Mid 20th Century
110-568: As individual (12 reigns): The 1971 to 2010 version of the World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the company's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) on June 3, 1971 (renamed World Wrestling Federation/WWF in 1979), it served as
220-465: A Book End on The Rock for a near-fall. The Rock performed a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow on Booker T but McMahon pulled the referee out of the ring, voiding the pinfall. The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on McMahon outside the ring. Booker T performed a Scissors Kick on The Rock and performed the Spinarooni. However; The Rock quickly got up with a kip-up , no-selling the attack, and performed
330-646: A Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow onto Shane McMahon , The Alliance leader. Later that week on SmackDown! , Booker T and The Rock cut a promo , where Booker T challenged The Rock to a match at SummerSlam; the beginning of the Rock-Booker T rivalry. Seeking revenge for the attack from the previous week, McMahon fought The Rock in a Street Fight on the August 6 edition of Raw Is War , where The Rock pinned McMahon. The rivalry between The Rock and Booker T intensified after
440-567: A Rock Bottom on Booker T to win the WCW Championship, his seventh World Championship overall and first WCW Championship reign. In 2013, Dylan Diot of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 8.5 [Very Good], writing, "This was a damn good edition of Summerslam. Nothing on the show was bad and two of the matches were absolutely outstanding. [This] show is well worth a watch, especially for Angle's memorable performance and another classic ladder match. The Invasion angle may have [sucked], but at least
550-677: A Six Man Tag Team Elimination match pitting Austin and the Dudley Boyz against Angle and The Hardy Boyz , which Austin and the Dudley Boyz won. Another main match heading into the event was Jeff Hardy versus Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match for the WWF Hardcore Championship . At Invasion Van Dam defeated Hardy to win the Hardcore Championship. In the following weeks, Van Dam and Hardy faced each other in Tag Team matches . On
660-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
770-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
880-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
990-643: A WWE brand , the World Tag Team Championship became exclusive to the Raw brand, while a second WWE Tag Team Championship (currently known as the World Tag Team Championship as of April 2024) was established for the SmackDown! brand. Both titles were unified in 2009 into the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship , but remained independently active until the original World Tag Team Championship
1100-413: 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
1210-520: 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
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#17328514166101320-513: 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
1430-574: 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
1540-470: 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 . SummerSlam (2001) The 2001 SummerSlam was the 14th annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by
1650-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
1760-410: 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
1870-503: A hiatus from professional wrestling to film the movie The Scorpion King . On the July 9, 2001 edition of Raw Is War , campaigning for The Rock's return began. Following the campaigning, The Rock returned to the WWF on the July 30, 2001 edition of Raw Is War , where he chose to align himself with the WWF instead of The Alliance for The Invasion . This action was shown by The Rock delivering
1980-405: 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
2090-754: 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
2200-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
2310-417: A move dubbed, The Book End . On the final edition of SmackDown! before SummerSlam, McMahon announced that Booker T would defend the WCW Championship at SummerSlam against The Rock. Later that night, the rivalry continued to intensify during a Lights Out match between Booker T and The Rock, after Booker T delivered a Book End onto The Rock through a commentators announce table. The other main match on
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#17328514166102420-499: A near-fall. The Rock performed a Catapult into an exposed turnbuckle on Booker T and performed a DDT on Booker T for a near-fall. Booker T distracted the referee by trying to retrieve a steel chair placed in the ring by McMahon, allowing McMahon to hit The Rock with the title belt. The APA appeared, with Bradshaw performing a Clothesline from Hell on McMahon in retaliation for McMahon costing the APA their six-man tag team match. Booker T performed
2530-440: 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
2640-780: A new tag team title, also called the WWE Tag Team Championship , to be the exclusive tag team titles for the SmackDown! brand. With the introduction of the World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand after the WWE Championship became exclusive to SmackDown!, the WWE Tag Team Championship on Raw was renamed "World Tag Team Championship". This was done so that the names of both tag team titles would mirror
2750-509: A table. Bradshaw performed a Clothesline from Hell on Test but the referee checked on Spike. Shane McMahon hit Bradshaw with a steel chair, allowing Test to pin Bradshaw to win the match. After that, WCW Cruiserweight Champion X-Pac faced WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Tajiri . Albert interfered, leading to Tajiri attacking Albert with red mist. X-Pac performed the X-Factor on Tajiri to win
2860-497: 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
2970-575: 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
3080-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
3190-410: 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
3300-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
3410-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 1971–2010) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-458: Is square shaped with a light blue world in the middle of it with gold outlining's in it with the word world that's red in the middle of it that also has gold outlining with the words tag team wrestling champions at the bottom of it in very fancy designing with the letter w representing WWE at the top with a red slanted lining at the bottom of it. The side plates of the title are upward tall rectangular shaped with two men wrestling outlined in gold in
