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Professional wrestling is generally any form of Wrestling in which the wrestlers receive payment for participating. Historically, American and Canadian professional wrestling has involved matches where the outcome was predetermined, and the term professional wrestling or '''pro-wrestling''' has evolved to refer almost exclusively to predetermined matches, also referred to as " Works ". Modern professional wrestling usually features Striking and other techniques, which are modelled after diverse set of global wrestling and Pugilistic styles. Modern professional wrestling is a Performing Art , where the participants create an entertainment show simulating a Combat Sport ing match. The level of realism can vary from moderate (the American World Wrestling Entertainment promotion) to highly realistic (the Japanese '' Strong Style '' as exemplified by Antonio Inoki ) to unrealistic (In Mexico the dominant style is the stylized, theatrical Lucha Libre ). Professional wrestling as a performing art Originating in the days of traveling Carnival shows, professional wrestling began as Strongman feats, employing Greco-Roman Wrestling , Lancashire Wrestling , Catch Wrestling , Acrobatic performances and forms of national and regional wrestling and martial arts such as Pehlwani , Collar And Elbow , Judo etc., which made money for promoters all over the world. In the earlier parts of the 20th Century , "professional wrestling" was at times just that, a professional contest of amateur-style wrestlers competing for a purse with a league structure similar to professional Boxing . However, these contests disappeared from the sports world with the advent of television due to their extreme length and lack of drama. It was found over the years to be much more profitable when contests were arranged for both length and dramatic effect. For over a century, professional wrestling promoters and performers claimed that the competition was completely real and vehemently defended secrets of the trade (a situation known as Kayfabe ). Chinks began to appear in the armor of kayfabe when, in the mid-1980s, Vince McMahon began to refer to his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as " Sports Entertainment " in order to avoid the jurisdictions of most states' athletic commissions, as well as to secure lower insurance charges for his events and to avoid the tax on sports events shown on Pay Per View . As time went on, kayfabe was continually weakened in the WWF (and, by extension, the world of professional wrestling), leading up to a 1997 speech, televised on '' Monday Night RAW '', in which McMahon promised to "stop insulting fans' intelligence" by keeping up the illusion of reality, and referred to ''RAW'' as an "action-adventure" series (McMahon also promised an end to wrestling's simple morality plays, to be replaced with deeper, more interesting characters and situations, a promise he has delivered on in many ways). He then added other shows such as Friday Night ''Smackdown!'' , Sunday Night ''Heat'' and ''Velocity''. Perhaps the end of kayfabe's last vestiges came in 2002, when the WWF changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment in response to a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund . Reality and fantasy Professional wrestling is "simulated" in the sense that the outcomes are predetermined, and their effects upon the opponent exaggerated. Some treat the performance as a form of entertainment or Drama , and would not use the term "fake" in describing it. Various pro-wrestling moves cause genuine pain and can cause serious injury if performed incorrectly. Certainly, many pro wrestlers can and often do get angry or hostile when someone belittles what they do by calling it "fake." Sometimes they offer these people a chance to step into the ring and do what they do on a nightly basis while trying to avoid injury to see for themselves just how "fake" it really is. The vast majority of the matches have pre-determined results and are said to be " Worked ". The results are determined by " Booker s" to maximize " Heel Heat " for the bad guy and " (baby)face heat" for the good guy, often in the context of a long-running " Feud " or Storyline . Typically, the wrestlers will work out some signature " Spot s" marking key moments in the match in advance. During the match, the move sequences and transitions are improvised with the participants "calling spots" to each other to inform them of their next up-coming move. The Referee is also often involved in executing the match to schedule and dealing with unforeseen circumstances. The vast majority of bleeding incidents in wrestling are real, and are typically induced by using a small blade to make a small cut, often on the forehead near the hairline. This is known as "Blading". Usually a person will blade themselves while blocking the process from view, sometime their opponent will blade for them, sometimes for a persons first time blading. Bleeding is known as " Juicing ". If a wrestler bleeds unintentionally such as due to an accidental broken nose, he is said to be "juicing hardway". If a wrestler hits another wrestler harder than he should on purpose, that is called "stiff," "being stiff," a "potato" or "potato shot." Besides the somewhat real violence however, there have constantly been times where the division between reality and fantasy has been blurred, especially when it comes to who should win the matches. See the Clique as an example of this. On occasion, although with increasing rarity in recent decades, a wrestler will Shoot , or ignore the script and attempt to win legitimately. This is also known as "going into business for yourself." In the past, promotions' World Champions were often intentionally-chosen " Hookers " such as Lou Thesz who could defend themselves if the fight became real. Rules The simulated nature of professional wrestling is only one of the many differences it has with traditional wrestling. Other differences can be found by looking at the supposed rules of pro wrestling. The , will suddenly have the match won, only to then have it robbed from them via outside interference, a foreign object, or some other unfair means. The referee, unaware of what happened, will recover just in time to notice a pin that reflects the new situation, and make an arduous Three-count . In addition to pinfall, a match can be won by Submission , Count-out , Disqualification , or failure to answer a ten count. Punching is permitted as long as the wrestler's fist is open (this is known as a "chop"). This is probably the most ignored rule, as referees almost never disqualify a wrestler for throwing closed-fist punches. Instead, the referee simply admonishes the wrestler to stop, which is rarely successful. In addition, wrestlers may only kick with the flat part of the foot, and "low blow" only refers to actually striking the crotch. If either wrestler is in contact with the ropes or if any part of the wrestler is underneath the ropes, all contact between the wrestlers must be broken before the count of five. This strategy is often used in order to escape from a Submission Hold , and also, more seldom, a wrestler can place his foot on the ropes to avoid losing by pinfall. Pinfall In order to win by Pinfall , a wrestler must pin both his opponent's shoulders against the mat while the referee slaps the mat three times. This is the most common form of defeat. It is illegal to