Mid 20th Century
106-597: Simi Taitoko Fale (born 8 January 1982) is a Tongan-New Zealand professional wrestler and former rugby union player. He primarily works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Bad Luck Fale ( バッドラック・ファレ , Baddorakku Fare ) , where he is a member of Bullet Club . In NJPW, he is a three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion , a one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion . His surname translates to "house" in Tongan , which suits his wrestling persona as an immovable force. Fale
212-573: A Bodyslam or No Corner Pads match after Yano's stipulation won the majority of the fan vote. The following day, Fale was defeated by Yano after he was bodyslammed. On night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 15 , Fale advanced from the New Japan Ranbo match to compete in a four way match for the Provisional KOPW 2021 Trophy. On night 2, Fale failed to win the four way match that also included Toru Yano, Chase Owens, and Bushi. In March 2021, Fale entered in
318-456: A King of Destroyer match on 4 January 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome , where Makabe was victorious. Fale and Makabe again faced off on 15 March in the first round of the 2014 New Japan Cup , where Fale was victorious. Fale made it to the final of the tournament before losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on 23 March. On 21 June at Dominion 6.21 , Fale defeated Nakamura in a rematch to become
424-547: A Schoolboy sweep . Fale is the cousin of Tanga Loa , Tama Tonga and Hikuleo . Fale and Tama had spent their early childhoods in Muʻa , Tonga without meeting. They were in the NJPW Dojo at the same time and realized they were related when a relative commented on a photo Fale had posted on social media. He is of Tongan ethnicity and is fluent in Tongan, English and Japanese. In 2017 it
530-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
636-556: A master's degree in education and was a member of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta 's Syracuse Chapter, as well as an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America . He was a schoolteacher and swim coach in New York until he began his wrestling career. Beyer worked the first seven years of his mat career near his Western New York home, due in large part to his coaching job and commitment to
742-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
848-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
954-413: 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
1060-628: A bye to the second round of the 2022 New Japan Cup , but was eliminated by Hiroshi Tanahashi. At Wrestling Dontaku 2022 , Fale and Chase Owens won the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way tag team match . They lost the titles on 12 June, at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall . Also at the event, Fale was announced to be a part of the G1 Climax 32 tournament in July, where he would compete in
1166-520: 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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#17328769609781272-513: 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
1378-574: 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
1484-762: A charity event copromoted by AJPW, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah . Appearing under his Destroyer mask, he hosted the Destroyer Cup and presented a trophy to its winner, Kentaro Shiga . In 2013, he opened Destroyer Park Golf in Akron, the first park golf course in the United States. On November 4, 2017, the Japanese government awarded Beyer the Order of the Rising Sun , Gold and Silver Rays, for "a lifetime spent promoting goodwill and bi-cultural exchanges between Japan and
1590-408: 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 . Dick Beyer Richard John "Dick" Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019)
1696-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1802-410: 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
1908-455: A figure-four leglock. In August 1970, he took a chance at revenge against his former partner Blackjack Lanza. He stood in the center of the ring with announcer Marty O'Neill, who told the fans that Doctor X was a former coach from Syracuse University. Doctor X then removed his mask, handed it to promoter Eddie Williams, and wrestled the match as Dick Beyer. In other AWA cities, Beyer was unmasked by Lanza or Paul Diamond. In these matches, his name
2014-564: A five-team gauntlet match on 4 January 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome . The following day at New Year's Dash, they would regain the title from Chaos. Fale then competed in the 2018 New Japan Cup , where he was eliminated by Hiroshi Tanahashi in the second round. On night 1 of Wrestling Dontaku 2018 on 3 May, the Bullet Club lost the 6-Man tag titles to the Super Villains ( Marty Scurll and The Young Bucks ). Fale next wrestled in
2120-405: 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
2226-472: A losing effort. On 10 February 2012 at NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level , Fale unsuccessfully faced Yuji Nagata in singles action. Afterwards, he left for a fourteen-month learning excursion to the United States. On 8 June 2012, Fale debuted for NWA Houston , losing to Mysterious Q. On 7 April 2013, at Invasion Attack , Fale, now performing as a heel , returned to New Japan as Prince Devitt 's "bouncer" under
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#17328769609782332-754: 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
2438-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
2544-440: 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
2650-611: A new gimmick called "The Rogue General", and started a short feud with Kazuchika Okada. At The New Beginning in Osaka in February 2019, Fale lost to Okada. Fale competed in the 2019 New Japan Cup , but was eliminated by Will Ospreay in the first round. At the G1 Supercard on 6 April, Fale unsuccessfully competed in the Honor Rumble . Fale would embark on a feud (alongside Chase Owens) against
2756-445: A series of seven matches, stating on his style, "He was the best competitor that I ever wrestled. He never gave you anything – it's true – but I didn't give him anything either. You talk about a shoot or a half-shoot, and that's the kind of match that it was." He also helped promote All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for Baba and established himself as a gaijin tarento in a late-night TV show called Uwasa No Channel . His appearance on
