Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules

Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom, under the All In rules, had been popular in the 1930s. However, as a result of a shift in focus away from technical skill and towards violence including usage of weapons, it was banned towards the end of the decade by the London County Council.[1]

After a failed attempt to relaunch the sport with a show at Harringay Arena, Middlesex in 1947 was condemned by journalists as being "fake",[2] Admiral-Lord Mountevans along with radio personality Commander Archibald Bruce Campbell, Maurice Webb MP and Norman Morell, an Amateur wrestling champion and professional wrestling promoter, formed a committee to formalise professional wrestling in the United Kingdom and write up a set of unified rules.

Once the rules were written, they were almost universally accepted with 95% of promotions in the United Kingdom adopting them.[3] In 1952, the rules were adopted by the newly formed Joint Promotions, officially as a way to uphold the committee's ideology but was also considered to be a way for Joint Promotions to effectively control British wrestling.[1]

In London, the new rules led to the ban on professional wrestling being lifted however a by-law authorised by the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police kept female wrestling banned within the Greater London area until 1987.[4]

The rules set out seven weight divisions with maximum weight limits and called for champions to be crowned of each limit : Lightweight (154 lb or ~70 kg), Welterweight (165 lb or ~75 kg), Middleweight (176 lb or ~80 kg), Heavy Middleweight (187 lb or ~85 kg), Light Heavyweight (198 lb or ~90 kg), Mid-Heavyweight (209 lb or ~95 kg) and Heavyweight for all weights above 210 lb (95 kg).[2] In the early days, the champions of these weight divisions were also known as Mountevans Champions as the Championships also included Mountevans in their official names.[5]

The Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules defined what holds were legal[6] and how a fall could be scored:[7]

The legal techniques were:

• standing and ground half Nelsons, quarter Nelsons, three quarter Nelsons and full Nelson.
• standing or the ground, front, side or reverse head chancery.
• waist holds.
• standing or ground arm up at the back, arm up at the back with elbow press, arm up at the back with bar.
• standing or ground wrist lever, wrist bend, arm lever or double arm lever.
• crotch hold.
• single or double leg holds, back heel, leg stroke, knee stroke, single or double leg hank.
• wrestler's bridge.
• scissors.
• flying mare, ground or standing arm roll or double arm rolls.
• buttock, cross buttock, locked arm buttock, crossed arm buttock, locked arm back drop.

A fall could be awarded by the following means:

• Pinfall
• Submission
• Knockout - failing to answer the referee's 10 count when thrown or knocked to the canvas or outside the ring.
• Technical Knockout - If the opponent is ruled unfit to continue by the referee.
• Disqualification - generally applicable upon a wrestler receiving the third of three "Public Warnings" given by the referee for serious or persistent offences.

In singles matches for the best of three falls, a win was immediately awarded in the event of a knockout or disqualification, regardless of whether or not falls had previously been scored. Later when Tag Team wrestling was introduced to Britain, generally the disqualified or knocked-out wrestler was eliminated and a single fall awarded to the opposing team. The partner of the eliminated wrestler would then continue the match for any remaining falls under handicap tag conditions.

• Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom