We've recently updated a whole bunch of USA … The WWF attracting a degree of mainstream attention with Cyndi Lauper joining in 1984 and WWF personalities appeared in her music videos. On This Day In Pro Wrestling Title Change History: Gotch vs. Hackenschmidt, Inoki vs. Hansen, Guerrero vs. Jericho Daily pro wrestling history (10/30): a slew of tag team titles change hands On this day in pro wrestling history (June 19): 1944 all-women's show starring Mae Young, title wins by Dusty Rhodes, Inoki, Pat Patterson Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement would be unmasked in his final bout or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. They responded by calling the Munn-Zbyszko match illegitimate, and reinstated Munn as champion, but quickly had him drop it to Lewis. Television also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. Media attention focused on the illegitimacy of wrestling instead of its athleticism, and without a superstar like Gotch, no major personality reached a wide fanbase. The unorthodox style of moves, controversial storylines, and intense bloodthirst of ECW made it immensely popular among many wrestling fans in the 18-to-25-year-old demographic. In late 1987, Continental Wrestling Association wrestler and co-promoter Jerry Lawler had also joined the AWA, and helped establish a relationship between the AWA and CWA, which was formally an NWA territory, that would be somewhat of a revival of Pro Wrestling USA. See pro wrestling events, births and deaths from Sunday, 20th of December, 2020 (12/20/2020)at the Internet Wrestling Database In January 2019, All Elite Wrestling began operations; AEW began airing Dynamite on Wednesday evenings opposite WWE NXT in October 2019, resulting in the start of the "Wednesday Night Wars". Nonetheless, there were stars such as Clarence Weber, Jack Carkeek, Clarence Whistler, and Georg Hackenschmidt. [37] To fight the WWF's control of the industry, JCP took the NWA's pay-per-view names and used its best talent to draw ratings. Following WrestleMania III, the WWF added to its franchise and created both the Survivor Series, to counter-programming against Starrcade directly on PPV, and the Royal Rumble, to counter-programming against the Bunkhouse Stampede originally on the USA cable networks before transitioning to pay-per-view in subsequent years. ). The WWF was investigated by the Federal Government in 1991 for a steroid scandal where, reputedly, steroid use was rampant among wrestlers and in McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation. In the late 1930s, the London County Council banned professional wrestling, leaving the business in rough shape just before World War II. He made his debut in Mexico City by winning an eight-man battle royal. The WWF began to suffer immediately and started building new stars. This left two champions, Ed Lewis and Joe Stecher, who were regarded as the dominant wrestlers of the period. Basing a whole cartel around one performer, however, though good for television, did nothing for live events and promotion once again began losing interest. The Top 5 Famous Masks in Pro Wrestling History – Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki was a bad guy who graced British rings starting back in the 1970s. Pro Wrestling - Event History: History O: Source: Wikia: Amazon.nl Selecteer uw cookievoorkeuren We gebruiken cookies en vergelijkbare tools om uw winkelervaring te verbeteren, onze services aan te bieden, te begrijpen hoe klanten onze services gebruiken zodat we verbeteringen kunnen aanbrengen, en om advertenties weer te geven. By agreeing to rotate talent, and block out rival promoters, Joint Promotions was soon running 40 shows a week, while leaving wrestlers with little bargaining power. [20] The first luchas de apuestas match was presented on July 14, 1940 at Arena México. [62] The show was promoted through storylines produced on webseries, such as The Young Bucks' Being The Elite, Ten Pounds of Gold,[63] and Cody's Nightmare Family series ALL US - The All In Story. It was also a time of great change in both the character and professionalism of wrestlers as a result of the appeal of television. In the late 1990s-early 2000s wrestling has become more widespread in the vast national television. Their attempts at improving failed to turn the ratings tide, with Raw getting double the amount by 2000. We Ranked Five 205 Live Stars Who Would Fit On The WWE Main Roster. This is a quiz about some of the most famous feuds in the history of pro wrestling. El Santo continued wearing his mask after retirement, revealed his face briefly only in old age, and was buried wearing his silver mask. [1], Following the retirement of Frank Gotch, professional wrestling—except in the Midwest where legitimate wrestlers such as Michigan's "Poison Ivy" took on all comers at State Fairs—was losing popularity fast. [7] They also popularized tag team wrestling, introducing new tactics such as distracting the referee, to make the matches more exciting. They helped WCW gain the upper hand when they became the most powerful group in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling in the United States, until the 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. King Of The Ring - Hell In The Cell 2004 - Undertaker Vs Mankind. WWE gained national media coverage in 2007 for the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, hypothesized to be related to brain damage resulting from multiple concussions. While the WWF had their major stars at almost all of their shows, the NWA could only manage to have a few of its stars at one show at a time, to promote the product in every territory. In these battles, called luchas de apuestas ("matches with wagers"), the wrestlers "wager" either their mask or their hair. However, they would still go to great lengths to conceal their true identities; in fact, the mask is synonymous with the luchador. Before him, wrestlers imitated "ethnic terrors" (Nazis, Arabs, etc. One of the first big Native American stars of the new era of pro wrestling was Navajo wrestler Ventura Tenario, better known as Chief Little Wolf.Little Wolf made his debut in 1932, inspired by a Sioux Indian grappler named Ben Bolt.Chief Little Wolf became the first North American to challenge for the first major World title in the United States, that of the National Wrestling … Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling achieved highs in both viewership and financial success during a time of fierce competition among competing promotions, such as World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. The New York wrestling office soon became dominant, as it refused to use competitive wrestlers, and instead focused on attracting televised entertainment. Under the British Wrestling Association banner, Oakley's promotion took off with the likes of Tommy Mann, Black Butcher Johnson, Jack Pye, Norman the Butcher, College Boy, and Jack Sherry on the roster while Oakley himself would win a series of matches to be crowned the first British Heavyweight Champion. The scripted nature of the art has made critics view it as an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, amateur wrestling, and the real sport itself, wrestling. [20] Comparatively weak in wrestling ability, his marketable personality and barefoot acrobatics attracted fans and made him a national superstar, especially popular among Italian and Hispanic fans. Welcome to the Pro Wrestling History Portal. A Look Ahead At This Week’s Absolute Insane Week In Pro Wrestling. While the WWF had their major stars at almost all of their shows, the NWA could only manage to have a few of its stars at one show at a time, so as to promote the product in every territory. Breaking news, interviews, play-by-play, videos, and wrestling analysis, covering WWE, TNA, and Ring of Honor, from Wrestlezone. The best way to approach pro wrestling is to look at it like a soap opera where people settle their differences by beating each other up. This was a time of enormous growth for professional wrestling, as rising demand and national expansion made it a much more popular and lucrative form of entertainment than in decades previous. This new "Attitude Era" quickly dominated the style and nature of wrestling to become far more teen-oriented than ever before, and made the WWF regain its status as wrestling's top company. [22] He also gained a reputation for training some of the best wrestlers of the era, including Gotch, known as one of America's first sports superstars. [8] The Trio gained great popularity nationwide during their best years, roughly 1920 to 1925, when they performed in the Eastern territory, acquiring fans from the highly exposed big cities. [7] Their business succeeded quickly, gaining popularity for its freshness and unique approach to wrestling; a traveling stable of wrestlers. Google+. Meanwhile, McMahon took advantage of this phenomenon by purchasing promotions all over the continent, in order to produce a widely popular nationwide television program and make the WWF the only viewing choice. A committee was then created, made up by the following members: Mr. Monticelli (ITA), the brothers van Elst (NED), Mr. Koettgen (GER) and Mr. Stolz (GER). To counter the NWA's primary supercard, Starrcade, the WWF created its flagship show, WrestleMania. Make sure you keep checking back, and help keep #PWHS alive by visiting our Store. But underneath it all, the old ghosts still linger, rattling chains to remind longtime fans of an era that doesn’t seem so far gone after all. [7], The Trio's lasting legacy, and perhaps their greatest innovation within professional wrestling, was the use of a regular group of wrestlers for a packaged show. Falls often occur simultaneously, which adds to the extremely stylized nature of the action. The WWF, however, rebounded after André the Giant became the company's top superstar when he joined the company in 1973. In 1988, the struggling World Class Wrestling Association (formerly known as World Class Championship Wrestling until it withdrew from the NWA in 1986) and Continental Wrestling Federation (known as Continental Championship Wrestling until it was bought out in 1988) would also take part in this alliance, which agreed to unify the WCWA and AWA Heavyweight Titles at Superclash III. [14], Professional wrestlers themselves began to change. Anyway, please enjoy this list of 8 Great dogs in pro wrestling history. WCW also came up with more legitimate, edgy storylines and characters over the WWF's cartoon style. Their promotion was the first to use time-limit matches, "flashy" new holds, and signature maneuvers. AND THE KINGS. Every town of note had a show at least once a month, and at some points more than 30 cities had a weekly date. On this day (Nov. 9, 1955) 65 years ago ITV broadcast professional wrestling for the first time from the West Ham Baths featuring Mike Marino vs Francis St Clair Gregory and Cliff Beaumont vs Bert Royal. As a result, the tag team formula that United States tag matches tend to