1.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
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Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in the east central portion of the state and it is situated on Fountain Creek and is located 60 miles south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. At 6,035 feet the city stands over 1 mile above sea level, Colorado Springs is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, rising above 14,000 feet on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The city is home to 24 national governing bodies of sport, the United States Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Training Center. The city had an population of 456,568 in 2015, ranking as the second most populous city in the state of Colorado, behind Denver. The Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an population of 712,327 in 2016. The city covers 194.9 square miles, making it the most extensive municipality in Colorado, Colorado Springs was ranked number five by U. S. News & World Report on the list of 2016 Best Places to Live in the USA. The Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first to inhabit the area which would become Colorado Springs, part of the territory included in the United States 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the current city area was designated part of the 1854 Kansas Territory. In 1859, after the first local settlement was established, it part of the Jefferson Territory on October 24. Colorado City at the Front Range confluence of Fountain and Camp creeks was formally organized on August 13,1859 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. It served as the capital of the Colorado Territory from November 5,1861, until August 14,1862, in 1871 the Colorado Springs Company laid out the towns of La Font and Fountain Colony, upstream and downstream respectively, of Colorado City. Within a year, Fountain Colony would be renamed Colorado Springs, the El Paso County seat shifted from Colorado City in 1873 to the Town of Colorado Springs. On December 1,1880, Colorado Springs expanded northward with two annexations, the second period of annexations was during 1889–90, and included Seaveys Addition, West Colorado Springs, East End, and another North End addition. In 1891 the Broadmoor Land Company built the Broadmoor suburb, which included the Broadmoor Casino, and by December 12,1895, by 1898, the city was designated into quadrants by the north-south Cascade Avenue and the east-west Washington/Pikes Peak avenues. From 1899 to 1901 Tesla Experimental Station operated on Knob Hill, alexander Airport north of the city opened in 1925, and in 1927 the original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport land was purchased east of the city. In World War II the United States Army Air Forces leased land adjacent to the municipal airfield and this was only one of several military presences in and around Colorado Springs during the war. In November 1950, Ent Air Force Base was selected as the Cold War headquarters for Air Defense Command. The former WWII Army Air Base, Peterson Field, which had been inactivated at the end of the war, was re-opened in 1951 as a U. S. Air Force base
2.
Seattle
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Seattle is a seaport city on the west coast of the United States and the seat of King County, Washington. With an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. In July 2013, it was the major city in the United States. The city is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border, a major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2015. The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, the settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay and named Seattle in 1852, after Chief Siahl of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late-19th century, growth after World War II was partially due to the local Boeing company, which established Seattle as a center for aircraft manufacturing. The Seattle area developed as a technology center beginning in the 1980s, in 1994, Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs existed along Jackson Street, from the current Chinatown/International District, to the Central District, the jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson, and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock musician Jimi Hendrix and the alternative rock subgenre grunge, archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least 4,000 years. By the time the first European settlers arrived, the people occupied at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay, the first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest. In 1851, a party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River. Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party, members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28,1851. The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, after a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps. For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps competed for dominance, david Swinson Doc Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, was the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Sealth of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. The name Seattle appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23,1853, in 1855, nominal land settlements were established. On January 14,1865, the Legislature of Territorial Washington incorporated the Town of Seattle with a board of managing the city
3.
Josh Barnett
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Joshua Lawrence Barnett is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. He is the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the inaugural and he has also won the King of Pancrase Openweight Championship and was a finalist in the PRIDE2006 Openweight Grand Prix and the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Championship. Barnett claims a mixed martial arts record of over 50-8 when both sanctioned and unsanctioned bouts are counted and he has also competed in Affliction, World Victory Road, DREAM and Impact FC. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Barnett had a troubled childhood and he was put into anger management programs at a young age and learned to cope with his anger by participating in athletics. Barnett attended Ballard High School, where he excelled at wrestling, football, after seeing UFC2 as a sophomore, he decided that he wanted to be a mixed martial arts fighter. Barnett had originally attended the University of Montana to play football for the school as a walk-on, at the recommendation of an instructor at Montana, Barnett went to train at the dojo of Jim Harrison. Although he did not have the money for classes, he received training in exchange for helping with maintenance, Barnetts documented professional debut was in early 1997 in Washington, competing for United Full Contact Federation. He won via rear-naked choke submission under three minutes into the fight and he would continue to dominate, reaching a 9-0 record with seven first-round stoppages and wins over future UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn, Bobby Hoffman, John Marsh, and Bob Gilstrap twice. With a 9-0 record, Barnett was invited to compete in the UFC, Barnett made his UFC debut at UFC28 on November 17,2000 against 610 Gan The Giant McGee and Barnett won via TKO in the second round. Subsequent to his win over Hoffman, Barnett tested positive for banned substances and was given a warning by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Barnett was then given a title shot for the UFC Heavyweight Championship against then-champion and future UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture. He won via TKO after using the ground and pound technique and became the new, however, after the bout it was revealed that he had again tested positive for banned substances and his title was stripped. Barnett competed in MMA in both PRIDE and Pancrase in Japan, while in Pancrase, he won its Openweight Grand Prix Championship by defeating Yuki Kondo. Winning this title put him alongside the likes of Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, in his first fight in PRIDE, at PRIDE28 against Croatian Mirko Filipović, he suffered a simultaneous fracture and dislocated shoulder injury that required surgery and over six months of rehab. His first fight back post-injury was a rematch against Filipović at Pride 30 and he came back with a win against Kazuhiro Nakamura at PRIDE31. Barnett later beat Alexander Emelianenko by a submission in the second round of the PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix at PRIDE Total Elimination Absolute. He submitted Mark Hunt via kimura in the first round of the Openweight Grand Prix at Pride Critical Countdown Absolute and he said, you know, Sorry and I said to him that he was winning that night and it was an accident. This also marked the time he was beaten by the MMA legend. Next, Barnett fought the Polish Judo gold medalist Pawel Nastula at PRIDE32, to fight again in Nevada, the Nevada State Athletic Commission required that Barnett pass a mandatory drug test
4.
Kickboxing
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Kickboxing is a group of stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from Karate, Muay Thai, Kun Khmer, and Boxing. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or as a contact sport, Japanese kickboxing originated in the 1960s, with competitions held since then. American kickboxing originated in the 1970s and was brought to prominence in September 1974, historically, kickboxing can be considered a hybrid martial art formed from the combination of elements of various traditional styles. There is no international governing body. Consequently, there is no single kickboxing world championship, and champion titles are issued by individual promotions, such as K-1, Glory, SUPERKOMBAT, Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, among others. Bouts organized under different governing bodies apply different rules, such as allowing the use of knees or clinching, the term kickboxing can be used in a narrow and in a wide sense. The narrow use is restricted to the styles that self-identify as kickboxing, i. e. Japanese Kickboxing, Dutch Kickboxing, and American Kickboxing. In the wider sense, it includes all combat sports that allow both punching and kicking, including Muay Thai, Kun Khmer, Savate, Adithada, Lethwei, Sanda. The term was also adopted by the American variant. Arts labeled as kickboxing in the general sense include, The Indochinese family of kickboxing sports including, Thai Muay Boran – Predecessor of Muay Thai, allows the use of headbutts. Thai kickboxing or Muay Thai – the modern Thai martial art with emphasis on knee. Burmese Lethwei, a traditional Burmese martial art of which has now grown into a popular kickboxing event with strong emphasis on knee, elbow strikes, any part of the body may be used to strike and be struck. It is also known as Bando kickboxing, Laotian Muay Lao – Laotian boxing which is similar to Muay Thai Filipino Yaw-Yan – Sayaw ng Kamatayan is the proper name for Yaw-Yan, a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon Fernandez. The art resembles Muay Thai in a sense, but differs in the hip torquing motion as well as downward-cutting nature of its kicks, indian Musti yuddha and Adithada, a form of kickboxing that uses knee, elbow and forehead strikes in Southern kalaripayattu. French Savate, a sport which developed in the 19th century. Any style of Full contact Karate Sanda – The applicable component of wushu/kung fu of which takedowns, shoot boxing – A Japanese form of kickboxing which allows throwing and submission while standing, similar to Sanda. Since kickboxing is a term that can be used both in a wide and narrow sense, this can make understanding the history somewhat difficult. Some of the earliest forms of kickboxing included the various Indochinese martial arts especially muay boran, however, in terms of modern competition, it was during the 1950s that a Japanese karateka named Tatsuo Yamada first established an outline of a new sport that combined karate and muay thai
5.
Mixed martial arts
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Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that allows both striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from other combat sports and martial arts. The first documented use of the mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The term gained popularity when newfullcontact. com, then one of the largest websites covering the sport, the question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate. During the early 20th century, various mixed-style contests took place throughout Japan, in 1980 CV Productions, Inc. created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, named Tough Guy Contest, later renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania, however, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport. In 1993, the Gracie family brought vale tudo, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, later, individual fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase safety, to comply with sport regulations. Following these changes, the sport has increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing. In Ancient Greece there was a sport called pankration, which featured a combination of grappling and striking skills similar to found in modern MMA. Pankration was formed by a combination of the already established wrestling and boxing traditions and, in Olympic terms, All strikes and holds were allowed with the exception of biting and gouging, which were banned. Fighters, also known as pankratists, fought until a fighter submitted, according to E. Norman Gardiner, No branch of athletics was more popular than the pankration. From its origins in Ancient Greece, pankration was later passed on to the Romans, the mid nineteenth century saw the prominence of the new sport savate in the combat sports circle. At that time, French fighters wanted to test out the sport against the traditional styles of its time. However, the English team still won the four other match-ups during the contest, since then other similar contest also occurred by the late 19th to mid-20th century between French Savateurs and other combat styles. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman Wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In September 1901, Frank Paddy Slavin, who had been a contender for Sullivans boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City, Canada. The judo-practitioner Ren-nierand who gained fame after defeating George Dubois, would again in another similar contest against Ukrainian wrestler Ivan Poddubny. Another early example of mixed martial arts was Bartitsu, which Edward William Barton-Wright founded in London in 1899, merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules, including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission
6.
Washington Huskies football
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The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, the team is currently led by head coach Chris Petersen. Husky Stadium, located on campus, has served as the field for Washington since 1920. Washington has won sixteen Pac-12 championships, seven Rose Bowls, Washingtons all-time record ranks 21st by win percentage and 19th by total victories among FBS schools. The school holds the Division I FBS record for the longest unbeaten streak at 64 consecutive games, there have been a total of twelve unbeaten seasons in school history, including seven perfect seasons. Washington is one of four members of what became the Pac-12 Conference and. From 1977 through 2003, Washington had 27 consecutive non-losing seasons—the most of any team in the Pac-12, through the 2011 season, its 357 conference victories rank second in conference history. Washington is often referred to as one of the top Quarterback Us due to the history of quarterbacks playing in the National Football League. All but three of the last 20 starting quarterbacks dating back to 1970 have gone on to the NFL, Washington played its first 26 seasons of college football from 1889 to 1915 as an independent. The Pac-12 claims the history of each of these preceding conferences as its own, Washington and Cal are the only founding and continuous members in each of these successive conferences. *Member of College Football Hall of Fame Ten different men served as Washington head coaches during the first 18 seasons, while still an independent, the team progressed from playing 1 to 2 games per season to 10 matches per season as the sport grew in popularity. The school initially used a variety of locations for its home field, home attendance grew from a few hundred to a few thousand per home game, with on-campus Denny Field becoming home from 1895 onward. The 1900 team played in-state rival Washington State College to a 5–5 tie, gil Dobie left North Dakota Agricultural and became Washingtons head coach in 1908. Dobie coached for nine seasons at Washington, posting a 58–0–3 record. Dobies career comprised virtually all of Washingtons NCAA all-time longest 64-game unbeaten streak and included a 40-game winning streak, in 1916, Washington and three other schools formed the Pacific Coast Conference, predecessor to the modern Pac-12 Conference. In Dobies final season at Washington, his 1916 team won the PCCs inaugural conference championship, Dobie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member. Following Dobies tenure, Washington turned to a succession of coaches with mixed results, claude J. Hunt went a cumulative 6–3–1 highlighted by the schools second PCC championship in 1919, Tony Savage 1–1, and Stub Allison 1–5. This era concluded with the move from Denny Field to its permanent home field of Husky Stadium in 1920
7.
Sherdog
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Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts. The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN. com, Sherdog was created by photographer Jeff Sherwood in 1997 and was later refined with the help of Garrett Poe. Sherdog is also home to the Sherdog Radio Network, a sports talk network featuring Sherdog writers and staffers. Until recently, the schedule included Beatdown on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Its Time on Tuesdays, Cheap Seats on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also included for big events were SRN Roundtables providing previews and Beatdown After the Bell for post-fight recaps, as of April 8,2016, the SRN was rebuilt after Jeff Sherwood and his namesake website parted ways. The current lineup of programming includes Cheap Seats with Jordan Breen and Greg Savage on Mondays and Wednesdays which was cancelled after the organization, TJ & The Tooth with TJ De Santis and Nick The Tooth Gullo on Tuesdays, and The Neutral Corner hosted by MMA veteran Yves Edwards. Still standard for high-profile events are Jack Encarnacaos SRN Roundtables providing previews, while not officially a part of the Sherdog Radio Network, the SRN feed also inclues Press Row audio blogs starring Jordan Breen and various guests in the world of MMA media. Sherdog has also affiliated with ESPN to provide extensive MMA content for their site, the deal includes ESPN sharing Sherdogs extensive Fight Finder database. The deal would include the Sherdog Radio Network being part of ESPNs podcast center. The website also has a forum section composed of more than 60 thousand members from all over the world. The site hosts free live streams of mixed martial arts events from organizations such as Palace Fighting Championships, Wargods, ESPN Inside MMA HDNet List of Internet forums Official website
8.
Guard (American and Canadian football)
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In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right guards is the term for the guards on the right of the offensive line, Guards are to the right or left of the center. The guards job is to protect the quarterback from the incoming linemen during pass plays, Guards are automatically considered ineligible receivers, so they cannot intentionally touch a forward pass, unless it is to recover a fumble or is first touched by a defender or eligible receiver. This technique is used in most playbooks for outside runs and on counter plays, vanderbilts Dan McGugin is credited with first pulling guards. Since the Guard is free of responsibility for play-side outside runs and far-side counter plays, pulling is generally a unique responsibility for Guards
9.
Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
10.
1997 NFL Draft
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The 1997 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting, the draft was held April 19–20,1997, at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. No teams chose to claim any players in the draft that year. This draft was notable for its high-profile offensive linemen, the first overall selection was Orlando Pace, who has appeared in seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2000 to 2006. Tarik Glenn was selected 19th overall and has been named to three Pro Bowls as well. Arguably the best of the bunch, Walter Jones, who made nine Pro Bowls, was a seven time All-Pro, others include Chris Naeole, Dan Neil, Ryan Tucker, Jeff Mitchell, Mike Flynn, and Joe Andruzzi. The 97 Draft is also known for its running backs. Warrick Dunn was drafted 12th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, corey Dillon, Tiki Barber, Antowain Smith, Priest Holmes, and Duce Staley all enjoyed productive seasons in the NFL. This draft is well known for its undrafted Pro Bowl players. Jake Delhomme, Holmes, Pat Williams, and four others made Pro-Bowl trips at some point in their careers, Walter Jones, offensive tackle from Florida State University taken 1st round 6th overall by the Seattle Seahawks. Inducted, Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2014, Orlando Pace, offensive tackle from Ohio State University taken 1st round 1st overall by the St. Louis Rams. inducted, Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2016. Jason Taylor, defensive end from University of Akron taken 3rd round 73rd overall by the Miami Dolphins, inducted, Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 2017. NFL. com –1997 Draft databaseFootball. com –1997 Draft Pro Football Hall of Fame
11.
Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowl and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFLs founding. The team played games at Wrigley Field on Chicagos North Side through the 1970 season, they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side. The Bears have a rivalry with the Green Bay Packers. The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, the Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur and this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward Dutch Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, the 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys, under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100. In 1922, Halas changed the name from the Staleys to the Bears. The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their citys baseball team. Halas liked the bright colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois. The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years and their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL, was key in four out of the first six league titles. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, the Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. The franchise was a success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921
12.
Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as a team in 1960. The team competes in the National Football Conference North division, before that, the Vikings were in the NFC Central, the team has played in four Super Bowl games, but lost each one. The team plays its games at U. S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis, professional football in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL team that played intermittently in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a new team in the area did not surface again until August 1959. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League. Ole Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because, in the 1920s, when he sold his Duluth Eskimos team back to the league, the agreement allowed him 10 percent of any future Minnesota team. Coincidentally or not, the teams from Ole Haugsruds high school, Central High School in Superior, Wisconsin, were called the Vikings. From the teams first season in 1961 to 1981, the team called Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington home, the Vikings conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965. In 1966, the moved to their current training camp at Minnesota State University in Mankato. The Vikings played their games at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. The Vikings played their last game at the Metrodome on December 29,2013, since the teams first season in 1961, the Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. As of 2014, they have won at least three games in every season except in 1962, and are one of only six NFL teams to win at least 15 games in a regular season. The Vikings have won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the merger with the American Football League. Since the league merger in 1970, they have qualified for the playoffs 26 times, the team has played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI, though failing to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last five NFC Championship Game appearances since 1978, the team currently has 13 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was named the Minnesota Vikings on September 27,1960
13.
