Mid 20th Century
122-581: Chad Slivenski (born September 15, 1972) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler , known by his ringname Chad Bowman , who competed in East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions during the 1990s and 2000s. Early in his career, Slivenski spent time in regional promotions such as the United States Wrestling Association and Smoky Mountain Wrestling before their close in
244-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
366-505: A "fast count" to give them the win. Hebner then got into a fight with another referee who put him in a sharpshooter and made him "tap out". The Slackers were given another chance to win back the titles at the March 26th "The Phenomenal Four" show but lost to Danny Doring & Danny Jax in another 4 Way Dance with The Holy Rollers and The James Gang. Unable to regain the titles, The Slackers turned towards The Holy Rollers with whom they feuded for
488-532: A 3 Way Dance with Andrew Ryker at the New Green Room in Dundalk. Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
610-489: A 3-month feud over the title. At an October 28 show in Glen Burnie, Creed was briefly awarded the title after using a chain brought by Slivenski to pin the champion. When the referee spotted the chain, it was assumed it belonged to Creed and he was disqualified. A local disc jockey who had been invited to the event, and had been attacked by Total Quality Management earlier in the show, informed the referee what had taken place and
732-529: A 6-man tag team match against King Kong Bundy and The Ghetto Mafia (2-Dope & Sydeswype) in Lusby, Maryland on April 29. Over the next seven months, Slivenski successfully defended his title against Mikey Whipreck, Qenaan Creed and Black Dragon. He also defeated former champion Adam Flash at a special MCW show near Ocean City, Maryland on June 10 and Ronnie Zukko at the 2000 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup on July 19. That summer, he and Qenaan Creed became involved in
854-413: 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
976-520: 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
1098-513: 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
1220-574: 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
1342-457: A cracked orbital bone during an altercation with Tommy Dreamer and Shane Douglas. According to New Jack, as with the Mass Transit incident , he "didn't like his attitude" and had particularly taken offense when Slivenski approached him to discuss the match beforehand. At the end of the match, New Jack dove off the top rope with a steel chair and onto Slivenski injuring his face. Afterwards, he took
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#17331058149601464-449: A decade where, as Chad Austin, he participated in a 5-team Royal Rumble-style tables elimination match at IWA Mid-South 's "Something to Prove" show on June 11. Substituting for Silas Young, he and Eric Priest were the first entrants and were met by ROH students Davey Andrews and Shane Hagadorn. Both Slivenski and Hagadorn's teams were simultaneously eliminated when Eddie Kingston powerbombed Hagadorn onto an already prone Slivenski though
1586-571: 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 . Gary Wolfe (wrestler) Gary Wolfe (born March 11, 1967) is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under
1708-410: 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
1830-569: A fundraising event for wrestler Adam Helsley, who was severely injured in a car accident the previous year, where he wrestled The Dynamic Sensation at Paw Paw High School in Paw Paw, West Virginia on May 8. Also appearing on the card was Morgus the Maniac , John Rambo and former WWF World Tag Team Champion Headshrinker Samu . Two months later, he regained the NWL Cruiserweight title from Hyjinx in
1952-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2074-573: A grudge match at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie on December 28, 2006. On February 25, 2007, The Slackers defeated the Rehoboth Beach Crew (Stevie Riggs & LK) at MCW's 9th Anniversary Show at the MCW Arena in Dundalk. The following month, he and Devine faced two of the three members of the RBC at "March Madness: When Monsters Collide"; while Devine lost to L.K., Slivenski beat Tyler Hilton to win
2196-405: 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
2318-650: A local high school in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , where he and Shawn Summers took on The Big New Yorkers (Jerkface & Jackpot Jimmy Jessup) but lost via disqualification when their valet, Katravina, was caught trying to stop Jessup from pinning Slivenski. On November 15, 2003, he lost to Hyjinx in a Four Corners match with OGB and Brandon Mercury for the NWL Cruiserweight Championship in Newville, Pennsylvania . On January 11, 2004, Slivenski and Divine captured
