History Main / ProfessionalWrestling

* Wrestling/{{Fandango}} - Formerly Johnny Curtis, the winner of the fourth season of Wrestling/{{WWENXT}}, he was transformed into a ballroom dancer and became a runaway sensation the night after that [[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania 29]]. As his theme song goes: "Doo doo, doo doo da-doo doo da-doo doo..."

* Wrestling/JustinGabriel - Third placer on Wrestling/{{WWENXT}}, former Nexus member and high flying face; he's best known for his devastating 450 splash.

* Wrestling/PaulHeyman - One of the masterminds behind the original ECW.

* Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}}- Best known as either a member of the Truth Commission and the Oddities in WWF or as the "Über-Immortal" in ''[[Film/ThreeHundred 300]]''.

* Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield (JBL)- WWE superstar known for his run as part of the APA/Acolytes Tag Team. Later re-invented himself as a [[Wrestling/TedDibiase Ted [=DiBiase=]]] {{Expy}} singles competitor and became one of WWE's most hated heels.

* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels - The Heartbreak Kid, The Showstopper, Mr. [=WrestleMania=], The Headliner, The Icon. He is considered to be one of the greatest icons in wrestling history.

* Wrestling/JohnMorrison - This ain't no make believe! This guy's [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison]] gimmick and [[LeParkour Parkour]] gimmick got him over with the fans.

* Wrestling/{{Ryback}} - Huge, muscular Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} look-alike that debuted for WWE in 2012 and reached main-event level booking in under a year.

* Wrestling/SamoaJoe - '''HE'S GONNA KILL YOU!!!''' One of ROH's most popular stars ever, he has also become a icon in TNA.

* Wrestling/TitoSantana - ''ARIBBA!'' One of Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s top [[{{Face}} babyfaces]] of the 1980s.

* Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} - the first Irish-born WWE Champion, winning the WWE title in his sixth month with the company.
* Wrestling/RonSimmons - '''DAMN!''' A longtime, now retired African American wrestler who served in WCW, ECW and ultimately WWE, otherwise known as Faarooq and for his stints on tag teams.

* [[Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith]] - Arguably the most popular wrestler to have come from the UK; he is best remembered for his match against Bret Hart at [=SummerSlam=] 1992.

* [[Wrestling/RickySteamboat Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat]] - A Florida-born, Hawaiian-billed wrestler who became one of the industry's first superstar high-flyers. He has spent his entire career as a {{Face}}, arguably the most famous wrestler to have done so.

* Wrestling/LanceStorm - A Canadian wrestler who was a staple of the WWF and WCW midcard.

* Wrestling/JoeyStyles - [[CatchPhrase OH MY GOD!]] He was pretty much the voice of ECW back in the 90s.

* Wrestling/TheNexus - A stable that originally consisted of the eight "rookies" from season one of Wrestling/{{WWE NXT}}, and slowly evolved into something completely different.

* Wrestling/{{Demolition}}: "Here comes the Ax, and here comes the Smasher..."

* Wrestling/TheNastyBoys: Knobbs and Saggs, two loudmouth punks who lived up to their name with fierce brawls. Spent time in various promotions.

* Wrestling/DwayneJohnson - One of the two main faces[[note]]the other being Steve Austin[[/note]] of the Attitude Era, he went on to become a major movie star afterwards - Do you smell what he's cooking

* Wrestling/NewJack - "The Original Gangsta," one of the staples of [=ECW=]

* Wrestling/VinceRusso - '''The''' most controversial figure in professional wrestling history for how his attempts to take wrestling into DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]HotterAndSexier directions have often backfired without an editor and whose insistence on nonstop {{Shocking Swerve}}s have often resulted in nonsensical, incoherent storylines and incomprehensible shows.

* Wrestling/SamoaJoe - '''HE'S GONNA KILL YOU''' One of ROH's most popular stars ever, he has also become a icon in TNA.

