Styles of wrestling

Loose style wrestling: wrestling without a belt
Sumo, a kind of belt wrestling
Oil wrestling

The different styles of wrestling may be classified in various ways, such as:

  • Loose style wrestling
  • Belt wrestling
  • Jacket wrestling

Styles of wrestling by technique

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Historical styles

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Ancient Pankration

Important historical styles include:

Modern wrestling by operation styles

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In the modern era, styles of operating a wrestling match could be classified thus, although it is not a style of wrestling itself:

Some styles exist or have existed in more than one of these three broad categories. Where this is the case and an article exists, it may appear in and be linked to from two or more of the lists below.

But this is not a classification by styles of wrestling. This is classification of its operation as a business.

Note particularly that the phrase professional wrestling normally refers to sports entertainment, but can also refer to the professional level of wrestling as a competitive sport.[1]

Amateur competitive wrestling

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A competitor at national level Greco-Roman wrestling tournament attempting five point throw for lifting his opponent off the mat in reverse body lock clinch

Professional competitive wrestling

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  • Sumo – in Japan is the most popular form of competitive wrestling at a professional level
  • Lucha libre – was once a competitive sport, but is now sports entertainment
  • Catch-as-Catch-Can

Modern sports entertainment

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The term sports entertainment was coined to describe the sports spectacles promoted by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[2] These matches are not competitive, but are a scripted and rehearsed entertainment.

The rules are not always clear and are generally ignored in any case.[3] The term is now used to describe all staged wrestling matches and similar versions of other sports.[4]

In the context of sports entertainment, the term professional wrestling is used both to mean all staged forms of wrestling, and also more specifically for those of the particular style developed by WWE.

See also:

Organisations

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People

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Amateur wrestling

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Competitive professional wrestling

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Sports entertainment

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ See Wiktionary
  2. ^ "Stephanie McMahon Talks Vince Coining "Sports Entertainment" Phrase". www.wrestlezone.com. 28 June 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  3. ^ "10 Oddest Rules in Wrestling". whatculture.com. 29 August 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  4. ^ For example roller derby, see history of roller derby
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