(did you know it was watched by more people in britain than WWF/WCW at there hight in the U.S?)

Well yes of course it was. Wrestling was a part of mainstream culture in Britain (still is in a nostalgia kind of a way). And the promoters from the '50s through to the early '90s always aimed upmarket producing fine technical wrestling (Big Daddy notwithstanding) that stimulated the head as well as the heart. Consequently over here it was always perfectly socially acceptable to be a wrestling fan. Everyone was one - royals, politicians, businessmen, academics, you name it. Not to mention several million TV viewers.

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Whereas at the same time in the U.S.A. it became totally marginalised after it stopped being shown on network TV in the mid 1950s with promoters aiming it at the very bottom-most dregs of American society (plus a few closet fans higher up the social spectrum). America had a very snobbish attitude to wrestling, wrestlers and fans and the sport was seen as something watched by only the very poor or the very sad, over there. It didn't break out of this ghetto until the Hulkamania explosion in the mid '80s.

Consequently since the mid '50s, the match content of American-_style_ wrestling has always suffered from a severe dumbing-down. Lots of brawling, ridiculously large amounts of bouncing off the ropes, virtually no lengthy chain sequences of hold-and counterhold (certainly none longer than three holds or five seconds) and a depressingly low level of shooter skill amongst workers.

But then you people don't need me to describe the difference between British and American wrestling!