Mid 20th Century
99-580: The Quebecers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from in between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1998 who consisted of Quebecer Jacques and Quebecer Pierre . They also worked as The Amazing French-Canadians in World Championship Wrestling under their given names from 1996 to 1997. Jacques Rougeau had previously worked for the WWF both as
198-455: A Montreal Canadiens sweater. Their feud with the Steiners continued, they were on opposite sides of the 1993 Survivor Series main event when they joined the "Foreign Fanatics" team with Ludvig Borga and Yokozuna against The Steiners, Lex Luger , and The Undertaker . However, Pierre was replaced by Crush in an injury storyline. The Steiner Brothers never managed to regain the titles from
297-435: 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
396-415: 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
495-415: 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
594-413: 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
693-520: 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
792-513: 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
891-574: 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
990-400: 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 . Montreal Forum Montreal Forum ( French : Forum de Montréal ) is
1089-404: 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
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#17328759367641188-410: 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
1287-645: A historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal , Quebec , Canada . Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News , it was an indoor arena which served as the home of the National Hockey League 's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996. The Forum was built by the Canadian Arena Company in 159 days. Today most of
1386-616: A large bronze Montreal Canadiens logo surrounded by 24 bronze Stanley Cup banners cemented into the sidewalk. Inscribed in French are the words "forever proud." The entire building was themed after the Forum's storied history, with particular emphasis on the Montreal Canadiens. The building was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1997 because: "it was arguably the country's most famous sporting venue... it also serves as an icon for
1485-405: 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
1584-754: 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
1683-424: 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
1782-440: 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
1881-672: A pirate named "Jean-Pierre Lafitte." In early vignettes, Pierre would mention his previous gimmick as the Quebecer and explained that he changed his look and that Pierre's full name was "Jean-Pierre Lafitte" and was a pirate the whole time. Pierre was released in December 1995. Retirement did not last for Jacques Rougeau, as he returned to the ring in 1996 where he reunited with Pierre in World Championship Wrestling . The team had been renamed The Amazing French Canadians and Pierre had reverted to his real name, Carl Ouellet, to avoid trademark issues with
1980-532: A plan for a 12,500-seat capacity rink. Plans were scaled back for financial reasons to a rink of 9,300 seats. Even at the reduced size, the rink could not immediately find financing. The Forum would eventually be financed by H. L. Timmins. The site selected was the site of a roller skating rink named the Forum, and the name was kept. The site had previously been the site of an outdoor ice hockey rink, used by Frank and Lester Patrick , Art Ross and Russell Bowie as youths. The Forum opened on November 29, 1924, at
2079-624: A result of tension between Parker and Harlem Heat's manager, Sister Sherri . After Harlem Heat defeated the Amazing French Canadians at World War 3 on November 24, 1996, Sherri won the right to fight Parker for five minutes. Parker was beaten down by Sherri, but the rivals later reconciled and fell in love with one another. The French Canadians participated in what turned out to be Arn Anderson 's last wrestling match before his retirement, losing to Anderson and Steve "Mongo" McMichael . The Amazing French Canadians lost to their old rivals
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#17328759367642178-708: A tag team wrestler with his brother Raymond Rougeau as The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers and later on as a singles wrestler under the name The Mountie (the Quebecers have since been sometimes confused with the Rougeau Brothers). Pierre had worked on the independent circuit until 1993 where he met Jacques Rougeau in Puerto Rico. Jacques and Pierre were paired up by the WWF, dressed in red and black uniforms that were reminiscent of Jacques’ previous identity as “The Mountie”. They even played off Vince McMahon's legal troubles over
2277-665: A title change occurred in Vermont , causing the team to argue after the match and then fight. After they lost to the Headshrinkers in Montreal; Jacques was attacked by Pierre, who blamed Jacques for costing them both the match and the titles. Their brief feud culminated in Jacques’ (first) retirement match at the Montreal Forum in 1994, which Jacques won. In early 1995, Pierre was repackaged as