Professional wrestling
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Professional wrestling is a dramatized athletic performance that portrays a combat sport. Various forms of weaponry are sometimes used, the content – including match outcomes – is scripted and choreographed, and the combative actions and reactions are performed to appear violent without injuring the wrestlers. Before the 1980s, these facts were considered trade secrets, in the mid-90s, the presentation of scripted events as legitimate is known as kayfabe. Although the combative content is staged and communicated between the wrestlers, there are physical hazards involved - including permanent injury and death. While it has declined in Europe, in North America it has experienced several different periods of prominent cultural popularity during its century. The advent of television gave professional wrestling a new outlet, unlike in Europe, show wrestling has become especially prominent in Japan and in North America. In Brazil, there was a popular wrestling television program from the 1960s to the early 1980s called Telecatch. High-profile figures in the sport have become celebrities or cultural icons in their native or adopted home countries, although professional wrestling started out as petty acts in sideshows, traveling circuses and carnivals, today it is a billion-dollar industry. Revenue is drawn from live event ticket sales, network television broadcasts, pay-per-view broadcasts, personal appearances by performers, branded merchandise, pro wrestling was also instrumental in making pay-per-view a viable method of content delivery. Annual shows such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and formerly Bash at the Beach, Halloween Havoc, home video sales dominate the Billboard charts Recreational Sports DVD sales, with wrestling holding anywhere from 3 to 9 of the top 10 spots every week. Due to its persistent cultural presence and to its novelty within the performing arts, there have also been many fictional depictions of wrestling, the 2008 film The Wrestler received several Oscar nominations and began a career revival for star Mickey Rourke. Because actual events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines for the performers, special care must be taken when talking about people who perform under their own name. The actions of the character should be considered fictional events, wholly separate from the life of the performer and this is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers will incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and those who participated felt that it was necessary that spectators should be kept in a constant and complete illusion of a real competition to keep audience interest. For decades, up until the mid-1980s, wrestlers lived their lives as though they were their characters. Wrestlers, bookers and promoters all rigorously enforced the illusion and very few were allowed into the society of professional wrestling to maintain suspension of disbelief. The practice of keeping the illusion, and the methods used to do so, came to be known as kayfabe within wrestling circles. An entire lexicon of slang jargon and euphemism developed to allow performers to communicate without outsiders knowledge of what was being said, occasionally a performer will deviate from the intended sequence of events
14.
Actor
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An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance. Simplistically speaking, the person denominated actor or actress is someone beautiful who plays important characters, the actor performs in the flesh in the traditional medium of the theatre, or in modern mediums such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής, literally one who answers, the actors interpretation of their role pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is playing themselves, as in forms of experimental performance art, or, more commonly, to act, is to create. Formerly, in societies, only men could become actors. When used for the stage, women played the roles of prepubescent boys. The etymology is a derivation from actor with ess added. However, when referring to more than one performer, of both sexes, actor is preferred as a term for male performers. Actor is also used before the name of a performer as a gender-specific term. Within the profession, the re-adoption of the term dates to the 1950–1960s. As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper, Im an actor – I can play anything. The U. K. performers union Equity has no policy on the use of actor or actress, an Equity spokesperson said that the union does not believe that there is a consensus on the matter and stated that the. subject divides the profession. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times stated that Actress remains the term used in major acting awards given to female recipients. However, player remains in use in the theatre, often incorporated into the name of a group or company, such as the American Players. Also, actors in improvisational theatre may be referred to as players, prior to Thespis act, Grecian stories were only expressed in song, dance, and in third person narrative. In honor of Thespis, actors are commonly called Thespians, the exclusively male actors in the theatre of ancient Greece performed in three types of drama, tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Western theatre developed and expanded considerably under the Romans, as the Western Roman Empire fell into decay through the 4th and 5th centuries, the seat of Roman power shifted to Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Records show that mime, pantomime, scenes or recitations from tragedies and comedies, dances, from the 5th century, Western Europe was plunged into a period of general disorder
15.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
16.
Mixed martial artist
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Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that allows both striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, using techniques from other combat sports and martial arts. The first documented use of the mixed martial arts was in a review of UFC1 by television critic Howard Rosenberg in 1993. The term gained popularity when newfullcontact. com, then one of the largest websites covering the sport, the question of who actually coined the term is subject to debate. During the early 20th century, various mixed-style contests took place throughout Japan, in 1980 CV Productions, Inc. created the first regulated MMA league in the United States, named Tough Guy Contest, later renamed Battle of the Superfighters. The company sanctioned ten tournaments in Pennsylvania, however, in 1983 the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill prohibiting the sport. In 1993, the Gracie family brought vale tudo, developed in Brazil from the 1920s, later, individual fighters employed multiple martial arts into their style. MMA promoters were pressured to adopt additional rules to increase safety, to comply with sport regulations. Following these changes, the sport has increased popularity with a pay-per-view business that rivals boxing. In Ancient Greece there was a sport called pankration, which featured a combination of grappling and striking skills similar to found in modern MMA. Pankration was formed by a combination of the already established wrestling and boxing traditions and, in Olympic terms, All strikes and holds were allowed with the exception of biting and gouging, which were banned. Fighters, also known as pankratists, fought until a fighter submitted, according to E. Norman Gardiner, No branch of athletics was more popular than the pankration. From its origins in Ancient Greece, pankration was later passed on to the Romans, the mid nineteenth century saw the prominence of the new sport savate in the combat sports circle. At that time, French fighters wanted to test out the sport against the traditional styles of its time. However, the English team still won the four other match-ups during the contest, since then other similar contest also occurred by the late 19th to mid-20th century between French Savateurs and other combat styles. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman Wrestling champion Ernest Roeber. In September 1901, Frank Paddy Slavin, who had been a contender for Sullivans boxing title, knocked out future world wrestling champion Frank Gotch in Dawson City, Canada. The judo-practitioner Ren-nierand who gained fame after defeating George Dubois, would again in another similar contest against Ukrainian wrestler Ivan Poddubny. Another early example of mixed martial arts was Bartitsu, which Edward William Barton-Wright founded in London in 1899, merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules, including points decision, best of three throws or knockdowns, and victory via knockout or submission
17.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
18.
HBO
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Home Box Office is an American premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by Time Warner through its respective flagship company Home Box Office, Inc. HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, in 2014, HBO had an adjusted operating income of US$1.79 billion, compared to the US$1.68 billion it accrued in 2013. HBO has 49 million subscribers in the United States and 130 million worldwide as of 2016, the network provides seven 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature and HBO Family. It launched the streaming service HBO Now in April 2015, and has over 2 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2017. In addition to its U. S. subscriber base, HBO distributes content in at least 151 countries, HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable- and satellite-exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself. Cable providers can require the use of a converter box – usually digital – in order to receive HBO, many HBO programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations, and a number of HBO-produced series and films have been released on DVD. The new system, which Dolan named Sterling Information Services, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. In that same year, Time-Life, Inc. purchased a 20% stake in Dolans company, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation in France, Charles Dolan began to think of ideas to make Sterling Manhattan profitable. He came up with the concept for a television service. Dolan later presented his idea to Time-Life management, though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time-Life to back him on the project. To gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service, in a meeting of Dolan and some Time-Life executives who were working on the project, various other names were discussed for the new service. Home Box Office launched on November 8,1972, however, HBOs launch came without fanfare in the press, as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets. Home Box Office distributed its first sports event immediately after the film, Four months later in February 1973, Home Box Office aired its first television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. Home Box Office would use a network of relay towers to distribute its programming to cable systems throughout its service area. Sterling Manhattan Cable continued to lose money because the company had only a small base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Time-Life dropped the Sterling name and the company was renamed Manhattan Cable Television under Time-Lifes control in March 1973, Gerald Levin, who had been with Home Box Office since it began operations as its vice president of programming, replaced Dolan as the companys president and chief executive officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO would eventually increase its fortunes within two years, by April 1975, the service had around 100,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania and New York state, in 1974, they settled on using a geostationary communications satellite to transmit HBO to cable providers throughout the United States
19.