use the ropes to secure oneself or gain leverage while pinning, and is therefore a popular cheating method for heels. Submission applies an Ankle Lock on Chris Benoit .]] To win by submission, the wrestler must make his opponent give up, usually, but not necessarily, by putting him in a submission hold (i.e. leg-lock, arm-lock, etc.). Passing out in a submission hold constitutes a loss by Knockout . To determine if a wrestler has passed out, the referee usually picks up and drops his hand. If it drops three consecutive times without the wrestler having the strength to stop it from falling, the wrestler is considered to have passed out. This has been largely ignored since around 1995, although it is still used when an "old-school" wrestler is working a match. Today, a wrestler can indicate a submission by " Tapping Out ," that is, tapping a free hand against the mat. The tapout is not a traditional part of professional wrestling; it was introduced during the mid-1990s in response to the increased popularity of Mixed Martial Arts competitions (at a time when people like Ken Shamrock were also arriving in the business), where the tap out has always been accepted. Rarely, some promotions have used the option of a verbal submission, in case of the wrestler's arms being inactive due to the submission maneuver. Countout A countout (alternatively "count-out" or "count out") happens when a wrestler is out of the ring long enough for the referee to count to 10 (in some promotions it can be a 20 count). If both wrestlers are outside the ring, the count is broken if either one re-enters and exits the ring. If not, both wresters will be counted out. This is known as a double countout, or to a lesser extent, an "impossible draw". If both of the wrestlers are lying on the mat and not moving, the referee may issue a ten count. One wrestler reaching his knees will break the count. If neither wrestler reaches their knees or feet, it is considered a draw, also known as a double knockout, or incorrectly, an "in ring count-out." The countout rule indicates that a wrestler cannot win a match while any part of his opponent's body is not in the ring. This allows escape from pinfalls and submission holds, by grabbing hold of one of the ring ropes, thus forcing the referee to break the hold or stop the count. This is also why the referee will start a count once a wrestler has reached the top rope; he is out of the ring area. Disqualification Offenses punishable by disqualification (or "DQ") include:
In practice, the "rules" of the fight are often violated without disqualification due to the referee being "distracted" and not seeing the offense, or the referee seeing the offense but allowing the match to continue. Almost always, a referee must see the violation with his own eyes to rule that the match end in a disqualification and the referee's ruling is almost always final. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the referees themselves to get "knocked out" during a match. While the referee remains "unconscious," rules are often violated at will. If both participants (or teams) in a match continue to breech the referee's instructions, the match may end in a double disqualification, where both wrestlers or teams (in a Tag Team match) have been disqualified. The match is essentially nullified, and called a draw. Title matches Unless specifically noted, a wrestler cannot win a championship title from his opponent by defeating him by countout or disqualification. In the event of a countout or a disqualification, the champion retains his title even if he loses the match. This is known as the championship advantage (i.e.: the champion has the advantage because he/she can lose the match (by countout or disqualification) and hang onto their title, while their opponent ''must'' win by pinfall or submission to win the belt). In most cases, a wrestler must pin his opponent or force him to submit in order to win a championship. These rules are valid in championship matches for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), but in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , several Japanese promotions and some National Wrestling Association (NWA) affiliates, a title will change hands via a disqualification, or countout. Variations The rules for a one-on-one pro wrestling match have not always been the same. For instance, the NWA had a rule that your opponent couldn't be thrown over the top rope. The now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW), an offshoot of the NWA, formerly had a rule stating you could not jump off the top rope onto a prone opponent. Both instances would have caused a disqualification. The World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) once disqualified wrestlers for pulling their opponent's ringwear or tights while covering for a pin. The move is still illegal in most promotions, but only breaks the hold or pin. Performers Most professional wrestlers are men, and especially in North America, they are usually large in size, often to extremes. Competitions or divisions are sometimes set up for men of lesser size; the popularity of such divisions varies over time. Women have long participated in professional wrestling, first in woman-versus-woman matches that were low on the bill compared to mens' matches, and then later as managers or valets accompanying male wrestlers. Midget Wrestling has been a unique aspect of professional wrestling, and can be traced to professional wrestling's carnival and vaudeville origins. In recent years, however, the popularity and prevalence of midgets in wrestling has greatly decreased. Promotions The organizations that schedule and produce professional wrestling performances and known as Wrestling Promotion s. Currently, the only major wrestling organizations left in North America are the United States promotions of World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, a former NWA member that is still loosely linked to that organization; and the Mexican Lucha Libre promotions Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre and Asistencia Asesoría Y Administración . Of these, WWE is by far the largest and most influential throughout the world. While these organizations are the most prominent and popular, there are many other smaller, regional promotions known as " Indies ", many of which are, like TNA, official territories of the NWA . Other major independent promotions include Ring Of Honor , Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling . Outside North America, there are other federations throughout Europe and also in Japan , Puerto Rico , Hawaii and the rest of the Caribbean . The traditional Japanese style differs from the American style in that it is portrayed more as a sport than as pure entertainment. The term '' Strong Style '' was coined by New Japan Pro Wrestling promoter Antonio Inoki . Inoki incorporated more martial arts and legitimate techniques to his arsenal, and performed the moves and strikes with more force than in traditional American style, in effort to make his pro wrestling look more legitimate. A style known as ''King's Road'' was created by Giant Baba which is similar but slightly different. This style is the dominant style used by All Japan Pro Wrestling descendants. See also Terminology
Professional wrestling worldwide
Lists of wrestlers Types of professional wrestling Fantasy professional Wrestling External links
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