Mid 20th Century
163-505: Melissa Anderson (born August 17, 1982) is an American professional wrestler , better known by her ring name Cheerleader Melissa . She is best known for her work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where she worked as Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed . She is currently performing on the independent circuit for promotions such as Shimmer Women Athletes , where she is a former two-time Shimmer Champion . In 2013, Anderson
326-688: A SuperGirls Championship match against the reigning Rebecca Knox due to some interference, this time from Scotty Mac. GGW teamed up again to take Mac and his partner Ladies Choice in a Men vs Women tag match that Anderson won with a pin. Also in 2005 she wrestled at Givin Em The Bizness for Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA: Mid-South) in a six-way elimination match for the NWA Midwest Women's Championship against champion Ariel as well as MsChif, Mickie Knuckles , Sara Del Rey and eventual winner Daizee Haze . In March 2006 she wrestled
489-451: A Victory roll . On the last Volume of 2007, Volume 16, taped on October 15, Haze joined forces with MsChif and Eden Black to face The International Home Wrecking Crew , consisting of Jetta , Lacey and Rain. Haze pinned Jetta to pick up the win for her team. Haze defeated Cindy Rogers on Volume 17 and Jetta on Volume 18 respectively, both taped on April 26, 2008. Due to a back injury, Haze did not compete on Volumes 19 or 20, although she
652-501: A Widow's Peak by Victoria in Las Vegas, Nevada . On January 7, 2007, Anderson won Pro Wrestling World-1's inaugural Queen's Cup tournament. After beating Melissa Strips in the first round, she received a bye through to the final to face Allison Danger. During an autograph session, she attacked Danger to the point where she was said to not to be able to compete, though Danger fought through her injury. By winning, Anderson earned herself
815-446: 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
978-399: A 10-Knockout tag team match. On the edition of May 1, 2008 of Impact! , Anderson appeared as her signature Cheerleader Melissa gimmick and defeated Daizee Haze in a singles match that was billed as a "try-out" for both women. However, she reappeared as Saeed later that night. At May 26, 2009 Impact! taping, Anderson wrestled as "Future Legend" Melissa Anderson in a dark match where she
1141-413: 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
1304-520: 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
1467-513: 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
1630-574: 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
1793-622: A decisive victory until Anderson pulled out due to injury. Their feud was picked up the following year for Shimmer Women Athletes at Volume 23 in May 2009. The company preluded the match with a video package showing their matches in Europe and announced that the winner would go on to face the Shimmer Champion at a later event. Towards the end of the bout, Annie Social came to the ring to distract Anderson allowing Wesna to use her CB4 Driver to pick up
SECTION 10
#17328698694291956-436: 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 . Daizee Haze Emily Sharp (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional wrestler known under
2119-410: 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
2282-550: A four-way elimination match, also involving Athena and Madison Eagles, on Volume 68 . On the edition of January 10 of TNA Impact! Anderson made her Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) debut as an unknown woman wearing a niqāb , later named Raisha Saeed and billed from Syria . She was in Awesome Kong's corner when Kong defeated Gail Kim to win the TNA Women's Knockout Championship . Her first pay-per-view appearance with
2445-414: 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
2608-404: A hippie stoner gimmick. The gimmick is a tribute to her father, who was a hippie, and died when she was fifteen, and the ring name Daizee Haze is the product of her sister's imagination, after she wanted to change her name legally to Daisy Hayes after Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes . Around the same time MsChif began working for the same promotion and the two began to work together inside
2771-405: 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
2934-463: A losing effort at an outdoor carnival event. In 2001, she entered into Ultimate Pro Wrestling and lost a tag team match alongside Looney Lane which led to a feud between the two. The first loss in the tag team match would be her only one with the company as she went on to win a grudge match between the two followed by a succession of mixed tag matches, first with Shannon Ballard and then alongside both Ballard Brothers, beating Lane and Frankie Kazarian in
3097-549: A losing effort during a Street Fight on January 15. Hemme was scheduled for a rematch at Genesis , however, she suffered a legitimate injury prior to the match and the Kongtourage impromptu number one contender match was made at the pay-per-view with ODB picking up the victory, teaming to gain a future title shot. The Kongtourage finally picked up a victory over ODB in a four-on-one handicap match on January 29's Impact! . The Kongtourage rapidly fell into disarray, though, when Bolt won
3260-461: A losing effort. On October 23 Haze represented BDK in the torneo cibernetico match, where they faced a team composed of Chikara originals. She was eliminated from the match by Eddie Kingston . The following day Haze and Del Rey defeated the Super Smash Bros. ( Player Uno and Player Dos ) in a tag team match to pick up their third straight victory and, as the first all–female tag team, earn
3423-470: A lumberjack match to win the RCW Tag Team Championship. They would hold the title for four months, before being defeated by Gulf Coast Connection (AJ Summers and Rudy Russo) on September 3. As a result of being pinned in the title match, Flash had to leave RCW for 90 days. On February 4, 2012, Flash became River City Wrestling's first female Triple Crown Champion , when she defeated Rick David for
SECTION 20
#17328698694293586-754: 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
3749-541: A match against newcomer Taylor Wilde which saw Wilde become number one contender for the Knockout Championship despite outside interference from Kong. In September her costume became a focal point for angles as Saeed became a more regular in-ring performer. On September 4's Impact! ODB pinned her and then chased her backstage, coming out later with the burqa. Kong hit ODB in the back of the head while Saeed ran to reclaim her attire, her face masked by her hair at
3912-440: 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
