From Real Pro Wrestling’s Official Rule Book
Wrestling Rules 101 – Overview
This is the first article in a series designed to educate a newbie to the great sport of wrestling as is practiced by RealProWrestling. It will also answer veteran fans’ questions regarding our rules so they can not only enjoy the great action, but understand everything they see.
The first thing to understand about wrestling is the main objective. That objective is to defeat your opponent by pinning his shoulders to the ground. Of course your opponent is trying to do the same to you.
RPW wrestling matches are six minutes long divided into two periods of three minutes each. As soon as one of the wrestlers is pinned, a fall is declared and the match ends immediately. For novice wrestlers, the majority of their matches end in pins. As the wrestlers get experienced, their defense improves and pins become much less frequent.
Since matches can go the whole six minutes without a pin, a point system is used to determine which wrestler did a better job dominating his opponent. Different points are awarded at various stages as one forces or tricks his opponent closer to the pin. These stages can be divided into the following categories.
The first stage to dominating an opponent is to get a takedown. At the start of the match, both wrestlers begin standing on their feet facing each other. If one can take his opponent down to the mat and get on top and behind him the referee will declare a takedown. A basic takedown is worth two points.
The second stage in dominating an opponent is to turn his back towards the mat. Whenever a wrestler’s back breaks a 90 degree angle with the mat, the referee declares it a turn. This can get confusing when both wrestlers expose their backs at the same time. The referee will only give points to the wrestler who caused the turn, although sometimes both wrestlers do something to expose their opponent’s back at the same time and both are awarded.
A wrestler can also score points by escaping the dominant control of his opponent. For an escape, which is worth one point, a wrestler who has been taken down must get back to his feet, get free of the control of his opponent, and face him.
A wrestler can also score points by reversing the dominant control of his opponent. For a reversal, which is worth two points, a wrestler who has been taken down must get out from under his opponent, get his opponent under him and on the mat.
So in summary, at the start of the match, both wrestlers try to get a takedown on each other. Once a takedown occurs, the top wrestler tries to turn the bottom wrestler and the bottom wrestler tries to escape or get a reversal. If the top wrestler can turn the bottom wrestler, he then tries to get the fall by pinning his shoulders to the ground.
In the coming weeks, we will continue exploring the details of scoring and other situations that arise in a wrestling match. But for now, at least you have a good grasp of the basic rules of wrestling.
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