Mid 20th Century
116-551: The PWG World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the tag team division of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) promotion . It was created and debuted on January 25, 2004, at PWG's Tango & Cash Invitational – Night Two event , where B-Boy and Homicide were crowned the inaugural champions. Being a professional wrestling championship, title reigns are not won legitimately; they are instead won via
232-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
348-415: A crossface while striking him in the face with his own spike to win their feud. Lacey returned to oppose Tyler Black and after almost throwing in the towel for Aries, she, at the end of the match, prevented Black from throwing in his towel for Jacobs, who therefore was forced to verbally submit to Aries. After the match Jacobs screamed at Black, who then left the ring and went to the back by himself. Later in
464-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
580-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
696-437: A Four Corner Survival match which also involved Go Shiozaki and Claudio Castagnoli . This earned Black a ROH World Championship match in the show's main event. During the broadcast Jacobs 'interrupted' the broadcast, repeatedly seen speaking alongside Gowen and Wonderland to 'followers' of AOTF. In a Philadelphia Street Fight The Briscoe Brothers (with Daizee Haze ) were victorious over Butcher and Matthews (with Lacey). Black
812-669: A Four Corners Survival Match when he pinned Denny with Shadows over Hell. Later Jay Briscoe defeated Jacobs and Austin Aries in a Three Way Dance when he pinned Jacobs with a roll up after Jacobs accidentally speared Aries. On March 13, 2009, in Collinsville, Illinois at "Stylin' and Profilin'", Delirious turned on Jacobs and broke away from the stable and was embraced by Daizee Haze afterwards. The following night in Indianapolis, IN at "Insanity Unleashed", Jacobs defeated Delirious in
928-640: A No Disqualification match with the End Time. After several months of little activity it was believed that the Age of the Fall had disbanded. Jimmy Jacobs was even announced as being the former leader of the Age of the Fall. However, on June 26, 2009, in Detroit at "Violent Tendencies", after Tyler Black had defeated Jimmy Jacobs in a steel cage match, over a dozen men dressed in black clothing and black masks climbed into
1044-405: A Three Way Dance when he pinned Jacobs with a brainbuster / 450° splash combination. Despite entering together, Jacobs and Butcher would argue during the match; Aries hit Butcher in the back with a chair and threw it to Jacobs. Butcher turned around and assumed it had been Jacobs who had struck him and delivered a punch to the face and a chair shot of his own before leaving the ring and heading to
1160-413: 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
1276-471: A beating was put away with a chair shot to the head. The next night, June 28, at Vendetta II in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, Aries pinned Jacobs in a "Relaxed Rules" match. During this match, MsChif interfered by blinding Aries with her green mist and was officially made a member of the stable in the group's next blog entry. Stipulations for this match said the winner would pick the loser's match for
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#17327830111461392-532: 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
1508-519: 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
1624-585: 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
1740-711: 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 . The Age of the Fall The Age of the Fall was an American professional wrestling stable , primarily in Ring of Honor and its sister promotion Full Impact Pro , but also in other independent promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla . For months leading into
1856-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1972-410: 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
2088-668: A follower of Jacobs on November 30, debuting in Dayton, Ohio at the Reckless Abandon event, during a 4-Way Tag Team Scramble. At Unscripted III on December 1, Jimmy Jacobs gained arguably the greatest victory of his career, defeating former ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson with his new finisher, the End Time . At Final Battle 2007 on December 30, 2007, Jacobs and Tyler Black defeated the Briscoe Brothers to win
2204-405: 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
2320-799: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2436-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
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#17327830111462552-440: 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
2668-607: A non-title Three Way Dance by pinning Black. On November 22, 2008, in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, at "Rising Above 2008", Delirious pinned Rhett Titus with the Shadows Over Hell and post-match beat him down further and destroyed his Top of the Class trophy. On the same night MsChif pinned Sara Del Rey with the Desecrator to retain her SHIMMER Championship and Austin Aries defeated Jimmy Jacobs in an "I Quit" match with
