An Outline Of The History Of Professional Wrestling

By Shanna McNeil


Wrestlers have existed even during ancient times because it was a way of self defense without any weapons. Today, wrestling has become a professional sport that has been patronized by so many organizations like the WWE, ECW, and even to some extent the UFC. People all over the world have become fascinated with this sport because of its intensity and impressive moves of the combatants. So just to get a background on the sport, here is an outline on the history of professional wrestling.

The roots of this art may actually be traced back to the ancient Greek civilization because it had its reference from the Iliad. The whole fact that the combat sport was already mentioned in the Iliad is proof that it already existed sometime in the 12th century BC in ancient Greece. It was so popular that it became one of the main events in the Olympic Games.

Even other civilizations like China, Egypt, and France as well. The Chinese version of it is called Shuai Jiao which emphasizes a lot on take downs and is the ancestor of the modern Chinese art San Shou. Egyptians also had their own version that can be seen in the drawings of the ancient pyramids. Ancient French civilization also had wall drawings of their combat art style.

The art became so popular that in 1912, International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles was formed. The goal of this organization was to regulated the different forms of the art and categorize them. Currently, their categories are Greco Roman, freestyle, grappling, beach wrestling, and mixed martial arts. The reason for this move was to make this martial art an official sport.

It was in this era that another form of this sport gained immense popularity. In Mexico, Lucha Libre was invented and officially became part of the sport itself. At first, only Spanish speaking individuals were allowed to participate but now almost anyone can. Lucha Libre makes use of a lot of dangerous high flying moves and all participants must wear masks.

Of course everyone already knows about the World Wrestling Federation that was created by Vince McMahon. It was the formation of organization that brought in so many fans from all over the world. Sometime in the nineties, Vince McMahon bought over competing companies ECW and WCW and changed the entire name to WWE in order to avoid a lawsuit that came from the World Wildlife Fund.

Today, the art has become even more popular with the rising popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and other mixed martial arts. Jiu Jitsu, which is a Japanese form of grappling, has become extremely popular ever since it made its way in mixed martial arts. Nowadays, there are so many wrestlers in the UFC and have proven be to as effective as strikers.

Basically, that is the history of professional wrestling. By taking a look at its origin, one may observe that even though it has evolved over time, many moves that were used hundreds of years ago are still used today in the ring and extremely effective. The number of wrestlers is still growing because the fans are also growing and it will not stop anytime soon.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment