World participation

The countries with the leading wrestlers in the Olympic Games and World Championships are Iran, the United States, Russia (and some of the former Soviet Union republics, especially Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan), Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary, Cuba, Japan, South and North Korea, Germany, and historically Sweden and Finland.

In the United States currently there is a decline in men's wrestling programs in colleges and universities that some attribute to Title IX. It is believed by some that when schools cannot add enough opportunities for women they choose to scrap their wrestling programs (Other programs that have a primary target of men, such as golf and men's swimming, are believed to be similarly affected.). Also, colleges' and universities' budget decisions for athletic departments are also suspected to play a role in such cuts. This has caused controversy in recent years.

Women's amateur wrestling (a modified form of freestyle) is gaining popularity around the world, and has recently been added as an Olympic sport.
In some countries, people engage in simulated wrestling matches as a performance ("sports entertainment"). See professional wrestling.
Amateur wrestling in Australia
Amateur wrestling in Europe
Amaresu (Japan)
Amateur wrestling in the United States
Notes from Sheldon Goldberg
Sheldon Goldberg sent along a message to be put up on the blog that gives some background to his work on the independent scene. He also suggested folks read his short blog posts here and here.

From Sheldon:Thank you to all you MIT students for reading this. I suggested to Sam, that since class time is limited and the subject matter so broad, I would give you some links to some of my blog posts and this document you’re reading now. The blog posts cover the subject of “independent wrestling” – what it is, what that broad and general term means and what that expansive category contains. This document will be specific to my company, New England Championship Wrestling – how and why it started, what its goals are and what we’ve gone through along the way. Some of what I’d also like to touch on with you is the future of this professional wrestling business as I envision it.I am really looking forward to meeting you all in person and getting further in depth on some of these topics that I’ll be covering with you.Before I get down to business, let me say that you have had an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the sport and business of professional wrestling from some of the greatest members of its ranks. I told Sam Ford in a recent e-mail, that you’ve probably had more and better schooling on pro wrestling than a good deal of the people who are actually in it. Following J.R. and Mick Foley might seem like a daunting task, but I find that to be an exciting prospect and look forward to some well-informed dialogue.Introduction to NECW – Playing The ChangesNECW was established in 2000. Prior to its formation, I had been in business with the late “Boston Bad Boy” Tony Rumble – a wrestler, manager and commentator for Mario Savoldi’s ICW promotion, which had national TV syndication in the late 80’s. After breaking away from Savoldi, Rumble started his own local promotion, initially called the Century Wrestling Alliance and later became NWA New England, the New England branch of the National Wrestling Alliance.With the major territories disappearing and no controlling regional presence to take their place, anything other than WWF or WCW was considered “independent wrestling.” The absence of established wrestling companies promoting locally and regionally did two things: It lowered the entry standards, so that basically anyone who could put together a group of wrestlers, rent a ring and a building, could be a wrestling promoter. It also created an opportunity for those with the skills and knowledge to fill a niche that had been left behind by the national expansion era of pro wrestling.Taking advantage of these changes in the landscape of pro wrestling would not be an easy task, as almost every aspect of the business had changed. In fact, you could say it was a whole new business entirely.In 2000, when NECW started up, the local wrestling scene was in a pretty mediocre state. Prior to this, what passed for “independent wrestling” in this area were shows presented mostly by a few promoters who specialized in “sold shows” or “bought shows” as some describe them. The formula was simple. Take one or two or four ex-WWF wrestlers and put them in the main event. Use local wrestlers, mostly wrestling school students, as filler to populate the rest of the card. Sell the events as fundraisers to local police, fire departments, school booster clubs, etc. for a fixed price which includes a profit, and bingo, you are a wrestling promoter with no risk. Shows where the promoter actually rented a venue and sold tickets were not unheard of, but they were not the norm.In the late 1990’s, the game was changed. It was a combination of factors. WWF started to keep their talent under wraps and not allowing them to take these “third party bookings,” which was the term they used for independent dates. The arrival of DX and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and their rise in popularity, which included children mimicking the crotch chop and “flipping the bird,” made local schools ban the wearing of WWF T-shirts and the decision to keep wrestling events out of local high schools, where most of these “sold show” events were held. The fundraising shows began to dry up and it was clear – at least to me – that promoting wrestling locally meant re-examining the business model and using a different approach.