Mid 20th Century
101-467: The AEW World Championship is a men's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship and is presented as being AEW's most prestigious title. Chris Jericho was the inaugural champion. The current champion is Jon Moxley , who is in his record-setting fourth reign. He won
202-627: A Target " and accused them of having "spread lies and bullshit and put into the media that I got [Colt Cabana] fired when I have fuck all to do with him, want nothing to do with him. Do not care where he works, where he doesn't work. Where he eats, where he sleeps". Punk later indicated that he was trying to "sell tickets, fill arenas", while the EVPs were acting as "stupid guys [who] think they're in Reseda " (a reference to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla , an independent promotion where Omega and The Young Bucks wrestled for
303-435: 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
404-415: 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
505-415: 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
606-413: 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
707-414: A bank account with his mother, which tells you all you need to know about what kind of character that is". Punk denied rumors that he had attempted to get Colton fired, which AEW president Tony Khan corroborated. Punk also criticized "irresponsible people who call themselves EVPs" (AEW's executive vice presidents are Kenny Omega , Matt Jackson , and Nick Jackson ), saying that they "couldn't fucking manage
808-520: 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
909-513: 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
1010-574: 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
1111-555: 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 . All Out (2022) The 2022 All Out was the fourth annual All Out professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place during Labor Day weekend on September 4, 2022, at
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#17329312320611212-404: 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
1313-410: 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
1414-405: A legitimate backstage incident that occurred at All In on August 27, Punk's contract was terminated and the "Real World Championship" was subsequently dropped. The standard AEW World Championship belt has five plates on a black leather strap, and the plates are silver and gold. The large center plate prominently has a relief AEW logo at the center, with a diamond outline behind the logo. Above
1515-405: 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
1616-486: A losing effort. This was later announced to be the first in a Best of Seven Series for the titles. The Best of Seven Series would go all the way to the seventh and final match on the January 11, 2023, episode of Dynamite where The Elite defeated Death Triangle in a ladder match to become two-time AEW World Trios Champions. CM Punk suffered a torn triceps injury at the event that put him on hiatus for nine months. During
1717-704: 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
1818-424: 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
1919-440: 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
2020-405: A number of years). Next, Punk called "Hangman" Adam Page "an empty-headed fucking dumb fuck" who went " into business for himself " on national television, and further alluded to Page as "somebody that hasn't done a damn thing in this business [that has] jeopardized the first million dollar house that this company has drawn off of my back". Punk later said regarding Page: "Our locker room, for all
2121-497: 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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#17329312320612222-575: 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
2323-461: A vignette promoting his return for the premiere of Collision . On June 17, Punk returned to AEW on the debut episode of Collision , with all parties involved in the post-event media scrum altercation having returned to AEW. However, following another backstage altercation that occurred just a couple of months later at All In on August 27, this time between Punk and Jack Perry , Punk was terminated from his AEW contract on September 2, almost exactly
2424-402: Is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held annually during Labor Day weekend by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since 2019. It is one of AEW's "Big Four" PPVs, which also includes Double or Nothing , Full Gear , and Revolution , their four biggest domestic shows produced quarterly. On July 13, 2022, AEW announced that the fourth All Out event would take place on September 4 at
2525-436: 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
2626-410: 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
2727-427: 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
2828-470: 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
2929-476: Is the youngest, winning it at 26 years old. Jon Moxley is the current champion in his record-setting fourth reign. He won the title by defeating Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream on October 12, 2024, in Tacoma, Washington . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
3030-714: The Clemson Tigers football team of Clemson University won the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl , AEW president Tony Khan presented the team's head coach, Dabo Swinney , with a custom AEW World Championship belt. It features the same design as the standard belt, but the inner side plates features the Tigers logo at the center with an inscription of the event, date, and location above and below the team's logo. As of November 30, 2024, there have been 13 reigns between nine champions and one vacancy, as well as one interim champion. Chris Jericho
