Mid 20th Century
110-428: Sarona Moana Marie Reiher Snuka-Polamalu (born January 10, 1978) is an American professional wrestler . She is signed to WWE where she competes as Tamina , but has since been removed from WWE's internal roster. A second generation wrestler, she has been working with WWE since 2010, becoming one time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and nine times WWE 24/7 Champion. She started as the manager of The Usos and later, become
220-435: 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
330-459: A fatal four-way match to determine the number one contender for Natalya's SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch, Naomi and the returning Charlotte Flair, which was won by Flair. On November 19 at Survivor Series , Tamina represented Team SmackDown in a ten-woman elimination tag team match against Team Raw , losing the match but scoring an elimination over Bayley . On January 28, 2018, at Royal Rumble , Tamina entered at number 7 during
440-581: A live event later that month. Similar to how Trish Stratus kept the Women's Championship when she was sidelined with a herniated disc in 2005, Maryse was able to keep the Divas title upon her return in late January 2009. As part of the 2009 WWE draft , then Divas Champion Maryse was one of the people drafted to the Raw brand, in the process making the championship exclusive to Raw. On January 4, 2010, WWE vacated
550-415: 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
660-415: 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
770-470: A tag team match at Fastlane , where Tamina and Naomi lost to Banks and her partner Becky Lynch. In late March, Tamina and Naomi allied with Lana , Emma and Summer Rae , leading to a 10-Diva tag team match on the WrestleMania 32 pre-show, which Tamina's team lost. In early May, Tamina underwent knee surgery in order to repair torn ligaments, while Naomi also claimed to be injured on May 5, due to
880-586: A "Second Chance Fatal Four Way" to re-enter the Women's Tag Team Tournament on the August 26 episode of SmackDown , in which they lost. Tamina entered at #19 in the 2023 Women’s Royal Rumble, she lasted just under 12 minutes before being eliminated by Michelle McCool . Tamina was used sporadically on Main Event tapings in early 2023, losing to Michin on the March 3rd taping in what would be Tamina's final appearance with
990-484: A "revolution" in the Divas division and introduced the debuting NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks as an ally to Tamina and Naomi. Charlotte and Becky Lynch would then debut and ally with Paige, leading to a brawl between the three teams. The trio of Tamina, Naomi and Banks was later dubbed Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous). At Battleground , a triple threat match took place with Banks representing Team B.A.D., against Charlotte of PCB and Brie Bella for Team Bella in
1100-413: 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
1210-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
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#17328012786251320-519: 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
1430-585: 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
1540-566: A concussion in July at a live event, Tamina returned at Hell in a Cell , defeating Carmella backstage for the 24/7 Championship , the first championship of her wrestling career. She later lost the championship to R-Truth later on in the night. As part of the 2019 draft , Tamina was drafted to SmackDown. At the Royal Rumble event on January 26, 2020, Tamina competed in the women's Royal Rumble match, entering at number 14, lasting less than
1650-418: 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 . Divas Champion This is an accepted version of this page The WWE Divas Championship
1760-528: A disqualification. After the match, Paige returned from injury and attacked Tamina, Naomi and Nikki. At The Beast in the East on July 4, Tamina failed to capture the Divas Championship from Nikki Bella in a triple threat match that also involved Paige. On the July 13 episode of Raw , after weeks of being outnumbered by Team Bella (The Bella Twins and Alicia Fox ), Stephanie McMahon called for
1870-404: 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
1980-410: 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
2090-405: 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
2200-576: A losing effort, while Charlotte picked up victory. The three teams would ultimately face off at SummerSlam in a three team elimination match , where Team B.A.D. were the first team to be eliminated courtesy of Team Bella when Tamina was pinned by Brie, and PCB would win the match. On the February 1, 2016, episode of Raw , Tamina and Naomi attacked Banks after the latter announced her departure from team B.A.D. The feud between Tamina and Naomi and Banks would continue throughout February, and would lead to
2310-799: 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
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#17328012786252420-490: A match for the Raw Women's Championship , which was won by Lana. At the beginning of January 2021, Tamina turned heel once again, when formed an alliance with Natalya while "putting the women's tag team division on notice". At the Royal Rumble event on January 31, 2021, Tamina competed in the women's Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler . At WrestleMania 37 night 1, Tamina and Natalya won
