Mid 20th Century
157-586: Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler . He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is one-half of the reigning TNA World Tag Team Champions in his third reign . He is best known for his tenures in WWE and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). With his brother Jeff , Hardy gained prominence in WWF's tag team division during the 2000s due to his participation in TLC matches . He
314-723: A Lethal Lockdown match . On the April 21 episode of Impact! , Hardy faced Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship , Hardy's first World Title match in TNA, but was defeated. The following month, Hardy was granted a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode). While the champions looked to defend the title against the Hardy Boyz, Matt instead introduced
471-559: A basketball game, an arm wrestling contest, and a chess match which MVP "sneezed" on and ruined when Hardy put him in check. MVP challenged Hardy to a boxing match on the August 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event , however MVP was legitimately diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome . Since MVP was unable to compete, Hardy faced his replacement, former world champion boxer, Evander Holyfield . The match ended in
628-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
785-499: A Side Effect on Edge off the entrance stage and into electrical equipment below; the match ended in a no contest. At Unforgiven on September 18, Edge faced Hardy in a steel cage match . Hardy caught an interfering Lita with the Twist of Fate and won the match with a leg drop off the top of the cage. Hardy and Edge faced each other on October 3 at WWE Raw Homecoming in a Loser Leaves Raw ladder match. Edge's briefcase holding his Money in
942-604: A TLC match for Hardy's title and Hawx's Extreme Rising World title. Hardy won the match, but he gave back the title to Hawx. On October 4, Hardy lost the MCW Heavyweight Championship back to Drolix, following outside interference from Kevin Eck. On February 9, 2015, Hardy appeared on FWE's "No Limits 2015" iPPV, challenging Drew Galloway for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship , but was defeated. It
1099-413: 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
1256-520: 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
1413-513: 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
1570-611: A challenge to his long-time rival MVP , who was wrestling in Japan at the time, to one final match at "Crossfire Live!" in Nashville. The event was held May 19, 2012, and benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hardy won the match. Throughout 2012, Hardy wrestled sporadically on the independent circuit, working with promotions such as Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Syndicate and Northeast Wrestling . On October 5, Hardy
1727-574: 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
SECTION 10
#17328864247321884-410: A champion there. Independent Mexican wrestlers may use a lot of gimmicks, including some that may be based on copyrighted characters from American television shows, such as Thundercats and X-Men . (These gimmicks are often changed if the wrestler playing them makes it into AAA or CMLL; the most prominent example of non-compliance with this method is midget wrestler Chucky from AAA, whose gimmick
2041-423: 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 . Independent circuit In professional wrestling , the independent circuit (often shortened to
2198-410: 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
2355-600: A fighting champion that would take on all challenges, defending the United States championship against Shelton Benjamin , Elijah Burke , Chuck Palumbo , Mr. Kennedy , Chavo Guerrero and Umaga . Hardy was drafted to the ECW brand on the June 23, 2008, episode of Raw during the 2008 WWE Draft , in the process making the United States Championship exclusive to ECW. He lost the United States Championship to Shelton Benjamin at
2512-517: A five-year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986. However, by the mid-1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the Big Daddy -orientated direction of Joint. Eventually this culminated in All Star gaining a TV show on satellite channel Screensport and later, a slice of ITV's coverage from 1987 until the end of ITV wrestling in 1988. By
2669-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2826-520: A good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract. The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach
2983-581: A large enough crowd to fill such a venue were they able to do so. Instead, they make use of any almost open space (such as fields, ballrooms, or gymnasiums) to put on their performances. Some independent promotions are attached to professional wrestling schools , serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes
3140-534: A larger audience outside of their local areas. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions , Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories, that being the Northern Territory . Tours from
3297-405: 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
SECTION 20
#17328864247323454-525: A major promoter with shows featuring himself as headline heel. In 1958, when Bert Assirati was stripped of the British Heavyweight Championship , Lincoln formed the BWF alliance of promoters to support Assirati's claim, later recognising Shirley Crabtree as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970. Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from
3611-543: A manager, after Gangrel turned on Edge and Christian. At No Mercy on October 17, The Hardyz defeated Edge and Christian in the first ever tag team ladder match . At the Royal Rumble on January 23, 2000, The Hardyz defeated The Dudley Boyz in the first ever tag team tables match . They competed against The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian for the WWF Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2 in
3768-479: A match against Deuce 'n Domino for the WWE Tag Team Championship on the August 31 episode of SmackDown! which Hardy and MVP were able to win, therefore setting up Hardy's first reign as WWE Tag Team Champion. Hardy and MVP retained the titles at Unforgiven on September 16 in a rematch against former champions Deuce 'n Domino. Hardy was scheduled to face MVP at Cyber Sunday on October 28, but due to
3925-754: 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
4082-407: A match taped for an episode of WCPW ReLoaded. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
4239-440: 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
4396-481: A no contest after MVP entered the ring to verbally abuse Holyfield, who then knocked him out. MVP also challenged Hardy to a beer drinking contest at SummerSlam on August 26, but as revenge for what happened on Saturday Night's Main Event , Hardy allowed Stone Cold Steve Austin to replace him; Austin simply performed a stunner on MVP then kept drinking. After a segment involving MVP inadvertently choosing Hardy as his tag-team partner, Theodore Long promptly set up
4553-602: A non-title match. The two met again at Survivor Series on November 26, where Hardy's team won in a clean sweep. They wrestled one final match, a one time appearance in Booker T 's Pro Wrestling Alliance (PWA) promotion, where Hardy defeated Helms in a North Carolina Street Fight. On the November 21 episode of ECW on Sci Fi , Hardy and Jeff competed in a match together for the first time in almost five years, defeating The Full Blooded Italians . At December to Dismember on December 3,
4710-907: A number of alter-egos. As The Wolverine, Hardy captured the New England Wrestling Alliance (NEWA) Championship in May 1994. As High Voltage, he teamed with Venom to claim the New Frontier Wrestling Association (NFWA) Tag Team Championship in March 1995. A month later, High Voltage defeated the Willow for the NFWA Championship. In 1997, Matt and Jeff created their own wrestling promotion , The Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (frequently abbreviated to OMEGA Championship Wrestling, or simply OMEGA), in which Matt competed under
4867-469: A proposal to her. He defeated Christian , who was vying for Lita's affections, on the following edition of Raw . In April 2004, Hardy saved Lita from getting attacked by Kane , turning face in the process. Hardy defeated Kane in a no disqualification match at Vengeance on July 11, but lost a "Till Death To Us Part" match against Kane at SummerSlam on August 15, resulting in Lita being forced to marry Kane. On
Matt Hardy - Misplaced Pages Continue
5024-617: A real-life head injury sustained on the October 26 episode of SmackDown! , he was not medically cleared to compete. As part of the storyline, Hardy continually asked MVP for a shot at the United States Championship but MVP refused stating that he was more focused on the Tag Team Championship. On the November 16 episode of SmackDown! , Hardy and MVP dropped the WWE Tag Team Championship to John Morrison and The Miz . Despite
5181-518: A region and maintain a consistent schedule. After Vince McMahon , seeking regulatory relief, gave in 1989 testimony in front of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission where he publicly admitted pro wrestling was in fact a sports-based entertainment, rather than a true athletic competition, many state athletic commissions stopped regulating wrestling. This obviated the need for complying with many expensive requirements, such as
5338-653: A scheduled Ring of Honor (ROH) event on July 16, 2005, in Woodbridge, Connecticut , where he defeated Christopher Daniels via submission. Hardy also cut a brief worked shoot promo where he criticized WWE and John Laurinaitis . Following his official return to WWE, Hardy was met with backlash following a match with Homicide from the fans at a subsequent ROH event, which Hardy won. The next day at his final ROH appearance, he lost to Roderick Strong . On July 11, 2005, on Raw , Hardy attacked Edge backstage and again later during Edge's match with Kane. Before being escorted out of
5495-527: A second Best Gimmick award, becoming one of the most talked about characters in all of wrestling. As a singles wrestler, Hardy has won the WWE United States , Hardcore , European , and Cruiserweight championships as well as three world championships (one ECW Championship and two TNA World Heavyweight Championships ). Hardy was born in Cameron, North Carolina , the son of Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy. He
5652-663: A show. After dropping the Cruiserweight Championship, Hardy briefly feuded with Eddie Guerrero , but was unsuccessful in capturing Guerrero's United States Championship or WWE Tag Team Championship . The Mattitude faction then expanded to include Crash Holly as Moore's "Moore-on" (apprentice). He later disbanded the group in November and returned to the Raw brand in order to be able to travel and work with his then girlfriend Lita, who just returned from an injury. On his first night back, he turned on Lita in storyline after teasing
