Mid 20th Century
127-567: Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler , martial artist, and former adult movie star. He is currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac ; World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Syxx ; and NWA Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA) as Syxx-Pac and under his real name. Waltman began his career in
254-603: A Lethal Lockdown match . Nash and Page left TNA to focus on acting afterwards. At Hard Justice in 2005, Waltman replaced Jeff Hardy , who no-showed , and lost to Raven in a Clockwork Orange House of Fun match after being back body dropped through the steel cage. On June 19, at Slammiversary , Waltman wrestled a five-man King of the Mountain match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He lost, but cost defending champion A.J. Styles
381-567: A cage match at No Mercy . During the feud, X-Pac sustained a neck injury when Jericho gave him a powerbomb, side-lining him for three months. After returning from his neck injury in February 2001, X-Pac continued his feud with Chris Jericho over the WWF Intercontinental Championship, culminating in a fatal four-way match with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out in February, which Jericho won to retain
508-471: A ladder match to win the vacant TNA X Division Championship . He held the title for two weeks before losing to A.J. Styles in a No Disqualification match . He abruptly left TNA after defeating Lawler in the first round of an NWA World Heavyweight Championship number one contender tournament on November 6. Waltman, as Syxx-Pac, returned to TNA for a single night on June 18, 2003, at their first anniversary pay-per-view, as A.J. Styles 's mystery partner in
635-921: A suicide dive and landed on Waltman's head, driving it to the concrete and causing a blood clot near his brain. He was hospitalized for three days, could not work for four months, and was advised to give up wrestling completely. In March 1993, he won the MEWF Light Heavyweight Title . He also appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling 's Top of the Super Juniors in 1993, facing the likes of Chris Benoit , Eddie Guerrero and Jushin Liger . As The Lightning Kid, Waltman had his WWF tryout match in Phoenix, Arizona , in April 1993,
762-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
889-413: 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
1016-532: 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
1143-519: 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
1270-585: 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
1397-455: A championship rematch when Triple H betrayed him, and hit him with his Pedigree finisher. X-Pac then sided with Road Dogg against Triple H, Chyna and Billy Gunn , after the temporary demise of DX. X-Pac and Road Dogg wanted a reformed DX to be about rebellion, while the others wanted it to be about making money. X-Pac befriended Kane , a mute, angry loner whom he partially socialized and encouraged to speak, through an electrolarynx . They won
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#17327984674071524-696: A child. He joined his school wrestling team in ninth grade, but quickly quit when they told him he needed to cut his hair in order to wrestle. He soon dropped out of school entirely. A love of professional wrestling and limited career opportunities led to him working in local wrestling promotions for free, setting up rings and doing other odd jobs before eventually wrestling himself. After training under Boris Malenko , Joe Malenko, Masami Soronaka, and Karl Gotch , Waltman began his career as "The Lightning Kid". He worked his way through various independent promotions, including Pro Wrestling America (PWA) in Minnesota and
1651-504: 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 . Pro Wrestling America Pro Wrestling America is an independent wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, MN during
1778-410: 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
1905-762: A four-on-four elimination match. He and Marty Jannetty were the sole survivors, which led to them forming a tag team and holding the WWF Tag Team Championship for a week in January 1994 after beating The Quebecers . For the next two years, The 1–2–3 Kid was a natural underdog and fan favorite. He wrestled Bret Hart in an unusually long (for the time) and competitive match for the WWF Championship on July 11, 1994, on Raw and had another brief (one-day) tag title reign in January 1995, with Bob Holly beating Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka at
