Mid 20th Century
141-590: Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s The Invasion was a professional wrestling storyline in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) during the Attitude Era that ran from March to November 2001 and involved stables of wrestlers purporting to represent World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)—which merged to form The Alliance —placed against
282-637: A People's Elbow , before emphatically asserting, "Finally, The Rock has come back... to the WWF." thus aligning himself with the WWF. His return led to a WCW Championship match between The Rock and Booker T at SummerSlam , which The Rock won, marking the second time the WCW Championship belt changed sides to the WWF. At SummerSlam, Austin retained his WWF Championship against Angle after Angle won by disqualification. The following Raw Is War and SmackDown! shows featured primarily inter-promotional matches between
423-657: A Six Pack Challenge match for the vacant WWF Women's Championship , which was won by Trish Stratus . Alliance member Test won a battle royal at Survivor Series that featured both Alliance and WWF wrestlers battling for the right to be immune from termination for a year, regardless of which side won in the event's "winner take all" match. Over the next several weeks Test began using that immunity to his advantage, attacking and bullying other wrestlers for no reason and often assaulting referees. Whenever he would be called on it, he would bring up his immunity from being fired. Shortly after Survivor Series, however, Test's immunity storyline
564-446: 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
705-457: A "Night of Champions" special. Mr. McMahon , the storyline and real-life owner of the WWF, opened up Nitro and announced a simulcast later that night to address the future of WCW. Throughout Raw Is War , McMahon publicly named several WCW wrestlers who would not be retained. Though this was for storyline purposes and most would wrestle for WWF/WWE in the ensuing years, he did legitimately fire Jeff Jarrett on television due to animosity between
846-413: 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
987-523: A beer-drinking redneck, he was more emotional and tried to cheer-up Mr. McMahon, who was clearly stressed from the threat of The Alliance, by doing something generous like giving McMahon a cowboy hat as a present. On the July 12 episode of SmackDown! , Austin played " Kumbaya " and " We Are the Champions " for McMahon, to which McMahon was unresponsive. Later that night, Mr. McMahon came out and asked Austin to come to
1128-520: 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
1269-513: 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
1410-574: 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
1551-454: A considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence of fans so as not to reveal the worked nature of the business. Into the 21st century, widespread discussion on the Internet has popularized these terms. Many of the terms refer to
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#17328547999401692-513: 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 . Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Angle Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling has accrued
1833-560: A fair match would take place, hit Kurt Angle with the belt, thereby backstabbing the WWF and costing Angle the title. On the October 11 episode of SmackDown! , WWF CEO Linda McMahon promptly fired Regal from his position as WWF Commissioner, and named Mick Foley as his replacement. Regal, himself a former WCW employee, was then declared the Alliance Commissioner by Shane and Stephanie. The feud between Jericho and The Rock built up to
1974-410: 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
2115-414: 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
2256-405: 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
2397-754: 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
2538-427: A match at No Mercy on October 21, where Jericho beat The Rock to win the WCW Championship (Jericho's first world title). Also at the event, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Angle and Rob Van Dam to retain his WWF Championship. On the October 29 episode of Raw , Shane McMahon told his father, Mr. McMahon, that a member of Team WWF would jump ship to The Alliance that night. Later that same night, Kurt Angle backstabbed
2679-527: A member of Team Alliance would defect during the Team WWF vs. Team Alliance match at the upcoming Survivor Series . Steve Austin came out to confront McMahon about it, and McMahon stated that Austin would be the one to defect. Because of this announcement, many Alliance members began to distrust Austin, who vehemently denied the charges and called McMahon a liar. Austin went on to interrogate members of Team Alliance, questioning Booker T and sitting Rob Van Dam down in
2820-440: 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
2961-511: A reaction. Lex Luger and Hulk Hogan received a negative reaction from fans, and Buff Bagwell , Booker T , Scott Steiner , Sting, and Goldberg received positive reactions. McMahon then proceeded to fire them all, however, to the cheers of the Raw Is War crowd and the jeers of the Nitro crowd. McMahon then announced that he would sign the contract and make the purchase official at WrestleMania, on