5809-579: A tear in his abdominal muscle two years previously, but had not needed surgery until it worsened, and became a danger to his health. He was then traded back to the SmackDown brand on June 29, and underwent surgery for the torn abdominal muscle on July 2. He made his return on the August 7 episode of SmackDown as the special guest referee in the World Heavyweight Championship match between his brother, Jeff, and CM Punk, and helped Jeff retain
5966-497: 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
6123-575: 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
6280-482: A week or once a month in local towns. Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are much more dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to work for free due to the fact most promoters can only afford to pay well-known talent). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract
6437-643: A win over Simon Dean on the October 21 episode of SmackDown! in Reno, Nevada . One week later, Hardy won the fan vote to represent Team SmackDown! (alongside Rey Mysterio ) to challenge Team Raw (Edge and Chris Masters ) at Taboo Tuesday on November 1. Edge, however, refused to wrestle and sent Snitsky in place of him in the match, which Hardy and Mysterio won. Back on SmackDown! in 2006, Hardy started an angle with MNM ( Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury ) and their manager Melina when Melina approached Hardy, seemingly wanting Hardy to join with her team. Hardy refused
Matt Hardy - Misplaced Pages Continue
6594-622: A year, however, he dropped out due to his father being ill. He then attended Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst to gain his associate degree. Hardy, along with his brother Jeff and friends, started their own federation, the Trampoline Wrestling Federation (TWF) and mimicked the moves they saw on television. Shortly after Hardy sent in a tape for the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Amateur Challenge using
6751-703: Is a 15-time world tag team champion , having held the WWE World Tag Team Championship six times, the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship three times, the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship , ROH World Tag Team Championship , and WCW Tag Team Championship once each, and the TNA World Tag Team Championships three times. They are considered one of the major teams that revived tag team wrestling during
6908-410: 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
7065-448: Is also not uncommon for veteran wrestlers who have had past tenures with major promotions to appear on independent shows, either as special attractions or as a way to prolong their careers. The "indie" scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This
7222-569: Is based on the Child's Play movies.) Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling . ( International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative. From 1986 to 1988
7379-573: Is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to the big regional territories. The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF , went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW . Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within
7536-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
7693-703: Is the older brother of Jeff Hardy . Their mother died of brain cancer in 1987. Hardy played baseball as a child and throughout high school, but had stopped by his senior year. He also played football , either as a linebacker or a defensive end . Hardy was a good student at Union Pines High School in North Carolina, and was a nominee for the Morehead Scholarship , a scholarship to any university in North Carolina . Hardy attended University of North Carolina at Charlotte , where he majored in engineering; after
7850-699: The Attitude Era . Wrestling through four separate decades, Hardy has kept himself relevant partially through a variety of different gimmicks and his use of social media. In 2002, Hardy began a solo career in WWE. His subsequent "Version 1" persona was named Best Gimmick by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Hardy's eccentric "Broken" gimmick, which he debuted in 2016 (and which was renamed "Woken" following his subsequent WWE return), garnered praise from wrestling critics and earned him multiple awards, including
8007-505: The Cruiserweight Championship . After just barely making weight, Hardy defeated Billy Kidman at No Way Out on February 23 to win the Cruiserweight Championship. At WrestleMania XIX on March 30, he successfully defended it against Rey Mysterio . Hardy lost the Cruiserweight Championship to Mysterio in the main event of the June 5 episode of SmackDown! - the first and only time a Cruiserweight Championship match main evented
SECTION 50
#17328864247328164-646: The European Championship on the April 19 episode of SmackDown! . At Backlash on April 29 Hardy retained the title against Guerrero and Christian in a triple threat, and against Edge the following night on Raw is War . Throughout the year, the Hardy Boyz continued to win as a tag team, winning the WWF Tag Team Titles two more times, and the WCW Tag Team Championship during the Invasion . By
8321-507: The FWE Heavyweight Championship against the champion Carlito and Tommy Dreamer, but he was defeated. On November 30, 2013, at WrestleCade, Hardy defeated Carlito to become the first ever WrestleCade Champion. On May 3, 2014, following a match between Christian York and Drolix, Hardy defeated Drolix to become the new MCW Heavyweight Champion . At Maryland Championship Wrestling's Shane Shamrock Cup, Hardy defeated Luke Hawx in
