Wrestling In The 1800s

Many people say that Jazz is America’s greatest & oldest artform, but some argue that America’s real gem is Professional Wrestling. Pro Wrestling or just Wrestling as it’s more commonly referred to, has been around since the late 1800’s. Wrestling is a simulated combat, where two or more performers simulate a fight. The best Wrestlers are the ones that make the fans suspend disbelief, by making it look as real as possible without seriously injuring their opponent. Today, the biggest American company is World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE (formerly World Wrestling Federation). They are almost like The Ringling Brothers of the genre. Outside of WWE, there are various Independent & International Wrestling companies with some having their own

The National Wrestling Alliance was an Umbrella Company, which controlled the entire United States. They had one recognized Undisputed Heavyweight Wrestling Champion of the World & the various territories around the country & the world, recognized the him as their World Champion. In the late 60’s; Vince McMahon Sr. out of New York left and recognized his own WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino. They took over the Northeast US & Canada. Verne Gagne out of Minnesota also left and ran the Midwest with himself as AWA World Champion. Those were the Wrestling giants until the 1980’s when McMahon Sr. sold his company to his son Vince McMahon Jr. McMahon wanted to ride the wave that was Cable TV & chose not to respect the other companies & territories. He cut into their markets, by airing over cable Nationally & using big money to buy out all the biggest stars. Hulk Hogan became one of the biggest stars of the decade & slowly The AWA was put out of business. The NWA was purchased by Turner Broadcasting & became World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The two companies competed throughout the 1990’s, where towards the end of the decade, the business exploded with Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock. WCW went out of Business & WWF purchased them & The rebel league ECW, becoming WWE. Nowadays the WWE has evolved to more story-line based feuds, which many are not in favor for & a faster less

They have much lower production values & focus more on the art form over the soap opera aspects of WWE. Lucha Underground combines the Lucha Libre elements of Mexico, with an Americanized & almost cinematic approach to the business. The company has been a huge hit. Cutscenes which play out between matches & further the story, only add to the fast-paced in-ring action. There are many other companies in The US. TNA runs out of Nashville & presents a very WWE-lite product. PWG has the most hardcore, yet small fanbase. They run monthly & is almost a gathering of all the best Wrestlers from the Independent scene. In the UK, the style of Wrestling is more chain wrestling & ground work. The combatants exchange and counter holds, reversing submission moves. It is a very enjoyable if extremely niche form of