Wrestling has a history that can be traced back to about 3000 BC. In fact, the sport started during the Babylonian rule and existed from empire to empire. However, much credit is given t the Greeks who greatly promoted this sports. The history of professional wrestling can be traced to early 20th century.
Wrestling is mainly categorized into two. There is the Greco-Roman type, which is considered the oldest and was the most practiced and the catch style (where some things which were initially prohibited in the rules of the game were allowed). For instance, catch style allowed the wrestler to grapple below the waist, a thing that was not permitted in the Greco-Roman style. Nonetheless, both of the styles were legit games where victory was earned.
It was until the early 1920s that the game had a major change. The word professional wrestling was coined during this period. This was also when promoters of the sport employed scripting and predetermining matches so as to interest the audience more. Though it borrowed much from the catch style, these were never to be legitimate fights but rather stage-managed competitions whose winners, the performers, and the organizers already knew. Tag teams and use of unfair means to win matches were introduced too.
By definition therefore, the sport is a stage-managed fight with known results. The trick is however to make the audience convinced that it is real through trained reactions to the predetermined loss or win. There are cases where professional wrestlers would display feuds just to make their performance against each other more thrilling. Mostly though, the fight would follow a storyline that resembles a real situation and thus maximize the entertainment.
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.
These small disagreements lead to the formation of groups such as World Wide Wrestling Federation and American Wrestling Association based in New York and Minnesota respectively. Though the groups had some success in promoting their games, they could not match the success NWA had. In addition, they could not get a star figure with national popularity as Lou Thesz.
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.
Wrestling is mainly categorized into two. There is the Greco-Roman type, which is considered the oldest and was the most practiced and the catch style (where some things which were initially prohibited in the rules of the game were allowed). For instance, catch style allowed the wrestler to grapple below the waist, a thing that was not permitted in the Greco-Roman style. Nonetheless, both of the styles were legit games where victory was earned.
It was until the early 1920s that the game had a major change. The word professional wrestling was coined during this period. This was also when promoters of the sport employed scripting and predetermining matches so as to interest the audience more. Though it borrowed much from the catch style, these were never to be legitimate fights but rather stage-managed competitions whose winners, the performers, and the organizers already knew. Tag teams and use of unfair means to win matches were introduced too.
By definition therefore, the sport is a stage-managed fight with known results. The trick is however to make the audience convinced that it is real through trained reactions to the predetermined loss or win. There are cases where professional wrestlers would display feuds just to make their performance against each other more thrilling. Mostly though, the fight would follow a storyline that resembles a real situation and thus maximize the entertainment.
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.
These small disagreements lead to the formation of groups such as World Wide Wrestling Federation and American Wrestling Association based in New York and Minnesota respectively. Though the groups had some success in promoting their games, they could not match the success NWA had. In addition, they could not get a star figure with national popularity as Lou Thesz.
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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