Fred Thomas Koury Sr., best known under his ring name ”Wild Bull” Curry, was an American professional wrestler of Lebanese descent. He is recognized as the originator of the hardcore style, predating legends such as The Sheik, Abdullah the Butcher, and Bruiser Brody.
Curry in 1967
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, including ladders, tables, chairs, thumbtacks, barbed wire, light tubes, shovels, glass, baseball bats and other improvised weapons used as foreign objects. Although hardcore wrestling is a staple of most wrestling promotions, where they are often used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions specialize in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Bull Curry was an innovator in hardcore wrestling.
Abdullah the Butcher during a hardcore match
A ring using barbed wire instead of ropes; this was first popularised by FMW in the 1990s.
Sabu putting Rhino through a table in Extreme Championship Wrestling