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168-398: Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler . He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion . He is also known for his tenure on WWE , where he performed under the ring name Daniel Bryan from 2010 to 2021. Noted for his technical wrestling style and popularity with fans, he is widely regarded as one of
336-653: A Velocity taping also in February, and made his final appearance in November in a tag team match against Paul London and Spanky at a Velocity taping, in which he was partnered with John Walters. This was his final appearance for the promotion for over five years. Danielson went to Japan after his release from the WWF, competing in Japan's premier promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he used his American Dragon persona and donned
504-431: A ten-man tag team match in which a man from each team starts in the cage and a random wrestler enters periodically thereafter. During the match, Danielson turned on his team by assaulting his rival Samoa Joe before leaving the match and effectively abandoning his involvement in the animosity between the two promotions. As the interpromotional hostility with CZW heightened, Danielson also defended against challengers from
672-567: A thumb war , before singing " John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt " along with the crowd. In May, he made another appearance teaming with Paul London, referring to himself as "American Dolphin" in a parodied manner. On September 4 at Guerre Sans Frontières during his last night in PWG, Danielson defeated Chris Hero to win the PWG World Championship for the second time and immediately vacated it afterward. Following his return from his injury in 2007,
840-446: 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
1008-502: A "Founding Father" of the company. On February 23, 2002, he competed in the main event of the company's debut event, The Era of Honor Begins, in a three-way match against Christopher Daniels and Low Ki , a match that Low Ki won. One of his matches with Austin Aries , performed on August 7, 2004, at Testing the Limit, lasted seventy-four minutes before Aries was finally declared the victor. One of
1176-648: A Squared Circle Wrestling event. On September 10, he returned to the IWA using the name Daniel Bryan and lost the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship to Dennis Rivera . The following day, Danielson returned to EVOLVE by defeating Munenori Sawa in the main event. Later that same night, Danielson wrestled for New York Wrestling Connection in a tag team match, where he and Tony Nese defeated Dimitrios Papadon and Alex Reynolds. On September 25, Danielson returned to Dragon Gate USA and defeated YAMATO in
1344-522: A WWE Championship match and instead forcing him to face Kane on August 19 at SummerSlam , where Bryan emerged victorious. As a result of Bryan and Kane's issues, AJ enrolled them in anger management classes hosted by Dr. Shelby and they were later forced to "hug it out". At the arrangement of Dr. Shelby and AJ, the two adversaries formed a team whose constant bickering and infighting even during matches inadvertently resulted in them defeating The Prime Time Players ( Titus O'Neil and Darren Young ) to become
1512-413: 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
1680-634: A brief feud between the two. Danielson's biggest success came in 2006 by winning the FIP Heavyweight Championship , holding the belt for eleven months before losing it to Roderick Strong . Danielson wrestled his last match for FIP in December 2006 at Florida Rumble, where he lost to Erick Stevens . Danielson also wrestled in the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) promotion. He made his debut in November 2003 at An Inch Longer Than Average in
1848-520: 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
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#17328694067842016-513: 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
2184-574: 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
2352-415: 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 . Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen ( / ˈ æ b ər d iː n / AB -ər-deen )
2520-410: 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
2688-414: 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
2856-545: A good luck kiss from AJ. On the following episode of SmackDown , Bryan blamed AJ for his title loss and ended their relationship. Despite AJ's attempts to mend their relationship, Bryan cruelly rebuffed her multiple times, leaving AJ an emotional wreck. At Extreme Rules on April 29, Bryan failed to regain the World Heavyweight Championship from Sheamus in a two-out-of-three falls match , losing two falls to one. The next night on Raw SuperShow , Bryan became
3024-482: A household in the city was $ 30,683, and the median income for a family was $ 37,966. Males had a median income of $ 32,710 versus $ 20,446 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,092. About 16.1% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 29.7% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those ages 65 or over. According to the Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by
3192-547: A legitimate nerve injury , which was a stinger resulting in Bryan being unable to feel both his arms for the rest of the match. He's the most technically proficient wrestler the WWE main-event scene has seen possibly since Bret Hart , and he connects with the crowd (the whole crowd — sorry, Mr. Cena) in a near-euphoric way we haven't seen consistently since The Rock in his prime. —David Shoemaker of Grantland , while declaring Bryan as
3360-405: 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
3528-529: A losing effort to PWG Champion Frankie Kazarian . He continued to appear in PWG over the next couple of years, winning the PWG World Championship in 2007 and holding it for six months before taking an eleven-month hiatus from the company. He made his return to PWG at the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles tournament. In April 2009, at PWG: One Hundred, Danielson defeated Kenny Omega . The match was notable for its opening, which included Omega and Danielson performing variable tests of strength, including arm wrestling and
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#17328694067843696-509: A male householder with no spouse present, and 37.9% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age in the city was 35.6 years. 24.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.8% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
3864-754: 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