2530-543: A minute before being eliminated by Bianca Belair . On the March 20 episode of SmackDown , Tamina was announced as a participant in a Fatal 5-Way elimination match for Bayley 's SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36 . At WrestleMania 36, Tamina was the first woman eliminated after the four other competitors pinned her at once. Tamina demanded a title match against Bayley on the April 10 episode of SmackDown , which Bayley accepted if Tamina could defeat Sasha Banks
2640-424: 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
2750-440: 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
2860-482: A situation made permanent by the ending of the brand extension in 2011. On September 16, 2012 Eve Torres became the first ever three-time WWE Divas Champion after defeating Layla at Night of Champions . In August 2014, the Divas Championship belt, along with all other pre-existing championship belts in WWE at the time, received a minor update, replacing the long-standing scratch logo with WWE's current logo originally used for
2970-673: A tag team turmoil match to earn an opportunity at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, and the following night, they were unsuccessful. The two would continue feuding with Jax and Baszler, defeating them on the May 14 episode of SmackDown to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship , which they proceeded to lose to Rhea Ripley and Nikki Cross . At the Money in the Bank event, both women entered
3080-443: A torn anterior cruciate ligament . A tournament was started two weeks later on Raw . On February 22 episode of Raw , Maryse defeated Gail Kim to win the vacant championship, making her the first person to hold the title on more than one occasion. The following is a list of dates indicating the transitions of the Divas Championship between the Raw and SmackDown brands. There were 26 total reigns and 1 vacancy. The inaugural champion
3190-464: A torn ankle tendon, thus disbanding the team. After having been undrafted in the 2016 WWE draft due to her injury, it was reported in December that Tamina was cleared for in-ring competition. On February 18, 2017, Snuka made her in-ring return in a tag-team match at a SmackDown live event , where she and Natalya scored a victory over Alexa Bliss and Carmella . She made her televised return on
3300-503: 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
3410-586: 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
Tamina Snuka - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-436: 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
3630-410: 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
3740-427: 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
3850-470: 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
3960-621: Is of Samoan and Fijian descent. She is the second daughter of the late Jimmy Snuka from his second wife, Sharon Snuka. Through her mother, Snuka is part of the Anoaʻi wrestling family . Sarona has an older sister named Liana and younger maternal sister Ata. She is also the sister of former WWE wrestler Jimmy Snuka, Jr. (ring name Deuce) . Snuka has two daughters. Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
4070-511: The 2011 supplemental draft , Tamina made her SmackDown debut as a villain on the May 27 episode of SmackDown , teaming with Alicia Fox to defeat the team of AJ and Kaitlyn . Tamina would then begin an on-screen relationship with JTG , becoming his valet. After changing to face on the December 30 episode of SmackDown , and changing her name to Tamina Snuka, she wrestled for the WWE Divas title at Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but
4180-624: 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
4290-582: The Superfly Splash on her. On August, Tamina turned face when she became the manager of the team of Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov . On the December 6 episode of Raw , Tamina and Marella began a relationship storyline. On April 2, 2011, Tamina, alongside the entire roster of WWE Divas , inducted Sunny into the WWE Hall of Fame . After being drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of
4400-668: The Unified Tag Team Champions , The Hart Dynasty ( David Hart Smith , Tyson Kidd , and Natalya ). The next week on the May 31 episode of Raw , Tamina and The Usos introduced themselves and stated that the Hart Dynasty were in the "wrong place at the wrong time", before again brawling with the trio. On June 20 at Fatal 4-Way , Tamina and the Usos were defeated by the Hart Dynasty in a six-person mixed tag team match , after Natalya pinned Tamina. Two weeks later on
4510-470: The WWE Network that launched earlier that year in February. On April 6, 2014, AJ Lee became the first and only woman to defend the Divas Championship at WrestleMania for WrestleMania XXX . On the WrestleMania 32 pre-show, former WWE Diva and Hall of Famer Lita announced that the scheduled triple threat match for the Divas Championship between Charlotte , Becky Lynch , and Sasha Banks
Tamina Snuka - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-449: The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship , but were eliminated by Bayley, Sasha Banks, Sonya Deville , and Mandy Rose . On the final show of Raw before Fastlane , Tamina defeated Sasha Banks after a distraction from Jax. At Fastlane on March 10, Tamina and Jax unsuccessfully challenged Banks and Bayley for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Tamina and Jax continued to attack Banks, Bayley, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix , who
4730-557: 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
4840-431: 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
4950-584: 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
5060-400: 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
5170-509: 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
5280-543: The April 11 episode of SmackDown Live , where she was established as a member of the SmackDown brand as part of the " Superstar Shake Up ". On the April 25 episode of SmackDown , Tamina interfered in a title match between Charlotte Flair and Naomi alongside Natalya and Carmella. On May 21 at Backlash , Tamina competed in a six-woman tag team match alongside Carmella and Natalya, where the three emerged victorious over Flair, Naomi, and Becky Lynch . On June 18 at Money in
5390-653: 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
5500-465: The August 5 episode of Smackdown , a tag team tournament to crown new champions was announced. Tamina and Brooke were announced as a team on the August 8 episode of Raw. Tamina and Brooke lost in the first round against Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky . Due to an injury from Gigi Dolin after her and Jacy Jayne won round 1 against Natalya and Sonya Deville , it was announced on the August 22 episode of Raw that Tamina and Dana Brooke would be participating in
5610-464: The Bank , Snuka competed in the inaugural women's Money in the Bank ladder match , which was won by Carmella following an interference by James Ellsworth . On the June 20 episode of SmackDown , Carmella was stripped from the briefcase by SmackDown's general manager, Daniel Bryan , and a rematch took place on the June 27 episode's main event , in which Tamina failed again and Carmella was victorious. On
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#17328012786255720-497: The July 4 episode of Smackdown, Tamina comforted Lana after her championship loss, teasing an alliance between the two. Lana later became her manager. On July 23 at Battleground , Snuka unsuccessfully competed in a five-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the SmackDown Women's Championship after she was eliminated by Becky Lynch. On the September 19 episode of SmackDown , Snuka participated in
5830-402: The June 21 episode of Raw , Tamina made her singles debut against Natalya, but the match ended in a no contest after The Nexus interrupted the match. On the June 28 episode of Raw , Tamina and The Usos were scheduled to face The Hart Dynasty in another six-person mixed tag team match, but instead attacked them during their entrance, leading to Tamina throwing Natalya in the ring and executing
5940-408: 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
6050-488: 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
6160-578: The November 19 episode of Raw, Tamina and Nia Jax scored a victory over Bayley and Sasha Banks and later on that night they confronted Ronda Rousey . Tamina would participate in the Women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019, entering at number 10, eliminating Mickie James , before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair . Tamina and Jax would compete at the Elimination Chamber in an elimination chamber match for
6270-557: The WWE. She was removed from WWE's active roster in July 2024. According to TKO executive Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Tamina remains in WWE, but has since been moved to a legend's position. This move was done as an oversight towards Triple H allowing her active contract expire. Snuka has appeared in nine WWE console games. She made her in-game debut in WWE 2K15 and appears in WWE 2K16 WWE 2K17 , WWE 2K18 , WWE 2K19 , WWE 2K20 , WWE 2K22 , WWE 2K23 and WWE 2K24 . Snuka
6380-609: The Women's Money in the Bank ladder match , but would be unsuccessful in winning the briefcase as it was won by Nikki A.S.H. As part of the 2021 Draft , Tamina was drafted to the Raw brand while Natalya remained on the SmackDown brand , ending the team. On the January 3 episode of Raw, Tamina failed to win the WWE 24/7 Championship from Dana Brooke in a mixed tag team match also involving Reggie and Akira Tozawa . Tamina, Tozawa, and R-Truth then spent months trying unsuccessfully to win
6490-401: 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
6600-418: 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
6710-561: 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
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#17328012786256820-424: 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
6930-418: 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
7040-410: The cast of Total Divas , where Snuka was the penultimate eliminated. On February 23, 2014, at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Snuka accidentally superkicked AJ during her title match against Cameron, and eventually caused a disqualification when Cameron almost won the match. After Snuka left Lee, shw wrestled for the title, participating in at WrestleMania XXX in the 14- Diva match, which
7150-423: 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
7260-461: 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
