A Brief Look At The History Of Professional Wrestling

By Janelle Burnett


The history of professional wrestling is long and colorful, filled with larger than life characters. In modern times it remains an immensely popular sport that attracts millions of fans and television viewers. Champions are revered and the sport is cash rich, offering massive purses. However, the rules according to which this spectacle is run is now vastly different, focusing more on entertainment than actual athletic prowess.

In modern times the sport has lost its status as a recognized sport and there is no formal athletic body that recognizes it as such. It has changed into a spectacle that is designed to entertain the crowds with mock battles where every move and every phase of the match are carefully scripted and rehearsed. Every single person involved in a match participates and plays a very well defined role.

Modern matched are typically pitched battles between at least one hero and one villain. Most successful participants have stage names, masks and recognizable costumes. The public is encouraged to take sides and to become involved in matches. The uninitiated may be aghast at the amount of abuse hurled at the participants by the crowd, but this is par for the course and part of the entire show.

Just because these matches are fixed and choreographed does not mean that the contestants must not be physically strong, lithe and fast. The potential for injuries are real and the contestants have to perform complicated movements. This is why most successful career wrestlers are large muscled and supremely fit. They are also particular about their diets and they spend a lot of time warming up before each match.

Detractors argue that amateur wrestling is a legitimate sport that is even contested at the Olympic Games. They are of the opinion that pro events detract from the strict rules that govern the sport and that the public may see the legitimate matches as being organized as farces similar to those offered on the pro level. The standard defense is that the public are aware of the differences and that they simply do not care.

The present version of this sport has its origins in traveling carnivals in the eighteen hundreds. Wrestlers used to challenge the audience to last a certain amount of time with them n the ring in order to be awarded a cash prize. Later, wrestlers competed with each other while bookmakers took bets from the crowd. Promoters started fixing the outcomes in order to lull the public into betting on what seems like a sure winner.

Despite the fact that the modern version is accepted as entertainment rather than as a sport it still has very old roots. People used to wrestle as far back as the age old Babylonian and Egyptian times and there are numerous ancient drawing testifying to this fact. The Greeks contrived a formal set of rules and during the Roman period it became immensely popular.

People simply love a good show and nobody will argue that the promoters and organizers put on spectacular shows. The heroes are big, strong and outspoken while the villains are despicable and loathed by the fans. It is all a show, but the history of professional wrestling has a more noble origin.




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