2032-472: A four-way elimination match to make it to the next day's Rey de Voladores tournament final. There, he lost to El Generico . After the match, Waltman said he believed 2011 would be his last year in professional wrestling, praising Chikara as the "future of wrestling" and thanking them for a memorable weekend. In October 2011, X-Pac teamed with Billy Gunn wrestled the Full Blooded Italians in
2159-517: A four-way match at Jerry Lynn 's retirement show in Minneapolis , X-Pac tore his anus by performing his signature Bronco Buster onto the exposed turnbuckle . Afterward, he went back to his hotel room, where he discovered a lot of blood coming out of his clothes and went to the hospital. He underwent a sphincteroplasty and was released the following morning. On November 9, 2013, X-Pac and Lance Storm lost to Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk in
2286-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2413-405: 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
2540-416: A long-running Public-access television cable TV show in the Minneapolis area, including Eddie Sharkey, Baron von Raschke , Nick Bockwinkel and Jerry Lynn. Pro Wrestling America was enormously successful. Despite no access to television or advertising it was the promotion was the first and only independent promotion consistently turn a profit. in 1996 Sharkey began joint promotions with Terry Fox under
2667-771: A loss to Jeff Jarrett and Sting . In between during his time in TNA, X-Pac worked in the independent circuit. His first match in the indies as Syxx-Pac was when he defeated Sabu . at 3PW in Philadelphia on September 21, 2002. Afterwards, he feuded with Sabu. On November 23, 2002, he lost to Sabu for the 3PW Heavyweight title. On November 30, 2002, Syxx-Pac defeated Curt Hennig at IPW Hardcore/NWA Florida Independent Armageddon event in Pinellas Parks, Florida. On April 16, 2004, X-Pac lost to American Dragon at NJPW Inoki Dojo Best Of American Super Juniors 2004 tournament in
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#17327984674072794-744: 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
2921-440: 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
3048-687: A parody of D-Generation X, with Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov . He later feuded with one of AAA's top stars, El Zorro . On August 8, 2009, at GLCW Slamfest, X-Pac became the new GLCW Heavyweight Champion by defeating Skull Crusher, who had replaced champion Al Snow when he failed to show. On a special live, three-hour Monday night episode of Impact! on January 4, 2010, Waltman (as Syxx-Pac) and Scott Hall returned to TNA. That night, fellow former nWo member Hulk Hogan debuted in TNA. Kevin Nash, Hall and Waltman quickly reformed an alliance called The Band , but Hogan stayed away, saying times had changed. On
3175-839: A shot at the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas . They lost the title match on December 2, at the Under the Hood internet pay-per-view, to defending champions The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson). In early 2013, The Kliq/DX reunited for an episode of NXT . In March 2013, Waltman signed a WWE Legends contract (a long-term contract which gives WWE merchandising rights to a wrestler's name and likeness, requires occasional appearances and prevents them from working for competing major promotions, but allows for independent appearances). Waltman, under his real name, returned to Chikara on March 8, 2013, losing to Hallowicked . On March 23, 2013, in
3302-486: A shot at the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Unbreakable , which Waltman no-showed. He was not seen again until a one-night return at Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, brought in by Larry Zbyszko to defeat his rival, Raven. In February 2006, Waltman joined MTV 's newly formed Wrestling Society X (WSX) promotion, as "6-Pac". At their inaugural tapings on February 9, 6-Pac had
3429-582: A six-man tag match at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate show in Long Island, New York . A week later, X-Pac defeated UIW Lightweight Champion Stupid in a non-title match. On April 2, 2011, Waltman returned to WWE television to celebrate, with Kevin Nash and Triple H , their longtime friend Shawn Michaels ' induction into the 2011 WWE Hall of Fame . He later worked backstage as a scout and evaluator in Florida Championship Wrestling ,
3556-507: A ten-man hardcore battle royal ladder match , which both he and Vampiro won by climbing the ladder to retrieve WSX contracts. 6-Pac lost a WSX Championship title match to Vampiro the following week. He challenged Vampiro in episode four, as a ruse to introduce Ricky Banderas , who attacked Vampiro from behind. He later defeated Human Tornado and Scorpio Sky in singles matches, and teased an affair with Lizzy Valentine (the valet and girlfriend of Matt Sydal ), though WSX folded before
