Mid 20th Century
173-692: Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler , currently wrestling under the ring name Chris Adonis . He is a former two-time National Champion in NWA. He is best known for his time in WWE , under the ring name Chris Masters . He is also known for his time in Impact Wrestling , under the ring name Chris Adonis and for his appearances for Qatar Pro Wrestling. After being trained in Ultimate Pro Wrestling, Mordetzky signed
346-514: A Burning Lake Brawl . At the event, Adonis unsuccessfully challenged Mason for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. Mordetzky is of Polish and Jewish ancestry. He has stated that The Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels were two of his favorite wrestlers while growing up. When asked what it was like wrestling Michaels, Mordetzky replied, "It was a dream come true. That's something I'll take with me to my grave. He
519-472: A G.I. Joe figure, ( NFL football player William "The Refrigerator" Perry , pro-wrestler Roddy Piper , and astronaut Buzz Aldrin are some of the others), and even appeared in G.I. Joe: The Movie . Slaughter also appeared twice as a special guest on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! , which starred fellow wrestler Captain Lou Albano . He appeared in the episodes "All Steamed Up" (in "Butch Mario and
692-489: A Lethal Lockdown match . On the April 6 episode of Impact , Mordetzky returned to TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling under the ring name Chris Adonis. In his debut he competed in an eight-man tag team match by teaming with Matt Morgan , Magnus and Alberto El Patron against Lashley, Bram, Eli Drake and Tyrus in a winning effort. On the April 20 episode of Impact , Adonis attacked Moose from behind, establishing himself as
865-570: A Lumberjack match between Branden Tatum and Dinn T. Moore. Tatum pinned Moore after Masters applied the Master Lock behind the referee's back. He soon won the WLW Heavyweight Championship , his first singles title, on February 9, 2008, from Keith Walker . He later lost the title to Derek McQuinn on May 25. In May 2008, news reports revealed that Mordetzky had signed a one-year contract with Nu-Wrestling Evolution. Mordetzky wrestled on
1038-596: A Survivor Series match . Slaughter was eliminated in the match, but his team won, with Flair as the sole survivor. On December 18, 2006, Slaughter participated in a 30-man battle royal for a chance to face John Cena in the main event for the WWE Championship , but he was eliminated from the match and did not get the title shot. At the Vengeance: Night of Champions pay-per-view in June 2007, he faced Deuce 'n Domino for
1211-435: 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
1384-415: 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
1557-415: 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
1730-576: A villain , drawing attention to his physique in bodybuilding poses during his entrance to the ring. On the February 21, 2005 episode of Raw , Masters made his debut by defeating Stevie Richards . During the contest, Masters broke Richards' nose performing the Polish Hammer . The Polish Hammer continued to be a signature move of Masters' for months after this first match, but with warning that it would only be used in striking an opponent's chest. Masters made
1903-515: A Boot Camp match. Slaughter still appeared from time to time in the ring, mostly at house shows . He appeared on Raw to put over younger wrestlers, such as Kurt Angle and Funaki . Slaughter also made an appearance at WrestleMania X-Seven , in the gimmick Battle Royal , which was won by The Iron Sheik. Slaughter got his revenge after the match by locking the Sheik in the cobra clutch . He also appeared on both Raw and SmackDown on occasion during
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#17330941921552076-520: A Master Lock Challenge before defeating Masters. On the December 4 episode of Raw , Jonathan Coachman set up a Master Lock Challenge against John Cena for the WWE Championship. Masters appearing to have the challenge won but he released the hold for a short time, allowing Cena to reverse the hold into his own Master Lock, forcing Masters to submit, retaining his title, and making Cena the first to win
2249-738: A Survivor Series Showdown match. Later that same night, he competed in a 10-Man Survivor Series Showdown Battle Royal where he eliminated Rhodes, though later on in the match he was eliminated, the Battle Royal was won by Mysterio and Big Show (as it was a team vs team battle royal). At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Masters was eliminated by Del Rio, but his team still went on to win. In late 2010, Masters mentored Byron Saxton on NXT . In February and March 2011, Masters would feud with Tyler Reks on Superstars , and Masters won all four matches they had with each other. A push and possible gimmick change
2422-413: 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
2595-571: A beat-down on Patterson, starting a hot feud which culminated in an " Alley Fight " in New York, New York 's Madison Square Garden between the two that is widely regarded as the best "hardcore" match of the Kayfabe era. In September 1981, Slaughter joined the National Wrestling Alliance, mainly wrestling for its flagship territory Jim Crockett Promotions . In October 1981, he took part in
2768-646: A boot camp match that took place before a sold-out Madison Square Garden that summer. With Hulk Hogan rising as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion and lead face within the company, Slaughter left for the AWA. On Vince McMahon 's McMahon DVD, Slaughter said he was fired by McMahon in Toronto after no-showing an event in protest of McMahon's refusal to give him six weeks of paid vacation. Other interviews with Slaughter and McMahon have revealed that Slaughter left
2941-512: A bullet-proof vest and had to be surrounded with security personnel at all times. According to Slaughter, Vince asked him to burn the American flag, but Slaughter refused to do that, so Slaughter suggested he burn Hulk Hogan's shirt. As 1990 ended, Slaughter began challenging for the WWF Championship that had been held by The Ultimate Warrior since WrestleMania VI. Slaughter got his chance at
3114-536: A cameo appearance in the RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial " The '80s Called ". He later voiced Dr. Military in the 2013 animated series Teen Titans Go! in a two-part episode called "Teen Titans Vroom!" Slaughter voiced an adult-oriented version of himself in the animated WWE Network Exclusive show Camp WWE . In 2021, Slaughter joined the popular Masters of the Universe brand being added
3287-520: 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
3460-421: 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
3633-574: 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
