Job (professional wrestling)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A job is professional wrestling slang referring to a performer who loses a match. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent. When a wrestler is booked to lose a match it is described as a "job".

To lose in a fight without interference is to job cleanly. To lose through outside interference is called a screwjob.

[edit] Effects

Despite the scripted nature of professional wrestling, a job might signify certain events that have real-life implications on a wrestler. A job may mark the end of a push, a departure from the company, a mark of a loss of faith in the wrestler as a marketable commodity, or damage a wrestler's self-esteem. As a result, it may also mark a downward slide in a wrestler's career. This is especially the case when the wrestler is beaten very easily, or squashed.

[edit] Jobbers

The act of losing is called jobbing and a frequent loser is referred to as a jobber. It is a mark of disrespect to refer to a wrestler as a jobber, as it implies they are a failure in their career. The term has entered into popular culture, to mean a loser or someone who is worthless, as well as jabroni, a phrase that was invented by The Rock.

Alternate terms included:

• journeyman (because of jobbers being hired for individual matches and not having contracts with the major promotions)
• enhancement talent (due to their usage to enhance the stature of their opponent) and *ham-n-egger (supposedly coined by Bobby Heenan, a phrase also used in boxing circles for unskilled fighters in reference to the amount of money they make buys them just enough for a ham and eggs breakfast).
• preliminary wrestler, a term often used by print wrestling magazine.

Despite the negative sense of the word, some wrestlers have made a career out of jobbing. Barry Horowitz and Steve Lombardi (better known as the "Brooklyn Brawler") made a career out of jobbing, primarily in the World Wrestling Entertainment.

A slightly higher position is jobber to the stars, which is a wrestler who still defeats pure jobbers but who consistently loses to top-level or up-and-coming stars. This often happens to popular faces towards the end of their careers, including Tony Garea and Tito Santana. Triple H was given this role in the summer of 1996 by Vince McMahon as punishment for the infamous MSG Incident.

Many top names in wrestling began their careers as jobbers. Mick Foley and Bret Hart began their careers as jobbers in the 1980s, later going on to greater success in the 1990s after employers began to recognize their talent. Peter Polaco and Terry Gerin were jobbers who later became stars in ECW as Justin Credible and Rhino, respectively.

[edit] Gimmicks

Sometimes, jobbing may be used as a gimmick. Whilst in ECW, Al Snow began referring to jobbing on-screen as part of his gimmick. He subsequently formed a stable called the J.O.B. Squad. Also, in World Championship Wrestling since 1994, the tendency of the Armstrongs (particularly Brad Armstrong) to lose matches was referred to as the "Armstrong curse". On average, however, Brad was more of a jobber to the stars, while his brothers were pure jobbers for the most part