The History Of Professional Wrestling

By Maryanne Goff


The history of professional wrestling dates back two centuries ago. It all began when people used to form small groups and organize wrestle each other in a competition for a reward. With time this sport gained many independent fanatics who wanted to wrestle. With increase in number of participants the number of people watching also increased.

In the beginning of 1900 up to 1940s, this sport was a source of entertainment. Most people would watch it during carnivals and traveling acts. After a performance, the wrestlers would be then paid some little money as a reward and most of them saw this as a quick way of making money. But with time, this social event became popular and started being rated with other major sports like baseball at the time.

Increase in popularity of this game saw the emergence of promoters who would put their wealth on line to support this event. They increased the reward for people participating in this game. At times, such promoters would even compete against each other using their wrestlers of choice. The promoters then formed organizations like the world wrestling federation.

This sport soon made it possible for participants to achieve financial success. Winners of the matches would really gain good financial rewards and also their promoters would gain too. Financial gain was deemed possible only when people changed their mindset and transformed this sport from being just an entertainment activity to a profession that wrestlers would gain something in the end.

Wrestling gained a lot of media attention in the 1950s with the creation of television. It was now possible for people all over the globe to watch and receive updates of the sport. This in turn translated into the game having supporters from one place but all over. But invention of cable brought with it some challenges. Some critics argued that fighting being aired on television brought violence at homes.

This criticism brought about the change in content brought in the media to something that was easily accepted. However, there were still other challenges such as drop in viewership rating because of the show not having a lot of content and also because some participants lacked sportsmanship spirit. With reduced fame, some promoters dropped out of this game and also the sport started to receive little air play.

This streak of bad luck for this game would soon come to an end in 1980s when some young energetic and talented wrestlers emerged. They brought a new face for the game as they were able to bring entertainment factor to the event as well as the sport itself. Some would even portray some heroic characters to entertain people while others brought drama. In the end, the event became very colorful and supported by many.

From the above information on the history of professional wrestling, it is right to say that this sporting activity has evolved greatly; from being a pass time activity to a well paying profession. As it is characteristic of any activity, there cannot be success without challenges. But in the end, the sport has stood out as well known and established career and the wrestlers have become national and international celebrities in their own right.




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