Mid 20th Century
91-574: Delbert Alexander " Del " Wilkes, Jr. (December 21, 1961 – June 30, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, better known by his ring names , The Trooper and The Patriot . Over the course of his ten-year career, Wilkes wrestled for the American Wrestling Association , the Global Wrestling Federation , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and
182-435: 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
273-415: 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
364-415: 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
455-835: A Wrestling Challenge taping Wilkes defeated Tom Stone . He returned on November 12, 1991, in a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Springfield, Massachusetts. Wrestling this time as The Patriot, Wilkes defeated Brooklyn Brawler . He would then appear in five matches in March 1992, wrestling as either Del Wilkes or The Patriot and facing Rick Martel , Kato ( Paul Diamond ), and Repo Man . Wilkes worked in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council in 1992. In 1992, Wilkes returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling . He had success with Jackie Fulton who wrestled as "The Eagle" to match Wilkes' Patriot gimmick. On June 2, 1993, The Patriot and
546-413: 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
637-521: A car salesman. In a July 25, 2007, interview with WACH reporter Justin Kier, Wilkes discussed his career, steroid use, the Chris Benoit tragedy , and various other topics. Kier's last two questions involved saying goodbye to the fans and giving advice to youngsters in the wrestling sport. Wilkes urged young wrestlers to "learn from our mistakes." He said that fifty people whom he once wrestled with in
728-532: 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
819-519: 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
910-585: 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
1001-429: 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 . Doug Gilbert Douglas Gilbert (born February 5, 1969) is an American professional wrestler . He
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#17327835809951092-404: 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
1183-410: 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
1274-405: 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
1365-435: A mask with American stars and stripes and carried the U.S. flag (using a patriotic entry theme that would casually be used for the wrestler Kurt Angle a few years later). He defeated Hart on television in a match on July 28, 1997, after interference from Shawn Michaels . On August 11, 1997, Patriot teamed with Ken Shamrock to wrestle the team of The British Bulldog and Owen Hart , The Patriot pinned The British Bulldog for
1456-669: A masked alter-ego Nightmare Freddie, siding with Nightmare Ken Wayne in his rivalry with Nightmare Danny Davis . In March 1989, he wrestled for World Championship Wrestling , where he remained until October. In December 1989, Gilbert won his first championship, the ICW Tag Team Championship with Dennis Condrey . By March 1990, Gilbert left ICW and the Tag Team titles were vacant. Upon his return to Memphis, Gilbert won two USWA World Tag Team Championships with Tony Anthony , before leaving for Dallas in 1992 to join
1547-799: 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
1638-424: 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
1729-440: 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
1820-540: A team with Marcus Alexander Bagwell called Stars and Stripes . They feuded with Pretty Wonderful ( Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma ) over the WCW World Tag Team Championship . The two teams battled for the titles and exchanged victories in non-title matches for several months. One week after losing the titles at Fall Brawl 1994 , Stars and Stripes defeated Pretty Wonderful on September 24, 1994, on WCW Saturday Night . Stars and Stripes held
1911-503: 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
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#17327835809952002-586: 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
2093-436: 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
2184-410: 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
2275-561: Is best known for his appearances with regional professional wrestling promotions throughout the Southern United States , as well as for Extreme Championship Wrestling and overseas in Japan. Doug Gilbert debuted for Continental Wrestling Association in 1986 at the age of seventeen. In 1987, he wrestled for Jim Crockett Promotions as the masked Enforcer. In 1988, Gilbert went to Continental Wrestling Federation , under
2366-427: 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
2457-470: 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
2548-485: The American Wrestling Association in 1988 under his real name for a year, before wrestling under the ring name "The Trooper." He wrote his opponents tickets after beating them as part of his police gimmick and would also hand out plastic police badges to the fans as he came to and from the ring. The Trooper won the AWA World Tag Team Championship with D.J. Peterson on August 11, 1990, at
2639-631: The Global Wrestling Federation . While in the GWF, he donned a mask and went under the name The Dark Patriot , and engaged in a rivalry with The Patriot , as well as winning the GWF North American Heavyweight Championship in January 1992. In September 1992, Gilbert began touring Japan for Wrestling International New Generations , where he went under the Freddy Krueger alter-ego. By 1993, he returned to
2730-595: The IWA World Heavyweight Championship in Tokyo, Japan and two NWA National Heavyweight Championships . The following year, he worked for a Memphis-based promotion, Power Pro Wrestling , now doubling as an WWF developmental territory, where he feuded again with Brian Christopher, but was fired after a televised promo which turned into a shoot on Christopher, Jerry Lawler (Christopher's real-life father), and Power Pro booker Randy Hales. In
2821-624: 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
The Patriot (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-670: The Slamboree pay-per-view in May 1995, he returned to AJPW. He quickly formed a tag team with Johnny Ace . On August 30, 1995, Wilkes and Ace challenged The Holy Demon Army for the World Tag Team Championship but lost. The two then entered the 1995 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 4th place with 13 points. On January 2, 1996, Wilkes won All Japan's yearly January 2 Heavyweight Battle Royal to give him his second All Japan achievement. For
3003-611: The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC). Despite a stellar collegiate campaign, Wilkes failed to make the NFL 's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1985 and the Atlanta Falcons in 1986. When football was over for Wilkes, he turned to a pro wrestling career that he found physically grueling, but financially rewarding. Del Wilkes, who from 1980 to 1984 played College Football at South Carolina , started out in
3094-743: The World Wrestling Federation . Wilkes was heavily recruited as an offensive lineman at Columbia's Irmo High School and played for the South Carolina Gamecocks . He was one of only four Gamecock consensus All-Americans, the others being George Rogers (1980), Melvin Ingram (2011), and Jadeveon Clowney (2012). Wilkes added 50 pounds of bulk to his six-foot-three, 225-pound frame to bolster an offensive line that in 1984 helped set school records for touchdowns (49), points (371) and total offense (5,095 yards). He knew
3185-557: 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
3276-431: 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
3367-584: 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
3458-400: 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
3549-509: 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
3640-455: The 1996 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 3rd place with 16 points, Wilkes even scored a pinfall victory over Toshiaki Kawada . In early 1997, Wilkes and Kobashi reunited with Johnny Ace and the three formed the stable: GET (Global, Energetic, Tough). Wilkes involvement with the group only lasted a few months as he left All Japan in July 1997. On June 30, 1997, he
3731-577: The AWA's near-annual supercard/former PPV, Superclash 4. In a cage match , they were victorious over the Destruction Crew , Wayne Bloom , and Mike Enos . After AWA folded in August 1990, Wilkes made his first tour to Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling as the Trooper. Wilkes then went on to the Global Wrestling Federation as a fan favorite and became "The Patriot", where he was crowned
The Patriot (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-653: 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
3913-595: The Eagle defeated Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship . The Patriot would hold onto the titles for three months, eventually losing them on September 9, 1993, to Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat . In late 1993, The Patriot and The Eagle entered the 1993 World's Strongest Tag Determination League where they finished in 7th place with 4 Points. In 1994, Wilkes signed with World Championship Wrestling to form
4004-652: The Freddy Krueger persona. Two months later, he revived the Dark Patriot persona in IWA Japan. In the USWA, he began teaming with Tommy Rich , with whom he held four USWA World Tag Team titles with within over a year, feuding with PG-13 . In January 1996, Gilbert won a USWA battle royal to earn himself a spot in the World Wrestling Federation 's 1996 Royal Rumble match later that month. He entered at #14, and
4095-633: The Gamecocks would do something special when he met first-year head coach Joe Morrison before the 1983 season. Wilkes had quit the team before Morrison was hired but agreed to meet the new coach and former NFL running back at a Columbia, South Carolina restaurant. Wilkes was selected as an All-American starter in 1984 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Associated Press (AP), and
4186-408: 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
4277-488: 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
4368-709: The Patriot and claimed that he was the Patriot's dark side. On January 31, 1992, the Dark Patriot faced the Patriot in a title match. The Patriot lost the title and left the GWF. Wilkes as the Patriot worked in the North Carolina–based promotion South Atlantic Pro Wrestling . Wrestling as The Trooper, Wilkes received a tryout match at a WWF Superstars taping in Rockford, Illinois on May 6, 1991, when he defeated WT Jones. The following day in Green Bay, Wisconsin at
4459-578: The USWA, splitting his time between USWA and W*ING. In August 1993, he won the W*ING World Tag Team Championship with Leatherface . He'd also wrestled matches for Eastern Championship Wrestling as The Dark Patriot, winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship with his brother Eddie . After his brother had a falling-out with Tod Gordon , Gilbert left ECW. After quitting W*ING after shooting on
4550-459: The WWF, Wilkes retired due to the aforementioned torn triceps. Wilkes admitted that he had used anabolic steroids and cocaine during his career, starting with his college football days. He spent nine months in prison in 2002 for forging a prescription due to his addiction to painkillers. Wilkes eventually quit drugs and resided in Columbia, South Carolina where he worked at Dick Smith Nissan as
4641-401: 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
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#17327835809954732-418: 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
4823-561: 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
4914-543: The battle royal victory, Wilkes ended his team with Ace and went into the midcard with little direction. In the spring of 1996, Wilkes entered the 1996 Champion Carnival where he finished in 9th place with 6 points. In the summer of 1996, Wilkes formed a tag team with Kenta Kobashi , on October 12, 1996, they challenged Steve Williams and Johnny Ace for the World Tag Team Championship but they came up short. In November 1996, Wilkes and Kobashi entered
5005-424: 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
