Terry Gene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s, and as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club, originally founded in 1933 as the Minnesota-based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), breaking away from the NWA and becoming an independent territory in 1960.
Vincent James Russo is an American professional wrestling writer, booker and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in creative roles. He also occasionally made appearances as an on-screen authority figure, and professional wrestler, in WCW and TNA.
James Ray Hart is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "The Mouth of the South".
Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr., nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Daniel DiLucchio is an American Midget professional wrestler best known by his ring name Short Sleeve Sampson. Sampson works on the independent circuit, mainly for Micro Championship Wrestling, TNT Pro Wrestling, and Midget Wrestling Warriors. He has also occasionally made appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment.
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of cable television and pay-per-view, coupled with the efforts of promoters such as Vince McMahon, saw professional wrestling shift from a system controlled by numerous regional companies to one dominated by two nationwide companies: McMahon's World Wrestling Federation and Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The decade also saw a considerable decline in the power of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a cartel which had until then dominated the wrestling landscape, and in the efforts to sustain belief in the kayfabe of wrestling.
Professional wrestling in the United States, until the 1920s, was viewed as a legitimate sport. This view did not endure into the 1930s, as professional wrestling became identified with modern theatrics. The scripted nature of the art has made some critics view it as an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, and amateur wrestling. No major promoter or wrestler denies that modern professional wrestling has predetermined match outcomes. Despite this, promoters and fans continued to play along with the tradition of viewing the matches as legitimate competition; this has become a tradition known as "kayfabe".
Matthew Bowman is an American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, who has worked for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and various other promotions on the independent circuit. He also works at the Independent Pro Wrestling Association Wrestling School and has trained several wrestlers who later worked for major promotions.
Chris Jackson is an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, known by his ringname Cueball Carmichael, who competes in the Mid-Atlantic and East Coast independent circuit. He has wrestled and won titles in the Allied Powers Wrestling Federation, King Kong Bundy's Devastation Wrestling Federation, Maryland Championship Wrestling, Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, the National Wrestling Alliance, Phoenix Championship Wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling and Steel City Wrestling.
William Perry Blake III, better known by the ring name "Hard Rock" Ricky Blues, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and trainer who competed in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during the 1990s and 2000s. He is regarded as a pioneering cruiserweight wrestler and dominated the Baltimore-area, especially in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation and Maryland Championship Wrestling, in the early to mid-1990s.
Scotty "Hot Body" Summers is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in regional and independent promotions throughout the United States and Canada during the 1990s and 2000s. One-half of Hot Paradise with Johnny Paradise, the two held the unified tag team titles of Border City Wrestling and Motor City Wrestling for almost two years. He also had brief stints in Eastern Championship Wrestling, Midwest Territorial Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation before ending his career, like many former MCW stars, in the old Central States territory.
Chad Slivenski is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Chad Bowman, who competed in East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions during the 1990s and 2000s. Early in his career, Slivenski spent time in regional promotions such as the United States Wrestling Association and Smoky Mountain Wrestling before their close in the mid-1990s, and made occasional appearances as a preliminary wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment.
Daniel McDevitt, best known by his ring name Corporal Punishment, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. His career spans over a decade working in numerous independent promotions throughout the United States including the American Wrestling Federation, Extreme Championship Wrestling, Cueball Carmichael's Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance, Doug Flex's International Pro Wrestling, Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling, House of Pain Wrestling Federation / National Wrestling League, and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Richard Ellinger, better known by his ring name Meatball, is an American professional wrestler who is signed to Micro Championship Wrestling.
Patrick Clark Jr. is an American professional wrestler currently performing on the independent circuit under the ring name Velveteen Man. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Velveteen Dream from 2015 to 2021.
James McMath, better known by his ring name Robbie Eagles, is an Australian professional wrestler who currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of The Mighty Don't Kneel. He is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and was one-half of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions with his partner Tiger Mask IV. Eagles is also a former member of Bullet Club and Chaos.
Jermaine Haley is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Bronson Reed. He is a former NXT North American Champion.
Brendan Vink is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Duke Hudson, is a member of Chase University, and is a former NXT Tag Team Champion with Andre Chase. He is also known for his time in Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW), where he was a part of The Mighty Don't Kneel.
Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television LLC is a Los Angeles based production company, founded in 2003 by Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey. The company produces and broadcasts various formed of television entertainment, including reality and games shows. Their first show was I Want To Be a Hilton. In addition, the company was involved in producing mobile games.
