Surely one of the most outrageous and intriguing success stories in American support is that of wrestling. The history of professional wrestling is rich in controversy, glamour and excitement. This is now a hugely popular and cash rich sport that is shown on TV in most countries throughout the world. However, it has not always been so glamorous.
The original forms of the sport resembled mat grappling, a popular high school activity at the start of the 20th century. There was some initial success in the fledgling sport, but it soon became apparent that the action was far less entertaining than boxing, which was hugely popular at the time. Joseph Raymond Mondt developed a new style of the sport in the 1920s, designed to keep people entertained. Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling was born and soon became very popular.
The sport became very popular for a short time on the eastern seaboard, until legal disputes stopped the action abruptly. A local man, Jess McMahon persuaded Mondt to form a new organization called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. After limited success, control of the new organization transferred to Jess's son, Vincent and a new dawn was born.
The CWC would remain as part of the NWA but was by far the biggest of all the regional wrestling governing bodies. This concerned other authorities, so in a bid to curtail McMahon's dominance, CWC world champ, Buddy Rogers was stripped of the title. So outraged were Mondt and McMahon, they pulled out of the Alliance and formed the completely independent World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would become the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
In 1982, Vincent McMahon Jnr bought the WWF from his father and shareholders. Although the national sport was still ruled by the NWA, McMahon had plans to take the WWF to a national audience. In only a few years, WWF wrestling could be seen all over America. In 1985, McMahon's version of the sport became the most recognizable in the world.
Wrestlemania attracted crowds and TV audiences never seen before. The success of the event led to US network, NBC, starting a weekly show called Saturday Night's Main Event. In 1993, America's longest periodic TV show began - Monday Night RAW. While the WCW launched its own version, known as Monday Nitro, Raw was always dominant in national TV ratings.
The WWF bought rival World Championship Wrestling in 2001 for seven dollars and combined both camps of wrestlers in what was called the 'Invasion'. They later bought competing company ECW. However more trouble wasn't far away as The World Wide Fund for Nature, referred to in Europe as the WWF, sued the wrestling company in the British courts for violations of license agreements in Europe. The WWF changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment and was forced to remove many WWF logos and references from the past. The WWF later won a legal case to retain their old logo when marketing classic shows from previous years.
The WWE is now a truly global brand and the only recognizable professional body around. With offices in London, Tokyo and Sydney, the reach of the WWE has never been bigger. There are now three main WWE TV shows; Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and NXT, which involves young wrestlers competing for professional contracts. The history of professional wrestling makes the current spectacle what it is today.
The original forms of the sport resembled mat grappling, a popular high school activity at the start of the 20th century. There was some initial success in the fledgling sport, but it soon became apparent that the action was far less entertaining than boxing, which was hugely popular at the time. Joseph Raymond Mondt developed a new style of the sport in the 1920s, designed to keep people entertained. Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling was born and soon became very popular.
The sport became very popular for a short time on the eastern seaboard, until legal disputes stopped the action abruptly. A local man, Jess McMahon persuaded Mondt to form a new organization called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. After limited success, control of the new organization transferred to Jess's son, Vincent and a new dawn was born.
The CWC would remain as part of the NWA but was by far the biggest of all the regional wrestling governing bodies. This concerned other authorities, so in a bid to curtail McMahon's dominance, CWC world champ, Buddy Rogers was stripped of the title. So outraged were Mondt and McMahon, they pulled out of the Alliance and formed the completely independent World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would become the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
In 1982, Vincent McMahon Jnr bought the WWF from his father and shareholders. Although the national sport was still ruled by the NWA, McMahon had plans to take the WWF to a national audience. In only a few years, WWF wrestling could be seen all over America. In 1985, McMahon's version of the sport became the most recognizable in the world.
Wrestlemania attracted crowds and TV audiences never seen before. The success of the event led to US network, NBC, starting a weekly show called Saturday Night's Main Event. In 1993, America's longest periodic TV show began - Monday Night RAW. While the WCW launched its own version, known as Monday Nitro, Raw was always dominant in national TV ratings.
The WWF bought rival World Championship Wrestling in 2001 for seven dollars and combined both camps of wrestlers in what was called the 'Invasion'. They later bought competing company ECW. However more trouble wasn't far away as The World Wide Fund for Nature, referred to in Europe as the WWF, sued the wrestling company in the British courts for violations of license agreements in Europe. The WWF changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment and was forced to remove many WWF logos and references from the past. The WWF later won a legal case to retain their old logo when marketing classic shows from previous years.
The WWE is now a truly global brand and the only recognizable professional body around. With offices in London, Tokyo and Sydney, the reach of the WWE has never been bigger. There are now three main WWE TV shows; Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and NXT, which involves young wrestlers competing for professional contracts. The history of professional wrestling makes the current spectacle what it is today.
About the Author:
If you would like to learn more about the the history of professional wrestling go to www.squaredcircleofwrestling.com. You will find a wealth of wrestling info when you see http://www.squaredcircleofwrestling.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment