Founded alongside the Carolina Panthers in 1995 as an expansion team, the Jaguars competed in the AFC Central until they were moved to the AFC South in 2002. The franchise is owned by Shahid Khan, who bought the team from its original majority owner Wayne Weaver in 2012.[7][8][9] Jacksonville is located in Duval County, which serves as the inspiration for their chant- Duuuval![10]
The Jaguars saw early success, making the playoffs in each of their second through fifth seasons, a four-year span in which they won two division titles and appeared in two AFC Championship Games. They are the youngest NFL expansion team to appear in a conference championship (by their second season in 1996, along with the Panthers) and clinch their conference's top seed (by their fifth season in 1999). The Jaguars have been less successful since, with only four playoff appearances and two division titles since 2000.[11] Jacksonville is one of four NFL franchises that have never played in the Super Bowl, alongside the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and division rival Houston Texans.
The day after the NFL awarded the expansion team to Jacksonville, Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver held up the Jaguars' proposed silver helmet and teal jersey at the NFL owners' meeting in Chicago. The team's colors were to be teal, gold, and silver with black accents. However, this jersey and helmet design, with a gold leaping jaguar, created controversy. Ford Motor Company, then-parent of the automaker Jaguar, believed that the Jaguars' logo bore too much resemblance to the automaker's logo. Though no lawsuit was brought to trial, lawyers from the team and the automaker negotiated an ultimately amicable agreement whereby Jaguar would be named the official car of the Jaguars, and the Jaguars would redesign their uniforms.[12]
The new logo was a snarling jaguar head with a teal tongue, which Weaver said was his wife's touch. He also claimed that the teal tongue came from "feeding Panthers to our Jaguars" — an obvious jab at their expansion brethren. During the Jaguars' first-ever preseason game teal-colored candies were handed out to all the fans who attended, turning their tongues a teal color just like on the logo. Additionally, raspberry lollipops were handed out by the "Candy Man" in section 142 to also turn the home fans' tongues teal.
In 2009, Weaver announced that he wanted to "clean up" the team's image. This meant the elimination of the full-body crawling Jaguar logo, the clawing Jaguar, and the two previous wordmarks which bent the text around these logos.
In February 2013, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who had acquired the team in late 2011, introduced a new brand identity for the team that included a new logo, wordmark, and secondary logo. The new Jaguar head logo was intended to be "fiercer" and more realistic.[13] The secondary logo incorporated the new Jaguar head logo along with the first official usage of the team's popular nickname "Jags". The two images were encased in a shield-style shape, designed to be a tribute to Jacksonville's military community.[4]
Beginning in 2013, the Jaguars began to feature gold more prominently than in the past. From 2009 to 2012, gold had only been used in the team logo and as a minor accent color.
For most of their history, the Jaguars have done what many other NFL teams located in subtropical climates traditionally practice: wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season — forcing opponents to wear their dark ones under the sweltering autumns in Jacksonville. The only exceptions were in 2004 and 2008–2010, when the Jaguars chose to wear teal for all home games. In the preseason, the Jaguars typically wear teal at home, since these games are played at night when there is very little advantage with the heat.
Following the logo change, the redesigned uniforms featured an all-black helmet, white pants with teal, black, and gold stripes, and numbers with gold inner trim and black outer trim. The home jersey was teal with white numbers and the away jersey was white with teal numbers. Both jerseys had a black collar and no sleeve stripes.
A prowling jaguar on each sleeve replaced the leaping jaguar going across both shoulders in the original design. The Jaguars in 1995 were the first NFL team to have two-tone borders on their numbers and lettering, and the first NFL team to show a complex logo (the crawling jaguar) on the sleeve.
Minor modifications were introduced to the Jaguars uniform during this time, most notably the font of the jersey numbers, replacing the original block numbers with a unique font. Two stripes were also added to the end of the sleeves below the prowling jaguar.
The team introduced a black alternate jersey in 2002. During that same year, the team also introduced alternate black pants, worn with either the white or the teal jersey. After the black pants were introduced, the white pants would only be seen for the first few games of the year, presumably due to the heat. The black pants originally included two teal stripes down each side. The fan reaction to the extra black in the alternate jersey and alternate pants was positive, so in 2004 the Jaguars went through a formal uniform change, which teams are only allowed to do once every five years. These changes were mostly to the away look. Before 2004, the white away jerseys had teal numbers with black and gold trim, but after, the white jerseys had black numbers with teal and gold trim. The black pants were also changed. The teal stripes were replaced with the jaguar logo on each hip. Teal almost disappeared from the away uniform.
The stripes on the white pants were altered in 2008 so that the center, thickest stripe was black, and its accents were teal. In the 2008 year, the gold in the uniforms noticeably shifted from a bright yellow metallic appearance to more beige.
