Mid 20th Century
103-496: Jenna Grattan (born October 26, 1987) is a Canadian former professional wrestler better known by her ring name Portia Perez . Perez teamed with Nicole Matthews as The Canadian NINJAs , and they are former two-time Shimmer Tag Team Champions . Perez made her professional debut in mid-2004 for Professional Wrestling Entertainment. While still in high school, Portia took bookings with many companies in Quebec and Ontario , including
206-435: 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
309-415: 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
412-415: 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
515-507: A tag team with Krissy Vaine known as Team Blondage . The team wrestled primarily on the North Carolina independent circuit , appearing with promotions such as Shimmer and Women's Extreme Wrestling. Team Blondage defeated Clehopatra and Navaho to win the vacant WEW Tag Team Championship on May 8, 2005 at the WEW pay-per-view "No Ho's Barred". In the course of their reign, Vaine signed
618-462: A triple threat match to win the championship. With WOW returning to television on AXS TV beginning in early 2019, The Beverly Hills Babe continued to wrestle under Lana Star's management through the first season on the network. On the September 10, 2019 episode of the show, with the ongoing WOW Tag Team Championship Tournament, Star told The Beverly Hills Babe that the winner between her and Faith
721-413: 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
824-473: A broken hand in a match against MsChif at Shimmer Women Athletes's show of June 2. She returned to action at Ring of Honor 's show of July 27 in Long Island. In October 2007, Perez formed a regular tag team with Nicole Matthews , later dubbed The Canadian NINJAs (National International Nation of Jalapeño Awesomeness). She began a feud with Allison Danger at Shimmer's July 5, 2008, show. On May 3, 2009, at
927-520: 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
1030-513: 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
1133-574: 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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#17328757427131236-572: A contract with WWE. Vaine was subsequently replaced within Team Blondage by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumna Lollipop . On the April 6, 2006 WEW pay-per-view, O'Neal and Lollipop lost the WEW Women's Tag Team Championship to T and A ( Talia and April Hunter ). After a long term hiatus prior leaving WWE and the wrestling business for over a year, it was announced that Krissy Vaine decided to return to
1339-641: 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 . Amber O%27Neal Kimberly Dawn Davis (born June 22, 1974) is an American professional wrestler , better known by her ring name Amber O’Neal . She formerly wrestled in Ring of Honor (ROH) in their "Women of Honor" division as well as various promotions on
1442-404: 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
1545-410: 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
1648-564: A four-way elimination tag team match, but were the final team eliminated by Courtney Rush and Sara Del Rey , who won the Shimmer Tag Team Championship. On July 7, Perez and Matthews defeated Rush and Del Rey at an NCW Femmes Fatales (NCW FF) event to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title to the Global Green Gangsters ( Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa ) on April 14, 2013, at
1751-405: 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
1854-429: A match against Daffney . Amber O'Neal switched with Krissy Vaine , who got the pinfall over Daffney for her tag team partner. On the edition of May 15 of NWA Charlotte TV Tapings , O'Neal defeated the debuting Jayme Jameson after the interference from Krissy Vaine . On the edition of May 23, 2009 of NWA Charlotte Total Compliance pay-per-view, O'Neal defeated Jayme Jameson after Krissy Vaine switched with her to become
1957-702: 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
2060-770: A match, where they lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata . On April 6, it was announced that O'Neal, billed as Amber Gallows, would be returning to NJPW the following month at Wrestling Dontaku 2015 to take part in the promotion's first match involving female wrestlers since October 2002. In the match, Gallows, her husband and Karl Anderson were defeated by Maria Kanellis , Matt Taven and Michael Bennett . O'Neal signed with David McLane 's Women of Wrestling (WOW) promotion in December 2012. She debuted at WOW! Pandemonium Tour 2013 losing to Jungle Grrrl in singles competition. Later in
2163-424: 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
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#17328757427132266-440: 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
