Going back through the years and looking at the way Wrestling styles have changed is really amazing. In the beginning wrestlers used to lay in holds for long periods of time until the opponent would give up. Of course this was a 'shoot' and sometimes would take hours before one of them would submit. This proved to be pretty boring to the audience and needed something to draw a bigger crowd. Then came Gorgeous George, Ricky Starr, and many other exciting personalities that brought theatrics into play. People started running to shows in groves to see these stars as they brought excitement to the ring.

Holds were not applied as long. There was more getting involved with the fans, some high spots were incorporated and each person had his or her own appeal.

Back then that was considered 'Old School' wrestling, unlike the many high spots, trash cans, ladders as seen today. In my estimation, I found it more exciting and believable. When you saw a punch, it meant something and it was sold to the audience. Body slams; pile drivers, and backdrops were not over used and were devastating. Sometimes a continued 'headlock' to a submission would get the fans out of their seats and a good heel could get the heat just by pulling hair or trunks or deceiving the referee. It certainly had people in doubt whether it was real or not. No one was really sure. That's the way it should be.

There were many kinds of styles of wrestling. American style, Japanese, Mexican and Ladies. Mexican and Ladies worked to the right of the body. American and Japanese to the left.

Also there were 3 styles of doing a match.

#1. Set up your opening, have a couple of high spots in the middle, and know your finish. Everything else in-between you call as you go. To me, this is the best way to run a match. Feel the pulse of the audience and take it in the direction to please them or as we say 'work' them. If your match is going dead, then you can adjust it accordingly. The opening wakes them up, the high spots are used to get more attention and then a surprise finish takes them home. Less is more sometimes. Another words, what you do in the ring, must have a reason and mean something. Just doing high spots, one after another is no more than a gymnastics show. If you throw a punch, there must be a reason. Ring psychology is a must and something that you NEVER hear mentioned is Crowd psychology. This is even more important to work an audience as a group. It takes a lot of knowledge and practice to achieve this.

#2. Planning the whole match. Today's wrestlers, many of the young guys, don't have the opportunity to work a lot of shows and get the experience of working a match like number #1 above. The have to set up the whole thing from start to finish and this comes from inexperience and insecurity. They want to know everything from the opening to every punch, kick, high spot, and corner of the ring to the finish. This is really hard to remember if you go 10 minutes or even less. You WILL forget what to do. If you don't know the ring or crowd psychology at this point, then you are lost. IF you get lost, you loose the heat and the match dies. So, it's best to be creative and know how to call it as you go. This way you will never loose your place in a match and can pick it up anywhere during.

#3. Finally there is the match that you just go out and do. You may arrive at an arena as in the 'old days' and never see your opponent until you reach the ring. Separate dressing rooms for 'heels' and 'baby faces'. The referee will go between dressing rooms and just tell the finish. The rest is up to you in the ring.
A seasoned or experienced wrestler will be able to walk into the ring and call it as he goes and totally command the audience. He knows just what to give, take and control the match. This is the best knowledge you can get. We did it in the 70's and always had good matches. We never had to remember anything so there was no gasping for what were all the high spots we talked about.

My suggestion is to strive for #3. IF you can do this effectively, then you are a top performer.

One more thought. Most of the 'Old School' wrestlers had the 'look' and looked like wrestlers. I see many of the younger guys today, way too skinny and cover-up with T shirts. When I ask if they work out with weights, most say, 'No'. Get into the gym and develop yourself to look like a Wrestler. It'll work better for you and be much more believable when you step in that ring.

Good training! Ric