In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match.[1] It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, almost inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.[2]
The term can be used a number of ways. When a wrestler is booked, or scripted, to lose a match it is described as "a job." The act itself is described with the verb jobbing, while the act of booking (rather than being booked) to job is called jobbing out. To lose a match fairly (meaning without any kayfabe rules being broken) is to job cleanly.[2] A loss through outside interference, cheating, or a reversed decision is called a screwjob. Wrestlers who routinely lose matches are known as jobbers or jabronis.
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Although most jobs are routine, a high-profile loss might signify certain behind-the-scenes events that have real-life implications on a wrestler. A job may mark the end of a push, a departure from the company, or a loss of faith in the wrestler as a marketable commodity. 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. However, it can also be orchestrated by the wrestler himself, as was the case with David Sammartino (son of the legendary champion Bruno Sammartino) in the late 1980s when he purposely lost in a squash match to jobber Ron Shaw as a protest against his treatment as a competitor by Vince McMahon, the chair of the World Wrestling Federation. It later became evident that Shaw himself had no idea what Sammartino had concocted, the latter having called for the referee to stop the bout after Shaw caught him in a bear hug that Sammartino could easily have broken. Shaw was awarded the victory after a brief match in which Sammartino did not even register a single blow. Though he was not ousted from the WWF, Sammartino was then given a series of insignificant matches that were not designed to give him a shot at the championship title, and he soon left the circuit of his own accord, his career essentially ruined.
A Jobber, also known as a journeyman or "ham-n-egger", is a phrase supposedly first used by Bobby Heenan in Professional Wrestling. The term, also used in boxing, refers to unskilled fighters who would earn just enough money to pay for a breakfast of "ham and eggs". A number of wrestlers have made a career out of jobbing. Barry Horowitz and Steve Lombardi (better known as the "Brooklyn Brawler") are popular examples who worked primarily in the World Wrestling Federation. Although being jobbers, Horowitz and Lombardi both earned upset wins over Skip and Triple H, respectively.
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 and sometimes heels towards the end of their careers, including Tony Garea, Tito Santana, and, more recently, Val Venis, Goldust and Chavo Guerrero.
Many of these wrestlers are "heels" (villains) who routinely beat up on weaker "nice guy" jobbers ("faces") so as to build up a reputation of being reasonably capable competitors (which makes the stars all the more impressive when they in turn defeat them easily) as well as to earn the contempt of the audience who enjoy seeing them finally get their comeuppance when they take on the tougher wrestlers. Two of the more notable "heels" in this category were The "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz as well as Jose Estrada.
Triple H was given this role in the summer of 1996 by Vince McMahon as punishment for the infamous Madison Square Garden Incident. Sometimes, the opposite will occur, such as with Curt Hennig and Eddie Gilbert, who served as high-level jobbers during their initial WWF runs, then later became main-eventers.
In other careers and activities outside the wrestling world a "Jobber" is a very successful individual.
The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) made greatest use of full-time jobbers during their syndicated television shows in the 1980s and early 1990s, WWF Superstars of Wrestling and WWF Wrestling Challenge. In addition to Horowitz and Lombardi, other jobbers of this period included "Leaping" Lanny Poffo, Brady Boone, Mr. X, Barry O, Damien Demento, Reno Riggins, Duane Gill, Barry Hardy, Jack Foley, Scott Casey, Los Conquistadores, Bobby Who, Iron Mike Sharpe, Von Krus, S.D. Jones, George South, Dusty Wolfe, and Bryan Costello.
Some jobbers had gimmicks. For example, Poffo carried Frisbees to the ring, which he threw into the stands just before he read poetry. Horowitz wore green tights with spangled purple suspenders and patted his own back.
In the early '90s, the WWF elevated Lombardi and Poffo into mid-profile programs. Poffo was rebranded "the Genius," and later stepped down from wrestling to manage "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. Lombardi became the "Brooklyn Brawler" and engaged in a feud with Terry Taylor, a/k/a the "Red Rooster."
By the mid-1990s, the WWF dropped most jobber matches in order to increase TV ratings. Superstars fought each other on a regular basis on Monday Night Raw (see Monday Night Wars). Superstars and Challenge were converted into recap shows. By 1995, Challenge was canceled and Superstars was moved to a Sunday afternoon timeslot on cable television. Jobbers were mainly not professionally contracted like superstars, and with the Monday Night Wars forcing the WWF to sign all employees to contracts as WCW had been doing, jobber matches died out. Today, superstar-versus-jobber matches take place occasionally on Raw and SmackDown!, to put over up-and-coming superstars. However, the term has blurred into also incorporating superstars no longer pushed due to lack of heat (e.g. Val Venis, Snitsky, Viscera, Goldust, Charlie Haas, Hacksaw Jim Duggan). Classic jobbers on these shows come mainly from local promotions and are not contracted to the WWE. Many such superstar-versus-true-jobber squash matches are dark matches(either untelivised or pre-broadcast matches).
A jobber may not necessarily lose, only make the superstar look powerful or at least another superstar interfering with the match to be powerful. An example includes a jobber, Jimmy Jacobs, wrestling Eddie Guerrero during his last heel run and feud with Rey Mysterio, who actually won by disqualification when Guerrero beat him with a chair. Another example of a jobber winning was when "The Kid" suddenly won an "upset" over Razor Ramon on the May 17, 1993 episode of WWF Monday Night Raw. He then renamed himself the "1-2-3 Kid".[3] This win and the Kid were worked into Ramon's feud with Ted DiBiase with DiBiase taunting Ramon repeatedly over losing to a nobody until he too was pinned by the Kid. On the September 20,1993 episode of WWF Monday Night Raw I.R.S. was pinned with a rollup by P.J. Walker thanks to Razor Ramon's interference.[4]
A jobber may win by making a heel wrestler look weak. An example of this comes during Marc Mero's feud with Sable, when Salvatore Sincere defeated him by countout, due to Mero being distracted by Sable disrobing and getting positive fan reaction. In this instance, Marc Mero used the term "jobber" on-air while describing Sal Sincere, 'outing' him by his real name Tom Brandi, in an act of breaking kayfabe (admitting the show was scripted).
Sometimes, jobbing may be used as a gimmick. While 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.
Steve Lombardi, better known as the Brooklyn Brawler in the WWF, is often recognized as the most famous jobber for the majority of his in-ring career and has since become a part of his character.
The Barry Horowitz/Skip feud in the WWF during the Summer of 1995 revolved around how Horowitz's constant losing streak ended when he defeated Skip.
A jobber angle involved Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), whose continual losses during the end of 2008 – including embarrassing losses in which he was pinned by roll-ups from mid-level WWE superstars – have, in the storyline, cost him the signing bonus he received when he joined WWE.[5]