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.
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.
It is therefore right to define the game as a stage-managed fight between well-coached performers who also know how to react to the match outcomes. The performers are to follow a given storyline and develop feuds for the excitement of the audience. It is true that these feuds and well-written storyline played a major role on the continuity and popularity of the game across the country.
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.
It is said that their main failure was in their inability to come up with convincing storyline. As the game was just getting national acceptance, people still though it was legitimate and thus a perfectly convincing plot and staging was necessary. Both WWF and AWA lacked or were not good in these. There were also claims of abuse of steroid by some of their performers.
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.
It is therefore right to define the game as a stage-managed fight between well-coached performers who also know how to react to the match outcomes. The performers are to follow a given storyline and develop feuds for the excitement of the audience. It is true that these feuds and well-written storyline played a major role on the continuity and popularity of the game across the country.
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.
It is said that their main failure was in their inability to come up with convincing storyline. As the game was just getting national acceptance, people still though it was legitimate and thus a perfectly convincing plot and staging was necessary. Both WWF and AWA lacked or were not good in these. There were also claims of abuse of steroid by some of their performers.
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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