7370-453: The creation of the title. On the June 6 and July 4, editions of SmackDown , Natalya and Michelle McCool won their respective Golden Dreams match (also involving Maryse , Victoria , Kelly Kelly , Cherry , and Layla ) to qualify for the Divas Championship match. At The Great American Bash , McCool defeated Natalya to become the inaugural champion. When Maryse won the title from McCool in December 2008, she dislocated her kneecap at
7480-540: 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
7590-405: 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
7700-593: The enforcer of AJ Lee . During her career has been tag team partners with wrestlers like Natalya, Lana, and Nia Jax. Snuka first became involved in professional wrestling after she received the first Lia Maivia Scholarship to train at the Wild Samoan Training Center in Minneola, Florida . On the May 24, 2010, episode of Raw , Snuka debuted as a villainous character , under the ring name Tamina, along with Jimmy and Jey Uso by attacking
7810-603: 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
7920-544: The first women's Royal Rumble match , in which she was eliminated by Lita . Shortly thereafter, Tamina would go on hiatus due to a torn rotator cuff and underwent a successful surgery. This ended her partnership with Lana. On the October 15, 2018, episode of Raw , after nine months of inactivity due to various injuries, Tamina made a surprising return, working again as a heel . In her first match back, she teamed with Dana Brooke against Ember Moon and Nia Jax . During
8030-470: 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
8140-406: The following week, which Tamina did, turning her face in the process. At the Money in the Bank event, Tamina failed to win the title. On the August 14 episode of SmackDown , Tamina competed in a triple brand battle royal to earn a WWE SmackDown Women's Championship match at SummerSlam , which was won by Asuka . On the October 12 episode of Raw , Tamina competed in another battle royal to earn
8250-610: 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
8360-460: 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
8470-526: 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
8580-480: 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
8690-496: 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
8800-559: The match, it was announced that Tamina will be take part of the women's battle royal set for WWE Evolution . At the event, which took place on October 28, Tamina was one of the final competitors left but she was eliminated by Moon. Shortly after her return, Tamina started an alliance with Nia Jax, after multiple confrontations between the two. On the November 12 episode of Raw , Tamina achieved her first singles victory on Raw when she defeated Ember Moon . At Survivor Series , Tamina eliminated Naomi before she got eliminated by Carmella . On
8910-498: 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
9020-437: 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
9130-717: 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
9240-440: 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
9350-426: 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,
9460-524: The title after the current Divas Champion Melina sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament . A tournament was started two weeks later on Raw , where former Divas Champion Maryse qualified over Brie Bella , Alicia Fox qualified over Kelly Kelly , Eve Torres qualified over Katie Lea Burchill , and Gail Kim qualified over former Divas Champion Jillian Hall . In the semifinals, Maryse defeated Eve Torres, and Gail Kim defeated Alicia Fox. On February 22 episode of Raw , Maryse defeated Gail Kim to win
9570-484: The title at WrestleMania 32 against Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch , but during the event it was announced that the scheduled triple threat match would instead be for the new WWE Women's Championship (also known as the Raw Women's Championship from 2016 to 2023), with the Divas Championship subsequently being retired. Charlotte won the match and the Women's Championship; this ended her reign as Divas Champion and began
9680-416: The title from Reggie and later Dana Brooke in various backstage segments. Tamina would however win the title on the April 18 edition of Raw , during a double wedding ceremony, losing it to her partner, Tozawa after. Later that month, due to him being unable to help her win the title, she filed for divorce. After having an ongoing feud with Brooke for the 24/7 Championship, the two began to team together. On
9790-573: The title, while the Divas on the SmackDown brand were unable to compete for a women's-exclusive championship. However, on a few occasions, the regulation was bypassed with Melina , Ashley Massaro , Torrie Wilson , and Nidia challenging for the title while on the SmackDown brand, but none were successful. As a result, WWE created the WWE Divas Championship and introduced it on the June 6, 2008 episode of SmackDown when then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced
9900-519: 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
10010-471: 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
10120-503: The vacant championship, making her the first person to hold the title on more than one occasion. It was announced on the August 30 episode of Raw that the Divas Championship would be unified with the Women's Championship at a match at Night of Champions . With that, the title (known briefly as the WWE Unified Divas Championship) became accessible to both WWE brands and the champion could appear on both shows,