2369-512: A singles match between Santana and Wine ended in a no contest due to involvement by Hosaka. On September 28, at the Shine 13 , Amber and Santana, now known as The American Sweethearts faced The S-N-S Express ( Jessie Belle Smothers and Sassy Stephie ), but lost when Stephie pinned O'Neal after a Kiss My Sass . A month later at Shine 14, the Sweethearts teamed with Leva Bates in a losing effort to
2472-465: A singles match. O'Neal made her debut for SCWA Wrestling, defeating Persephone with a bridging backslide. At the PWX An Evil Twist of Fate event on October 5, O'Neal defeated Reby Sky after throwing dust in her face and hitting a sitout facebuster. O'Neal also took part in the first season tapings of Wrestlicious , which took place in early 2009, but did not start airing until March 2010. In
2575-450: A three-way. Perez lost the title on the same night, as she was defeated in the semi-final of the tournament by JT LaMotta, due to interference by Robert Evans . In early 2009, Grattan took part in the first season tapings of Wrestlicious , which began airing in March 2010. In the promotion she appears as "Faith" and teams with regular partner Nicole Matthews, who portrays "Hope". She debuted on
2678-497: 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
2781-575: 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
2884-436: 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
2987-410: 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
3090-427: 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
3193-470: 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
Portia Perez - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-518: The Artist of Stardom Championship tournament, defeating Planet ( Io Shirai , Mayu Iwatani , and Natsumi Showzuki) in their first-round match. Later that same day however, the trio were defeated in the final of the tournament by Kawasaki Katsushika Saikyou Densetsu Plus One ( Act Yasukawa , Natsuki☆Taiyo , and Saki Kashima). On January 19, Perez defeated Natsumi Showzuki in a singles match at another Stardom event. The following day, Perez, in her final match of
3399-671: The Carolina Wrestling Federation (CWF), where she furthered her training under Gemini Kid and Mikael Yamaha at the CWF Dojo Camp. While a part of the company, she defeated Kai for the CWF Women's Championship. In May 2003, Holly suffered a knee injury during a match with Brandi Alexander , to whom she later lost the CWF title. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and patella tendon , as well as suffering cartilage damage. She
3502-609: 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
3605-569: The Reina World Tag Team Championship tournament, defeating Mia Yim and Sara Del Rey in their first round match. The following day, Perez and Matthews were defeated in the finals of the tournament by La Comandante and Zeuxis . Perez returned to Japan on January 14, 2013, to work for the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion. For the appearance, Perez teamed up with Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa as "Team Shimmer" in
3708-543: 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
3811-431: 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
3914-577: 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
4017-400: 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
4120-506: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
4223-641: 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
Portia Perez - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-575: The December 21, 2009, Impact! tapings, where she was defeated by Lizzy Valentine in a tryout dark match . O'Neal made her debut for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s promotion Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling on the August 9, 2008, episode of MACW Television Tapings, where she competed against Kristin Flake in a winning effort. On the edition of September 10 of MACW Television Tapings, O'Neal defeated TNA Knockout Daffney in singles competition. On
4429-472: The Express, which also included Nevaeh . At Shine 15 on December 13, the Sweethearts were once again defeated by the Express, and per the stipulation, Amber and Santana were forced to disband. In singles action, Amber suffered losses to La Rosa Negra and Tracy Taylor at Shine 16 and 18, respectively. At Shine 20 on June 27, 2014, Amber was defeated by Crazy Mary Dobson , who replaced Leah Von Dutch, via DQ. During
4532-454: The Lioness would be Star's partner on the tournament. The Beverly Hills Babe lost to Faith, and Star cut ties with her. The Beverly Hills Babe changed her name back to Amber O'Neal, as she teamed with Jessie Jones in the tournament. The team were eliminated during the second round as they lost to Adrenaline and Fire . During the year 2016 Amber O'Neal made her Ring of Honor (ROH) debut in
4635-408: 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
4738-477: 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