2862-497: 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
2968-575: 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
3074-601: A win over Freddie Blassie , who convinced him that the mask gimmick would give him a large push. He defended the championship for ten months. In June 1964, he returned to Los Angeles and beat Dick the Bruiser for another WWA championship run, losing it to Bob Ellis in September, regaining it in November, and finally dropping it in March 1965 to Pedro Morales . In early 1963, Beyer wrestled three sold-out matches against Giant Baba at
3180-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
3286-410: 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
Bad Luck Fale - Misplaced Pages Continue
3392-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
3498-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
3604-469: Is one of the founding members of the infamous Bullet Club, an originally all-foreigner stable that has seen great success in the company. He is the only founding member who has never left the group. Fale also operates a wrestling school called Fale Dojo, which has helped provide a bridge for non-Japanese wrestlers to perform for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Fale was a rugby union player prior to training and debuting for New Japan Pro-Wrestling . He attended
3710-480: The 2013 G1 Climax following interference from Fale during a match with Devitt. From 23 November to 7 December, Fale and Devitt took part in the 2013 World Tag League , where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss against the previously winless Captain New Japan and Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day costing them a spot in the semifinals. The rivalry between Fale and Makabe culminated in
3816-405: The 2014 World Tag League , alongside stablemate Tama Tonga. The team finished at the bottom of their block with a record of three wins and four losses. In early 2015, Fale started feuding with Kazuchika Okada , which led to him picking up a major win on 5 March, defeating the two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the first round of the 2015 New Japan Cup . Fale was eliminated from the tournament in
3922-702: The 2018 G1 Climax , competing in the A block. He ended with 6 points, failing to advance to the finals. During this time, the Bullet Club split into two divisions, the OG and the Elite ; Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori remained in the OG group. At King of Pro-Wrestling on 8 October, the Bullet Club OG defeated the Bullet Club Elite (the Young Bucks, Chase Owens and Hangman Page ). On 28 January, Fale debuted
4028-524: The 2021 New Japan Cup , but was eliminated in the first round after he was counted out in a match against Toru Yano. From 14 November to 12 December, Fale and Chase Owens again competed in the World Tag League , failing to advance to the final after finishing the tournament with 6 wins and 4 losses. On night 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 16 , Fale failed to advance from the New Japan Ranbo match. Fale received
4134-587: The Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance until 1971. In his last tour he made it to the semifinals of the annual World League tournament before losing to a rising Antonio Inoki . Between 1966 and 1972, Beyer wrestled as Doctor X while in Minneapolis . He had matches with many of the top names in the business including his real brother-in-law Billy Red Lyons , who handed him his first American Wrestling Association (AWA) defeat on Minneapolis television, with
4240-609: 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
4346-573: The Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. In May 1963, he traveled to Japan for the first time in his career, to wrestle Rikidōzan in a match watched by over 70 million TV viewers, being Japan's highest rated show at the time. Beyer was also the last person to hold a victory over Rikidōzan before his death. Beyer was the first masked wrestler to compete in Japan regularly, and did regular tours for
Bad Luck Fale - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-647: The World Tag League . They finished the tournament with 6 wins and 9 losses, failing to advance to the finals. At Wrestle Kingdom 14 , Fale wrestled on both nights. The first night, he teamed with Bullet Club (Kenta, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) in a loss to Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yoshi-Hashi). He then participated in a 5-team gauntlet for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship on night two's pre-show, in which he, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi were eliminated by Chaos's Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi & Robbie Eagles . Fale
4558-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
4664-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
4770-577: 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
4876-400: 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
4982-506: 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
5088-714: The 2010 G1 Tag League , finishing last in their block and overall with zero wins and zero points. Fale also took part in the 2010 J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament alongside Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson , making it to the second round before being eliminated. Fale later faced fellow young lion Hiromu Takahashi in a three match series, winning all of them. In February 2011, Fale joined Yuji Nagata 's Seigigun ("Blue Justice Army") stable along with Wataru Inoue and Super Strong Machine. At The New Beginning on 20 February, Nagata, Inoue, Fale and Hiroyoshi Tenzan faced Chaos ( Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano , Takashi Iizuka , and Yujiro Takahashi ) in losing effort. In
5194-539: The A Block. He finished with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals. On October 14, 2024 at King of Pro-Wrestling event Fale and his newest Bullet Club Rogue Army member, Caveman Ugg unsuccessfully challenged the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste . When Fale first turned his back on Yuji Nagata and most of New Japan's fan favorites, he became known as The Underboss of Prince Devitt and Bullet Club , carrying Devitt to