The Jaguars unveiled new uniforms for the 2009 season. Team owner Wayne Weaver reportedly wanted to "clean up" the look, feeling that the team had too many uniform styles. The new uniforms were introduced in a press conference on April 22.[14][15]
At this press conference, Weaver elaborated that different people had taken different liberties with the Jaguars' image over the years, singling out the "all black" look which the team wore for every prime-time home game from 2003 to 2007 as a point of regret. He also said that the team would wear their teal jerseys at home even on hot days, saying that the practice of choosing to wear white on hot days had also diluted the team's image. The new uniform reflected a simpler look overall. The collar and sleeve ends are the same color as the rest of the jersey. The crawling jaguar was removed. The numbers on the jerseys were changed to a simpler, block font with a thicker, single color border. After all of these subtractions, two features were added. The first was a "Jaguars" wordmark underneath the NFL insignia on the chest. The second was two thin "stripes" of off-color fabric which were added to each midseam of the jersey, curling up to the neckline on the front and below the number on the back. The stripe on the home jersey is a white line next to a black line, matching the color of the numbers, and the stripe on the away jersey is a black line next to a teal line, again matching the numbers. The pants have similar stripes, both for the home and away uniform. The away uniforms were still black pants and numbers on a white jersey, but they now used teal as the only accent color as opposed to using gold in previous years. The Jaguars' identity, in terms of colors, beginning in 2009 is exclusively teal and black, with gold only being used in the logo. The final change made to the Jaguars' uniforms in 2009 was to the helmet. The new helmet and facemask were black just like the old ones, but when light hit the new ones a certain way, both the helmet and face mask sparkled with a shiny teal appearance. These were the first helmets in professional football which changed color with different angles of light. The logo and number decals also incorporated this effect.[15]
Prior to the 2012 season, new Jaguars owner Shahid Khan announced that the team would once again use a black jersey, something they had not done since 2008. In September of that year, the team announced that it would use the black jersey and black pants as their primary home uniform. The teal jersey was resurrected as an alternate.[16]
On April 23, 2013, the Jaguars unveiled new uniforms designed by Nike. The primary home jersey is black with white numerals outlined in teal and gold. The road jersey is white with teal numerals outlined in black and gold, marking the first time since 2003 that the team has used teal numbers on their road jersey. The alternate jersey is teal with black numerals outlined in white and gold. The team had never before used black numbers on their teal jersey. All three jerseys feature a contrasting stripe that bends around the neck, and semi-glossy patches on the shoulders meant to resemble claw marks. The team added their new shield logo onto a patch just above the player's heart, meant to pay tribute to Jacksonville's military heritage.[17]
The helmet, first of its kind in the NFL, featured a glossy gold finish in the back that fades to matte black in the front, via a color gradient.[18]
The new uniform set includes black and white pants with the Jaguars logo on the hip and a tri-color pattern down the player's leg.
In November 2015, as one of eight teams participating in Nike's "Color Rush" initiative for four games of Thursday Night Football during the 2015 season, Jacksonville introduced an all-gold second alternative uniform. The set features a gold jersey with black sleeves and black trim, as well as all gold pants. The white front and back numbers are lined in the teal accent color and bordered by black. The TV numbers on the shoulders are white with black bordering. The set also features gold undershirts and socks.[19]
On April 19, 2018, the Jaguars again revealed re-designed uniforms. The new design returns to an all-black gloss helmet and removes many of the complicated details from the previous set. For the first time, there are no borders at all on any of the jersey numbers. There are no stripes or team logo on the pants; only an NFL logo and a Nike logo, which is the first and only of its kind in the NFL. Like the 2009 uniform set, the only gold in the uniform set belongs to the jaguar logo itself, and the block number font is not distinct from that used by other teams. The sleeve trim and collar trim are both a different color than the rest of the jersey, that and the solitary jaguar logo are the only distinct markings on the jersey. For the first time, the sock has a teal stripe between the black and white. The black jersey is the primary, as it has been since 2012, and the teal is the alternate. The Jaguars continued to pair the uniforms with either black or white pants, but added alternate teal pants for the first time.[20][21]
In 2019, the Jaguars began wearing either solid black or white socks as part of a new NFL mandate allowing solid-colored hosiery on the field.
In Week 3 of the 2020 season against the Miami Dolphins, the Jaguars wore an all-teal ensemble for the first time, complete with solid teal socks.
On February 17, 2021, the Jaguars announced that the club would return to wearing teal jerseys as its designated primary home jersey color.[22][23]
EverBank Stadium, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the world's largest scoreboards
EverBank Stadium (formerly known as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Alltel Stadium, EverBank Field, and TIAA Bank Field) is located on the north bank of the St. Johns River, and has been the home of the Jaguars since the team's first season in 1995. The stadium has a capacity of 67,814, with additional seating added during Florida–Georgia Game and the Gator Bowl.[24]
From 1995 to 1997 and again from 2006 to 2009, the stadium was named Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. From 1997 to 2006, the stadium was referred to as Alltel Stadium.[25] The naming rights were purchased by EverBank prior to the 2010 season.[26] Prior to the 2018 season the Jaguars announced the stadium would be renamed TIAA Bank Field.[27]
The stadium received a substantial upgrade in 2014 with the addition of new scoreboards, pools, cabana seating and premium seating that includes 180 field-level seats. The scoreboards are 60 feet (18 m) high and 362 feet (110 m) long. The new scoreboards are the world's largest video boards. Two 25 feet (7.6 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m) pools were installed in the north end zone along with the cabana seating. The cost of the stadium upgrades were $63 million, of which owner Shahid Khan helped finance $20 million.[28]
The Jaguars share rivalries with the other three teams in the AFC South: the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, and Tennessee Titans.[29][30][31][32][33] The Jaguars also have geographic rivalries with the two other Florida-based teams: the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Jaguars, Dolphins, and Buccaneers frequently play each other during the preseason. During the AFC Central days of the mid-1990s and early 2000s, the Jaguars had a rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the two teams were consistently in playoff contention.[34] The rivalry would reach new heights in the 2000s and 2010s when the Jaguars and Steelers joined the AFC South and North respectively.[35][36][37][38][39] Jacksonville also defeated Pittsburgh in the playoffs in 2007 and 2017.[40][41]
The Jaguars' rivalry with the Tennessee Titans dates back to the Jaguars inaugural season in the NFL prior to the 1995 season. when the Titans were then-known as the Houston Oilers. During the 1995 season, the Jaguars recorded their first win as a franchise over the Oilers in Houston. The rivalry intensified in the late 1990s as both teams were consistently near the top of the AFC Central standings. In 1999, the Jaguars posted a 14–2 record with both losses coming to Tennessee. The two teams met in the AFC Championship Game, with Tennessee beating Jacksonville for a third time that season, 33–14. The rivalry continued into the 2000s as both teams were placed in the newly formed AFC South in 2002.[42][43][44] The Titans lead the overall series, 34–23, having also won the only playoff game in the series.