2440-1005: A losing effort. Pitbull #1 made his televised return to ECW as a fan favorite on the June 25, 2000 episode of Hardcore TV , where he lost to Scotty Anton . On the July 7 episode of ECW on TNN , Pitbull #1 rescued Spike Dudley from an assault by Rhino, leading to Pitbull receiving a title shot against Rhino for the World Television Championship , which he quickly lost . Wolfe appeared regularly for Tod Gordon 's Pro Wrestling Unplugged promotion as 'The Pitbull' Gary Wolfe. He also made many appearances in Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling (3PW), during his time there winning both their World Heavyweight Championship (being first to do so), and their Tag Team Championship , with Mike Kruel. Wolfe appeared at WWE's ECW One Night Stand 2005 to introduce
2562-754: 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
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#17331058149602684-811: A match for the then vacant MCW Tag Team Championship and lost to The Holy Rollers (Earl the Pearl & Rich Myers) in a 3 Way Dance with The Badstreet Boys ( Joey Matthews & Christian York ) in Glen Burnie, Maryland . On April 14, he became the MCW Cruiserweight Champion in Annapolis by defeating Adam Flash and Quinn Nash in an elimination match. Around this time, he and kayfabe brother Chip Bowman joined Cicero's "heel" stable Total Quality Management with MCW Tag Team Champions Cueball Carmichael & Dino Devine. Two weeks later, he and Chip joined Cicero in
2806-440: 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
2928-611: A no-disqualification match in Martinsburg, West Virginia on July 17. Slivenski would hold the title for over eight months, the second-longest reign in the title's history, until losing it to Fumar in Hagerstown, Maryland on April 2, 2005. The previous month, he had wrestled Morgus the Maniac at a Maryland Wrestling Alliance card in Glen Bernie. He also returned to the ECW Arena after nearly
3050-874: A non-title match. At Holiday Homecoming '07, Slivenski lost to Ruckus at Michael's 8th Avenue in Glen Burnie. In early 2008, Slivenski made several appearances for the Eastern Wrestling Alliance in Baltimore . On March 16, he defeated Jimmy Starz at its "Fight The Power" supercard. After the match, he was attacked by The Varsity (Zach Matthews & Bruce Chan). He made another appearance a month later losing to Zachary Shane at Baltimore's Tall Cedar Hall on April 20. Later that year, he and Kylie Pierce lost an intergender tag team match to Angela & The Baltimore Bully at MCW's "Raven’s Kickoff" in Canton, Maryland on September 5, 2008. On November 7, 2009, he lost to Queenan Creed
3172-676: A result of winning, Pitbulls joined Raven's Nest. Pitbulls began pursuing the World Tag Team Championship , challenging The Public Enemy ( Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock ) for the titles at Hostile City Showdown but failed to win the titles. They received another title shot in a double dog collar match at Enter the Sandman , where they lost again. Dissension began between Pitbulls and Raven's Nest when Raven cost them matches against Taz and 2 Cold Scorpio and The Dudleys ( Snot Dudley and Dudley Dudley ) by abandoning them to solve
3294-447: A singles match on March 12 and, with Devine, in a tag team match with Romeo Valentine on May 15. Slivenski and Devine remained tag team champions until MCW's final show, the 5th annual 2003 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup in Glen Burnie on July 16, 2003. In a special interpromotional match, they lost to The Ghetto Mafia in a 3 Way Dance with MEWF Tag Team Champions Team Punishment (Derek Wayne & Buzz Stryker) to unify both titles. After
3416-603: A table. The match was eventually won by The Iron Saints (Vito and Sal Thomaselli) becoming 5-time IWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions . Later that year, Slivenski reunited with Dino Devine in Fort Meade Wrestling to defeat their old MCW rivals The Holy Rollers at the Fort Meade Army Base in Odenton, Maryland on October 1, 2005. When Maryland Championship Wrestling resumed operations in late 2006, The Slackers were among
3538-494: A tag team match between himself and The Broad Street Bully against Dino Sendoff and Don E. Allen ended in a no contest when 911, as he did the previous year, entered the ring and choke slammed all four men. He and Don E. Allen also lost to Dances with Dudley & Dudley Dudley at Gangsta's Paradise on August 16. Slivenski also defeated Raven for the MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship on October 1, 1995. He lost
3660-494: A tag team with Anthony Durante , who competed in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as enhancement talents in 1989. Wolfe and Durante formed a tag team called American Bulldogs, which would later be renamed The Pitbulls and Mad Bull Busters. The team competed in many promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), South Atlantic Pro Wrestling and Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA). Wolfe would compete under