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#17328547999403102-448: A room with a light shining on him. That same night The Rock won the WCW Championship from Chris Jericho, but Jericho assaulted The Rock in the ring following the match. All of this led to the "Winner Take All" match at Survivor Series, which pitted Team WWF (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show) against Team Alliance (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Shane McMahon). The final three men in
3243-407: A separate entity, with WWF controlling SmackDown! on UPN and WCW controlling Raw Is War on TNN. These plans fell through when no television networks would touch WCW because of its reputation for losing money. The WWF scrapped these plans, however they would eventually carry the idea again in the future for what would later become the brand extension , running two separate brands, with both of
3384-497: A speech and ring announcer Lillian Garcia sang The Star-Spangled Banner . Following the September 11 terror attacks, the title of Raw Is War was shortened to Raw . The WWF gained even more momentum at Unforgiven, as The Rock retained the WCW Championship in a handicap match against Booker T and Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle made Austin submit to the ankle lock, winning the WWF Championship from Austin, putting both belts into
3525-524: A stable of wrestlers purporting to represent the WWF. The storyline began shortly after the WWF's acquisition of WCW in March 2001, and concluded with a "winner takes all" match between The Alliance and the WWF at Survivor Series . The idea of a supercard featuring the two top promotions of the Monday Night War was considered to be a dream match scenario in the eyes of many wrestling fans, as it would allow
3666-449: A stunned Mr. McMahon asking what was going on, Shane admitted being responsible for all the events that just transpired and announced that ECW and WCW merged to form The Alliance – with Stephanie McMahon as ECW's new owner. Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had turned heel at WrestleMania X-Seven and formed an alliance with Mr. McMahon when he helped Austin win the WWF Championship, took a change in character during this time. Instead of being
3807-497: 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
3948-575: 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
4089-410: 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
4230-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
4371-558: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Worst Feud of the Year award . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
The Invasion (professional wrestling) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4512-535: The Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz during a tag team match , before fleeing after WWF wrestlers came after them in the ring. As they were exiting the arena, they were attacked from behind by other WWF wrestlers led by Hardcore Holly and the APA , preventing what happened with the previous WCW wrestlers running to the arena exits undisturbed and rushing them back into the ring, where they were beaten up by WWF wrestlers. In July,
4653-609: 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
4794-762: 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
4935-769: The WWF Intercontinental Champion , retiring the United States title, while WCW Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz defeated The Hardy Boyz to win the WWF Tag Team Championship , retiring the WCW tag titles. The following month at Vengeance , the WCW Championship (renamed to simply the World Championship after Survivor Series) was unified with the WWF Championship in which Chris Jericho became
5076-524: The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship as well as WCW Cruiserweight Championship . There were several inter-promotional matches after Unforgiven. Furthermore, a crucial plot point formed when, on the October 8 airing of Raw , Chris Jericho and The Rock teamed up against Shane McMahon and Rob Van Dam. During the match, Jericho mistakenly struck The Rock with a steel chair, costing them the match. The Rock confronted Jericho backstage after
5217-500: The Walls of Jericho on Storm. As the move was being applied, however, Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer ran through the audience and into the ring and started to beat on Kane and Jericho. In response, WWF wrestlers consisting of The Dudley Boyz , Tazz , Justin Credible , Rhyno , and Raven (all former Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) wrestlers) ran to the ring. After a brief stand-off,
5358-542: The triple threat main event match for the WWF Championship and almost cost Stone Cold Steve Austin the title. Additionally, Austin legitimately suffered fractured bones in his hand from the side slam he took from Booker T into an announce table. The next night on Raw Is War , which was held in New York City 's Madison Square Garden , widely considered the WWF's home arena, a confrontation occurred between WCW owner Shane McMahon and WWF owner Mr. McMahon. While Mr. McMahon
