Hardcore wrestling
Encyclopedia
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling
that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of feuds
, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling
and Combat Zone Wrestling
) specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Hardcore wrestling became acknowledged as a major wrestling style first in Japan
with promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
and W*ING. It then became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling
. The World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment capitalized on the success and introduced the WWF Hardcore Championship
in the 1990s. The WWF soon began to turn the matches into comedy skits, illustrating the ridiculousness they involved. Hardcore contrasts with traditional mat-based wrestling, where solid technical skills are preferred over stuntwork, blood, and sheer shock value
.
A derogatory term for this style, garbage wrestling, is attributed to Japanese wrestler Giant Baba who used it originally to describe a style of wrestling which required little wrestling athletic ability and often involved no wrestling at all, which is rather common in much of hardcore wrestling.
, while initially taboo
, was found to be a significant draw, and the advent of the now-cliché
"no holds barred" match marked the beginning of what is now known as hardcore wrestling. Methods were devised for wrestlers to make themselves bleed purposefully as part of their performance. Wrestlers such as "Wild Bull" Curry
, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, Dory Funk, Sr.
and Giant Baba were among those who introduced the bloody brawl
ing style which caught on in Japan and the American South. New match types were devised that resembled street fighting
, such as matches which were held in a cage, Texas Deathmatches which incorporated weapons, and Lights Out matches which were 'unsanctioned' and took place after the rest of the scheduled card, once the house lights had briefly been turned off to signify the end of the event. The National Wrestling Alliance
had Brass knuckles
championships in the Texas and Florida territories, dating from the 1950s. (The Texas title was taken by World Class Championship Wrestling
when it split away.)
Brawling continued to evolve and grow in popularity in America through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Detroit territory was home to The Sheik
, Abdullah the Butcher
and Bobo Brazil
, and featured long, bloody brawls. The Puerto Rico
territory featured Carlos Colón, The Invader
and Abdullah, and introduced fire as an element of violence. The Memphis
territory featured Jerry Lawler
, Terry Funk
, Eddie Gilbert and Bill Dundee
and introduced the empty arena match and fighting among the crowd into the concession stand
s, improvising attacks with whatever appliances could be found. More specialties such as ladder match
es, scaffold matches and Dog Collar matches were introduced. The NWA eventually instituted a World Brass Knuckles Championship
, which was active in the Tennessee territory from 1978 to 1980.
(FMW) was founded in Japan, the first promotion dedicated largely to the wild brawling style. In the early 1990s, the Puerto Rican promoter Victor Quiñones
arrived in Japan, being invited to FMW as the special manager. FMW escalated the violence to legitimately dangerous levels, with barbed wire
ropes, timed explosives, exploding wire ropes, and 'land mine
s'. The federation featured many future North American stars, and became very popular worldwide.
Soon after, in the United States, two independent promotions had brief but significant runs, serving as prototype
s for ECW. The Philadelphia-based Tri-State Wrestling Alliance held occasional supercards that featured big name stars among their own local talent, and showcased wild bloody main event brawls with Abdullah the Butcher, The Sheik, Jesse James Sr. and others. The National Wrestling Federation (formerly known as Continental Wrestling Alliance) was based in New York state. Both TWA and NWF featured Larry Winters
and DC Drake
, who engaged in a long blood feud.
The two promotions ended about the same time, and NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling
took their place, with many of the same wrestlers and venues. Eddie Gilbert was the initial booker, and was replaced a few months later by Paul Heyman
. After splitting off from the NWA, the company changed its name to Extreme Championship Wrestling, and became the leading independent federation in North America. ECW coined the term 'hardcore wrestling', but its usage there was slightly different than it is used today. In ECW, 'hardcore' referred to a strong work ethic
, high levels of effort, dedication to the fans, and lack of fluff or filler. Their level of violence rarely equaled that of the Japanese promotions.