3782-497: 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
Chad Slivenski - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-523: 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
4026-463: A week later. Five days later in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania , he teamed with Rockin' Rebel and Jason Knight in a six-man tag team match to defeat Don E. Allen, Dino Sendoff and Hack Meyers . On August 13, he defeated "Ironman" Tommy Cairo at Hardcore Heaven 1994 . He also wrestled Mr. Hughes, Sabu , Damien Stone , Steve Richards , Rockin' Rebel and Chris Benoit on Hardcore TV over
4148-1014: A year of ringtime before eventually returning to the ring in early 1997. In one of his first matches back, he was scheduled to headline a National Wrestling League show in Boonsboro, Maryland with Devon Storm on April 22, 1997, but the match was cancelled when Storm was unable to appear. A year later, he lost to The Cat Burglar in a 3 Way Dance with Steve Corino for the MEWF Light Heavyweight Championship on September 18, 1998. On October 1, 1999, he wrestled Jake Daniels for The Bad Crew 's Hardway Wrestling in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania . He also wrestled for Atlantic Terror Championship Wrestling and Cueball Carmichael 's Independent Pro Wrestling Alliance . In early 2000, Slivenski started wrestling for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW). On January 19, 2000, he teamed with "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero in
4270-410: 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
4392-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
4514-530: The 1996 CyberSlam event, Francine and the Pitbulls defeated Stevie Richards and Eliminators in a dog collar match. After the match, Eliminators attacked Pitbulls. Pitbulls challenged Eliminators for the World Tag Team Championship at Big Ass Extreme Bash on March 8, but failed to win the titles, thus ending the feud. At Heat Wave , Shane Douglas broke Wolfe's neck by hitting him with a DDT on
4636-556: The ECW World Television Championship . Later in the match, Francine turned on Pitbulls and helped Douglas in winning the ECW World Television Championship. This resulted in a lengthy feud between Douglas and Gary Wolfe's partner, Anthony Durante, while Wolfe recovered from his injury. Gary Wolfe can be seen on Forever Hardcore , where he talked about how he broke his neck. Wolfe was sidelined for
4758-708: The East Coast and Mid-Atlantic " indy circuit ", as well as stints in the United States Wrestling Association and Smokey Mountain Wrestling , prior to joining Tod Gordon and Eastern Championship Wrestling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in late 1993. Slivenski made his ECW debut as Chad Austin on its third major show, the two-day NWA Bloodfest , at the ECW Arena on October 1, 1993. On both nights, he wrestled The Bad Breed ( Ian and Axl Rotten ) with Todd Shaw and Don E. Allen respectively, as well as losing to Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka . These matches were later broadcast on
4880-753: The Jerry Springer Show at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie a month later. In his pro wrestling debut, Wilkos put both men in the sleeperhold to get the victory. The Slackers bounced back by winning the MCW Tag Team Championship from The Badstreet Boys on the May 22nd edition of Rage TV. The team defended the titles against The S.A.T. (Jose & Joel Maximo) at the 2002 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup as well as Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) and The Holy Rollers (Earl The Pearl & Ramblin Rich) during
5002-651: The MCW Rage Television Championship . On April 21, The Slackers teamed with Doink the Clown in a 6-man tag team match to defeat the Rehoboth Beach Crew (Tyler Hilton, Stevie Riggs & LK) at Aggravated Assault '07. The event was held at the Arena Club in Bel Air, Maryland with over 1,000 in attendance. After six weeks as champion, Slivenski re-lost the title to Hilton at Xtreme Measures II in Dundalk. That fall, he
Chad Slivenski - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-668: The MEWF Tag Team Championship from Suicide & Bruiser and held the titles for the next three months. Two weeks later, he lost to Chris Nightmare in Smyrna, Delaware for Maximum Championship Wrestling on January 24. He also made another NWL/HoPWF appearance on February 14 where he unexpectedly won the NWL Cruiserweight Championship from OGB in a lumberjack match in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania . Prior to
5246-630: The Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation 's Kenwood Khaos in Essex. That summer, he appeared on three major ECW shows. On June 24, his match against Don E. Allen at Hostile City Showdown 1994 ended in a no-contest when 911 interfered and incapacitated both men with a chokeslam . A month later at Heat Wave 1994 , Slivenski was disqualified in his match against ECW Television Champion Mikey Whipwreck as well as their rematch in Wildwood, New Jersey
