The Foreign Object

The “foreign object” is a term given to a weapon that is brought into a wrestling match for use by a wrestler to gain an advantage, and at most times, the victory in a match.
Foreign objects can range from something small like a pencil or a fork to something large like the ring steps or a garbage can.
Most wrestlers try to be sneaky when using a foreign object and others, just blatantly use them in full view of the referee, mostly out of frustration, which usually results in the disqualification loss of the offending wrestler.

There are a couple of wrestlers from back in the day that I like to call the “Masters of the Foreign Object” were Abdullah the Butcher and George “The Animal” Steele.
Abdullah’s favorite foreign objects were the pencil and the fork and these were easily hid from the referee under the folds of his skin. He would then trap an opponent in the corner and proceed to dig at his forehead until his head was bloody and looked like a road map. He would then hide the foreign object under the folds of his skin and miraculously, the ref was oblivious to the whole thing.

However, George “The Animal” Steele was one of my favorites. He would use a small foreign object and when the ref tried to find it, George would hide it in his mouth so it was sticking out in plain view of everyone but the referee because he would have his back to the ref and the referee would pat search him from behind and George would prevent him from moving around to the front to see it, and when the ref did get around, George would simply take it out of his mouth and usually just cup it in his hand.

There were even wrestlers who have used the foreign object against themselves…so to speak. Take the late Eddie Guerrero for instance. He had become famous for taking a foreign object, such as a steel chair, tossing it to an opponent when the ref was having a cup of coffee and then laying himself down on the mat as if he was hit by the chair. The ref would then turn just in the nick of time and see an opponent holding the chair and Eddie Guerrero lying on the mat and he would disqualify the stymied and confused wrestler. Eddie would win and then get the last laugh.

Today, hardcore wrestling is a big thing and the foreign object is usually mandatory in this venue. Hardcore wrestling has seen foreign objects like the garbage can, weed whackers, baseball bats, anything wrapped in barbed wire, sledge hammers, frying pans and everything, except the kitchen sink. Actually, come to think of it, kitchen sinks have been used as foreign objects in hardcore matches.