Wrestler Court?

[YoungFlyFlashy]

VERY LONG, BUT VERY INTERESTING

While Storm description describes "Wrestler Court" in a nut shell, I'll take some time to elaborate on the topic and share with you some modern day occurrences as well as imitations stemming from this practice. To start at the start, wrestlers are viewed as being members of a fraternity. This train of thought dates back to the days of the Carnival shows. There is a tight circle of people that are let into the circle of knowledge and it doesn't leave that circle. This spawned Kayfabe, earlier known as "Carny Speak". Now, wrestling's inner circle of knowledge has been whored out and improperly practiced across the country all the while damning it's storied history. Despite popular belief that Kayfabe ended when Vince McMahon in the early 90's came out in the open and said that wrestling had predetermined finishes, there is still closely guarded secrets and practices that still remain in tact. When in the mid-90's when wrestling was starting to go on the up swing, several wrestlers started opening up wrestling schools all across the country. In the old days there was only a set number of people that would be permitted to train would be wrestlers and those were people who had either been affiliated with the NWA council or an established promotion that survived the end of the territory days. Training back then was a privilege because you determined who would be inducted into the fraternity. You would break the spirits of any and all people who walked through your door and you humbled them until they proved that they really wanted to be a wrestler. Guys like Boris Melenko would train his guys with 6 months of extreme workouts and cardio fitness training before even allowing them to step foot in the ring. Being a wrestler back then was a big deal. For those that survived that training long enough to get in the ring suffered a new set of challenges. This would range from anything from intentionally being hurt to being bullied in and out of the ring from the vets. Times are very different now though so anyone considering being a wrestler can rest a little easier. Although I will let you know that certain people try to practice some of the old school tactics but it's not authentic. This is where the whoring out comes into play. I'll get into that in a minute. You have to keep in mind that while these wrestlers where giving these up and comers a real hard time to get into the sport, they had gone through the same thing on their way up and once your in, you'll seldom find a bond like these wrestlers share/shared. With regards to the whoring out of this tradition, several wrestlers who weren't nearly qualified to train started to open schools across the country. While some would train with somewhat good intentions, they would utilize the traditional methods of training as a means of earning cash. What they would do is get payment upfront and then butcher the guys who got in the ring so much so that they quit. Wouldn't you know it that they didn't have a refund policy. At some point later I will share some indie stories of the typical weekend warrior as well as some of the names of certain name recognizable wrestlers that practiced the wrestling school scam. In the same article I will address the Tom Brandi/Patriot problem as well as other people claiming to be famous masked wrestlers. Seeing as that we have demonstrated how someone gets into the "Wrestling Family", I'll now fill you in on "Wrestler Court", how it came about and what role it plays today. In recent months there has been talk about the Raven/WWE lawsuit to which Raven was claiming that WWE had their wrestlers under contract but their actions dictated that they were actual employees and not Independent Contractors per WWE's contract with the talent. With that, WWE enforces certain policies within it's locker room but it's the wrestlers themselves that formulated their own type of justice. First and foremost, these wrestlers are of a single unit. It's a rule of thumb that if you have a problem or a complaint, you don't run to management, you deal with it internally. Back in the late 80's and early 90's certain wrestlers were over exercising their power and pull in the back which made things very one sided in the locker room. Out of this situation arose the formation of the "Wrestler Court". In "Wrestler Court" any and all problems among the "Boys" would be handled internally and the punishment for these infractions would be ruled and carried out among their peers. Undertaker was appointed Judge of the court primarily because he was universally liked among the talent but also had a history of providing guidance to the younger talents while still keeping the respect of those before him. "Wrestler Court" takes place before shows. In fractions that are tried can range from Seat Assignment as noted by Lance Storm to the execution of a rib by a younger talent on seasoned vet. When a wrestlers commits an infraction, they can either represent themselves or they can appoint someone to speak on their behalf. The person who speaks on their behalf must be a veteran and must be present at the time the infraction occurred. The prosecutor is usually the person to which was affected by the defendant's actions or they are represented by a vet as per the criteria stated before. The trials last no more than 30 minutes and it operates independently but WWE does see merit in these actions and a lot of the times will help endorse the ruling. Some of the punishments that are handed down include having to carry the bags for the person you offended to doing an embarrassing act in front of the live crowd. It should be noted though that these acts are reserved for Live Events only and not at TV event. As noted by Lance Storm, JBL has on many occasions served as a prosecutor and Bubba Ray has served as the defense attorney on more than a fair share of "trials". Wrestler Court is still actively practiced in WWE and a lot of smaller indie shows have tried to incorporate it into their own locker room. That being said, Lance had stated that he didn't know of any other places that held "Court" but I can tell you that the practice has indeed made it's way to TNA. It was initiated by some of the WWE cast offs that now found a home in TNA. One of the first cases to held in TNA was between Matt Bentley and Alex Shelly. The Judge at the time was Jerry Lynn and both wrestlers represented themselves. The case was based on the fact that Shelly didn't agree to any of the spots in the match that he would have to take and he tried to make several changes to the layout of said match. Bentley didn't take to kindly to that and had a very intense scuffle with Shelly right at the base of the then Heel Entrance Ramp. Jerry Lynn was the agent for the match so they decided that Jerry should serve as the judge. This case didn't go very well. The end result was that that Shelly popped off at the mouth again as he is prone to do which caused Bentley to haul off and take a swing at Shelly. Bentley was stopped mid-swing and this ended the "trial". Jerry told the both of them that he was out of it and they had to settle this on their own. He added that if they wanted to exchange blows in the ring and work stiff with one another then have at it so long as it doesn't interfere with the quality of the Match. It was also stipulated that if one hits the other first they must agree to accept the others receipt but if they chose to take that route they both had to agree that after the match the issue would be considered closed. Should something happen going beyond the match it was stated that they would both be talking with Jarrett and it wouldn't end well for either of them. Back to the WWE side of things, when the brand "Split" the wrestlers needed a new judge. Depending on the circumstances a judge was appointed on a case by case basis. One of the more widely reported issues that was tried in "Wrestler Court" was the altercation between Goldberg and Jericho. This was when Goldberg attempted to bully Jericho and ended up being choked out for his troubles. Triple H served as the judge in that trial and well, things didn't end well with that. Triple H said that Goldberg had no respect for the sport and those who worked hard for him to get the paycheck he was given. He was found guilty by his wrestling peers for attempted bullying of a veteran of their locker room but his punishment not that big of a deal. All he had to do was apologize to Jericho and state that Jericho was the superior wrestler among the two of them. As a side note, Goldberg was a not a fan of wrestling court at all. He was used to being protected and treated as an untouchable talent but his peers didn't share those feelings.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

