1890 – 1919 LE NAZIONI DOMINANTI NEL WRESTLING. (1890 - 1919 THE MOST DOMINANT NATIONS IN PRO WRESTLING)

Per business e star power dei wrestler dagli anni 20 del secolo scorso ad oggi, gli USA sono senza dubbio la nazione più dominante del pro wrestling. E’ lì che ci sono state le principali federazioni e promotion, è lì che si scrivono le pagine più importanti della storia del pro wrestling ed è lì che i wrestler guadagnano di più. Ma in epoche più remote c’erano altre nazioni che contendevano agli USA la supremazia nel pro wrestling.

In questo articolo classificherò decade per decade le principali nazioni nella storia del wrestling.
Il pro wrestling moderno esiste dalla decade 1820 - 1830 ed è nato in Francia come lotta francese, oggi chiamata lotta greco romana, in Inghilterra come catch as catch can wrestling e in India come pehlwani wrestling, ma è dalla decade 1890 - 1899 che io partirò per un confronto tra nazioni, perché è da qui che la disciplina prese piede definitivamente in tanti paesi del mondo. In questi anni fino alla fine della decade 1910 - 1909 i match erano quasi tutti predeterminati e pochi erano veri, quindi tutti i wrestler erano combattenti legittimi.

1890 - 1899

La nazione più dominante fu senza dubbio l'india con Raheem Sultaniwalà e Ghulam dominatori assoluti. Anni dopo un wrestler che si era allenato con Ghulam, disse a Stanislausz Zbyszko che era il dominatore di questa decade e nessuno poteva resistere contro di lui per 5 minuti nella lotta in piedi. E in India Raheem Sultaniwalà, sconosciuto all'estero, era pure superiore in quanto campione in patria. Al secondo posto c'era la Turchia con Yousuf Ismail, che lottò per soli 5 anni e si ritirò imbattuto. Lui e il suo connazionale
Nourolah negli USA sconfissero l'americano Tom Jenkins in match predeterminati; Jenkins era il numero uno negli USA. Gli USA erano quindi la terza nazione del pro wrestling, poi si possono citare altre nazioni come Francia con Paul Pons, Inghilterra con Tom Cannon, Germania con Heinrich Eberle.

1900 - 1909

Qui è impossibile fare una classifica esatta, perché purtroppo molti dream match non furono svolti. Possiamo però dire che gli USA con Frank Gotch, l'India con The Great Gama, Imam Bux e Raheem Sultaniwalà e l'impero Russo con Ivan Poddubny e George Hackenschmidt erano le nazioni più dominanti. Tra tutti questi wrestler leggendari abbiamo visto solo Frank Gotch sconfiggere George Hackenschmidt nel 1908, col leone russo non più nella
forma migliore e con le regole del catch wrestling favorevoli a Gotch. Dopo queste 3 nazioni secondo me vanno citate la Francia con Paul Pons e Raoul le boucher, la Germania con Jacob Koch, Heinrich Eberle e Ernst Sigfried, la Danimarca con Jess Pedersen e Magnus Bech Olsen, la Polonia con Stanislaus Zbyszko, poi Inghilterra con Tom Cannon e Italia con Giovanni Raicevich.

Foto The Great Gama

1910 - 1919

In questa decade è difficile fare classificazioni, perché Frank Gotch durò ad altissimi livelli fino al ritiro nel 1913 e gli americani Ed Lewis, Joe Stecher e John Pesek si affermarono verso la fine del decennio. Ivan Poddubny si ritirò nel 1910 e tornò nel 1913 meno forte di prima. Gama fino al 1917 era al massimo della forma e suo fratello Imam Bux fu sempre al top. Probabilmente USA e poi India furono le nazioni più forti e poi l'Impero russo. Poi l'ordine delle altre nazioni è simile a quello della decade precedente, perché i grandi wrestler erano più o meno gli stessi e con l'inizio della prima guerra mondiale nel 1918 alla fine del decennio non emersero altri nuovi, grandi campioni.

Foto Ed Lewis

ENGLISH VERSION

For wrestler drawing power and business success from the 1920s to the present day, the United States has undoubtedly been the most dominant nation in professional wrestling. The most important federations and promotions have been based there, the most significant chapters in wrestling history have been written there, and it is where wrestlers have earned the highest salaries. However, in earlier eras, other nations competed with the United States for supremacy in professional wrestling.

In this article, I will rank the leading nations in wrestling history decade by decade.

Modern professional wrestling has existed since the 1820s and 1830s. It originated in France as French wrestling (today known as Greco-Roman wrestling), in England as catch-as-catch-can wrestling, and in India as pehlwani wrestling. However, I will begin my comparison with the decade of 1890–1899, because it was during this period that the discipline firmly established itself in many countries around the world. From these years until the end of the 1910s, most professional wrestling matches were legitimate contests, while only a minority were predetermined, meaning that virtually all leading wrestlers were genuine fighters.

1890–1899

The most dominant nation was undoubtedly India, with Raheem Sultaniwala and Ghulam standing as the era’s undisputed rulers. Years later, a wrestler who had trained with Ghulam told Stanislaus Zbyszko that Ghulam was the dominant wrestler of the decade and that no one could withstand him for five minutes in standing wrestling. In India, Raheem Sultaniwala—virtually unknown abroad—was considered even superior, as he was the recognized champion in his homeland.

Second place belongs to Turkey, represented by Yousuf Ismail, who competed for only five years before retiring undefeated. Both Ismail and his compatriot Nourolah defeated the American Tom Jenkins in predetermined matches in the United States. Jenkins was the leading wrestler in America at the time.

The United States was therefore the third most important wrestling nation of the decade. Other notable countries included France, represented by Paul Pons; England, represented by Tom Cannon; and Germany, represented by Heinrich Eberle.

1900–1909

It is impossible to establish an exact ranking for this decade because many dream matches never took place. Nevertheless, it can be said that the United States, represented by Frank Gotch; India, represented by The Great Gama, Imam Bux, and Raheem Sultaniwala; and the Russian Empire, represented by Ivan Poddubny and George Hackenschmidt, were the dominant wrestling nations.

Among these legendary wrestlers, the only major direct confrontation we witnessed was Frank Gotch's victory over George Hackenschmidt in 1908. By that time, however, the "Russian Lion" was arguably no longer at his absolute peak, and the catch wrestling rules favored Gotch.

After these three nations, France deserves recognition through Paul Pons and Raoul le Boucher; Germany through Jacob Koch, Heinrich Eberle, and Ernst Sigfried; Denmark through Jess Pedersen and Magnus Bech Olsen; Poland through Stanislaus Zbyszko; England through Tom Cannon; and Italy through Giovanni Raicevich.

Photo The Great Gama

1910–1919

This decade is particularly difficult to evaluate. Frank Gotch remained at an elite level until his retirement in 1913, while Americans Ed Lewis, Joe Stecher, and John Pesek emerged as major stars toward the end of the decade.

Ivan Poddubny retired in 1910 but returned in 1913, though arguably not as dominant as before. The Great Gama remained at his peak until 1917, while his brother Imam Bux continued to rank among the world's finest wrestlers.

My assessment is that the United States was probably the strongest wrestling nation of the decade, followed by India and then the Russian Empire. The ranking of the remaining countries would be broadly similar to that of the previous decade, as many of the same great wrestlers were still active. Furthermore, with the outbreak of the First World War, relatively few new world-class champions emerged during the closing years of the decade.

Photo Ed Lewis