4032-434: A match that ended in a no contest, and the second match was a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell , where Orton won the title. Professional wrestler Mid 20th Century 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
4200-560: A median household income of $ 50,008. Approximately 21.0% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line . Aberdeen has an estimated 54.6% employment rate, with 16.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 84.8% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (83.7), Spanish (14.1%), Other Indo-European (0.5%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.9%), and Other (0.8%). The median age in
4368-440: 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
4536-467: A no contest. This culminated in a triple threat steel cage match to exclude outside interference at the Royal Rumble on January 29, where Bryan escaped the cage after freeing himself from Big Show's grasp to retain the championship. At Elimination Chamber on February 19, Bryan defeated Big Show, Cody Rhodes, The Great Khali , Santino Marella, and Wade Barrett in an Elimination Chamber match to retain
4704-512: A number of CZW wrestlers. Hero intensified the rivalry, leading to the two wrestling at ROH's Hell Freezes Over event on January 14, where Danielson successfully defended the ROH World Championship. On July 15 at Death Before Dishonor IV, he soon filled the vacant slot on ROH's five-man team which participated in one of CZW's more popular attractions, a steel cage match called the Cage of Death ,
4872-497: A red, white and blue mask reminiscent of a dragon. As a part of the junior heavyweight division , Danielson had success in both singles and tag team competition in the company, winning (without wearing a mask) the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Curry Man on March 12, 2004. In 2002, Danielson joined the independent promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is acknowledged as
5040-461: A regional service center for much of the Olympic Peninsula. Grays Harbor Community Hospital employees total more than 600 workers. Historically the area is dependent on harvesting and exporting natural resources. The Port of Grays Harbor is the largest coastal shipping port north of California. It is still a center for the export of logs on the west coast of the U.S. and has become one of
5208-523: A six-man tag team match. The Shield went on to take out Undertaker and rack up wins over Bryan and Kane in both singles and tag matches that also included WWE Champion John Cena. On May 19 at Extreme Rules , Bryan and Kane lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Shield members Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, ending their reign at 245 days. As Bryan being pinned led to the loss of the WWE Tag Team Championship, he became obsessed about proving that he
Bryan Danielson - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-466: A title match and quickly pinned Henry, but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long revealed that Henry was not medically cleared to compete and voided the match, so Henry remained champion and the briefcase was returned to Bryan. Regardless of his briefcase, Bryan won a fatal four-way match on the same episode of SmackDown to become the contender for Henry's championship. On the live November 29 episode of SmackDown , Henry managed to pin Bryan to retain
5544-497: 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
5712-575: 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
5880-525: A winner, with a title changing hands by countout and disqualification and a draw forcing a restart. Danielson won the match on August 12 and retired the Pure title as its last champion (the title would be reinstated in 2020). During a match with Colt Cabana on August 26, Danielson suffered a real injury when he separated his shoulder, tearing two tendons in it and he tore another tendon in his chest. Danielson returned at Glory by Honor V: Night 2 on September 16 and
6048-499: Is Earned , which had Danielson team with ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima against Nigel McGuinness and Kenta. Danielson's team won after Danielson made Kenta tap out to his signature submission hold , the Cattle Mutilation . Danielson vied to contend for the ROH World Championship by defeating McGuinness at Domination on June 9, which appeared on the company's next pay per view named Driven which took place on June 23, but
6216-584: Is a city in Grays Harbor County , Washington , United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census . The city is the most populous in Grays Harbor County and the region's economic center, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis . Aberdeen is occasionally referred to as the "Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula ". Samuel Benn, a New York City native, established a homestead on
6384-570: Is a port settlement situated at the mouth of two rivers—the Chehalis and the Wishkah . An earlier name for the settlement was Heraville, which was recorded by Benn. The city was founded by Samuel Benn in 1884 and incorporated on May 12, 1890. Although it became the largest and best-known city in Grays Harbor , Aberdeen lagged behind nearby Hoquiam and Cosmopolis in its early years. When A.J. West built
6552-410: 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
6720-539: Is home to Grays Harbor College , located in south Aberdeen, and is represented by the Charlie Choker mascot. The college emphasizes student opportunities and has resources to help students transfer to a four-year college to complete a degree. Aberdeen has the largest public library in Grays Harbor County, which is operated as part of the Timberland Regional Library system. The city originally had
6888-402: Is land and 1.70 square miles (4.40 km ) is water. Aberdeen experiences a climate on the boundary between Mediterranean ( Köppen Csb ) and oceanic (Köppen Cfb ). Although rainfall is extremely high between October and March, July and August still have a distinct excess of evaporation over rainfall. Temperatures are generally very mild due to the proximity of the warm Pacific Ocean and
Bryan Danielson - Misplaced Pages Continue
7056-683: Is thought that, during glacial periods of the Quaternary, the Chehalis River was a major refugium for aquatic species, as was the west coast from the Olympic Peninsula southward for plants that later formed the northern part of the Pacific temperate rainforest in formerly glaciated areas. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 12.58 square miles (32.58 km ), of which 10.87 square miles (28.15 km )