2784-584: A scripted ending to a match or awarded to a wrestler because of a storyline. The title has been referred to as the PWG Tag Team Championship and as the PWG World Tag Team Championship since 2004. There have been a total of 36 reigns among 38 wrestlers and 27 teams. On January 25, 2004, PWG debuted their version of a tag team championship, which they named the PWG Tag Team Championship. B-Boy and Homicide won
2900-648: A six-man tag between The Age of the Fall and the makeshift three-man team of Jack Evans and the Irish Airborne. The match battled to a no-contest as Necro Butcher punched out the referee during the middle of the match. The day after their debut, their website, which now redirected to Ageofthefall.com revealed that all the blog entries had been written by Black. In an interview with the German website www.genickbruch.com, Jacobs revealed there would be more people involved. A woman named Allison Wonderland would also become
3016-473: A springboard Doomsday Device. The next night at "New Horizons" in Detroit, Bryan Danielson defeated Black via referee stoppage after repeated elbow strikes to the head. During this match Black used a turnbuckle powerbomb that actually broke the top turnbuckle off the corner, breaking the top rope. This forced staff to switch the bottom rope for the top, meaning the rest of the show was worked with no bottom rope. Jacobs would brawl with Aries at various moments during
3132-651: A two night tournament named the Tango & Cash Invitational to become the first champions at Tango & Cash Invitational – Night Two. The championship was defended for the first time outside the United States on February 18, 2006, when then-champions, Davey Richards and Super Dragon , defeated Cape Fear ( El Generico and Quicksilver ) in Essen, Germany at PWG's European Vacation – Germany event. After this event and one held on February 19, 2006 in Orpington, England where
3248-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
3364-586: 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
3480-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
3596-410: 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
PWG World Tag Team Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
3828-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
3944-624: 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
4060-881: The ROH World Tag Team Championship . At January 25ths Breakout , Jacobs teamed with the returning Joey Matthews , the newest member of The Age of the Fall, in a losing effort against Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero of the No Remorse Corps . The following night at Without Remorse , Jacobs and Black lost the ROH World Tag Team Championship to the No Remorse Corps' Davey Richards and Rocky Romero in an Ultimate Endurance match involving Brent Albright and B. J. Whitmer of The Hangmen 3, and Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson. On February 22 at Eye of
4176-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
4292-535: The phoenix splash . On June 27 in Dayton, Ohio at Battle For Supremacy , Black and Matthews were defeated by Kevin Steen and El Generico when Steen pinned Matthews following the Package Piledriver . Necro Butcher defeated Austin Aries in a "Relaxed Rules" match. After sending Butcher through a table Aries told him to stop doing Jacobs's dirty work for him. Aries then refused to fight back, and after taking
4408-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
4524-417: The 161st ROH show, and it was no coincidence that the stable stated they would appear at the show. After making a successful return to ROH, Jimmy Jacobs, the returning Necro Butcher and the debuting Tyler Black violently attacked The Briscoe Brothers right after a brutal ladder match with Kevin Steen and El Generico . This meant Jimmy Jacobs was indeed behind Project 161. Jay Briscoe was hung upside from
4640-584: 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
4756-400: 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
PWG World Tag Team Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-509: 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
4988-653: 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
5104-469: The Beaver Boys' (Alex Reynolds and John Silver) only reign share the record for the shortest in the title's history at less than one day. PWG publishes a list of successful championship defenses (victories against challengers for the championship) for each champion on their official website, unlike most other professional wrestling promotions, for unknown reasons. As of November 2024, The Young Bucks have
5220-644: The Cradle Piledriver, and Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson defeated Jacobs and Black when Aries forced Jacobs to submit the Last Chancery. Post match there was dissension between AotF members when Jacobs blamed Black for the loss, then the two left the ring without exchanging words. On November 8, 2008, in Markham, Ontario at "Bound By Hate", Rhett Titus and Kenny King defeated Delirious and Brodie Lee via Count Out after they beat and chased Titus to