3131-609: 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
AEW World Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-712: The Now Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois . Fifteen matches were contested at the event, including four on the Zero Hour pre-show. In the main event, CM Punk defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship for a second time. In other prominent matches, Chris Jericho defeated Bryan Danielson , The Elite ( Kenny Omega , Matt Jackson , and Nick Jackson ) defeated "Hangman" Adam Page and The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver ) to win
3333-426: The Now Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois . Additionally as part of All Out week, both of AEW's weekly television programs, Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage , aired live from the same arena on August 31 and September 2, respectively. Tickets for all three events went on sale on July 15 with bundle packages available. There was also a fanfest on Saturday, September 3 at
3434-543: 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
3535-431: 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
3636-577: 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
3737-400: 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
3838-506: 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
3939-420: The 2022 All Out. He subsequently referred to himself as the "real world's champion" as he was never defeated for the title, and then spray painted a black X on the center plate (the X being a symbol Punk had used throughout his career in reference to his straight edge lifestyle). While the "Real World Championship" was not officially recognized by AEW, Punk defended the title on AEW programming. However, following
4040-530: The AEW World Championship was not a "heavyweight championship". However, on occasion, the promotion, as well as AEW wrestlers and commentators, have referred to it as the "world heavyweight championship". At Double or Nothing, the pre-show Casino Battle Royale was won by "Hangman" Adam Page , while Chris Jericho defeated Kenny Omega in the PPV's main event, setting up the inaugural championship match. During
4141-641: 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
AEW World Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-448: The June 3, 2022, episode of Rampage , AEW World Champion CM Punk , who had won the title just days prior at Double or Nothing , announced that he was injured and required surgery. He initially wanted to relinquish the title; however, AEW president Tony Khan decided that an interim champion would be crowned until Punk's return, after which, Punk would face the interim champion to determine
4343-408: 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
4444-477: 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
4545-613: The November 30, 2022, episode of Dynamite , reigning champion MJF, who had won the title at Full Gear on November 19, discarded the standard AEW World Championship belt, calling it trash, and unveiled his own custom version, which he dubbed the "Big Burberry Belt", or Triple-B for short. It featured the exact same design as the standard belt; however, the leather strap was brown and fashioned in Burberry 's trademark check pattern to match MJF's signature Burberry scarf. On December 29, 2023, after
4646-606: The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center. All Out itself was preceded by a one-hour pre-show called Zero Hour, which aired for free on AEW's social media platforms. All Out featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds and storylines . Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs, Dynamite and Rampage , the supplementary online streaming shows, Dark and Elevation , and The Young Bucks ' YouTube series Being The Elite . On
4747-455: The World and Trios Championships were vacated, effective immediately, although did not acknowledge the incident or give an explanation. Death Triangle ( Pac , Penta El Zero M , and Rey Fénix ) became the new Trios Champions by defeating Best Friends ( Chuck Taylor , Trent Beretta , and Orange Cassidy ) in a previously scheduled match that Khan converted into a title match. The show also featured
4848-401: 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
4949-418: 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
5050-550: 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
5151-424: 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
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#17329312320615252-418: 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
5353-423: 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
5454-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
5555-540: 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
5656-405: 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
5757-408: The event, pro-wrestling veteran Bret Hart unveiled the AEW World Championship belt. Shortly after Double or Nothing, the inaugural championship match was scheduled for AEW's next major PPV, All Out , on August 31. At All Out, Jericho defeated Page in the main event to become the inaugural AEW World Champion. The following day, it was reported by Tallahassee Police that the physical championship belt
5858-597: 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
5959-456: The fight. As a result of the physical altercation following the All Out post-event media scrum, AEW president Tony Khan suspended all involved, which included CM Punk, Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Pat Buck , Christopher Daniels , Michael Nakazawa , and Brandon Cutler . On September 7, Khan opened that night's episode of Dynamite with a pre-taped video, announcing that
