Not everybody in wrestling gets that big push, and these guys are the workers who helped push the next star by being glorified sparring partners if we were to borrow a boxing term. In this piece, these journeymen will be referred to as "preliminary wrestlers." In wrestling, we have what many fans unfairly call "jobbers" or "underneath guys." Now, most wrestlers themselves would rather be called "professional wrestlers," and recently, WWE has decided to name them "enhancement talent." Nonetheless, we can agree that these undercard performers were there to make the other guy look good, and they rarely (more like seldom) won a match. Just ask Ellis Mbeh, AKA "Shocked Undertaker Guy." Or the tears of joy fans shed for Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth at WrestleMania VII. Even with fixed outcomes, wrestling can elicit just as much shock and surprise in its fans like any other "legit" sport. They can be as unexpected and shocking as any upset in competitive sports. If you didn’t know this, I apologize, and I won’t go into the secrets of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny either.ĭespite the nature of wrestling being a work, the upsets are considered "real," and the fans can live them just as passionately as the examples of "legit" sports above. They’re cooperating to entertain the crowd. Sure, if you’re a fan and a regular reader of Pro Wrestling Stories, you know our beloved sport is a work where the wrestlers are not really competing against each other. When it comes to upsets in wrestling, every generation has a match or two that will always be remembered and talked about years later. Or even another college basketball example when Villanova stunned Georgetown in the 1984 NCAA final.īut enough of that. We could name other notable upsets such as the Duke Blue Devils eliminating the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in the 1991 NCAA Tournament semifinal. It was never supposed to happen, but it did. Let’s just say this win by Gardner was like yours truly defeating Lou Thesz in a shoot match. In turn, Gardner was seen as merely a stepping-stone for his next conquest. Karelin was like a perfect, unbeatable wrestling machine, and possibly the best Greco-Roman wrestler of all time. The story is of Rulon Gardner, a dairy farmer from Wyoming who won the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics after defeating Alexsandr Karelin, who’d gone an astounding 13 years undefeated, and 6 years without giving up a point. Here seen not yet reaching for his mouthpiece at mid-count! Another upset that will surely echo throughout the ages was in Greco-Roman wrestling. Mike Tyson’s world came crashing down when he was defeated by the 42-1 underdog James "Buster" Douglas in 1990. It is widely regarded as one of the biggest upsets in any sport. That fateful bout held at Japan’s Tokyo Dome, changed both competitors’ lives forever, and the sport of boxing was left reeling in the confusing aftermath. Douglas, who was, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, a 42-1 underdog, was supposed to go down and go down hard like all of Tyson’s previous opponents. On February 11th, 1990, fight fans will remember James "Buster" Douglas and his TKO victory over an "Iron Mike" Tyson, who was proving unbeatable entering the bout with a 37-0 record. In 1980 The "Miracle on Ice" saw the impossible happen when the USA team of amateurs defeated the heavily-favored Soviets consisting of mostly professional players with significant international experience. It was a David versus Goliath scenario where David was left standing, and the whole country became hockey fans for that moment in time. The USSR had won the gold medal in 5 of the previous 6 Winter Olympic Games. ![]() In the midst of the Cold War in 1980, a team of young amateurs on the USA men’s national ice hockey team upset the mighty Soviet Olympic squad comprised of professionals in what is now known as the "Miracle on Ice." These two teams didn’t even belong in the same building. "Broadway" Joe Namath led his team to Super Bowl glory in 1969 and proved that the odds are just a number to be ignored in football. This is still the Jets’ only Super Bowl win. Namath guaranteed a victory, and he delivered the shocker. Becoming World Series champs after only their 8th season in existence without the advantage of today’s free agency system? Fuhgeddaboutit!īaltimore would again succumb to a New York team, but this time in American football during the 1969 Super Bowl III contest held between "Broadway" Joe Namath’s Jets, 18-point underdogs, and the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts. Them having a winning one seemed an impossibility. The Mets, for years, consistently lost at least 100 games per season. Notable upsets include the 1969 New York Mets baseball team coined "The Miracle Mets” who upset the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
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