A new gimmick, breaking wooden tables
, was introduced to ECW through Sabu
, nephew of The Sheik. Sabu had developed a gimmick of throwing himself through a propped-up table in Japan in order to entertain the crowd and get his character over as a wild and possibly insane man. He then started to put opponents through tables, a relatively safe spot which looked and sounded devastating. He brought it with him to ECW, where it became the focus of a feud involving multiple teams. The table spot became a staple of ECW events, and has become so commonplace that it is now incorporated into otherwise non-hardcore matches in almost every promotion.
In Japan, hardcore promotions sprang up around the country, including Wrestling International New Generations W*ING, the International Wrestling Association of Japan
and Big Japan Pro Wrestling
. New elements included fluorescent light tubes, scattered thumb tacks, flaming ropes and live piranha
s.
In the mid-1990s, FMW eventually held female hardcore matches at the suggestion of Megumi Kudo
. The first one was held between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda
as a deathmatch where the ring ropes were replaced with electrified barbed-wire with explosives. After the match, many female wrestlers had various brutal deathmatches in FMW with barbed-wire ropes, barbed-wire barricades, exploding barbed-wire barricades, electrified/exploding barbed-wire ropes, broken glass, or mixes of these stuffs. These matches often included various dangerous weapons such as barbed-wire wrapped chains, flaming barbed-wire baseball bats, and sickle
s. Most of the wrestlers who competed in these deathmatches, including some non-FMW rosters such as Shinobu Kandori
, Lioness Asuka
, and Mayumi Ozaki
, were sent to the hospital after these matches.
ECW's popularity led to the major American promotions of the 90s, World Championship Wrestling
and World Wrestling Federation, creating divisions devoted exclusively to 'hardcore' wrestling (which mostly amounted to no-disqualification weapons matches). The divisions were at first largely centered around ECW alumni such as Mick Foley
, Terry Funk, Raven and Sandman. In the WWF, ladder match
es, which had become more common, were now combined with tables and weapons matches to create Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
es.
and Combat Zone Wrestling
, which carried on ECW's violent style after it went defunct, and have pushed the limits even farther. As the fad grew, it gained detractors who pointed out that weapons and shock value were being used to mask poor wrestling skills.
Hardcore wrestling has fallen out of favor in the major American promotions; the last major hardcore title was the WWE Hardcore Championship
, which merged into the Intercontinental Title
in 2002. In 2006, the MTV
-affiliated promotion/show Wrestling Society X
featured hardcore wrestling, but the show was cancelled after one season.
-breaking accessibility of some of these weapons -- often under the ring -- to wrestlers has led to the noun "plunder" in reference to them. For example, Street Fights and Bunkhouse Brawls are hardcore-style matches which emphasize that wrestlers need not be in typical wrestling gear when they are battling, while the No Holds Barred match emphasizes the no-disqualification rule. In WWE, Extreme Rules matches are hardcore-style matches that emphasize the spirit of its former competitor, Extreme Championship Wrestling
. Other euphemisms, such as the Good Housekeeping match and Full Metal Mayhem, emphasize the use of certain foreign objects as being legal (the former with kitchen implements and the latter with metallic objects). In a Fans Bring the Weapons match, wrestlers fight with "weapons" that members of the audience bring to the venue; this was popularized in the United States by ECW and is now a specialty in Combat Zone Wrestling
(CZW).
was defended under 24/7 rules, meaning it could be defended and won at anytime, provided a referee was present to make the pinfall. The OVW Hardcore Championship
had a trashcan passed from wrestler to wrestler rather than a belt. The GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship
has a unique stipulation in that if a challenger who is outweighed by the champion survives 15 minutes, he wins the match and the title.this style of wrestling is the ultraviolent stage of adult entertainment but is still watched by kids.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of feuds
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.-History:...
and Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
) specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Hardcore wrestling became acknowledged as a major wrestling style first in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989 by Atsushi Onita that specialized in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their first show on October 6, 1989...
and W*ING. It then became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. The World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment capitalized on the success and introduced the WWF Hardcore Championship
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
in the 1990s. The WWF soon began to turn the matches into comedy skits, illustrating the ridiculousness they involved. Hardcore contrasts with traditional mat-based wrestling, where solid technical skills are preferred over stuntwork, blood, and sheer shock value
Shock value
Shock value is the potential of an action , image, text, or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions.-Shock value as humor:...
