Evolution of jobbers in the WWE

Zack Ryder

“Jobber” – A term that invokes so much hatred and emotions among the professional wrestling community, yet a word that is often used to describe about 70% of the talent on the roster.

It is never a good feeling to be called a “jobber” in professional wrestling. For those who are unaware about the meaning of it, it usually describes a performer who loses to the other talent almost all the time.

In professional terms, a jobber is a person who makes the other talent look good, putting them over. Throwing all the technical jargon aside, a jobber is a guy that the management perceives no one cares about and makes them lose to the top talent.

You had the examples of the Brooklyn Brawler in the WWF, who used to lose matches almost every week.

Back in the olden days, there were no jobbers, purely because professional wrestling was as real as it got, at least to the outside world. There was a strict rule about not breaking ‘kayfabe’; in other words, professional wrestlers had to make the people believe that professional wrestling was completely real.

Although we can nitpick about things and say professional wrestling is indeed real, the essence of the industry was making people believe that the rivalries were true, and so were the matches.

At a time like that, having “jobbers” would have jeopardized the hidden truth about professional wrestling. So what happened? When did this evolution begin?

Although guys were scheduled to lose matches, the “jobber” tag came around when professional wrestling was shifting gears to get into the entertainment industry. You had guys losing on a constant basis to either make themselves look ridiculous (And in promoter’s world, funny), or to put all of his opponents across as dominant and strong.

There is a saying in professional wrestling that if a guy has to look “good”, there has to be someone who can make him look good. In other words, for a guy to look dominant in the ring, his counterpart must make him look dominant, thus “jobbing” to him.

With professional wrestling becoming “Sports entertainment”, Vince McMahon disclosed the secret about professional wrestling being scripted, thus essentially breaking the very basic and the most important rule of the business.

As colourful characters started appearing in professional wrestling, these “jobbers” became more and more popular. In 80s and the early part of 90s, Vince employed full time “jobbers” to have matches, sometimes against each other.

With ratings declining (are you surprised?) he eliminated this aspect, using these performers against the top tier talent, feeding them the jobbers.

Fast forward to the late 90s, and Vince came out in the open with the concept of jobbers, even forming a group in the WWF who were known as the J.O.B squad (which was also used to get some giggles backstage. Brilliant, nay?). During the Attitude Era, a lot of superstars were used as jobbers, often putting over the likes of Austin and The Rock during their rise to prominence.

In today’s scenario, you have the likes of 3MB , who are the new age version of the J.O.B squad and a lot of lower mid card and mid card talent who lose matches on a constant basis.

The role of jobbers in the business can never be taken for granted though, as these are the guys who make the John Cenas and Dave Batistas look monstrous and unstoppable.

It is true that a superstar cannot look dominant unless he beats someone convincingly. Would Sheamus‘s debut be as impactful as a heel monster if he didn’t throw a couple of local performers around the ring? Or would the fans have taken Umaga so seriously if he didn’t destroy some lower mid carders? The answer is no.

The jobbers too have come a long way since the concept initially took shape in the late 70s and 80s. Earlier, the jobbers never had in-depth character, and their roles were confined to them losing convincingly. But today, you have a Zack Ryder who comes under the “jobber” tag, but has a completely defined character, and did have his moment in the spotlight when he became the United States champion.

Like professional wrestling, or any other part associated with it, the jobbers too have evolved over time, and like before, play an integral part in the professional wrestling industry.