8478-553: The Great American Bash pay-per-view on July 20, which meant that the title returned to SmackDown. On the July 22 episode of ECW , Hardy became the number one contender to Mark Henry 's ECW Championship after defeating John Morrison , The Miz and Finlay in a fatal four-way match . He won the title match at SummerSlam on August 17 by disqualification due to interference from Henry's manager, Tony Atlas , thus he failed to win
8635-635: The Money in the Bank ladder match Hardy cut through the crowd and attacked MVP to prevent him from winning the match. He made his official in-ring return the next night on Raw , losing a singles match to WWE Champion Randy Orton. On the April 4 episode of SmackDown , Hardy faced MVP in a non-title match, which he won, re-igniting their storyline rivalry. Hardy defeated MVP to win the United States Championship at Backlash on April 27, and retained his title against MVP five days later on SmackDown . Hardy declared himself as
8792-609: 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
8949-492: The SmackDown! brand, and began dubbing himself "Matt Hardy: Version 1", complete with a "version 1" hand signal. Hardy defeated The Undertaker on the September 12 and October 3 episodes of SmackDown! , due to interference from Brock Lesnar . Along with his Mattitude Follower Shannon Moore in his corner, 2003 began with Hardy frantically trying to lose weight to get under the 215 lb (98 kg) weight limit to compete for
9106-762: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
9263-431: The indie circuit or the indies ) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. Independent promotions are essentially viewed as a minor league or farm system for the larger national promotions, as wrestlers in "indie" companies (especially young wrestlers just starting their careers) are usually honing their craft with
9420-531: The legitimate incident where they injured Mercury's face at Armageddon. This led to a long term rivalry, and at the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2007, Hardy and Jeff defeated MNM. Mercury and Hardy continued to feud on SmackDown! until Mercury was released from WWE on March 26. On the April 2 episode of Raw , the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship . They won
9577-568: The #DELETEWCPW event for What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) in Nottingham, England on November 30. Hardy, billed as "Broken" Matt Hardy, lost a no-disqualification match to Bully Ray , with Ray proposing the no-disqualification stipulation at the last minute, and Hardy accepting there and then. On March 12, 2016, Hardy challenged Drew Galloway for the WCPW World Heavyweight Championship at a British Championship Wrestling event in
SECTION 60
#17328864247329734-577: 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
9891-400: 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
10048-460: 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
10205-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
10362-641: 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
10519-438: The August 23 episode of Raw, Hardy was chokeslamed off the stage by Kane during the wedding. Hardy then spent almost a year off from wrestling due to a severe knee injury. Along with his friend Rhyno , Hardy was released by WWE on April 11, 2005. Hardy's release was largely due to unprofessional conduct on social media after discovering that Lita was having a real-life affair with his best friend Edge. The public knowledge of
10676-403: The Bank contract for his WWE Championship opportunity was suspended above the ring. The winner of the match received the contract and the loser was forced to leave Raw . Edge tied Hardy's arms in the ropes, and Lita trapped Hardy in a crucifix hold , leaving Hardy only able to watch Edge win. With his defeat at the hands of Edge, Hardy was moved to the SmackDown! brand where he re-debuted with
10833-432: The Hardy Boyz issued an open challenge to any tag team who wanted to face them. MNM answered their challenge by reuniting at December to Dismember, a match won by the Hardy Boyz. At Armageddon on December 17, Hardy and Jeff competed against Paul London and Brian Kendrick , MNM, and Dave Taylor and William Regal in a Ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship but lost. Subsequently, he and Jeff feuded with MNM after
10990-642: The Hardy Boyz reunited to defeat Anderson and Van Dam in a tag team match, following interference from Beer Money, Inc. On February 13 at Against All Odds , Van Dam defeated Hardy in a rematch. On the following episode of Impact! , Hardy, along with the rest of Immortal and Ric Flair , betrayed Fortune . On March 13 at Victory Road , Hardy was defeated by Flair's previous protégé, A.J. Styles . On April 17 at Lockdown , Immortal, represented by Hardy, Abyss, Bully Ray and Ric Flair, were defeated by Fortune members James Storm , Kazarian and Robert Roode and Christopher Daniels, who replaced an injured A.J. Styles, in
11147-537: The Hardy Boyz were drafted to the Raw brand), however, Matt was relegated to Heat while Jeff wrestled on the main show, Raw . On the August 12 episode of Raw , Hardy turned heel by attacking Jeff during Jeff's match against Rob Van Dam , because Hardy was frustrated at not receiving a match against Van Dam for the number one contendership for the Intercontinental Championship. A short time later, Hardy joined
11304-475: The Intercontinental Championship, thus continuing their feud. On the following edition of SmackDown , he was reinstated by Long and had a match with McIntyre, which Hardy won. After the match, it was announced that McIntyre's visa had legitimately expired and was sent back to Scotland, thus ending their feud. Hardy was featured in the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank on July 18 but