3683-503: 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
3810-586: 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
3937-425: A winning effort over Joe Hendry , Andy Wild and Stevie Xavier. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
Sean Waltman - Misplaced Pages Continue
4064-410: 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
4191-402: Is a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee and the only inductee to be inducted two years in a row ( 2019 and 2020 ) as a member of DX and the nWo respectively. Sean Michael Waltman was born in Minneapolis on July 13, 1972. He had a self-described troubled childhood. He was raised by a single mother and has called himself "unsupervised from age five". He claimed he was molested several times as
4318-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
4445-612: The 2014 King of Trios . On the January 19, 2015, episode of Raw , labelled Raw Reunion, Damien Mizdow appeared with Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall and Triple H dressed as X-Pac, only for X-Pac to confront him (finding the impersonation funny), until The Miz interrupted them to tell them that Mizdow was only his stunt double, and that the party was over. He appeared again with Hall and Nash, being interrupted by The Ascension , who were attempting to attack them, only to be joined by The APA and The New Age Outlaws in fending off The Ascension. At WrestleMania 31 , X-Pac along with
4572-1082: The Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) in Texas, winning the PWA Light Heavyweight title , the PWA Iron Horse TV Title and the GWF Light Heavyweight Championship . During this time, Waltman worked extensively with Jerry Lynn in North America and Japan. They often wrestled each other, but also teamed up to win the PWA Tag Team titles twice in 1993. While working for Larry Sharpe and Dennis Coralluzzo 's WWA Promotion on November 28, 1992, in Clementon, New Jersey , his opponent "The Kamikaze Kid" Bill Wilcox overshot
4699-679: The NWA stopped working with TNA . They lost the match to Karl Anderson and Joey Ryan . On the May 14, 2008, episode of NWA Wrestling Showcase , Waltman challenged Pearce for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . The match ended prematurely after Waltman legitimately injured his knee five minutes in. He was attacked by The Real American Heroes and Pearce, so won by disqualification. As wrestling titles can generally only change hands by pinfall or submission, Pearce retained
4826-624: 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
4953-832: The Royal Rumble before losing to The Smoking Gunns the next day on Raw . After Kid and Razor failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn in October 1995, Kid attacked the face Gunns after the match to tease a heel turn. On the Raw before Survivor Series in November, he was the guest referee in a match between Razor Ramon and Sycho Sid . As Razor attempted his finisher, The Razor's Edge , Kid pulled Sid down from Razor, allowing Sid to then hit Razor with his Powerbomb, and Kid fast-counted
5080-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
5207-589: The United States Wrestling Association , also had a working relationship with the Global Wrestling Federation during its last years and allowed its own wrestlers compete in GWF tournaments and other events. Jerry Lynn and The Lightning Kid, two of the promotion's top light heavyweight wrestlers, faced each other in a match to crown the first GWF Light Heavyweight Championship . A number of PWA wrestlers often appeared on The Prima-Donns ,
Sean Waltman - Misplaced Pages Continue
5334-445: The WWF Tag Team Championship twice together. After DX reunited in late 1999 as a heel group, X-Pac led Kane to believe he would be inducted into DX, but instead betrayed him and eventually stole his new girlfriend, Tori . The rivalry between X-Pac and Kane culminated in a tag team match pitting X-Pac and Road Dogg against Kane and Rikishi at WrestleMania 2000 . Following WrestleMania, X-Pac continued to team with Road Dogg, with
5461-630: The angle could go on any further. Waltman, under his real name, defeated Adam Pearce for the NWA Heritage Championship in El Paso, Texas , on April 21, 2007. He defended it against El Sicodelico Jr. on April 27, and lost it to Pearce two days later. On July 8, 2007, Waltman teamed with Billy Kidman in a three-way tag match in McAllen, Texas , for the NWA World Tag Team Championship , which had been vacated by Team 3D after