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#17330941921553806-469: A claim that his version of the full nelson hold, which he dubbed the Master Lock, was unbreakable. Masters began a series of contests he would call "Master Lock Challenges" where Masters would put an opponent in the Master Lock and the opponent would try to break free before Masters made him submit or pass out. Masters would go on to log more full nelson submission victories than any wrestler in WWE history, breaking
3979-442: 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 . Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter ,
4152-453: A development contract with WWE and was sent to WWE's farm territory Ohio Valley Wrestling . In 2005, he debuted in WWE as "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters, a wrestler in a great body shape, using "The Masterlock" as finisher, a full nelson hold . During his early career in WWE, Masters had a storyline around the Masterlock, a submission nobody could break. He would challenge several wrestlers to
4325-404: 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
4498-410: 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
4671-448: A goatee and mustache leading Jerry "The King" Lawler to refer to him as a "leaner and meaner" Chris Masters. This change of image was short-lived, however, as Masters shaved the goatee and regained some of his muscle mass. When Masters returned, he was put in lower-card matches including a short feud with Super Crazy , who had moved from SmackDown! , with Masters coming out on the losing end of their matches. The pair would also compete in
4844-550: A heel in the process. During the following weeks, Adonis formed an alliance with Drake against Moose. On the June 8 episode of Impact , Adonis lost a GFW Global Title Match to Alberto El Patron. At Slammiversary XV , Adonis and Drake were defeated by Moose and DeAngelo Williams . Afterwards, he frequently helped Drake to retain his Impact Global Championship . On the July 27 episode of Impact , Adonis, Eli Drake and Ethan Carter III defeated Eddie Edwards, Naomichi Marufuji and Moose in
5017-405: 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
5190-542: A losing effort, along with four other Superstars, in a Six-Pack Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship. Masters gained his first victory since his return against Jerry Lawler on the November 6 episode of Raw in a match where Eric Bischoff, General Manager for the night, forced Lawler to be first handcuffed to the top rope. Masters continued the feud with Lawler for a few weeks with Lawler also losing
5363-754: 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
Chris Masters - Misplaced Pages Continue
5536-495: A match with the Big Show. In late August, Masters entered a feud with Shawn Michaels , leading to a tag match between himself and Carlito against Ric Flair and Michaels. During the match, Masters defeated Ric Flair by submission. Masters regularly teamed with Carlito, albeit in a rigid business relationship. Michaels competed in a Master Lock Challenge on September 5. Masters, upset at the vigorous resistance of Michaels, released
5709-424: 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
5882-440: 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
6055-558: A second time. Six days later, Mordetzky was released from his WWE contract on November 8, 2007. On December 20, 2007, Mordetzky made his first wrestling appearance since his departure from WWE, competing under the name Chris Moore for Antonio Inoki 's Inoki Genome Federation at the event Genome2: Inoki Fighting Xmas in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Ryuji Yanagisawa. Mordetzky also appeared under his Chris Masters ring name and gimmick at Harley Race 's World League Wrestling show on December 29, during
6228-601: A six-man tag team match. On August 24, on Impact , Adonis competed in the Gauntlet for the Gold match for the GFW Global Championship, which Drake won. Adonis and Drake then transitioned into a storyline with Johnny Impact , facing him in tag team and singles matches. On January 13, 2018, Mordetzky officially confirmed on his Twitter account that he had officially parted ways with Impact Wrestling. According to Mordetzsky, he left
6401-441: A tag match at Taboo Tuesday against Mysterio and Matt Hardy . Edge chose not to participate, so Masters teamed with Edge's replacement, Gene Snitsky . Masters and Snitsky lost when Mysterio pinned Masters. At Survivor Series , Masters competed in a five-on-five Survivor Series match between SmackDown! and Raw wrestlers. During the match, there appeared to be a near-break in the Master Lock by Bobby Lashley , who "powered out" of
6574-521: A three-on-two handicap match at SummerSlam , which saw the team of Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior prevail over Slaughter, Adnan, and Mustafa. After finishing the Hogan feud , Slaughter became a face again, appearing in vignettes next to American landmarks, saying, "I want my country back". During an episode of Superstars , Jim Duggan was under attack from The Nasty Boys , and Slaughter made
6747-455: A title victory over Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba in Tokyo. They would be in a heated rivalry with the team of Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood, which culminated on March 12, 1983, losing the titles to Steamboat and Youngblood in a steel cage match in Greensboro, North Carolina . After the rivalry ended, Slaughter left JCP. During this period, Slaughter also toured Germany and Austria for
6920-531: A tournament to determine a new NWA United States Heavyweight Champion ; he defeated Johnny Weaver , Jay Youngblood , and Rick Steamboat in the tournament to win the vacant title. He would hold onto the title for over seven months, before losing the title to Wahoo McDaniel in May 1982. In September 1982, Slaughter and partner Don Kernodle were awarded the NWA World Tag Team Championship , claiming
7093-497: 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
Chris Masters - Misplaced Pages Continue
7266-575: 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
7439-436: 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
7612-410: 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
7785-557: Is an American voice actor and retired professional wrestler . He is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance , American Wrestling Association , and the World Wrestling Federation . He won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and headlined WrestleMania VII in 1991. Slaughter also captured
7958-427: 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
8131-470: 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
8304-461: Is that of a former U.S. Marine who fought in the Vietnam War . Remus himself never served in the military. He received several draft deferments and even opposed the war, often protesting and demonstrating within the antiwar movement. This has caused controversy because, at times, Remus has talked about military service while seeming to be speaking as himself, and not in kayfabe character. Remus