3630-588: The Last Ride and pinned Page to win both titles. SummerSlam is an annual pay-per-view (PPV) produced every August by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1988. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , and Survivor Series , and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of
3740-609: 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
3850-579: The Twist of Fate on Ivory, allowing Jacqueline to pin her for the win. The event opened with Lance Storm defending the WWF Intercontinental Championship against Edge . Storm applied the Canadian Crab on Edge but Edge countered and applied the Canadian Crab on Storm. Storm threw Edge into the referee to escape the hold. Christian interfered, attempting a Spear on Storm but Storm avoided
3960-778: The WCW Championship , after executing a Rock Bottom . The other two main matches on the card were Steve Austin versus Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship , which Angle won, after Austin was disqualified for attacking referees , and Rob Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match for the WWF Hardcore Championship . The other main match on the undercard was the Winners Take All Steel cage match between WCW Tag Team Champions Undertaker and Kane and WWF Tag Team Champions Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon , which Undertaker and Kane won, after Undertaker executed
4070-455: The WWF Championship against Kurt Angle . Austin performed a Stone Cold Stunner on Angle for a near-fall. Austin performed a second Stone Cold Stunner on Angle, causing Angle to roll out of the ring. Angle applied the Ankle Lock on Austin but Austin touched the ring ropes, forcing Angle to break the hold. Austin applied a Cobra Clutch on Angle but Angle ran forwards, causing Austin to roll out of
4180-606: The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) formed in 1963, their first tag team championship was the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship , which was originally an NWA championship established in 1958 and used by the WWWF's predecessor, Capitol Wrestling Corporation . After then- WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino and his tag team partner Spiros Arion won the titles in 1967,
4290-639: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on August 19, 2001, at the Compaq Center at San Jose in San Jose, California . It was the last SummerSlam promoted under the WWF name, as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. It was also the last SummerSlam held before the introduction of the brand extension in March 2002. In the main event , The Rock defeated Booker T for
4400-543: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
4510-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
World Tag Team Championship (WWE, 1971–2010) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-577: 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
4730-400: 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
4840-460: 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
4950-584: The 2001 event was the only SummerSlam to feature the WCW Championship , as the title was unified with the WWF Championship at December's Vengeance event with the latter being renamed to Undisputed WWF Championship . It was also the only SummerSlam to feature the WCW Tag Team Championship , which was unified with the WWF Tag Team Championship at Survivor Series in November. It was also
5060-565: The April 26, 2010 episode of Raw . After the World Tag Team Championship was deactivated, the duo continued to serve as the WWE Tag Team Champions until their loss at Night of Champions on September 19, 2010, to Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes . Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
5170-641: 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
5280-593: The August 13 edition of Raw , Van Dam was scheduled to defend his title against Kurt Angle , and as the match was underway, Hardy interfered and pinned Van Dam to win the title for himself. This led to a Ladder match for the title at SummerSlam between Hardy and Van Dam. Before the event began, a dark match took place on Heat . The match was originally a handicap match featuring Lita and Jacqueline against Torrie Wilson , Stacy Keibler , and Ivory . Backstage, Wilson, Ivory and Keibler attacked Lita, preventing her from competing. Molly Holly replaced Lita. Lita performed
5390-408: 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
5500-477: 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
5610-530: The Ring . It has since become considered WWF's second biggest event of the year behind WrestleMania. The 2001 event was the 14th SummerSlam and was scheduled to be held on August 19, 2001, at the Compaq Center at San Jose in San Jose, California . The main rivalry heading into SummerSlam was between The Rock and Booker T , battling over the WCW Championship . After losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-Seven , The Rock took
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#17328514166105720-473: The Ring was discontinued as a PPV following its 2002 event , thus SummerSlam, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series, reverted to being called the "Big Four" until October 2021 when Money in the Bank was recognized as one of the "Big Five". With the WWF's purchase of rival company World Championship Wrestling (WCW) back in March, some of their titles became defended on WWF programming. As such,
5830-575: The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship, the champions could appear and defend the titles on any WWE brand, regardless of the brand that the holders belonged to. On August 16, 2010, the World Tag Team Championship was decommissioned in favor of continuing the lineage of the WWE Tag Team Championship (which dropped the "unified" moniker) with Bret Hart presenting new championship belts to the final World Tag Team Champions, The Hart Dynasty ( David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd ). In April 2024,
5940-480: The WCW Championship from Booker despite Austin's interference. On the July 30, 2001 edition of Raw Is War , Angle lost the WCW Championship back to Booker with the help of Austin and Shane McMahon. Afterwards, Angle challenged Austin for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam, which Austin accepted. The feud between Austin and Angle would escalate in the following couple of weeks leading up to SummerSlam especially in