5368-609: 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
5490-762: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
5612-517: The ring name Pitbull Spike . The Pitbulls debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) at a live event on April 25, 1992, where Pitbull Spike participated in a battle royal with the winner earning an ECW Heavyweight Championship match. Later that night, Pitbulls defeated Jeff Royal and Johnny Hotbody in the main event of the show. The Pitbulls then engaged in a brief rivalry with The Super Destroyers before departing
5734-483: The "ECW Remembers" video honoring "extreme" wrestlers who had died. His own partner Anthony Durante, died on September 25, 2003, from a homemade OxyContin overdose. He has appeared in Pro Wrestling Unplugged, leading a group called Team PIT featuring wrestlers, Aramis and former Women's Champion, Annie Social. after PWU was sold to Atomic Championship Wrestling (ACW) Wolfe became one of the head trainers for
5856-556: The "heel" stable Total Quality Management with MCW Heavyweight Champion "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero and MCW Tag Team Champions Cueball Carmichael & Dino Devine from 2000 until their breakup in 2002. He and Devine later began teaming together as The Slackers and won both the MEWF and MCW Tag Team titles. Born in Red Bank, New Jersey , Chad Slivenski trained under Don Owens and made his wrestling debut on September 11, 1991. He spent two years on
5978-577: 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
6100-400: 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
6222-506: 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
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#17331058149606344-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
6466-641: 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
6588-588: The August 29 episode of Shotgun Saturday Night , losing to The Headbangers . They appeared at the NWA 50th Anniversary Show , where they teamed with defending champion Stevie Richards and Dead Man Walking against Steve Corino, Lance Diamond, Doug Gilbert and Rik Ratchett in a steel cage match for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship , in which Richards lost the title to Gilbert. Pitbulls lost
6710-441: The May 17 episode of Hardcore TV , Pitbull lost the title to Mikey Whipwreck after a distraction by Tazmaniac. This led to a lengthy rivalry between Pitbull and Tazmaniac, beginning at When Worlds Collide , where Pitbull defeated Tazmaniac in their first match. On the June 7 episode of Hardcore TV , it was announced that Pitbull would face Tazmaniac in a dog collar match at Hostile City Showdown , which Tazmaniac won. After
6832-408: 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
6954-477: 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
7076-505: The United States Tag Team Championship to The Misfits (Derek Domino and Harley Lewis ) on November 13. They toured many promotions including Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and World Wrestling Council (WWC). Gary Wolfe returned to ECW at a live event on February 11, 2000, where he teamed with The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer against Jack Victory , Rhino and Steve Corino in
7198-466: The World Tag Team Championship, thanks to interference by Francine at Gangstas Paradise . They lost the title back to Raven and Richards on October 7 at South Philly Jam . Francine would become the manager of Pitbulls. Pitbulls began feuding with Jason 's next tag team The Eliminators ( John Kronus and Perry Saturn ) after Jason confronted Francine. The two teams traded wins with each other at November to Remember and December to Dismember . At
7320-401: 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
7442-418: 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
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#17331058149607564-550: 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
7686-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
7808-424: 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
7930-418: 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
8052-438: The chair and hit him five times breaking his leg as well. He later began using the move, referred to as the 187 , as his finisher and has credited Slivenski, albeit sarcastically, for its creation. Leaving ECW shortly after this incident, Slivenski began competing in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF). A month before his run-in with New Jack, he had wrestled Steve Corino in Baltimore . His injuries caused him to miss
8174-423: 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