5300-794: The Akron Central School District, and coached football, wrestling and swimming. He served on the board of directors of the Cauliflower Alley Club , which holds annual reunions in Las Vegas. He was a member of Toastmasters International , a public speaking club, and carried the club designation of Certified Toastmaster. He inducted Gorgeous George into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 27, 2010. On August 27, 2011, Beyer, along with his son, returned to Japan to take part in All Together ,
5406-641: 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
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#17328769609785512-448: The Japanese rugby union team Fukuoka Sanix Blues . He would start training to become a professional wrestler in June 2009. Fale, working under the ring name "King Fale", made his in-ring debut on 4 April 2010, when he was defeated by Manabu Nakanishi . Fale's earned his first win in New Japan just over a month after his debut, defeating Kyosuke Mikami . Fale and Super Strong Machine entered
5618-563: The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship on 23 April. From 18 July to 12 August, Fale took part in the 2016 G1 Climax , where, despite scoring big wins over Naomichi Marufuji and reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, he failed to advance from his block with a record of five wins and four losses. In February 2017, Fale opened his own wrestling school, the Fale Dojo, in Auckland , New Zealand . The following month, Fale made it to
5724-408: 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
5830-477: 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
5936-643: The U.S. Army Reserve. Beyer was a member of the wrestling team and also served as an assistant to Ben Schwartzwalder . Beyer began as a babyface wrestler in the mid-1950s, and he was voted 1955 Rookie of the Year by the Wrestling Life magazine. His career as masked wrestler The Destroyer began in 1962 in Los Angeles . Beyer traveled to California after Freddie Blassie praised Beyer's heel skills to local promoter Jules Strongbow , who informed him he would wrestle as
6042-401: 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
6148-418: 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
6254-550: 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
6360-424: 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
6466-418: 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
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#17328769609786572-423: 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
6678-461: 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
6784-540: 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
6890-405: 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
6996-597: 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
7102-455: The finals of the 2017 New Japan Cup , before losing to Katsuyori Shibata . On 9 April at Sakura Genesis 2017 , Fale attacked IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and challenged him to a title match. The title match took place on 3 May at Wrestling Dontaku 2017 and saw Okada retain. During the summer, Fale took part in the 2017 G1 Climax , where he finished third in his block with a record of six wins and three losses, failing to advance to
7208-568: The finals. Due to his win over Tanahashi, Fale was granted a shot at the Wrestle Kingdom 10 IWGP Heavyweight Championship match contract , but was defeated by Tanahashi on 27 September at Destruction in Kobe . On 4 January 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 , Fale took part in a match to crown the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions , where he, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi were defeated by Jay Briscoe , Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano. Despite
7314-405: The finals. On 11 August, Fale defeated Yuji Nagata in his former mentor's final G1 Climax match and afterwards bowed to him in a show of respect. On 17 December, Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón ( Bushi , Evil and Sanada ) to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. They lost the title to Chaos ( Beretta , Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) in
7420-470: 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
7526-610: 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
7632-455: 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
7738-513: 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
7844-471: 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
7950-487: 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
8056-496: The masked Destroyer. Beyer's original mask was hard to see through and itchy, but Ox Baker lent him a mask made from a woman's girdle, which served well for Beyer. He boasted about his East Coast academic background to help develop his heel character. He used the figure four leg lock (which became his signature finisher) on his way to the Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) championship on July 27, 1962, in
8162-460: The mass exodus of Bullet Club members from New Japan (Leader AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows all left), Fale re-signed with New Japan for 2 years instead of the usual 1 amidst WWE interest. On 11 February at The New Beginning in Osaka , Fale, Tonga and Takahashi defeated the Briscoes and Yano in a rematch to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. After a three-day reign, they lost
8268-498: 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
8374-765: The musical-comedy show only furthered the Destroyer's popularity in Japan, which led to him recording a Christmas album for his fans. He held the PWF United States Championship until 1979, when he left AJPW and the championship was abandoned. Beyer was also the first American wrestler signed to a Japanese promotion. His retirement match took place on July 29, 1993, where, he, his son Kurt Beyer , and Giant Baba defeated Haruka Eigen , Masanobu Fuchi , and Masao Inoue . Beyer went into semi-retirement in Akron, New York , in 1984. Until 1995, he taught physical education in
8480-511: The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion . From 21 July to 8 August, Fale took part in his first G1 Climax , where he finished third in his block with a record of six wins and four losses with a loss against Nakamura on the final day preventing him from making it to the finals. On 21 September at Destruction in Kobe , Fale lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back to Nakamura in his first defense. In November, Fale entered