5499-448: The "hero of Survivor Series" and bragged about his actions in an egotistical matter to other face wrestlers, to which they all gave him negative reactions. This led to an upset Angle telling McMahon that nobody thanked him and appreciated him for his actions the previous night, leading to McMahon telling Angle that he would be honored to reward him the WWF Championship. In doing so, McMahon and Angle completed slow heel turns that had begun at
5640-642: The "old" Stone Cold that "didn't take shit from anyone". He asked Austin to knock him down, even yelling to the crowd, "If you want Stone Cold to beat the living hell out of Vince McMahon, give me a hell yeah!" to which the crowd responded enthusiastically. Austin, however, shook his head and proceeded to leave the ring, turning his back on Mr. McMahon. Later that night when Diamond Dallas Page and Shane McMahon went up against The Undertaker and Kurt Angle, many members of The Alliance interfered. Kane and Jericho came to help their team, but The Alliance's numbers were too many, and without Austin to back up his teammates, Team WWF
5781-577: 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
The Invasion (professional wrestling) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-400: 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
6063-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
6204-411: 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
6345-641: 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
6486-528: The ECW brand. The brand would continue to operate until February 2010, when it was announced by Vince McMahon that ECW would be replaced by a new series for young wrestlers titled NXT , which eventually took the place of Florida Championship Wrestling as WWE's developmental territory . The ECW Championship was retired when the ECW brand was disbanded. The Invasion angle was a large storyline that spanned for almost half of 2001 and brought about financial success for
6627-494: The Invasion between The Alliance and the WWF, leading up to the climax of the angle at Survivor Series, when Team WWF ( The Rock , Chris Jericho , Big Show , The Undertaker and Kane ) defeated Team Alliance (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle , Rob Van Dam , Booker T and Shane McMahon ) in a "winner take all" elimination tag team match . Immediately after the match, The Alliance disbanded. The angle saw financial success for
6768-481: The July 30 episode of Raw Is War . On that same night, The Rock returned for the first time since the start of his kayfabe suspension on the April 2 episode of Raw Is War (in reality, he was given the "suspension" to take time off to film The Scorpion King ). Shane, Stephanie, and Mr. McMahon were in the ring that night, trying to convince The Rock to join them. Shane reminded The Rock of how Mr. McMahon screwed him out of
6909-408: 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
7050-477: 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
7191-415: The WWF Championship earlier in the year at WrestleMania and also in a steel cage match the night after WrestleMania. Mr. McMahon conceded that it was wrong for him to back Austin, as he was a rattlesnake that he should have known would eventually bite him. He promised The Rock that he had no intention of screwing him if he returned to the WWF but also noted that he could not promise that he never would; if it
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#17328547999407332-551: The WWF and his final victory over The Alliance. Immediately, McMahon began making those who were allied with the Alliance to answer for their supposed betrayal of WWF. McMahon first kayfabe fired Paul Heyman as commentator (in reality, Heyman was given a new backstage role within the company, thus his 'firing' was an excuse to write him off from WWF television), leading to Heyman to first brawl with his now former partner Jim Ross before being carried out by WWF security. McMahon then announced
7473-443: The WWF bought the rights to WCW's video library, trademarks, contracts for selected wrestlers, championship belts, and other select properties for what was considered by CNN Money to be a "low bargain price". The final night of the televised Monday Night War occurred on March 26: Raw Is War primarily focused on the major storylines heading into WWF's WrestleMania X-Seven event, while WCW's Nitro held their final episode with
7614-535: The WWF by hitting Jericho, The Rock, Undertaker, and Kane with steel chairs. On the November 1 episode of SmackDown! , Angle, who originally led the WWF wrestlers, explained that he represented what is great about America — he was a winner, and his defection came from his decision to fight along the winning side. That side included Steve Austin, a man Angle claimed knew how to win. On the November 5 airing of Raw , Mr. McMahon countered Kurt Angle's defection by stating that
7755-420: The WWF cavalry turned around and attacked Kane and Jericho. This prompted Paul Heyman to leave the announce table and enter the ring. After high-fiving the wrestlers, he announced that ECW was entering into the Invasion. Heyman talked about how tired he was sitting beside Jim Ross and discussing WCW versus WWF, stating that he felt that everyone had forgotten about ECW and announced, "This Invasion just got taken to