8477-484: The Legends Night special episode of Raw . Fictionalized versions of Sgt. Slaughter were part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, animated series and comic books, as a member of the G.I. Joe team and first appeared in the five-part TV episode entitled "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" Along with the traditional merchandising of WWE superstars, Sgt. Slaughter is one of only a few real people to be produced as
8650-580: The American Wrestling Association (AWA) throughout 1985 and 1986, becoming the AWA America's Heavyweight Champion , defeating Larry Zbyszko shortly after his arrival. He defended the title against wrestlers like Zbyszko, Kamala , Boris Zukhov , and Nick Bockwinkel (before the belt was retired) and feuded with Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey and his stable of wrestlers, The Road Warriors , and Colonel DeBeers . He even challenged Stan Hansen for
8823-583: The Bigfoot Monster Truck in a tug-of-war challenge. It is featured on Blood, Sweat, & Gears USHRA home video. This stunt was recently attempted again with Sgt. Slaughter using fans from the crowd at a Monster Truck show to tug-o-war with Bigfoot. He was featured in the 1989 video game Sgt. Slaughter's Mat Wars by Mindscape . In the animated series Code Monkeys , Slaughter appeared as Sgt. Murder. He and Bulk Brogan ( Hulk Hogan ), "Manly Man" Ricky Ravage ( Randy "Macho Man" Savage ), and Sergei
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#17330941921558996-644: The Catch Wrestling Association , twice (in 1982 and 1983) unsuccessfully challenging CWA World Heavyweight Champion Otto Wanz . Slaughter returned to the WWF in March 1983, and again took on the Grand Wizard as his manager. He immediately targeted Backlund, who was still the reigning WWF World Heavyweight Champion. Slaughter turned up the feud another notch when he attacked Backlund at a television taping; Backlund
9169-577: The Crockett Cup , Adonis teamed with Tyrus under the name "The Midnight Riders" to compete in the namesake tournament, defeating The Warriors from the Wasteland ( Judais and Max the Impaler ) in the second round, and The Immortals ( Kratos and Odinson) in the quarterfinal but lost to Knox and Murdoch ( Mike Knox and Trevor Murdoch) in the semifinal. During Adonis and Latimer's match against Knox and Murdoch on
9342-608: The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship twice. He is a WWE Hall of Famer , inducted as part of the class of 2004. As Sgt. Slaughter, Remus became known for his dark sunglasses , his campaign hat , and his Vietnam War-era military fatigues . In the 1980s, an alternate version of the Sgt. Slaughter character was incorporated into the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy line as well as its animated series and comic books . The gimmick of Sgt. Slaughter
9515-420: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In 1978, Remus returned to the American Wrestling Association under a mask as Super Destroyer Mark II with manager Lord Alfred Hayes , whom he dismissed and replaced with Bobby Heenan , leading to a feud between the two managers with Hayes as the babyface. He then signed with the WWF and was pushed as a villainous character . Between 1980 and 1981, Slaughter wrestled in
9688-609: 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
9861-467: The Pledge of Allegiance (with the alternative, per an edict from Daniel Bryan , who was running the show that night, being that he would be forced to defend his title against the entire Raw roster). Rusev refused and had a staredown with Slaughter, who stood his ground. Jack Swagger and his manager, Zeb Colter , ran down to the ring and fended Rusev off. Swagger, Colter, and Slaughter then finished reciting
10034-704: The Real Canadian Wrestling (RCW) Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Masters lost the title the next day. On March 29, 2014, at International Wrestling Federation's Breaking Ground, Masters was defeated by Chris Hero . On June 26 Masters defeated Ken Kerbis & Kronus in a triple threat match for the AWO Championship at the All Wrestling Organization annual show Wrestlefest in Tira, Israel . On 1 November 2014, Masters faced 'The One' Simon Lancaster at
10207-585: The Royal Rumble in January 1991, days after the Gulf War air campaign had begun. He defeated the Warrior when "Macho King" Randy Savage , who had also been feuding with the Warrior at the time, struck the champion in the head with his royal scepter. Slaughter thus became the thirteenth WWF Champion and was immediately challenged by Royal Rumble winner Hulk Hogan , who was furious that Slaughter had (kayfabe) desecrated
10380-553: The WWE Tag Team Championship , alongside Jimmy Snuka . They were unsuccessful in their attempt for the titles. He challenged Randy Orton on July 30 episode of Raw , only to become another victim of the "Legend Killer" and was wheeled out on a stretcher. On Raw XV , the 15th-anniversary Raw special on December 10, 2007, Slaughter participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal. On March 31, 2008, on an episode of Raw , Slaughter paid tribute to longtime friend Ric Flair at
10553-789: The independent circuit in Australia and New Zealand appearing for New Zealand Wide Pro Wrestling on April 23, 2009, in Lower Hutt . He defeated Adam Avalanche and Rufguts in a Triple Threat match at the show Power Play 6. Masters also competed in Europe for American Wrestling Rampage, in the UK for Varsity Pro Wrestling and Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council . Mordetzky returned to World Wrestling Entertainment on July 27, 2009, reprising his character as "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters. He entered
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#173309419215510726-543: 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
10899-431: 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
11072-577: 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
11245-400: 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
11418-460: 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
11591-486: The AWA title. He was also involved in the short-lived Pro Wrestling USA Promotion. This was a brief attempt at pulling together the remaining wrestling talent to go up against the rising WWF. Slaughter in this company won a large 25-man battle royal by eliminating Kamala, winning the right to challenge Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . In 1988, Slaughter returned to wrestling in
11764-577: The AWA, resuming some of his past feuds with the likes of Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey, the Iron Sheik, and Col. DeBeers. He also became a top contender to the AWA World title during Larry Zbyszko 's reign in 1989 and was a team captain for the AWA's ill-fated Team Challenge Series during the first half of 1990. The AWA even teased fans with Slaughter appearing to win the World title from Zbyszko live on ESPN , only to have
11937-554: The American flag (off-screen) as part of his victory celebration. Hogan demanded a match against Slaughter at WrestleMania VII in Los Angeles , California , and Slaughter accepted. Slaughter lost the WWF Championship to Hogan at WrestleMania. After WrestleMania, Slaughter introduced his newest ally, Colonel Mustafa (The Iron Sheik, Slaughter's old nemesis). Slaughter and company went on to feud with Hogan for months, including having