5336-654: The FIP Tag Team Championship in tag-team and 2 out of 3 falls tag team matches due to outside interference from YRR members. The duo of Bates and Rain were however successful in defeating a female team representing the YRR. The feud ended after the 2 out of 3 falls match, and a one on one match between Rain and Mercedes Martinez (hired by the YRR to take out Rain) where Martinez squashed Rain, and gave similar beatings to Bates and Beasley. On October 11, at Impact of Honor 2 Black defeated Erick Stevens to become
5452-693: The FIP World Heavyweight Championship. On July 6, 2008, at Life During Wartime in Reseda, California , Jacobs and Black defeated the team of El Generico (substituting for Jack Evans ) and Roderick Strong to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship . On August 31, 2008 The Young Bucks (Nick and Matt Jackson) defeated Black and Jacobs to capture the titles. On February 19, 2010, Black and Jacobs reunited and defeated The House of Truth to capture
5568-654: The Fall ( Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black )'s only reign, the Unbreakable F'n Machines' (Brian Cage and Michael Elgin) only reign, Monster Mafia's (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) only reign, the Beaver Boys' (Alex Reynolds and John Silver) only reign and Andrew Everett and Trevor Lee 's only reign. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) hold the record for most reigns, with four. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
5684-714: The June 5, 2008 edition of the ROH Video Wire, Austin Aries stated in a sit down interview with Dave Prazak that Lacey would not be returning to Ring of Honor as a result of the Age Of The Fall's ambush. In August 2008 the Wrestling Observer confirmed Lacey had quit wrestling to return to school, so the "ambush" served both to further the feud between Jacobs and Aries, and to write Lacey out of the storyline completely. On June 6, Black and Jacobs recaptured
5800-595: The Last Chancery after Delirious was distracted by Jacobs demanding Delirious continue to assault Aries. Post match Jacobs put Aries through a table with a back Senton splash off the top rope. In the main event, Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated Jacobs and Black to capture the ROH World Tag Team Championships. The next night, September 20 at "Glory by Honor VII" in Philadelphia, Austin Aries and The Briscoes defeated Necro Butcher (who
5916-688: The Last Chancery, post match Jacobs joined Black in attacking Aries before promising to cause chaos in Japan and to win the ROH World title. Black and Jacobs would also attack the Briscoe Brothers after their match, Jacobs again cutting a promo making promises. Jacobs however would lose to Nigel McGuinness in the main event where McGuinness' ROH World Championship was on the line. On September 19, 2008, in Boston as part of an ROH Pay Per View taping ("Driven 2008"), Austin Aries defeated Delirious via Submission with
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#17327830111466032-408: 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
6148-488: 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
6264-473: The ROH World Tag Team Championship in a one-night tournament in Hartford, Connecticut at Up for Grabs . They defeated Delirious and Pelle Primeau, Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson via DQ, and Kevin Steen and El Generico en route to beginning their second reign. The following night in Philadelphia at Respect Is Earned II , they defeated Aries and Danielson to retain the titles when Black pinned Danielson with
6380-544: The ROH return to Chicago there were cryptic messages on a blog and website of a stable entering ROH that was code named "Project 161". Jimmy Jacobs was one of the names mentioned who could be behind this along with Adam Pearce and a few other Chicago-based ROH wrestlers. At one point, posts related to Project 161 flooded the ROH message board, but ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky claimed these were actually fans' doing. Many fans noted that an upcoming pay-per-view taping (Man Up) would be
6496-631: The Shadows Over Hell while Jacobs and Black fought Aries and Necro to a double count-out in a tag team match. At Final Battle 2008 on December 27 in New York City, Austin Aries defeated Tyler Black to become the number one contender to the ROH World Championship after Jacobs went down to ringside and distracted him. Afterward, Black was attacked by both Jacobs and Aries, officially leading to Black's departure from
6612-562: The Storm , Jacobs introduced Zach Gowen as the newest member of the group. Following the announcement the two of them were defeated by the Vulture Squad of Jigsaw and Ruckus . The group at this time had an open invitation for Austin Aries to join them, writing blogs and posting YouTube videos about and directed at him. Tammy Sytch had made a counter offer to Aries of her services (including offering money and sex) against him joining
6728-401: 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
6844-418: 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
6960-561: 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