7896-532: The WWF tested the idea of a brand extension between WWF and WCW by branding the final twenty minutes of the July 2 episode of Raw Is War under the "WCW" name, with Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson as the announcers in place of Jim Ross and Paul Heyman . During a match between Buff Bagwell and Booker T for the WCW Championship, WWF wrestlers Kurt Angle and then WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin interfered in retaliation by beating Booker T up, with Bagwell joining Angle and Austin in attacking Booker T. This match
8037-421: The WWF wrestlers. Backstage, many WWF and Alliance wrestlers were fighting each other, and the WWF seemed to be on the losing end of things. A truck was seen driving up to the arena, however, and Austin came out with his cue stick and proceeded to beat down any WCW and ECW wrestlers in his path. He then came to the ring, trash-talking on the way down, and beat down the Alliance wrestlers, giving Stunners to most of
8178-564: The WWF's two existing televised shows, SmackDown! and Raw . On the May 28 episode of Raw Is War , Lance Storm became the first WCW wrestler to appear on WWF programming, by performing a run-in during a match featuring WWF wrestlers. WCW's Hugh Morrus made his WWF debut on the June 4 episode of Raw Is War by attacking Edge . At King of the Ring on June 24, then- WCW Champion Booker T interfered during
8319-439: The WWF, such as the Invasion pay-per-view having one of the highest non- WrestleMania event buyrates in the history of WWF pay-per-views. However, the Invasion storyline has come under criticism by wrestling fans and wrestling media, with the storyline being called "a flop". Media sources have referred to the storyline as "one of the most poorly handled, ego-filled storylines in wrestling history". In 2001, The Invasion storyline won
8460-428: The WWF, with the Invasion pay-per-view garnering a buyrate of 775,000, one of the largest non- WrestleMania buyrates in company history. Despite its commercial success, the angle received mixed reviews following its conclusion, and is generally historically considered a major disappointment by fans and critics. During the Monday Night War , the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW),
8601-401: 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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#17328547999408742-418: 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
8883-550: 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
9024-407: The back of the head with a pipe. He put a cinder block and rope into the truck, place Austin in the vehicle, and drove away. He blindfolded Austin and threatened to throw him into a river if he did not get a title shot. Austin, fearful for his life, broke down in tears and agreed to give Angle a title shot at the upcoming pay-per-view, Unforgiven . Angle said, however, that Austin was "still going into
9165-418: The beginning of the night. Before McMahon could announce Angle as his new champion, Ric Flair (who was making his return to the WWF after leaving in January 1993) announced that he "bet on a winner" at Survivor Series. When pressed, Flair revealed to McMahon that he was not in fact the sole owner of the WWF as he had originally thought. When Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon had bought WCW and ECW earlier in
9306-412: 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
9447-424: 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
9588-418: 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
9729-565: The champion by defeating both The Rock and Steve Austin in a three-match tournament to form the Undisputed WWF Championship, which continued the lineage of the WWF Championship, while the World Championship was retired. Another WCW championship, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship , was rebranded as a WWF title (and later, WWE) and replaced the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship in 2002. The Undisputed Championship
9870-650: The championship exclusive to the brand. In response, then- Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff , former Senior Vice President of WCW, introduced the World Heavyweight Championship , represented by the former WCW Championship belt , and awarded it to Triple H, who was the number one contender for the Undisputed title. The Undisputed Championship would be renamed to the WWE Championship, as it was no longer undisputed since there were two world championships in
10011-423: 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
10152-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
10293-468: 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
10434-421: The condition that Ted Turner would bring the contract for McMahon to sign personally. Shane McMahon, however, appeared on Nitro and announced in kayfabe that he had signed the contract and purchased WCW out from under his father's nose, planting the seed for what was considered a lucrative future storyline opportunity. The Invasion did not begin immediately afterwards, as the WWF was preparing for WrestleMania,
10575-399: The core WWF viewership to the WCW product and talent, however, coupled with the reality that a WCW wrestling program tailored to appeal to WWF fans would not come to fruition, led to the entire WCW contingent being abruptly turned heel. One example was the heel gimmick of WCW wrestler Diamond Dallas Page , whose first WWF appearance was built up over several weeks in a storyline in which he
10716-540: 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
10857-466: The debut of the fist stage design in response to the destruction of the oval stage design). On the August 27 episode of Raw Is War , Austin stole Kurt Angle's medals, and on the August 30 episode of SmackDown! , tied them to a cinder block and threw them in a river. On the September 3 episode of Raw Is War , Debra and Stephanie bought a new truck for Austin, but Angle came up from behind and nailed Austin in
10998-405: 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
11139-589: The end of the Invasion storyline, ECW was temporarily revived by WWE in 2005 for the purposes of a special reunion show, ECW One Night Stand , held on June 12, 2005. The build-up to this one-off event featured former ECW talent putting over the virtues of the brand versus the WWE product and appearances by several former ECW wrestlers not under contract to WWE. In 2006, it was announced that WWE would be reviving ECW as its third brand (to complement Raw and SmackDown! ). The second One Night Stand , held on June 11, 2006, led to
11280-457: The end of the night, the WCW wrestlers came into the ring, accompanied by Shane McMahon. The WWF wrestlers then came into the ring and, before ECW entered, the WCW and WWF wrestlers started to brawl. The WWF wrestlers cleared the ring, but then were stormed by the ECW wrestlers and taken out. The WCW wrestlers came into the ring, high-fived the ECW men and then dismantled the WWF wrestlers as Paul Heyman and Shane McMahon hugged in triumph. Upon seeing
11421-420: The extreme!". Later during the night, Shane and Mr. McMahon bumped into each other backstage. Shane told his father that ECW needed to be taken care of and pointed out that there were ten ECW wrestlers under Heyman's belt. He suggested that WWF and WCW field five wrestlers each to take out ECW; Mr. McMahon agreed, but he stubbornly insisted that WCW would eventually meet its demise when all was said and done. At
11562-597: 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
11703-409: The fans to see which promotion would be superior in kayfabe . The angle began when Mr. McMahon 's son, Shane McMahon , announced as part of the storyline on WWF's Raw Is War and the final episode of WCW's Nitro (which merged into a simulcast ) that he had bought WCW from under his father's nose. This led to several run-in appearances of WCW wrestlers during Raw Is War and SmackDown! over
11844-634: The financial aspects of professional wrestling in addition to in-ring terms. Also road agent , producer and coach . Also juicing , gigging , getting color , and running the razor . Also booker and booking . Also going broadway . Also bury and buried . Also championship advantage . Also forbidden door . Also getting the heat . Also lackey or heavy Also babyface , blue-eye (England), or técnico (Mexico). Also playing Ricky Morton . Also hope spot . Also cross-promotion . Also persona . Also jobber to
11985-470: 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
12126-789: The following month whilst Shane made a small brief appearance on the July 15, 2002 episode of Raw and would then return full-time to television in 2003. At this point, Vince started to go on a power trip by announcing the creation of his infamous "Kiss My Ass" club, where he was going to force former Alliance members to literally kiss his bare buttocks in order to keep their jobs, with the first victim being former Alliance commissioner, William Regal. McMahon would soon start forcing any WWF employees, whether they were former Alliance members or not, to kiss McMahon's buttocks to keep their jobs. McMahon also announced that he would strip Alliance leader Steve Austin of his WWF Championship and would reward it to Kurt Angle, who earlier that night had portrayed himself as
12267-610: 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
12408-404: 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
12549-420: The hands of the WWF. Almost every other championship had changed hands during this period of the storyline, being exchanged between WWF wrestlers and Alliance members. For example, The Undertaker and Kane beat Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match at SummerSlam to become co-holders of both the WWF and WCW Tag Team titles. Also, X-Pac beat Billy Kidman to become a double champion, holding
12690-492: The heel run he had begun at WrestleMania . He turned face by aligning himself with Flair and reclaiming his WWF Championship belt. During the Invasion storyline, the WWF determined that they had too many championships, due to them acquiring WCW's championships, and felt that each individual title became devalued. To combat this, the WWF began to unify many championships. Survivor Series saw two title unification matches: WCW United States Champion Edge defeated Test to become
12831-513: 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
12972-492: 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
13113-471: 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
13254-487: 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
13395-408: The match likely would have received a more positive fan reception. Up until this point, the WCW contingent were being depicted as malcontent faces rising up against the heel Mr. McMahon, because of McMahon's bluster during the final Nitro broadcast and Shane's usurping of the WCW ownership. Originally, WCW talents were meant to attack strictly heel WWF wrestlers. The strongly negative reaction of
13536-424: The match were The Rock and Jericho vs. Austin. Jericho was eliminated and, to continue the feud between the two men, attacked The Rock with a Breakdown, even though Jericho's future was on the line if The Rock lost. The Rock and Austin continued to battle it out, each stealing and reversing their signature maneuvers and the referee was knocked down in the match. Austin hit a Stunner on The Rock and pinned him, but there
13677-523: The match, leading to a brawl between the two. The two of them began a feud, despite both remaining loyal to the WWF, during which they often tagged together, regularly hurled comedic insults together at ECW's Stephanie McMahon, and, at one point, won the WWF Tag Team Championship . Also that night, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle faced off for the WWF Championship, and the WWF Commissioner William Regal , who sat at ringside to ensure
13818-498: 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
13959-450: The men in the ring. The WWF wrestlers had cleaned house and were standing tall. The WWF seemed to be in good shape for the upcoming pay-per-view with Austin's return. At the Invasion pay-per-view , the "Inaugural Brawl" took place between Team Alliance and Team WWF. Team WWF consisted of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kane, and The Undertaker, who all squared off against
14100-473: The months following WrestleMania X-Seven . In June 2001, the angle grew in intensity as other WWF storylines somewhat abated to make room for the central Invasion storyline. WCW and ECW merged to form The Alliance and challenged the WWF's control over the wrestling industry. An "Inaugural Brawl" took place at the Invasion pay-per-view , where WWF's top star Stone Cold Steve Austin defected and joined The Alliance. Many inter-promotional matches occurred during
14241-505: The night. As the WWF wrestlers united, Austin could be seen watching the events on the television at the bar. He proceeded to slam his cue stick on the pool table and left. Later that night, Diamond Dallas Page and Rhyno faced Kane and The Undertaker. During the match, there was interference from The Alliance. In response, The Hardy Boyz , the APA, Jericho, and Kurt Angle came to help their WWF allies, but more Alliance members came in and overwhelmed
14382-544: The official debut of the new ECW the following Tuesday. Rob Van Dam was awarded the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (later renamed to the ECW Championship) for his WWE Championship victory over John Cena, thus officially reviving the title for the ECW brand while also becoming the only wrestler to hold the ECW and WWE titles simultaneously. This was the only ECW title to be reactivated by WWE for
14523-714: 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
14664-555: The promotion. On the June 19, 2003 edition of SmackDown! , the United States Championship was revived as a SmackDown!-exclusive title, thus becoming the WWE United States Championship (and counterpart to Raw's Intercontinental title) — it is the only active title currently in WWE to not have originated in the promotion. Although the WWF acquired all of WCW's championships, several were never used following
14805-655: The purchase of WCW, such as the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship , WCW Hardcore Championship , and the WCW World Television Championship (in which the latter was retired a year before WCW went out of business). Jim Ross made a passing mention of the WCW Hardcore Championship at the Invasion pay-per-view when mentioning all the titles Lance Storm had held in WCW, but the title never appeared on WWF programming during
14946-439: 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
15087-453: The referee to count. Team Alliance won the match due to Austin's betrayal of the WWF. The next night, Austin claimed he joined the Alliance because they appreciated him. He cited Mr. McMahon's hugging of Angle and calling The Rock on the phone as signs that McMahon did not appreciate Austin and accused him of grooming Angle to be the next WWF Champion. On the July 26 episode of SmackDown! , Shane McMahon extended an invitation to The Rock, who
15228-503: The return of Jerry "The King" Lawler as commentator, making his first appearance back in WWF since No Way Out in February. Vince then ordered Shane and Stephanie McMahon to come to the ring to answer for their actions. While Shane calmly accepted defeat and left the ring with no incident, Stephanie cried and begged for Vince to take her back, leading Vince to order WWF security to throw her out as well. Stephanie would return to WWF television