11461-715: The Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal mores which implied that a wrestler was a lifelong employee of a company and thus identified with it wherever he went, neither AJPW nor NJPW made an effort to acquire wrestlers trained in other promotions; wrestlers from the major promotions who left, such as Genichiro Tenryu , Gran Hamada , Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Akira Maeda , Atsushi Onita , and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in
11618-403: The July 6 episode of SmackDown! , Hardy won a non-title match against United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), which resulted in a feud between the two. Hardy was defeated by MVP at The Great American Bash on July 22 for the United States Championship. MVP then claimed that he was "better than Hardy at everything", which led to a series of contests between Hardy and MVP, such as
11775-517: The June 20 episode of Raw , during the storyline wedding of Edge and Lita, Hardy's entrance music and video were played when the priest asked if anyone had a reason why Edge and Lita should not be wed. Following his WWE release, Matt returned to the independent circuit and wrestled several matches for the Allied Powers Wrestling Federation (APWF), International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) and Big Time Wrestling (BTW). Hardy appeared at
11932-595: The Limit on May 23. He was able to get his revenge on McIntyre during the Viewer's Choice episode of Raw when chosen as the opponent for McIntyre, with General Manager Theodore Long stating that Hardy was suspended from SmackDown , but not from Raw . On the following episode of SmackDown , however, Vickie Guerrero announced that, per orders of Vince McMahon, Hardy had been suspended from all WWE programming. However, at Fatal 4-Way on June 20, Hardy prevented McIntyre from regaining
12089-408: 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
12246-477: 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
12403-583: The North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne , Sydney , Perth and Brisbane . Lucha libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion to the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as its emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either AAA or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be
12560-463: The WWE product and insisting that he wanted to be released from the company. On October 15, 2010, WWE announced that Hardy had been released from his contract. Hardy later stated that his release had been in effect two weeks before WWE made the announcement. On January 9, 2011, Hardy made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the Genesis pay-per-view, as part of the stable Immortal . He
12717-412: The affair and Hardy's release led to Edge and Lita receiving jeers from the crowds at WWE events, often resulting in chants of "You screwed Matt!", and, "We want Matt!", which meant kayfabe storylines were being affected, considering that Lita was married to Kane at the time in kayfabe. Edge and Lita used the affair and fan backlash to become a hated on-screen couple, which led to Lita turning heel for
12874-401: 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
13031-418: 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
13188-550: 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
13345-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
13502-418: The building by security, Hardy stated that Edge (calling him by his real name of "Adam") and Lita would pay for their actions and told fans that they could see him at Ring of Honor while security officials and event staff were trying to restrain him. Hardy also called out Johnny Ace as security had him in handcuffs taking him out of the arena. This caused an uproar amongst fans, who were confused and wondered if
13659-424: 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
13816-418: 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
13973-556: The championship by counting the pinfall. The following week Hardy turned face again when he saved Jeff when CM Punk and The Hart Dynasty attacked both Jeff and John Morrison. On the August 21 episode of SmackDown , after apologizing for his past actions towards Jeff and admitting that he was not behind any of Jeff's accidents, he had his first match back after his injury when he teamed with Jeff and John Morrison to defeat The Hart Dynasty and CM Punk, when Matt pinned Punk. In early 2010, Hardy began an on-screen relationship with Maria ; but
14130-423: 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
14287-461: 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
14444-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
14601-540: 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
14758-461: The death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki , which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent. In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS , took place; soon after NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse , Tiger Mask , Gedo , and Jado . On
14915-405: 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
15072-417: The end of the year, the Hardy Boyz began a storyline where they were having trouble co-existing. This culminated in a match between the two, with Lita as the guest referee , at Vengeance on December 9, which Jeff won. Hardy defeated Jeff and Lita the following night on Raw in a two-on-one handicap match. At the beginning of 2002, it seemed Team Xtreme had patched things up. After the brand extension (where
15229-550: The end of this period, All Star had effectively replaced Joint (by now owned by Max Crabtree , brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK. Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since