12110-641: 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
12283-589: The August 22, 2023 episode of Powerrr , Adonis turned on Latimer and attacked him, thus giving Knox and Murdoch the victory. At NWA 75th Anniversary Show , Adonis was unsuccessful at winning the NWA World Television Championship. On the October 17 Powerrr , Adonis defeated Zyon by disqualification to earn an opportunity at "Thrillbilly" Silas Mason's NWA National Heavyweight Championship at Samhain in
12456-405: The February 26 episode of Raw did not occur when Masters was unable to apply the hold to Khali. The Master Lock was first officially broken on the March 19 episode of Raw , by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley . after Masters debuted it more than two years ago. In May and June, Masters challenged Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Championship, losing four times via roll-up. However, on
12629-502: The Giant ( André the Giant ) were hired by a video game company to take on their rivals. His brother, Tommy Murder, was killed by "The Black Shadow", who really was Black Steve, the company's accountant. He appeared on episode #3.6 of Comedy Central 's Tosh.0 , when he clotheslined Daniel Tosh and put David Wills (a.k.a. YouTube's "Crying Wrestling Fan") in a Cobra Clutch during Wills' "Web Redemption" segment. In 2014, Sgt. Slaughter made
12802-630: The Global Force stable cut a promo in the ring challenging TNA. Mordetzky took the microphone and demanded a TNA opponent, revealed to be Lashley. The match ended in a " no contest " after the Global Force stable interrupted the match. On the September 9th episode of Impact Wrestling , Mordetzky defeated Drew Galloway in a Lumberjack match . On the September 16 edition of Impact Wrestling , Team GFW (Mordetzky, Brian Myers , Jeff Jarrett , Eric Young and Sonjay Dutt ) lost to Team TNA (Drew Galloway, Lashley, Eddie Edwards , Bram and Davey Richards ) in
12975-668: The Invasion storyline in non-wrestling roles, usually in conjunction with Vince McMahon. On November 24, 2003, he lost to Randy Orton on Raw as Orton became the Legend Killer. On January 31, 2005, episode of Raw , he lost to (kayfabe) Saudi Arabian wrestler Muhammad Hassan . He made a special appearance on June 13, 2005, episode of Raw to challenge Chris Masters in his " Master Lock Challenge ", which Slaughter lost. Then, he returned again on December 5 episode of Raw , where he and Michael Hayes confronted Edge . He also appeared on
13148-781: The Iraqi government was "brutal" while the US regime was said by Slaughter to have become "soft" and "weak". Slaughter aligned himself with an Iraqi enthusiast and kayfabe Iraqi military general, General Adnan (his old rival who left the AWA shortly after Slaughter did), and entered a feud with Volkoff (which saw Slaughter win the majority of their encounters at house shows ), leading to a match at that year's Survivor Series which saw The Alliance (Volkoff, Tito Santana , and The Bushwhackers ) defeat The Mercenaries (Slaughter, Boris Zhukov, and The Orient Express (professional wrestling) ). As part of his character change, Slaughter began wearing Arab headdresses to
13321-590: The July 4, 2006 episode of Raw for a "Diva Boot Camp" segment, as a part of the 2006 Diva Search Competition. He re-appeared on October 2 episode of Raw , defeating Nicky from the Spirit Squad with a roll-up when D-Generation X (DX) distracted him from up on the TitanTron. Slaughter appeared on the October 23 Raw in the corner of Ric Flair as he faced Kenny of the Spirit Squad. After Kenny cheated to gain
13494-455: The Luigi Kid") and "Caught in a Draft" (in "Bad Rap"). During the mid-1980s, Sgt. Slaughter released a full-length LP, Sgt. Slaughter and Camouflage Rocks America . It featured a number of original songs, including "The Cobra Clutch," as well as a cover of Neil Diamond 's "America". A brief cross promotional stint in the late 1980s had Sgt. Slaughter and his "battling battalion" pitted against
13667-415: The March 6 episode of Raw , McMahon publicly thanked everyone who encouraged the previous week's events, and officially awarded Masters and Carlito a World Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania 22, the pair, known as "The Masters of Cool", lost the match to Big Show and Kane . The pair argued amongst themselves after the match. Even though Carlito had repeatedly betrayed Masters over
13840-535: The Master Lock Challenge. At the start of 2007, Masters would restart his feud with Carlito, which led to several matches between the two. The first was a one-on-one contest at New Year's Revolution won by Masters. In a rematch the next night on Raw , Carlito came out victorious. On the January 15 episode of Raw , Ron Simmons , with interference from Super Crazy, almost "won" the Master Lock Challenge. An attempted Master Lock Challenge for The Great Khali on
14013-480: The Masterlock Challenge, where he rewarded the winner with a prize if they could break it. The Masterlock Challenge storyline ended after Bobby Lashley broke the hold on March 20, 2007. Masters was released in 2007 and worked on the independent circuit for two years, making his return to WWE in 2009. Masters would spend the next two years in WWE, until he was released again in 2011. Since then, he has worked on
14186-480: The May 28 episode of Raw , he defeated Marella in the Master Lock Challenge. On the June 11 episode of Raw , Masters was drafted to the SmackDown! brand as part of the 2007 WWE draft . While on SmackDown! he was used sporadically including a few Master Lock Challenges. He had entered into a feud with Chuck Palumbo competing in several matches and an attempted Master Lock Challenge that did not begin as Masters fled
14359-408: 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
14532-477: 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
14705-484: The PCW Heavyweight Championship in a three-way elimination match to Uhaa Nation during a PCW/ ROH Supershow of Honor event the match also included Dave Mastiff. On March 14, 2015, Masters defeated Uhaa Nation in a loser leaves PCW no disqualification match to regain the PCW Heavyweight Championship at PCW Road To Glory 2015. On July 11, 2015, Masters lost the PCW Heavyweight Championship to Dave Mastiff at
14878-607: The PCW Tribute To The Troops 2 event. In 2015, Mordetzky initially made his Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut on the July 27, 2015 episode of Impact Wrestling , where he competed in a King of the Mountain match for the vacant TNA King of the Mountain Championship . Robbie E, Eric Young , Lashley and the winner of the match, P. J. Black were the other participants. On the following Impact Wrestling