.
A derogatory term for this style, garbage wrestling, is attributed to Japanese wrestler Giant Baba who used it originally to describe a style of wrestling which required little wrestling athletic ability and often involved no wrestling at all, which is rather common in much of hardcore wrestling.
Early history
As professional wrestling entered the mid 20th century, promoters and performers looked for ways to heighten audience excitement. BloodBlood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, while initially taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
, was found to be a significant draw, and the advent of the now-cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
"no holds barred" match marked the beginning of what is now known as hardcore wrestling. Methods were devised for wrestlers to make themselves bleed purposefully as part of their performance. Wrestlers such as "Wild Bull" Curry
Bull Curry
Fred Thomas Koury, Sr. was an American of Lebanese decent who was best known as a professional wrestler under the name ”Wild Bull” Curry. Bull Curry is recognized as one of the originators of the hardcore style predating even legends such as The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher...
, "Classy" Freddie Blassie, Dory Funk, Sr.
Dory Funk
Dorrance Wilhelm "Dory" Funk was a professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk.-Career:...
and Giant Baba were among those who introduced the bloody brawl
BRAWL
Brawl is a real-time card game designed by James Ernest and released in 1999 by Cheapass Games.-Gameplay:Like Spit or Icehouse, players in Brawl do not take turns, instead either making a move or staying inactive as best suits their strategy at that moment...
ing style which caught on in Japan and the American South. New match types were devised that resembled street fighting
Street fighting
Street fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....
, such as matches which were held in a cage, Texas Deathmatches which incorporated weapons, and Lights Out matches which were 'unsanctioned' and took place after the rest of the scheduled card, once the house lights had briefly been turned off to signify the end of the event. The National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
had Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
championships in the Texas and Florida territories, dating from the 1950s. (The Texas title was taken by World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
when it split away.)
Brawling continued to evolve and grow in popularity in America through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Detroit territory was home to The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...
, Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
and Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bobo Brazil. He is credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling...
, and featured long, bloody brawls. The Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
territory featured Carlos Colón, The Invader
Jose Gonzalez (wrestler)
José Huertas González, better known as Invader #1, is a former professional wrestler who wrestled in the United States and around the world, especially in Puerto Rico, and the man who killed, allegedly in self-defense, Frank Goodish, also known as Bruiser Brody.-Wrestling career:Since 1973, he has...
and Abdullah, and introduced fire as an element of violence. The Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
territory featured Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
, Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, Eddie Gilbert and Bill Dundee
Bill Dundee
William "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton....
and introduced the empty arena match and fighting among the crowd into the concession stand
Concession stand
A concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
s, improvising attacks with whatever appliances could be found. More specialties such as ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
es, scaffold matches and Dog Collar matches were introduced. The NWA eventually instituted a World Brass Knuckles Championship
NWA World Brass Knuckles Championship
The NWA World Brass Knuckles Championship was a short-lived title in the National Wrestling Alliance. It was defended in the Tennessee area from 1978 until 1981.-Title history:...
, which was active in the Tennessee territory from 1978 to 1980.
1990s
In 1989, Frontier Martial-Arts WrestlingFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989 by Atsushi Onita that specialized in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their first show on October 6, 1989...
(FMW) was founded in Japan, the first promotion dedicated largely to the wild brawling style. In the early 1990s, the Puerto Rican promoter Victor Quiñones
Victor Quiñones
Victor Quiñones was a Puerto Rican professional wrestling promoter, the founder and owner of International Wrestling Association. Quiñones was primarily a manager for The Headhunters and Mr...
arrived in Japan, being invited to FMW as the special manager. FMW escalated the violence to legitimately dangerous levels, with barbed wire
Barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...
ropes, timed explosives, exploding wire ropes, and 'land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s'. The federation featured many future North American stars, and became very popular worldwide.