4075-470: A new outfit which included a streaks of make up around her eyes in tribute to Sherri Martel . She picked up her first victory on the edition of September 17 of Impact! by defeating Cody Deaner in an intergender Lumberjack match . The win, though, was largely due to interference from all the other Knockouts who were lumberjacks. Frustrated at her lack of meaningful victories, Flash interrupted an interview with newcomer Hamada by voicing her frustration at
4238-558: A number one contender battle royal in early February, and a fortnight later Khan expressed her dissatisfaction with the group leading to a tag match that Khan and Bolt, who were being portrayed as fan favorites now, won. Saeed's attempts to interfere in the Knockouts Championship match at Destination X were unsuccessful but Kong still managed to retain her title. Kong eventually dropped the title to Angelina Love at Lockdown 2009 . After this loss, and with Kong unable to regain
4401-488: A number one contendership for the AWA World Women's Championship . In an attempt to build a strong women's division, Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) opened 2009 with January's Female Revolution . Under her Cheerleader gimmick, she beat Nikki Roxx and later appeared as Raisha Saeed also winning against Ariel . She appeared again in May losing a return match to Roxx but staying undefeated as Saeed against Daizee Haze. She
4564-542: A one night return to TNA, unsuccessfully challenging Madison Rayne for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship as part of her open challenge series. On March 17, 2013, Anderson made another one night return to TNA to take part in the taping of the Knockout Knockdown pay-per-view, where she, as Alissa Flash, was defeated by Gail Kim. As well as being a regular for APW, ChickFight, Shimmer and TNA, Melissa continues to tour
4727-506: A return pin on Saeed in a singles match weeks later. Kong and Saeed soon aligned themselves with Knockout Rhaka Khan . On the November 6 edition of Impact! Khan substituted for Roxxi as Wilde's tag team partner against Kong and Saeed in a match. In the event, the evil Khan turned against Wilde during the match to help Kong make the pinfall, but her good luck was short lived as Kong and Saeed, with Khan in their corner, lost to Wilde and Roxxi in
4890-467: A series of matches fought under the ChickFight banner. After her first loss in an NWA World Women's Championship match against MsChif, (see below) she went on a winning streak under the gimmicks of both Cheerleader Melissa and Raisha Saeed. This streak included a victory against Lacey Von Erich in one of her first matches, as well as double victories over Christie Ricci , Christina Von Eerie and Rain ,
5053-472: A singles match, and then Haze, as she was standing up for her regular tag team partner. The following week, Del Rey quit BDK, while Chikara announced that Haze would be taking a leave of absence from the promotion after suffering a storyline injury at the hands of Castagnoli. Daizee also wrestles regularly in ROH's sister promotion, Shimmer Women Athletes , an all-female wrestling promotion based out of Chicago. Haze
Cheerleader Melissa - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-599: A six-pack challenge at the Givin Em Da Bizness event on February 12, 2005. After three months, however, Haze dropped the championship to MsChif on May 7. Haze continued making sporadic appearances in IWA Mid-South, at one point donning Delirious style attire and dubbing herself Shelirious in a match against Mickie Knuckles on July 9, 2005. On May 2, 2008, Haze captured the Championship for a second time after defeating
5379-466: A special attraction rematch—the match would be Shimmer's first hardcore match, fought under Falls Count Anywhere rules and helped Anderson gain the victory after nearly thirty minutes of wrestling on February 12, 2006, at Volume 4 . MsChif took her revenge at Volume 5 by distracting Anderson during a match with Allison Danger, causing her to lose the match. Naturally the rivalry was not abated and their next match, main eventing Volume 6 on May 21,
5542-514: A steel cage match for the final round by luchadora Princess Sugey . She would become a staple of ChickFight, appearing at the first ten of their major events, missing the eleventh event due to injury sustained less than a week before the show. She made the final in the first two tournaments but exited the third in the first round after a double disqualification during a match with former rival Nikki, now under her better known name Sara Del Rey. Melissa won ChickFight V tournament, beating Jazz in
5705-561: A string of matches for Pure Wrestling Association winning their Elite Women's Championship in a match against 21st Century Fox and defending it successfully against her but losing it back to her in a three-way match, also including Misty Haven. Anderson has participated in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) workouts with Ivory , Molly Holly and Jazz . She also had a tryout match on the edition of May 26, 2006 of WWE Heat . Wrestling under her birth name, Anderson fell to
5868-445: A tag team match at Turning Point . Saeed lost to Christy Hemme on the edition of November 27 of Impact! , allowing her to challenge for Kong's belt at Final Resolution but Saeed caused a disqualification, giving Hemme the win but retaining the belt for Kong. Through December Khan and Saeed were joined in their support for Kong by newcomer Sojourner Bolt ; the group dubbed themselves the Kongtourage and took on ODB, Roxxi and Hemme in
6031-520: A team though when they beat veterans The Experience ( Lexie Fyfe and Malia Hosaka ), with MsChif pinning Hosaka. The two would meet again three months later in England for RQW's 2007 No Pain, No Gain event challenging Eden Black for the RQW Women's Championship but both came up short. The match served to build up interest for the aforementioned ChickFight VII: The UK vs The USA where Melissa would secure
6194-451: A television deal with HDNet for a weekly episodic wrestling show Ring of Honor Wrestling , beginning on March 21, 2009. Haze wrestled on the second show, which aired on March 28, where she lost to Del Rey after a Royal Butterfly. On the fourth show, which aired on April 11, she teamed up with Nevaeh to defeat Del Rey and Sassy Stephie . On the 8th episode of ROH on HDNet, which aired on May 9, Daizee Haze teamed with Delirious to take on
6357-497: 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
6520-549: A victory against Black. She also beat MsChif in the semi-final. At RQW's Taking On The World the three met again with MsChif and Black teaming up in a losing effort against Anderson and Black's nemesis Jetta . In May 2008 MsChif put her NWA World Women's Championship on the line during Pro Wrestling Revolution's debut show but Anderson did not win the belt. These series of bouts against each other did not stop them teaming together when they main evented Volume 17 on April 26, 2008, taking on an erstwhile enemy of Anderson again in