2005:

Several weeks ago, Lance Storm warned prospective Ohio Valley Wrestling call-ups about the backstage atmosphere in WWE. Known for ribbing and other juvenile conduct, those close to the situation definitely support Storm's decision to warn future wrestlers about the WWE lockerroom. However, his warning caused a problem with two key WWE "lockerroom leaders." In his speech, Storm specifically targeted the SmackDown! lockerroom, which has a more "old school" atomosphere (more ribs and immature behavior). Specifically, JBL and Bob Holly run a "Wrestlers' Court," where talent can be sentenced to do humiliating tasks to appease the veterans. Johnny Jeter reportedly ended up getting in trouble with the wrestler's court for complaining about being stuck in a tag team. "Judge" JBL ruled that Jeter would have to supply the former champion with beer and also watch hours of tag matches to gain a better apprecation for the pro wrestling tag team. Storm was not at all pleased and told Jeter to ignore the sentence. During WrestleMania weekend, Bob Holly and JBL expressed frustration with Lance Storm's comments to Jeter. Bob Holly told Storm to "f*ck off" and JBL actually challenged the retired wrestler to a fight. Storm settled the confrontation without punches, which caused a mixed lockerroom reaction. At heart, WWE roster members believe Storm was in the right, but the fact that he 'backed down' from a fight didn't help his reputation.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

From Hardy's book:

The night The Hardy's won their first Tag Team championship, their manager at the time Micheal Hayes was in a cocky mood. When they were on a plane going to their next venue, Hayes wanted first class seats on the count of being the manager of the tag champs. So they went up to the first class, but and found three seats. One of the seats belonged to Kane who wasn't sitting in the seat at the time because he was waiting for D'lo Brown at the gate with D'lo's plane ticket. Hayes told the Hardys to take the seat and when Kane came to his seat he found Jeff sitting in his seat. Jeff got up to give it to him but Kane refused saying "No no, you take it" and sat in the lower classes. Some of the wrestlers got word of this and I think Bradshaw came up to them and told them they were to go to wrestler's court. Undertaker also talked to them as they were getting off the plane, saying that he knew it was Micheal Haye's fault and that they weren't going to be getting into serious trouble, but they still had to attend wrestlers' court.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

In Matt and Jeff Hardy's book Exist 2 Inspire, they mention an incident they had with The Court while it was still headed by The Undertaker: "We got to the next house show and Bradshaw told us, 'You guys have been sentenced to Wrestler's Court. Your trial is set for next week at Raw.' Wrestler's Court is exactly what it sounds like. All the wrestlers gather in the locker room, and they hold a mock trial. Taker is the judge and Bradshaw is the prosecuting attorney. It's pretty scary, because once you get up there on the stand, everybody's against you."[1] This forum has also been known to be a part of hazing and bullying newer wrestlers which sometimes has led to drastic results. As recent as 2006, three wrestlers, Chad Wicks, John Toland, and Brian Mailhot quit or had their contracts terminated in relation to the actions from The Court. However, it is also used when they feel someone is getting too big for their boots. In shows leading up to TNA Wrestling's TNA Bound for Glory Pay Per View in 2006, Kevin Nash put on a skit making fun of the Wrestler's Court when announcing a tournament involving X Division wrestlers.