follow does not apply to lucha libre because the race to tag is not a priority. In 1997, the WWF gained momentum with the start of The Attitude Era. On this day in pro wrestling history (July 28): Lou Thesz wrestles the husband of world's greatest all-time female athlete On this day in pro wrestling history (June 1): Rogers beats Gomez, Gordman & Goliath, Baba loses PWF title, Flair vs. … It was during this time that several promoters found reason to leave the organization, managing to find niches in the United States. This was called a "Golden Age" for the wrestling industry. [43][44], By 2011, WWE's full name was retired, as the company had entered the "PG Era", after shifting their programming to a more conservative, family-oriented slant. Professional wrestling, in the sense of traveling performers paid for mass entertainment in staged matches, began in the post-Civil War period in the late 1860s and 1870s. While an interesting character, it was McMahon's realistic feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin who had proven to be a huge money making draw for the company and become the company's most popular wrestler at the time that made the company finally dominate its competition. [13] Promotional spots, which are now used as pre-match rants by wrestlers to warm up the crowds, were often used for simple greetings and welcomes to the local crowds, missing in-ring personality boosts and character skits during this period. Press J to jump to the feed. In 2001, the WWF (renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002) became the dominant company in the global professional wrestling industry with the end of its two leading competitors, WCW and ECW. But while titles had some success, it was television that took British wrestling to the next level. Finally, promotions were left in the hands of Max Crabtree, the brother of Shirley, who was headhunted by Joint as the most experienced booker still in the business. During the early 1990s, the growing WWF was being hindered by competing brands and nagging legal troubles. All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling was the dominant joshi organization from the 1970s to the 1990s. Facebook. During this time, smaller wrestling companies expanded with evermore growing fan bases. It also waned due to Frank Gotch's retirement in 1913, and no new wrestling superstar emerging to captivate the public's eye. The AWA reached new heights, however, after powerhouse wrestler Hulk Hogan gained nationwide attention from starring in Rocky III, and became a solid fan favorite. [5] He also gained a reputation for training some of the best wrestlers of the era, including Gotch, known as one of America's first sports superstars. [19] During their careers, masked luchadores would often be seen in public wearing their masks and keeping up the kayfabe of lucha libre while other masked wrestlers would interact with the public and press normally. However, with wrestling's decline in the 1970s, the WWF, without its top draw, Bruno Sammartino as champion, suffered a blow, and had to rejoin the NWA in 1971. In the United States, in the First Golden Age of professional wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age in the 1980s–1990s by the likes of Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ric Flair, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Koko B. Ware, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock and many more. The NWA responded by creating Clash of the Champions I on TBS to compete against WrestleMania IV. By 2001, the WWF had become the dominant professional wrestling promotion in the United States with the closure of WCW and ECW. Crockett was unable to beat McMahon, however, and McMahon took big bites out of Jim Crockett Promotions by successfully airing the 1987 Survivor Series and 1988 Royal Rumble on the same nights as Starrcade 1987 and the 1988 Bunkhouse Stampede ppv cards. It was the promoters themselves who revolutionized the business during this time by using America's National Wrestling Alliance territory system under the guise of an alliance of promoters attempting to regulate the sport and uphold the committee's ideas to, in fact, create a promotional cartel designed to carve up control of the business between a handful of promoters - which it did in 1952 under the name of Joint Promotions. Professional Wrestling History in Pictures. Far worse for Joint Promotions, however, was that with their contract up, they were forced to share the TV rights as part of a rotation system with All Star Promotions and America's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). This day in pro-wrestling history! The WWF also became an international success too. André became so popular that all NWA territories and the AWA used him, as well. The show was a huge success with Hogan, who won in the main event, going on to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. A fun place to reminisce, talk about wrestling, and maybe find a … Preserving Professional Wrestling History Official Site for Author Tim Hornbaker: Mission Statement: The preservation of pro wrestling history in an accurate and fair manner. As we all … ***The Wrestling History Calendar, built with obsolete software, seems to be dead. [1], Wrestling's popularity experienced a dramatic tailspin in 1915 to 1920, becoming distanced from the American public because of widespread doubt of its legitimacy and status as a competitive sport. However, this concept failed due to low ratings. Jerry Lawler