6683-575: 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
Cheerleader Melissa - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-410: 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
7009-609: 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
7172-582: The Shimmer Champion MsChif and her tag team partner Jimmy Jacobs in a match where Haze pinned the Shimmer Champion with a Mind Trip . As part of the 11th episode, which aired on May 30, she took part in a 3-way match against the former SHIMMER Champion Sara Del Rey and the current Shimmer Champion MsChif. This match was eventually won by MsChif who pinned Haze with the Desecrator . She came back in
7335-762: 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
7498-657: The Volume 53 internet pay-per-view (iPPV) in Secaucus, New Jersey , Melissa defeated Knight in a steel cage match to win the Shimmer Championship for the second time. Melissa made her first successful title defense a week later on April 13 at Volume 54 , where she defeated Mercedes Martinez . Later that same day on Volume 55 , Melissa made another successful title defense against Courtney Rush . The following day on Volume 56 , Melissa made her third and final title defense of
7661-506: The mixed tag team match as well as Nova in the final six-person intergender tag match . The following year, in the summer of 2002, Anderson was personally invited to wrestle and train for three months in Japan for the promotion Arsion . She was selected alongside Taylor Matheny who had recently received exposure in World Wrestling Entertainment's Tough Enough program, and thus Anderson received much internet attention by association. Among
7824-495: The performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
7987-611: The ring name Daizee Haze . She is best known for her time on the independent circuit , where she performed for numerous promotions such as Chikara , Ring of Honor and Shimmer Women Athletes , where she was a one-time Shimmer Tag Team Champion . Sharp was trained by Kid Kash and Delirious . She honors her mentors, especially Delirious , in the ring by imitating some of their mannerisms, particularly Delirious' incoherent speech and performing some of their trademark wrestling moves. In March 2002 she made her professional debut for Gateway Championship Wrestling based out of Missouri using
8150-534: The 17th episode, which aired on July 11, in which she teamed once again with Nevaeh losing to the team of MsChif and Sara Del Rey. Since 2009, she is one of the two head trainers of the ROH Wrestling Academy , the other head trainer being Delirious. She has not made an appearance for ROH since April 2, 2011. Haze began wrestling for the Philadelphia–based Chikara in 2005. In November 2009 she
8313-577: 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
SECTION 50
#17328698694298476-400: 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
8639-506: 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
8802-411: 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
8965-744: The Apache sisters ( Faby and Mari ). On November 5, 2011 she made her debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling in Taiwan , teaming with Black Bushi and Dark Dragon in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by Bushi , Makoto and Último Dragón . The following day, Melissa defeated Makoto in what was billed as the first ever women's wrestling match in Taiwan. In December 2011, Anderson took part in TNA's Indian promotion Ring Ka King , performing as both Alissa Flash and Raisha Saeed. On March 16, 2014, Anderson, working under
9128-641: 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
9291-474: The Fall , reignited. Delirious began revealing romantic intentions towards Haze, but she rejected him, prompting Rhett Titus to claim that he had slept with Haze, who denied it. After seeing footage of Haze and Tius together, however, Delirious joined The Age of the Fall, although he left shortly afterwards when Jacobs attempted to spike Haze, but Delirious turned on his stablemates and saved Haze. In 2009, ROH signed
9454-569: The Internet for helping her become famous while only wrestling in front of small crowds. While training at Billy Anderson's school, she met the Ballard Brothers (Shannon and Shane) who were using the gimmick of hockey players, similar to the Hanson Brothers from the film Slap Shot . They were looking for a valet and due to their sporting gimmick, Anderson took on the role of a heel and
9617-408: 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
9780-477: 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
9943-546: The RCW International Championship. She was stripped of the title on March 5, 2013. On August 10, Flash defeated Angelina Love to become the inaugural RCW Angels Division Champion. In October 2010, Anderson began extending her profile internationally by making two appearances for Mexican promotion AAA , under her Alissa Flash ring name, picking up tag team victories over the Moreno sisters ( Cynthia and Esther ) and
SECTION 60
#173286986942910106-407: The Shimmer Championship against Jessie McKay on Volume 47 , Melissa lost the title to Saraya Knight on Volume 48 . After pinning Knight to win a ten-woman elimination tag team match on October 28 at the tapings of Volume 50 , Melissa was granted a rematch for the Shimmer Championship the following day on Volume 52 , but was defeated after being hit with the title belt. On April 6, 2013, at
10269-550: The Shimmer Championship against Mia Yim on Volume 65 , before teaming with Mercedes Martinez to unsuccessfully challenge the Global Green Gangsters ( Kellie Skater and Tomoka Nakagawa) for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship on Volume 66 . On October 18, Melissa first made another successful defense of the Shimmer Championship against Kana on Volume 67 , before losing the title to Nicole Matthews in
10432-434: The alternate spelling of "Daisy Haze", in a losing effort to Cheerleader Melissa. Haze was also interviewed by Jeremy Borash on the May 1, 2008 edition of TNA Today . In early 2009 Haze, under the ring name Marley Sebastian, took part in the tapings of the new all women wrestling show Wrestlicious , which premiered on MavTV and BiteTV on March 1, 2010. Her ring name was shortened to just Marley upon her debut on
10595-401: 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
10758-418: 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
10921-550: 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
11084-412: 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
11247-424: 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
11410-418: 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
11573-475: The championship, the team of Saeed and Kong were entered into the tournament to decide the inaugural Knockouts Tag Team Champions . In the first round, the team beat The Main Event Mafia's team of Sharmell and Traci Brooks . Saeed scored the pin over Brooks, tagging herself in after Kong had done much of the work causing Kong to stare angrily at Saeed. They were less successful in the following round, losing to
11736-423: 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
11899-508: 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
12062-487: The company was again in Kong's corner at Against All Odds , distracting Kong's opponent ODB to help her retain the Knockout Championship. The situation with Kim and ODB intensified, leading to Anderson's first match as a competitor with the promotion. At TNA's all- steel cage event Lockdown , she and Kong took on Kim and ODB in a tag team match, where Saeed was pinned by ODB. On the edition of July 3, 2008 of Impact! , Saeed lost
12225-443: The company. The result was however nullified on July 12, after RCW Commissioner Jeromy Sage announced that the contract for the title match stipulated that the length was supposed to be 15 minutes, but the match was 15 and a half minutes long. A rematch was scheduled on August 7 with no time limits or disqualifications, Flash won the match and the championship. On May 5, Flash teamed with Darci Drake to defeat San Antonio's Most Wanted in
12388-468: 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
12551-540: 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
12714-521: The defending champion Knuckles and Sara Del Rey in a three-way match. Haze competed in the Volcano Girls 2 tournament but was eliminated in the semi-finals by Knuckles. The winner of the tournament, Rachel Summerlyn , earned a title shot against Haze at King of the Deathmatches . Summerlyn did not get her championship match, however, and at the end of 2008 the championship was deactivated. Around
12877-437: The defending champions Nicole Matthews and Portia Perez . The team's two back-to-back tag team losses led to Melissa dissolving her team with MsChif in order for her to focus on her singles career. On Volume 30 , Anderson was defeated by Madison Eagles in a match, where the winner would receive a shot at MsChif's Shimmer Championship. The following day Anderson defeated Misaki Ohata on Volume 31 and Ayako Hamada in
13040-405: 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
13203-490: The eventual tournament winning team of Taylor Wilde and Sarita . After inadvertently costing Kong the Knockout title at Bound for Glory , the two of them faced off on the edition of October 22 of Impact! with Saeed now being referred to as a former manager. Kong won the match and then Awesome Bombed her through the entrance stage. On September 9, 2023, Saeed made a one-night return at Impact 1000 . She accompanied Awesome Kong on
13366-597: 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
13529-474: The final, and she also went on to win ChickFight VII: The UK vs The USA tournament when it moved from the United States over to the United Kingdom pinning "The Jezebel" Eden Black in the last match. However, the focus of ChickFight VII was on the controversial ending to her first match that saw Sweet Saraya's head hung in the ropes, Anderson continued to assault her despite being trapped until
13692-495: The first graduate of the Shimmer Wrestling School Rayna Von Tash in a singles match. On November 8, 2009, at the tapings of Volumes 27 and 28 Haze, due to an injury, assumed the role of a referee for matches between Cat Power and Ariel , Amazing Kong and LuFisto and Nicole Matthews and Allison Danger. Haze returned to a wrestling role on April 10 at the tapings of Volumes 29 and 30. On Volume 29 she
13855-470: 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
14018-565: The form of Sara Del Rey, alongside her Dangerous Angels partner Allison Danger. This time it was Melissa making the pinfall after an Air Raid Crash . Despite these string of successes, the tag team did not compete during the Volume 21 tag team gauntlet for the Shimmer Tag Team Championship , but they reunited when MsChif was threatened by both Kong and Del Rey for her Shimmer Championship. With both Kong and Del Rey wanting title shots,
14181-541: The fourth episode on March 24, in which she was defeated by Sierra Sheraton. On June 21, 2009, Haze defeated Portia Perez, Jessica James and Sara Del Rey to win Anarchy Championship Wrestling's first annual American Joshi Queen of Queens tournament. Haze appeared on Dragon Gate USA 's first pay-per-view Enter the Dragon , which was taped on July 25, 2009, and aired on September 4, accompanying BxB Hulk to
14344-610: 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
14507-600: The gimmick of a cheerleader . They toured the West Coast, mostly appearing with All Pro Wrestling (APW) where she would interfere in matches, often using high-flying moves. As Cheerleader Melissa she also received training from Christopher Daniels for a short period of time before moving on to APW where she trained under the tutelage of Robert Thompson and "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson . After gaining experience from ring side, Cheerleader Melissa eventually had her first proper match on her 17th birthday against Lexie Fyfe in
14670-455: 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
14833-470: The guise of her Raisha Saeed gimmick. It was during her Chikara debut in a tag team match, where she and Amazing Kong were defeated by Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Haze and Del Rey). On July 3, Anderson appeared as Alissa Flash for the Texas-based promotion River City Wrestling (RCW). At Declaration of Champions , she wrestled RCW Champion Joey Spector in the main event to become the first female champion of
14996-569: The independent circuit working for a number of different promotions. She has had two stints in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliate Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling . In her second run, during September 2005, she had a short feud with Nattie Neidhart , taking her on in a singles match where Neidhart won using her Sharpshooter after some interference from Belle Lovitz. Enraged by interference, Anderson formed an impromptu tag team with Tiffany called Girls Gone Wrestling (GGW) and pinned Nattie after an Air Raid Crash. The following day she lost
15159-513: 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
15322-492: 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
15485-471: 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
15648-487: 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
15811-449: The lack of fanfare her arrival in the company received in comparison to foreign Knockouts Sarita and Hamada. Flash then began to brawl with Hamada, throwing her down the bleachers of the empty arena. The two met weeks later on October 8 Impact! in an eight-woman elimination tag team match; when both were legal members in the ring they brawled out onto the floor until they were counted out and eliminated. The following week on Super Impact!
15974-573: The latter two under both characters. This long series of wins led to her, under the Alissa Flash name, competing against the luchadora Lady Apache to crown the inaugural PWR Women's Champion on January 30, 2010. In losing her first match in 20 months, she lost out on the championship. A year later, on February 5 she wrestled in Shantelle Malawski's retirement match, picking up the victory. On February 23, 2013, Melissa defeated Dark Angel to win
16137-504: The main event of Volume 32 , before demanding a title match from the new Shimmer Champion Eagles. She received her title match on September 11, 2010, on Volume 33 , but was defeated by Eagles. The following day on Volume 36 Melissa pinned Eagles to win an eight-woman elimination tag team match, where she, Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara and Serena Deeb defeated Eagles, Daizee Haze, Sara Del Rey and Tomoka Nakagawa . On October 2, 2011, at Volume 43 , Melissa defeated Kana to become
16300-557: The main event where Melissa came out victorious. On Volume 8 Haze regained some momentum when she defeated Tiana Ringer , and on Volume 9 she continued her winning streak by pinning Amber O'Neal , although she lost to Awesome Kong at the Volume 10 tapings. A two-day tournament, taped June 1 and 2, 2007, was held to crown the first Shimmer Champion over the course of Volumes 11 and 12. Haze made it to semi-finals, defeating Portia Perez and Malia Hosaka en route, but lost to Lacey. Volume 13
16463-469: The match after Jacobs put Haze through a table. The feud continued on over the course of Ring of Honor 's Fifth Year Festival. In a re-match from the Dedicated show, except with Adam Pearce replacing Albright, Haze and her team won a street fight. Six days later, however, Haze was beaten in a singles match by Lacey, after Jacobs interfered. In the summer of 2007 Haze began feuding with Sara Del Rey who
16626-716: The match, Melissa was taken to a local hospital, where she received ten stitches above her left eye. As a result, Volume 61 became the first Volume in Shimmer history, which did not feature a Cheerleader Melissa match. On April 5 at the Volume 62 iPPV in New Orleans, Louisiana , Melissa successfully defended the Shimmer Championship against LuFisto in a two out of three falls match, following outside interference from Mercedes Martinez. A week later on Volume 64 , Melissa made another successful title defense against Japanese wrestler Yumi Ohka . On April 13, Melissa first successfully defended
16789-498: 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
16952-428: The number one contender to the Shimmer Championship. Later that same day on Volume 44 , Melissa defeated Madison Eagles to become the fourth Shimmer Champion. During her title celebration, she was attacked from behind by Nicole Matthews. Melissa made her first two title defenses on March 17, 2012, defeating Nicole Matthews on Volume 45 and Portia Perez on Volume 46 . The following day, after successfully defending
17115-714: 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
17278-577: The promotion's second season. She made her debut on March 9, 2016 episode, under a mask and the ring name Mariposa , portraying Marty Martinez's sister. Anderson's favorite opponents include Mariko Yoshida (who innovated the Air Raid Crash finishing move that Melissa herself also uses), Wesna and Tiffany. She won Attack of the Show! 's contest, " MySpace Girl of the Week", on September 6, 2006. She appeared on
17441-522: The promotion. She returned to the promotion on June 14, 2015. On July 11, Melissa teamed with Chelsea under the team name California Dolls to unsuccessfully challenge Thunder Rock (Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani ) for the Goddesses of Stardom Championship . On October 29, 2015, it was announced that Melissa will star in the El Rey program Lucha Underground and would be making her debut in the upcoming tapings for
17604-439: 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
17767-467: The referee ended the match and Saraya was stretchered from ringside. As Anderson celebrated her tournament victory Saraya reappeared and threatened her. The feud was cut short during a pre-match brawl for Real Quality Wrestling (RQW) in June that saw the two brawl both in and outside of the building and ended with Anderson winning shortly after Saraya was thrown on an already utilized aluminum can , tearing through her ligament and leaving her hospitalized. She
17930-469: The referee to see the foreign object in the ring and declare MsChif the winner via disqualification. After Anderson had won her main event match, Lacey and Rain ( The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew ), ambushed her with a beat down until MsChif ran out, saving her nemesis before leaving her to celebrate the victory. The Minnesota Home Wrecking Crew had threatened Anderson for involving herself in their plans against MsChif and similarly threatened MsChif for being in
18093-417: The retired Allison Danger, before being chased away by LuFisto . Later that same day, after another successful defense against Hiroyo Matsumoto on Volume 59 , Melissa was again run off by LuFisto, who was, as a result, named the next challenger for her Shimmer Championship. The title match between Melissa and LuFisto took place on the following day's Volume 60 and saw Melissa retain the title. Following
18256-555: The right to challenge for the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas (tag team championship), at the time held by their stablemates Ares and Claudio Castagnoli. However, Haze and Del Rey never got to cash in their points as Ares and Castagnoli ordered them to defend them in a four–way elimination match on November 21, where they ended up being eliminated by Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw and losing all of their points. On July 31, 2011, Castagnoli turned first on Del Rey, after losing to her in