* [[Wrestling/TooColdScorpio 2 Cold Scorpio]]- One of the top [[IHaveTheHighGround high flyers]] of the last 20 years, he spent most of his career in ECW.
* Wrestling/AbdullahTheButcher: Nicknamed "The Madman from the Sudan," he is one of the greatest [[WrestlingMonster monster heels]] of all time and one of the pioneers of hardcore wrestling.

* Wrestling/TheGobbledyGooker: One of wrestling's most infamous moments.

* Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}}- Best known as either a member of the Oddities in WWE or as the "Über-Immortal" in ''[[Film/ThreeHundred 300]]''.

* Wrestling/JoeyRyan: Created a big stir amongst Wrestling/{{TNA}} and their fans with his 2012 internet angle.

* Wrestling/DaveyBoySmith - Better known as the British Bulldog, Davey Boy was perhaps the most popular wrestler to have come from the UK.

* [[Wrestling/RickySteamboat Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat]] - A Florida-born , Hawaiian-billed wrestler who became one of the industry's first superstar high-flyers. He has spent his entire career as a {{Face}}, arguably the most famous wrestler to have done so.

* Wrestling/KevinSullivan: Infamous [[RockMeAsmodeus "Satanic"]] {{Heel}} of the 1980s and 1990s who will probably be remembered for the Yeti and for losing his wife to Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, setting the seeds for the industry's biggest tragedy.

* Wrestling/StanHansen - "The Bad Man from Borger," one of the biggest foreign-born stars in the history of Japanese wrestling.

* Wrestling/BretHart - Without a doubt, the most iconic Canadian wrestler ever. His catchphrase says it all: "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be!"

* Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield - WWE superstar known for his run as part of the APA/Acolytes Tag Team. Later re-invented himself as a [[Wrestling/TedDibiase Ted [=DiBiase=]]] {{Expy}} singles competitor and became one of WWE's most hated heels.

* Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage - Self High Five! At one point, he was one of the more popular faces in WCW.

* Wrestling/RoddyPiper - played the role of the stereotypical ViolentGlaswegian for years. Still one of WWE's more loved characters.

* Wrestling/RickRude - The Ravishing One. Set a new standard in [[TheEighties the 1980s]] for the smug, arrogant {{Heel}}. Now hit the music.

* Wrestling/RandySavage - One of the big names in the 1980s for WWE, and later WCW. He was known for his [[LargeHam over-the-top persona]] as well as being the spokeswrestler for Slim Jims[[note]]Snap into a Slim Jim! OOOOOOHHHHH YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!![[/note]].

* Wrestling/JimmySnuka - A professional wrestler of Fijian descent; he was one of WWF's premier faces throughout the 80's.

* Wrestling/RickySteamboat - A Florida-born , Hawaiian-billed wrestler who became one of the industry's first superstar high-flyers. He has spent his entire career as a {{Face}}, arguably the most famous wrestler to have done so.

* Wrestling/RobVanDam - One of the cornerstones of the original Wrestling/{{ECW}}, he made stops in Wrestling/{{WWE}} and Wrestling/{{TNA}} as well, where he has more often than not sat very firmly in EnsembleDarkHorse territory.

** Hey, have you SEEN Wrestling/StacyKeibler's [[AssKicksYou ass]]? Wouldn't YOU stop to stare?

* Wrestling/VinceRusso - '''The''' most controversial figure in professional wrestling history for how his attempts to take wrestling into DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]HotterAndSexier directions have often backfired without an editor.

* Wrestling/{{Ryback}} - Huge, muscular {{Goldberg}} look-alike that debuted for WWE in 2012 and reached main-event level booking in under a year.

* Wrestling/{{Fandango}} - Formerly Johnny Curtis, the winner of the fourth season of Wrestling/WWENXT, he was transformed into a ballroom dancer and became a runaway sensation the night after that [[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania 29]]. As his theme song goes: "Doo doo, doo doo da-doo doo da-doo doo..."