7224-677: The Pirates of the Caribbean film The Curse of the Black Pearl . Aberdeen is at the eastern end of Grays Harbor, near the mouth of the Chehalis River and southwest of the Olympic Mountains . Grays Harbor is notable as the northernmost ria on North America's Pacific Coast because it has remained free of glaciers throughout the Quaternary due to unfavorable topography and warm temperatures. It
7392-562: The Chehalis River in 1859 and later platted a town at the site named Aberdeen. According to accounts collected by historian Edmond S. Meany , the name has two possible origins: from the Ilwaco -based Aberdeen Packing Company, which opened a cannery on the homestead in 1873; or from the Scottish city of Aberdeen , named by an early settler who had lived in Scotland. Like the Scottish city, Aberdeen
7560-519: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2023, there were 77 violent crimes and 587 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 0 murder, 21 forcible rapes, 14 robberies and 42 aggravated assaults, while 82 burglaries, 435 larceny-thefts, 64 motor vehicle thefts and 6 acts of arson defined the property offenses. Aberdeen and the rest of Grays Harbor remain dependent on timber, fishing, and tourism industries and as
7728-528: The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He won numerous titles on the independent circuit, including the PWG World Championship , the FIP Heavyweight Championship , and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship . Danielson again signed with WWE in 2009, but was fired after an incident in 2010. Upon his return three months later, he went on to win
7896-621: The Kuroshio Current . Snow is very common but usually light, with one exception being December 1964 during which 22.3 inches or 0.57 metres fell. Occasionally, southeasterly winds can cause very high temperatures. For example, in August 1981, the temperature in Aberdeen reached 105 °F (40.6 °C). As of the 2022 American Community Survey , there are 6,441 estimated households in Aberdeen with an average of 2.59 persons per household. The city has
8064-683: The MVP for the WWE Midseason Awards in October 2013 Heading to SummerSlam, Bryan started a storyline where WWE chairman Vince McMahon was against Bryan due to Bryan's image not fitting of McMahon's vision of a typical WWE wrestler, while WWE chief operating officer Triple H was in support of Bryan. At the event, Bryan defeated John Cena to win his first WWE Championship, but after the match special referee Triple H performed his Pedigree finishing move on Bryan, leading to Randy Orton cashing in his Money in
8232-597: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) published a video of Danielson stating his intent to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , as the establishment that sanctioned the title at the time, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, was relinquishing the title back to the NWA. A tournament, titled Reclaiming the Glory, was held to determine the new champion with Danielson making his way to finals, scheduled to compete Brent Albright on September 1, but due to
8400-609: 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
8568-762: 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
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#17328694067848736-757: The WWE Championship four times, the World Heavyweight Championship once, and the WWE United States Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship once each. He also won the WWE Tag Team Championship (as part of Team Hell No with Kane ) and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship (with Erick Rowan ), becoming the 26th WWE Triple Crown Champion and the 15th WWE Grand Slam Champion . He also won
8904-550: The World Association of Wrestling (WAW), and Premier Promotions. He returned several times over the next five years, working for various promotions. In February 2005 at New Dawn Rising, he made his debut in ROH's sister promotion, Full Impact Pro (FIP), teaming up with Rocky Romero in a match against Austin Aries and Homicide. The next night at Dangerous Intentions, Danielson competed in a losing effort against CM Punk , which led to
9072-529: The wXw World Heavyweight Championship against Bad Bones and held it over a month before losing it to Absolute Andy. After his departure from wXw, Danielson made his debut with Philadelphia -based independent promotion CHIKARA to compete in their King of Trios tournament , which saw him team with Claudio Castagnoli and Dave Taylor in a contingency called Team Uppercut. In the same year, Danielson competed in Dragon Gate USA 's second show, losing to Open
9240-577: 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
9408-400: 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
9576-460: 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
9744-411: 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
9912-515: The 2011 Money in the Bank ladder match and the "Superstar of the Year" award at the 2013 Slammy Awards , and headlined several major WWE events , including the 2014 and 2021 editions of their flagship event WrestleMania . Danielson retired from wrestling in 2016 due to injuries arising from multiple concussions , which led to seizures and a brain lesion . He then took on a non-wrestling role for WWE as
10080-641: 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
10248-464: The Bank , Bryan won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match which earned him a World Heavyweight Championship match at any point within the following year. After several months of losing matches, Bryan began a feud with then World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry . On the November 25 episode of SmackDown , Henry was knocked out again by Big Show, at which point Bryan cashed in his briefcase for
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#173286940678410416-450: The Bank contract to win the title from Bryan. When [Vince McMahon] had HHH call Bryan a B+ player, that is because Vince saw Bryan that way. Vince was just going to screw Bryan in the storylines and then push him down the card. —Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com's analysis of Bryan's feud with The Authority The next night on Raw , Triple H and the McMahons endorsed Orton as "the face of
10584-481: The Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi . Danielson re-signed with WWE in August 2009, under his real name. He made his debut on January 4, 2010, in a dark match prior to Raw , defeating Chavo Guerrero . He went to Florida to train with Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), the WWE developmental territory , to acclimate himself to his new work environment and work on his ring rust . He debuted at
10752-627: The FCW television tapings on January 14 and lost to Kaval. At the February 11 tapings, he was given the ring name Daniel Bryan. He later said that he was given a list of 10 possible ring names to use in WWE (including Daniel Bryan, Buddy Peacock, and Lloyd Bonaire) but his real name was not on the list. His name was given by William Regal. Bryan made his debut on the inaugural episode of NXT on February 23, losing by submission to then World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and being attacked by his storyline mentor The Miz for disrespecting him earlier in
10920-473: The June 14 episode of SmackDown , Bryan (with Kane and Randy Orton as his tag team partners) ended The Shield's unpinned and unsubmitted streak in a televised six-man tag match by forcing Rollins to submit. On June 16 at Payback , Bryan and Orton lost against Rollins and Reigns for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The following night on Raw , a match between Bryan and Orton ended via referee stoppage after Bryan suffered
11088-474: The Limit, Bryan interfered in a match between Punk and Kane to frame Punk attacking Kane with a steel chair, leading to a three-way feud. During this time, a jilted AJ Lee turned her affections to both Punk and Kane. On the June 1 episode of SmackDown , Bryan's interference caused WWE Championship match between Punk and Kane to end in a double disqualification, resulting in a triple threat match being set up on June 17 at No Way Out , where Punk managed to retain
11256-517: The NWA Legends Fanfest. Despite returning to WWE on August 15, Danielson honored most of his independent bookings, making his first appearance on August 20 and defeating Jon Moxley at Heartland Wrestling Association's Road to Destiny. The following day, he was defeated by Drake Younger at Insanity Pro Wrestling's Ninth Anniversary Reign of the Insane. On August 22, Danielson defeated J Freddie at
11424-408: 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
11592-477: 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
11760-639: The Pro to Rookie Derrick Bateman . In late 2010, The Bella Twins began competing for Bryan's affection, leading to them supporting him at ringside and competing in mixed tag team matches together. On the January 24, 2011 episode of Raw , it was revealed that Bryan had been secretly dating Gail Kim , who began accompanying him to ringside. On the March 14 episode of Raw , Bryan lost the United States Championship to Sheamus , ending his reign at 176 days. Bryan
11928-601: The ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness had a match to unify the titles. They met at April 29 in a match fought under pure wrestling rules and McGuinness left Danielson outside the ring after a chair shot to win by countout —this was enough to retain the Pure title, but not to win Danielson's World Championship. They had another unification match in McGuinness's native England; ROH decided that there had to be
12096-608: The TWA Tag Team Championship with Spanky on March 21, 2000, defeating The Board of Education (Jeromy Sage and Ruben Cruz), but they dropped the titles back to The Board of Education two weeks later. While touring the country's independent circuit , Danielson was signed to a developmental deal by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to work in their developmental system and was assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), where he gained exposure and
12264-657: The United States and abroad. In 2003, he toured the United Kingdom for the British promotion All Star Wrestling (ASW), where he sometimes used the name Dynamic Dragon. While there, he won the World Heavy Middleweight Championship on May 6 in an eight-man one-night tournament in Croydon , defeating James Mason. He spent the next six months in the United Kingdom, working for ASW, Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA),
12432-450: The WWE again. After being released, Danielson received several offers to sign with other wrestling companies, being contacted by TNA, albeit indirectly and some Japanese promotions. Two weeks after his departure from WWE, Danielson made his return to the independent circuit on June 26, defeating Eddie Kingston at the CHIKARA event We Must Eat Michigan's Brain. Rather than receiving streamers,
12600-431: The WWE" while labeling Bryan a "B+ player" and forming The Authority faction. With Triple H threatening to fire anyone who disobeyed him, Bryan was left alone to take on and suffer attacks from Orton and The Shield. Despite Bryan regained the title from Orton at Night of Champions , he was stripped of the title the following night on Raw by Triple H. Bryan wrestled Orton for the vacant titles twice, one at Battleground in
12768-545: The Weatherwax building of Aberdeen High School, built in 1909, burned to the ground in an act of arson. The new building was completed in 2007 and held its grand opening on August 25, 2007. Aberdeen School District also consists of one junior high: Miller Junior High; five elementary schools: Central Park Elementary, McDermoth Elementary, Stevens Elementary, AJ West Elementary and Robert Gray Elementary; and one Roman Catholic parochial school: St. Mary's Catholic School. Aberdeen
12936-631: The Weyerhaeuser Cosmopolis Pulp Mill was purchased by the Beverly Hills-based Gores Group and restarted as Cosmo Specialty Fibers, Inc. They started production of pulp on May 1, 2011. The city had two indoor shopping malls that were developed in the 1970s and early 1980s. The Wishkah Mall east of downtown Aberdeen opened in August 1976 on the riverfront and was followed in August 1981 by the South Shore Mall, which
13104-541: The World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Royal Rumble match winner Sheamus attacked Bryan and chose him as his WrestleMania opponent for the World Heavyweight Championship. In March, Bryan began to mistreat AJ, publicly demanding her to shut up and claiming that she always got in his way. Despite these actions, AJ continued to stand by Bryan. Bryan's reign as World Heavyweight Champion ended at 105 days when Sheamus defeated him in 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1 due to Bryan being distracted with receiving
13272-402: The altar and instead accepted Mr. McMahon 's offer of the position of permanent Raw General Manager. Bryan's night turned from bad to worse as he was later attacked by The Rock and insulted by celebrity Charlie Sheen . AJ's rejection of Bryan turned him into an angry and bitter individual and resulted in Bryan lashing out at audiences. AJ continued to exact her revenge on Bryan by denying him
