Pro Wrestling History

Want to know about Pro Wrestling history? The history of Pro Wrestling is a tale of theatrical entertainment at its best, with die-hard fans vehemently swearing it is real, and others screaming “no way, no how” while secretly wondering if it is.  Indeed, one of the most popular “sports” is a play of vice and virtue. Well trained professionals come to a mutual understanding before the match begins; while during the match, they create a chimera of violence and mayhem.

The Beginnings The beginnings of this part-choreographed, part- improvised sport was in 1880’s, in small unorganized groups. Closely resembling the Greco-roman style of wrestling, Pro Wrestling originated in North America as a sideshow exhibition.  The bouts were staged in carnivals and other athletic shows, where wrestlers with a made-up high profile would challenge the crowd. Unbeknownst to the majority of the crowd, the carnival organizer had made previous arrangements with someone among the crowd to accept the challenge. Wrestlers at that time were called hookers, shoot wrestlers or shooters and would win prize money at the end of the bout.  Such pro wrestling styles were also seen in Latin America, Europe and Japan.

Popularity Pro Wrestling has come a long way from its humble beginnings and its popularity did not blossom until the latter decades of the 20th century. With the development of World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1980’s professional wrestling gained popularity in viewership and revenues sky-rocketed .The choreography of pro wrestling soon became a public secret by the mid 1980s.

Catapult to Multimillion Dollar Revenues Lead by Vince McMahon, Jr., World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly the WWF, is the largest pro wrestling company. Under McMahon, Jr.’s leadership, books and magazines were released and an extensive market for toys, lunch boxes, playing cards and T shirts followed. In 2011, pro wrestling is a multi-million dollar entertainment industry. Prominent competitors of WWE, such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and Ring of Honor, follow the WWE formula of increasing entertainment value by planning the outcome matches well in advance, with fight sequences well rehearsed to lessen the chance of injury.

Mass Media The history of pro wrestling highly corresponds to that of 20^th century mass media. The broadcast of professional wrestling on television in the early 1980’s gave way to new dimensions of popularity for the half sport, all theater venues.  In addition to excellent marketing, high revenues are achieved through television broadcast, particularly pay-per-view, internet streaming, and ticket sales to live events.