* Wrestling/{{Ryback}} - Huge, muscular {{Goldberg}} look-alike that debuted for WWE in 2012 and reached main-event level booking in under a year -- before suddenly being [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]] to protect John Cena's spot as the company's top face.

* Wrestling/MikeAdamle - A former football player who had a lackluster run as a commentator and RAW General Manager. Though of course, this is the kinda guy people would rather forget.

* Wrestling/TheBigShow - Billed as "The World's Largest Athlete". Known through his career as one of the more versatile and talented big men to be employed by WWE, but his limited ring style hasn't earned him much respect from the fans.

* Wrestling/{{Christian}} - The other half of the famous E&C duo. His career hasn't been half bad either

* Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels - The Fallen Angel. After jobbing in the WWF for a few years, he started a successful career in TNA and ROH

* Wrestling/{{Fandango}} - Doo doo, doo doo da-doo doo da-doo doo...

* Wrestling/JustinGabriel - Former Nexus member and high flying face.

* Wrestling/{{Ryback}} - Huge, muscular {{Goldberg}} look-alike that debuted for WWE in 2012 and reached main-event level booking in under a year.

* Wrestling/DamienSandow - The Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses. '''YOU'RE WELCOME'''

* Wrestling/KiaStevens - Better known under her ring names Amazing Kong, [[Wrestling/{{TNA}} Awesome Kong]] and [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} Kharma.]]

* Wrestling/KevinSullivan: Infamous [[RockMeAsmodeus "Satanic"]] {{Heel}} of the 1980s and 1990s who will probably be remembered for the Yeti and for losing his wife to Wrestling/ChrisBenoit.
* Wrestling/JackSwagger - The [[AllAmericanFace All-American]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment American!!!]]

* Wrestling/DolphZiggler - Formerly wrestling with a male cheerleader gimmick, he was repackaged into being one of the more prominent midcard heels in WWE.

* Wrestling/{{Ryback}} - Currently squashing people on Raw and Smackdown.

* Wrestling/JohnTenta - Best known as Earthquake in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the early 90s and later for his friendship with {{WrestleCrap}} founder R.D. Reynolds.

* ''WrestleCrap''

Professional Wrestling, as the term is understood today, is a form of scripted "sports entertainment" in which athletes face off in loosely choreographed matches with pre-determined outcomes, in a manner resembling a type of freestyle combat loosely based on Greco-Roman wrestling. Modern professional wrestling derived from "Lancashire catch-as-catch-can", a grappling style developed by carnival promoters in late 19th century Britain, which soon gained popularity in America as a legitimate form of athletic competition. By the early years of the 20th century[[hottip:* :It's impossible to know exactly when wrestling started being worked because of the highly secretive nature of kayfabe in the early years; Frank Gotch, who was world champion from 1908 to 1913, is generally considered to have won and defended his title legitimately, while other sources suggest fights had been rigged as early as 1870, and worked matches devolving into legitimate fights were a common occurrence as late as the 1970s]], the sport had evolved into a "work" where the winners of bouts were determined ahead of time by the organizers. From this arrangement, a system gradually evolved of numerous territorial wrestling leagues across the US, cooperating under the auspices of the National Wrestling Alliance (which the WWE, WCW, ECW, and pretty much any other wrestling league worth mentioning all were affiliated with at one point), which sponsored the world championship and other titles, picked the champions, and arranged for the top talent from the territories to go on tour and gain national exposure. In 1961 the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, once the NWA's New England territory, split from the group, rechristened itself the Worldwide Wrestling Federation (later the WWF/WWE), and over the following decades expanded on a national scale to create the wrestling industry as it exists today.

** So far averted with The Undertaker at [=WrestleMania=]. 20-0. It's basically a new gimmick; in the leadup to every [=WrestleMania=], somebody steps up and claims they're going to end the streak.