8296-643: The close of MCW, Slivenski competed for various independent promotions in the Mid-Atlantic area. In the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation , he lost to "Hollywood" Bob Starr in a match for the vacant MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship in North Point, Maryland on September 7. On October 18, he appeared at "UnCivil War" for the National Wrestling League and House of Pain Wrestling Federation , held at
8418-461: 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
8540-430: The company. Gary Wolf returned to ECW, making his debut as a singles competitor at Holiday Hell on December 26, 1993 under the ring name The Pitbull , where he lost to Chad Austin in his debut match. However, Pitbull attacked Austin and The Sandman , with the assistance of Jason , thus forming an alliance with Jason and established himself as a villain in the process. He aligned himself with Rockin' Rebel and
8662-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
8784-540: 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
8906-516: The decision was again reversed giving Creed the win via disqualification but not the belt. He finally lost the title to Creed a month later in Odenton . On December 6, 2000, he and Chip Bowman took on Qenaan Creed and Kelly Bell in Glen Burnie. During the next year, Slivenski cut down on his ring schedule to recuperate from an injury. On July 28, 2001, Slivenski lost to Julio Dinero in Bel Air, Maryland . At
9028-405: 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
9150-538: The end of the year, he and Dino Devine lost to Van Hammer & The Cowboy, a local WZBH disc jockey, in Laurel on December 16, 2001. On January 30, 2002, he appeared with Total Quality Management in their final match together in front of an estimated 1,200 fans at an MCW Rage TV taping in Glen Burnie. He had been scheduled to take part in a 6-man tag team match with Dino Divine and Kelly Bell against Jimmy Cicero and The Badstreet Boys (Joey Matthews & Christian York) but
9272-597: 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
9394-495: The feud against The Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Candido ) and then took a hiatus in July. Pitbulls returned to ECW at As Good as it Gets , where they turned villains by aligning themselves with Lance Wright and confronting Taz, who attacked Pitbulls. Pitbull #1 would take a managerial role for Pitbull #2, who feuded with Taz over the World Television Championship but failed to win
9516-478: The first alumni to return to the promotion. On February 26, 2006, The Slackers briefly won the MCW Tag Team titles in a 4 Way Dance with The Holy Rollers and Jason Static & Judas Young at MCW's "Resurrection" in Dundalk, Maryland. Later that night, however, they lost the titles to The James Gang ( BG James & Kip James ) in a 3 Way Dance with The Holy Rollers when referee Earl Hebner turned heel and made
9638-561: The first episodes of ECW Hardcore TV during the next few weeks. On November 14, 1993, Austin was the sole survivor of a six-man elimination tag team match with Watsumi the Rising Sun and Joe College against the American Ninja, Johnny Paradise and The Comet at Kenwood High School in Essex, Maryland . Slivenski was part of two other memorable Hardcore TV moments that year. On December 13, he
9760-470: 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
9882-610: 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
10004-455: 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
10126-513: 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
10248-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
10370-471: 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
10492-487: 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
10614-445: The issue between Stevie Richards , Francine and Beulah McGillicutty . This led to Pitbulls refusing to follow Raven and Richards' orders of superbombing Luna Vachon and attacked their leaders, thus turning fan favorites at Hardcore Heaven . As a result, Pitbulls aligned with Raven's Nest rival Tommy Dreamer and began feuding with Raven and Stevie Richards, defeating them in a two out of three falls dog collar match to win
10736-624: The match after Pierce hit him with a light tube . A few months later, The Slackers teamed with Tito Santana in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Buck and Phat Blues Security at MCW's "Tribute To The Legends" show in Dundalk on September 10, and beat Buck Chyld & Doyle Day at "Monster Mash" on October 29. On November 11, they lost to Bruiser & Genesis in a 4 Way Dance against the Rehoboth Beach Crew and Phat Blues Security at North Carroll High School in Hampstead, Maryland . At MCW's Holiday Homecoming, Slivenski and Devine lost to The Ghetto Mafia in
10858-513: The match, Pitbull #2 made his ECW debut and joined Pitbull in attacking Tazmaniac and thus formed The Pitbulls for the first time on ECW television. Pitbulls competed as a team for the first time in ECW at Heat Wave , where they lost to Tazmaniac and Sabu . On the July 26 episode of Hardcore TV , Pitbulls attacked their tag team partner Jimmy Snuka after they lost a match to Tommy Dreamer , Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr. This led to Tazmaniac making
10980-541: The match, The Sandman came to his rescue. This match aired on Hardcore TV three days later. Slivenski continued to be a regular at the ECW Arena during the next year. On February 5, 1994, he lost to 911 in the opening match of ECW's The Night the Line Was Crossed . In the first half of 1994, he also faced The Public Enemy ( Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge ), Johnny Hotbody , The Sandman, Hack Meyers and Shane Douglas . On April 9, he challenged Ricky Blues at
11102-570: The match, he introduced the 6'8" 330-pound Dorian DeVille as his new manager and had helped Slivenski win the title with outside interference. He was stripped of the belt the next month after failing to make a scheduled title defense in Newville on March 6. Three weeks later, he showed up at an MEWF show at the Northpoint Flea Market in Dundalk, Maryland. Slivenski returned to the NWL to participate in
11224-498: 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
11346-479: The mid-1990s, and made occasional appearances as a preliminary wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment . Slivenski also wrestles under the name "Stone Cold" Chad Austin , an in-ring persona he originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling , and continued in other Philadelphia -based "hardcore" wrestling promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling and IWA Mid-South . While in ECW, Austin
11468-484: The next few months. On August 16, Slivenski made a one-time appearance for Beautiful Babes of Wrestling to wrestle Alexis Laree in an intergender match in Martinsburg, West Virginia . In early 2003, The Slackers became involved in a feud with The Bruiser when, on January 29, they interfered in his match against Danny Doring costing him the MCW Heavyweight Championship . Slivenski managed to beat him in
11590-727: The next three months. Although they lost to them in a lumberjack match at Guerrilla Warfare on April 22, they defeated them in an Evening Gown match at Xtreme Measures a month later. The feud ended at Red, White, Black & Bruised when they defeated The Holy Rollers at the Fort Meade Army Base on July 22. As a result of their victory, The Holy Rollers were forced to break up and Earl The Pearl had to leave MCW. One week later, Slivenski appeared as Chad Austin at Combat Zone Wrestling 's Tournament Of Death V in Smyrna, Delaware where he wrestled Kylie Pierce in an intergender match. Slivenski lost
11712-714: 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
11834-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
11956-575: The rest of the year, recovering from his injuries. A tribute show in support of Wolfe, Requiem for a Pitbull , was held in August 1996. Pitbull #1 returned to in-ring competition at the House Party in January 1997, where he challenged Douglas for the World Television Championship but Douglas retained the title via count-out. He received another title shot against Douglas in an "I Quit" match at Hostile City Showdown on March 15, where Douglas retained, thanks to interference by Francine. Pitbulls would lose
12078-494: The ring name Pitbull #1 as one half of the tag team called The Pitbulls , with Anthony Durante as Pitbull #2. He was a one-time Television Champion and a one-time World Tag Team Champion in ECW. He is also a former two-time 3PW World Heavyweight Champion . Wolfe made his professional wrestling debut on January 2, 1988 by teaming with Johnny Hotbody to form a tag team called The Gladiators, who lost their first match to Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner . Wolfe formed
12200-636: The ring under Royal Rumble -style rules. The event was later included as part of ECW Extreme Warfare, Vol. 1 . On January 7, 1995, Slivenski lost to JT Smith at the ECW Arena and to The Tazmaniac at the Big Apple Dinner Theater in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania on February 24. The following night at ECW's Return of the Funker , he and Joel Hartgood lost to The Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 and Pitbull #2 ) in front of 1,150 fans. At Hardcore Heaven 1995 ,
12322-484: The save, leading to a match between Pitbulls and the team of Snuka and Tazmaniac at Hardcore Heaven , which Pitbulls lost, thus ending the feud. Pitbulls defeated The Bad Breed ( Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten ) in a match at November to Remember and lost a handicap match to 911 at Holiday Hell . Pitbulls defeated Tony Stetson and Johnny Hotbody at Three Way Dance on April 8, 1995, which stipulated that Stetson and Hotbody would be fired by Raven's Nest . As
12444-440: 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
