Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling - A Time Line of Every Major Event in Pro Wrestling History - In the beginning...

By: Karl Stern (karl@whenitwascool.com)

Much of the text of this entry comes from issue 82 of the DragonKing Press Newsletter available as a downloadable .pdf in the digital downloads section.

In the beginning...

The origins of wrestling through 1832 are discussed on the Long Form History of Wrestling Podcast 01 - Click Here

Wrestling is undoubtedly as old as man himself.  Generally considered the second oldest developed sport, preceded only by foot racing, wrestling has been with man since the dawn of time.  Even the Old Testament of the Bible refers to wrestling in the book of Genesis.  The biblical matriarch Rachel was the wife of Jacob and was recorded saying, "With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister."  Later, there is the famous story of Jacob from which he became known as Israel:

"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the break of day... and when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him."

jacob-wrestling-with-the-angel-alexander-louis-leloir.jpg

Jacob wrestles with an angel by Alexander Louis Leloir

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DragonKingKarl (Karl Stern) is a long time pro wrestling historian who has been published in books, newsletters, and podcasts since the mid-1990s.

The Ultimate History of Pro Wrestling Zone is Karl Stern's attempt to chronicle the entire history of pro wrestling and is a work in progress with hundreds of pages of text added each month.

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Pro wrestling history. The history of professional wrestling. Timeline of pro wrestling history.