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The Machines (wrestling)
Encyclopedia
The Machines were professional wrestling
stable that performed in the World Wrestling Federation
in 1986 and 1987. The team consisted of well-known WWF wrestlers working under masks which strongly resembled that worn by Super Strong Machine
(Japanese wrestler Junji Hirata) in New Japan Pro Wrestling
at the time. The gimmick was very much tongue-in-cheek, as the identities of the masked men were obvious to the fans but frustrating to heels
when they were unable to prove them. The Machines was the last tag team Capt. Lou Albano
managed in the WWF until he returned in 1994 to manage The Headshrinkers
.
for more than a year, Bobby Heenan
's Heenan Family
challenged André and a partner of his choice to face King Kong Bundy
and Big John Studd
in a tag team
match on April 26, 1986. When André did not show and was replaced by Ted Arcidi
, Bobby Heenan launched a campaign to get him suspended from the WWF. After deliberating on the matter, WWF President Jack Tunney
was forced to suspend him for missing the tag team match and subsequent matches against the Heenan Family. (This was part of a wrestling storyline
, as André was touring Japan at the time, filming the movie The Princess Bride
(in which he was a featured star) and beginning to battle health problems.)
Less than two months after the suspension was announced, vignettes appeared on WWF Television hailing the debut of a masked tag team from the Orient, known as ”The Machines”: Giant Machine and Super Machine. The team announced that they were coming to America soon with their manager Lou Albano
and that their only mission was to prove that they were the number one tag team in the world. Super Machine was portrayed by Bill Eadie
; his ring name was a play on his previous gimmick, “Masked Superstar”. Though it was clear that Giant Machine was none other than André the Giant, commentators sold that Giant machine may be Giant Baba
and not André under the mask.
In the following weeks Bobby Heenan made repeated claims that Giant Machine was André the Giant attempting to circumvent his suspension. To illustrate the obviousness of the ruse, Heenan went so far as to introduce his ”New team from Korea” on an episode of Jesse Ventura
’s ”Body Shop”; the team was merely King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd wearing paper bags over their heads. Heenan's claims led to Jack Tunney decreeing that if the Giant Machine was revealed to be André, André's suspension would become permanent.
On August 5 (shown August 23), The Machines made their WWF debut with Super Machine wrestling in a singles match while Albano and Giant Machine were at ringside. Later that night, Bobby Heenan sneaked around at ringside taking pictures of the Giant Machine to try to prove his true identity. One week later, Albano introduced a third Machine to the WWF: Big Machine, who was played by Blackjack Mulligan
. André had been suffering from (legitimate) severe back injuries, and the introduction of the Big Machine character was meant to reduce André's wrestling role. "The Machines" angle was designed to put him in a lighter tag-team role. Due to the severity of the back injury, Mulligan was brought in to reduce André's wrestling role even further, thereby keeping the popular superstar on TV.
Big Machine and Super Machine would wrestle the majority of the matches against Bobby Heenan's cronies, occasionally with Lou Albano joining them to face Bundy, Studd and Heenan in six man tag-team action. Soon, other masked wrestlers (whose identities were generally obvious) would appear and temporarily team with The Machines. On September 10 Big and Super Machine were joined by Animal Machine
to defeat King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan. . On September 16 the Machines were joined by Hulk Machine
as the trio defeated the Heenan Family. The Hulk Machine would return on September 22 and help the Machines win in the main event at the Madison Square Garden
. A few weeks later the Machines received help from the kilt
-wearing Piper Machine
. On a house show in St. Paul, Minnesota the Machines even got the help of Crusher Machine
, pinning John Studd to gain the victory for his team. On October 28 the Machines wrestled their last match under that gimmick, a loss to Bundy and Studd. This also marked the last appearance as a manager in the WWF for Lou Albano.
After the Machines last match was shown on November 23, the angle was ended and André was announced as being reinstated on November 29. In the following weeks the mystery of why André the Giant was reinstated built up until it was revealed that Bobby Heenan had arranged for the suspension to end so he could turn on Hulk Hogan in the buildup to WrestleMania III
. After the angle ended Eadie (Super Machine) was repackaged as Ax, one half of Demolition
while Big Machine worked for the WWF as Blackjack Mulligan (Windham's best-known wrestling identity) in late 1986 and the first half of 1987 before leaving the promotion.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
stable that performed in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in 1986 and 1987. The team consisted of well-known WWF wrestlers working under masks which strongly resembled that worn by Super Strong Machine
Junji Hirata
is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestles for the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, and currently uses the ring name .-Career:Hirata made his debut in New Japan on August 26, 1978 against Yoshiaki Fujiwara...
(Japanese wrestler Junji Hirata) in New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...
at the time. The gimmick was very much tongue-in-cheek, as the identities of the masked men were obvious to the fans but frustrating to heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
when they were unable to prove them. The Machines was the last tag team Capt. Lou Albano
Lou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
managed in the WWF until he returned in 1994 to manage The Headshrinkers
The Headshrinkers
The Headshrinkers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Fatu and Samu. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance , and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling , World Class...
.