8586-471: The new ring name of "The Underboss" Bad Luck Fale. Fale wrestled his return match on 3 May at Wrestling Dontaku , teaming with Devitt to defeat Captain New Japan and Ryusuke Taguchi . Later that night, Fale and Devitt joined forces with Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga, forming a stable and dubbing themselves " Bullet Club ". Later in the year, Fale began his first major feud in New Japan with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe, who had been eliminated from
8692-479: The newly arrived Mikey Nicholls and fan favorite Juice Robinson . The feud would include Fale unsuccessfully challenging for Juice's IWGP United States Championship before beating Mikey with his usually ineffective signature move, the Grenade. Fale would then compete in the 2019 G1 Climax in the A block, ending with 8 points, therefore failing to advance to the finals. Later that year he would team with Chase Owens in
8798-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
8904-452: The power (and at some times in his career, the athletic) advantage over most of his opponents, Fale's character has always tried to take the easy way out and cheat during matches. Fale's big moves include a jumping splash , the Grenade , a Thumb Lariat (succeeded after choke-lifting the opponent with his other hand), Bad Luck Fall, a release Crucifix Powerbomb and different variations of
9010-555: The prelude to the 2011 J Sports Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament, Fale again teamed with Inoue and Tenzan, losing to Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) & Jyushin Thunder Liger . In the actual tournament, they were eliminated in the second round by Great Bash Heel ( Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma ) & Satoshi Kojima . In April 2011, Fale took part in All Together , a joint show between New Japan Pro-Wrestling , All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah in
9116-714: 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
9222-419: The ring. After a few years, Fale decided to embrace not being a low-key member of Bullet Club, renaming his persona The Rogue General . Fale, being a larger wrestler has always utilized power-based moves in his arsenal. Being a villainous character, he uses his power to inflict more pain than necessary and to control the opponent's pace. He is also known to attack ring announcers before his match. Despite having
9328-407: The second round by Tetsuya Naito . The rivalry between Fale and Okada culminated on 5 April at Invasion Attack 2015 , where Fale was defeated by Okada. From 20 July to 14 August, Fale took part in the 2015 G1 Climax . Despite scoring a major win over eventual tournament winner Hiroshi Tanahashi, Fale finished fourth in his block with a record of five wins and four losses and thus failed to advance to
9434-440: 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
9540-409: The strong rugby school of De La Salle College, Mangere East in Auckland , New Zealand and was a member of the 1st XV from 1999 to 2000, also making age grade rugby teams along the way. He then accepted scholarship to play rugby in Japan at Tokuyama University, alongside fellow New Zealander Sila Iona and Greame Brent, where they attended from 2001 to 2005. From April 2006 to March 2008, he played for
9646-426: 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,
9752-505: The title back to the Briscoes and Yano at The New Beginning in Niigata . On 3 March, Fale scored a big win over Hiroshi Tanahashi in the first round of the 2016 New Japan Cup . The following day, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Michael Elgin . Fale then started a new feud with Hiroshi Tanahashi, as part of which he, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi unsuccessfully challenged Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu for
9858-505: 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
9964-471: 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
10070-504: The wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , unsuccessfully competing in The Destroyer Cup battle royal. Fale teamed with Nagata in the 2011 G1 Tag League, finishing with one win and two points. Bad Luck Fale lost his first match of 2012, when he teamed with Tama Tonga to take on Okumura and Yoshi-Hashi . At NJPW's 40th Anniversary Show, Fale teamed with Tomoaki Honma to take on Chaos ( Yoshi-Hashi and Yujiro Takahashi ) in
10176-535: 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
10282-420: 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
10388-425: 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
10494-516: Was absent most of the year as he was unable to return to Japan due to border closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . He returned in November, competing in the 2020 World Tag League with Chase Owens, however, the pair ended the tournament with 3 wins and 6 losses, failing to advance to the final. On 22 December, it was announced that Toru Yano would face Fale for the Official KOPW 2020 Trophy in
10600-432: Was an American professional wrestler is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X . Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of the country's highest honors, the Order of the Rising Sun . As an athlete at Syracuse University , Beyer was a member of the varsity football and wrestling teams. He played in the 1953 Orange Bowl for Syracuse. He graduated with
10706-488: 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
10812-636: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
10918-652: Was reported that Fale was in a relationship with go-go dancer Pieter, also known as the "Tokyo Latina", who has made appearances for NJPW as a valet for Fale's Bullet Club stablemate Yujiro Takahashi . Fale also runs his own professional wrestling school, Fale Dojo . in Auckland , New Zealand that has seen a few of its alumni in NJPW: Toa Henare , Jay White and Michael Richards. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
11024-418: Was said to be Bruce Marshall. He wanted to lose the mask because he and his family were set to go to Japan, where he would be The Destroyer again. During 1972, he had several battles with "Crippler" Ray Stevens . Their last match saw him written out of the AWA with a purported broken leg. From 1972 to 1979, Beyer wrestled in Japan on a deal with Giant Baba and NTV of Tokyo . He feuded with Mil Máscaras in
11130-415: 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
11236-417: 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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