15386-597: 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
15543-411: The fact that Hardy was hurt, MVP immediately invoked the rematch clause. After the rematch, in which Hardy was forced to tap out, MVP attacked Hardy, repeatedly targeting his knee. It was later confirmed by WWE.com that Hardy had suffered an injury at MVP's hands and that he might not be able to compete at Survivor Series on November 18. Despite Hardy's absence at Survivor Series, his team was able to win
15700-431: The fire that burned down Jeff's house, going so far as to reveal that he had in his possession a dog collar that supposedly belonged to Jeff's dog, Jack (who died in the fire), that he claimed to have salvaged from the wreckage of the house. At WrestleMania 25 on April 5, Matt defeated Jeff in an Extreme Rules match, and in a stretcher match on the following episode of SmackDown . On the April 13 episode of Raw , Hardy
15857-512: The first ever Triangle Ladder match , but were unsuccessful. Hardy won the Hardcore Championship on the April 24 episode of Raw Is War , by defeating Crash Holly , but lost it back to Holly three days later on SmackDown! , when Holly applied the "24/7 rule" during Hardy's title defense against Jeff. The Hardy Boyz then found a new manager in Matt's real-life girlfriend Lita . Together,
16014-470: 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
16171-418: The first time in over five years. Fans began a petition on the internet, wanting WWE to re-sign Hardy, and amassed over 15,000 signatures. Hardy released two character promotional vignettes, that he was planning to use before he was offered a new contract. He called himself The Angelic Diablo with the tagline "the scar will become a symbol" in reference to the way in which he had been treated by Amy and Adam. On
16328-407: The first time in the WWF in 1996, losing to teams such as The Smoking Gunns and The Grimm Twins on WWF television. Matt and Jeff had matches with The Headbangers ( Thrasher and Mosh ) twice, and Kurrgan twice in 1997. It was during this time that Matt and Jeff experimented with different ring names, at one stage being called Ingus (Matt) and Wildo Jinx (Jeff). In Matt's final singles match for
16485-504: The following night on Raw Is War against Edge and Christian in a ladder match. In April 2001, The Hardy Boyz began feuding with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H (known as The Power Trip ), which also led to a singles push for both Matt and Jeff. Hardy helped Jeff defeat Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship on the April 12 episode of SmackDown! , and shortly after Hardy defeated Eddie Guerrero to win
16642-610: 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
16799-527: The goal of being noticed and signed by a major national promotion such as WWE , All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (which also owns Ring of Honor (ROH)), or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the United States, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico, or New Japan Pro-Wrestling , Dragongate , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Wonder Ring Stardom or the CyberFight promotions in Japan. It
16956-455: 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
17113-513: 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
17270-518: The independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito , Takahiro Suwa , and Taiji Ishimori ). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability. For most of the years of ITV 's coverage of British Wrestling, the dominant promoter in the United Kingdom was the Joint Promotions cartel, which
17427-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
17584-471: 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
17741-487: 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
17898-416: The late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling c. 1984 . An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining
18055-405: The limelight ( Wrestling Association "R" , Universal Lucha Libre , Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , Fighting Network Rings , Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling , and Hustle respectively) . As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With
18212-449: The locker room. At SummerSlam, their match came to a premature end when Edge dropped Hardy onto the top of a ring post, causing him to bleed heavily. The referee ended the match on the grounds that Hardy could not continue, and Edge was declared the winner. After SummerSlam, the two continued their feud, including a Street Fight on the August 29 episode of Raw that resulted in Hardy performing
18369-601: The match. On November 21, WWE's official website reported that Hardy underwent an emergency appendectomy in Tampa, Florida , after his appendix burst. Hardy made an appearance at the December 31 episode of Raw supporting his brother Jeff. To further Jeff's storyline with Randy Orton , however, Hardy was attacked by Orton. Hardy made his return at a live event in Muncie, Indiana , on March 1, 2008. On March 30 at WrestleMania XXIV , during
18526-498: 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
18683-536: The name High Voltage. Both Matt and Jeff took apart the ring and put it back together at every event they had, while Matt sewed all the costumes worn in OMEGA. The promotion folded in October 1999, after both Matt and Jeff signed with the World Wrestling Federation . Hardy worked as a jobber for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 up until he signed a full-time contract in 1998. His first WWF match