18419-585: The rigorous training schedule she wrestled what she claims to be some of her favorite matches, particularly a 15-minute draw against Rie Tamada and her loss to Mariko Yoshida . Also as a present for her 20th birthday, she was allowed to tag team with veteran female wrestler Lioness Asuka . After Anderson returned from Japan, she became a full-time wrestler. Moving on from her pre-Japan feud with Nikki , she continued to wrestle for APW winning its Above The Law Championship from Robert Thompson in July 2004. Under her reign it
18582-596: The ring name Melissa, returned to Japan to work for World Wonder Ring Stardom , unsuccessfully challenging Io Shirai for the World of Stardom Championship . From August 24 to September 23, Melissa took part in Stardom's 2014 5★Star GP . After two wins, one draw and two losses, she failed to advance to the finals of the tournament. During the stay, Melissa was also appointed the president of Stardom's newly established American branch. She would mainly be involved in booking foreigners for
18745-481: The ring. Haze also began working for IWA Mid-South as the valet of Matt Sydal , and then went on to compete in the women's division. Haze made her IWA Mid-South debut in 2003, as the manager of Matt Sydal, but was soon wrestling in the newly created women's division. Her first match was against Mickie Knuckles at the Revenge Served Cold event on October 23. In May 2004 the NWA Midwest Women's Championship
18908-587: The same time as her debut in IWA Mid-South, Haze and Sydal debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) in early 2004. At the time women's wrestling was not common practice for the promotion, but Haze engaged in an in-ring program with Allison Danger , who was spending time away from The Prophecy. Soon after Haze became a member of Generation Next when Sydal joined the faction. In November 2005 at ROH's Vendetta show she managed Generation Next and A.J. Styles (who replaced Roderick Strong ) in an eight-man war against The Embassy . Haze
19071-462: The second round, where they had a three-way match, also involving Allison Danger. Haze won the match, and then defeated KAORU in the finals to win the ChickFight VI tournament. The following year, Haze was in the tournament again, and defeated Skye in the first round, before losing to Eden Black in the semi-finals. On the May 1, 2008, episode of TNA Impact! Haze made her return to TNA, using
19234-406: The show in person rather than the usual webcam format and went on to participate in later segments of the show. 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
19397-497: The stable until it was disbanded in September 2006, after which she turned into a fan favorite and aligned herself with B. J. Whitmer and Colt Cabana in their war with Lacey, Jimmy Jacobs and Brent Albright . Outside of the promotion Haze had an ongoing rivalry with Lacey which was carried over into Ring of Honor . At the Dedicated show in January 2007, Haze teamed with Whitmer and Cabana in six-person tag match against Lacey, Jacobs and Albright. Jacobs, Lacey and Albright won
19560-440: 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
19723-403: The success of ChickFight, Dave Prazak and Allison Danger set up Shimmer Women Athletes , a promotion with ties to Prazak's Ring of Honor intending to raise the credibility of women's wrestling on an international scale. Her first match with the promotion was on November 6, 2005, for Volume 1 in a losing effort to MsChif , starting a wild feud between the two. The loss saw Anderson demand
19886-507: The tapings of Volume 23 she fought Nicole Matthews to a 20-minute time limit draw, the second ever after the one between Mercedes Martinez and Sara Del Rey as part of Volume 1. On Volume 24, taped that same night, Haze defeated Matthews in a "no time limit" rematch with the Mind Trip. The following night on Volume 25 Haze teamed with Allison Danger to defeat Matthews and Portia Perez in a tag team match and on Volume 26 she defeated her student and
20049-570: The tapings of Volume 33 Haze was defeated by Kurihara in a rematch. Later that day in a match taped for Volume 34, Haze suffered an upset loss against Tenille. The following day Haze re–formed her team with Tomoka Nakagawa, when the two of them defeated Pretty Bitchin' ( Nikki Roxx and Ariel) in a match taped for Volume 35. On Volume 36 Haze took part in an eight-woman elimination tag team match, where she, Nakagawa, Sara Del Rey and Madison Eagles were defeated by Ayako Hamada, Ayumi Kurihara, Cheerleader Melissa and Serena Deeb . On March 26, 2011, Haze
20212-426: 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,
20375-458: The time. Later that month Roxxi used a burqa to disguise herself as Saeed while Kong was facing newcomer Mercedes Steele . After the match Roxxi removed her disguise and attacked Kong with a steel chair, while Saeed appeared at the top of the entrance ramp bound in ropes (implying that she had been abducted by Roxxi prior to the match). Kong took revenge, pinning Roxxi in a tag effort also involving Saeed and Wilde, respectively, but Roxxi would make
20538-443: The title against Croatian wrestler Wesna Busic . The two had met years previously when her internet celebrity saw her invited to German Stampede Wrestling to face Wesna in a losing effort at International Impact I . After defending her Transatlantic Championship at ChickFight VII , their next CF meeting saw Wesna defend her RQW Women's Championship fought under ChickFight Rules (no disqualification and falls count anywhere) which saw
20701-559: The title to Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara on October 1 at Volume 41. After the loss, Haze announced that she was quitting the promotion. On October 11, 2015, Haze made a one-night return to wrestling during Shimmer's tenth anniversary weekend, when she took part in Portia Perez's retirement match, where she, Kellie Skater , Lexie Fyfe and Madison Eagles defeated Perez, Kimber Lee , Lacey and Nicole Matthews. When Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) appeared on weekly pay-per-view Haze
20864-505: 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
21027-471: 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