2376-500: A total cost of C$ 1.5 million ($ 26.2 million in 2023 dollars ) with an original seating capacity of 9,300. It underwent two renovations, in 1949 and 1968. When the Forum closed in 1996 it had a capacity of 17,959, which included approximately 1,600 in standing room. As part of the 1968 renovations, a centre-hanging digital score clock was installed, designed by the Day Sign Company of Toronto and similar to those installed at
2475-497: 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
2574-575: 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
2673-705: A wrestling school and runs a part-time promotion which both he and Pierre appear for on occasion. Jacques is semi-retired from the ring while Pierre wrestles mostly in Canada, mainly for the Montreal-based International Wrestling Syndicate and the Hull -based CPW International promotion, as Pierre Carl Ouellet . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
2772-436: 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
2871-410: 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
2970-427: 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
3069-470: 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
The Quebecers - Misplaced Pages Continue
3168-493: Is now owned by New York City-based real estate investor Ben Ashkenazy through a firm called Investissements Forum Canadien Inc. Due economic downturn in recent years, the Montreal Forum has suffered from many vacant and empty spaces. To supplement the building's revenue, Dawson College has leased out a large section of its 2nd and 4th floors to expand its adjustment campus. Furthermore, extensive renovations were done to refresh
3267-457: The Boston Garden and Chicago Stadium during the 1970s. A new centre-hanging score clock, designed by Daktronics, was installed in 1985 and contained on each side a colour matrix board. Along with one other Original Six indoor ice hockey arena, the Boston Garden , the Montreal Forum used a high-pitched siren to signal the end of an NHL game's period. The siren would later be re-installed in
3366-526: The Journey live album Captured were recorded at The Forum on August 8, 1980. In 1981, Canadian rock band Rush filmed (and recorded almost all of) their 1981 concert film and album, Exit...Stage Left . That same year, British rock band Queen recorded and filmed their concert film, titled We Will Rock You (re-released as Queen Rock Montreal in 2007), by performing the final two concerts of The Game Tour there. This had followed earlier performances by
3465-609: 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
3564-543: 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
3663-431: 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
3762-577: 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
3861-400: 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
3960-460: 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
4059-641: 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
The Quebecers - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-620: The Bank League on Tuesdays, and the Railways and Telephone League played on Friday nights. The Montreal Forum hosted Memorial Cup games in 1950, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973 & 1976, with the Junior Canadiens winning on home ice in 1970. In 1972, the Forum hosted game one of the famous " Summit Series " between Team Canada and the USSR; the USSR won the game 7-3. The 1980 NHL Entry Draft was hosted at
4257-674: The Canadiens and one for the Maroons (for whom the arena was built initially); one for the visiting New York Rangers and Calgary Flames respectively. The Forum was also home to the Montreal Roadrunners and Montreal Junior Canadiens . The idea to build the Forum in 1923 is credited to Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty , president of the Canadian Pacific Railway . At the suggestion of Senator Donat Raymond , William Northey developed
4356-409: The Canadiens from 1989 to 1994 (including their 1993 Cup win), took the ceremonial opening faceoff. After the game, many previous hockey greats were presented to the crowd, most notably Maurice Richard (said to be the Canadiens' most beloved player of all time), who received a sixteen-minute standing ovation from the crowd as he broke down in tears. A symbolic torch—representative of a line quoted from
4455-442: The Forum building is now a multiplex cinema known as Cineplex Cinemas Forum operated by Cineplex Entertainment . Additionally, a large portion of the building's upper floors are used as campus expansion for Dawson College . Located at the northeast corner of Atwater and Ste-Catherine West ( Metro Atwater ), the building was historically significant as 15 Stanley Cup championships were clinched/presented on its ice: twelve for
4554-483: The Forum was used as the venue for the free skating competitions. The Forum also hosted other sports, including indoor soccer, boxing, lacrosse and tennis. It was a site of five events in the 1976 Summer Olympics : gymnastics , handball (final), basketball (final), volleyball (final), and boxing (final). The gymnastics event included Nadia Comaneci 's famous perfect 10, the first in Olympic history. The Forum
4653-743: The Forum's successor facility, the Bell Centre (and is still in use there), much as the TD Garden in Boston inherited the lower-pitched Garden's siren. While hosting the Canadiens and Maroons on Thursdays and Saturdays, the Forum also hosted the Quebec Senior Hockey League , featuring the Montreal Victorias , Montreal Royals and the Montreal Canadiens amateur team on Wednesdays and Sundays. The Quebec Junior Hockey League played on Monday nights,