[CSL]

Yeah, it's pretty well known. The Intrepid Traveller isn't a fan.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

Originally Posted by CSL Yeah, it's pretty well known. The Intrepid Traveller isn't a fan.

I never knew any of this.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

WrestleZone.com can now confirm and add to the story that Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net reported earlier today regarding a rib Sheik Abdul Bashir played on Kip James that resulted in a fun, mostly scripted "wrestler's court" after the Impact tapings this week. To clarify, our sources wanted to put over how their version of "wrestler's court" was not like WWE's version where wrestlers seriously try to beat down the person being "charged". They were simply having fun while they waited for the writers to come out of a meeting. It was a lot of fun for everyone that ended up in a huge party after the Impact Tapings. The rib took place on a plane that boarded Bashir, Kip James, and Rhino. Bashir told the flight attendant to announce that it was Kip James' 66th birthday. Bashir was then taken to "wrestler's court" because they decided he hadn't been in the company long enough to pull a rib over on a veteran. Brother Ray served as the judge, Brother Devon was going to represent Bashir until he showed up late to court and was fired by Bashir. Bashir then decided to represent himself. B.G. James represented Kip and agent Pat Kenney (Simon Diamond) served as the bailiff. Rhino was supposed to be Kip's witness. However, he turned heel in the court and ended up being Bashir's surprise witness. Rhino helped Bashir prove that Kip had actually been lying about his age and that he was at least 66 years old or older. Note: Bashir and Rhino literally doctored up 1970's images and placed Kip's picture in the background. The photos of Kip were of him in his 30's, which by mathematics, would make him in his 60's today. They kicked Vince Russo and WrestleZone.com's own Glenn Gilbertti out of the courtroom claiming it was "Wrestler's Only". The result ended up with Bashir taking a plea bargain which made him buy beer for the entire locker room. He did and numerous TNA wrestlers and wrestling personalities had a huge party after the tapings. Apparently, there are plans to possibly bring charges against Kip James at the next tapings due to Kip not staying and participating in the party.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

Just watched Ivory's shoot interview (the new one) and she talks about wrestlers court in the WWE locker room. She mentions an occassion where Triple H was the judge and Val Venis taking the WWE Divas to wrestlers court because he said the Divas losing a game of dodgeball to the Diva Search women made the current roster look bad as athletes, and Ivory was the lawyor for the WWE Divas. Completely mental, but thats how things go in there. Apparently Undertaker is usually the judge, but Triple H took this case on. She also mentioned you could sway the decision if you bought the judge a present!

[CSL]

Originally Posted by YoungFlyFlashy I never knew any of this.

There's a bunch of stories knocking around. I believe the Hardys 'sentence' from the snippet you posted up there was to fuck with Don Callis/Cyrus, they had to break off matchsticks in the locks of his car and other stuff to make things a bit shit for him.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

In one of Foley's books he mentions Al snow and himself going to wrestlers court for buggering off and stranding Bob Holly. I think they paid his road expenses for a week as punishment.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

Originally Posted by CSL There's a bunch of stories knocking around. I believe the Hardys 'sentence' from the snippet you posted up there was to fuck with Don Callis/Cyrus, they had to break off matchsticks in the locks of his car and other stuff to make things a bit shit for him.

lol, the world of jocks.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

London and Kendrick shoot - London talks about being woken up in the small hours of the morning to attend a wrestler's court and comes across as being rather aggrieved that his rest was disrupted for such trivial nonsense. Which is fair enough, it does sound like childish bollocks - the sort of thing wrestlers would do if they were freemasons or some guff

[YoungFlyFlashy]

Spring/Summer 2005 in an early bout on a house show card a fairly new guy on the roster was working as a heel did the frogsplash. Apparently Eddie Guerrero was fuming about it as he was in the main event, and felt his move wouldn't get over with the crowd since they'd seen it already by the newbie. At the hotel that night they held a wrestlers court on the roof of the skyscarper tall building. I honestly can't remember the "sentence", but apparently the guy was so scared he genuinely thought there was a chance he was gonna get thrown off the roof. This might sound mental and unrealistic, but if you put it in context of being manhandled from your hotel room and dragged to roof of a skyscraper you can appreciate the concern! The story was told to me and other guys who happened to be ex WWE, and 1 of them was nodding acknowledging that it rang a bell, and at the end he verified that he'd been told about it.