15369-437: The ring, announcing him as the man that would lead Team WWF into the Invasion pay-per-view and into victory. Upon entering, Mr. McMahon told Austin that he had changed quite a bit since WrestleMania, and when the WWF goes up against The Alliance at the upcoming pay-per-view, he did not need an Austin that gave him hugs and gifts and baked him cookies. He needed the "old" Stone Cold who was a "beer-swilling, foul-mouthed SOB" and
15510-554: The segment. In a podcast interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2015, Bagwell expressed his suspicions of the WWF's true plans for the WCW product, stating his confusion as to why his match with Booker T took place in Tacoma, Washington (very much a pro-WWF area) instead of on the following week's Raw Is War show at the Philips Arena in Atlanta (the former headquarters city of WCW), where
15651-440: 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
15792-537: The storyline. Although Tazz briefly appeared on WWF television with the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in 2000 (while under contract with the WWF), none of ECW's titles were shown on WWF television during the Invasion angle due to ECW's assets being held up in bankruptcy court; the renamed WWE eventually purchased ECW's assets in 2003. Although the WCW brand effectively died once and for all following
15933-431: The team of Diamond Dallas Page, Booker T, Rhyno, and The Dudley Boyz. Near the end of the match, all of the wrestlers were outside of the ring except Booker T and Angle. Angle applied the ankle lock on Booker T, who tapped out, but no referee was there to witness it. Austin then dragged a referee into the ring, but in a swerve , kicked Angle in the head, hit him with a Stunner , and placed Booker T on top of Angle and told
16074-426: 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,
16215-729: The three count. Team WWF prevailed, thus ending the storyline. It was also on this night that several titles were unified ; Edge defeated Test to unify the WCW United States Championship and the WWF Intercontinental Championship , while The Dudley Boyz beat The Hardy Boyz in a steel cage match to unify the WCW Tag Team Championship with the WWF Tag Team Championship. The final member of The Alliance, ECW's Jazz , made her debut during
16356-505: 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
16497-471: 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
16638-478: The two dating back to 1999, when Jarrett blackmailed McMahon for payment after he was booked for a match at No Mercy following his contract expiry the day before. After Sting defeated Ric Flair in WCW's final match, the simulcast began. McMahon talked about the buyout of WCW and toyed with the idea of making WCW into a huge media conglomerate, much like the WWF. He asked the crowd who he should keep under his belt by mentioning names of WCW wrestlers and asking for
16779-466: The two factions, with one notable match being a singles match between Chris Jericho and Hugh Morrus on the August 9 episode of SmackDown! in which the match ended with Jericho picking up the victory with a submission on Morrus, however Rhyno performed a post-match attack on Jericho in which Rhyno delivered his finishing move, The Gore, to Jericho which in turn destroyed a portion of the oval stage design (the following week's episode of SmackDown! would see
16920-493: The two largest North American wrestling promotions, competed for television ratings . Due to similar developments such as the creations of the New World Order (nWo) and D-Generation X (DX), fans continually compared the two promotions. Among other factors, mismanagement within WCW eventually led the company to a decrease in popularity, from which it never recovered. The Monday Night War came to an end on March 23, 2001, when
17061-405: 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
17202-555: The water", but instead simply embarrassed Austin by throwing him into a kiddie pool. On September 11, 2001 , four aircraft were hijacked and crashed into locations in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and New York City. As a result, the Invasion storyline was temporarily paused on the September 13 live episode of SmackDown! held in Houston, two days after the attacks, where Alliance and WWF wrestlers joined in solidarity when Mr. McMahon gave
17343-535: 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
17484-420: 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
17625-412: The year they had sold their shares in the WWF to "a consortium", but the "consortium" was actually Flair himself, making him half-owner of the WWF and now McMahon's business partner. Immediately after Flair made his declaration, Austin made his return and attacked Angle for costing him the win at Survivor Series against The Rock and also attacked Mr. McMahon for attempting to strip him of his title, ending