13440-401: 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
13608-418: 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
13776-550: 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
13944-413: The beginning of 2006, Chris Hero , a representative from Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), invaded ROH and targeted Danielson—the two exchanged words over the internet before having a match together, with nearly the entire roster of both companies embarking on an interpromotional feud. Danielson became personally invested in this feud and invaded CZW himself, which led to him having physical altercations with
14112-412: 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
14280-424: 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
14448-418: 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
14616-423: 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
14784-566: The city was 37.1 years. As of the 2020 census , there were 17,013 people, 6,449 households, and 3,881 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,564.7 inhabitants per square mile (604.1/km ). There were 7,236 housing units at an average density of 665.5 inhabitants per square mile (257.0/km ). The racial makeup was 72.19% White , 1.31% African American , 4.01% Native American , 1.85% Asian , 0.21% Pacific Islander , 9.59% from some other races and 10.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 18.86% of
14952-593: The city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female. As of the 2000 census , there were 16,461 people, 6,517 households, and 4,112 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,548.8 inhabitants per square mile (598.0/km ). There were 7,536 housing units at an average density of 709.1 inhabitants per square mile (273.8/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 84.87% White , 0.47% African American , 3.70% Native American , 2.10% Asian , 0.14% Pacific Islander , 5.15% from some other races, and 3.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 9.22% of
15120-657: The closures from local radio stations who received a press release prior to a scheduled press conference. Major employers in Grays Harbor include Westport Shipyard, Sierra Pacific Industries, the Quinault Indian Nation, The Simpson Door Company, Hoquiam Plywood, Pasha Automotive, Willis Enterprises, Ocean Gold Companies, Vaughn Company, and the Stafford Creek Corrections Center, a state prison which opened in 2000. Other significant employers include
15288-461: 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
15456-492: The company held a show in Japan named Tokyo Summit on September 14, where Danielson wrestled GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru and won the championship. Following his victory, NOAH allowed him to defend the title in Ring of Honor, with his first defense being at Glory By Honor VII on September 20, defeating Katsuhiko Nakajima . However, this was his only successful defense as he returned to Japan on October 13 to lose
15624-738: The company until 2009, winning the ROH World Championship and ROH Pure Championship once each. He unified the championships at one point and was also the inaugural winner of the annual ROH Survival of the Fittest tournament. In 2022, he was named as part of the inaugural class of the ROH Hall of Fame . He also wrestled extensively in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) and
15792-465: The company's newsletter, The ROH Newswire , that he had quit ROH after being frustrated by his inability to defeat Austin Aries for the ROH World Championship . It was later revealed Danielson had become frustrated in general with professional wrestling and planned to take some time off to evaluate his career options. However, Danielson had several dates booked in Europe and Japan, leading fans to believe that
15960-435: The company. He was quickly defeated by both Sean O'Haire and Little Guido in his two appearances. He went on to make four additional non-contracted appearances for WWE in 2003 on its secondary shows , Velocity and Heat , initially as enhancement talent before being allowed to compete in longer matches; he wrestled Jamie Noble at a Velocity taping in January, Rico at a Heat taping in February, John Cena at
16128-468: 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
16296-560: The cranberry-growing cooperative Ocean Spray , worldwide retailer Walmart , Sidhu & Sons Nursery USA, Inc. (AKA Briggs Nursery), Overstock.com, and Washington Crab Producers. In 2007, Imperium Renewables of Seattle invested $ 40 million in the construction of the biodiesel plant at the Port of Grays Harbor. It is estimated the plant will produce as much as 100 million US gallons (380,000 m ) of biodiesel fuel made from plants and vegetable material annually. In September 2010,
16464-540: 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
16632-528: The dark match main event of Return of the Dragon. After the match, Danielson joined BxB Hulk , Masato Yoshino , Naruki Doi and PAC as the fifth member of the stable World-1. On July 30, Danielson returned to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, competing in a match where he defeated Roderick Strong. On August 7, Danielson unsuccessfully challenged Adam Pearce for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at
16800-405: 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
16968-466: The eye injury he sustained at ROH's Manhattan Mayhem event, he withdrew from the tournament and instead acted as the referee of the match. In 2009, Danielson's contract with Ring of Honor expired, which opened up Danielson to travel to other companies more freely while competing in his home promotion. In 2009, Danielson also signed a short-term contract with German wrestling promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw). Shortly after his debut, Danielson won
17136-597: 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
17304-446: The fall of 2009, Danielson signed with WWE after a farewell tour with ROH, during which he challenged Aries for the title again and lost. On September 26 at Glory by Honor VIII: The Final Countdown, he won his last match in the company against McGuinness, who was also having his final match with the company until 2023. Aside from competing primarily in ROH, Danielson has also competed in a multitude of other independent promotions, both in
17472-532: The family after his parents' divorce, he and his sister both delivered newspapers as children, and later worked at McDonald's as teenagers. For a brief time in high school, he lived with his father in Castle Rock, Washington . During his sophomore year at Aberdeen High School , Danielson decided to pursue a professional wrestling career and attempted to train at Dean Malenko 's wrestling school in Florida. However, by
