"Pin me, pay me!"
— Motto of
ECW, and later
WWF, stable The J.O.B. Squad
In any competition, there are winners and losers. Of course, since
Professional Wrestling is... well, "fake"... the winners and losers are pre-determined. Fans and insiders alike refer to being on the losing end of the equation as "doing the job".
As strange as it may seem sometimes, there is an entire class of pro wrestlers whose primary purpose in being on TV is to do the job on a regular basis. These wrestlers (called "Jobbers") primarily serve to make the other wrestlers look that much better, by selling everything the other wrestler does as if they're dying.
So, why be a jobber? There are several reasons...
- Some are trainers and/or road agents (the people who actually lay out matches), who take the jobber role in order to work with rookie talents and help them hone their skills.
- Conversely, rookies can get experience and learn both in and out of Kayfabe even while jobbing. In Japan a tradition has been for newer wrestlers to be jobbing more often due to inexperience; Japanese pro wrestling legend Kenta Kobashi lost his first 63 matches (in an intentional attempt by Giant Baba to build Kobashi as "never say die") before his first win, and Naomichi Marufuji was mostly a jobber in All Japan Pro Wrestling before jumping to Pro Wrestling NOAH. In general, if there's a tag match expect the newest wrestler to be pinned or submit.
- Some are just thrilled to be part of the wrestling business, and will do anything to be part of the show.
- Some are young, up-and-coming talent from independent wrestling promotions, who are trying to get the attention of talent scouts. In fact, ROH's "Do or Die" matches are more or less this with the fans (and the booker based on their reactions) as the judges.
- Some are jobbing as punishment.
- For some... ehh, it's a living.
Some long-running jobbers have gained a cult following. The most famous jobber would probably be the Brooklyn Brawler, who recently got his own action figure. There's also Barry Horowitz, who briefly went from perennial jobber to mid-card in the mid-90's when he pulled an upset victory on Skip, and then went on to beat him in at least two more matches.
The term "jobber" has crept into other genres as well, most particularly anime
Fighting Series, in reference to when a character loses a fight against an enemy for seemingly
no reason other than to show off how strong the enemy was.
Compare
C List Fodder,
Red Shirt.