7076-682: The back with King remaining the legal man in the ring. Later on Austin Aries defeated Jacobs in a Dog Collar match via submission with a chain-assisted Last Chancery. Tyler Black attempted to give assistance but Jacobs sent him back to the locker room. Also Bryan Danielson defeated Black and Kenny Omega in a Three Way Dance when he forced Omega to submit to the Cattle Mutilation. On November 21, 2008, in Dayton, Ohio at "Escalation", ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated Jacobs and Delirious to retain while Austin Aries defeated Black and ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in
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#17327830111467192-592: The back. In the show's main event, Black would be pinned by ROH World Champion Nigel McGuiness following two straight lariats in a Four Man Elimination Match that also included Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli. On August 15 at "Age Of Insanity" in Cleveland, Ohio, Delirious joined the stable, having changed from his usual 'crazy' antics since being turned down by Daizee Haze (and thus heart broken). Jacobs and Wonderland came out during his match with Rhett Titus , encouraging him to beat down Titus even more. After
7308-407: The cage and attacked Black. While the chaos ensued Jimmy Jacobs proclaimed that the Age of the Fall was not over, it had just begun. Jimmy Jacobs was then carried out of the arena by the Age of the Fall members. The following night in Chicago Ridge, Illinois at "End Of An Age", after KENTA had defeated Black, Jacobs and his followers attacked again and tried to hang him by his ankles upside down above
7424-424: 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
7540-418: 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
7656-485: The championship was defended once again, PWG renamed the championship to the PWG World Tag Team Championship. The championship later changed hands for the first time outside the United States on October 27, 2007, at PWG's European Vacation II – England event, where then-champions Kevin Steen and El Generico were defeated by Davey Richards and Super Dragon in Portsmouth, England . On July 27, 2014, Candice LeRae became
7772-423: 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
7888-461: 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
8004-540: 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
8120-405: 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
8236-577: The entire show which culminated in a fist fight on top of a 20-foot ladder. Necro Butcher walked out and tipped it over sending them both crashing through a table below. On August 1, 2008, in Manassas, Virginia st "Fueling The Fire", Black and Jacobs retained the ROH World Tag Team Championships defeating Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji while Roderick Strong pinned Necro Butcher in a Relaxed Rules Match. The next night at "Death Before Dishonor VI" in New York City, Austin Aries defeated Jacobs and Butcher in
8352-603: 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
8468-427: The finals of the Tango & Cash Invitational Tag Team Tournament on January 25, 2004, at PWG's Tango & Cash Invitational – Night Two event. At 801 days and counting, The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier) are the longest reigning tag team champions in their first reign. The Unbreakable F'n Machines' ( Brian Cage and Michael Elgin ) only reign, Monster Mafia's (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) only reign and
8584-490: The first female wrestler to hold the title, when she and Joey Ryan defeated The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) to become the new champions. On June 16, 2017, Penta el Zero M and Rey Fenix successfully defended the title in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl , Mexico. The inaugural champions were B-Boy and Homicide , who won the championship by defeating the team of The American Dragon and Super Dragon in
8700-470: 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
8816-610: 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
8932-460: 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
9048-478: The group YRR [Young, Rich, and Ready for Action]) to the stable. On May 30 at In Full Force , Mr. Milo Beasley and Leva Bates joined the stable. So far Rain is the only member of the FIP AOTF who has also made an appearance in ROH for the group. AOTF, particularly Tyler Black, had been feuding with The YRR stable over their use of numbers tactics to gain an advantage. Black and Jacobs were unsuccessful at winning
9164-621: The group. On January 16, 2009, in Manassas, Virginia at "Full Circle", Necro Butcher pinned Delirious with the Tiger Driver. Near the end of the bout Jimmy Jacobs had handed Delirious his spike but Daizee Haze came out and convinced him to hand it over to her leading to his loss. Later, Jacobs pinned Bryan Danielson with a cradle pin off an attempted Triangle Choke hold. On January 17, 2009, in Edison, New Jersey at "Injustice II", Delirious defeated Necro Butcher, Damien Wayne, and Sean Denny in