Soon after, in the United States, two independent promotions had brief but significant runs, serving as prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s for ECW. The Philadelphia-based Tri-State Wrestling Alliance held occasional supercards that featured big name stars among their own local talent, and showcased wild bloody main event brawls with Abdullah the Butcher, The Sheik, Jesse James Sr. and others. The National Wrestling Federation (formerly known as Continental Wrestling Alliance) was based in New York state. Both TWA and NWF featured Larry Winters
Larry Winters
"The Living Legend" Larry Winters is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and trainer who competed in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit during the 1980s and 90s...
and DC Drake
DC Drake
Don Clyde "DC" Drake is a former American professional wrestler. He became the Heavyweight Champion for the National Wrestling Federation and Tri-State Wrestling Alliance which later became Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Training:...
, who engaged in a long blood feud.
The two promotions ended about the same time, and NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
took their place, with many of the same wrestlers and venues. Eddie Gilbert was the initial booker, and was replaced a few months later by Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
. After splitting off from the NWA, the company changed its name to Extreme Championship Wrestling, and became the leading independent federation in North America. ECW coined the term 'hardcore wrestling', but its usage there was slightly different than it is used today. In ECW, 'hardcore' referred to a strong work ethic
Work ethic
Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic...
, high levels of effort, dedication to the fans, and lack of fluff or filler. Their level of violence rarely equaled that of the Japanese promotions.
A new gimmick, breaking wooden tables
Table (furniture)
A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...
, was introduced to ECW through Sabu
Sabu (wrestler)
Terry Michael Brunk , better known by his ring name Sabu, is an American professional wrestler best known for his extreme wrestling style...
, nephew of The Sheik. Sabu had developed a gimmick of throwing himself through a propped-up table in Japan in order to entertain the crowd and get his character over as a wild and possibly insane man. He then started to put opponents through tables, a relatively safe spot which looked and sounded devastating. He brought it with him to ECW, where it became the focus of a feud involving multiple teams. The table spot became a staple of ECW events, and has become so commonplace that it is now incorporated into otherwise non-hardcore matches in almost every promotion.
In Japan, hardcore promotions sprang up around the country, including Wrestling International New Generations W*ING, the International Wrestling Association of Japan
International Wrestling Association of Japan
International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 1996....
and Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.-History:...
. New elements included fluorescent light tubes, scattered thumb tacks, flaming ropes and live piranha
Piranha
A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes...
s.
In the mid-1990s, FMW eventually held female hardcore matches at the suggestion of Megumi Kudo
Megumi Kudo
Megumi Takayama, better known under her stage and maiden name , and by her nickname Kudome, is a Japanese entertainment personality, and was a professional wrestler who worked most of her career for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling....
. The first one was held between Megumi Kudo and Combat Toyoda
Combat Toyoda
, better known by her ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling most of her career.-All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling :...
as a deathmatch where the ring ropes were replaced with electrified barbed-wire with explosives. After the match, many female wrestlers had various brutal deathmatches in FMW with barbed-wire ropes, barbed-wire barricades, exploding barbed-wire barricades, electrified/exploding barbed-wire ropes, broken glass, or mixes of these stuffs. These matches often included various dangerous weapons such as barbed-wire wrapped chains, flaming barbed-wire baseball bats, and sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
s. Most of the wrestlers who competed in these deathmatches, including some non-FMW rosters such as Shinobu Kandori
Shinobu Kandori
is a retired Japanese wrestler and now politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet...
, Lioness Asuka
Lioness Asuka
is a Japanese professional wrestler from Tokyo. Along with long-time tag team partner Chigusa Nagayo she formed The Crush Gals, known for their mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and the most successful women's tag team of all time.-Career:...
, and Mayumi Ozaki
Mayumi Ozaki
is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a tag match in August, 1986. In her career, she held the WWWA tag titles with Dynamite Kansai from April 11, 1993 to December 6, 1993 (born October 28, 1968) is a Japanese female professional wrestler.-Career:Ozaki debuted in a...
, were sent to the hospital after these matches.