15051-566: The Pledge of Allegiance. Slaughter returned at the Tribute to the Troops show on December 17, 2014, and helped Dean Ambrose beat Bray Wyatt by giving Dean his steel-toe boot to use on Wyatt. Slaughter made a one-night appearance to WWE for the special Raw Reunion on July 22, 2019. Slaughter was in attendance at the February 5, 2020 episode of NXT. On January 4, 2021, Slaughter made an appearance on
15224-500: The RDW 10th Anniversary Show, the match ended in a draw when the RDW champion, Spyda, attacked both men. Masters then went on to aid Lancaster in a match against Spyda, winning Lancaster the championship. On May 6, 2015, Global Force Wrestling (GFW) announced Mordetzky as part of their roster. He made his debut for the promotion on June 12, defeating Dustin Starr. On November 29, 2014, Masters lost
15397-462: The Road to Glory Tournament, earning the right to a match for the PCW Heavyweight Championship. On August 1, 2014, Masters defeated Joey Hayes to become PCW Heavyweight Champion at Preston City Wrestling's third anniversary show with Lionheart as the special referee. On April 20, 2013, Masters unsuccessfully challenged Rob Conway for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . On January 24, 2014, Masters won
15570-646: The WWF under the guidance of the Grand Wizard . He very quickly rose to the status of number one contender on the strength of his "cobra clutch" challenges where he would seat wrestlers in a chair in the ring, and apply the hold, offering $ 5,000 to anyone who could break it. He would eventually face Bob Backlund for the World Wrestling Federation World Heavyweight Championship across the WWF territory in 1980, earning two-of-three falls main event matches in most markets. Slaughter
15743-405: The anti-American promos associated with this gimmick. The August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Ba'athist Iraq triggered a political crisis that would lead to the 1991 Gulf War , in which Kuwait was freed by a U.S.-led military coalition . A decision was made to have Slaughter support the Iraqi cause, not for the actual political reasons, but more for the fact that Slaughter liked "brutality" and
15916-401: 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
16089-418: 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
16262-550: 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
16435-546: The beat of Ozzy's song " Crazy Train ", earning a positive crowd reaction. Masters later recalled that he was not a fan of the "pec dancing" gimmick, but made the best of it for the company. On the December 7 episode of Raw , Masters cemented his face turn by saving Eve Torres and Hornswoggle from Chavo Guerrero after applying the Master Lock. After that, Masters and Torres began an on-screen relationship. Masters mostly engaged in lower-card feuds throughout 2010 and 2011. Some wrestling observers have speculated that his character
16608-424: 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
16781-418: 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
16954-423: 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
17127-461: 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
17300-405: The company more over a dispute that emerged due to the WWF not allowing Slaughter's role in the G.I. Joe toy line. Sports editor and columnist Lew Freedman wrote of Slaughter's popularity in the wake of his face turn in August 1985: "Talk about your overnight sensations. Slaughter had been wrestling for 10 years and suddenly he was hotter than Dwight Gooden ". He received a considerable push in
17473-540: 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
17646-507: The decision reversed on a technicality (a booking practice the AWA had been employing for years). After WrestleMania VI , Slaughter sent a letter to Vince McMahon saying he loved the program and was interested in returning. McMahon told Slaughter he wanted a heel, and his new gimmick would be that Slaughter turned on the United States due to its acceptance of the Russian Nikolai Volkoff to Slaughter, he found it difficult to do
17819-405: 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
17992-521: The end of the show. He appeared on Raw' s 800th episode in Kung Fu Naki's dance-off and also made an appearance in the Slammy Awards. Slaughter, who had been working as a producer for WWE for the past several years, was released from his backstage producer duties with the company on January 13, 2009. His first appearance on the independent circuit was at American Wrestling Federation in 1994 until
18165-546: The event were WWE Tough Enough Season 5 contestant Matt Cross and WWE alumni and friend Carlito. In June 2012, Mordetzky was defeated by Robbie E in a dark match for Impact Wrestling . Mordetzky has also been involved in many other wrestling events since his release from WWE such as Southside Wrestling (UK) beating El Ligero , Dutch Pro Wrestling (DPW), Fire Star Pro Wrestling, Big Time Wrestling (BTW), World Star Wrestling (WSW), Vendetta Pro Wrestling and Tommy Dreamer 's House Of Hardcore (HOH). On October 26, 2012, Masters
18338-597: 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
18511-477: The final entrant to be released from his pod in the Elimination Chamber. Masters had to defeat Guerrero in 5 minutes and 56 seconds, which was the time set by Michaels (when he defeated Snitsky in the opening match of the show). Guerrero managed to survive the Master Lock long enough so that Masters was unable to beat the clock. At New Year's Revolution (which also took place on Masters' 23rd birthday), Masters
18684-470: 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
18857-610: 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
19030-455: 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
19203-497: The hold and beat him with a steel chair before re-applying the hold. The Master Lock Challenge, which had not decided a clear victor between the two, led to a match at Unforgiven which Michaels won. Masters, alongside fellow Raw wrestler, Edge , was one of several wrestlers to "invade" SmackDown! in preparation for the match between the SmackDown! and Raw brands at Survivor Series . The two ambushed Rey Mysterio , leading to
19376-485: The hold. As the hold was never completely locked in, however, the "Master Lock" had not been officially broken. Masters was eliminated by Rey Mysterio. Masters then set his sights on WWE Champion John Cena , attacking him after a match and forcing him to pass out with the Master Lock. This set up a Triple Threat Submission match for the November 28 edition of Raw with Cena defending his title against Masters and Kurt Angle, with whom he had already been feuding. The idea
19549-654: The independent circuit and had notable stints in Global Force Wrestling (GFW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Christopher Todd Mordetzky was born on January 8, 1983, in Santa Monica, California , to Diane Mordetzky. Mordetzky began training for a wrestling career at the age of 16 in Ultimate Pro Wrestling . He trained there for one year and suffered an injury, leaving him out of action for three months. During this time, Mordetzky learned that WWE
19722-513: 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