9280-468: The group. On March 29, 2008, at Supercard Of Honor III , Jacobs and Black defeated The Briscoes in a Relaxed Rules Match when Jacobs countered the springboard Doomsday Device into The End Time. Rain accompanied the group to the ring along with Lacey, showing the first (and to date only) time an AOTF member in Full Impact Pro was recognized in ROH. A contributing factor to this appearance was that
9396-1181: The group. On October 24, in Danbury, Connecticut at "Return Of The 187", Necro Butcher defeated Delirious and Mark Briscoe in a No DQ Three Way Dance when he pinned Delirious following a Tiger Driver. Later on The Latin American Xchange defeated Black and Jacobs, Chris Hero and Davey Richards and ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Steen and El Generico in the company's first ever 30 Minute Four Team Iron Man match . On October 25, in Edison, New Jersey at "Ring Of Homicide 2", Jimmy Jacobs defeated Austin Aries in an Anything Goes match with The End Time after Delirious and debuting member Brodie Lee came to assist him. The team of Lee and Delirious then defeated Cheech and Cloudy . Later on Tyler Black defeated Jerry Lynn . On November 7, 2008, in Montreal at "The French Connection", Necro Butcher defeated Brodie Lee via DQ when Jacobs and Black ran down and attacked him. Afterward all three beat Necro down and left him laying. Later on Jerry Lynn pinned Delirious with
9512-526: 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
9628-480: 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
9744-496: 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
9860-567: The match Daizee Haze came out tried to convince Delirious not to join, but failed as he left with his new stablemates. Later in the night Delirious and Jacobs were defeated by the Briscoes in a tag team match, while Aries defeated Black in a 1-on-1 match. The next night, August 16 in Chicago Ridge at "Night Of The Butcher II" , Delirious attacked his scheduled partner Pelle Primeau, an attack which ROH's website described as 'career ending'. Daizee Haze attempted again to convince Delirious to stop, but
9976-483: The match as a result. Later that night, Austin Aries told Tyler Black that he didn't know why he still hung around with Jacobs, and that he could be a star and popular with the fans if Jacobs wasn't stopping him. The two had a match which Black won with a small package driver. Both men received standing ovations from the crowd. On December 6, 2008, in Nashville at "Southern Hostility", Delirious defeated Alex Payne with
10092-498: 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
10208-480: The most defenses, with 15; Twelve teams are tied for having the least, with 0. Those teams and reigns are B-Boy's and Homicide's only reign, The X–Foundation/The Dynasty ( Joey Ryan and Scott Lost )'s first and second reigns, Chris Bosh's and Quicksilver's only reign, The Aerial Xpress (Quicksilver and Scorpio Sky)'s only reign, Davey Richards and Roderick Strong's only reign, B-Boy and Super Dragon's second reign, Jack Evans and Roderick Strong's only reign, The Age of
10324-457: The move. Later in the show, AOTF approached Aries after his match, again making the offer for him to join them. Aries left the ring with Lacey, who was going to 'convince' him, rejecting Tammy Sytch's offer (who came out to try to stop Aries leaving with Lacey). Black and Jacobs then held Sytch to allow Rain to slap her, before The Briscoes ran in to make the save. At ROH's Take No Prisoners pay-per-view on March 16, Black pinned Delirious to win
10440-414: The next Chicago Ridge event, and Aries picked a No Disqualification match between Jacobs and Necro Butcher. Also during this event Butcher and Black defeated Steen and Generico when Butcher pinned Steen with a roll up after a chair shot to the face from Black. At this time, AOTF members Matthews and Gowen were not booked for further ROH events. Although neither has been officially written out or removed from
10556-550: The number one contender for the FIP World Heavyweight Championship , held at the time by Go Shiozaki , after using God's Last Gift. Also on the show, MsChif defended her SHIMMER Championship, defeating Rain. Not only was this a match between two AOTF members, the first in the group's history (both women remain in the stable), but the first SHIMMER title defense of MsChif's reign outside of SHIMMER events. On December 20, Black defeated Shiozaki to win
10672-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
10788-717: 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
10904-407: The rigging that was used to hoist the titles from the ladder match. This was a disgusting scene as the blood of Jay Briscoe dripped onto Jimmy Jacobs' solid white clothes, and at one point into his mouth, as he announced the beginning of The Age of the Fall. The angle was so controversial that ROH decided to remove the footage from the pay-per view that was being taped at the event. However, the footage
11020-474: The ring to the chants of "Cry, Jimmy, Cry!" from fans and being covered with streamers. Later in the show Jacobs showed signs of a mental breakdown as he hit himself in the head with his trademark spike, to the concern of his fellow group members. The main event was changed as Jacobs pulled out. The Vulture Squad (Ruckus, Jigsaw and Jack Evans) were then beaten by the combination of Matthews, Black and Gowen (who replaced Jacobs). Post match Jacobs called out Aries and