University of Washington
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The University of Washington, commonly referred to as simply Washington, UW, or informally U-Dub, is a public flagship research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast, the university has three campuses, the oldest and largest in the University District of Seattle and two others in Tacoma and Bothell. Washington is a member of the Association of American Universities and is ranked among the top 15 universities in the world by a variety of international publications. In athletics, the university competes in the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference and its athletic teams are called the Huskies. Seattle was one of several settlements in the mid to late 19th century vying for primacy in the new Washington Territory, in 1854, territorial governor Isaac Stevens recommended the establishment of a university in Washington. Several prominent Seattle-area residents, chief among them Methodist preacher Daniel Bagley and they convinced early founder of Seattle and member of the territorial legislature Arthur A. Denny of the importance of Seattle winning the school. When no site emerged, the legislature, encouraged by Denny, in 1861, scouting began for an appropriate 10 acres site in Seattle to serve as the campus for a new university. Arthur and Mary Denny donated eight acres, and fellow pioneers Edward Lander and Charlie and this tract was bounded by 4th and 6th Avenues on the west and east and Union and Seneca Streets on the north and south. UW opened on November 4,1861, as the Territorial University of Washington, the following year, the legislature passed articles incorporating the University and establishing a Board of Regents. The school struggled initially, closing three times, in 1863 for lack of students, and again in 1867 and 1876 due to shortage of funds. However, Clara Antoinette McCarty Wilt became the first graduate of UW in 1876 when she graduated from UW with a degree in science. By the time Washington entered the Union in 1889, both Seattle and the University had grown substantially, enrollment increased from 30 students to nearly 300, and the relative isolation of the campus had given way to encroaching development. A special legislative committee headed by UW graduate Edmond Meany was created to find a new campus able to serve the growing student population. The committee selected a site on Union Bay northeast of downtown, the university relocated from downtown to the new campus in 1895, moving into the newly built Denny Hall. The regents tried and failed to sell the old campus, the University still owns what is now called the Metropolitan Tract. In the heart of the city, it is among the most valuable pieces of estate in Seattle. The original Territorial University building was torn down in 1908 and its former site houses the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. The sole surviving remnants of UWs first building are four 24-foot, white, hand-fluted cedar and they were salvaged by Edmond S. Meany—one of the Universitys first graduates and the former head of the history department
20.
Doping in sport
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The use of banned drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and therefore prohibited, by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbates the ethical violation with overt deception, historically speaking, the origins of doping in sports go back to the very creation of sport itself. From ancient usage of substances in chariot racing to more recent controversies in baseball and cycling, the general trend among authorities and sporting organizations over the past several decades has been to strictly regulate the use of drugs in sport. The reasons for the ban are mainly the health risks of performance-enhancing drugs, the equality of opportunity for athletes, anti-doping authorities state that using performance-enhancing drugs goes against the spirit of sport. There are many suggestions as to the origin of the term doping, one is that it is derived from dop, an alcoholic drink used as a stimulant in ceremonial dances in 18th century Southern Africa. By 1889, dope was used in connection with the preparation of a thick viscous preparation of opium for smoking, in 1900, dope was also defined as a preparation of drugs designed to influence the performance of a racehorse. The use of drugs in sports goes back centuries, about all the way back to the invention of the concept of sports. In ancient times, when the fittest of a nation were selected as athletes or combatants, they were fed diets, for instance, Scandinavian mythology says Berserkers could drink a mixture called butotens, to greatly increase their physical power at the risk of insanity. One theory is that the mixture was prepared from the Amanita muscaria mushroom, the ancient Olympics in Greece have been alleged to have been contaminated with forms of doping. In ancient Rome, where chariot racing had become a part of their culture. By April 1877, walking races had stretched to 500 miles, the event proved popular, however, with 20,000 spectators attending each day. The fascination with six-day bicycle races spread across the Atlantic and the appeal brought in the crowds in America as well. And the more spectators paid at the gate, the higher the prizes could be and their exhaustion was countered by soigneurs, helpers akin to seconds in boxing. Among the treatments they supplied was nitroglycerine, a used to stimulate the heart after cardiac attacks. Riders suffered hallucinations from the exhaustion and perhaps the drugs, the American champion Major Taylor refused to continue the New York race, saying, I cannot go on with safety, for there is a man chasing me around the ring with a knife in his hand. Public reaction turned against such trials, whether individual races or in teams of two and it appears from the reports of this singular performance that some of the bicycle riders have actually become temporarily insane during the contest. Days and weeks of recuperation will be needed to put the racers in condition, the father of anabolic steroids in the United States was John Ziegler, a physician for the U. S. weightlifting team in the mid-20th century. Ziegler learned from his Russian days that the Soviet weightlifting teams success was due to their use of performance-enhancing drugs, deciding that U. S. athletes needed chemical assistance to remain competitive, Ziegler worked with the CIBA Pharmaceutical Company to develop an oral anabolic steroid
21.
Poverty
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Poverty is general scarcity or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. It is a concept, which includes social, economic. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the lack of necessary to meet basic needs such as food, clothing. Absolute poverty is meant to be about the independent of location. After the industrial revolution, mass production in factories made producing goods increasingly less expensive, of more importance is the modernization of agriculture, such as fertilizers, to provide enough yield to feed the population. Strategies of increasing income to make basic needs more affordable typically include welfare, economic freedoms, Poverty reduction is a major goal and issue for many international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. The World Bank forecasts that 702.1 million people, down from 1.75 billion in 1990, of these, about 347.1 million people lived in Sub-Saharan Africa and 231.3 million lived in South Asia. According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty fell from 37. 1% to 9. 6%. Nevertheless, given the current economic model, built on GDP, extreme poverty is a global challenge, it is observed in all parts of the world, including developed economies. UNICEF estimates half the children live in poverty. It has been argued by some academics that the policies promoted by global financial institutions such as the IMF. Another estimate places the true scale of poverty much higher than the World Bank, with an estimated 4.3 billion people living with less than $5 a day and unable to meet basic needs adequately. In 2012 it is estimated that, given a poverty line of $1.25 a day 1.2 billion people lived in poverty, the word poverty comes from old French poverté, from Latin paupertās from pauper. The English word poverty via Anglo-Norman povert, there are several definitions of poverty depending on the context of the situation it is placed in, and the views of the person giving the definition. Income Poverty, a familys income fails to meet a federally established threshold that differs across countries, United Nations, Fundamentally, poverty is the inability of having choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lack of capacity to participate effectively in society. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and it means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living in marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation. World Bank, Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions and it includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity
22.
Funeral home
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A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides interment and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral, funeral homes arrange services in accordance with the wishes of surviving friends and family, whether immediate next of kin or an executor so named in a legal will. The funeral home takes care of the paperwork, permits, and other details, such as making arrangements with the cemetery. In recent years many funeral homes have started posting obituaries online, there are a few common types of services in North America. A traditional funeral service consists of a viewing, a service in a place of worship or the funeral home chapel. Direct cremation consists of the funeral home receiving the corpse, preparing it for the crematory, direct/immediate burial is the forgoing of a funeral ceremony for a prompt, simple burial. Moving a corpse between mortuaries involves preparing it for shipment in a coffin strapped into an arbitrary or a combination unit and this is common when it is to be buried in a different locality than where the person died. When a corpse is brought to a home, it is sometimes embalmed to delay decomposition or to make the viewing of the body more pleasant. The procedure typically involves removing sufficient blood material to accommodate the preservative chemicals and dyes, aspirating the internal organs, cosmetics are used with the consent of the family to improve the appearance of face and hands for a more natural look. If the face or hands are disfigured by accident, illness or decomposition, if this isnt possible, or the family wishes, the funeral home can perform a closed casket service. The funeral home often sets aside one or more areas for people to gather at a visitation. This area may contain a space to display the body in a casket to visitors who may pay their respects, funeral and memorial services may also take place at the funeral home. Many funeral homes offer prearrangement options for those who wish to plan their own funerals, several large multi-national corporations in this service field have received exposure from high-profile litigation. The Loewen Group, Inc. received a large jury verdict in the State of Mississippi which was later found to be in error as the allegations against Loewen Group proved false. The Canadian-based company then brought suit against the United States alleging violations under N. A. F. T. A, houston based Service Corporation International has also had their share of legal troubles with the operations of both their funeral home and cemetery operations
23.