4841-638: The Naughty Girls ( Faith and Hope ). On the edition of April 7 of Takedown , Charlotte participated in a Hoedown Trowdown battle royal to determine the top two contenders for the Wrestlicious Crown. She unsuccessfully competed after being eliminated by Brooke Lynn . O'Neal debuted for Shine Wrestling as a babyface on May 24, 2013; competing against Ivelisse in a losing effort as Shine 10. At Shine 12 on August 23, Amber teamed with Santana Garrett in defeating Malia Hosaka and Brandi Wine, after
4944-705: The Queens of Chaos 2 tournament in Paris, France and also debuted for Real Quality Wrestling in London's York Hall , challenging RQW Women's Champion "Jezebel" Eden Black . She returned to Europe for a third time in April 2007, wrestling shows in England and Ireland over the course of four weeks. On September 23, 2011, Perez made her Japanese debut for the Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling Reina promotion, when she and Nicole Matthews entered
5047-523: The U.S. independent circuit . She has also appeared in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a valet for the villainous Bullet Club stable, where she was billed as Amber Gallows . She was also NWA World Women's Champion , during her stint as a Bullet Club member. Davis got into wrestling after watching it with a friend who was a fan of Stone Cold Steve Austin . Davis initially became a fan of Sable . After researching how to get involved with
5150-489: The United Wrestling Federation. O'Neal also made a televised appearance in 2006 against Gail Kim . O'Neal appeared on the edition of June 5, 2008 of TNA Impact! . She was planted in the audience along with fellow wrestlers Daffney and Becky Bayless , with the three of them volunteering to wrestle Awesome Kong in the "$ 25,000 Challenge". Daffney was selected and subsequently lost to Kong. O'Neal returned at
5253-401: 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
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#17328757427135356-418: 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
5459-550: 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
5562-424: 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
5665-418: 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
5768-423: 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
5871-508: 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
5974-540: 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
6077-647: The debuting Persephone in a winning effort. On the edition of May 15 of MACW Television , O'Neal defeated the debuting Jayme Jameson in a singles match. On the edition of July 11 of MACW Summer Bash pay-per-view, O'Neal undefeated streak ended when she competed against Christie Ricci in a losing effort. This would turn out to be O'Neal final match in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling due to NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling folding early 2010. In March 2009, O'Neal made her debut for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s promotion NWA Charlotte in
6180-406: The edition of January 10 of MACW Television Tapings, O'Neal gained another victory over Daffney. On the edition of February 21 of MACW Television Tapings, O'Neal teamed up with Krissy Vaine in a winning effort defeating The Scream Queens (Daffney and MsChif) in a tag-team match. On the edition of March 14 of MACW Television Tapings, O'Neal continued her winning streak when she competed against
6283-405: 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
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#17328757427136386-597: 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
6489-470: The fifth episode on March 31, teaming with Hope in a losing effort against the team of Charlotte and Paige Webb . Perez defeated Kylie Pierce at the debut show of NCW Femmes Fatales in September 2009 by cheating. At the following show, on February 5, 2010, she was defeated by Mercedes Martinez . Due to being one-half of the SHIMMER Tag Team Champions she entered the tournament to determine
6592-706: The first ACW American Joshi Champion on August 23. On January 17, 2010, at Guilty By Association , Perez lost the American Joshi Championship to Summerlyn. On June 27, Perez was crowned the 2010 ACW Queen of Queens and also captured the ACW American Joshi title for the second time. On November 12, 2011, Perez won the ACW Heavyweight Championship in the first round of the 2011 Lone Star Classic, defeating former champion Darin Childs and Summerlyn in
6695-479: The first NWA Charlotte Women's Champion. She would turn out to be the title's only holder due to NWA Charlotte folding in late 2009. On December 18, 2015, Gallows captured the NWA World Women's Championship from Santana Garrett . She lost the title against Jazz on September 17, 2016. O'Neal debuted for Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) on August 22, 2009, in a victorious effort against Annie Social. Later in
6798-678: The first NXW Femmes Fatales Champion and in the first round she defeated PJ Tyler . In January 2006, Portia took part in her first international tour, spending four weeks in Ireland's Irish Whip Wrestling and England's All Star Wrestling . Perez made her Mexican wrestling debut in June 2006 as a masked competitor named Xtasis. She spent three weeks competing for Lucha Libre Feminil as well as appearing for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). Perez returned to Europe in November 2006, touring once again with Irish Whip Wrestling. During her trip, Perez took part in
6901-470: 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
7004-418: The first round of the vacated WOW Tag Team Championship, O'Neal turned on Garrett, causing them their match. With Lana Star as the manager of O'Neal, she was able to book O'Neal in a WOW World Championship match, as O'Neal changed her name to The Beverly Hills Babe . In the season finale, The Beverly Hills Babe unsuccessfully challenged Jungle Grrrl to her championship, as her former ally Garrett pinned her in
7107-610: 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
7210-455: 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
7313-513: 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
7416-471: 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
7519-487: 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
7622-740: The line against Jazz at the Third Anniversary Show. O'Neal was successful in defeating Jazz and was subsequently named by Dawn Marie as the number one contender to the WSU World Championship. At the April 2, 2010 episode of WSW 4th Annual J-Cup , O'Neal unsuccessfully challenge reigning champion Mercedes Martinez , thus ending her winning streak. At the WSU/NWS King & Queen Of The Ring Tournament 2010 pay-per-view, O'Neal competed in King and Queen tournament teaming with Bison Bravado but
7725-701: The match, Amber turned into a villainess and attacked Dobson with a steel chair, which led to the DQ decision. After the match ended, the evil Amber gave the Bullet Club gesture to Dobson, similar to that of the wrestling stable which has her real-life husband, Doc Gallows , as a member. On December 5, Davis adopted the new ring name Amber Gallows, the "Bullet Babe". On January 4, 2015, O'Neal made her debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome , where she accompanied her husband and Karl Anderson to
7828-498: 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
7931-482: The night she got another victory over "The Definition of Technician" Cindy Rogers . O'Neal continued her winning streak as she defeated Sassy Stephanie in a Special Challenge Match on November 3 and later in the night she defeated the WSU Hall of Famer Malia Hosaka . On December 12, O'Neal defeated Sumie Sakai to continue her winning streak. Later in the night, it was announced that O'Neal would put her winning streak on
8034-436: The night she lost a singles match to Christie Ricci . After Vaine signed a WWE contract, O'Neal moved into singles competition and lost to both Cindy Rogers in a triple threat elimination match also including Tiana Ringer , and Nikki Roxx . She got her first singles victory against the debuting Serena Deeb on Volume 5 but later in the night she lost to Serena in a rematch. On October 22, 2006, as part of Volume 7, she
8137-563: The night, she came together with fellow WOW newcomer Santana Garrett to form the tag team The All-American Girls. The pair then successfully challenged and defeated Caged Heat for the WOW Tag Team Championship , ending Caged Heat's remarkable 10-year reign. However, on the third season of WOW, Caged Heat's attorney Sophia Lopez was able to convince WWA (Women Wrestling Association) That they should vacate The All American Girls' championship. As The All American Girls faced Caged heat in
8240-437: 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
8343-630: The promotion she trained with: Universal Wrestling Alliance. In 2005, Perez began accepting bookings in the United States, making her United States debut for Cleveland All Pro Wrestling. She also competed for several other American companies, such as Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati, Ohio, and IWA East Coast in Charleston, West Virginia. Perez debuted for Shimmer Women Athletes in May 2006. Perez missed all of her June and July 2007 dates after suffering
8446-714: 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
8549-537: The promotion, she uses the ring name Charlotte, the Southern Belle. She made her in-ring debut on March 1 in the main event of the first episode of Takedown , teaming with Tyler Texas and Cousin Cassie in a losing effort to the team of Felony , Maria Toro and Bandita after getting hit by a Fisherman's Buster. On the fifth episode, which aired on March 31, she got her first victory after teaming with Paige Webb against
