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.
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.
The beginning of twentieth century marked a turn in how the sport was done. Promoters resorted to professional fighting where the match outcomes were predetermined and contests, heavily scripted. It was all in an effort to increase the entertainment value of the sport. The game therefore borrowed a lot from catch style and its rules. The main idea was to contract and train performers. Ideas such as tag teams and use of distraction to win contests were also introduced.
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.
There are those who would credit the introduction of television and cable as the beginning of the professional sport as it practiced today. With the former being introduced in the early 1950s and the latter in the early 1980s, many say that that was the golden age of the sport. It is during this time that the games were promoted on national televisions and associations such as National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) got the much-needed publicity for their stars.
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.
Since the sport was being introduced to the national audience, the promoters needed better scripting and storyline to survive. Both the AWA and the WWF also went down due to investigation into some of their performers who were thought to abuse steroids. All these matters contributed to the failure of the opposing promoters. Eventually, the NWA remained as the lead promoter of the sport on TV.
Though there were difficulties through the history of professional wrestling, it survived it all and grew in popularity. Its popularity also goes beyond borders. Countries like Australia, Japan and Mexico are just examples. People in these nations now love the sport and own it like their own.
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.
The beginning of twentieth century marked a turn in how the sport was done. Promoters resorted to professional fighting where the match outcomes were predetermined and contests, heavily scripted. It was all in an effort to increase the entertainment value of the sport. The game therefore borrowed a lot from catch style and its rules. The main idea was to contract and train performers. Ideas such as tag teams and use of distraction to win contests were also introduced.
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.
There are those who would credit the introduction of television and cable as the beginning of the professional sport as it practiced today. With the former being introduced in the early 1950s and the latter in the early 1980s, many say that that was the golden age of the sport. It is during this time that the games were promoted on national televisions and associations such as National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) got the much-needed publicity for their stars.
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.
Since the sport was being introduced to the national audience, the promoters needed better scripting and storyline to survive. Both the AWA and the WWF also went down due to investigation into some of their performers who were thought to abuse steroids. All these matters contributed to the failure of the opposing promoters. Eventually, the NWA remained as the lead promoter of the sport on TV.
Though there were difficulties through the history of professional wrestling, it survived it all and grew in popularity. Its popularity also goes beyond borders. Countries like Australia, Japan and Mexico are just examples. People in these nations now love the sport and own it like their own.
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