18840-426: The need for an on-site ambulance and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once
18997-508: The offer, which led to him facing the tag team on several occasions with a variety of partners. On July 25, after the SmackDown! taping, Hardy was taken out of action after doctors found the remnants of the staph infection that had plagued him the previous year. He was sidelined until August 25 while he healed. Upon his return to action, Hardy feuded against childhood friend and reigning Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms . At No Mercy on October 8, in their home state, Hardy beat Helms in
19154-546: The process). In 1999, while feuding with Edge and Christian , the duo briefly picked up Michael Hayes as a manager . At King of the Ring on June 27, The Hardyz defeated Edge and Christian to earn the #1 contendership for the WWF Tag Team Championship . On the July 5 episode of Raw is War , they defeated The Acolytes to win their first Tag Team Championship. They soon dumped Hayes and briefly picked up Gangrel as
19311-470: The promotion before signing a full-time contract he lost to Val Venis on a taping of Shotgun in May 1998. It was not until 1998, however, (at the height of The Attitude Era ) that the Hardy brothers were given full-time WWF contracts and sent to train with former wrestler Dory Funk Jr. The Hardy Boyz used a cruiserweight , fast-paced high flying style in their matches, often leaping from great heights to do damage to their opponents (and themselves in
19468-714: 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
19625-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
19782-458: The returning Chris Harris , Storm's old tag team partner, as his partner for the title match. The match took place at Sacrifice , where Storm and Roode retained their titles. On June 21, it was reported that TNA had suspended Hardy. On August 20, Hardy was released from TNA following a DUI arrest that occurred earlier that same day. Hardy announced his retirement from full-time professional wrestling due to injuries on September 1, 2011. He issued
19939-545: The ring name High Voltage, a tag team named High Voltage began competing in WCW, causing Hardy to change his name to Surge. A few years later, it was revealed to him by Chris Kanyon that the tape had been kept in the WCW Power Plant , watched multiple times, and that the name High Voltage was blatantly stolen from it. Beginning in 1994, The Hardys wrestled for several North Carolina-based independent circuit promotions and adapted
20096-526: The same year, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split, AJPW was forced to fill its ranks with independent talent; Nobutaka Araya , Shigeo Okumura and Mitsuya Nagai signed up (Araya is the only one who remains, but other signings since then have been Kaz Hayashi , Tomoaki Honma , Hideki Hosaka , and Ryuji Hijikata .) Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda , to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from
20253-440: 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
20410-426: 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,
20567-406: The three became known as " Team Xtreme ". At SummerSlam on August 27, The Hardy Boyz competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match , for the WWF Tag Team Championship against The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, but were unsuccessful. At Unforgiven on September 24, The Hardy Boyz defeated Edge and Christian in a steel cage match to win the tag team championship, and retained it
20724-781: The title. Due to the ending of the SummerSlam match, Hardy received a rematch for the title on the next episode of ECW , but again failed to win the title when Henry pinned him after a distraction by Atlas. At Unforgiven on September 7, Hardy won the ECW Championship during the Championship scramble match , defeating then-champion Henry, The Miz, Finlay and Chavo Guerrero Jr. by pinning the Miz with three minutes left, marking his first world heavyweight championship win. He continued to feud with Henry until No Mercy on October 5, where Hardy retained
20881-483: The title. Hardy lost the title to Jack Swagger on the January 13, 2009, episode of ECW , which was taped on January 12. At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 25, after losing an ECW Championship rematch to Swagger, Hardy turned on his brother when he hit Jeff with a steel chair , allowing Edge to win the WWE Championship , turning heel for the first time since 2004. On the January 27 episode of ECW , it
21038-509: The titles for the sixth time from then WWE Champion John Cena and Shawn Michaels after last eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch . This started a feud with Cade and Murdoch, and the Hardys successfully retained their World Tag Team Championship in their first title defense at Backlash on April 29. The Hardy Boyz also retained their titles at Judgment Day on May 20 against Cade and Murdoch. One month later at One Night Stand on June 3, they defeated The World's Greatest Tag Team to retain
21195-434: The titles in a Ladder match. The following night on Raw , Vince McMahon demanded that The Hardys once again defend their championships against Cade and Murdoch. The Hardys were defeated after Murdoch pushed Jeff's foot off the bottom rope during Cade's pinfall, causing the three count to continue. They invoked their rematch clause against Cade and Murdoch at Vengeance: Night of Champions on June 24, but were unsuccessful. On
21352-505: 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
21509-471: 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