19895-471: 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
20068-487: 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
20241-480: The match anyway, and hurled Slaughter into the front row. In 1998, Slaughter turned heel, joined Vince McMahon along with Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson , and became the on-screen lackeys of McMahon; running errands for him and dishing out punishment to McMahon's rivals, namely Steve Austin . In late 1998, Slaughter relinquished the role of commissioner to Shawn Michaels and largely disappeared from television. On September 15, on Raw, Slaughter lost to Al Snow in
20414-466: The match. On the February 6 episode of Raw both men were entered into a Road to WrestleMania Tournament, to determine the number one contender for a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 22 . In Masters' first round matchup, he would use the ropes for leverage in a victory against Kane to secure himself a place in the second round against the winner of a later match between Carlito and Rob Van Dam . Van Dam won that match. The next week on Raw , Van Dam
20587-544: The matches took place on Superstars . Masters was announced as one of the men to compete in the Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match as part of Team Mysterio, teaming with Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Montel Vontavious Porter to take on Team Del Rio ( Alberto Del Rio , Tyler Reks , Jack Swagger , Drew McIntyre and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes ). On the November 19 episode of SmackDown , Masters lost to Swagger in
20760-498: 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
20933-411: The mock trial for then General Manager Eric Bischoff on the December 5 episode of Raw , with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon as judge. Upon being called to the stand to testify for Bischoff's defense, he was asked to give his name, which he did saying his name was Chris Masters. He was immediately accused of perjury and disqualified as a witness, as McMahon broke kayfabe and stated that Masters' real name
21106-610: The new member of Strictly Business. On May 25, 2021, Adonis vacated the NWA National Championship to participate in the battle royal to receive an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match at NWA When Our Shadows Fall ; the match was won by Trevor Murdoch. Adonis would defeat JTG in the tournament final to win the National Championship. At NWA 73rd Anniversary Show , Adonis successfully defended his title in his first title defense against James Storm . He would lose
21279-452: The opportunity and applied the Master Lock to Angle, thus gaining the victory. On January 16, Masters challenged Cena to take part in a Master Lock Challenge. Cena accepted the challenge and displayed signs that he might in fact break out of the hold, until Edge attacked Cena with his title belt and ended the challenge. At the Royal Rumble , Masters again worked together with Carlito, but Carlito again double-crossed him and eliminated him from
21452-502: The past. His last match was with Jeff Starr as they defeated Dalton Castle and Jake Manning on March 29, 2014. He was the special guest host on Raw on August 10, 2009, where he made fun of Canadians and saying how the USA is the greatest country in the world. He made an appearance on the Decade of SmackDown on October 2, 2009, where he had an altercation with the Iron Sheik about which country
21625-437: 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
21798-483: The previous months, it was Carlito who turned face. During the next Raw , Masters began to feud with Carlito after Carlito attacked him from behind. This led to a match between the two men at Backlash which Carlito won. After this, Masters pursued the WWE Intercontinental Championship but would leave for several months to go to drug rehab due to an addiction of painkillers. Before leaving, Masters
21971-821: The promotion closed down in October 1996. Following his 1997 signing with WWF, was for the World Wrestling Alliance (WWA) in a tag team match with George "The Animal" Steele in 1998. After that, he would only wrestle for WWF/WWE until making two appearances for the WWA in 2003. He started slowing down starting in 2006, wrestling only a few matches a year. On March 28, 2009, he defeated his former rival Kamala at IWC Night of Legends in Franklin, Pennsylvania. To finish off his career he had one match in 2013 and two matches in 2014, all tag team encounters. His last two matches were for Northeast Wrestling (NEW), who he had competed for in
22144-618: The promotion due to the low salary and the fact that the company did not have any plans for him besides being a manager for Eli Drake. On March 12, National Wrestling Alliance announced on their social media, that Mordetzky would make his NWA debut at NWA Back For The Attack . Adonis defeated Trevor Murdoch on the March 30 episode of NWA Power , in a No Disqualification match , to win the NWA National Championship . After this, Adonis turned heel when he aligned with Thom Latimer and NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis , as
22317-714: 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
22490-555: The recommendation of Randy Orton. A tweet posted to his Twitter profile in March 2013 stated that Mordetzky saved his mother's life from a criminal who had committed arson at her home. It was reported that he had pulled a 10 foot (3.0 m) tree from the ground with his bare hands and used it to open a path to his mother's windows, freeing her. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
22663-440: The record previously held by Kurt Angle . Originally he would call out plants from the crowd, placing a $ 1,000 prize of his own money to be paid to anyone who could break free from the Master Lock. At Backlash , he defeated Melissa Coates in a Master Lock Challenge. He engaged in feuds with lower-card wrestlers, Val Venis and Sgt. Slaughter , who both failed to break the Master Lock. Using villainous tactics, he often attacked
22836-487: The releases of Vladimir Kozlov and David Hart Smith ) was referenced in a worked shoot moment on the August 8 episode of Raw by WWE Champion CM Punk . In December 2011, Mordetzky joined the Ring Ka King promotion, a branch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for India under the name American Adonis. There he defeated Roscoe Jackson , but was defeated by Indian wrestler Mahabali Veera. In December 2011, Mordetzky
23009-469: The ring after Palumbo realized Masters was trying to trick him. Following this, Masters was suspended for 30 days for failing a drug test. Masters returned to SmackDown! on October 5, applying the Master Lock to Palumbo. Masters suffered a dislocated elbow during his last match, which would have sidelined him for four months. On November 2, 2007, it was reported that Masters had been suspended for 60 days for having violated WWE's Substance Abuse and Drug Policy
