Bury (professional wrestling)
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In professional wrestling, to bury refers to the worked lowering (relegation) of a popular wrestler's status in the eyes of the fans. The wrestler is set up by the booker to lose popularity, usually by having the wrestler lose one match after another, until he/she is seen by the fans as someone who belonged to the undercard. A wrestler must have attained a significant level of success before having a sudden losing streak to be considered "buried." Getting buried is often the result of:
- Real-life backstage disagreements or feuds between the wrestler and the booker. An example of this is generally considered to be the issues between WCW booker Kevin Sullivan and Chris Benoit. Sullivan had booked an angle that had Sullivan's then-wife Woman (Nancy Daus) start an (kayfabe) affair with Benoit. When their on-screen relationship became real, Sullivan and Benoit were said to have had a contentious backstage relationship at best. Although Benoit defeated Sullivan in a Retirement match, Benoit believed that Sullivan continued to use his booking authority to "hold him back".
- The wrestler falling out of favor with the company; the booker buries the wrestler to punish him/her. An example of this is Shelton Benjamin in World Wrestling Entertainment, who was enjoying an upper card push until he got into an argument with a road agent. Afterwards, he was relegated to the RAW brand's "B" show, WWE Heat, and only called up to the main show to lose to lower midcard talent.