[YoungFlyFlashy]

Booker T's victory in the fight with Batista has earn him extra lockerroom respect. One source stated that Booker T dominated Batista due to having more street fighting experience. Booker T did take a very personal verbal shot at Batista, however, one source said that it did not come until the situation became very heated. No one blames Booker T for what he did, as the general feeling backstage is that Batista has become very arrogant since wining the World Title. The latest on the Booker T-Batista fight at the commercial shoot for Summerslam 2006 is that it was real. Batista's face was apparently cut up after the incident with Booker T having a black eye that was visible on SmackDown! last week. A close friend of Batista informed everyone it was a work, but many speculate it is just so Batista can save face since Booker T was the clear winner of the fight. Batista was supposedly rubbing people the wrong way while talking about how SmackDown!'s ratings has dropped since he's been gone and basically making it like he was the only attraction on SmackDown! The SmackDown! locker room has always had heat on Batista since Batista did interviews where he would be praising the RAW show and putting down SmackDown! to great lengths. Many have gone so far as to say that JBL sand-bagged his three matches with Batista as a way of paying him back for the insults. Batista did hang out with Eddie Guerrero backstage shortly before his death and that won him over some friends, but the fact that Batista thinks he's a star as big as The Rock or Steve Austin doesn't help matters. Batista does not carry himself backstage like Triple H or The Undertaker, but he does act superior to midcard veterans who have yet to receive a main-event opportunity as he did. WWE.com reported that the fight lasted five minutes, though the brawl itself only lasted thirty seconds. From the time the argument started till they were broken up though, five minutes had passed. Booker T got into an argument with Batista over his comments and Booker T apparently gave him many opportunities to back off, as he's a laid back person by everyone's standards, but Batista kept going with the argument. Rey Mysterio was there during the argument trying to act as a peacemaker as he most often does backstage and after the fight, the roster shot Batista many dirty looks which left Batista visibly upset since no one stuck up for him. So far, neither wrestlers has been punished or reprimanded. Source: pwrestlingnews.com

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

[Asmo]

Interesting read. So with the Undertaker gone, who would you assume to be the judges on Raw & Smackdown?

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Does this still even go on? I kind of figured they stopped doing it after the bullies like JBL and Hardcore Holly left.

[DLVH84]

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon Does this still even go on? I kind of figured they stopped doing it after the bullies like JBL and Hardcore Holly left.

More likely. And with Undertaker gone, my best bet is Triple H is the new judge.


If TNA had a Wrestlers' Court, I believe Sting or Jeff Jarrett should be the judge. Sting, because he's respected by all his peers. And Jarrett, because he started the company from scratch.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

What do they call it now that the word wrestling is taboo? Entertainer's court? WWE Court?

[Hanso Amore]

Trips is the only one I would think could "HOLD COURT" since he is the last of the old school guys. Look at the WWE, not one star I can think of other than HHH debuted before 2002 other than Christian who was gone for quite some time. This seems like an older tradition that these current guys really have no reason to follow, or even the right to pull.

[Innovator]

Regal and Chavo I think might have the longest tenure as guys around the locker room amongst "active wrestlers"

[DLVH84]

Originally Posted by Innovator Regal and Chavo I think might have the longest tenure as guys around the locker room amongst "active wrestlers"

How about Mark Henry? He's been with WWE since 1996? Or even Jerry Lawler, who's been there since 1992?

[Hanso Amore]

I dont see Lawler as part of the locker room.

[erickman]

Originally Posted by Innovator Regal and Chavo I think might have the longest tenure as guys around the locker room amongst "active wrestlers"

i can see how tough a judge chavo would be on smackdown, that shows anumber 1 jobber, he would be mean as hell to the young guys.

[M-A-G]

This is what happens when you let a bunch of sophomoric immature jocks run themselves. WTF are the road agents for?

[DAMN iNATOR]

Originally Posted by SlickyTrickyDamon

"Uh-oh! 3 minutes 'til Judge Wapner!..."

[erickman]

i forgot about kane they can let him be the smackdown judge

[Jordan]

God I wanna see highly produced WWE film footage of this so bad. I think I would be in Wrestleheaven.

[Next Big Thing]

Big Show could probably do it too. This was a good read. I wouldn't mind watching a Wrestler's Roundtable about that.

[McLegend]

I have no problem with Wrestlers court. I think it's good to have them policing themselves even if some of the stuff does seem dumb.

Also Cena would probably run "Wrestlers Court" now.

[Jordan]

Kharma for Judge, Jury, and Executioner