23182-419: The ring with both an abridged Titantron and entrance theme, displaying his signature poses as he walked down the ring. He also used this titantron in 2007. Mordetzky did not take the mic and little commentary was made on his absence. He faced Montel Vontavious Porter in a match that resulted in a double-countout after he applied the Master Lock submission to MVP outside the ring. A mini feud continued between
23355-680: The ring, Masters defeated Cena in an arm-wrestling match. Masters put Cena out in the Master Lock hold on three separate non-match occasions. Masters is one of only two competitors (the other being Rusev ) to bring John Cena to unconsciousness once, let alone three times as he did. Mordetzky is good friends with WWE wrestlers Randy Orton and Carlito , along with WWE alumni Bobby Lashley , Shelton Benjamin , John Morrison , Chavo Guerrero Jr. , and Rob Van Dam . Mordetzky has appeared on both Van Dam's radio show RVD-Radio and internet-based reality television show RVD-TV . The Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon only re-hired Masters in 2009 at
23528-454: The ring, adopted the Camel Clutch as one of his finishers, and was (kayfabe) photographed meeting with Saddam Hussein . Slaughter also infamously adopted a move where he would grind the tip of one of his knuckles into his opponent's temple. It was reported that while Slaughter was portraying a turncoat , he had received numerous death threats and could not go anywhere in public without wearing
23701-462: The save. Duggan and Slaughter teamed up to defeat the Nasty Boys and continued to team over the next several months. Slaughter would also feud with General Adnan and Col. Mustafa, winning every match in his feud with the heel duo. Slaughter was taken off TV in June 1992 and worked in house shows against The Mountie until August of that year. Slaughter's last regular WWF match, which was against Nailz ,
23874-456: The singles and tag team divisions. When Mordetzky was called up to the main roster, WWE showed vignettes outlining him as "The Masterpiece", touting him as having a body so perfect, it would appear he was sculpted out of stone. Mordetzky credits Matt Morgan for creating the "Masterpiece" gimmick, and said Vince McMahon encouraged him to emulate former wrestler Paul Orndorff . "The Masterpiece" Chris Masters made his debut in WWE on Raw as
24047-440: 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
24220-676: The target of D-Generation X (DX), who called him "Sgt. Slobber". On an episode of Raw Is War , he put Shawn Michaels and Triple H in a match for Michaels' European Championship . Michaels dropped the belt to Helmsley by lying down in the ring. Slaughter challenged Triple H to a Boot Camp match at the December pay-per-view , which he lost. His feud with Triple H continued into WrestleMania XIV where he handcuffed himself to Chyna to prevent her from interfering with Helmsley's match against Owen Hart . But Slaughter's efforts ultimately proved futile, as Chyna threw powder into his eyes, interfered with
24393-426: 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,
24566-512: The title against Anthony Mayweather on the February 11, 2022 episode of Power , ending his reign at 249 days. On the February 28, 2023 episode of Powerrr , Adonis announced that he will utilize his Champions Series title opportunities at NWA 312 , challenging NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Tyrus. He would then go on to unsuccessfully challenge Tyrus for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On June 3, during night one of
24739-505: 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
24912-471: 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
25085-490: The two as Porter was able to score a pinfall victory over Masters the following week to end the feud. In November 2009, Mordetzky began a face turn, entertaining fans with a Tony Holland -style pec dance. On the November 2 episode of Raw , Mordetzky entered the Raw's Got Talent show hosted by guest host Ozzy Osbourne , Sharon Osbourne , and The Great Khali, where he performed a "special performance art piece"; he flexed his pecs to
25258-411: The victory, Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes , and Roddy Piper cleared the tag champions from the ring. Slaughter was one of three options between himself, Roddy Piper, and Dusty Rhodes that fans could vote for as a tag partner for Ric Flair at Cyber Sunday , but did not win the vote. At Survivor Series , Slaughter teamed with Flair, Ron Simmons , and Dusty Rhodes to take on four members of the Spirit Squad in
25431-535: 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
25604-454: The wrestlers beforehand and frequently cheated (for example using a low-blow to escape Sgt. Slaughter's cobra clutch ). Masters increased the offered reward each week up to $ 20,000 and sometimes threw in a bonus. After defeating the 400-pound Rosey on July 18, Masters defiantly stated "it doesn't matter how big they are!", prompting The Big Show to accept a Master Lock Challenge. In accordance with his villainous persona, Masters fled, refusing
25777-420: 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
25950-449: The wrestling ring. When Jannetty hesitated, McMahon changed the condition to winning a Master Lock Challenge, and summoned Masters to the ring. After applying the Master Lock, McMahon ordered Masters to force Jannetty's face against his buttocks. Masters failed to complete this instruction as Shawn Michaels interrupted and knocked out Masters. Michaels was then attacked by Shane McMahon, who forced him to kiss Mr. McMahon's buttocks instead. On
26123-425: 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
26296-519: Was Chris Mordetzky. On December 12, Chris Masters defeated Viscera on an episode of Raw to gain a spot in the Elimination Chamber match for John Cena's WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution . Viscera was shown to be too big to cinch on the Master Lock until being grounded. On the December 26 episode of Raw , Masters faced Chavo Guerrero , in a Beat the Clock match to determine who would be
26469-476: Was able to beat Masters and advance to the tournament final. After this, Masters continued to feud with one half of the World Tag Team Champions , Big Show, while Masters' on and off teammate Carlito would feud with Kane. On the February 27 episode of Raw , McMahon offered Shawn Michaels' former tag team partner Marty Jannetty a WWE contract in exchange for kissing his exposed buttocks in the middle of
26642-785: Was also revealed to be involved in the Wrestling Retribution Project under the ring name "Concrete". Mordetzky appeared on the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour in Manila , Philippines on February 4, 2012, where he wrestled under the name Chris Master. There he was defeated against fellow WWE alumni MVP. In April 2012, Mordetzky participated in the Revolution event for International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom (IPW:UK) in London . Other wrestlers at