17640-502: The family to Vernal, Utah , then to Albany, Oregon , before they returned to Aberdeen. His parents divorced over his father's alcoholism when Danielson was a child, though they remained on good terms. During his childhood, Danielson was shown a professional wrestling magazine by a friend, and has been a fan of wrestling ever since. He considered himself shy and antisocial as a child and teenager, but still competed in sports such as football and track and field . To help his mother support
17808-524: The fans instead threw neck ties in light of the Justin Roberts incident in WWE. The following day at CHIKARA's Faded Scars and Lines, Danielson defeated Young Lions Cup holder Tim Donst in a non-title match. On July 3, Danielson returned to wXw, defeating Wade Fitzgerald and TJP in the round robin stage of the Ambition 1 tournament. The following day, he defeated TJP in a rematch and finally Johnny Moss in
17976-598: The finals of the tournament to win Ambition 1. On July 17, Danielson debuted in the International Wrestling Association (IWA), being booked to defeat Q.T. Marshall for the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. On July 23, Danielson debuted in the fledgling EVOLVE promotion, which was originally conceived to be built around Danielson as their top star before he signed to WWE. In the main event, Danielson defeated Bobby Fish. The following day, Danielson returned to Dragon Gate USA and submitted Shingo in
18144-428: The first occasion against Big Show when Bryan goaded Mark Henry into attacking him and causing a disqualification; the second occasion a no disqualification rematch with Big Show which ended abruptly after Big Show accidentally ran into AJ, hospitalizing her within the storyline for which Bryan blamed him; and the third occasion against Henry in a lumberjack match when Bryan provoked the lumberjacks to interfere and cause
18312-470: 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
18480-412: The four anchor spaces at the mall, which is owned by Coming Attractions Theaters. The city's school district has two high schools: J. M. Weatherwax High School , or Aberdeen High School as it is now called; and Harbor High School, an alternative high school with an enrollment exceeding 200 students. Aberdeen High has a long-time school sports rivalry with nearby Hoquiam High School. In 2002,
18648-610: 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
18816-455: 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
18984-432: The greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Danielson began his professional wrestling career in 1999 on the independent circuit , and signed an 18-month contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2000; he later went on to make appearances in WWE until 2003. He joined Ring of Honor (ROH) in 2002, wrestling in the main event of the promotion's first event; considered a mainstay of ROH, he stayed with
19152-513: 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
19320-492: 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
19488-471: 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
19656-487: 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
19824-558: The largest centers for the shipment of autos and grains to China and Korea. On December 19, 2005, Weyerhaeuser made plans to close the Aberdeen large-log sawmill and the Cosmopolis pulp mill, and the closures took effect in early 2006. This resulted in the loss of at least 342 jobs. In January 2009, Weyerhaeuser closed two additional plants in Aberdeen, resulting in another 221 lost jobs. In both cases many employees were not told by Weyerhaeuser management, but learned about
19992-493: The late 1970s, most of the area had been logged and the remaining mills closed during the next decade. By the early 1990s, the industry was decimated due to resource reduction. Local political and business leaders ignored this fact and did not pursue economic diversification. Aberdeen is also the home port of the tall ship Lady Washington , a reproduction of a smaller vessel used by the explorer Captain Robert Gray , featured in
20160-437: The main event of the evening. The following day, Danielson defeated Jon Moxley . On October 1, Danielson wrestled the last of his independent matches by defeating Shelton Benjamin at a Northeast Wrestling event. Danielson returned to WWE as Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam on August 15, 2010, where he was revealed as the surprise seventh member of Team WWE for the seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus. Bryan
20328-498: 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
20496-416: The more notable rivalries he had in the early years in the company was with Homicide , as the two fought numerous matches with a variety of stipulations, culminating in a steel cage match on May 13, 2005, at The Final Showdown, where Danielson was victorious. Despite winning the company's inaugural Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2004, Bryan did not win a ROH title. In 2005, Danielson explained in
20664-465: The number one contender to CM Punk's WWE Championship when he won a Beat the Clock challenge by defeating Jerry Lawler in under three minutes. Bryan received his title match at Over the Limit on May 20 and suffered a controversial loss—when Bryan rolled back onto his shoulders as he applied the "Yes!" Lock , Punk tapped out immediately after the referee counted a pinfall win for Punk. Shortly before Over
20832-411: The number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship on the September 10 episode of Raw and then defeating champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth to win the championship on September 16 at Night of Champions . The team was named Team Hell No and started a feud with The Shield, leading to a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match on December 16 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , where The Shield
21000-569: The on-screen general manager of SmackDown and remained in the role until 2018, when he was unexpectedly cleared by doctors to return to in-ring competition. His WWE contract expired in May 2021, and he made his AEW debut four months later. Since joining AEW, he has headlined several AEW pay-per-view events and won the men's 2024 Owen Hart Cup . He defeated Swerve Strickland to become the AEW World Champion at All In 2024 , his first championship in