6060-476: The fight. On October 18, Ace Steel was released from AEW. Steel was rehired in early 2023 to work in a remote capacity and to produce CM Punk's segments upon Punk's return to AEW. On November 19, in addition to resuming their positions as Executive Vice Presidents, The Elite (Omega and The Young Bucks) returned at AEW's next PPV, Full Gear , where they faced Death Triangle for the Trios Championship in
6161-470: 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
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#17329312320616262-610: 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
6363-562: The globe. The two outer side plates were similar to the inner ones but slightly smaller. The belt design was inspired by the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship belt, and AEW wanted their design to be significantly similar to that belt. It was created by well-known professional wrestling championship belt maker Dave Millican. After Samoa Joe won the championship at Worlds End on December 30, 2023, he ditched MJF 's custom belt and brought back
6464-455: 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
6565-546: The grass". Punk then proclaimed to an interviewer, "I'm hurt, I'm old, I'm fuckin' tired, and I work with fucking children". Multiple wrestling publications, including Fightful , PWInsider , and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , later reported that Punk's comments were followed by a fight between Punk, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Ace Steel —an AEW coach who is Punk's trainer and long-time friend. The Young Bucks and Omega were reportedly injured in
6666-508: The hiatus, there had been reports that Punk and AEW were in talks regarding a buyout of his contract. In April 2023, there were reports that Punk and AEW were planning Punk's return to the promotion on June 17 for the debut episode of AEW Collision taking place in Chicago, which were then confirmed by Tony Khan on the May 31 episode of Dynamite . Punk appeared on the June 14 episode of Dynamite in
6767-617: The inaugural AEW World Trios Championship, and in the opening bout, MJF made a surprise return as the disguised "joker" entrant and won the Casino Ladder match . It was the first event to feature the AEW World Trios Championship . The event became infamous for an incident which occurred during the post-show media scrum where CM Punk insulted and berated several wrestlers, leading to a legitimate backstage fight between Punk, The Elite, and backstage producer Ace Steel . Steel
6868-513: 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
6969-471: 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
7070-487: 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
7171-641: The interim AEW World Champion. Punk made his return in early August and was defeated by Moxley on the August 24 episode of Dynamite in a match to determine the undisputed champion. During the All Out post-event media scrum on September 5, CM Punk, who had just won his second AEW World Championship at the event, got into a legitimate physical altercation backstage with AEW executive vice presidents The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson , and Nick Jackson ), following berating comments he had made about them and others during
7272-497: The interim champion to determine the undisputed champion. To determine the interim champion, AEW set up the AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series that would culminate in a match at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door on June 26, a co-promoted event between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The first two matches took place on the June 8 episode of Dynamite . A Casino Battle Royale opened
7373-445: The logo is a banner that reads "WORLD", while below the logo is another banner that reads "CHAMPION". At the end of each of these banners are parts of the globe. Below the lower banner is a nameplate to display the reigning champion's name. Filigree fills in the rest of the plate. The two inner side plates are tall and narrow. Originally, the inner side plates had AEW's logo at the center while above and below this logo were two halves of
7474-498: 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
7575-437: 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
7676-458: The post-event media scrum, CM Punk took issues with certain members of the wrestling media as he addressed backstage issues with colleagues in AEW. Punk first described Scott Colton (Colt Cabana) as someone who "didn't want to see me at the top", discussed their lawsuits against each other, and said he "hasn't been friends with this guy since at least 2014, late 2013". Later on, Punk stated Colton "shares
7777-714: 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
7878-700: The scrum. As a result, AEW president Tony Khan suspended all involved. On the September 7 episode of Dynamite , Khan announced that both the World Championship and Trios Championship , held by The Elite, were vacated. Khan then announced that there would be a tournament to crown a new AEW World Champion. The AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions began that same episode and continued across episodes of Dynamite and Rampage until its conclusion at Dynamite : Grand Slam on September 21. Tournament competitors included Bryan Danielson , "Hangman" Adam Page, Sammy Guevara , Darby Allin , Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley. In
7979-525: The show, which Kyle O'Reilly won. O'Reilly then faced the number one ranked singles competitor Jon Moxley in the main event of the episode, which Moxley won. The third match took place on June 12 at NJPW's Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto , which Tanahashi won; Tanahashi was originally scheduled to face Punk at Forbidden Door for the title before Punk's injury. At Forbidden Door, Moxley defeated Tanahashi to become
