Prowrestling is a sport where two or more wrestlers duke it out for victory. A match is won when a wrestler pins his opponent’s shoulders to the mat for 3 seconds or if one wrestler submits by nodding his head after losing consciousness, either voluntarily or because of pain.
History
Prowrestling started around 3000 B.C and was a way to show dominance in tribes and villages. Two or more tribe members would wrestle each other to see which one had the greater strength, endurance and flexibility
In ancient Greece, a form of wrestling called pankration was extremely popular in the Olympic Games that were hosted there. Pankration used no holds barred fighting techniques such as striking, strangling, kicking or gouging. People of that time love brutality of this sport and for the same reason wrestling as well as almost all martial arts were banned during the Middle Ages, wrestling along with other martial arts would start to take form in the late 1500’s and 1600’s, largely from influences of English practitioners who would study and then attempt to recreate techniques that were used by Japanese Samurai when they came back home.
Pro Wrestling as a sport came back in the early 19th century where matches were staged in fairgrounds and circuses across Europe. It was during this period that catch-as-catch can, a form of no holds barred fighting without time limits or points was becoming more popular as well as freestyle wrestling which allowed any type of techniques to be used.
In the early 1800s, an American named George Downing coined the word “prowrestling.” This got a meaning to the native English speakers that meant a show or performance of feats of strength such as circus acts. It wasn’t until later on in the 19th century when “catch-as-catch can” and “freestyle wrestling” were phased out and was replaced by “no holds barred fighting.”
Modern pro wrestling characterizes two different types of competition: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both are based on the same technique, which is wrestling with control and without striking (in most cases). The only difference is that in freestyle, competitors can use holds above their waist while in Greco-Roman they cannot.
Events
The first official World’s Pro Wrestling Championship was held in New York City in 1904. Since then, the sport has grown into an international phenomenon that is enjoyed by millions of fans around the world.
The Prowrestling Federation was created in 1948, which later became National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The name was actual until 1985 when NWA became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 1997, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
There are some huge events in pro wrestling and they are The annual Royal Rumble held each January in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the annual Survivor Series which was first held in 1987 and features the same size elimination tag team match as the Royal Rumble. Also, there were four other vying to be crowned champion over a five months period. WrestleMania is an annual event that combines prowrestling with music and shows and is held each April. The most famous and largest of them all was held in 2009 at University of Phoenix Stadium, seating 70,000 people. Also, pro wrestling is popular in sports betting among fans. They place their bets in an online casino, betting shops and bookmaking offices creating quite a revenue for these establishments, especially during huge pro wrestling events.
Stars
Like in every sport, prowrestling has its stars and fans’ idols. Let us talk about two of them that are the most recognizable, even for people not interested in wrestling.
John Cena
This one is already a legend. John Cena is a professional wrestler, rapper and actor. He was born on 23 April 1977. John Cena began his career in 2002 with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he held the WWE Championship for a record of six months. He also made two appearances at WrestleMania XXVIII and 29 respectively. He is well known for every wrestling fan, but his name might be familiar to people totally unrelated with prowrestling due to the popular melody from his intro on stage. John Cena won 23 championship belts in his career and he is also a record breaker with the title of longest combined WWE Championship reign at over 434 days. He has appeared on more than 15 video games and has made several appearances at different TV programs.
Undertaker
Undertaker or in fact Mark William Calaway, is a legendary figure in the prowrestling world. He made his debut at WWE Survivor Series on November 9, 1990 and since then he has appeared in over 200 different events. Undertaker was named as one of the most prominent figures of the WrestleMania by winning 21 championships during his career. He characterizes his stage costumes and behavior because he comes into the ring with a full length leather duster which made him look very demonic.
He is known for his various finishing moves like Hell’s Gate, Last Ride and Chokeslam etc. Other than this he is the only man who defeated Hulk Hogan twice at the Royal Rumble event.