21666-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
21823-535: 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
21980-456: The whole thing was a work or a shoot. Similar occurrences repeated during the following two weeks. On the August 1 episode of Raw , Vince McMahon officially announced Hardy's return to WWE, adding that Hardy would face Edge at SummerSlam on August 21. Hardy made his in-ring return, defeating Snitsky on the August 8 Raw . Seconds after the victory, Hardy was attacked by Edge, and as he was being carried backstage, Matt counterattacked Edge in
22137-420: 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
22294-425: 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
22451-493: Was against Nikolai Volkoff on the May 23, 1994, episode of Monday Night Raw , which he lost by submission . A night later at a taping of WWF Wrestling Challenge , he lost a match against Owen Hart . He continued to wrestle sporadically in the WWF throughout 1994 and 1995, losing matches against Crush , Irwin R. Schyster , Razor Ramon , Hakushi , Owen Hart , the imposter Undertaker , Hunter Hearst Helmsley and "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin . Hardy teamed with Jeff for
22608-435: Was announced by General Manager Theodore Long that Hardy had requested, and been granted, his release from ECW and had re-signed with the SmackDown brand. As part of the buildup to this feud, Matt strongly implied that he was responsible for all of Jeff's accidents leading back to November, including an assault in a hotel stairwell that prevented Jeff from appearing at Survivor Series , an automobile accident where Jeff's car
22765-482: Was brief and the relationship ended when Maria was released from her WWE contract. On the March 5 episode of SmackDown , Hardy qualified for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI on March 28 by defeating Drew McIntyre , but was unsuccessful at WrestleMania, as the match was won by Jack Swagger. Hardy was suspended by Vince McMahon because he attacked McIntyre after McIntyre lost to Kofi Kingston at Over
22922-488: 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
23079-621: Was defeated by Kevin Steen at Pro Wrestling Xperience's An Evil Twist of Fate. On November 11, Hardy, as the masked wrestler Rahway Reaper, defeated the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Kevin Matthews, winning the championship. On February 9, 2013, Hardy lost the Pro Wrestling Syndicate Championship back to Matthews. On February 16, 2013, at Family Wrestling Entertainment's No Limit, Hardy wrestled a TLC match for
23236-415: Was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the WWE draft . Despite the fact that the two were on different brands, he continued his feud with Jeff. Two weeks later, in a rematch from WrestleMania, Hardy lost to Jeff in an "I Quit" match at Backlash on April 26, in which he legitimately broke his hand. Hardy continued to wrestle with his hand in a cast, incorporating it into his persona and claiming that he
23393-415: Was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows. Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory, Atholl Oakley 's BWA. By the time of its demise, wrestler/promoter Paul Lincoln had established himself as
23550-568: 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
23707-463: Was run off the road, and a pyrotechnics malfunction where part of the pyro from Jeff's entrance was fired directly at Jeff, in an attempt to stop Jeff holding the WWE Championship. Despite Hardy's attempts to goad Jeff into fighting him, Jeff refused to fight his brother, but, on the March 6 episode of SmackDown , Jeff attacked him during a promo where Matt implied that he was also responsible for
23864-415: 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
24021-417: 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
24178-472: Was the surprise opponent for Rob Van Dam, and defeated him to prevent Van Dam from receiving a match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship , held by Hardy's brother Jeff. In the main event, Hardy attempted to interfere in Jeff's World Heavyweight Championship match with Mr. Anderson , but was stopped by Van Dam, which led to Jeff losing both the match and the championship. On the January 13 episode of Impact! ,
24335-734: Was this ICW title match which saw the Scottish championship renamed as the ICW's "World Heavyweight Championship" due to being the first defense outside of continent of Europe. On November 28, 2015, Hardy lost the WrestleCade Championship to Jeff Jarrett at WrestleCade IV in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Hardy regained the title in a triple-threat cage match against Jarrett and Ethan Carter III in Hickory, North Carolina on May 20, 2016. He appeared at
24492-449: Was unsuccessful in winning with Kane coming out victorious. On the September 10 episode of SmackDown, he lost his last televised match against the then newcomer Alberto Del Rio and was saved by Christian (who was feuding with Del Rio) after the match, two days later on September 12, WWE confirmed they had sent Hardy home from a European tour. Following this, Hardy began posting videos on his YouTube channel expressing his disinterest in
24649-505: Was wrestling under protest. He reignited his feud with MVP on Raw for the United States Championship . He also formed a tag team with William Regal , and the two acted as henchmen for General Manager Vickie Guerrero . At the June 22 taping of WWE Superstars , Hardy suffered yet another injury, when his intestines went through his abdominal wall , during a triple threat match against MVP and Kofi Kingston . Hardy had suffered
#731268