NWA Wildside
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NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. While in operation, NWA Wildside was one of the affiliates of the National Wrestling Alliance. It was one of the independent promotions in the United States. Wildside was originally named National Championship Wrestling in 1997 and was owned by Steve Martin, in December 1999 NCW merged with NWA Georgia to form NWA Wildside under the ownership of Bill Behrens. Soon, World Championship Wrestling hired several NWA Wildside talent for their shows including A. J, styles and Frank Air Paris, with other wrestlers such as Onyx, David Young and Rick Michaels appearing on World Wrestling Federation tapings. Wildsides weekly one-hour TV show aired nationally and was available to as much as 40% of the United States at its peak, in late 2004, Wildside was broadcast by The Wrestling Channel in the United Kingdom giving them a transatlantic audience. In April 2005, NWA Wildside closed down, after producing 300 consecutive weeks of television and he then worked with Jody Hamilton, the owner of Deep South Wrestling, a former WWE developmental territory located in McDonough, Georgia. Behrens left DSW after getting the promotion ready to produce TV but before TV production began due to differences with Hamilton. Wildside was replaced by NWA Anarchy, an operating in the same arena using similar talent. Champions listed are the champions in Wildside. NWA Wildside Heavyweight Championship — Onyx NWA Wildside Junior Heavyweight Championship — Slim J, List of National Wrestling Alliance territories List of independent wrestling promotions in the United States
24.
World Championship Wrestling
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WCW Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion, historically based in Atlanta, Georgia. Immediately after the buyout, the business was renamed the Universal Wrestling Corporation, WCW also developed a popular cruiserweight division. WCW eclipsed the WWF in popularity throughout the United States for much of the latter-1990s, however, numerous financial, Turner owned WCW until 2001, when selected assets were purchased by the WWF. Since 2001, WCW images and video footage have been distributed in WWE-owned media. Two separate subsidiary companies exist as successors to WCW, WCW, Inc. is the WWE subsidiary established in Delaware in late 2000, initially as W. Acquisition Company, which holds the rights to the WCW video library and other intellectual property. The former WCW entity, which retained liabilities not acquired by WWE, was renamed back to the Universal Wrestling Corporation, the name World Championship Wrestling was first used as a brand and television show title in 1982. Jim Barnett came to Atlanta in the 1970s during a struggle over Georgia Championship Wrestling. Barnett ultimately became majority owner of the promotion, and began using his previous name for his new promotions television program in 1982. The promotion was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. However, it was not until November 2,1988 that an actual, National Wrestling Alliance -affiliated promotion called World Championship Wrestling appeared on the national scene and this entity was under the ownership of media mogul and cable-TV pioneer Ted Turner, based in Atlanta, Georgia. WCW went through changes in business and creative leadership during its existence. Once Bischoff was relieved of his duties in 1999, Vince Russo, the two, however, did not get along well and Bischoff soon resigned from the sinking company. It was only a few months later that Russo would also depart after suffering from a concussion at the hands of Bill Goldberg, following Russos departure, the creative needs of the WCW were handled by a booking committee which included Johnny Ace and Terry Taylor. From 2000 to 2001, Monster Jam had a series of trucks based on wrestlers names. These include nWo, Sting, Nitro Machine, Madusa and Goldberg, the first to go was nWo, which only ran for a season. Next, all but Goldberg, Nitro, and Madusa were retired after the WCW sponsorship was lost, Nitro then became Flashfire, and then was converted into Inferno. Madusa has stayed the same since its creation, because it is driven by former WCW wrestler Debrah Miceli, as for Goldberg, it was changed to Team Meents in 2002, then into Maximum Destruction, which debuted in 2003 and continues to compete in the series. WCW also had a presence in NASCAR from the mid-1990s to 2000, sponsoring the #29 team in the Busch Grand National Series full-time and the #9 Melling Racing team in the Winston Cup Series part-time
25.
WWE
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Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American professional wrestling promotion and the sanctioning body for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and later World Wrestling Federation. Founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1953, Capitol Wrestling Corporation is the precursor to todays WWE, run by Jess grandson, Jess McMahon was a successful boxing promoter who began working with Tex Rickard in 1926. With the help of Rickard, he began promoting boxing at the third Madison Square Garden, a few years prior, professional wrestler Toots Mondt had created a new challenge of professional wrestling that he called “Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling”. He convinced wrestler Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow to implement this new solution, after much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt later formed partnerships with other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. Mondt eventually took over the New York wrestling scene, due to the fact Curley was dying, with the aid of several bookers, together, McMahon and Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. which later joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. In November 1954, Jess McMahon died and Ray Fabiani, one of Mondts associates, both men left the company in protest following the incident and formed the WWWF in the process, awarding Rogers the new WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in April of that year. He lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17,1963, after gaining a television program deal and turning preliminary wrestler Lou Albano as a manager for Sammartinos heel opponents, the WWWF was doing sell out business by 1970. Mondt left the company in the late 1960s and although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA, Vince McMahon, at the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and WWF employee Jim Barnett all withdrew from the organization. By March 1979, for marketing purposes, the World Wide Wrestling Federation was renamed the World Wrestling Federation and that same year, Vincent J. McMahons son, Vincent K. McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. incorporated on February 21,1980, originally in Massachusetts. In 1982, Titan Sports Inc. acquired Capitols operations, effectively relocating its headquarters to Greenwich, in an attempt to make the WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the world, McMahon began an expansion that fundamentally changed the industry. In the end, the elder McMahon would never live to see his company grow from a promotion to what is now a worldwide organization. He died from cancer at 69 years old on May 24,1984. By 1985, Titan moved to Stamford, Connecticut then establishing a new entity in 1987 in Delaware which later merged with the old company in 1988. Titan later changed its name to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. before finally becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, list of independent wrestling promotions in the United States
26.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
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In 2005, Inoki sold the promotion to Yukes, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the Chairman of the promotion since September 2013, owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest professional wrestling promotion in Japan and the second largest promotion in the world. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at various points, NJPWs biggest event is the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, held each year since 1992 and currently promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom banner. The promotion was founded by Antonio Inoki in 1972, after his departure from the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion, the first NJPW event took place on March 6,1972, in Tokyo. Inoki would serve as the president of the promotion until 1989, the promotion was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1975 to 1985 and once more from 1992 to 1993. NJPW briefly reaffiliated with the NWA in the early 2010s as well, also known as Shin Nihon Puroresu, NJPW is considered the top wrestling promotion in Japan and is comparable to WWE in the United States in terms of popularity in the country. In the past NJPW has worked with WWE, World Championship Wrestling, occasionally, NJPW will also host cross-promotional matches with other Japanese promotions, such as All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah. The promotion also has its own governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix and they also hold several tournaments each year, including the G1 Climax, World Tag League, New Japan Cup and Best of the Super Juniors. The final NEVER event was held in November 2012, on January 4,2011, New Japan officially announced the NJPW Invasion Tour 2011, Attack on East Coast, the promotions first tour of the United States to be held in May 2011. The tour featured shows in Rahway, New Jersey on May 13, New York City on May 14 and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, as part of the tour, NJPW introduced a new title, the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On January 31,2012, Yukes announced that it had sold all shares of New Japan Pro Wrestling to card game company Bushiroad for ¥500 million, New Japan aired its first internet pay-per-view, the fourth day of the 2012 G1 Climax, on August 5,2012. The October 8,2012, King of Pro-Wrestling pay-per-view marked the first time viewers outside Japan were able to order a pay-per-view by the promotion through Ustream. On October 5,2012, New Japan announced the creation of the NEVER Openweight Championship, a two-day tournament to determine the inaugural champion was held between November 15 and 19,2012. During the tour, New Japan wrestlers also took part in an event held by Canadian promotion Border City Wrestling. A year later, NJPW and ROH announced another tour together to four more supershows, War of the Worlds 15 on May 12 and 13 in Philadelphia. In June 2014, New Japan announced a partnership with the new American GFW organization helmed by Jeff Jarrett, in November 2014, GFW announced that it would be broadcasting NJPWs Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome on pay-per-view in the United States as a four-hour event. Also in November 2014, the American AXS TV network announced it had acquired rights to rebroadcast a series of thirteen episodes of NJPW matches from TV Asahi, the series premiered on January 16,2015, airing weekly on Fridays. Averaging 200,000 viewers per episode, the show was considered a success, in June 2016, the show was also acquired by the Canadian Fight Network
27.
Manabu Nakanishi
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Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and he is a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Manabu Nakanishi began his wrestling career in 1986, competing Freestyle in the 220 lbs. division. In July 1986, Nakanishi competed in his very first tournament, the World Cup in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, in October 1987, he participated in the Asian Championship in Bombay, India, where he placed fifth. In June 1989, he participated in another Asian Championship in Oarai, Ibaraki, Japan, in September 1990, Nakanishi took part in two tournaments, On September 6, he participated in the World Championship in Tokyo, where he was placed tenth. Over three weeks later, on September 30, he participated in the Asian Games in Beijing, China, in October 1991, he took part in his second World Championship in Varna, Bulgaria, where he was placed eleventh. In April 1992, he took part in his third Asian Championship in Tehran, Iran, in his biggest tournament, Nakanishi participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he was placed eleventh. Nakanishi debuted for New Japan Pro-Wrestling in October 1992 and his in-ring style was very basic early in his career. After winning the Young Lions Cup in 1995, in order to hone his skills and bulk up, he went on an excursion to North America and joined World Championship Wrestling. Twelve days after his pro debut, Nakanishis first appearance in WCW was at Halloween Havoc, as a spectator, sitting alongside NJPW, three years later he returned to WCW to wrestle, under the name Kurasawa as a member of the Stud Stable led by Colonel Robert Parker. He frequently teamed with Meng, with whom he feuded against Sting and he broke the arm of Hawk using a seated armbar after their tag team match at Clash of the Champions XXXI, in which they lost. He subsequently feuded with Hawk when Hawk returned from injury heading into Halloween Havoc 1995, beating many local wrestlers on their B-shows, WorldWide and Pro and he was also known there for nearly defeating Macho Man Randy Savage on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. It was here that Nakanishi learned the infamous Road Warrior Workout from Hawk and Animal, when Nakanishi came back to NJPW in September 1996, he appeared more confident and stronger. With his new change in attitude and in-ring style, he found instant success and he formed The Bull Powers with Satoshi Kojima, who returned from Europe. In May 1997, he and Kojima won the IWGP Tag Team Championship and he had arguably the upset win of the decade in the 1999 G1 Climax, submitting then-IWGP Heavyweight Champion and nWo Japan leader Keiji Mutoh, to win the tournament. He formed the tag team, Wild Child, with Takao Omori in late 2006. In May 2009, Nakanishi finally captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and he went on to hold the title for nearly a month until losing it back to Tanahashi. For the 2010 G1 Tag League Nakanishi formed a tag team named Muscle Orchestra with Strong Man, the team made it to the semifinals of the tournament and was at the end of the year named Tag Team of the Year by Tokyo Sports
28.
Kensuke Sasaki
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Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of two men ever to hold all three of puroresus major heavyweight titles, the other being Yoshihiro Takayama, Sasaki debuted in Riki Choshus Japan Pro-Wrestling - a satellite of All Japan Pro Wrestling in February 1986. Sasaki follow Choshu as he returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1987, during that time, he teamed up with the likes of Osamu Matsuda and Kenichi Oya. Pogo twice between January 14,1989 and April 1,1989, in January 1989, he started splitting his time wrestling in the WWC in Puerto Rico, with Stu Harts Stampede Wrestling promotion in Canada, where he wrestled under the name Benkei Sasaki. He would also be trained in the Dungeon by Hart, during his time in Calgary, he won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in August 1989, with All Japan loyalist Sumo Hara. He also wrestled for Otto Wanzs Catch Wrestling Association in tours of Austria, in December 1989, Stampede Wrestling closed its doors, and Sasaki wrestled for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance. Sasaki returned to NJPW in March 1990, and formed a tag team with Hiroshi Hase. The pair would have two reigns as IWGP Tag Team Champions, and had matches with the Steiner Brothers. Two more tag title reigns followed when in late 1992, Sasaki assumed the name Power Warrior, as the Hell Raisers, they dominated the tag team scene in New Japan. In October 1992, he started wrestling periodically for World Championship Wrestling. In an incident in the New Japan Dojo in 1995, he was blamed for the death of a trainee, according to the book, Ring of Hell, he suplexed and worked over the trainee, who he thought was not making enough effort. No charges were brought against him. Sasaki dropped the Power Warrior persona in 1995 and began climbing the ranks in singles competition and he won his first major title, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship on November 13,1995, defeating Sting at a NJPW Event. This was the titles first title change outside of the United States, Sasaki lost it one month later to One Man Gang at Starrcade. August 1997 skyrocketed Sasakis rise to superstardom, on August 3, he won the G1 Climax tournament by defeating Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the final. A week later, he captured the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Kazuo Yamazaki, finally at the end of the month, he captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by defeating long reigning champion Shinya Hashimoto, winning three major honors in a one-month span. In April 1998, he lost the title to Tatsumi Fujinami, in March 1999, he won another IWGP Tag Team Championship with Shiro Koshinaka. Sasaki won his second IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Genichiro Tenryu while wrestling with a 39 °C fever
29.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
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The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion. IWGP is the acronym of NJPWs governing body, the International Wrestling Grand Prix, the title was introduced on June 12,1987, in the finals of an IWGP tournament. Being a professional wrestling championship, the title is won as a result of a predetermined outcome, throughout the history of the championship, several wrestlers have been forced to relinquish the title due to an inability to participate in title defenses. When a wrestler has been injured or unable to compete for other reasons, in 2006, Brock Lesnar was stripped of the title for being unable to defend it, however, Lesnar claims he was owed money by NJPW and kept the physical belt. He signed with Antonio Inokis Inoki Genome Federation in 2007, Angle later lost the belt in a unification match to the NJPW-recognized champion Shinsuke Nakamura in 2008. The title forms what has unofficially been called the New Japan Triple Crown along with the IWGP Intercontinental, overall, there have been 65 reigns shared among 27 wrestlers. Title changes happen at NJPW-promoted events, six non-Japanese wrestlers have held the title. The inaugural champion was Inoki, who defeated Masa Saito on June 12,1987, hiroshi Tanahashi holds the record for most reigns, with 7. At 489 days, Shinya Hashimotos third reign is the longest in the titles history, Tanahashi, with a combined 7 reigns, holds the record for most days as champion at 1,358. Kensuke Sasakis fourth reign holds the record for shortest reign at 16 days, with 11 successful defenses, Tanahashis fifth reign had the most during a single reign. Over his 7 reigns, Tanahashi successfully defended the title 28 times, kazuchika Okada is the current champion in his fourth reign, after defeating Tetsuya Naito on June 19,2016, at NJPWs Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall event to win the title. General Pro Wrestling Illustrated,2008 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts, sports & Entertainment Publications, LLC, 107–108
30.
Shinsuke Nakamura
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Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist currently signed to WWE, performing on the SmackDown brand. Nakamura is the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history, having won the title for the first time at the age of 23 years and 9 months, in 2015, Nakamura was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. Prior to his main roster debut, Nakamura competed in WWEs developmental branch, NXT, Nakamura joined NJPW in March 2002 and quickly began making a name for himself as a bright prospect for the company. Having earned the nickname Super Rookie, Nakamura impressed both NJPW officials and fans with an excellent combination of strength, speed, and technical skill, alongside fellow rookies Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata, Nakamura became known as one of the new Three Musketeers. Nakamura began training vale tudo and on December 31,2002, he made his mixed martial arts debut in a fight, Nakamuras second MMA fight took place on May 2,2003, when he defeated Jan Nortje with a guillotine choke. He followed that up on September 13 with another victory over Shane Eitner in his third MMA fight. On December 9,2003, Nakamura defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, on January 4,2004, at Wrestling World 2004, Nakamura successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the NWF Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Takayama in a title unification match. However, just a later, Nakamura was forced to vacate the title due to an injury. Upon his return, Nakamura received a shot at the title, now held by Bob Sapp, later that month, Nakamura competed in his to date last MMA fight, defeating Alexey Ignashov with a forearm choke on May 22. On December 11,2004, Nakamura and his tag team partner Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kensuke Sasaki, on January 4,2005, at Toukon Festival, Wrestling World 2005 Nakamura defeated his own tag team partner, Tanahashi, to win the IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship. A few weeks later, on October 30,2005, they lost the titles to Cho-Ten, Nakamura challenged Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on January 4,2006, at Toukon Shidou Chapter 1, but lost. In March 2006, Nakamura announced that he would depart on an excursion in order to further improve his wrestling skills. Among other things, he would travel to Mexico, Brazil, NJPW President Simon Inoki later suggested that as part of his learning excursion, Nakamura would be loaned to World Wrestling Entertainment to gain experience in working large American shows. However, it proved to be mostly speculation and never came to pass, Nakamura had greatly improved his muscular mass during his overseas training and also debuted a new finisher, called the Landslide. Nakamura entered the 2007 G1 Climax tournament, where he reached the semifinals, Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard, Travis Tomko, and Prince Devitt. Low Ki was later added to the stable after Milano was injured, on December 9 Nakamura defeated Togi Makabe to earn an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at the following months Tokyo Dome show. On January 4,2008, Nakamura defeated his rival Tanahashi in the event of Wrestle Kingdom II in Tokyo Dome. He followed that up with defeating Kurt Angle on February 17,2008 to win the IGF version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to All Japan Pro Wrestling representative Keiji Mutoh in Osaka on April 27,2008
31.