8652-734: The sport, Davis trained under Strawberry Fields, Leilani Kai , and Gary Royal at the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina . After training for six months, she debuted in July 1999 in the Professional Girl Wrestling Association (PGWA) as Amber Holly, wrestling Leilani Kai in Maggie Valley, North Carolina . She also worked with Desiree Paterson and Riptide . In 2002, Holly began wrestling for
8755-440: 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
8858-557: The tapings of Volume 26 Perez and Matthews defeated Ashley Lane and Nevaeh to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship . They held the title for 692 days, before losing them to Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata on March 26, 2011. On October 2, the Ninjas failed in their attempt to win back the championship, losing to Ayumi Kurihara and Ayako Hamada . In March 2012, at the tapings of Volume 48 , The NINJAs participated in
8961-572: The tapings of Volume 57 . On December 15, 2008 Perez was defeated by Angelina Love in a dark match for TNA Wrestling . On January 10, 2009, Perez made her Jersey All Pro Wrestling debut defeating Jennifer Blake . On August 1, she unsuccessfully challenged the JAPW Women's Champion Sara Del Rey for her title. The following year, on January 9, Perez and Mia Yim lost to The Addiction (Angeldust and Brittney Force). In Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW), Perez defeated Rachel Summerlyn to be crowned
9064-426: 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,
9167-657: The tour, teamed with Skater in a tag team match, which they lost to Hiroyo Matsumoto and Yuzuki Aikawa . On October 10, 2015, Perez announced she would be forced to retire from professional wrestling due to a major neck injury that required surgery. She wrestled her final match at the following day's Shimmer tapings, where she, Nicole Matthews, Kimber Lee and Lacey were defeated by Daizee Haze , Kellie Skater , Lexie Fyfe and Madison Eagles . Professional wrestler 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
9270-505: 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
9373-471: 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
9476-535: 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
9579-420: 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
9682-449: The wrestling industry and reunite with her Team Blondage partner, Amber O'Neal. They have now announced themselves as Team Blondage 2.0, and in their debut match they defeated against the established Scream Queens ( Daffney and MsChif ). On March 7, they defeated Persephone and Kristin Flake in CWF. O'Neal was part of the first Shimmer show where she teamed with Krissy Vaine to defeat the team of Nikki Roxx and Cindy Rogers . Later in
9785-425: 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
9888-542: Was able to score a third pinfall victory over Lorelei Lee as part of Volume 17. Later in the night however she lost to Shark Girl . She missed Volume 19 and 20, and returned to Shimmer for Volumes 21 and 22, where she lost to Wesna Busic and Mercedes Martinez . On May 2, 2009, at the tapings of Volume 23, she defeated the debuting Tenille with a backslide, but went on to lose to Jennifer Blake as part of Volume 24, and LuFisto . In April and May 2006, O'Neal wrestled at several TNA house shows produced in conjunction with
9991-488: 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
10094-558: Was defeated by Allison Danger . Later in the night however she got a victory by pinfall over Josie after hitting with her STO Finishing Manoeuvre. At the Volume 9 and 10 taping, she lost to both Daizee Haze and MsChif via pinfall. She did not compete in the Shimmer Championship tournament, and lost to Portuguese Princess Ariel on Volume 14. She then lost to "The Jezebel" Eden Black and Lorelei Lee on Volume 15 and 16 but she
10197-680: Was eliminated in the first round by Jazz and Balls Mahoney. At the WSU Uncensored Rumble III pay-per-view, O'Neal competed in the Uncensored Rumble to determine the number one contender to the WSU Championship but failed to win the match after it was won by Jazz. Later that event, O'Neal teamed up with Nikki Roxx in a losing effort to Angel Orsini and Jazz. On October 23, 2010, O'Neal made an appearance for Pro Wrestling Superstars, where she made her debut losing to Mickie James in
10300-440: Was obliged to undergo reconstructive surgery and was inactive for approximately a year. Holly returned to the ring on May 16, 2004, adopting the ring name Amber O'Neal and the gimmick of a motocross racer. She changed her name because of her respect for Nora Greenwald, who used the ring name Molly Holly . Greenwald helped O'Neal in her tryout matches with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In late 2004, O'Neal formed
10403-636: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
10506-415: 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
10609-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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