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The Professional Wrestling Portal
Professional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is a professional sport. It has origins in carnival sideshows in the late 19th century as part of displays of athletics and strength. Modern professional wrestling usually features striking and grappling techniques, which are modeled after diverse sets of wrestling and pugilistic styles from around the world.
Professional wrestling has become a pervasive form of entertainment especially in Japan and North American countries. High-profile figures in the sport often become cultural icons in their native or adopted home countries, such as Ric Flair, André the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock in the United States; Rikidozan, Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba and The Crush Girls (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka) in Japan; El Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Máscaras in Mexico; and Bret Hart in Canada. Leading universities have developed courses of study on the cultural significance of professional wrestling.
Professional wrestling is a billion-dollar industry, drawing revenue from ticket sales, television broadcasts, branded merchandise and home video. It was instrumental in making pay-per-view a viable method of content delivery. Annual shows such as WrestleMania are among the highest-selling pay-per-view programming. Currently, the dominant professional wrestling company worldwide is the United States-based WWE, which absorbed many smaller regional companies in the late twentieth century, as well as its primary competitor, World Championship Wrestling. Ring of Honor and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling are two other popular promotions in the United States. In Mexico, the top promotions are Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración; in Japan, it is New Japan Pro Wrestling All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Noah; and in South Africa, it is World Wrestling Professionals. (more...)
Selected article
Shelton Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, best known for his time working with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
He first spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster and put him into an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle (and later the World's Greatest Tag Team). During his tenure with the company, he has won the WWE Intercontinental Championship three times, the WWE United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice. His first reign as Intercontinental Champion is currently the longest of the 21st Century, and his reign as United States Champion is tied for the seventh longest in the history of the championship.
Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He has an extensive interest in video games, winning the WWE THQ Superstar Challenge four times before retiring from the contest. (more...)
In the news
- On November 22:
- Bison Smith died at the age of 38 due to heart complications.
- La Máscara defeated Averno to win the NWA World Historic Middleweight Championship.
- On November 20:
- Takeshi Morishima defeated Kenta to win the 2011 Global League Tournament.
- CM Punk defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the WWE Championship.
- On November 18, Dragón Rojo, Jr. defeated Jushin Liger to win the CMLL World Middleweight Championship.
- At the Impact Wrestling tapings on November 14, Crimson and Matt Morgan defeated Mexican America (Anarquia and Hernandez) to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship.
- On November 13:
- Robbie E defeated Eric Young to win the TNA Television Championship.
- Gail Kim defeated Velvet Sky to win the TNA Women's Knockout Championship.
- Eddie Kingston defeated Mike Quackenbush to win the Chikara Grand Championship.
- Johnny Gargano defeated Yamato to win the DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Championship.
- On November 11, Héctor Garza left Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre for Perros del Mal Producciones, vacating the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship in the process.
- On November 10, Killer Karl Kox died at the age of 80 as a result of a heart attack.
- On November 7, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling announced a developmental agreement with Ohio Valley Wrestling.
- On November 6:
- The Suzuki Army (Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki) defeated Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) to win the 2011 G1 Climax Tag League.
- Kohei Sato defeated The Sheik to win the Zero1 World Heavyweight Championship.
Selected picture
Credit: Mshake3 Randy Orton after being awarded the WWE Championship at No Mercy 2007, which took place on October 7, 2007 from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
Did you know...
- ...that, during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike, umpire Larry Young refereed a match at WrestleMania XI?
- ... that in the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s, Frenchy Martin accompanied Dino Bravo to the ring with a sign that read "USA is not OK"?
- ... that on two occasions, the TNA World Tag Team Championship has been held by individual wrestlers rather than tag teams?
- ... that the MCW Heavyweight Championship was won by Jerry "The King" Lawler, who has held over 200 professional wrestling championships throughout his career?
- ... that female professional wrestler Ann Casey won the USA Women's Wrestling Championship in 1974 from The Fabulous Moolah and was never defeated for the title?
Categories
- Professional wrestling by year
- 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Professional wrestling championships
- Championships by promotion, Cruiserweight, Hardcore, Heavyweight, Tag team, Television, Women's, World heavyweight, X Division
- Professional wrestling by country
- Professional wrestling genres
- Folk wrestling styles, Lucha libre
- Professional wrestling match types
- Professional wrestling moves
- Professional wrestling performers
- Professional wrestlers
- Professional wrestling promotions
- Professional wrestling shows
- Professional wrestling slang
WikiProjects
- WikiProject Professional wrestling
Topics
| discuss | book7 articles
World Wrestling Entertainment champions
WWE Tag Team Champions- WWE Divas Champions
| discuss | book4 articles
Rosey and The Hurricane
Things to do
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