21190-424: The two go to a forty-five-minute time limit draw. This left the two at 1–1 and so a decisive match was to be held at ChickFight X but this ended in controversy when Wesna claimed that her tap out was merely an attempt to grab the rope for a rope break; their rematch later that night saw Wesna pick up the victory leaving them drawn again at 2–2. CF XI was originally slated to be a two out of three falls match to find
21353-421: The two met in a Falls Count Anywhere match which Flash lost after taking a moonsault from Hamada through a table. She finally scored an unassisted singles win on November 12 against Traci Brooks. After not being used by the company thereafter, Anderson requested her release which was granted on January 21, 2010. On March 14, 2011, at the tapings of the edition of March 17 of Impact! , Anderson, as Alissa Flash, made
21516-493: The two tag teams were actually booked for a contendership match for the Tag Team Championship during Volume 24 on May 2, 2009, which Anderson and MsChif lost. After this loss, Anderson went on a four match winning streak, including avenging a loss to Wesna Busic ( see above ). On April 10, 2010, at the tapings of Volume 29 , Anderson and MsChif received a shot at the Shimmer Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by
21679-550: The vacant PWR Women's Championship for the first time. She lost the title to Ivelisse Vélez on April 21 at a pay-per-view held by the Puerto Rican World Wrestling League (WWL) promotion. She regained the championship three weeks later at a PWR event on May 11. On February 22, 2014, Melissa lost the PWR Women's Championship to Christina Von Eerie in a three-way match, which also included Savanah Riley. After
21842-405: 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
22005-407: The victory. Wesna lost her championship match at Volume 25 and, owing to the controversy of their previous match, Anderson wrestled Wesna again in Volume 26 in a Knockout/Submission match where Anderson picked up the victory, making them level once more. Back in her home state of California, Anderson competed for the National Wrestling Alliance's Pro Wrestling Revolution (PWR) promotion in
22168-423: The way of ambushing Melissa and, after declaring themselves the best tag team in the world, demanded a match with the two for Volume 8 which became the penultimate bout of the evening. The Home Wrecking Crew's experience won out over MsChif and Anderson when a double team maneuver led to MsChif being pinned; after the match Anderson and MsChif shook hands as a sign of respect. The two soon showed they could work as
22331-535: 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
22494-617: The weekend by defeating Kalamity . Later that same day on Volume 57 , Melissa took part in Allison Danger's retirement match, where she and Ayako Hamada faced Danger and Leva Bates . Melissa initially submitted Danger for the win, but the decision was reversed when Melissa turned heel and refused to let go of the hold after the match. Post-match, the evil Melissa completed her heel turn by attacking Hamada. On October 19 at Volume 58 , Melissa made her fourth successful title defense against Leva Bates. Post-match Melissa attacked both Bates and
22657-420: 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
22820-419: The wrestling business, traveling to San Bernardino frequently to train in and work for the wrestling school of Billy Anderson, her father's former tag team partner, as well as involving herself in the running of things and before long she made her debut front of stage. Despite touring so young, Anderson still studied and gained her high school diploma largely through the help of e-mailing teachers; she also credits
22983-425: 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
23146-473: Was against Knox, who was angry after her loss on Volume 4, leading to a two out of three falls match being booked for Volume 5, which Haze ended up losing, two falls to one. On Volume 6, however, Haze gained a victory over Nikita . Haze and Knox were set to end their feud in a 60-minute Ironwoman match on Volume 7 on October 22, 2006, but the idea was scrapped after Knox suffered an injury while wrestling in Europe. Instead, Haze faced Cheerleader Melissa in
23309-453: Was also taped which allowed Haze to have her first match against Sarah Stock , which Haze ultimately lost. On Volume 14, Haze and MsChif had their first match against each other for Shimmer (though the two had wrestled in a "bonus Shimmer attraction match" before in AAW ) which Haze was able to win. Haze wrestled Stock in a number one contender's match on Volume 15, but lost after she was pinned with
23472-473: Was booked to make several appearances. Her first came on February 22, 2003, for syndicated television show Xplosion where she wrestled MsChif. Haze continued making appearances as the valet and occasional tag team partner of Matt Sydal. On the July 2, 2003 episode of Xplosion , Haze and Sydal were defeated in a mixed tag team match by Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree , and on the February 4, 2004, episode Haze
23635-488: 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
23798-440: Was declared a Last Woman Standing match with MsChif eventually coming out on top. Further interferences took an interesting turn at Volume 7 when Anderson came out during MsChif's match against Rain . However, before she could interfere, Rain's partner Lacey pushed her to the ground while trying to distract the referee in order to allow Rain to use an illegal weapon ; an incensed Anderson fought back against Lacey in time for
23961-477: Was defeated by Misaki Ohata and afterwards turned heel and attacked her. On Volume 30 Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa defeated Ohata and Jamilia Craft, another one of Haze's students from the Shimmer Wrestling School, in a tag team match. The following day at the tapings of Volumes 31 and 32, Haze lost to Ayako Hamada and defeated Ayumi Kurihara via countout in singles matches. On September 11, 2010, at
24124-449: Was defeated by Trinity in a singles match. She also lost a match to Nurse Veronica, which saw Veronica humiliate Haze by diapering her after securing the victory. Haze participated in two ChickFight tournaments. Her first came in September 2006 at ChickFight VI in 2006 in which Haze faced the defending champion Cheerleader Melissa in the first round. The two wrestled to a thirty-five-minute draw , which mean that they both advanced to
24287-491: Was defeated by Awesome Kong. Her television return occurred on the edition of July 16, 2009 of Impact! as she wrestled under the revised name of "Future Legend" Alissa Flash, losing to the debuting Sarita and attacking her afterward. Flash's losing streak continued in the first round of the Knockouts Tag Team Championship tournament where she and Daffney lost to Sarita and Taylor Wilde. As Flash, Anderson had
24450-489: Was defeated by Serena Deeb on Volume 37 and defeated Courtney Rush as part of the tapings of Volume 38, before reaffirming her partnership with Tomoka Nakagawa by pointing out that they were undefeated in tag team matches. The following day, at the tapings of Volume 40, Haze and Nakagawa defeated the Seven Star Sisters ( Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata) to win the Shimmer Tag Team Championship . Haze and Nakagawa lost
24613-402: Was forced to forfeit her ChickFight IX: Our Final Chance match the following day and would not wrestle again for six months. Meanwhile, Anderson had begun a new feud. She did not participate in the tournament at ChickFight VIII but instead had a rematch against Eden Black for the newly created Transatlantic Women's Championship , which she won. Later in the show she successfully defended
24776-588: Was in the main event of their first four shows, which are released on DVD as "volumes". At the Volume 1 taping on November 5, 2005, Haze defeated Lacey with the Mind Trip in a twenty-five-minute match. On Volume 2, Del Rey pinned Haze with the Royal Butterfly to win a four-way elimination main event which also involved Lacey and Mercedes Martinez. Haze lost to Del Rey again on Volume 3, and on Volume 4 Haze defeated Rebecca Knox . Haze's first real feud in Shimmer
24939-485: Was interviewed by Rebecca Bayless on Volume 19. On September 8, 2008, Haze was named as the trainer of Shimmer wrestling school's first training course which started on October 27, 2008. Haze made her return to in-ring action at the October 19, 2008 tapings of Volume 21 where she was defeated by the Shimmer champion MsChif in a title match. On Volume 22, taped that same night, she defeated Miss Natural. On May 2, 2009, at
25102-414: Was introduced, and a tournament was set up at the Volcano Girls show to determine the inaugural champion. Haze defeated Sumie Sakai in the first round and Rain in the second, but lost in a three-way final , when Lacey beat her and Mercedes Martinez . The NWA Midwest Women's Championship and IWA Mid-South Women's Championship were merged early in 2005, and Haze won the Championship from Ariel in
25265-492: Was joined by Jade Chung who had broken free of the mental abuse at the hands of The Embassy since becoming the kayfabe girlfriend of Strong. During the eight-man war Prince Nana , of The Embassy, dragged Haze into the ring by her hair. Austin Aries and Sydal made the save only to have Haze turn on them as she low-blowed both men and proceeded to deliver a Mind Trip to Jade Chung before siding with Prince Nana. She remained with
25428-830: Was placed in her first major storyline in the company, when she aligned herself with Claudio Castagnoli , Ares , Pinkie Sanchez, Sara Del Rey, Tim Donst and Tursas to form the heel stable Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK). The stable has since been joined by Lince Dorado and Delirious. While in BDK Haze began regularly teaming with Del Rey and together the two of them picked up victories over tag teams such as The Osirian Portal (Amasis and Ophidian ), Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream and Ice Cream, Jr.), The Throwbacks ( Dasher Hatfield and Sugar Dunkerton), Amazing Kong and Raisha Saeed , and Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw . On September 18, 2010, Haze wrestled Japanese joshi legend Manami Toyota in her first match on American soil, in
25591-636: 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
25754-491: Was ranked number 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated ' s annual Top 50 Females list. Anderson's father wrestled professionally in the early 1980s. Growing up she became a fan of her father's work and began showing an aptitude for sports, particularly soccer , as well as joining Palmdale High School's athletics and amateur wrestling team as one of only four girls. When only 15, she had already become involved in
25917-531: Was renamed the Future Legends Championship, the title under which she lost it to Daizee Haze the following year before winning it back and retiring the belt. In October, APW associated itself with the newly formed, all-female tournament-cum-promotion ChickFight (CF). In the first event, staged under the APW banner for their Halloween Hell weekend, Anderson made it through two rounds only to be defeated in
26080-504: Was scheduled for a rematch with Roxx on November 16 but after Roxx pulled out she defeated Hailey Hatred to earn a match against Sara Del Rey for the JAPW Women's Championship . Anderson won the match by disqualification after Hatred interfered, leading to a no-disqualification Three Way match in January 2010 at Back Where It All Began for the title in which Anderson was pinned by Del Rey. Anderson met Del Rey later in 2010, on July 25, under
26243-415: 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
26406-417: 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
26569-511: Was the reigning Shimmer Champion. The two fought on many occasions, typically with the Championship not on the line. Haze's first Championship match came in 2008 at the Ring of Honor's 6th Anniversary Show , where Del Rey retained the championship. The feud with Del Rey expanded to include Sweet and Sour, Inc, the faction of which Del Rey was a member, and as a result, Delirious came to aid Haze. Haze's rivalry with Lacey, who had become part of The Age of
#428571