The regular re-invention of sporting tradition and identity THE REGULAR RE-INVENTION OF SPORTING TRADITION AND IDENTITY: CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND WRESTLING c.1800-20001

One of the formerly major spectator sports which has been relatively and surprisingly neglected in British sports historiography is wrestling, a sport with many varieties. These include its ‘all-in ’ dramatic entertainment form, with its good guy ‘faces ’ such as Danny ‘Boy ’ Collins or Billy Two Rivers, and ‘heel ’ baddies like Mick McManus or Hulk Hogan, found in spectator contexts from British city halls to the more mediated and Americanised events regularly broadcast on both satellite and terrestrial television. They also include the freestyle and Graeco-Roman styles of those more amateur British clubs aiming at Olympic representation, and the exotic subtleties of regional variations. These range from ‘traditional’ Cornish wrestling to ethnic varieties such as Sikh and Indian wrestling in the Midlands or Turkish wrestling in London. Globally there is huge interest in wrestling, especially in the USA where it is a major commercial entertainment form, attracting larger TV audiences than professional American football