8080-440: 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
8181-420: The standard championship belt at Dynamite : Homecoming on January 10, 2024, but with a slight change to the inner side plates, which were updated with a removable center section that can be customized with the reigning champion's logo (similar to WWE 's championship belts). The default side plates consist of globes and AEW's logo sits above and below the removable section. The other plates remain unchanged. On
8282-515: The start of a tournament to crown a new World Champion, with the final taking place on September 21 at Dynamite : Grand Slam . At Grand Slam, Jon Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in the tournament final to win the AEW World Championship for a record third time. The suspensions of Buck, Daniels, Nakazawa, and Cutler were lifted about two weeks after All Out; according to Dave Meltzer , an independent investigation commissioned by AEW apparently determined that those individuals were trying to break up
8383-426: 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,
8484-483: The title belt but struggled to get the championship out of its bag. During that same video, Whitehall revealed that the winner of Double or Nothing's Buy In pre-show battle royal , called the Casino Battle Royale , would face the winner of the PPV's main event at a future date to determine the inaugural AEW World Champion. AEW president Tony Khan confirmed that since the promotion would not have weight divisions,
8585-474: The title by defeating Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream on October 12, 2024. On January 1, 2019, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was founded and its inaugural event and pay-per-view (PPV), Double or Nothing , was scheduled for May 25. The unveiling of the promotion's men's world championship was first teased on AEW's YouTube channel on May 22, where actor and comedian Jack Whitehall humorously attempted to reveal
8686-401: The tournament final at Grand Slam, Moxley defeated Danielson to win the championship for a record third time. CM Punk returned to AEW for the debut episode of Collision on June 17, 2023. During his promo , he held a red bag he described as containing "something he never lost". The following month, Punk unveiled the contents of the bag to be the AEW World Championship belt that he had won at
8787-505: 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
8888-471: 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
8989-499: The undisputed champion. Jon Moxley was crowned as interim champion at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door on June 26. At the Quake by the Lake special episode of Dynamite on August 10, Punk made his return and confronted Moxley, entering into a title dispute. A match to determine the undisputed AEW World Champion was then scheduled at All Out. However, due to heated confrontations between the two, it
9090-535: 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
9191-423: The wisdom and brilliance it has, isn't worth shit when you have an empty-headed idiot, who has never done anything in the business do public interviews and say, 'I don't really take advice'". Punk went on to describe MJF as a "supremely talented individual" but also added that "the grass it not greener on the other side, the grass is greener where you water it, and [MJF] likes to shit where he eats instead of watering
9292-420: 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
9393-425: 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
9494-444: Was announced that the match would instead take place on the August 24 episode of Dynamite , where Moxley quickly defeated Punk due to the latter reaggravating an injury, becoming the undisputed AEW World Champion in the process. The following week on Dynamite , Moxley issued an open contract for a championship match at All Out, in which Punk signed the contract. The championship rematch was then subsequently scheduled for All Out. In
9595-488: 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
9696-636: 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
9797-439: Was released and the other four were suspended, along with four other wrestlers involved in the fight; Punk and The Elite were all stripped of their respective championships. All parties involved eventually returned to AEW within ten months after the incident, although Punk would be terminated on September 2, 2023—almost a year to the date of All Out–following a similar incident at All In with Steel released shortly after. All Out
9898-415: 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
9999-462: Was stolen from Jericho's limousine while he was traveling; it was recovered on September 4. On the June 3, 2022, episode of Rampage , reigning champion CM Punk , who had won the title just days prior at Double or Nothing , announced that he was injured and required surgery. He initially wanted to relinquish the title; however, AEW president Tony Khan decided that an interim champion would be crowned until Punk's return, after which, Punk would face
10100-417: 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
10201-409: Was the inaugural champion. Jon Moxley has the most reigns at four and also served as the interim champion in mid-2022 while reigning lineal champion CM Punk was out with an injury (this is not counted as one of Moxley's four reigns). MJF's singular reign is the longest at 406 days, while Punk's second reign is the shortest at 3 days. Jericho is the oldest champion when he won it at 48 years old, while MJF
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