Wrestling is  really old.   It has been mentioned in literature, like the Iliad.  It can be seen in Egyptian caves and old drawings from thousands of years ago.  I read that wrestling moves and people wrestling with each other has also been shown in old drawings, or reliefs, in Babylon and in caves in France. In the Middle Ages, wrestling was found all over different countries, including Japan.  Actually, wrestling is probably one of the oldest sports in history and has existed for longer than most sports. Wrestling was popular in Greece and in Rome.  But the wrestling in Rome wasn't as savage as the wrestling in Greece. The Greeks started wrestling as a way to train the soldiers in wars, to kill their enemies.  The Romans changed wrestling to be more of a sport and not a tool to kill.  The Olympic games, which started in Greece, had wrestling as one of their important sports.   How did wrestling get to the U.S.?  It actually was brought over from England by immigrants making the U.S. their home. They found out that Native Americans in the U.S. also liked wrestling. So wrestling was a sport that seemed to join many different cultures.