4752-475: The Forum. Four tracks, including a live version of " A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall " for The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue were recorded here. Bob Marley and the Wailers played here on June 10, 1978, to support his Kaya Tour. The Bee Gees played two sold-out concerts here on September 1–2, 1979, during their North American Spirits Having Flown Tour . The first four tracks off
4851-475: The Forum. It would mark the first time that an NHL Arena hosted the event. The Forum hosted the Stanley Cup Finals in 1926 , 1928 , 1930 , 1931 , 1944 , 1946 , 1947 , 1951 , 1952 , 1953 , 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , 1957 , 1958 , 1959 , 1960 , 1965 , 1966 , 1967 , 1968 , 1969 , 1971 , 1973 , 1976 , 1977 , 1978 , 1979 , 1986 , 1989 , and 1993 . Only two visiting teams have ever won
4950-545: The Montreal Forum in February 1993 after the events of August 1992 . Billy Graham held his Mission Quebec in 1990 before nearly 20,000 spectators, which was filmed for international television syndication as a TV special. Then Canadien Ryan Walter delivered his testimony at the crusade. After the Canadiens left the Forum, the building was used to film arena sequences for the Brian De Palma film Snake Eyes . The Forum
5049-568: The Mountie gimmick by giving the team a theme song that said "We're Not the Mounties", but otherwise was the same as Jacques’ “Mountie” theme song. They were also teamed up with a young charismatic talker, Johnny Polo , who portrayed a preppy rich kid. They debuted on the July 24, 1993 episode of WWF Superstars and were quickly pushed to the top of the tag team division, challenging The Steiner Brothers for
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#17328759367645148-408: 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
5247-477: 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
5346-481: The Quebecers and soon the Quebecers started to defend against other teams. Apart from the Steiners, the Quebecers focused on teams they deemed easily beatable, including jobbers like Barry Horowitz and Reno Riggins . Horowitz brought in the “1-2-3” Kid as his partner, leading to a series of title defenses against the Kid with changing partners. On January 10, 1994, the Kid and Marty Jannetty won an upset victory and won
5445-634: The Stanley Cup on Forum ice: the New York Rangers did so in 1928, defeating the Maroons, while the Calgary Flames defeated the Canadiens in 1989. On March 11, 1996, the Montreal Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, defeating the Dallas Stars 4-1. The game was televised on TSN and TQS in Canada and on ESPN2 in the United States . The Stars' Guy Carbonneau , who had captained
5544-615: The Steiner Brothers at Clash of the Champions XXXIV on January 21, 1997. In mid-1997, Jacques and Pierre were released from WCW and signed with the WWF, making their return in the early part of 1998. Gone were the Mountie uniforms, replaced by maple leaf adorned uniforms reminiscent of their run in WCW. The team was only used sporadically, primarily in losing effort at No Way Out 1998 against The Godwinns and as nondescript participants in
5643-493: The WWF. The duo retained their patriotic nature as they would enthusiastically wave flags of Canada and Quebec during their entrances, in addition to having the Canadian national anthem as their entrance theme. During that time period, they were managed by Col. Robert Parker , who dressed like a comical French Legionnaire and added a smattering of French words to his trademark southern drawl. They began feuding with Harlem Heat , as
5742-401: 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
5841-418: 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
5940-550: 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
6039-569: The band in 1977 for the A Day At The Races Tour , 1978 for the Jazz Tour , 1980 for the first leg of The Game Tour , and finally in 1982 for the Hot Space Tour . On August 4, 1981, the Jacksons performed at the Forum during their Triumph Tour. In March 1983, American musical duo Hall & Oates filmed and recorded their concert film, Rock 'n Soul Live. The live portions of Black Sabbath 's video for
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#17328759367646138-424: 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
6237-418: 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
6336-423: 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
6435-508: 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
6534-540: 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
6633-405: 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
6732-597: 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
6831-470: 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
6930-610: 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
7029-469: The gold. However, they lost the titles back to the Quebecers a week later. At the 1994 Royal Rumble, The Quebecers were the opponents during the match where Owen Hart turned on Bret Hart , but only served to bring the turn about, not as integral players in the developing storyline. The Quebecers looked strong, defending the titles against all comers, including Men on a Mission , who were unsuccessful in their challenge at WrestleMania X , but managed to win
