promoter Chief Jay Eagle (Jerry Bragg) and Darren "Rattlesnake" Westbrooks. He started his career at the age of 17 on the Carolina independent circuit wrestling both under his real name and as "Crusher Gray." He then moved on to wrestle in the Kentucky/Tennessee area, including for International Championship Wrestling (ICW), under
11648-420: Was a 12 man test run of the match, held at Kiel Auditorium . One Man Gang participated in the first-ever Survivor Series pay-per-view as a member of André the Giant 's team, fighting a team led by Hulk Hogan. In 1988, Gang entered the inaugural Royal Rumble at number 19 out of 20 participants and was one of the last two men left in the ring, before being eliminated by Jim Duggan . One Man Gang participated in
11760-488: 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
11872-472: Was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018. In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit dismissed by a federal appeals court. In August 2016, Gray's home in Baton Rouge was partially submerged by the 2016 Louisiana floods , destroying most of its contents. He was among the estimated 125,000 people who had not purchased flood insurance to cover the damage, as that part of
11984-610: Was on his last tour for Mid-South when the promotion renamed itself the Universal Wrestling Federation , with Gang as one of its top villains , feuding at the main-event level with UWF top fan favorite Jim Duggan . In late 1986, Gang won the UWF Heavyweight Championship in an angle where the champion Terry Gordy was injured earlier in the evening by a revenge-minded "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Gang, scheduled to face Gordy later on
12096-571: 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
12208-400: Was reborn as African and planned to embrace his roots. An episode of WWF Superstars , which aired on September 24, 1988, featured a vignette with Gene Okerlund on-location in an American ghetto that was dubbed "The Deepest Darkest Parts Of Africa," where dancers dressed as tribal Africans danced and chanted around a fire; Slick then announced that Gang would be known by his new name, "Akeem,
12320-415: 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
12432-417: 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
12544-588: Was undefeated in the early going, beating Ranger Ross , Brad Armstrong , and Junkyard Dog . He made his first WCW PPV appearance on May 19 at SuperBrawl I when he attacked El Gigante following his match with Sid Vicious . He and Sullivan shaved Gigante's head in a post-match sneak attack on the June 22 edition of World Championship Wrestling . He lost a Hair vs. Career match on the final Great American Bash event in Atlanta's Omni on August 25. Other notable matches from Gang's 1991 WCW run include being involved in
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