Job (professional wrestling)

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As professional wrestling is not real, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent. While this technically does not matter, it may mark the end of a push, or damage a wrestler's self-esteem; also it may be a slip down the slippery slope. So when a wrestler is forced to lose, this is described as doing the job.

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 its Italian equivalent, jabroni, a phrase that was made popular by The Rock.

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; three WWF examples are Tony Garea, Tito Santana and Val Venis. Hardcore Holly is also a jobber to the stars, even having short feuds with some of the top level stars such as JBL and Kurt Angle. Christian jobbed to the stars in tag team matches during his alliance with Chris Jericho. Tyson Tomko also jobbed to the stars in tag team matches while aligned with his former partner Christian.

It must be said, however, that many of the greatest names in wrestling began their careers as jobbers. For example, Mick Foley and Bret Hart started their careers as jobbers in the 80s, later going on to greater success in the 90s after employers began to recognize their talent. Peter Polaco was another jobber who later became famous in ECW as Justin Credible. Being a jobber is not always a true reflection of a performer's in-ring talent, after all, pro wrestling is pre-determined, and those in charge may determine that what's best for business may not be what's best for the in-ring product, hard to believe as that may be. One who is a jobber today may not be a jobber forever, but it is still believed by many that not using someone to their full potential by making them put over people believed to be of lesser talent on a regular basis is bad for business.

To lose in a uninfluenced fight is to job cleanly. To lose through outside interference is called a screwjob.

Whilst in ECW, Al Snow began referring to jobbing on-screen as part of his gimmick. He subsequently formed a stable called the Job Squad.

Notable jobbers in World Wrestling Entertainment include Simon Dean, Steven Richards, and Funaki, though most of the wrestlers considered jobbers today are relegated to the HEAT and Velocity shows. One of the most well-known WWE jobbers is Steve Lombardi, otherwise known as The Brooklyn Brawler, who has made a career out of losing in the WWE, although he has had a few notable high points in his career. Among them were facing Shawn Michaels for the WWF Title at Madison Square Garden (in a losing effort, of course), and defeating Hunter Hearst Helmsley, after a large amount of outside interference on an episode of SmackDown! Also, Viscera is somewhat of a jobber, but is put over as a difficult challenge mainly because of his size. Many legends made special appearances usually only to job to young talent. A notable one is a WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter. He had returned few times on RAW only to get assaulted by Test, knocked out by Randy Orton, lose to La Resistance in a tag team match, and to submit to Muhammad Hassan's Camel Clutch and Chris Masters' Full Nelson which he dubbed the "Master Lock."

Among the "enhancement talent" of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling are Lex Lovett, Brian Gamble, Buck Quartermain, and Kenny King. Many fans consider Sonny Siaki and Jerrelle Clark jobbers as well. Though both at one time were X Division contenders (Siaki was one of the first TNA X Division Champions), their careers in TNA have gone nowhere in recent years.

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Notable Jobbers

WWF/E

TNA


NWA/WCW

AWA

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See also

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