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It may seem like a simple train of thought that the forms of amateur wrestling are the basis of pro wrestling but there are many differences between the two. Compare the two forms from the outside and they look completely different. In amateur wrestling, it’s a one-on-one battle on a mat. In pro wrestling, everything is choreographed to produce impressive maneuvers within a roped ring almost entirely for entertainment purposes.
While pro wrestling has diverged from its amateur wrestling roots by a fair bit, many of the biggest pro wrestlers of all-time have come from the amateur circuit. As an amateur at Kent University, Nicholas Nemeth managed to become a three-time All-Mid-American Conference champion. Nemeth was then picked by the WWE, at which point he became Dolph Ziggler. Dolph became one of the most beloved wrestlers in the WWE, using his incredible amateur wrestling skills as a base to develop his pro wrestling skills. One great of the WWE circuit was Shelton Benjamin. As half of The World’s Greatest Tag-Team, Benjamin impressed with his athletic ability alongside Charlie Haas. As an amateur wrestler, Benjamin excelled in college and ‘The Gold Standard’ was Brock Lesnar’s roommate. The two teamed up to form The Minnesota Stretching Crew. Brock Lesnar dominated at the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship and won the NCAA Division I Championship. But, the ultimate amateur turned pro has to be the legendary Kurt Angle. The six-time WWE world champion is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time but started out as an amateur wrestler. He was a two-time NCAA Division I champion and won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.
When pro wrestling started, it was contested on a raised mat without any ropes to border the wrestling area. The sport started far more similar to Greco-Roman wrestling, with takedowns, grapples, and headlocks. One of the biggest moves away from the Greco-Roman style was the introduction of the body slam – which is, of course, commonplace these days. But, to increase the excitement of the spectacle of pro wrestling, more than just a body slam had to be implemented. Wrestlers began to build off of the body slam and power slam to pull off even more impressive moves. Nowadays in pro wrestling, wrestlers are flying off of the ropes, throwing each other around, pulling off dropkicks, and even jumping off of ladders to take down their opponents. But, the fundamentals of amateur wrestling are still present in the pro game.
Pro wrestling evolved from amateur wrestling. But, there are two main forms of amateur wrestling. Both freestyle and Greco-Roman feature in the Olympic Games. Freestyle is described as “a more dynamic form of wrestling,” whereas Greco-Roman is considered to be “more as a challenge of brute strength.” Both are centered on putting the opponent on their back, to pin them, within the confines of the ring. The sport of amateur wrestling, in both forms, is still incredibly popular both for prospective sportspeople and the fans – especially in the USA. Because amateur wrestling is still a major sport through school, very strong competitors come out of the USA and into the major tournaments. This foundation has allowed fans to engage with the sport on another level, through sports betting.
Whenever a highly-rated American steps onto the mat, you can bet that they’ll be a favorite. However, in wrestling betting, eastern Europeans, Russians, Iranians, and Japanese women have emerged as dominant forces, making the events that much more exciting. So, people who know their wrestling have been able to take advantage of the non-choreographed version of the sport on betting sites as a part of their wrestling experience. This popularity has and will continue to allow amateur wrestling to remain popular and serve as a base for potential pro wrestlers. Future pro wrestlers are still picked up from the amateur circuit, with their base skills and athleticism proving to be superb foundations to build from. For example, Gerry Brisco, the WWE’s talent scout, recently took on one Jacob Southwick (Sawyer Fulton) to work in NXT and at the WWE Performance Center. Southwick is a two-time NCAA All-American and former Greco-Roman national champion. Brisco says that the staff and coaches who he introduces these amateur wrestlers to love getting them because amateur wrestling instills discipline and respect very early on.
Greco-Roman wrestling greatly comes down to brute strength, so many of the maneuvers and actions require a lot of power and skill. This makes a lot of them, with a bit of tweaking to give them some flair, very entertaining to watch. One move which took the world by storm at the World Junior Championships was the ‘Flying Squirrel’ in the Greco-Roman event, performed by Ellis Coleman. But this move was much more like something taken out of the WWE and used on the amateur Greco-Roman circuit.
In Greco-Roman, combatants cannot perform holds below the waist, which emphasizes using brute strength to perform and deter throws as trips cannot be used. So, in Greco-Roman wrestling, a move known as the suplex became a major move. The suplex, in Greco-Roman, involves one wrestler lifting up their opponent in a high arch and throwing them over their head while falling backward to make their opponent’s shoulders touch down on the mat. In pro wrestling, the suplex has evolved beyond the confines of Greco-Roman, producing many great moves, such as the Chaos Theory, commonly associated with Doug Williams; Roddy Piper’s old finishing move, the sleeper suplex; and, of course, the German Suplex. The German suplex was most notably perfected by Brock Lesnar, who ravaged John Cena with 16 of them at SummerSlam 2014.
Greco-Roman wrestling moves are incorporated at all levels of pro wrestling. While the stringent rules of Greco-Roman are no longer abided by, the use of force and power is still honed in on to produce impressive displays. For example, in Rusev versus Roman Reigns for the United States Title, Reigns managed to escape a Greco-Roman knuckle lock which Rusev moved into a front face lock. As Greco-Roman implores an emphasis on strength, balance, throws, slams, lifting, and pinning, amateurs in the sport specialize in the key moves that, more often than not, result in victory in a pro wrestling ring.
Even though amateur wrestling and pro wrestling are very different sports, the key skills founded in the amateur sports circuit are sought by pro wrestling talent scouts, and the maneuvers used in the amateur sports are still utilized in the pro circuit to this day – albeit with a bit more flair. The great amount of interest and fandom that still exists for amateur wrestling, both from spectators and bettors, helps it to thrive, with the potential gateway into pro wrestling companies like the WWE making the sport even more tantalizing. So, amateur wrestling will most likely continue to play a big role for some pro wrestling superstars as they make their way to the biggest stages in pro wrestling.
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