21168-402: The periodical was likely a storyline claim for Danielson's absence during this period. Danielson defeated James Gibson for the ROH World Championship at Glory by Honor IV on September 15, 2005. The rest of the year saw Danielson have successful title defenses even against wrestlers from other companies, such as Pro Wrestling Noah star Naomichi Marufuji at Final Battle on December 17. At
21336-419: The population. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.2% were under 5 years of age, and 17.6% were 65 and older. As of the 2010 census , there were 16,896 people, 6,476 households, and 4,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,586.0 inhabitants per square mile (612.4/km ). There were 7,338 housing units at an average density of 689.0 per square mile (266.0/km ). The racial makeup
21504-502: The population. 16.4% were of German , 9.3% English , 9.3% American , 8.7% Irish and 5.9% Norwegian ancestry. 90.2% spoke only English, while 7.7% spoke Spanish at home. There were 6,517 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who
21672-512: 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 is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
21840-714: 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
22008-561: The promotion. At WrestleDream 2024 , Danielson lost the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley in what was billed as the final match of his full-time professional wrestling career. Bryan Lloyd Danielson was born in Aberdeen, Washington , on May 22, 1981, the son of therapist Darlene and lumberjack Donald "Buddy" Danielson. His mother was pregnant with him for over 10 months. He has an older sister named Billie Sue. His father's job moved
22176-439: 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
22344-563: The ringside area. On June 11, Danielson was fired from WWE for being too violent during the segment, strangling ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own neck tie. Danielson noted that WWE apologized to him for his release, explaining that they "had sponsors they had to deal with". His release was put in a storyline, where the rest of the NXT rookies kicked him out of the group for showing remorse for his actions and declared that Bryan would never return to
22512-529: The rival company, who had signed an open contract for any CZW wrestler willing to challenge for the ROH World Championship. Former champion Samoa Joe also challenged Danielson at Fight of the Century on August 5, but their match ended in a 60-minute draw . While having the ROH World Championship, ROH faced the issue of having another title with seemingly equal value, the ROH Pure Championship . Danielson and
22680-412: The show. he was eliminated from the show along with Michael Tarver . On the May 31 episode of Raw, Bryan was granted a match against The Miz by guest host Ashton Kutcher , which he won and threw Miz into Cole at ringside after the match. On the June 7 episode of Raw , the faction known as The Nexus (NXT rookies from season one) invaded the WWE ring, attacking John Cena and causing destruction around
22848-440: 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
23016-426: 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,
23184-600: The time he graduated in 1999, the school had closed down. Following a friend's suggestion, he instead began training under Shawn Michaels and Rudy Gonzalez at the Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in San Antonio, Texas . After his wrestling debut in December 1999, he toured Japan with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) alongside Lance Cade , a fellow trainee from the TWA, and they competed in several tag team matches. He won
23352-581: The title after AJ distracted Kane. On the June 25 episode of Raw SuperShow , Bryan defeated Punk and Kane in a non-title three-way elimination match to earn another shot at the WWE Championship. At Money in the Bank on July 15, Bryan failed to capture the WWE Championship again from Punk in a no disqualification match with AJ as special guest referee . The following night on Raw SuperShow , AJ accepted Bryan's marriage proposal. On Raw 1000 , Bryan's storyline wedding ended in failure when AJ left Bryan at
23520-601: The title in a steel cage match. Also in November, Bryan started being involved in a romantic storyline with AJ Lee. Bryan cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on December 18 at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs against Big Show, who had just defeated Henry and subsequently received a DDT onto a steel chair, which allowed Bryan to secure a pinfall victory and become the World Heavyweight Champion. As World Heavyweight Champion, Bryan turned heel , In January 2012, Bryan successfully defended his title three times:
23688-408: The title to Kenta. Following his loss, Danielson challenged McGuinness for the ROH World Championship at the next ROH pay-per-view Rising Above on November 22, in a losing effort. Ring of Honor made its national television debut with the program Ring of Honor Wrestling and Danielson made his television debut in the main event of its third episode on February 28, 2009 by defeating Austin Aries. In
23856-542: The title two weeks later by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a triple threat submissions count anywhere match at Hell in a Cell on October 3. On October 24, he went on to challenge then Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler to a champion vs. champion match at Bragging Rights as a special attraction SmackDown vs. Raw match, defeating Ziggler in a highly acclaimed match. On November 21, Bryan went on to successfully defend his title against Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series . Bryan returned to NXT' s season four as
24024-535: The town's first sawmill in 1894, the other two municipalities had been in business for several years. Aberdeen and its neighbors vied to be the terminus for Northern Pacific Railroad , but instead of ending at one of the established mill towns, the railroad skimmed through Cosmopolis and headed west for Ocosta . Hoquiam and Aberdeen citizens together built a spur; in 1895, the line connected Northern Pacific tracks to Aberdeen. By 1900, Aberdeen had become home to many saloons , brothels , and gambling establishments. It
24192-505: 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
24360-471: 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
24528-405: 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
24696-535: 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
24864-420: 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
25032-425: 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
25200-450: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males. The median income for
