Wrestling is considered the oldest of professional sports, dating back to 3,000 BC, as documented in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian art history. The Greeks are credited for popularizing wrestling as a competitive, public spectacle of competitive athleticism in Ancient Olympic Games.
Greco-Roman Style wrestling is the form of wrestling that had been used through the ages. Greco-Roman wrestling prohibits grabbing below the waste. This is the form of wrestling you see in the Olympics.
Another form of wrestling is catch-as-catch can style, or catch wrestling, made popular in the United States and Great Britain in the late 1800s. With catch style wrestling you can use holds above and below the waist. Also, leg grips are legal.
Greco-Roman and catch wrestling are popular and completely legitimate amateur and professional sports.
The wrestling we see today is considered an off-shoot of catch wrestling. It is recognized as pro-wrestling, as much for entertainment and antics as it is for wrestling ability. The boom in professional style wrestling did not pick up until after World War II.
Originally started as many different organizations, its popularity grew when they unified into areas and their media markets increased. WhenWorld Wrestling Federation expanded in the 1980s, wrestling boomed in the international arenas. In Europe, Latin American, Japan, and North America, professional wrestling is a popular form of entertainment, wrestling to pack crowds in arenas and stadiums. From the late 1980s through the 1990s, attendance at wrestling events soared, viewership on TV increased as well as an increase in wrestling merchandise. The most popular countries for wrestling are Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Australia and the United States.
Today professional wrestling is scripted, modern theatrics. Not only must you be in physical condition, you must have the looks of a wrestler, or the personality to carry the audience. It takes years of practice before one becomes involved in a major wrestling promotion, but of course, there are some exceptions to that.
With the beginning of television in the 1950s, and cable in the 1980s professional wrestling gained powerful media outlets, reaching peaks of viewership. The nature of professional wrestling was changed dramatically to better fit television, enhancing character traits and storylines. Television has also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. In the United States, in the First Golden Age of professional wrestling of the 1940s-1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age of the 1980s-1990s by Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne The Rock Johnson. In Mexico and Japan, the 1940s-1950s was also a Golden Age for professional wrestling, with Santo becoming a Mexican folk hero through film roles and comic book characterization, and Rikidozan achieving similar fame in Japan.
Source: http://yougabsports.com/pt/Wrestling-Wednesday---The-Origins-of-Wrestling/blog.htm
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