5096-418: 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
5187-423: 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
5278-512: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
5369-540: 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
5460-405: 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
5551-603: 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
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#17327835809955642-432: The final AWA television taping. Peterson and Trooper would turn out to be the last AWA World Tag Team Champions. In January 1991, Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications withdrew recognition of the AWA's World Championship status but continued to recognise Trooper and Peterson as incumbent "AWA Tag Team Champions" until the promotion finally closed later that year. Alongside Paul Diamond, Wilkes also headlined
5733-476: The first GWF Television Champion in a tournament in 1991. Soon afterwards, the Patriot feuded with Al Perez over the GWF North American Heavyweight Championship , which he won initially on August 10, but the victory was disputed. He won the title again in a rematch against Perez two weeks later. In September 1991, a man calling himself the Dark Patriot appeared in the GWF. For several months, he taunted
5824-470: 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
5915-610: 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
6006-460: 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
6097-526: 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
6188-480: 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
6279-496: 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
6370-498: 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
6461-437: 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
6552-717: 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
6643-577: The promotion, Gilbert returned to the USWA as The Dark Patriot and feuded with Brian Christopher , and after losing a match to Brian Christopher by disqualification, Christopher unmasked him revealing his identity. He then wrestled Christopher for the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship , which was traded between the two several times between February 1994 and May 1995. In August 1994, he returned to Japan for International Wrestling Association of Japan , again under
6734-656: The shoot that took place in October 1999, Gilbert revealed to the audience that Lawler was Christopher's father (something that was forbidden to mention on TV), accused Hale of smoking crack, and accused Lawler of raping a 13-year-old girl; a reference to claims made against Lawler in 1993 that were dismissed. Gilbert was fired from the promotion immediately. In 2000, Gilbert won the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship; he would not win another title again until he defeated Bam Bam Bundy for
6825-440: 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
6916-426: 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,
7007-560: The titles for a month but lost them back to Pretty Wonderful at Halloween Havoc 1994 . On November 16, 1994, at Clash of the Champions XXIX , Stars and Stripes regained the titles in a match where Patriot's mask was on the line. Three weeks later, on December 8, Stars and Stripes lost the titles to Harlem Heat (the match aired on the January 14, 1995 edition of WCW Saturday Night ). Wilkes continued wrestling for WCW for several more months until leaving in May 1995. After no-showing
7098-519: 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
7189-471: 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
7280-535: 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
7371-621: The win. Wilkes went on to challenge Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Ground Zero: In Your House where Hart forced him to submit with the Sharpshooter . At One Night Only , Wilkes defeated Flash Funk . At Badd Blood: In Your House , Wilkes teamed with Vader against the Hart Foundation's Bret Hart and The British Bulldog , but lost the match. Following Badd Blood, Patriot
7462-420: 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
7553-503: The wrestling sport were now dead. Wilkes appeared on episodes No. 232 and No. 278 of The Steve Austin Show podcast. In 2015, his documentary Behind The Mask was released on DVD. Wilkes died of a heart attack on June 30, 2021, at the age of 59. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
7644-425: 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
7735-488: 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
7826-460: Was defeated by Rockabilly prior to a television taping in Des Moines, Iowa. His TV debut came two weeks later on the July 14, 1997 episode of Raw is War , and he would go on to feud with Bret Hart . The premise of this feud was that Hart had just started his anti-American Hart Foundation , and the Patriot was, as the name implied, a man who stood up for the United States of America. He wore
7917-630: Was eliminated by Vader . He won the USWA battle royal under his Nightmare Freddy gimmick but due to trademark law had to enter the Rumble under his own name. By 1996, Gilbert expanded beyond USWA. While he was also wrestling for USWA, WCW, and the NWA, he began wrestling for other promotions within the area including IWA Mid-South (where he won their Heavyweight Championship in April 1997), North American All-Star Wrestling , Europe's Catch Wrestling Association , and Ohio Valley Wrestling . In 1998, he won
8008-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
8099-482: Was scheduled to team with Vader, Goldust , and Marc Mero as part of Team USA at Survivor Series 1997 but suffered a torn triceps weeks earlier and was replaced by Steve Blackman . Wilkes competed in his final televised WWF match on the November 1, 1997, episode of WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (taped on October 21) where he lost to Jim Neidhart by disqualification. He was released in early 1998. After leaving
8190-415: 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
8281-417: 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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