10230-535: 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
10340-420: 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
10450-419: Was Michelle McCool , who defeated Natalya to win the title at The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008. Eve Torres and AJ Lee held the record for most reigns as Divas Champion with three each. AJ Lee held the record for most combined days as champion with 406 days, while Nikki Bella held the record for longest individual reign at 301 days. Jillian Hall had the shortest reign at five minutes. Layla
10560-425: 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
10670-467: Was a women's professional wrestling world championship in WWE . The championship was created by WWE in 2008, and was introduced as part of the WWE brand extension via a storyline by then SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero as an alternative to Raw 's WWE Women's Championship . Michelle McCool became the inaugural champion on July 20, 2008, when she defeated Natalya at The Great American Bash . After then-WWE Divas Champion Maryse
10780-488: 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
10890-458: Was defeated by Paige in the first round of the NXT Women's Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champion. Snuka returned to WWE programming in late September 2013, taking on the role as Divas Champion AJ Lee 's bodyguard. Snuka helped AJ retain her title on several ocasions. AJ went on to captain a team at Survivor Series in a seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against
11000-481: Was defeated by Beth Phoenix. On the August 20 episode of Raw , Snuka suffered a legitimate back injury. She returned three months later at the Survivor Series pay-per-view as a heel , interrupting a segment between AJ Lee and Vickie Guerrero by attacking AJ from behind. She at Elimination Chamber , Snuka unsuccessfully challenged Kaitlyn for the Divas Championship. On the June 5 episode of NXT , Snuka
11110-540: Was drafted to Raw as part of the 2009 WWE draft , she took the title with her. McCool won a match against Melina to unify the WWE Divas and Women's titles at the Night of Champions pay-per-view on September 19, 2010, creating the Unified WWE Divas Championship; it eventually dropped the "Unified" moniker. The youngest woman to win the Divas Championship is Paige , at age 21. The title
11220-409: Was instead going to be for the new WWE Women's Championship (does not share the same lineage as the original WWE Women's Championship ). It was also announced that the Divas Championship would be retired, and all female performers would become WWE Superstars in the process, coincidentally retiring the term "Diva". On January 4, 2010, WWE vacated the title after then Divas Champion Melina sustained
11330-640: Was performing commentary, and Natalya . On the March 25 episode of Raw, it was announced that Tamina and Jax would compete in a Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania 35 for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship against current champions The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Banks), The IIconics ( Billie Kay and Peyton Royce ) and The Divas of Doom (Phoenix and Natalya). At the event on April 7, Tamina and Jax were unsuccessful when Kay pinned Bayley. Afterwards, Tamina and Jax would stop appearing on Raw after Jax underwent surgery for knee injuries. After wrestling on Main Event several times and later suffering
11440-650: 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
11550-400: Was retired in 2016 at WrestleMania 32 , after WWE Hall of Famer Lita revealed a brand-new Women's Championship, which would later be called the Raw Women's Championship , to replace the Divas Championship. The match for the new title took place at the event between the reigning Divas Champion Charlotte and her opponents Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match . Charlotte
11660-415: 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
11770-417: 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
11880-407: Was the last Divas Champion. With the first WWE brand extension in 2002, a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to different television programs and touring companies, the WWE Women's Championship was originally to be defended on both brands. At some point that year, however, it became exclusive to the Raw brand. Thereafter, only Divas on the Raw brand were able to compete for
11990-482: Was the oldest Divas Champion, having won at the age of 34, while Paige was the youngest Divas Champion in history at 21 years of age, and was also the only woman to win the title in her debut. The final champion was Charlotte , who was in her first and only reign. She defeated Nikki Bella on September 20, 2015, at Night of Champions in Houston, Texas to win the title. Charlotte was originally scheduled to defend
12100-652: Was won by the defending champion AJ Lee , and against Paige at Extreme Rules , losing again. Eleven months after having undergone surgery following a torn ACL on June 4, 2014, Snuka, billed simply as Tamina again, returned on the May 4, 2015, episode of Raw , allying herself with Naomi , as the two attacked The Bella Twins . Tamina and Naomi went on to defeat the Bella Twins in a tag team match at Payback . The following night on Raw , Tamina interfered in Naomi's Divas Championship match against Nikki Bella, causing
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