11136-449: The ring. Kevin Steen, El Generico and Delirious ran in to make the save and in the end Jacobs wound up hanging above the ring with Black declaring that the Age of the Fall had died. On February 16, 2008, at Redefined the stable crossed over to ROH's sister promotion Full Impact Pro (FIP) when Black recruited Lacey and her longtime tag team partner Rain (both of whom in FIP were members of
11252-489: The show was in Florida where Rain lives. Prior to the match, Jacobs referenced to a 'homeless man' who was shown on camera, saying he had bought him a ticket so he could enjoy the show. The man in question was Mr. Milo Beasley, also a member of AOTF in FIP, but he was neither named or acknowledged as being part of the group. During the match he was driven through a table by a legdrop off a balcony after saving AOTF from suffering
11368-399: The show's main event the returning Samoa Joe defeated Black via submission with the rear naked choke . On December 5, 2008, in Collinsville, Illinois at "Wrestling At The Gateway", Jacobs and Delirious fought Necro Butcher and Ace Steel in a tag team match, which they lost due to interference from Daizee Haze. Haze convinced Delirious not spike Necro which led to Steel and Butcher winning
11484-520: The stable, it is considered they are former members due to no longer being on the ROH roster or on shows. On July 25 at "Northern Navigation" in Toronto, Black and Jacobs were defeated by Austin Aries and Jay Briscoe in a Non-Title NO DQ Match. The bout featured involvement from Mark Briscoe and Necro Butcher; Jacobs ordered Butcher to stab Aries in the eye with a spike but Necro threw it down instead and walked off. Briscoe eventually pinned Black following
11600-440: 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
11716-426: 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,
11832-506: The top rope through the table with Butcher lying on it for the 3 count. On September 13 in Tokyo, Japan at "Battle Of The Best", Black and Jacobs successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championships, defeating Jay and Mark Briscoe when Jacobs forced Mark Briscoe to submit to the End Time. The next night, also in Tokyo at "The Tokyo Summit", the two would lose their respective singles matches. Austin Aries defeated Black via submission with
11948-519: 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
12064-471: 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
12180-427: The two brawled, before Aries was jumped by Black, Matthews and Gowen. Jacobs went to attack Aries with his spike, but he stopped when Lacey begged him not to. The AOTF would later ambush Lacey outside of an exercise business in a video posted on their website, where Jacobs produced his spike from his cane before the video cut off. After the video was posted, Lacey was not seen in ROH, SHIMMER or anywhere in wrestling. On
12296-535: 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
12412-420: 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
12528-425: 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
12644-511: Was also heavily requested by ROH fans, so it was shown on the ROH Videowire for the week of September 15. Also, a "blood edit" of their debut is featured on the DVD of the event, Man Up . Later on in the event, Tyler Black and Jack Evans faced off in a non-PPV match until both Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher got involved. The Irish Airborne entered the ring to save Jack Evans, which led to
12760-471: Was attacked by MsChif who used the Desecrater to lay her out. In the main event, Jacobs defeated Necro Butcher in a no disqualification match after Aries ran in to help Butcher, who was being double teamed by Black and Jacobs. Jacobs was preparing to do a move off of the top rope to Necro Butcher, who was being held down on a table by Black, when Aries ran in and tried to stop Jacobs but got powerbombed off
12876-488: 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
12992-403: Was defeated by champion Nigel McGuinness in the championship match. Many called Black's effort a breakout star performance, which had the crowd fully supporting the usually hated AOTF member. At Return Engagement on April 19, Lacey left the group, siding with Austin Aries romantically. Aries also turned down the invitation into the group. Jacobs, heartbroken by Lacey leaving him, broke down in
13108-413: Was fighting alone with no partners), and the team of Black, Jacobs and Delirious, in a Steel Cage Warfare match. The Briscoes were the last team remaining after the match was left down to them against Black and Jacobs. During the contest, Delirious attacked Daizee Haze (who on ROH Video Wire had stated she wanted to get her friend Delirious back) with a spike when she tried to convince him to stop and leave
13224-650: 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
13340-415: 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
13456-417: 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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