5. BIRTH OF THE HARDCORE ERA
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There is a huge misconception that hardcore wrestling was born, or established in the late 80's or the 90's. Contrary to popular belief, the hardcore style of wrestling was around long before ECW brought it to the forefront. In fact, the roots of hardcore wrestling can be traced all the way back to the 1930's.
His name was Bull "Wildman" Curry and he was indeed a wildman. Bull began wrestling in the 1920's. His first introduction to wrestling was when he joined a traveling circus. During the shows, he would accept challenges from anyone in the crowd who dared to challenge the “Wildman”. At one point, he had an undefeated streak of nearly 70 bouts without anyone going beyond a single five-minute round with the resident tough guy.
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As the industry evolved, so to did the career of Curry. He had the unique ability to get an entire crowd to turn against him, to the point where he was known as "the walking riot." Anytime he would win a match, the crowds would start an all-out riot amongst the spectators.
Curry is attributed to being the first wrestler to use weapons such as steel chairs, garbage cans and anything else he could get his hands on. Legendary hardcore wrestlers such as The Original Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher have credited Bull Curry as the true innovator of hardcore wrestling.
