Wednesday 31 July 2013

The History Of Professional Wrestling

By Maryanne Goff


Professional wrestling is a sport where competitors fight for a price. The history of professional wrestling can be dated back to the 1800s. During this time, there was no organization in arrangement of events and small groups of people would plan and fight amongst themselves. However, with time, the sport started to gain popularity and soon wrestlers and supporters increased. This led to rising of the rewards to make the game more competitive.

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.

Continuous development in this field has brought about financial success for different stakeholders in this sector. Since this game developed from being just an entertainment activity to a profession, many wrestlers have enjoyed great financial gains. The promoters have also risked their wealth and gained a lot in the end. This aspect therefore enhanced this sport throughout the different times.

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.

As a result, the promoters changed their content of matches to be brought on television. There were times however when the viewership ratings would fall tremendously. This was brought about by many factors such as players having no sense of sportsmanship and even reduced content among other things. Soon promoters started to drop out of the game and the producers reduced the air play for the shows.

These challenges were however overcome when a group of young talented wrestlers emerged in the 1980s. Such players were able to combine sportsmanship and entertainment by making the event so colorful. Some would portray some child heroes while fighting while others brought about some drama. The viewership for this sport started to rise again with a new crop of supporters.

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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