ECW's popularity led to the major American promotions of the 90s, World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
and World Wrestling Federation, creating divisions devoted exclusively to 'hardcore' wrestling (which mostly amounted to no-disqualification weapons matches). The divisions were at first largely centered around ECW alumni such as Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
, Terry Funk, Raven and Sandman. In the WWF, ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...
es, which had become more common, were now combined with tables and weapons matches to create Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
A Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, often abbreviated as a TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match originated within WWE, but can be seen under different variations in other wrestling promotions....
es.
2000s
ECW also had imitators starting in its later years, Xtreme Pro WrestlingXtreme Pro Wrestling
Xtreme Pro Wrestling is an independent professional wrestling promotion formerly owned by Extreme Associates CEO and director Rob Zicari, who appeared on shows under the name Rob Black. Zicari appeared on-camera as owner alongside his wife Lizzy Borden. The promotion focuses on hardcore wrestling,...
and Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
, which carried on ECW's violent style after it went defunct, and have pushed the limits even farther. As the fad grew, it gained detractors who pointed out that weapons and shock value were being used to mask poor wrestling skills.
Hardcore wrestling has fallen out of favor in the major American promotions; the last major hardcore title was the WWE Hardcore Championship
WWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
, which merged into the Intercontinental Title
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
in 2002. In 2006, the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
-affiliated promotion/show Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X
Wrestling Society X was a short-lived professional wrestling-based television series produced in 2006 by Big Vision Entertainment. The weekly television series formerly aired on MTV, MTV2, MTV Tr3s, and over a dozen other MTV outlets throughout the world...
featured hardcore wrestling, but the show was cancelled after one season.
Rules
The main rule behind hardcore can have various connotations. Thus, hardcore wrestling is often separated into distinct "levels" based on the graphic nature of the match:- A 7/24 Title Match describes a situation where a hardcore wrestler must defend the title at all times. The match (and the title) can be won by pinfall at any time and in any place in the presence of a referee. The match has no fixed location, timeframe or even opponent. This is one of the most severe forms of hardcore match given its unpredictability. This was initially a self-imposed stipulation of Crash Holly'sMike LockwoodMichael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....
WWE Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
but afterward became a general rule of the title. During the time Holly defended his title, he did so in such locations as his hotel room, at the airport and even in the supermarket. - A No Disqualification match tends to be less severe, with action taking place mostly inside the ring. Usage of foreign objects is typically minimal, with run-ins (another form of disqualification) being frequently used. The match is often contested between valetsManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
(where they may lack wrestling skills), or between a wrestler and a valet (in which a wrestler is expected to run-in and defend their valets). Because of the low-key nature, few consider a no-disqualification match as hardcore, although there is no semantic difference. - A Street Fight uses the various elements of "No Holds Barred" and "No Disqualification" and does allow pinfalls and submissions outside of the ring.
- A Deathmatch tends to be the most severe, with a heavy emphasis on the usage of foreign objects to induce bleeding. The types of foreign objects and the nature of the foreign objects are used so as to be extremely graphic and violent in nature. In more recent years, some state athletic commissions in the US have cracked down on the types and frequency of weapons used in these matches.
- A Hardcore match, sometimes referred to as a Raven's Rules match, tends to be somewhere in between, with emphasis on the brutality of the attacks and the extreme physical toll on the wrestlers involved. WWE dubs the Hardcore match as an "Extreme Rules" match (Instead of a name of Hardcore match), and "Belfast Brawl" when the match features the former WWE Superstar, FinlayDave FinlayDavid John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
. While less graphic, in kayfabeKayfabeIn professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
terms the "rules" are the same in a hardcore match as in a deathmatch; that is, there are no rules beyond a 3-count pin for victory and/or a submission victory. - Combat Zone Wrestling's Cage of Death, which is held yearly, implements the use of multiple weapons attached to the cage walls. The usual weapons are there, as are unusual ones, such as weedwhackersString trimmerA string trimmer, also known as a strimmer, line trimmer, weed whacker, weed whip, weed eater, weedy, or whipper snipper, is a powered handheld device that uses a flexible monofilament line instead of a blade for cutting grass and other plants near objects...