Hustle (professional wrestling)
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Hustle was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion managed by Nobuhiko Takada. Hustle can be described as an experiment to market the sports entertainment style of professional wrestling in Japan. Unlike the traditional puroresu, the company emphasizes melodrama and caricatures over realism and athleticism, the group once maintained a close affiliation with mixed martial arts promoters PRIDE Fighting Championships when both were owned by Dream Stage Entertainment, or DSE. Fans in the U. S. considered HUSTLE to be an answer to Takadas original wrestling style, new Japan Pro Wrestling feud and the rise of Pride and K-1. As of 04/24/07, Hustles ownership group became Hustle Entertainment and former Kami no Puroresu editor Noboru Yamaguchi became President of the new organization, the group is still running their business at the old Dream Stage Entertainment offices, which became the PRIDE Worldwide Holding offices. Earlier in 2007, Hustle ran a storyline where General Takada bought out Hustle for 1 billion Monster dollars, some wrestlers received new gimmicks, like Naoya Ogawa turning into Celeb Ogawa, where he acted like a celebrity. The following show the Monster Army was disbanded, as the direction of the company started to change, in August 2009, President Noburo Yamaguchi stated that Hustle would be entering a new era. Straying away from the over the top storylines & gimmick-oriented Fighting Opera style that made them popular, Hustle president Nobuo Yamaguchi announced on October 28 that the promotion was folding. He made the announcement that they were out of money, and could no longer pay the staff and he said that the scheduled 10/29 show at Korakuen Hall was canceled, as are all the rest of the shows on the schedule. Since Nobuhiko Takada left the promotion as the top heel, interest had gone way down, many of the shows were before small crowds, and most of those crowds were papered. While nobody would say so publicly, they were behind on paying a lot of the wrestlers, Yamaguchi said his goal was to eventually bring the promotion back. In the beginning of 2010 some of Hustles biggest names announced that they would be forming a new promotion, Smash, Smash held its first show on March 26,2010. After a six-month hiatus, Hustle held two shows on April 30 and May 30,2010, after another four-month break, the promotion held two more shows in October. The title was more of a title since the Hustle promotion was never meant to be taken seriously. The title was represented by a giant gold and black spiked baseball bat, the Hustle Super Tag Team Championship was the tag team championship in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Hustle. Professional wrestling in Japan Hustle Home page Hustle Entertainment news
32.
Korakuen Hall
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Kōrakuen Hall is an arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many boxing, lethwei, professional wrestling, kickboxing and mixed martial arts matches. Part of Tokyo Dome City, it is one of Tokyos biggest attractions and it opened on April 16,1962, and has a capacity of approximately 1,800 people. The venue hosted the events for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It often is merely called hall, in Japan, the repair work was completed on March 18. The Hall was closed until the day, then gradually resumed a variety of events. It was announced that a new version of Korakuen Hall would be built in Tokyo Dome City, with a finish time of around 2008. Since its completion, JCB Hall has been used rarely for pro wrestling events after being christened with a Pro Wrestling Zero1 show in early 2008, during 2009, JCB Hall was used twice for pro wrestling, both times for a tour ending show by Pro Wrestling Noah. In the manga/anime Ashita no Joe, many matches are held there too, Korakuen Hall is featured numerous times in the manga/anime series Fighting Spirit as one of the venues the boxers fight at. Two of the preliminaries in the 20th Choujin Olympics were held here in Kinnikuman while the bigger draws were at Korakuen Stadium
33.
Masaki Sumitani
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His act was featured on the Bakusho Mondai no Bakuten. Saturday variety show on TBS Television in Japan, in 2005, Masaki Sumitani was born December 18,1975 in Harima, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from Hyogo Prefectural Kakogawa Higashi High School, he entered Doshisha University, while at college he picked up wrestling as a hobby and soon joined the Doshisha Professional Wrestling Alliance. Under his performing name GiveUp Sumitani, he won the heavy class Kyoto pro-wrestling championship co-hosted by DWA, former IWGP Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and fellow comedian Makoto Izubuchi were also participant of these events. In early 2006, he started working with manzai partner Izubuchi again, izubuchi’s character was not nearly as well received as Sumitani’s, but is still an active pro-wrestler in HUSTLE, recently teaming up with The Great Muta. Sumitanis character is that of a face that has a never say die attitude. Daily Sports in Japan reported that Razor Ramon HG retired from pro wrestling after Hustle Mania, however, as with most retirements in pro-wrestling, Sumitani returned to action, pro wrestling at Hustle 21 on March 18 and Hustle 22 on April 21. He needed 12 bolts to put his back together. Upon his recovery, he hoped to return to TV comedy, after completing his degree at the prestigious Doshisha University, Sumitani got a job at CO-OP KOBE, as a grocery delivery man. His desire to pursue a career as a professional comedian led him to quit his job after four months, Razor Ramon made their TV debut in 1999 and won the Judges Special Award in the ABC Owarai Grand-Prix in 2000. Both Sumitani and Izubuchi joined the Yoshimoto Kogyo-produced program Yoshimoto Shin-kigeki in 2001, often playing yakuza, salaryman, udon restaurant owners, construction workers, a character developed and portrayed by Sumitani is Hard Gay. The term Hādo Gei is a Japanese reference to American gay subculture in similar fashion to punk, in Japan, gender subculture with distinct dress style are in fact transgender or drag, which in Japan is referred to as Gei ゲイ. In turn, the term hard gay became the reference to more masculine oriented drag seen to be prevalent in America. The fact that Hard Gay does not portray any Japanese gay subculture also explains why the sketch was allowed to be aired on Japanese TV, the official name is Razor Ramon HG. According to some accounts the name Hard Gay was the suggestion of Sumitani’s senior comedian in the Yoshimoto Kogyo group, Kendo Kobayashi, the name has also been described as a pun on 芸, gei, which means skill or art. Hard Gay makes regular use of a number of catchphrases in his act, he makes his entrance in front of the camera shouting Dōmō Haadogei desu, with arms thrust out. His self-introduction is then followed by his dance moves and he often shouts Hoooooo or Foohhhh. A running joke in his performances and he often stops people saying unfavorable things to him by shouting Sei sei sei sei sei with his palm in front of the person’s face
34.
Wataru Sakata
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Wataru Sakata is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He has a professional MMA record of 11-13-0 as of December 31,2003, a former Kyokushin karateka, Sakata trained in professional wrestling at Animal Hamaguchis gym and joined Akira Maedas Fighting Network RINGS immediately after. Sakata debuted in RINGS in 1994 against Nobuhiro Tsurumaki and he made the transition to mixed martial arts before many of his native colleagues, starting to take part in shootfights the very year of his debut. Over the years, Sakata would become a frequent opponent for Chris Dolman apprentice Willie Peeters, Wataru finally got his revenge in Fighting Integration 4, making Peeters tap out in under a minute by ankle lock. Around this time, Sakata would also get important submissions wins over Valentijn Overeem, in 1999, Sakata participated at the King of Kings MMA tournament, but he was eliminated at the first round by Renzo Gracie, with the Brazilian fighter taking him down and submitting him. The next year, Sakata would face Pancrase fighter Ryushi Yanagisawa, a heavyweight, in a special match. When RINGS collapsed in 2002, Sakata participated in PRIDE Fighting Championships fights and he gradually began wrestling more, and he finally joined ZERO-ONE full-time. However, after retaining his double championship before Jun Kasai, Hidaka and Homicide, he shocked pundits by vacating it, though a tough perspective, it wasnt fruitless, and Sakata won the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship with Masato Tanaka from recent champions Shinjiro Otani and Takao Omori. In 2004, Sakata started appearing in off-beat wrestling opera federation HUSTLE due to its business relationship with ZERO-ONE. However, Sakata was later put in a hair vs. hair match against Umanosuke Anjo and was defeated, being forced to shave his head, which took its toll on his morale. Declaring himself to be unworthy of the HUSTLE Army, he ran away from the stable and worked to be accepted in Monster Army, now free, Sakata teamed up with other unaligned fighters like Mark Coleman, Takehiro Murahama, Ryoji Sai, which he called unofficially Sakata Army. Wataru also gained the support of Yuko Aoki as his valet for a time after saving her from being attacked by general manager Hiroko Suzuki, enraged for the loss, Tenryu turned against him and left Sakata Army to join Monster Army, leaving the stable depowered. However, Sakata was then challenged by Tokyo Gurentai and their associate Minoru Suzuki, again, the loss made Sakata and RG break up, and they feuded for some time with the help of Suzuki. In early 2007, after being beaten down by Tiger Jeet Singh, Wataru finally came to his senses and re-joined the HUSTLE Army. Right after Sakatas return to the HUSTLE Army, its leader Naoya Ogawa was bribed by Generalissimo Takada into turning heel and joining him, so Sakata, the same year, Sakata married to Eiko Koike, who was also introduced to HUSTLE as HUSTLE Yosei. However, Sakatas greatest moment would be when he voluntareed to fight The Esperanza in the next Hustlemania. Although Wataru was outlcassed and he was about to be finished off, his wife Eiko intervened and weakened Esperanza with her magic powers, which allowed Sakata to hit his superkick and pin his foe. Wataru became the first time a HUSTLE Army member had defeated The Esperanza after HG and TAJIRI had failed in do so, solidifying himself as HUSTLEs top face
35.
