- Mud wrestling
-
Mud wrestling is defined as physical confrontation (fighting, wrestling, etc.) that occurs in mud or a mud pit. The popular modern interpretation specifies that participants wrestle while wearing minimal clothing and usually going barefoot, with the emphasis on presenting an entertaining spectacle as opposed to physically injuring or debilitating the opponent to the point where they are unable to continue the match. Venues for competition are usually social in nature with equal numbers of male and female spectators[citation needed].
A man and a woman mud wrestling at "Mud Fest 2008".
Contents
History
The place and time of origin of mud wrestling is unknown. An early instance can be seen in the 1966 "shockumentary" film Mondo Freudo, though its origins may be much earlier[citation needed].
Houston wrestling promoter Paul Boesch is credited with the invention of mud wrestling[citation needed], as he came up with the concept for the match when booking a feud between Gus Sonnenberg and Harnam Singh in Seattle, Washington,which he promoted as an"Indian Dirt Match." Its popularity in the United States increased in the 80s, and later spread worldwide[citation needed]. Although originally performed in bars and nightclubs, organizations have staged mud wrestling events for fun and charity[citation needed].
The first professional mud wrestling organization was formed in Akron, Ohio in the 1930's [1].
Variations
One common variation involves wrestling in gelatin rather than mud. This practice is known as Jell-O wrestling in the United States and as jelly wrestling in the United Kingdom[citation needed]. Other foods, such as pudding, creamed corn and mashed potatoes, have also been used for similar events.[citation needed]
Another variation of mud wrestling is Oil Wrestling in Turkey[citation needed].
Another variation is Mashed Potato Wrestling, which is popular in Barnesville, Minnesota and Clark, South Dakota in the U.S.A[citation needed].
Another variation involves having the participants in formal dress[citation needed].
Pop culture
Mud Wrestling was popularized in France by the TV game show Fort Boyard[citation needed].
In the 90s the Spanish TV game show El gran juego de la oca featured wrestling in a mud pit as one of the challenges[citation needed].
The American movie ...All the Marbles deals with the subject of women in professional wrestling. One sequence features a mud wrestling match[citation needed].
In the PlayStation 2 video game Rumble Roses, a fighting game with an all-female cast, there is a stage where the characters can have a mud wrestling match[citation needed].
The file Stripes (1981) featured John Candy facing off against six kickboxing wrestlers in a boxing ring filled with mud[citation needed].
A 2003 Miller Lite commercial ended with two women (Tanya Ballinger and Kitana Baker) wrestling in a mud pit. An uncensored version had the two girls falling in love and making out[citation needed].
Mud wrestling was one of the contests in the second series of Last Man Standing[citation needed].
Professional hockey player PK Subban has stated that he is a huge fan of mud wrestling competitions, and he once co-hosted a mud wrestling event with Win Butler, lead singer of Canadian band Arcade Fire[citation needed].
Lance foods and Tom's snacks featured a mudwrestler, Velvetsky, on a cover of one of the potato chip bags[citation needed].
See also
References
Links
[1] Chicago Mud Queens
References
Categories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