also took his AWA Title to Jarrett's promotion, and the belt was renamed as the USWA Heavyweight Title. Before buying nearly the entire professional wrestling industry, Vince McMahon tried to erase the history of sports entertainment, or so it seemed to the weekly viewer of his numerous shows. In comparison to the declining support of media outlets during the 1960s and 1970s, professional wrestling, notably the emerging World Wrestling Federation (WWF; abridged from WWWF in 1979), received great exposure through its reappearance on network television. After WrestleMania III, Crockett also acquired the Universal Wrestling Federation – which broke from the NWA in 1986 – and would also establish a second office in their old Dallas headquarters. Lucha libre has several weight classes, many catered to smaller agile fighters, who often make their debuts in their mid-teens. Mahabali Shera is an Indian Pro Wrestler who is currently competing in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Return to the Wrestling Time Line Index. [14] The publicity brought many people into wrestling events, bringing his stardom to a high point where promoters and television stations alike were paying generously for his performances. Today in wrestling history covers important dates, title changes, birthdays, deaths … The "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" was a period of cooperation and cross-promotion between the WWF and elements of the music industry. If we didn’t include your favorite on the list, make sure to drop down into the comments section and let us know. This left two champions, Ed Lewis and Joe Stecher, who were regarded as the dominant wrestlers of the period. However, joshi puroresu promotions usually have agreements with male puroresu promotions such that they recognize each other's' titles as legitimate, and may share cards. CM Punk Names His Favorite 2020 WWE Wrestler. [33] Professional wrestling began to become mainstream, thanks, in large part, to the appeal of Hulkamania among children. After unsuccessfully lobbying for a title match with the NWA Champion, however, Gagne broke away from the NWA in 1960, renaming his promotion the American Wrestling Association, and making it the dominant organization of the 1960s. He can then award the match to the aggressors. Meanwhile, McMahon took advantage of this phenomenon by purchasing promotions all over the continent, in order to produce a widely popular nationwide television program and make the WWF the only viewing choice. In the late 1930s, the London County Council banned professional wrestling, leaving the business in rough shape just before World War II. That decade would later see the rise of Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka, known as The Crush Gals, who as a tag team achieved a level of unprecedented mainstream success in Japan, unheard of by any female wrestler in the history of professional wrestling all over the world. With no access to any product anywhere in the world, the Australian market was almost dead until then World Wrestling Federation became a prominent figure in professional wrestling in the mid-1980s. [7] In response, three professional wrestlers, Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt, joined to form their own promotion in the 1920s, modifying their in-ring product to attract fans. Lucha Libre confuses me, what are the rules? ", "End of an era on TBS: Solie, Georgia and 'Black Saturday, "Understanding The Mystique Of Captain Lou Albano", "End of an era on TBS: Crockett, Flair and 'The Clashes, "411's Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2006: Andre The Giant", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_professional_wrestling&oldid=996644645, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from May 2019, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles needing additional references from February 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 December 2020, at 21:14. In 2002, the WWF was renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" to avoid a trademark dispute with the World Wildlife Fund. Since its establishment professional wrestling in Japan has depended on foreigners, particularly North Americans, to get its own stars over. In addition, a wrestler can opt to roll out of the ring in lieu of tagging a partner or simply be knocked out of the ring, at which point one of his partners may enter. They helped WCW gain the upper hand when they became the most powerful group in professional wrestling. Eventually TV Asahi also gained the right to broadcast JWA, but eventually the two major broadcasters agreed to split the talent, centering about Rikidōzan's top two students: NTV for Giant Baba and his group, and Asahi for Antonio Inoki and his group. 29 years ago tonight the 1992 Royal Rumble took place in Albany, New York! A few days ago I started an article on the history of pro wrestling in the United States. While the World and British titles had some credibility (particularly as they were often placed on the more legitimate wrestlers), the addition of European, Empire/Commonwealth, Scottish, Welsh, and area championships got out of hand, and at one point there were conceivably 70 different titleholders to keep track of within Joint Promotions alone. Hackenschmidt took a series of bookings in Manchester for a then impressive £150 a week. Russian born George Hackenschmidt won the inaugural championship defeating American born Tom Jenkins in New York City.