17766-518: The year's largest show, occurring only days after the final night of the Monday Night War. The WWF had effectively doubled the size of its roster through its acquisition of WCW, and as a result, the company believed that there was not enough screen time for many of the new roster members. To alleviate these concerns, the original plan was to find a time slot on TNN (later renamed to Spike TV, now known as Paramount Network) to continue running WCW as
17907-425: 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
18048-524: Was already cheered by fans despite being a member of The Alliance) remained heels after the dissolution of The Alliance. Also receiving immunity from The Alliance was Stacy Keibler , the manager of The Dudley Boyz, and Tazz, who was a commentator on SmackDown! and had been kicked out of The Alliance several weeks prior. On the Raw the night after Survivor Series, WWF Commissioner Mick Foley resigned. Mr. McMahon celebrated his (assumed) complete and sole ownership of
18189-488: 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
18330-631: Was eventually forgotten and dropped. The immunity was also extended to any Alliance member who held a championship at the conclusion of Survivor Series. Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was the WWF Champion, The Dudley Boyz, who held the WWF Tag Team Championship, Rob Van Dam, who was the WWF Hardcore Champion and Christian , who was the WWF European Champion, also were safe from termination. Of these wrestlers, everyone except Rob Van Dam (who
18471-442: Was good for business, he said, then he just might do it. He told The Rock that he was at least being honest with him and pleaded for The Rock to trust him, stating that his future was with the fans and the WWF. The Rock gave Mr. McMahon a Rock Bottom , and proceeded to stare down Shane, then smiled and shook Shane's hand, faking a defection to The Alliance and a heel turn – but he then proceeded to Rock Bottom him as well and give him
18612-496: Was in the ring, Booker T came from behind to perform his finishing move, a scissor kick , on him. The WWF roster ran to the ring to aid Mr. McMahon, but Booker T and Shane McMahon escaped through the crowd. This incident marked the official start of the Invasion storyline; Raw Is War commentator Jim Ross announced, "The battle lines have been drawn!" WCW Tag Team Champions Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire then made their WWF debuts on June 28, by invading SmackDown! and attacking
18753-424: Was no referee to count it. Austin approached the downed referee to try to revive him. As this was occurring, Angle ran to the ring, picked up the WWF Championship belt, and nailed Austin with it, revealing himself to be the defector to which Mr. McMahon was referring to the entire time. The Rock got up to his feet and followed this with a Rock Bottom and a pin on Austin, to which the referee woke up and groggily counted
18894-581: Was originally represented by both the original WWF and WCW title belts, and the champion would carry both belts around until it was replaced with a single belt the following year on the April 1 edition of Raw . At the beginning of the WWE brand extension , the Undisputed Champion would appear on both Raw and SmackDown! until then-champion Brock Lesnar signed an exclusive deal with SmackDown! after his victory over The Rock at 2002's SummerSlam , thus making
19035-429: Was overwhelmed. On the July 16 episode of Raw Is War , Austin was shown drinking and playing pool at a bar downtown. During the night, Mr. McMahon held a WWF meeting backstage. Undertaker and the APA gave a motivational speech on how they should not tolerate The Alliance any longer. After they were finished, Brooklyn Brawler wheeled Freddie Blassie into the room so he could address the wrestlers and pump them up for
19176-583: Was poorly received by the audience in attendance at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington ; sports journalist Michael Landsberg reported that many have called the bout "the worst match ever". One source cited that the match should have showcased the best of WCW, but instead featured too many restholds and not enough action. The audience jeered the wrestlers with chants of "This match sucks!" and "Boring!" A WWF source close to Vince McMahon said that he "absolutely hated"
19317-472: Was portrayed as an anonymous stalker sending invasive videotapes to then-babyface, The Undertaker and his wife. On the July 9 episode of Raw Is War at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Kane was scheduled to face WCW's Mike Awesome and Lance Storm in a handicap match . Chris Jericho came out and offered to be Kane's partner, thus turning it into a tag team match. Near the end of the match, Jericho applied
19458-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
19599-478: Was serving a kayfabe suspension since the post-WrestleMania X-Seven edition of Raw Is War , to join The Alliance. Also that night, Kurt Angle challenged Booker T to a WCW Championship match, which Booker T accepted. The WWF gained momentum when Angle made Booker T submit with an ankle lock, taking the WCW Championship away from The Alliance. Angle's WCW title run proved to be short-lived, as Booker T won it back on
19740-415: 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
19881-417: 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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