The Jaguars share a divisional rivalry with the Houston Texans. Both franchises are two of the youngest in the league, the two teams clashed particularly during Jacksonville's notorious "Sacksonville" era defenses while the Texans often fought hard for control of the division. The Texans currently lead the all-time series versus the Jaguars, 29–14.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
The team's first home game was at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, against the Houston Oilers on September 11, 1960, with a 37–22 loss. They played their last game as an Oakland-based team on December 29, 2019, a game which they lost 16–15 to make them finish 3rd in the AFC West, eliminate them from playoff contention, and suffer a late-season collapse after starting with a 6–4 record.
A few months after the inaugural American Football League draft in 1959, the owners of the yet-unnamed Minneapolis franchise accepted an offer to join the established National Football League as an expansion team (now called the Minnesota Vikings) in 1961, sending the AFL scrambling for a replacement.[2][3] At the time, Oakland seemed an unlikely venue for a professional football team. The city had not asked for a team, there was no ownership group and there was no stadium in Oakland suitable for pro football (the closest stadiums were in Berkeley and San Francisco) and there was already a successful NFL franchise in the Bay Area in the San Francisco 49ers. However, the AFL owners selected Oakland after Los Angeles Chargers owner Barron Hilton threatened to forfeit his franchise unless a second team was placed on the West Coast.[4] Accordingly, the city of Oakland was awarded the eighth AFL franchise on January 30, 1960, and the team inherited the Minneapolis club's draft picks.
Upon receiving the franchise, a meeting of local civic leaders and businessmen was called, chaired by former United States Senator William Fife Knowland, editor of the Oakland Tribune; Edgar Kaiser of Kaiser Steel; developer Robert T. Nahas; and Oakland City Councilman Robert Osborne. Also attending the meeting were Oakland Mayor Clifford E. Rishell; City Councilmen Frank J. Youell, Felix Chialvo, Glenn E. Hoover, Fred Maggiora, John C. Houlihan, Dan Marovich, and Howard E. Rilea; Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Kent D. Pursel; and County Supervisors Emanuel P. Razeto, Leland W. Sweeney, and Francis Dunn. The gathering found a number of businessmen willing to invest in the new team. A limited partnership was formed to own the team headed by managing general partner Y. Charles (Chet) Soda, a local real estate developer, and included general partners Ed McGah, Oakland City Councilman Robert Osborne, F. Wayne Valley, restaurateur Harvey Binns, 1928 Olympic gold medalist Donald Blessing, and contractor Charles Harney, the builder of San Francisco's Candlestick Park, built on a bleak parcel of land he owned; the road leading to the stadium is known as Harney Way.
A "name the team" contest was held by the Oakland Tribune, and the winner was announced April 4, 1960, as the Oakland Señors.[5] After a few days of being the butt of local jokes (and accusations that the contest was fixed, as Soda was fairly well known within the Oakland business community for calling his acquaintances "señor"), the fledgling team (and its owners) changed the team's name nine days later[6] to the Oakland Raiders, which had finished third in the naming contest.[7] The original team colors were black, gold and white. The now-familiar team emblem of a pirate (or "raider") wearing a football helmet was created, reportedly a rendition of actor Randolph Scott.[8]
Oakland Raiders games were broadcast locally on KNBC (680 AM; the station later became KNBR), with Bud (Wilson Keene) Foster handling play-by-play and Mel Venter providing color analysis. Foster, the "Voice of the California Golden Bears", had a long career in radio, 1945–1955 as the "Voice of the Oakland Oaks" of the defunct Pacific Coast League; Foster was the first 1946–1949, 1951–1953, "Voice of the San Francisco 49ers".[9] After the 1962 season, Foster would only call CAL (University of California at Berkeley) football until his retirement. Raider games, 1963–1965 were heard on KDIA 1410 AM, with Bob Blum and Dan Galvin. In 1966. KGO Radio 810 signed a contract with the Oakland Raiders. Bill King was hired for the play-by-play and Scotty Stirling (an Oakland Tribune sportswriter) was color commentator.
When the University of California refused to let the Raiders play home games at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, they chose Kezar Stadium in San Francisco as their home field. The team's first regular season home game was played on September 11, 1960, a 37–22 loss to the Houston Oilers.
