Gordon Solie was an American Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA Championship Wrestling, Continental Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest and most influential wrestling announcers.
Solie in 1979
Solie interviewing a fan in 1979
Solie at an NWA event in 1979
The crypt of Gordon and Eileen Solie in Tampa, Florida
Professional wrestling is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama, under the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Although it entails elements of sports wrestling and martial arts, including genuine displays of athleticism and physicality before a live audience, professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship. The staged nature of matches is an open secret, with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions; this is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction.
Triple H setting up the Pedigree on John Cena in October 2005.
Spectators gather in Pyongyang, North Korea for Antonio Inoki's Pro Wrestling Friendship Games. A traditional wrestling ring can be seen in the lower left corner
A WWE Money in the Bank ladder match in 2009
Tommy Seigler applies a hold to Nick Kozak while a referee looks on