6050-523: The WCW Tag Team Championship was deactivated with The Dudley Boyz recognized as the final champions and they reigned as the new WWF Tag Team Champions. After the WWF/WWE name change in 2002, the championship was subsequently renamed "WWE Tag Team Championship". During the initial WWE brand extension , the WWE Tag Team Championship was assigned to the SmackDown! brand as the reigning champions at
6160-527: The WWE Tag Team Championship, which had been renamed to Raw Tag Team Championship in 2016, took on the World Tag Team Championship name. Following the events of the WWE brand extension , an annual WWE draft was established, in which select members of the WWE roster were reassigned to a different brand. After the World Tag Team Championship was unified with the WWE Tag Team Championship as the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship,
6270-674: The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was abandoned and deactivated due to Sammartino being the world champion. Two years later, The Rising Suns ( Toru Tanaka and Mitsu Arakawa ) arrived in the WWWF with the WWWF International Tag Team Championship , which they claimed to have won in a tournament in Tokyo in June of that year. This became the WWWF's tag team title until 1971 when The Rising Suns left
6380-484: The WWWF and took the titles with them. The WWWF then established their own original world tag team championship, the WWWF World Tag Team Championship in 1971. Following the title's introduction, Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler became the inaugural champions on June 3. In 1979, the title became known as the "WWF Tag Team Championship" when the promotion was renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It
6490-401: 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
6600-418: 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
6710-550: 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
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#17328514166106820-498: The card was Stone Cold Steve Austin versus Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship . The previous month at Invasion , Team WCW / ECW ( Booker T , Diamond Dallas Page , Rhyno and Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley ) defeated Team WWF (Austin, Angle, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker and Kane ). Team WCW/ECW won after Austin turned on the WWF when he executed a Stunner on Angle. On the following night's edition of Raw Is War , Austin stated that he did this because he felt that Vince McMahon
6930-424: 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
7040-418: 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
7150-472: The center also with the letter w representing WWE at the top with a red slanted lining at the bottom of it and the leather was black. At one time the belt was silver with gold outlining as well with the same design. The 2002 to 2010 design of the World Tag Team Championships were very similar to the 2002 design, but instead of the world background in the middle of the title being blue is red and
7260-401: The champions could appear and defend the titles on any WWE brand. The original WWWF World Tag Team Championship design is similar to the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship but with one side plate on each side and a more squared center piece plus different wording minus the words United States and having the words WWWF World replace and slightly taller and thicker leather and different in
7370-423: 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
7480-461: 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
7590-516: The count to disqualify Austin. Angle won by disqualification but Austin retained the title. After the match, Angle applied the Ankle lock on the referee. In the main event, Booker T defended the WCW Championship against The Rock . The Rock applied the Sharpshooter on Booker T but Shane McMahon distracted the referee. The Rock attacked McMahon, allowing Booker T to perform a Superkick on The Rock for
7700-540: 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
7810-436: The effort in the ring was great." This was the last SummerSlam to occur before the introduction of the first brand extension in March 2002, which split the roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. It was also the last SummerSlam event to occur under the WWF name, as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. Additionally, King of
7920-405: 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
8030-597: 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
8140-470: 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
8250-501: The first time at SummerSlam when WCW Tag Team Champions Kane and The Undertaker defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Chris Kanyon and Diamond Dallas Page in a title-for-title steel cage match . Both titles remained independently active during this reign. At Survivor Series , the title was unified again with the WCW Tag Team Championship in another title-for-title steel cage match when WCW Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz . This time,
8360-610: 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
8470-455: 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
8580-513: 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
8690-471: 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
8800-487: 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
8910-459: The match, where Booker T and Shane McMahon double-teamed The Rock. Later that week on SmackDown! , in retaliation, The Rock accepted Booker T's challenge. On the August 13 edition of Raw Is War , The Rock was involved in a tag team match , where he teamed with Chris Jericho in a loss to Booker T and Rhyno . After the match, Booker T delivered his variation of the Rock Bottom on The Rock,
9020-454: The match. Next, Chris Jericho faced Rhyno . Jericho forced Rhyno to submit to the Walls of Jericho to win the match. After that, Jeff Hardy defended the WWF Hardcore Championship against Rob Van Dam in a Ladder match . Hardy attempted to retrieve the title belt but Van Dam pushed the ladder, causing Hardy to fall into the ring ropes. Van Dam retrieved the title belt to win the title. In
9130-498: 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
9240-510: The middle gold and medal designings. The second WWWF World Tag Team Championship design is similar to the WWF Women's Tag Team Championships , but to represent difference the leather of the title is dark blue other than red and it has the word world at the top instead of the word lady. The third WWF World Tag Team championship designs to year 2002 was gold and had a gold center plate with two gold side plates on each side. The center plate
9350-403: The move and Christian performed a Spear on Edge. Storm performed a Superkick on Christian and pinned Edge for a near-fall. Edge performed an Edgecution on Storm to win the title . Next, The Dudley Boyz ( Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley ) and Test faced The APA ( Faarooq and Bradshaw ) and Spike Dudley . Spike attempted a Dudley Dog on Test but Test countered by throwing Spike through
9460-513: The names of the top championships on their respective brands. When the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship switched brands during the 2005 WWE draft lottery , however, neither of the tag team titles were renamed. In late 2008 through early 2009, WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) engaged in rivalry with World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and the Miz , with
9570-414: The only title for tag teams in the promotion until the then-WWF bought World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001, which added the WCW Tag Team Championship . Both titles were unified in November 2001, retiring WCW's championship and continuing WWF's. In 2002, the company was renamed WWE. Following the introduction of the WWE brand extension , where wrestlers and championships became exclusive to
9680-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
9790-714: 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
9900-410: The record for most reigns as a team with eight. Edge held the record for overall reigns as an individual with 12, seven with Christian. He also won the titles with Hulk Hogan , Chris Benoit , Randy Orton , and Chris Jericho (after the titles were unified). The final champions were The Hart Dynasty ( David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd ), who won the titles from ShoMiz ( Big Show and The Miz ) on
10010-470: The ring. Austin performed a third Stone Cold Stunner on Angle for a near-fall. Angle performed an Angle Slam on Austin for a near-fall. Austin attacked the referee and Angle performed a DDT on Austin for another near-fall. Austin attacked Angle with a low blow and performed a Stone Cold Stunner on another referee. Austin hit another referee with the title belt and ran into Angle, who performed an Angle Slam on Austin. Angle pinned Austin but another referee stopped
10120-412: The sixth match, WCW Tag Team Champions The Brothers of Destruction ( The Undertaker and Kane ) faced WWF Tag Team Champions Diamond Dallas Page and Chris Kanyon in a Steel Cage match for both titles. Page attempted to escape the cage but Undertaker performed a Chokeslam on Page. Undertaker performed a Last Ride on Page to win the match. In the seventh match, Stone Cold Steve Austin defended
10230-440: 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
10340-426: 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,
10450-426: The time of the initial expansion, Billy and Chuck , were both drafted to SmackDown! together. In July of that year, shortly after defeating Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Edge for the titles, the reigning champion team of Lance Storm and Christian ( The Un-Americans ) left SmackDown! for Raw , leaving SmackDown! without a tag team title. As a result, then-SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon commissioned
10560-505: 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
10670-471: 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
10780-478: The two teams exchanging victories in non-title matches and retaining their respective titles against each other. On the March 17 episode of ECW on Syfy , it was announced that at WrestleMania 25 , both teams would defend their titles against each other and the winning team would hold both titles. The Colóns defeated Morrison and Miz, and thus unified the titles into the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship , although both championships remained independently active. As
10890-535: 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
11000-582: The words tag team at the top and the word champions at the bottom to represent a more hardcore heavyweight historical difference. The inaugural champions were Crazy Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler , who defeated Dick the Bruiser and The Sheik on June 3, 1971. The record for longest reign was held by Demolition , whose first reign lasted 478 days. Three teams tied for a record with shortest reigns. Jules Strongbow and Chief Jay Strongbow had their titles taken away shortly after winning them on June 28, 1982 when it
11110-420: 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
11220-425: 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
11330-488: 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
11440-436: Was decommissioned in 2010 in favor of continuing the newer championship. The championship was contested in professional wrestling matches . Bouts for the title headlined WWF events including In Your House 3 , Fully Loaded: In Your House , and 2001's Backlash . The inaugural champions were the team of Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler , and the final champions were The Hart Dynasty ( David Hart Smith and Tyson Kidd ). When
11550-479: Was determined that Mr. Fuji , one half of the reigning champions with Mr. Saito , was pinned with a foot on the ropes. Owen Hart and Yokozuna lost their titles on September 25, 1995, to the Smoking Gunns shortly after having the titles returned to them. On March 19, 2001, Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz to win the titles only to lose them later that night to The Dudley Boyz . The Dudley Boyz held
11660-485: Was grooming Angle to take over his spot, and that he was "unappreciated" when McMahon insisted he return to the old Austin. Later that evening, Austin interfered during a six man Elimination Tables match by assaulting Angle. Then on the July 26, 2001 edition of SmackDown! , Angle appeared in his hometown of Pittsburgh and challenged Austin for the WWF Championship but Austin instead chose Booker T to defend his WCW Championship against Angle. Later on that night, Angle won
11770-568: 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
11880-415: 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
11990-535: Was subsequently renamed WWF World Tag Team Championship in 1983, but was often referred to as the WWF Tag Team Championship for short. In March 2001, the WWF purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its championships were now also defended on WWF programming. Soon after, The Invasion took place in which the WCW/ECW Alliance was ultimately dismantled. The title was temporarily unified for
12100-417: 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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