The Major Changes In The History Of Professional Wrestling

By Vicki Diaz


Wrestling was already a sport as early as 3000BC. Major empires like the Babylonians, the Greeks and even the Romans also promoted it. Among these empires though, the Greeks are said to have taken the sport a notch higher. On the other hand, the history of professional wrestling is traced to the early twentieth century.

There are two main types of the game i. E. The Greco-Roman (which was the most common and widely practiced form of fight from the time of the Babylonians to the 19th century) and the catch style (which allows grapples below the waist). The major difference is that while the Greco/Roman type did not allow the players to grapple below the waist, catch allowed it. They were however, real and legitimate sports where winning was contested for and earned.

As mentioned before, the sport was birthed in early 1900s, 1920s to be precise. It is during this time that another segment of catch fighting was developed. Through professional fighting, promoters could hire wrestlers and train them on how they should behave during the game. They even promoted the idea of tag teams to maximize entertainment. In a tag team match, the referee can be distracted to give the wrestlers the opportunity to weigh down on their opponent illegally.

The game is a staged or scripted fighting with predetermined results. Interestingly, the winners or losers are trained to react to the results as near genuine as possible to ensure that the audience is well entertained. In some cases tag team fights do follow some form a storyline. There are times too when wrestlers stage feuds for long just to ensure that the crowd is charged enough.

The advent of Cable and television are seen as another turning point in the history of the sport. It was obvious in the 1950s and 1980s when the televisions and cable were introduced that there was a great boost in its popularity and acceptance. It is therefore referred to as the golden age of the game. Main promoters like the National Wrestling Alliance ((NWA) also got popular during this time.

Though NWA was the most known promoter of pro fighting, other regional outfits who felt they could not fit under their banner, formed their own promotional umbrellas. For instance, there was the American Wrestling Associating and the World Wide wrestling federation based in Minnesota and New York respectively. They however failed to capture the moment due to what was considered inferior storyline and scripting. They also could not build a star to compete with the likes of Lou Thesz from NWA.

The situation was worsened by the fact that the sport was being introduced nationally and the professional type needed to look convincing. These, as mentioned before, were the areas where the splinter groups failed. There were also allegations of misuse of enhancing drugs by some of their performers. All these brought disagreements between these bodies.

Whereas the history of professional wrestling is long, the game has since developed into one of the most watched sports nationally and arguably among the top revenue earner. The sport is also practiced in other major countries. There is Japan, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom just to name a few.




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