7128-455: 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
7227-509: The grandstand, along with a statue of a fan leaning forward in delight (removed in the summer of 2017), while original seats were used as benches throughout the complex. A statue of Maurice Richard was located next to the grandstand. On the Saint Catherine Street entrance, there is a Quebec Walk of Fame consisting of Richard and Celine Dion . Both were on hand for their bronze star's respective unveiling. The Atwater Street entrance has
7326-464: 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
7425-471: 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
7524-487: 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
7623-498: 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
7722-437: 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
7821-428: The poem In Flanders Fields , "To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high," displayed in the Forum's home dressing room—was carried by Émile Bouchard out of the Canadiens dressing room to the playing surface. The flaming torch was passed on to each of the former Canadiens captains ( Jean Beliveau , Yvan Cournoyer , Henri Richard , Serge Savard , Bob Gainey , and Carbonneau) and finally to
7920-714: 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
8019-400: The role of hockey in Canada's national culture... the Forum is the oldest of Canada's large-scale arenas and has, throughout its history, been the country's leading site for major indoor cultural, political and religious events." The city of Montreal estimated the value of the building at $ 36.8 million in 2012. This is a $ 10 million drop in value since the previous estimation in 2009. AMC Forum
8118-495: The song " Zero the Hero " were filmed in 1983. July 7–8 Madonna with her Who's That Girl World Tour for two sold-out concerts. In July 1983, David Bowie held a concert for his Serious Moonlight Tour to promote his new album Let's Dance . As part of her debut headlining tour, The Greatest Love World Tour , Whitney Houston performed a concert on August 6, 1986. The heavy metal band Metallica performed two half-priced shows at
8217-440: 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
8316-457: The tag team battle royal at WrestleMania XIV before leaving the federation again. Their last match together was in a three-way in Montreal against Mark Henry and Godfather and The New Age Outlaws , which the Outlaws won, on August 2, 1998. After leaving the WWF, Jacques and Pierre briefly appeared together in WCW as a part of Lance Storm ’s Team Canada , but did not team up. Jacques opened up
8415-426: 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,
8514-532: The then-current captain Pierre Turgeon . The next day, a parade was organized in which the torch was carried down the route to the Molson Centre (which has since been renamed the Bell Centre ). Their first game at the new venue was against the New York Rangers , which the Canadiens won. When the 1932 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Montreal, the first occasion of their taking place in Canada,
8613-556: The titles in London during a UK tour, albeit by accident as Pierre couldn't get his shoulder up from under the massive Mabel. They regained the belts two days later in Sheffield . The Quebecers luck finally ran out when they came up against the recently face turned team of The Headshrinkers , who won the tag team titles from them on Monday Night Raw in Burlington, VT , which was the only time
8712-414: The titles. The match was fought under "Quebec Province Rules" where the tag titles could change hands via disqualification. Jacques took advantage of this rule by tricking Scott Steiner into swinging a hockey stick as a foreign object and getting disqualified, causing the Quebecers to win the titles. In this same match, Polo debuted as the Quebecers' manager by coming to ringside during the match, sporting
8811-505: 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
8910-471: 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
9009-535: 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
9108-420: 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
9207-425: 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
9306-488: 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
9405-568: 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
9504-415: 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
9603-417: 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
9702-523: Was the site of many major professional wrestling matches, as shown in the 1961 National Film Board of Canada documentary Wrestling ( La Lutte ). On March 11, 1937, the Forum hosted the only funeral in its history, a service for Canadiens great Howie Morenz . Morenz had died from complications due to a broken leg sustained in a game between the Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks on January 28. On September 8, 1964, The Beatles performed at
9801-461: Was then completely gutted and converted into a downtown entertainment centre called the Pepsi Forum, consisting of an AMC Theatres multiplex theatre (sold to Cineplex Odeon in July 2012), shops and restaurants. A Rainforest Cafe was planned to open at the location following its conversion but was never built. Centre ice was recreated in the centre of the complex, complete with a small section of
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