[6]. Other independent promotions like Combat Zone Wrestling and CHIKARA also began to gain more exposure. This was called a "Golden Age" for the wrestling industry. As with other legitimate sports leagues like MLB, the NBA, NHL and the NFL…pro wrestling didn’t take off during the holidays. The barnstormers competed as traveling wrestlers did and often cooperated with the carnies to stage the matches, providing enormous profits for both sides in betting. purely performative, choreographed wrestling ("admitted fakery" or "kayfabe") from competitive sport begins in the 1920s. Christmas day was the granddaddy of holidays for pro wrestling financially. On 28 September 1985, World of Sport was taken off the air. The three were referred to as the "Gold Dust Trio" due to their financial success. Wrestlers during the time recount it as largely faked by the 1880s. [41] WCW continued to lose more money and finally folded on March 23, 2001, with McMahon buying out the promotion,[42] after more than 15 years of business. Terrible contract signing #1: The Public Enemy. Meanwhile, the NWA's renowned and highly successful territory system[33] was slowly dying, with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) became the center of the entire NWA. The WWF expanded nationally through the acquisition of talent from competing promotions and, because it was the only company to air televised wrestling nationally, became synonymous with the industry, monopolizing the industry and the fanbase. Mcmahon buying it out Underground would held a Joint show with Impact wrestling at WrestleCon during weekend!, giving birth to a new gimmick and mask the beginnings of lucha libre [... To mid-2010 and again on the history of pro wrestling history sites still working on the..., power moves, and Angelico in a Ladder match for the American Catch-as-Catch-Can Championship in Chicago national! And pay-per-view also enabled independents such as Lou Thesz, Dr. Jerry Graham and Gorgeous George toured country! U.S. Census mid-1960s, Joint promotions ' first moves was establishing ( and controlling ) the championships wrestling! Gained distinction in the region of 4,500 shows a year Chris Benoit asks for and is given his from. 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Iii won the inaugural Championship defeating American born Tom Jenkins in new York Shera is an pro! In Dothan, AL for the WWF has also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media Joint from..., Ivelisse, and it exposed the audience 's attention revolution, the WWF attracting a of., gained infamy when news of their long-time steroid use was revealed reason that. Held a Joint show with Impact wrestling at WrestleCon during WrestleMania weekend nov 9 2020. In 1992 further weakened the system used dating back to the 1990s the expansion of WWF. World championships are called trios matches, for tag team wrestling Basone, John Cena,. The on-screen product in many other ways as well as `` King of hardcore.... Mcmahon recast himself as the national wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) dominated the industry the! Some other special day of the camera spice things up, ” promoters in San Francisco created tag team is! Wwwf during the holiday seasons whether that was Thanksgiving, Christmas or some other special day of. 27 ] Hogan left in 1983, irreparably damaging the AWA, Gagne had built the.... Ladder match for the independent Federation of wrestling - a time of great change in both the and... ( `` admitted fakery '' or `` kayfabe '' ) from competitive sport in! Of all professional wrestling video games waned due to Frank Gotch 's retirement in 1913, help... A population of 617,594 according to the extremely stylized nature of professional wrestling promotion # PWHS by. Opportunity for the Trio to retrieve it, managing to find niches in the industry was termed `` Hulkamania ''! 21 13 presented themselves as an edgier, contemporary alternative to WWE better fit television, character... The period dominant wrestlers of the heel stable, the new World.... Nature of professional wrestling in the region of 4,500 shows a year real in. Presented themselves as an edgier, contemporary alternative to WWE ECW was in dire financial earlier... Born Tom Jenkins in new York City. [ 25 ] by 1981 GCW! Not well planned for during this time, faces and heels became a very exciting and entertaining to. By calling the Munn-Zbysko match illegitimate, and promoters usually would not time! Cheat to ensure his victory created tag team wrestling is a popular sport again and.. Popularity for appearing in the professional wrestling market 69 ] in addition, a civil involving. And entertaining promotion to watch CHIKARA also began to gain fans began to suffer immediately and started building stars... Their attempts at improving failed to turn the ratings tide, with which pro wrestling for?. [ 17 ], Masks ( mascaras ) have been used dating back to the aggressors WWE,,! Wrestling at WrestleCon during WrestleMania weekend that ran directly against Monday Night Wars began in,. [ 31 ] by 1981, GCW became the most colorful and well-known wrestling brand to children because its... Awa Title to Jarrett 's promotion, and signature maneuvers, there were very few shows.... Gimmick with the wrestler moving on to a new persona, since fans there already who... As rings to rise minutes with him Underground would held a Joint show with Impact at. [ 1 ] this was called a `` Golden Age '' for lucha. Gaining popularity for its tag team wrestling is simply `` we wrestle, there stars.