Pro wrestling is usually full of concepts from different types of shows. Each match is roughly choreographed (though not usually in much detail since wrestlers don't have much rehearsal time, let alone for whole matches, given that they wrestle twenty-eight days per month on average--many of a match's details will be improvised). [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} World Wrestling Entertainment's]] programs remind one of nothing so much as a SoapOpera for guys, complete with all the emotion, melodrama, and occasional comic relief that the phrase implies. Other organizations, such as RingOfHonor, strive for a more gritty, realistic presentation, but still incorporate many soap opera elements.

->''"Tonight, the arena is sold out. A dozen shades of gray [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot will square off in a pageantry of war. The opponents are unlikely in the real world, but in the amphitheater of our imagination, they're well matched. The punk rockers will battle the mountain men. The black separatists will fight the post-apocalyptic warriors. The gang-banger will rumble with the aristocrat. The future will struggle with the past, and the living will duel with the dead.]] In the end, just like a good SoapOpera, [[StatusQuoIsGod no issues will be resolved]]; the story is "ToBeContinued". The combatants will live to fight another night, in another town. Is wrestling fake? Absolutely. It's as fake as your imagination, as phony as your daydreams. Are we celebrating violence when we enjoy a wrestling match? Definitely. Does this mean we're a society in decay? Maybe, but don't forget that, unlike the Romans, we're not throwing Christians to the lions here. [[MST3KMantra Maybe we should sit back, relax, enjoy the show, and take comfort in the knowledge that we live in a society that prefers its mayhem to be make-believe]]. Sure, wrestling's fake; we wouldn't have it any other way."''

* Wrestling/TooColdScorpio - One of the top [[IHaveTheHighGround high flyers]] of the last 20 years, he spent most of his career in ECW.

* [[{{Wrestling/Boogeyman}} The Boogeyman]] - "He's coming to get ya!" Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s freaky, worm-eating supernatural sensation; he has been a prominent mid-card face for his entire run.

* [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase Ted [=DiBiase=]]] - Best known for his "Million Dollar Man" gimmick and for having one of the most awesomest evil laughs in all of wrestling.

* Wrestling/VickieGuerrero - EXCUSE ME! The widow of Wrestling/EddieGuerrero. She became a prominent heel Diva (or not - she's often considered too old to be classified as one) for the WWE years after his death.

* Wrestling/JeffHardy - Today, he's infamous for his drug problems, but he has always been an IWC favorite.
* Wrestling/MattHardy - Like his brother, his personal problems controlled his life; in this case they are weight problems.

* Wrestling/MarkHenry - The World's Strongest Man; a former Olympian became WWE's newest mega-monster heel in 2011 after 16+ years of wrestling.

* Wrestling/GailKim - WWE's first Korean Diva who won the Women's Title in her first match. Also the first ever TNA Knockouts Champion.

* Wrestling/{{Konnan}} - The biggest foreign-born star in Mexico. Helped found AAA and later became a star in WCW and TNA.

* Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa - The man who had the most five-star matches...ever; and no less important he also was Manga/TigerMask II.

* Wrestling/NatalyaNeidheart - Daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, niece of Bret "The Hitman" Hart and granddaughter of Stu Hart. She is considered one of the more talented Divas in WWE today.

* Wrestling/VinceRusso - '''The''' most controversial figure in professional wrestling history.

* Wrestling/RickySteamboat - A Hawaiian-born wrestler who became one of the industry's first superstar high-flyers. He has spent his entire career as a {{Face}}, arguably the most famous wrestler to have done so.

* Wrestling/KevinSullivan: Infamous {{Heel}} of the 1980s and 1990s who will probably be remembered for the Yeti and for losing his wife to Wrestling/ChrisBenoit.

* Wrestling/{{Vader}} - IT'S VADER TIME! He has been a star in both the US and Japan and one of the industry's most popular big men.

* The Four Horsemen - Wrestling's first "elite" stable, made up of RicFlair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Ole Anderson. The Horsemen are synonymous with excellence, breaking {{kayfabe}}, and BecomingTheMask.

* [[Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon Wrestling Shane [=McMahon=]]]- Vince [=McMahon's=] son, known for taking downright insane high-risk spots during his matches.

* Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon - Vince [=McMahon's=] son, known for taking downright insane high-risk spots during his matches.
* Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon - Daughter of Vince [=McMahon=], known for being the wife of Triple H.

* Wrestling/DGenerationX - Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/TripleH, Wrestling/{{Chyna}} and friends engage in, at best, fifth-grade-level "humor" and make millions as a result.

* The short story "Gig Marks" by Ed Ferrara (available in audio format [[http://pseudopod.org/2013/05/10/pseudopod-333-gig-marks/ here]].

* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} (An all women's wrestling fed based out of Chicago, used to have close ties to
[[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]], now loosely affiliated with Dragon Gate USA/EVOLVE. [Active - 2005- ]

* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} (An all women's wrestling fed based out of Chicago, used to have close ties to [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]], now loosely affiliated with Dragon Gate USA/EVOLVE. [Active - 2005- ]

** At the time of her debut in WWE, Wrestling/{{Lita}}'s style of wrestling stood out for moves like headscissors, hurricanranas, and moonsaults, barely used by women in WWE. These days (see the Trish example above) due to having to work extremely short matches all the time, the models brought in by WWE will often learn flashy moves like hurricanranas to make their matches appear more exciting and cover up their lack of wrestling ability. If the models are former gymnasts this can work fine and they eventually develop into competent wrestlers (Wrestling/EveTorres, Wrestling/KellyKelly) or they can just come across as sloppy {{spot monkey}}s (*cough* Ashley Massaro). Moves such as moonsaults and hurricanranas are more staples of women's wrestling these days than men's, at least in WWE due to the retirement of the Cruiserweight division.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: None of these televised wrestling matches seem to end when the show goes to commercial. But if they did, it would be really aggravating.

* AnyoneCanDie: Sadly, this is starting to become true as of late, as professional wrestlers nowadays seem to have very short lifespans. Prior to drug testing (which was implemented after one such death), wrestling has had a number of high-profile deaths that seem to come out of nowhere, most notably Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and Wrestling/EddieGuerrero. Certainly fans are now conditioned to expect any wrestler to die at any time.

* AscendedFanboy: Pick a wrestler who named a famous pro-wrestling event as the reason he got into the business: e.g., Mick Foley or Edge.

* BShow: Xplosion to Impact, Thunder to Nitro. People often cite Smackdown as a B-Show compared to RAW, but it's more like a second A-Show in terms of this trope.

* BadAss: Take your pick, Stone Cold, Taz, Goldberg, Lesnar...

* BadassGrandpa: Would ''you'' mess with Harley Race? or Ric Flair? or Terry Funk? or Hulk Hogan? or, for that matter, [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon the 67-year-old multi-millionaire who lets himself get hit in the head with steel chairs on national television?]]

* BallsOfSteel: This trope was used once when Chyna was wrestling Road Dogg and he wore a cup.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Used to varying degrees with woman wrestlers. WWE and TNA's women never bleed on purpose, by contrast Japanese women brutalise each other just as much as the men. Averted occasionally, particularly in 2002-03 in WWE where there were a lot of women's hardcore matches and the likes of Victoria and Trish Stratus bled quite a lot. Roxxi in TNA is another aversion.

* BlasphemousPraise: WWE billing Triple H as "King of Kings," seeing as how it is a title normally given to Jesus.

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: Most face/heel rivalries in Professional Wrestling play out like this, with most of the drama centered around the heel cheating and tricking his way to victory against a more powerful and/or skilled babyface. Whereas a heel who's legitimately skilled gets cheered a lot of the time, the heel still gets booed because the fans know he doesn't "deserve" to keep winning and are waiting until he finally gets demolished.

* {{Chickification}}: Happens to women wrestlers often when promoted from a indie promotion to a major one and or because of a poorly-executed gimmick change.

* CurbStompBattle: The technical term for this in pro wrestling circles is a "squash match". Not nearly as common nowdays as it was in the 80's, when most televised matches consisted of a star wrestler pitted against a hopeless "jobber" who would be destroyed in a matter of minutes without offering any offence at all. Still occasionally happens in modern times, especially if a wrestler is being given a "Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} push."

* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: All the time.

* EasilyDistractedReferee: You have to wonder if these referees have ever seen a woman before, given their reactions to a valet shaking what God/their friendly plastic surgeon gave her.

* FoeYay: Pretty much any wrestlers involved in a feud can have this.

* FunWithAcronyms: Rosey, Super-Hero In Training, The S.H.I.T?

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: A lot of wrestlers working in America remain hugely popular in their country of origin or descent, despite being low-card acts in the US. Some examples:

* GoodIsDumb: Generally played straight, although occasionally subverted. Batista, who [[HeelFaceTurn turned face]] when he heard his stablemates plotting against him and who displayed above average keenness as a face, is the biggest of those.

* HoYay - While virtually everything about wrestling is this, special mention should go to old video packages meant to showcase tag teams to female audiences, such as the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asukXln1rMc New Generation video.]]

* InvincibleHero: A complaint most infamously leveled against Hulk Hogan, currently at John Cena. Tends to get invoked against any {{Face}} champion, though.

*** Ditto for Jeff Jarrett from 2003-2006, so much that fans called him "Triple J" and chanted for him to "DROP THE TITLE!" whenever he appeared.

* JumpingTheShark: Professional wrestling has its own specific flavors. Both are just as subjective as the trope itself but are recognized and worked around by bookers and promoters.

* MusclesAreMeaningless: Somewhat surprisingly, you don't have to have tremendous physical strength to execute a number of non-luchador moves. Part of this is the fact that a large number of moves require (or are much more safely performed) with the cooperation of the person getting slammed or what have you.

* RageQuit: Via intentional disqualification (or count out) by the (usually) {{Heel}} champion who knows the (usually) {{Face}} challenger has them beat. Often leads to a "Title changes hands via DQ (or count out)" stipulation being added to prevent this.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Wrestlers' real-life issues often provide fodder for their self-based characters' wrestling storylines.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: As the years passed, many things in pro wrestling that used to be unique or shocking have become commonplace. Examples follow...

* SeriousBusiness: There is absolutely no situation that cannot be resolved with a wrestling match on PAY PER VIEW! ORDER NOW!

* [[ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet There Are No Female Wrestling Fans]]: And if there are, the assumption is that they're shrieking fangirls who don't know a Sharpshooter from a suplex.

* YouHaveToHaveJews: Notoriously averted. World Wrestling Entertainment has (at least in recent years) gained a reputation for welcoming athletes of all ethnic backgrounds, except that it's one of the most goyish entertainment franchises in history. In the past decade alone, Glen Jacobs (otherwise known as "Kane") and Bill Goldberg have been the only two Jewish wrestlers to reach main-event status, and then only briefly. Scotty Goldman (a.k.a. Wrestling/ColtCabana) famously quit the company after enduring anti-Semitic harassment from his trainer, and Paul Heyman has been outspoken in his condemnation of latent anti-Semitism in the wrestling business.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Has become a standby for Money in the Bank winners. The big fan-favorite face has just retained his championship title in a grueling effort against all odds - and, often enough, against multiple opponents. Thinking the battle is finally over, he lifts the belt triumphantly above his head to the delirious cheers of the crowd. But....not so fast, bucko! An ominous entrance theme blares over the P.A. and the face's mortal enemy - the promotion's most dastardly heel - struts into the arena carrying his Money in the Bank championship opportunity contract, which he has acquired either fairly or not. The big main-event match starts all over again as the heel cashes in his contract and - following a brave but futile effort by the exhausted face - gets a pinfall to become the new World Champion.

* Wrestling/{{HUSTLE}} [Defunct - 2004-2009]

* [[Wrestling/TooColdScorpio 2 Cold Scorpio]]- One of the top [[IHaveTheHighGround high flyers]] of the last 20 years, he spent most of his career in ECW.