5588-584: 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
5715-400: 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
5842-835: The 1980s and early 1990s. Founded and promoted by retired wrestler Eddie Sharkey , a longtime veteran of the American Wrestling Association and owner of the Pro Wrestling America Training Center , Pro Wrestling America featured many established wrestlers while in between the then "Big Three" ( American Wrestling Association , National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation ) as well as providing many lightheavyweight and cruiserweight wrestlers with their first national exposure, most notably, Sabu , Jerry Lynn and The Lightning Kid . The promotion stopped running regular events in 1993, but continues to host shows in
5969-509: 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
6096-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
6223-653: 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
6350-465: The Clown . He quickly became "The Cannonball Kid", losing to Mr. Hughes. He then became simply "The Kid", scoring an upset pinfall on Razor Ramon on the May 17, 1993, episode of Monday Night Raw , thus becoming "The 1–2–3 Kid". Razor challenged him to a rematch, wagering $ 2,500, then $ 5,000 and finally $ 10,000 of his own money. Kid accepted the challenge, but grabbed the money and ran from the arena during
6477-610: The Horsemen and joined the nWo. In mid-1997, the nWo invoked "Wolfpac Rules" , allowing Syxx to replace the injured Kevin Nash in defending the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Scott Hall. On October 13, 1997, Hall and Syxx lost the title to The Steiner Brothers ( Rick and Scott ). During October 1997, a neck injury sidelined Waltman from wrestling, but he continued to appear on television for several weeks after. While later recuperating at home, he
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#17327984674076604-415: The January 14 episode of Impact! , The Band attacked Robert Roode and James Storm with led to a tag team match at Genesis. At Genesis on January 17, Syxx-Pac replaced Hall and teamed with Nash to lose to Beer Money, Inc. ( Robert Roode and James Storm ). On the next Impact! Hogan, disgusted by The Band's actions, had security eject Syxx-Pac and Hall, saying they weren't contracted to TNA. They appeared
6731-643: The Minneapolis area with Sharkey's wrestling school. Among the former students who have appeared for several of these events include Lacey and Austin Aries , both being top stars in Ring of Honor . In 1982, after leaving the AWA as a result of a pay dispute with promoter Greg Gagne , Sharkey was approached by fifteen other wrestlers similarly upset with Gagne over withholding payment and convinced Sharkey to start his own promotion. Sharkey duly set up his own promotion Pro Wrestling America starring his own trainees such as
6858-843: The Missouri Athletic Commission barred Waltman from wrestling, due to his hepatitis C . On the April 26 Impact! , Waltman was written off of TV when Team 3D found Syxx-Pac on a backstage floor in a pool of blood; Eric Young took his place in The Band. In June 2010, TNA released Waltman and Hall. On February 26, 2011, Waltman was inducted into the Legends Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in Wheeling, West Virginia , by Jack Blaze at their "LPW X-Factor 2011" event. On March 5, 2011, Waltman reunited with former D-Generation X members Road Dogg and Billy Gunn for
6985-408: 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
7112-488: 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
7239-643: The New Age Outlaws and Shawn Michaels helped Triple H win his match against Sting . They were backstage at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2015. On 22 July 2016, Waltman, as X-Pac reunited with Billy Gunn in the Scotland, defeating The New Age Kliq (Chris Renfrew & BT Gunn ) for the first night of Pro Wrestling Elite's anniversary weekend ( PWE: Five Year Anniversary: Break It Down! ). The following night, Waltman teamed with Grado and Kenny Williams in
7366-664: The TNA X Division Championship, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. He was the final WWF Light Heavyweight Champion before the title was retired in favor of the Cruiserweight Championship he simultaneously held. He is recognized by WWE as the only wrestler to have been "an active member of both the nWo and DX during their heydays" in the 1990s. Additionally, he