12566-536: The summer. On November 22, he and Hack Meyers lost to Stevie Richards and JT Smith in a tag team match and, the following week, wrestled Shane Douglas for the ECW Heavyweight Championship . On December 24, 1994, Slivenski participated in a battle royal at the ECW Arena. He was the event's first entrant and, upon entering the ring, announced he was quitting ECW and had bought a house in Atlanta claiming he
12688-426: 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,
12810-679: The title at November to Remember . Pitbulls made their last televised appearance in ECW on the December 20 episode of Hardcore TV , after which they left ECW. Pitbulls competed in various independent promotions after leaving ECW. Their most notable stint was with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territory NWA New Jersey, where they captured the NWA United States Tag Team Championship by defeating Lance Diamond and Steve Corino on August 22, 1998. During this time, they also made an appearance in World Wrestling Federation on
12932-497: The title to Corporal Punishment on November 12, and after it was declared vacant the next month, lost to Devon Storm in a match to determine the new champion. On April 1, 1996, Slivenski was involved in a real-life " shoot " with New Jack when he took part in a tag team "double tables" match with The Blue Meanie against The Gangstas at an April Fool's Day television taping for ECW Hardcore TV. Slivenski had replaced Meanie's original partner, Stevie Richards, who had suffered
13054-505: 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
13176-471: 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
13298-584: The two faced Sandman and Tommy Cairo in a dog collar match in a losing effort at The Night the Line Was Crossed on February 5, 1994. On the April 19 episode of Hardcore TV , Pitbull defeated J.T. Smith to capture the ECW Television Championship when Smith was attacked by The Public Enemy before the match. Pitbull began a rivalry with The Tazmaniac after Tazmaniac was named the number one contender to his newly won Television Championship. On
13420-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
13542-535: 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
13664-420: 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
13786-425: 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
13908-488: 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
14030-595: Was one of several wrestlers nominated by fans in an online vote to challenge Hilton for the title at the upcoming "Kickoff Chaos" supercard on September 9. The other nominees included his tag team partner Dino Divine, Stevie Riggs and LK of the Rehoboth Beach Crew, Buck Chyld, Ramblin Rich and Patrick Brink. On December 8, he wrestled at a Maximum Championship Wrestling supercard, "The Road to Full Access 4", in Blue Ridge Summit and lost to MCW Heavyweight Champion Matt Turner in
14152-568: 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
14274-540: Was replaced by ex-member Cueball Carmichael. Slivenski's team lost when Carmichael was pinned and, according to the pre-match stipulations, TQM was forced to disband. Soon after the TQM's breakup, Slivenski formed a tag team with former stablemate Dino Divine called The Slackers. On February 16, they defeated Van Hammer & The Cowboy in a rematch on MCW Rage TV in Harrington, Delaware but lost to Gillberg & Steve Wilkos of
14396-569: Was scheduled to face Mr. Hughes but the lights unexpectedly went out, and when they came back on again, the entire ECW locker room was engaged in a brawl in the ring. A week later, Slivenski was brought out by Terry Funk as a mock Sabu impersonator and attacked by Funk. When Sabu's then manager Paul E. Dangerously confronted Funk, he was chased off. In front of a sold-out crowd at the ECW Arena, Slivenski scored an upset victory over Pitbull #1 in his ECW debut at Holiday Hell 1993 on December 26, 1993. When his opponent continued attacking him after
14518-415: 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
14640-490: Was soon heading to World Championship Wrestling adding that "ECW was small time". Upon hearing this, everyone in the battle royal immediately entered the ring to go after Slivenski and threw him out. Led by Shane Douglas, the wrestlers forced him to say "ECW is number one!" in the house microphone. This resulted in Tod Gordon coming out and ordering everyone to the back, with the exception of Axl Rotten and Pitbull #2, and reenter
14762-459: Was subject to a real-life " shoot " when New Jack allegedly broke his leg with a steel chair. In later shoot interviews , New Jack has credited Austin for inadvertently inspiring his 187 finishing move, a top rope dive onto an opponent with a steel chair, which he had first used to injure him. A mainstay of the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (MEWF) and Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), he and kayfabe brother Chip Bowman were members of
14884-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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