Wrestling is often regarded as a media show of combat with certain elements of theatrical representation although the traditional definition indicates that wrestling is the sport in which two opponents fight body to body until they manage to immobilize their opponent.
Several modalities have been created in the history of humanity: in Greco-Roman wrestling, blows and prey below the waist were forbidden, while wrestling is allowed all kinds of blows and the use of objects.
Modern professional wrestling is a type of combat that combines combat techniques and performing arts based on stories of rivalries in which the “heel” are confronted by the villains against the “face” (technicians) who are the heroes. The choreography is described by the bookers and interpreted by the fighters.
History of Wrestling
The origins of wrestling date back to the sporting disciplines known as luctatorial agons (wrestling trials) present in the Olympics, carried out by the Greeks in Olympia between 776 BC and 393 AD.
In 1848 the French soldier Exbrayat took techniques of Greco-Roman wrestling to devise the French Wrestling, where the rule of not executing blows below the waist was established. Years later the Italian Bartoli called this discipline Greco-Roman Wrestling, and it was later included in the first Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896 in Athens.
The other form of wrestling known as wrestling originated in the carnivals of the nineteenth century to exhibit the physical skills of competitors with techniques and acrobatics showy. Its popularity grew thanks to the bets and the evolution of the show. In 1990, Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation professional league considered its events as a form of mass entertainment popularized by television. For this reason, the institution changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment.
Professional wrestling evolved rapidly in the United States, Japan and Mexico, where it is considered part of that country’s cultural tradition. In each of these leagues, particular regulations were established and analogous disciplines such as Puroresu arose in Japan. Today, the largest professional wrestling company is World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in the United States. In Mexico, the league is managed by the World Council of Wrestling and Advisory Assistance and Administration and in Japan the New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, among others.
These leagues are large industries that generate millions of dollars annually for live TV broadcasts and streaming on the Internet in real-time, with great movement in advertising and sponsorship of the fighters. Wrestling was a pioneer in making its shows profitable through the distribution and sale of content.
Types of Wrestling
The showiness required by live and televised entertainment has generated various types of fights in recent years which has popularized wrestling in many countries of the world and fan communities on the web.
See also: Best Wrestling Headgears
Single
This is a one-on-one match in which you can win with pinfall when the wrestler places his opponent’s shoulders on the canvas and keeps him in that position until the referee counts to three. He also wins by surrender of the opponent, disqualification and counts to 10 out of the ring.
Barbed Wire Match
The modality in which two wrestlers fight in a ring with barbed wires instead of ropes.
Submission Match: A type of bout where you only win by causing the opponent to surrender on the canvas.
Submission count Anywhere Match: In this type of fight also the only way to win is to cause the opponent to surrender but this surrender can be in any area of the ring.
Blindfold match
It is the combat in which one or both wrestlers participate with the partial vision when using masks and masks. In the Mexican wrestling the masks have acquired an important symbolism and tradition.
Catch-as-Catch-Can
Catch-as-Catch-Can match is a variation of the submission match but in this modality, the first wrestler who touches the ground voluntarily or forcedly is disqualified.
Career Threatening Match
It is a fight in which a wrestler commits to withdraw from the discipline if he loses this duel.
Falls Count Anywhere match
This modality can be fought outside the canvas and the count of ten is eliminated. This combat is very aggressive because the fighters can use any object to damage the opponent. Usually, the fight ends after disqualification.
Handicap Match
It is combat in which a wrestler or group of wrestlers face in numerical disadvantage to another group of wrestlers, for example, two against three.
Battle Royal
A fighting mode in which there are from 4 to 30 fighters. The last man or woman in the ring wins and the fighter can be eliminated by counting three, surrendering or throwing over the third rope.
Six-Man Tag Team Match
In this match, three fighters from one team face three from the other team.
American Wrestling
In professional wrestling, you can find several types of fights that tell a story written by scriptwriters with the same product design as television programs. In wrestling, the effect of the blows is controlled in order to avoid major injuries and one acts as realistically as possible. The combats that follow a script offer the viewers a rivalry with an emotional hook that awakens in the followers of the fighters a bond of empathy and sense of belonging to the community.