7493-509: The WWE developmental territory . On April 15, 2011, Waltman, as The 1–2–3 Kid, debuted for Chikara by entering their King of Trios tournament , teaming with Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin (Team Minnesota). They were eliminated in the first round by Team Michinoku Pro ( Dick Togo , Great Sasuke and Jinsei Shinzaki ). The day after, Waltman defeated Amazing Red , Frightmare and Obariyon in
7620-557: The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship for the second time while WCW Cruiserweight Champion at the same time. X-Pac then feuded with Kidman and Tajiri . After losing the WCW Cruiserweight title to Kidman, he took time off for another injury. The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was abandoned upon his return to television in March 2002, though he defended it at several house shows shortly prior. Hall, Nash and Hogan returned to
7747-617: The WWF during its Attitude Era , where he was re-branded as D-Generation X (DX) member X-Pac and held the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship and WWF European Championship twice each, while also holding the WWF Tag Team Championship two more times while paired with Kane . After WCW went out of business in 2001, X-Pac held the WCW Cruiserweight and WWF Light Heavyweight Championships simultaneously during The Invasion , before departing
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#17327984674077874-540: The WWF in 1993, where he performed under several monikers as a jobber , until he was branded the 1-2-3 Kid after an upset victory over Razor Ramon on Raw . As 1-2-3 Kid, he held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice and challenged Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in July 1994 in what was ranked by WWE as the third-best match ever aired on Raw . During this time, he
8001-480: The WWF in 2002 as the New World Order , brought in by Vince McMahon. Hogan was kicked from the group after losing to The Rock at WrestleMania X8 . X-Pac, who had been out with an injury, returned on the March 21 episode of SmackDown! , rejoined the nWo and attacked Hogan. He said he had been waiting four years to do so, because Hogan shot on WCW Thunder after Waltman's firing, saying he could not "cut
8128-401: 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
8255-418: 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
8382-561: 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
8509-544: The belt. In June 2007, Waltman, as X-Pac, began working regularly for AAA , initially a member of Konnan's La Legión Extranjera (Foreign Legion) and managed by girlfriend Alicia Webb . He usually used the D-Generation X entrance music. After leaving for rehab in mid-2008, he returned at Verano de Escándalo ( Summer of Scandal ) that September, turning on the Foreign Legion and forming D-Generation Mex,
8636-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
8763-424: 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
8890-418: 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
9017-612: The championship to Chris Jericho at a webcast house show in Los Angeles, California , minutes after successfully defending against Rey Mysterio Jr. During a feud with Ric Flair , and a loss to him at Road Wild in August, Syxx disparagingly portrayed Flair as part of an nWo segment parodying his Four Horsemen group. This segment led to a WarGames match at Fall Brawl , where Syxx, Kevin Nash , Buff Bagwell and Konnan defeated The Four Horsemen (Flair, Steve McMichael , Chris Benoit and Curt Hennig ) after Hennig betrayed
9144-423: 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
9271-512: 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
9398-411: The company after a brief nWo reunion the following year. He subsequently performed sporadically for several promotions, notably TNA (where he became a one-time TNA X Division Champion and was a member of The Band ), and on the independent circuit . Waltman has won a dozen championships between WWE, WCW, and TNA, the majority being cruiserweight and tag team titles. He is the only wrestler to have held
9525-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
9652-540: 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
9779-830: The current owner of AWA Superstars , was also involved with the promotion. Although a chief rival of the American Wrestling Alliance during the late 1980s, Sharkey and Gagne eventually agreed to a talent exchange deal between the two promotions. A number of PWA veterans were brought into the AWA during its last years including Derrick Dukes and Ricky Rice . In 1986, Eddie Sharkey and promoter Tony Condello worked out an agreement for PWA wrestlers to appear in televised wrestling events in central Canada. Chris Markoff , Buck Zumhofe , Ricky Rice & Derrick Dukes and The Terminators (Riggs & Wolff) were among those who appeared. Pro Wrestling America, among other regional promotions such as Georgia All-Star Wrestling and
9906-507: The day after WrestleMania IX , lost to fellow hopeful Louie Spicolli (soon known as Rad Radford in the WWF). He reminisced that he was lucky to have an opponent with a vested interest in an impressive match, rather than (as was then typical) a disinterested WWF veteran jobber like Virgil or Jim Powers . After earning a contract, he made his television debut as "The Kamikaze Kid" on Monday Night Raw on May 3 (taped April 26), losing to Doink
10033-623: The duo competing against other tag teams including Edge and Christian , the Hardy Boyz , and Too Cool . In June 2000, X-Pac competed in the King of the Ring tournament, losing to Chris Benoit in the first round. At King of the Ring , X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Tori defeated the Dudley Boyz in a dumpster match ; during the bout, Tori was powerbombed through a table by the Dudley Boyz, marking
10160-427: The end of her affiliation with X-Pac. In August 2000, growing dissension between X-Pac and Road Dogg saw the two face one another at SummerSlam , with X-Pac winning the bout following a low blow ; after the match, Road Dogg attacked X-Pac, marking the end of their tag team and the dissolution of DX. In September 2000, X-Pac began feuding with Chris Jericho , with Jericho defeating X-Pac at Unforgiven and then again in
10287-405: 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
10414-402: The end, Nash turned on Young and helped The Band win the match and full TNA contracts. On the March 29 Impact! , The Band lost a six-man steel cage tag match to Eric Young, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam . on the April 12 episode of Impact, Waltman, Hall and Nash defeated Team 3D and Jesse Neal in a Street Fight. Syxx-Pac was scheduled for a tag match at Lockdown , but was replaced by Nash after
10541-603: 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
10668-961: The first Round in Santa Monica, California. In 2005, he worked for IWA Puerto Rico . Waltman, as "X", debuted in Xtreme Pro Wrestling on February 28, 2003, winning the XPW Television Championship from Kaos. He retained the title in a bout with Juventud Guerrera on March 1, and held it until the promotion closed in March 2003. Under his real name, Waltman returned to TNA on February 13, 2005, at Against All Odds , attacking Jeff Jarrett during his NWA World Heavyweight Championship match with Kevin Nash. Nash, Waltman and Diamond Dallas Page formed an alliance and feuded with Planet Jarrett (Jarrett, The Outlaw and Monty Brown ) and at Lockdown , Waltman, B.G. James and Diamond Dallas Page defeated Planet Jarrett in
10795-470: 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
10922-610: 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
11049-460: 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
11176-443: The group a week later. At SummerSlam , Raw commentator Jim Ross announced WWE and Waltman had parted ways. After WWE, Waltman, as "Syxx-Pac", debuted for NWA Total Nonstop Action on September 18, 2002, losing a gauntlet match . Rejoining his WWF tag partners Scott Hall and B.G. James , he feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Brian Lawler . On October 9, 2002, Syxx-Pac made his X Division debut, defeating eight other wrestlers in
11303-473: The group until May 1996 when Waltman left the WWF. He lost a "Crybaby match" to Razor Ramon at In Your House 6 . The 1–2–3 Kid's final WWF match aired on the May 20 episode of Monday Night Raw ; he lost to Savio Vega . Notably, Waltman was the only Kliq member not involved in the infamous "Curtain Call" that took place at Madison Square Garden the night before his final match from his first WWF run aired, as he
11430-526: 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
11557-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
11684-480: 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
11811-496: 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
11938-399: The main event of House of Hardcore 3. On April 5, 2014, the night before WrestleMania XXX, Waltman joined Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Kevin Nash at Scott Hall's WWE Hall of Fame induction, reuniting The Kliq. On June 14, 2014, X-Pac and Rikishi defeated Gangrel and Matt Striker at House of Hardcore 6. In September 2014, Waltman returned to Chikara to do commentary during the first round of
