It’s a guilty pleasure for millions of men, women and children all over the world. It is a billion-dollar industry, drawing revenue from ticket sales, television broadcasts, branded merchandise and home video. I am of course talking about pro wrestling.

Wrestling a very brief history

The ancient Greek Olympic Games first put wrestling on the map. Wrestling made its Olympic debut in the Games of 708 B.C. It was a much more violent, punishing sport in the early days, when it had closer ties to military training. Wrestling spread through the Roman world, as well as other early civilizations in India, Japan, China and throughout the Middle East.

This traditional type of wrestling died out in the middle ages, and it wasn’t really till the 19th century that professional wrestling in North America was viewed as a legitimate sport. Through the advent 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.

Can I get a HELL YEAH!!

The wrestling we all know and love is a far cry from the traditional style of 708 B.C. For one thing, they didn’t have pyrotechnics, lycra, chairshots, ladder matches, steriods, fancy names or gimmicks. But, very week people all over the world watch grown men kick the crap out of each other over a storyline created by writers to entertain us. Yes I know its fake, and the majority of people -excluding some complete idiots - know its fake, but these guys do get legitimately hurt.

The good old days

When I was a lad, wrestlers from the 1980s were these larger than life super hero’s to me. I remember arguing with kids at school over who’d win a fight out of, Hulk Hogan and Superman, the Ultimate Warrior and the Incredible Hulk, or Macho Man Randy Savage and God. It’s the same for kids today, they have their idols - albeit no where near as awesome - but they give these kids someone to look up to.

I remember wanting to be Macho Man Randy Savage. I used to wander around the house with the cat above my head while shouting “ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhh Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!”

Having and Idol is no bad thing

You hear moral America go a bit mad at times, complaining that its too violent, and that it shouldn’t be on television - but if you put it in to perspective; These children are learning to stand up for themselves - like there favourite wrestler has to do, they learn to help others - like when their idol is in a tag-match, they learn right from wrong: John Cena gooooooood - Umaga baaaaaaaad. I really don’t know what the parents complain about. Its no worse than supporting sports stars who get arrested all the time for various crimes.

I for one will be watching wrestling with my kids, I’ll teach them right from wrong, through the medium of TV, just like my dad did with me. People need to accept wrestling for what it is, a fun bit of escapism where you can lose yourself for a couple of hour and wonder why did that bad guy do that other guy. It’s remarkable that the difference between right and wrong can be fun to watch.