Story
After feuding intensely with André the GiantAndré the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
for more than a year, Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
's Heenan Family
The Heenan Family
The Heenan Family was a stable of heel wrestlers managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan beginning in the 1970s. Heenan managed wrestlers under the Heenan Family name in the American Wrestling Association , the National Wrestling Alliance's Georgia Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling...
challenged André and a partner of his choice to face King Kong Bundy
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
and Big John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
in a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match on April 26, 1986. When André did not show and was replaced by Ted Arcidi
Ted Arcidi
Theodore "Ted" Arcidi is an American former professional wrestler, actor and powerlifter.-Early life:The son of a nurse and doctor and one of seven children, Ted was born in Buffalo, New York, and took a different route from the family's academia tradition...
, Bobby Heenan launched a campaign to get him suspended from the WWF. After deliberating on the matter, WWF President Jack Tunney
Jack Tunney
John "Jack" Tunney was a Canadian wrestling promoter. Tunney was known worldwide for his appearances on World Wrestling Federation television as the promotion's figurehead president, suspending wrestlers, stripping them of titles, and ordering matches...
was forced to suspend him for missing the tag team match and subsequent matches against the Heenan Family. (This was part of a wrestling storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
, as André was touring Japan at the time, filming the movie The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
(in which he was a featured star) and beginning to battle health problems.)
Less than two months after the suspension was announced, vignettes appeared on WWF Television hailing the debut of a masked tag team from the Orient, known as ”The Machines”: Giant Machine and Super Machine. The team announced that they were coming to America soon with their manager Lou Albano
Lou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
and that their only mission was to prove that they were the number one tag team in the world. Super Machine was portrayed by Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...
; his ring name was a play on his previous gimmick, “Masked Superstar”. Though it was clear that Giant Machine was none other than André the Giant, commentators sold that Giant machine may be Giant Baba
Shohei Baba
was a professional wrestler and co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was also known as Giant Baba. Baba, along with Antonio Inoki, became one of the most famous Japanese wrestlers of his era, with a popularity in Japan comparable to Hulk Hogan's in the United States of America...
and not André under the mask.
In the following weeks Bobby Heenan made repeated claims that Giant Machine was André the Giant attempting to circumvent his suspension. To illustrate the obviousness of the ruse, Heenan went so far as to introduce his ”New team from Korea” on an episode of Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
’s ”Body Shop”; the team was merely King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd wearing paper bags over their heads. Heenan's claims led to Jack Tunney decreeing that if the Giant Machine was revealed to be André, André's suspension would become permanent.
On August 5 (shown August 23), The Machines made their WWF debut with Super Machine wrestling in a singles match while Albano and Giant Machine were at ringside. Later that night, Bobby Heenan sneaked around at ringside taking pictures of the Giant Machine to try to prove his true identity. One week later, Albano introduced a third Machine to the WWF: Big Machine, who was played by Blackjack Mulligan
Blackjack Mulligan
Robert Jack Windham , better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan is a former professional wrestler and a former American football player...
. André had been suffering from (legitimate) severe back injuries, and the introduction of the Big Machine character was meant to reduce André's wrestling role. "The Machines" angle was designed to put him in a lighter tag-team role. Due to the severity of the back injury, Mulligan was brought in to reduce André's wrestling role even further, thereby keeping the popular superstar on TV.
Big Machine and Super Machine would wrestle the majority of the matches against Bobby Heenan's cronies, occasionally with Lou Albano joining them to face Bundy, Studd and Heenan in six man tag-team action. Soon, other masked wrestlers (whose identities were generally obvious) would appear and temporarily team with The Machines. On September 10 Big and Super Machine were joined by Animal Machine
George Steele
William James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor...
to defeat King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan. . On September 16 the Machines were joined by Hulk Machine
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
as the trio defeated the Heenan Family. The Hulk Machine would return on September 22 and help the Machines win in the main event at the Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. A few weeks later the Machines received help from the kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
-wearing Piper Machine
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
. On a house show in St. Paul, Minnesota the Machines even got the help of Crusher Machine
Reginald Lisowski
Reginald Lisowski was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Crusher ....
, pinning John Studd to gain the victory for his team. On October 28 the Machines wrestled their last match under that gimmick, a loss to Bundy and Studd. This also marked the last appearance as a manager in the WWF for Lou Albano.
After the Machines last match was shown on November 23, the angle was ended and André was announced as being reinstated on November 29. In the following weeks the mystery of why André the Giant was reinstated built up until it was revealed that Bobby Heenan had arranged for the suspension to end so he could turn on Hulk Hogan in the buildup to WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
. After the angle ended Eadie (Super Machine) was repackaged as Ax, one half of Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...
while Big Machine worked for the WWF as Blackjack Mulligan (Windham's best-known wrestling identity) in late 1986 and the first half of 1987 before leaving the promotion.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Giant Machine
- Elbow drop
- Standing splash
- Super Machine
- Swinging neckbreaker
- Big Machine
- Lariat
- Hulk Machine
- Running leg drop
- Piper Machine
- Sleeper hold
- Animal Machine
- Lifting hammerlock
- Crusher Machine
- Bolo punchBolo punchA bolo punch is a punch used in Martial arts. The bolo punch is among the traditional boxing punches . Used many times and can cause powerful knockouts....
- Bolo punch
- Giant Machine