American wrestling combines the techniques of wrestling and martial arts with cutting-edge entertainment and marketing technology. Even the entry of wrestlers into the ring is very neat and eye-catching. Each league from the most mediatic categories to the most independent manage their own codes, have their idols and wrestlers who are like pop stars and even resemble each other in their profit levels.
Several athletes in Olympic wrestling, football, and martial arts have joined the Professional Wrestling company for its profitability and popularity. Hulk Hogan and The Rock are stars who emerged from American wrestling and have participated in Hollywood movies. WWE is the most recognized wrestling promotion worldwide. It is currently directed by Vincent Kennedy McMahon, who inherited WWE from his father, Vince McMahon. In 2007 WWE had a turnover of 485 million dollars.
Mexican Wrestling
Professional wrestling in Mexico has a very different style from the rest of the world. It uses more techniques and aerial wrestling. In 1863 Enrique Ugartechea took elements of Greco-Roman wrestling to design Mexican wrestling. The first combats were flush with canvas with keys and bruises with chairs and glass bottles.
Wrestler Black Shadow implemented acrobatic techniques. He made famous his somersault out of the ring without taking flight. Then Lonesome performed more eye-catching but more dangerous mortals and suicide throws. This wrestler propelled himself over the third rope without touching it and made first throws from the post in the corners and outward.
Today there are three recognized companies in the show like AAA Worldwide Wrestling (AAA), the World Wrestling Council (CMLL) and The Crash. In recent years, however, independent events have emerged that call for a more specialized audience thanks to the spread of fights on social networks and the activity of their followers.
Olympic wrestling
Olympic wrestling is a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee that consists of a contest in which each athlete tries to defeat his opponent with the use of projection techniques. The winner is the one who turns the opponent to the ground and keeps the opponent’s shoulders fixed on the ground until the referee approves that the point has been scored. Unlike Greco-Roman wrestling, in wrestling, you can actively use your legs to attack and defend against your opponent.
The first Olympic wrestling competitions were held at the 1904 Summer Olympics in Saint Louis, USA. In 1912, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA) was created in Sweden and is today the international body that regulates this Olympic discipline.
The regulations of combat indicate that you can win in the following way:
On the count of three: When the wrestler controls with the two shoulder blades and keeps his opponent on the tapestry, the necessary time until the referee finishes counting. Victory is awarded regardless of the marker up to that point.
By score: The winner manages to accumulate technical points at the end of the duel.
For technical superiority: When the difference of the marker is ten points the fight ends and the winner is proclaimed.
Wrestling Masks
In Mexico the use of the mask has a symbolic value. The mask represents the inner spirit of the fighter, his inner strength in struggle between good and evil. It is an attribute that serves for the representation and theatricality of the show. When a wrestler takes off the mask of his opponent, he not only beats him but also takes away his symbol. It’s a show’s crowning moment. Mexican wrestlers have popularized their masks that are worn by their followers and other wrestlers who have adapted them with other colors.
El Santo or the “Silver Masked”: was the stage name of Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, a professional wrestler and actor. He fought from 1942 to 1982 and was never unmasked. Since the 1950s, he has been recognized as a popular Mexican hero and symbol of justice that transcended the world of wrestling and became a superhero present in comics and films of international fame.
Hurricane Ramirez: A mythical wrestling character played by Daniel Garcia Arteaga and created by Joselito Rodriguez in the 1952 film Hurricane Ramirez. The film’s success led wrestling audiences to ask for its appearance in the ring. She debuted in the ring Isabel de Cuernavaca, Morelos with a blue and white mask as distinctive. He was the creator of the brilliant key-lance called “La Huracarrana” (The Hurricane).
Mil Máscaras: alias of Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, Mexican professional wrestler. He is considered one of the greatest legends of Mexican wrestling. He currently works on independent wrestling circuits in Mexico and tours internationally in Japan and the United States.