The Raiders were allowed to move to Candlestick Park for the final three home games of the 1960 season after gaining the approval of San Francisco's Recreation and Park Commission, marking the first time that professional football would be played at the new stadium.[10] The change of venue, however, failed to attract larger crowds for the Raiders during their time at Candlestick Park, with announced attendance of 12,061 (vs. the Chargers in a 41–17 loss on December 4), 9,037 (vs. the New York Titans in a 31–28 loss on December 11) and 7,000 (estimated, vs. the Broncos in a 48–10 victory to close out the season on December 17) at Candlestick.
The Raiders finished their first campaign with a 6–8 record, and lost $500,000, equivalent to $5.15 million in 2023. Desperately in need of money to continue running the team, Valley received a $400,000 loan from Buffalo Bills founder Ralph Wilson, equivalent to $4.12 million in 2023.[11]
After the conclusion of the first season Soda dropped out of the partnership, and on January 17, 1961, Valley, McGah and Osborne bought out the remaining four general partners. Soon after, Valley and McGah purchased Osborne's interest, with Valley named as the managing general partner. After splitting the previous home season between Kezar and Candlestick, the Raiders moved exclusively to Candlestick Park in 1961, where total attendance for the season was about 50,000, and finished 2–12. Valley threatened to move the Raiders out of the area unless a stadium was built in Oakland, but in 1962 the Raiders moved into 18,000-seat Frank Youell Field (later expanded to 22,000 seats), their first home in Oakland.[12] It was a temporary home for the team while the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum was under construction. Under Marty Feldman and Red Conkright—the team's second and third head coaches since entering the AFL—the Raiders finished 1–13 in 1962, losing their first 13 games (and making for a 19–game losing streak from 1961 and 1962) before winning the season finale, and attendance remained low.
After the 1962 season, Valley hired Al Davis, a former assistant coach of the San Diego Chargers, as head coach and general manager. At 33, he was the youngest person in over 30 years to hold the position of head coach, and the youngest person ever to hold the position of general manager, in professional football.[13] Davis immediately changed the team colors to silver and black, and began to implement what he termed the "vertical game", an aggressive offensive strategy based on the West Coast offense developed by Chargers head coach Sid Gillman.[14] Under Davis the Raiders improved to 10–4, and he was named the AFL's Coach of the Year in 1963. Though the team slipped to 5–7–2 in 1964, it rebounded to an 8–5–1 record in 1965. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise", "Commitment to Excellence", and "Just Win, Baby"—all of which are registered trademarks.[15][16][17]
The Raiders won the 1967–68 AFL Championship Game, but lost the next two against the Jets and the Chiefs (pictured) prior to the NFL merger.
In April 1966, Davis left the Raiders after being named AFL Commissioner. Two months later, the league announced its merger with the NFL. With the merger, the position of commissioner was no longer needed, and Davis entered into discussions with Valley about returning to the Raiders. On July 25, 1966, Davis returned as part-owner of the team. He purchased a 10 percent interest in the team for US$18,000, equivalent to $169,034 in 2023, and became the team's third general partner—the partner in charge of football operations.[18][19]
On the field, the team Davis had assembled and coached steadily improved. With John Rauch (Davis's hand-picked successor) as head coach, the Raiders won the 1967 AFL Championship, defeating the Houston Oilers 40–7. The win earned the team a trip to Super Bowl II, where they were beaten 33–14 by Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. The following two years, the Raiders again won Western Division titles, only to lose the AFL Championship to the eventual Super Bowl winners—the New York Jets (1968) and Kansas City Chiefs (1969).
In 1970, the AFL–NFL merger took place and the Raiders became part of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the newly merged NFL. The first post-merger season saw the Raiders win the AFC West with an 8–4–2 record and go all the way to the conference championship, where they lost to the Colts. Despite another 8–4–2 season in 1971, the Raiders failed to win the division or achieve a playoff berth.
In 1972, with Wayne Valley out of the country for several weeks attending the Olympic Games in Munich, Davis's attorneys drafted a revised partnership agreement that gave him total control over all of the Raiders' operations. McGah, a supporter of Davis, signed the agreement. Under partnership law, by a 2–1 vote of the general partners, the new agreement was thus ratified. Valley was furious when he discovered this, and immediately filed suit to have the new agreement overturned, but the court sided with Davis and McGah. That year would see the team achieve a 10–3–1 record and another division title. In the divisional round of the playoffs, they were beaten by the Steelers 13–7 on a play that would later be known as the Immaculate Reception.
In 1974, Oakland had a 12–2 regular season, which included a nine-game winning streak. They beat the Dolphins in the divisional round of the playoffs in a see-saw battle before falling to the Steelers in the AFC Championship. The playoff game against the Dolphins is known in NFL lore as the Sea of Hands game in which running back Clarence Davis caught a late 4th-quarter touchdown amid three Miami defenders to win 28–26 and end the Dolphins' chances of a three-peat and a fourth consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
In 1976, Valley sold his interest in the team, and Davis—who now owned only 25 percent of the Raiders—was firmly in charge.[18][21] The Raiders beat Pittsburgh in a revenge match on the season opener and continued to cement their reputation for hard, dirty play by knocking WR Lynn Swann out for two weeks in a helmet-to-helmet collision. Al Davis later tried to sue Steelers coach Chuck Noll for libel after the latter called safety George Atkinson a criminal for the hit. The Raiders won 13 regular season games and a close victory over New England (the only team to beat them in the regular season) in the first round of the playoffs. They then knocked out the injury-plagued Steelers in the AFC Championship to go to Super Bowl XI. Oakland's opponent was the Minnesota Vikings, a team that had lost three previous Super Bowls. The Raiders led 16–0 at halftime. By the end, forcing their opponent into multiple turnovers, they won 32–14 for their first post-merger championship.
The following season saw the Raiders finish 11–3, but lose the division title to 12–2 Denver. They settled for a wild card playoff berth, beating the
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Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring nameShawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and oversees the creative aspects of the NXT brand, the promotion's developmental territory.[6] Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "The Heartbreak Kid" (often abbreviated as HBK), "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania".[7]
Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, renamed in 2002), from 1988 until his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years, resuming his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 until ceremoniously retiring in 2010. He returned for a one-off final match in 2018. In 2016, he began working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center, and from 2018 as a producer on NXT, before becoming the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for the NXT brand itself.
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom was born in Chandler, Arizona, on July 22, 1965.[9][10] He has an older sister named Shari and two older brothers named Randy and Scott. He was raised in a military family and briefly spent some of his early years in the English town of Reading, Berkshire,[9] but grew up primarily in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, he disliked the name "Michael" and convinced his family and friends to address him by his middle name.[11] Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military.[11] He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and performed a wrestling routine at his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood.[10][12] He was a keen athlete while growing up, and his sporting career began at the age of six when he played football.[13] He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team.[2][14] He attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but dropped out to pursue a career in professional wrestling.[15] His cousin Matt Bentley is also a wrestler.[16]
Edge (wrestler) (born 1973), ring name of Canadian professional wrestler Adam Copeland
Edgerrin James (born 1978), nicknamed "Edge", American football player
The Edge (Born 1961), David Howell Evans, better known as the Edge or simply Edge is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the rock band U2
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Edge. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
Mysterio departed WWE in 2015, going on to appear in promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Lucha Underground, and AAA. He returned to WWE in 2018, where he was joined by his son Dominik.
Gutiérrez made his debut in Mexico on April 30, 1989, when he was 14 years old. He was trained by his uncle Rey Misterio and wrestled early on in Mexico where he learned the Lucha Libre high flying style that has been his trademark. He had ring names such as "La Lagartija Verde (The Green Lizard)" and "Colibrí (Humming bird)" before his uncle gave him the name of Rey Misterio Jr. In 1991, Mysterio was awarded "Most Improved Wrestler" in Mexico while wrestling as Colibrí.[citation needed]
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (1992–1996)[edit]
In early 1997, he began a feud with Prince Iaukea over the WCW World Television Championship, culminating in a title match against Iaukea at SuperBrawl VII on February 23, which he lost after Lord Steven Regal attacked him.[21] Mysterio also lost a title rematch at Uncensored on March 16.[22] He defeated Ultimate Dragon at Spring Stampede on April 6,[23] and Yuji Yasuraoka at Slamboree on May 18.[24] Mysterio began a feud with the New World Order (nWo), which culminated when he lost a Mexican Death match to nWo member Konnan at Road Wild on August 9.[25] Mysterio was then involved in a feud with his real-life friend and Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero, whom he defeated in a Title vs. Mask match at Halloween Havoc on October 26 to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the second time.[26] On the November 10 episode of Nitro, he lost the title back to Guerrero, as well as in a rematch at World War 3 on November 23.[27] On the January 15, 1998, episode of WCW Thunder, Mysterio defeated Juventud to win his third Cruiserweight Championship, but lost it nine days later to Chris Jericho at Souled Out.[26][28] After the match, Jericho continued the beating by using a toolbox he found at ringside. This storyline was used to cover Mysterio's need for a knee operation that kept him out of the ring for six months. At Bash at the Beach on July 12, Mysterio returned and defeated Jericho for his fourth Cruiserweight championship.[29] The next night, however, the result was overturned and the belt returned to Jericho due to Dean Malenko interfering.[29]
Later that year, Eddie Guerrero formed a Mexican stable known as the Latino World Order (LWO) (a spin off of New World Order) that included nearly every luchador in the promotion. Mysterio continually refused to join and feuded with Guerrero and the LWO members, including winning a match against longtime rival and LWO member Psicosis in a match at Road Wild on August 8.[30] He was forced to join the group after losing a match to Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio's on-and-off tag team partner Billy Kidman joined him during the feud with LWO, wrestling against the LWO despite Mysterio being a part of the group. Mysterio faced Kidman for the Cruiserweight Championship at Starrcade on December 27, but was unsuccessful in a triangle match also involving Juventud.[31] On January 17, 1999, at Souled Out, Mysterio failed to win the title from Kidman in a fatal four-way match that also included Psicosis and Juventud.[32]
After the two factions of nWo reformed, they demanded that the LWO disband. Mysterio refused to take off his LWO colors and was attacked by the nWo as a result. This led to a match at SuperBrawl IX on February 21, where Mysterio and tag partner Konnan lost a "Hair vs. Mask match" against Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, forcing Mysterio to remove his mask.[33] After the match, he phoned his uncle to tell him the news. Mysterio has publicly expressed his disappointment over being unmasked:
I was strongly against it! I don't think WCW understood what the mask meant to me, to my fans and to my family. It was a very bad move on their behalf. The fans wanted Rey Mysterio with the mask and losing it hurt me a lot. It was also frustrating that it didn't come as the climax to a feud with another masked wrestler, but in a throwaway match. The same thing happened to Juventud and Psicosis and psychologically wise it was a bad move by Eric Bischoff. I think the fans understand that I was in a position where I had no option. I either had to lose my mask or lose my job.[34]
Mysterio later became a "giant killer" by defeating large opponents such as Kevin Nash,[35]Bam Bam Bigelow, and Scott Norton.[36] At Uncensored on March 14, he lost to Nash after Lex Luger interfered and helped Nash win.[37] The next night, on the March 15 episode of Nitro, he defeated Billy Kidman to win his fourth Cruiserweight Championship.[26] On the March 22 episode of Nitro, Mysterio got his first shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against champion Ric Flair when the names of (allegedly) nearly everyone in the company were put into a hat and a lottery was held. El Dandy was the lottery winner, but he was injured, and Mysterio took the shot instead. The match ended with a disqualification win for Flair, even though Arn Anderson's interference on Flair's behalf should have theoretically disqualified Flair.[38] The following week, Mysterio and Kidman defeated Flair's Four Horsemen stablemates Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship,[39] making Mysterio a double champion. Mysterio successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against his tag team partner Kidman at Spring Stampede on April 11[40] before losing the title on the April 19 episode of Nitro to Psicosis in a fatal four-way match that also involved Juventud Guerrera and Blitzkrieg.[41] On the following episode of Nitro, he defeated Psicosis to win his fifth Cruiserweight Championship.[26] At Slamboree on May 9, Mysterio and Kidman lost the World Tag Team titles to Raven and Perry Saturn in a triangle match, also involving former champions Benoit and Malenko.[42]
No Limit Soldiers; Filthy Animals (1999–2001)[edit]
On the October 18, 1999, episode of Nitro, Mysterio and Konnan defeated Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team Championship.[39] Mysterio, however, was injured during the match and was sidelined as a result, Kidman substituted for Mysterio and teamed with Konnan during their title defense against Harlem Heat and the First Family, in which the Filthy Animals went on to lose the title back to Harlem Heat. Mysterio returned in early 2000 and remained a steady performer, eventually joining the New Blood faction in early 2000 opposing the Millionaire's Club.[49] On the August 14 episode of Nitro, Mysterio and Juventud defeated The Great Muta and Vampiro to win the World Tag Team Championship.[50] They were stripped of the title after Ernest Miller pinned Disco Inferno with the stipulation that if he pinned Disco, Mysterio and Guerrera would be stripped of the title. The Filthy Animals then feuded with The Natural Born Thrillers in the fall of the year. At Fall Brawl on September 17, the Filthy Animals fought the Thrillers to a "no contest" in an elimination tag team match.[51] Mysterio reformed his tag team with Kidman and the two challenged for the World Tag Team Championship in a triangle match at Halloween Havoc on October 29, facing the champions Natural Born Thrillers and The Boogie Knights in a losing effort.[52]
After WCW closed down, Mysterio started wrestling independently in Mexico. He made his first ever Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre appearance, debuting in an eight-man tag team match. Mysterio wrestled a total of 10 matches in CMLL before returning to the United States.[citation needed]
In June 2002, Mysterio signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and promos that hyped his debut began airing. The "Jr." was dropped from his name and was billed simply as Rey Mysterio.[citation needed]
At WrestleMania XIX, he faced the cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy for the title, but lost after Shannon Moore interfered.[65] On the June 5 episode of SmackDown!, he defeated Hardy to win the title.[66][67] After losing the championship to Tajiri on September 25, he regained it on January 1, 2004.[68][69] After a successful title defense against Jamie Noble at the Royal Rumble on January 25,[70] Mysterio lost the title to Chavo Guerrero at No Way Out on February 15.[71] At WrestleM
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring nameThe Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[13] Calaway spent the vast majority of his career wrestling for WWE and in 2022 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[14]
Calaway began his career in 1987, working under various gimmicks for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and other affiliate promotions. He signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1989 for a brief stint, and then he joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, turned WWE) in 1990.
Calaway was rebranded as "The Undertaker" on joining the WWF. As one of WWE's most high-profile and enduring characters,[15][16] The Undertaker is famed for his undead, funereal, macabre "Deadman" persona, which gained significant mainstream popularity and won him the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Best Gimmick a record-setting 5 years in a row.[17] He is the longest-tenured wrestler in company history at 30 years. In 2000, the Undertaker adopted a biker identity nicknamed "American Badass". Calaway resurrected the Deadman Undertaker in 2004, with residual elements of the "American Badass" remaining.