26815-566: Was being reduced to a comedic role because WWE hoped to avoid negative publicity tied to his past Talent and Wellness Violations . Following WrestleMania XXVI , Masters was not active on-screen for over 30 days. Masters was drafted back to the SmackDown brand on April 26 during the Supplemental Draft . In his first match on the brand, he defeated Chavo Guerrero. Masters found himself lossless in singles matches from May to September, winning eleven singles matches during that period, where all
26988-845: Was born in Detroit , Michigan , and grew up in Minneapolis , Minnesota . He attended Eden Prairie High School in nearby Eden Prairie , where he wrestled and played football. Remus was trained by Verne Gagne in Minnesota for American Wrestling Association (AWA) territory in 1972. In 1974, he made his debut in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver. Then he made his first tour in Japan in January 1975 for International Wrestling Enterprise and July 1975 for All Japan Pro wrestling. Remus held numerous regional titles early in his career and experienced his second major success in
27161-625: Was challenged by then-United States Champion Antonio Cesaro in a match for the WWE United States Championship . He lost the match and failed to capture the title. This would be his final match for WWE. He then made an appearance on Old School RAW, serving as the special guest referee for The Great Khali vs Damien Sandow match after he got the most votes. Slaughter made an appearance on November 24, 2014, edition of Raw , where he confronted United States Champion Rusev and his valet, Lana , and attempted to force Lana and Rusev to recite
27334-488: 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
27507-572: Was defeated by Matt Hardy in the Big Time Wrestling 16th Anniversary Show. On October 27, 2012, Masters defeated Rik Luxury, Sean Casey and then-Champion Chavo Guerrero Jr. in a Four-Way Elimination match for the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. On December 9, 2012, Masters made his Preston City Wrestling (PCW) debut losing to Kris Travis at PCW Festive Fury 2012. On March 1, 2014, Masters won
27680-435: Was eliminated from the Elimination Chamber match when Carlito double-crossed him by delivering a low blow while he had Cena in the Master Lock and then used a roll-up for the pin. On January 9, after some heated words with Carlito, both men had a tag match against two men who were also having difficulties, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. During the match, Michaels walked backstage, leaving Angle to fend for himself. Masters saw
27853-424: Was in October 1992 and ended in no contest when Nailz viciously attacked Slaughter before the match could begin. Slaughter started appearing as an on-air official from October 1992 to June 1994. He made his first wrestling appearance in over a year when he appeared on a house show version of a Royal Rumble that was held on January 17, 1994, at Madison Square Garden. After helping to eliminate Adam Bomb he, in turn,
28026-461: Was in the process of completing the Harvard step test before Slaughter beat him repeatedly with his riding crop, leaving bruises on his back. Although he won several matches by disqualification, he never won the title. In early 1984, Slaughter's career took off after he turned face and defended America's honor against The Iron Sheik from Iran . They had many matches throughout the year, culminating in
28199-447: Was my childhood idol, I idolize the guy, and I still trip out that I got to wrestle him on a pay-per-view. How many people get to do that? How many people get to wrestle their idol?" Mordetzky claims that the biggest misconception that most people have about him is that he's just a bodybuilder. John Cena went on record to say that Chris Masters is the strongest competitor he has faced in his career. Though Masters never defeated Cena in
28372-423: Was on the May 22 episode of Raw , losing a match to John Cena despite low blowing John Cena for two times in a row. He returned to the ring during an OVW television taping on August 6. He had lost much of his muscle mass, appearing much slimmer, although he still had some definition in his arms and abdomen. On the August 28 episode of Raw , Masters made his return against Cena. Along with less muscle mass, he sported
28545-568: 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
28718-418: Was recruiting talent from UPW, and he took time off from wrestling for nearly three years to pursue a powerful physique that would interest World Wrestling Entertainment . His work paid off, as WWE offered him a developmental contract in 2003, training him at its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). At OVW, he developed his wrestling skills and refined his character, achieving success in both
28891-476: Was rumored, but never materialized. On April 26, 2011, Masters was drafted back to the Raw brand as part of the 2011 supplemental draft but never wrestled on Raw in his four months as a Raw wrestler. His last appearance on WWE programming was against Jack Swagger on the August 4, 2011 episode of Superstars in a losing effort. On August 5, 2011, Mordetzky was released from his contract by WWE. His release (as well as
29064-415: 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
29237-417: 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
29410-535: Was the greatest, USA or Iran. Slaughter would appear on November 15, 2010's Old School RAW losing to Alberto Del Rio in one minute and 53 seconds. Then on June 27, 2011's Raw edition he lost to Jack Swagger in 68 seconds. On July 3, 2012, Slaughter appeared on Smackdown teaming with Jim Duggan and Santino Marella defeating Drew McIntyre , Hunico and Camacho for the Great American Bash. He later appeared on December 31, 2012, edition of Raw , where he
29583-541: Was the only WWF-based challenger not to do the honors for Backlund at MSG (Backlund defeated him at the Meadowlands, but never in the Garden). Slaughter then engaged in a feud with Pat Patterson , which stemmed from Slaughter calling Patterson "yellow" and offering him $ 10,000 (double the usual amount) to try to break the cobra clutch. Patterson accepted on television and was escaping from the hold when Slaughter released it and put
29756-462: Was to put Cena at a major disadvantage and guarantee a new champion; Masters and Angle, who used the ankle lock as a submission finisher, both were submission experts while Cena did not employ a submission hold as part of his repertoire at the time. On that night, however, Cena emerged victorious by making Masters tap out to his new submission finisher, the STFU. Masters portrayed the role of a bailiff during
29929-484: Was tossed out by Crush . Later that year he would wrestle on four house shows in July in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, facing and defeating Quebecer Pierre . He left the company in September. After a hiatus, he returned to WWF television on the August 4, 1997, episode of Raw Is War to assume the role of on-air commissioner by ( kayfabe ) President Gorilla Monsoon who in reality retired from being on camera due to health issues. Initially popular, he eventually became
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