25368-451: Was 80.40% White , 0.80% African American , 3.65% Native American , 1.89% Asian , 0.29% Pacific Islander , 8.04% from some other races and 4.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 15.85% of the population. There were 6,476 households, of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no spouse present, 7.1% had
25536-443: Was aired on September 21. This allowed him, now as a fan favorite , to challenge Morishima for the title at Manhattan Mayhem II on August 25 in a losing effort in which he also suffered a legitimate detached retina . Following surgery, he fought Morishima again in a match at Man Up on September 15, but the referee stopped the match since Danielson was unable to respond to him. In a rematch at Rising Above on December 29, Morishima
25704-548: Was challenged by Kenta , a guest competitor from NOAH, due to the two companies' talent exchange agreement —Danielson again retained his championship. At Final Battle on December 23, Danielson's fifteen-month title reign finally ended after he lost to Homicide at his 39th defense and he subsequently took time off from wrestling in order to heal his shoulder. On May 11, 2007, Danielson returned to ROH at Reborn Again and defeated Shane Hagadorn and Adam Pearce in separate matches. On May 12, ROH filmed its first pay-per-view , Respect
25872-488: 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
26040-406: Was close to being called up to the main roster during the 2001 Royal Rumble match: he explained that the WWF thought of using him as one of their key figures in the newly created cruiserweight division , which was inspired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 2002, Danielson wrestled two matches for the renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) despite not being a contracted performer for
26208-480: Was disqualified. Morishima returned to the company at Final Battle on December 27, 2008, in a match billed as a " Fight Without Honor " in which both men were allowed weapons and which Danielson won. Danielson commented in March 2012 on how he felt validated at Final Battle 2008, because he and Morishima managed to get 2,500 people to see the show in New York City. As part of ROH's agreement with Pro Wrestling Noah,
26376-614: Was nicknamed "The Hellhole of the Pacific", as well as "The Port of Missing Men" due to its high murder rate. One notable resident was Billy Gohl , known locally as Billy "Ghoul", who was rumored to have killed at least 140 men, disposing of the bodies in the Wishkah River. Gohl was ultimately convicted of two murders. Aberdeen was hit hard during the Great Depression , with the number of major local sawmills reduced from 37 to 9. By
26544-417: Was not the weak link of Team Hell No and as a result became even more aggressive, but his overzealous behavior led to Team Hell No losing their rematch against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns on the May 27 episode of Raw . During this storyline, Bryan was praised as the best performer in WWE and having an unmatched connection with crowds by critics, peers and veterans of the professional wrestling industry. On
26712-597: Was one of the two final members of Team WWE and managed to eliminate two members of The Nexus, but was eliminated by Wade Barrett after The Miz, whose place he took in Team WWE, attacked him. Despite this, Team WWE won the match. As part of the Raw roster , Bryan feuded with The Miz, defeating him at Night of Champions to win the United States Championship , his first championship in WWE. Bryan then successfully defended
26880-409: Was originally scheduled to have his rematch against Sheamus for the United States Championship on the main card at WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, but the match was rescheduled as a dark lumberjack match that ended in a no contest when the lumberjacks fought among themselves to trigger the start of a battle royal , which he lost. Bryan lost his title rematch the next night on Raw , after which he
27048-568: 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
27216-582: Was saved from Sheamus by the debuting Sin Cara . On April 26, Bryan was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 supplemental draft . On the May 6 episode of SmackDown , Bryan made his debut for the brand by losing to Sheamus. Cody Rhodes then started a feud with Bryan by attacking him after losing their match and placing a paper bag on his head. Bryan then aligned with Sin Cara to feud with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase . On June 28, Bryan returned to NXT to manage Derrick Bateman once again. On July 17 at Money in
27384-415: 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
27552-532: Was south of the Chehalis River. The newer South Shore Mall had 350,000 square feet (33,000 m ) and space for 80 retailers, including anchor tenants Sears and J.C. Penney following their relocation from downtown. It was renamed to the Shoppes at Riverside in 2016 and closed on February 13, 2021, following an engineering report that found the soil under the foundation had settled and would pose structural risks. A movie theater and fun center remain open in two of
27720-417: 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
27888-472: Was the first man eliminated from the match, courtesy of Henry. On April 7 at WrestleMania 29 , Team Hell No defeated Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston for another successful title defense. Team Hell No rekindled their rivalry with The Shield the following night on Raw after saving The Undertaker from an ambush by them. On the April 22 episode of Raw , Team Hell No and The Undertaker were defeated by The Shield in
28056-671: Was trained by WWF competitor William Regal , whom he credited as being instrumental in the development of his career. During this time, he adopted his moniker of the "American Dragon". WWF severed its ties with MCW in 2001, but not before Danielson won the MCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the MCW Tag Team Championship with Spanky. After 18 months with the company, he was released from his WWF contract in July 2001. Danielson revealed in his 2015 autobiography that he
28224-441: Was victorious after pinning Bryan. On January 27, 2013, at the Royal Rumble , Team Hell No retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Rhodes Scholars. On the February 4 episode of Raw , Bryan was inserted into the World Heavyweight Championship number one contender Elimination Chamber match when he defeated Rey Mysterio , after which the returning Mark Henry attacked both men. On February 17 at Elimination Chamber , Bryan
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