Mark William Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, on March 24, 1965,[18][19][20] the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby.[citation needed] He has four older brothers named David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy (died March 2020, age 63).[21] He attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying on a basketball scholarship at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in sport management and played as a center for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on a career in sports and briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe, before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.[22][23][24][25]
Calaway began training under Buzz Sawyer in late 1986;[6][26] he disliked Sawyer, who reportedly lacked commitment and provided a limited education.[6][7] Calaway learned "on the job" thereafter.[27] Performing under a mask as Texas Red,[7] Calaway wrestled his first match on June 26, 1987, for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), losing to Bruiser Brody at the Dallas Sportatorium.[8][28] He was accompanied to the ring by Percival "Percy" Pringle III, who would later serve as his manager in the WWF as Paul Bearer.[7][29] Two myths have circulated regarding Calaway's beginnings in the industry, the first being that he made his in-ring debut in 1984,[6] and the second being that he was trained by former WCCW colleague Don Jardine (aka The Spoiler).[30][31] While never trained by Jardine, Calaway was an admirer of his work and would emulate Jardine's top rope walk.[32][33]PWInsider's Mike Johnson stated, "Undertaker using some of Jardine's style eventually morphed into this story that he was trained by Jardine."[27]
He wrestled in Durban, South Africa on August 22, 1987, as "Texas Red Jack", losing to Tiger Singh.[34] He would also wrestle in prison shows under the name Boris Dragu, a Russian grave digger.[2]
In 1988, Calaway developed a military gimmick named The Commando. Under this persona, he mainly wrestled in the Chicago area for Central Illinois Wrestling. He would also have a brief stint in Georgia for Southern Championship Wrestling.
By the end of 1988, Calaway joined the Continental Wrestling Association, wrestling under several gimmicks. On February 2, 1989, managed by Dutch Mantel, he was reintroduced as The Master of Pain, a former murderer.[35] On April 1, The Master of Pain won his first professional wrestling championship by defeating Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion. Just over three weeks had passed when Lawler became the first man to pin him, giving it back to him. While performing as The Punisher upon returning to Dallas, Calaway won the USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989, when Eric Embry forfeited the title.[36]
By the end of 1989, Calaway joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a villain and adopted the ring name "Mean Mark" Callous, a name devised for him by Terry Funk.[37] He was portrayed as a sinister force, wearing predominantly black ring attire and was described by commentator Jim Ross as having a fondness for pet snakes and the music of Ozzy Osbourne.[38] Callous was promptly drafted into The Skyscraperstag team to replace a legitimately injured Sid Vicious, and made his debut on January 3, 1990, in a match later televised against Agent Steel and Randy Harris.[39] The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match.[40] However, Callous's partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against the Road Warriors at WrestleWar. Callous and a replacement masked Skyscraper were defeated in the street fight and the team broke up soon afterwards.[41] Now a singles wrestler, Callous took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman).
Calaway later began to question his future in WCW after being told by company booker, Ole Anderson, during contract renewal discussions that nobody would ever pay money to watch him perform.[6] It was in response to this that Calaway made numerous efforts to join the World Wrestling Federation, going to many lengths to land a meeting with Vince McMahon. However, accessing and securing an interview with McMahon was described by Calaway as a despairing task.[42]
Among routes Calaway took to land a meeting with McMahon was trying to convince individuals acquainted with McMahon or already existing WWF talent to recommend him into the WWF, such as Hulk Hogan, Paul Heyman, and Bruce Prichard, crediting the latter two for arranging the meeting at McMahon's mansion.[43]
Calaway immediately gave notice to WCW before the interview took place. McMahon initially declined to hire Calaway; however, several days later the owner pitched the idea an "Old West Undertaker," a concept he had intended to create for several years but had never found an appropriate wrestler to play the part.[43]
Calaway's final WCW match was on September 7 at a WorldWide taping in Amarillo, Texas in which he defeated Dave Johnson.[39] During his time in WCW, Calaway briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as "Punisher" Dice Morgan.[44] After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; Calaway defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE[edit]
In October 1990, Calaway signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), set to portray the "brainchild" of McMahon that he had assigned to him, originally entitled Kane the Undertaker[43] ("Kane" later added on to "the Undertaker" moniker by the time of his arrival at the urgings of Bruce Prichard, who had always desired a Cain and Abel effect for his character).[45] Despite Calaway's perplexed, pessimistic feelings about McMahon's gimmick idea, he was readily accepting of the role, feeling anything better than the laughingstock gimmicks of that time, such as The Gobbledy Gooker.[42][46][43] Kane the Undertaker was characterized as a menacing derivative of the Wild Westundertakers depicted in television westerns. Resulting from that, this first edition of the Undertaker's series of Deadman incarnations[42][46] has been distinguished in external media as "The Old West Mortician".[47][48] He made his overall WWF debut on a November 19, 1990, taping of WWF Superstars quickly defeating his first opponent, Mario Mancini, in a singles match[49] (this match was filmed three days prior to the Undertaker's televised debut at the November 22 Survivor Series, but did not air on television until December 15, 1990). Also prior to his Survivor Series appearance, Kane the Undertaker had a match on November 20 against Rick Sampson, which later aired on the December 9, 1990 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.[50]
Calaway's official televised debut was the Survivor Series event in which he was presented as the heel mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Team".[51] Approximately one minute into the match, the Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver.[52] (In 2018, Koko B. Ware shared that directly following this match that night, he confronted the Undertaker with serious objections to what he felt was a botched Tombstone. Though Ware also shared that he always admired Mark Calaway and perceived him as a great performer).[53] During the match, the Undertaker also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out; however, his team won the match with DiBiase being the sole survivor.[52] During the match, Calaway was referred to as simply the Undertaker, omitting the portion "Kane", which was dropped shortly after the event (and seven years later at the urgings of Prichard, given to another wrestler once he took on the role of the Undertaker's younger brother).[45][52] Throughout the end of 1990, the Undertaker mostly picked up squash victories against jobbers on Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge tapings.[52] He was a participant in the 1991Royal Rumble match which was won by Hulk Hogan.[52]
In February 1991, Brother Love delegated his short-lived management role of the Undertaker over to Paul Bearer (real-life funeral director), Love communicating the need for someone who better aligned with the Undertaker's "deadman" themes.[54]Histrionic, wailing and ghostly in character, Bearer complemented the Undertaker and was almost always seen bearing an urn which he raised in the air to transmit supernatural healing powers to the Undertaker; this typically resulted in the Undertaker recovering from attacks and counterattacking his adversaries.[54] During his early years, the Undertaker took to a post-match ritual of placing his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers) in a body bag and carrying them backstage.[55] He continued picking up victories in squash matches leading up to his first feud in the WWF with "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[52]
WWF Champion and beginning of The Streak (1991–1994)[edit]
The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[56] He began his first major feud shortly thereafter, which was with The Ultimate Warrior when The Undertaker attacked him and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlor segment.[52] Resulting from this, the Warrior enlisted the assistance of Jake "The Snake" Roberts to get him mentally psyched for The Undertaker's morbid alarmist tactics: Roberts would drill the Warrior with "know your enemy" training, setting up the Warrior in a series of creepy, terrorizing circumstances, such as by locking him in caskets and in rooms with snakes.[57][52] This culminated in a final stage of Roberts's training in which Roberts proved to be stringing Warrior along the entire time by assisting The Undertaker in an ambush.[57] The Undertaker would later suffer his first losses in the WWF to The Ultimate Warrior, including in a first ever body bag challenge, a casket match, and (at house show) standard pin-fall match.[58] The feud was, however, cut short after the Warrior's suspension and ongoing issues with Vince McMahon.[58] In the 1991 King of the Ring, Undertaker defeated Animal in a qualifying match before fighting Sid Vicious to a double disqualification in the semifinal, which saw both men eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament.[59]
The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series with the help of Ric Flair and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history to that point, 26 years of age—this record was later broken by Yokozuna in April 1993 at WrestleMania IX.[60] The Undertaker's Tombstone of Hogan to win the WWF Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series created real-life, offscreen discord between the two, which Undertaker attributes his short title reign, lack of title runs during his early career and distrust of Hogan.[61] In storyline, however, WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch between the two at This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan.[60] However, due to the controversial endings of the two title matches between The Undertaker and Hogan, the title was vacated from Hogan the next night by Tunney. The company was without a WWF Champion until Ric Flair earned it by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble match.[62]
In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack "Macho Man" Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when Undertaker stopped him, turning him (and Paul Bearer) face for the first time. Their face turn was solidified on the February 29 episode of Superstars when Roberts confronted The Undertaker on the Funeral Parlor set over the matter (aired on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX). After demanding to know whose side The Undertaker was on and getting the reply, "Not yours", Roberts attacked both Bearer and The Undertaker, only for The Undertaker to stand his ground and run Roberts off. The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII.[56] He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, such as Kamala and Giant González. Also during this time, The Undertaker headlined the debut episode of Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993, with a victory over Damien Demento.[63][64] According to Calaway, working with González "...was survival every night trying to figure out what he could do" and "took years off my career".[65] He faced González at WrestleMania IX, which is notable as The Undertaker's only disqualification win at WrestleMania after the use of chloroform.[66] The Undertaker's next rivalry initiated at Survivor Series with Yokozuna when a clash between the two lost control, causing them to be counted out in an elimination tag match.[67] In the weeks following, The Undertaker and Bearer spooked Yokozuna with multiple segments from their wintery and remote rural areaworkshop. There, Bearer presented The Undertaker hard at work carpentering Yokozuna what would eventually become a "double wide, double deep casket" custom-built for Yokozuna's immensely overweight size.[68] The feud culminated in a WWF Championship casket match at the Royal Rumble in January 1994. During the match, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of a multitude of heel wrestlers (some of them Whippleman-managed) hired by Yokozuna's vindictive managers Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji, which was in retaliation for Bearer's casket match stipulation that he snuck into their Royal Rumble match contract. After being trapped inside the casket by the pack, green vapor emitted from the casket and the arena lights went out. Undertaker then appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, representing the spirit of his dead corpse, warning that he would produce a future "rebirth" of himself, explaining to his antagonists that he cannot and will not Rest in Peace.[69] The Undertaker did not appear in the WWF for seven months after his loss to Yokozuna. In reality, he was given time off to allow a back injury to heal.[70]
Paul Bearer betrayed The Undertaker by hitting him with the urn that he is seen carrying.
Following the death angle at the Royal Rumble during The Undertaker's absence, the WWF promoted reported sightings of him through video clips of random people claiming to have seen him. After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee (one of Calaway's real-life best friends)[71] was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed "The Underfaker" by fans)[72] rejuvenated by Dibiase's money rather than Bearer's urn. His actions led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, defeating the impostor and appearing as a reincarnation of his Deadman gimmick, one of a more shadowy, mysterious and secret presence.[73] Represented now by cool colors, The Undertaker replaced details of his wrestling gear that were previously colored gray with purple, and effected scenes with blue/purple semidarkness.[73] Many details that would become associated with The Undertaker for the remainder of his career we
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This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Inter.
Michaels in 2008
Mysterio in 2018
Calaway in 2019