12065-791: The main event on a Caribbean Pro Wrestling show in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. In March 2012, Waltman attended the Hall of Fame again, with The Kliq . On July 23, he, Billy Gunn and Road Dogg returned to join Shawn Michaels and Triple H for a D-Generation X reunion on the 1000th episode of Raw . In September 2012, the 1–2–3 Kid returned to Chikara for the 2012 King of Trios tournament , this time teaming with Aldo Montoya and Tatanka as Team WWF. On September 14, they lost their first-round match to The Extreme Trio (Jerry Lynn, Tommy Dreamer and Too Cold Scorpio ). The next day, The 1–2–3 Kid
12192-417: The match. Ted DiBiase , taunted him over losing to a nobody and losing his $ 10,000. This angered Kid, and led to a match in which he upset DiBiase as well. Razor who turned face shortly before took Kid under his wing. The 1–2–3 Kid made his pay-per-view debut at SummerSlam , losing to DiBiase's tag partner Irwin R. Schyster after Razor had defeated DiBiase. At Survivor Series , Kid was on Razor's team in
12319-498: 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
12446-446: The mustard". The storyline was dropped after the first WWF draft , when the nWo went to Raw and Hogan to SmackDown!. During the nWo's feud with Booker T and Goldust a botched spinebuster injured him and kept him from participating in the feud. On the July 8, 2002, episode of Raw , Waltman wrestled in his last WWE match, a ten-man tag. This match was also the end of the nWo angle, as Nash tore his quadriceps, and Vince McMahon disbanded
12573-405: The next Raw . X-Pac feuded with Jeff Jarrett , ultimately defeating him in a hair-vs-hair match at SummerSlam , then with WWF European Champion D'Lo Brown , whom he dethroned on September 21, 1998. He lost the title to Brown two weeks later, then won it again at Judgment Day: In Your House in October. Waltman lost the title to Shane McMahon on February 15, 1999. At WrestleMania XV , he lost
12700-413: The next week anyway, attacking Kurt Angle from behind. They returned a week later, betraying Nash and beating him down. on the February 11 episode of Impact!, Waltman and Hall attacked Kurt Angle until Hogan made the save. on the February 18 episode of Impact!, Waltman and Hall brawled with Nash and Young and a week later on the February 25 episode of Impact!, Waltman and Hall brawled with Nash and Young in
12827-435: The night after WrestleMania XIV and days after his firing from WCW. With Shawn Michaels beginning a four-year retirement after a WWF World Heavyweight Championship loss and back injury, Triple H was now the leader of D-Generation X (DX). He said he was forming a DX army and "when you start an army, you look to your blood... you look to your buddies... you look to your friends... you look to The Kliq ." Waltman appeared on
12954-405: The parking lot and left them laying. on the March 8 episode of Impact, Nash and Young brought out a contract to wrestle Waltman and Hall on PPV. on the March 15 episode of Impact, Nash and Hall had a 5-Min $ 25,000 challenge when Waltman attacked Nash and handcuffed him to the rope. At Destination X on March 21, Syxx-Pac and Hall wagered their TNA jobs in a tag match against Nash and Eric Young . In
13081-520: The pinfall, thus turning heel . At SummerSlam , he lost to Hakushi but won a rematch in November after Ted DiBiase interfered. He was the sole survivor of his team at Survivor Series , besting rival Marty Jannetty with assistance from Psycho Sid. Kid and Jannetty had a singles feud, with the two trading victories over one another. Razor and Marty would team up to beat Kid and Sid at In Your House 5 . After Survivor Series, Kid joined Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation faction. He remained with
13208-717: 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
13335-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
13462-558: The reign occurring during the WCW Invasion angle , where the WWF side was mostly portrayed as faces, the fans were vocal in their disapproval of Waltman during his reign. This fan disapproval, later known as " X-Pac heat ", was acknowledged on-screen by both Alliance member Billy Kidman and, later by WWF member Edge. When Credible joined the ECW/WCW Alliance , X-Factor broke up. At SummerSlam , X-Pac defeated Tajiri to win
13589-453: The stage with a beard, commented on Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan , and said if they weren't contracted to WCW, Hall and Nash would have also returned to the WWF. Bischoff responded on Nitro the next week by telling Waltman to "bite me". Initially called "The Kid" on the WWF website, he became known as "X-Pac" (which originated from his nickname "Syxx-Pac" based on his ring name "Syxx" in WCW) by
13716-440: 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