. - A staple gun match can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to staple gun matches but the common thread in each one is that wrestlers try and staple something to their opponent. The occurrence of this event is more common on the independent wrestling circuits like the IWA Mid-South King of the DeathmatchIWA Mid-South King of the DeathmatchThe Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South King of the Deathmatch is an annual professional wrestling tournament running since 1997 in which a number of wrestlers compete in various deathmatches, in a single-elimination tournament which is similar to World Wrestling Entertainment's King of...
or Hardcore wrestling circuits staple matches are commonplace. Rules vary for each tournament or wrestlers association but the underlining concept is stapling something to the body of the other wrestler. In Outcast Xtreme Wrestling (OXW) events the first person to staple seven dollar bills to the their opponent wins. In the Combat Zone Wrestling leagueCZW Tournament of DeathThe Tournament of Death is an annual professional wrestling tournament organised by Combat Zone Wrestling since 2002, during which a number of wrestlers compete in various deathmatches in a single-elimination tournament which is similar to World Wrestling Entertainment's King of the Ring tournament...
the number of bills is 13, they call their staple gun matches the, "Unlucky 13 Staple Gun". International Wrestling Association (IWA)Independent Wrestling Association Mid-SouthIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky.- History :...
has their own version called the "Unlucky Seven Staple Gun Match." The popular midget wrestling league run by Puppet the Psycho Dwarf and his merry band of Half-Pint Brawlers' main event is called the, "$21 Staple Gun Match". In this version each little personDwarfismDwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
is armed with a stapler and as the match goes on audience members throw bills into the ring. The first person to staple 11 bills to the other wrestler body wins. When asked about the event Puppet said "Getting a dollar bill stapled to your tongue leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
Common weapons
Hardcore matches tend to emphasize the use of certain weapons or the physical toll on the wrestlers, and thus many euphemisms for these matches are employed. The almost kayfabeKayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
-breaking accessibility of some of these weapons -- often under the ring -- to wrestlers has led to the noun "plunder" in reference to them. For example, Street Fights and Bunkhouse Brawls are hardcore-style matches which emphasize that wrestlers need not be in typical wrestling gear when they are battling, while the No Holds Barred match emphasizes the no-disqualification rule. In WWE, Extreme Rules matches are hardcore-style matches that emphasize the spirit of its former competitor, Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. Other euphemisms, such as the Good Housekeeping match and Full Metal Mayhem, emphasize the use of certain foreign objects as being legal (the former with kitchen implements and the latter with metallic objects). In a Fans Bring the Weapons match, wrestlers fight with "weapons" that members of the audience bring to the venue; this was popularized in the United States by ECW and is now a specialty in Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling
Combat Zone Wrestling is a independent wrestling promotion. In 1999, John Zandig and four of his students, Ric Blade, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain began to run backyard wrestling shows in New Jersey and Delaware, showcasing a brand of hardcore wrestling dubbed as "ultraviolence"...
(CZW).
Hardcore championships
In promotions where Hardcore wrestling is present, a Hardcore title may come into existence. This form of title is defended under hardcore rules, and title changes are frequent. Some hardcore titles may have their own unique rules. For example, the WWE Hardcore ChampionshipWWE Hardcore Championship
The World Wrestling Entertainment Hardcore Championship is a hardcore wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment and is contested under "hardcore" rules, meaning there is no disqualifications, no countouts, and pin falls could be counted anywhere...
was defended under 24/7 rules, meaning it could be defended and won at anytime, provided a referee was present to make the pinfall. The OVW Hardcore Championship
OVW Hardcore Championship
The OVW Hardcore Championship was a short-lived hardcore wrestling title in World Wrestling Entertainment's former developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. The title was created in 2000 and was deactivated in 2001...
had a trashcan passed from wrestler to wrestler rather than a belt. The GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship
GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship
The Global Honored Crown Openweight Hardcore Championship is a semi-official professional wrestling championship contested in Pro Wrestling Noah. It was originally created in 2004 as a singles title known as the GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship; in 2007 it was announced that it would be...
has a unique stipulation in that if a challenger who is outweighed by the champion survives 15 minutes, he wins the match and the title.this style of wrestling is the ultraviolent stage of adult entertainment but is still watched by kids.