Nobuhiko Takada
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Nobuhiko Takada is a Japanese former mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He was an executive of PRIDE Fighting Championships and founder of the HUSTLE professional wrestling promotion, despite his irregular fight record and kayfabe politics, Takada is credited with the existence and boom of Japanese MMA. After training in the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo under Yoshiaki Fujiwara, as accustomed to puroresu neophites, Takada spent his first year as a jobber, though scoring occasional victories against other rookies. Among them, he feuded with Kazuo Yamazaki, and their matches were so well received that TV Asahi included one of them as part of the NJPW show, Takada was appointed Antonio Inokis personal assistant. It granted an ascension in the rankings for Takada, and he was part of the 1984 WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship league, facing Bret Hart, Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith. His staying in NJPW lasted until April 1984, when started working in Universal Wrestling Federation by Fujiwaras invitation, Takadas first matches in Universal Wrestling Federation were as a NJPW representative, but he soon joined full-time. He started with a singles run, defeating foreign wrestlers. On 20 January 1985 he would get an important victory over Super Tiger by referee stoppage, the tenure was short, however, as UWF folded shortly after, and Takada and other wrestlers returned to NJPW. Upon their return, the former UWF wrestlers formed an stable with the storyline of invading the promotion, as a singles wrestler, Takada was involved in a heated feud with IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Shiro Koshinaka, who had been Giant Babas assistant just like Takada had been Inokis. Now in the peak of his popularity, Takada received the nickname of Wagamamana Hikazoku for his hard and he finally lost it to Koshinaka in a rubber match on February 5. In March 1987, Nobuhiko amplied the feud to a tag team one when Maeda and him defeated Koshinaka and they retained it for months, until they lost it to colleagues Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki. In March 1988, Takada left NJPW along with Maeda and most of the original UWF wrestlers to form the second incarnation of the Universal Wrestling Federation called Newborn UWF, after the event, Takada was almost unbeaten in singles matches until the promotions closure in December 1990. Nobuhiko opened his run as the top star of the company beating Tatsuo Nakano, Kazuo Yamazaki and American wrestler Bob Backlund and they rematched after two months, with Takada coming over by submission after fifteen minutes. Immediately after his affair with Backlund, Takada was put in a different style fight against boxing champion Trevor Berbick, the nature of the bout as a worked match or a shoot fight is unknown, but what transpired in the bout was again not the planned course. Early in the match, after receiving some low kicks from Takada to his leg, Berbick immediately protested. According to UWFi trainer Pat McCarthy, no rules were ever changed, anyways, the win increased Takadas popularity. Takada had also feuds with Gary Albright and Super Vader, in 1992, Takada was awarded an old NWA World Heavyweight Title belt by Lou Thesz, after defeating Albright, and was proclaimed the Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. He defended the title until Thesz withdrew the belt in 1995, losing the Title once, the high point of his reign came on December 5,1993, when he defeated Super Vader before 46,168 fans at Tokyos Meiji-Jingu Stadium
36.
Yokohama Arena
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Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989, the arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama Municipal Subway. As one of the largest concert venues in the Kantō region, the spacious stage allows for more complex set design and lighting, but the reasonable size makes it easier to sell out than the Tokyo Dome. After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and resulting tsunami, Yokohama played host as a shelter for those affected by the earthquake. Citizens were allowed the stay the night, and were offered blankets, hideharu Terada, a Yokohama Arena official stated There has never been a big earthquake like this. The Yokohama Arena was opened on April 1,1989, at the exact day was held the opening celebration concert where performed renowned Japanese singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya, and the three upcoming days were additional dates of her concert tour. Children, One Ok Rock, Ai Otsuka, Silent Siren, Southern All Stars, Hikaru Utada, X Japan, as well humanoid projection Hatsune Miku. International artists also performed there, like Mariah Carey, Paula Abdul, Whitney Houston and Steve Winwood and Kpop groups Super Junior, Girls Generation, Shinee, Big Bang, Kara, 2NE1, TVXQ, island, CNBlue, Junho, f, BTS and SEVENTEEN. Besides music events, there was held an arts competition
37.
Dramatic Dream Team
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DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 1997 by Sanshiro Takagi. DDT, also written as D2T, stands for Dramatic Dream Team and it became one of the top names in Japanese indy wrestling by creating a unique Sports Entertainment style with a Japanese puroresu flair to the matches. The cards matches tend to be a mixture of Japanese lucharesu, worked shoot-style, hardcore brawling, DDT was the parent promotion of Union Pro Wrestling, which held events approximately twice a month, and is the parent of Tokyo Joshi Pro, which was founded in June 2012. DDT celebrated its 15th anniversary on August 18,2012, by holding its first ever event in Nippon Budokan, on August 17,2015, it was announced that Union Pro would be folding after its 10th anniversary event on October 4,2015. Three days after its folding, Union was replaced by a new promotion named Pro Wrestling Basara, in October 2016, DDT announced DDT Universe, a new streaming service for events held by DDT, DNA, Basara, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Ganbare☆Puroresu. The service launched on January 23,2017, DDT currently has 6 recognized championships, the top titles being the KO-D championships. Professional wrestling personalities make appearances at the bar, professional wrestling in Japan List of professional wrestling promotions in Japan Official website DDT Universe http, //www. wrestling-titles. com/japan/ddt/ - Title history of all DDT championships
38.
Gimmick (professional wrestling)
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These in-ring personalities often involve costumes, makeup and catchphrases that they shout at their opponents or the fans. Gimmicks can be designed to work as good guys or villains depending on the desire to be popular or hated by the crowd. A tweener gimmick falls between the two extremes, a wrestler may portray more than one gimmick over their career depending on the angle or the wrestling promotion that they are working for at that time. Razor Ramon was portrayed by both Scott Hall and Rick Bognar, occasionally, a wrestler uses a gimmick as tribute to another worker, such is the case of Ric Flairs Nature Boy persona which he took on as an homage to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers. When a wrestler acts outside his or her gimmick this is known as breaking kayfabe, a term showing pro wrestlings linkages to theatre, the two awards are given to the best and worst gimmick of that year. Current winners are The New Day and Stardust respectively, pro wrestlings history has been tied to the use of gimmicks from its infancy. It was not until the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the United States during the 1940s–1950s and his heel character focused on his looks and quickly antagonized the fans with his exaggerated effeminate behaviour. Such showmanship was unheard of for the time, and consequently, Gorgeous Georges impact and legacy on wrestling gimmicks was enormous, demonstrating how fast television changed the product from athletics to performance. Before him, wrestlers imitated ethnic terrors, but his success birthed a more individualistic. He was one of the first pro-wrestlers to use music, Pomp. In Britain, television took British wrestling to the level when in 1964. The style of wrestling at the time was unique with strong emphasis on clean technical wrestling, heels made up a minority of the roster, with most shows containing an abnormally high proportion of clean sportsmanly matches between two blue-eyes. This would remain the case for decades to come. Gimmick matches were a rarity, midget wrestling failed to catch on, during the Second Golden Age of pro wrestling in the 1980s–1990s a rise of cartoonish, outlandish gimmicks became popular with the increase of World Wrestling Federations popularity. Most notable was the muscular Hulk Hogan, who marked the 1980s with his all-American gimmick and his dominant role in the industry at that time led to this era to be also known as Hulkamania. Around this time, wrestling became a form of entertainment rather than an official sport, other wrestlers from this era with similarly outlandish characterisation include Ric Flair, Sting and The Undertaker. In recent years, the emphasis has been on more realistic gimmicks which portray the wrestler as a person, sometimes using their real names. Wrestlers Randy Orton, Batista, and John Cena are prime examples of this, exaggerating the characteristics of a wrestlers origin is one of the most commonly exploited gimmicks, in which overarching characteristics of a character play up to clichés and stereotypes
39.
Danshoku Dino
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Akiru Miyashita is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Danshoku Dino. Dino primarily competes for Dramatic Dream Team, where plays an overly exaggerated homosexual character and his ring name comes from the Japanese name for the character Baron Dino from the manga series Sakigake. Dino was trained in shoot fighting prior to training to be a wrestler, in February 2007, Dino made his first excursion overseas, as he debuted for a few American independent promotions such as Chikara, Combat Zone Wrestling and International Wrestling Cartel. E. T