13843-426: 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,
13970-498: The title by delivering an X-Factor off a ladder. This turned him heel and led to a grudge match at No Surrender , which Styles won after guest referee Jerry Lynn prevented Waltman from cheating. Waltman challenged Lynn to a match at Sacrifice . After losing by victory roll , Waltman attacked Lynn and tried to reinjure his shoulder. Waltman then partnered with Alex Shelley to win the Chris Candido Cup . This earned them
14097-543: The title. In February, X-Pac formed a new stable called X-Factor with Justin Credible and Albert . During this time, he usually teamed with Credible, but also appeared in singles matches. He won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy on June 25, then won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship for the second time in his career when he defeated Billy Kidman on July 30. Despite
14224-519: 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
14351-471: 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
14478-690: The two future members of the Road Warriors tag team (at this stage known as Crusher Von Haig and The Road Warrior respectively) as well as Rick Rood , and Barry Darsow (then still wrestling under his legal name). Sharkey was soon able to sign other wrestlers including Paul Ellering , Tom Zenk , Nikita Koloff , The Destruction Crew ( Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom ) and the Steiner Brothers ( Rick & Scott Steiner ) as well as Mad Dog Vachon , Bruiser Brody , Larry Cameron often making appearances. Ray Whebbe Jr. and Dale Gagner,
14605-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
14732-535: 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
14859-420: 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
14986-425: 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
15113-488: 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
15240-444: Was fired via Federal Express by WCW President Eric Bischoff . Waltman claims this was a power play aimed at his friends Hall and Nash, whose backstage influence was felt as a threat. Bischoff later said Waltman was a competent performer when sober, but sober periods were "few and far between", and "in many ways, Sean was lucky to even have a job". Waltman returned to WWF television on the March 30, 1998, episode of Monday Night Raw ,
15367-448: Was in drug rehab at the time. On September 16, 1996, Waltman was shown sitting in the front row for a live episode of Nitro . Later that night, he used a remote control to release New World Order (nWo) propaganda from the ceiling, revealing himself as the newest member of the recently formed faction. He was called "Syxx", because he was the sixth member of the nWo, and six is the sum of numbers in "1–2–3 Kid". His first match with WCW
15494-667: Was low-blowed and pinned by Mark Angelosetti . On the final day of the tournament weekend, The 1–2–3 Kid and Marty Jannetty won the annual tag team gauntlet match . On October 8 and 9, 2012, he wrestled in a Bad Boys of Wrestling Federation tournament to crown the BBWF Caribbean Champion. He defeated Krimson in the semi-final and Daivari in the final, winning the title. On November 18, 2012, The 1–2–3 Kid returned to Chikara, when he and Marty Jannetty defeated The Heart Throbs ( Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli ) to earn their third point (for three consecutive wins) and
15621-471: Was on September 23 when he defeated Jim Duggan on Nitro. In his first major angle, Syxx stole Eddie Guerrero 's WCW United States Heavyweight Championship belt, leading to a ladder match for the title at Souled Out in January 1997, which Syxx lost. The next month, at SuperBrawl VII , Syxx pinned Dean Malenko for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship , after hitting him with the title belt, which he had grabbed from Guerrero at ringside. In June 1997, he lost
15748-658: Was part of The Kliq , a backstage group that was known for their influence on WWF storylines in the 1990s. During the Monday Night War , Waltman left the WWF in 1996 to join Kliq members Kevin Nash and Scott Hall (formerly known as Diesel and Razor Ramon) as Syxx in WCW, and held the WCW World Tag Team Championship with them as part of the New World Order (nWo), as well as becoming a one-time WCW Cruiserweight Champion . After being released from WCW in 1998, he returned to
15875-571: 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
16002-415: 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
16129-417: 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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