Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules are a set of
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
rules mainly used in British wrestling. They were named after
Edward Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans
Admiral Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans, (28 October 1880 – 20 August 1957) was a Royal Navy officer and Antarctic explorer.H. G. Thursfield, 'Evans, Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell, first Baron Mountevans (188 ...
, who ordered a unified set of rules written up for professional wrestling in the British Isles. The style of wrestling under the Mountevans rules was advertised by promoters as Modern Freestyle Wrestling.
History
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
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
.
After a failed attempt to relaunch the sport with a show at
Harringay Arena
Harringay Arena was a sporting and events venue on Green Lanes in Harringay, North London, England. Built in 1936, it lasted as a venue until 1958.
Construction
Harringay Arena was built and owned by Brigadier-General Alfred Critchley under ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
in 1947 was condemned by journalists as being "fake",
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. In 1952, the rules were adopted by the newly formed
Joint Promotions
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...
, 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.
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.
Weight divisions
The rules set out seven
weight divisions with maximum weight limits and called for champions to be crowned of each limit : Lightweight (), Welterweight (), Middleweight (), Heavy Middleweight (), Light Heavyweight (), Mid-Heavyweight () and Heavyweight for all weights above .
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.
All seven weight divisions have undergone title changes in the 21st century.
All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...
continues to promote the
British Heavyweight Championship brought across from
Joint Promotions
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...
by
Tony St. Clair as its top championship (often referred to as the "Superslam" title.) All Star also revived the
British Mid-Heavyweight Championship
The British Mid-Heavyweight Championship was a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's history dates back to 1952 and runs to the present day. Officially mid-heavyweights were required to weigh bet ...
in 2002, two decades after the death of previous champion
Mike Marino
Mike Marino (born 8 October 1921 as Michael Harrison – died 24 August 1981) was an English professional wrestler and a leading name during the '' World of Sport'' era in British wrestling. At his death Marino was holder of the three Mid-Heavy ...
and the
British Light Heavyweight Championship
The British Light Heavyweight Championship was a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's broken history dates back to the 1920s. After going inactive in 2004, the title was re-activated in 2014.
...
in the early 2010s. The
British Middleweight Championship was last active for RBW in 2004 and the
British Welterweight Championship
The British Welterweight Championship is the welterweight professional wrestling championship competed for throughout the British wrestling circuit.
The championship was recognised and defended on matches screened by UK national television ne ...
last changed hands for LDN Wrestling in 2008. The
British Lightweight Championship was reactivated in October 2021 by Rumble Promotions and won by Nino Bryant, the first ever Mountevans champion to have been born in the 21st century. This leaves only the
British Heavy Middleweight Championship
The British Heavy Middleweight Championship was a top British wrestling championship found throughout the country's circuit. The title's history dates back to its foundation by Joint Promotions in 1953. Officially heavy middleweights were requir ...
which was last active in the 1990s, although the Mountevans World Heavy Middleweight Championship was won by
Mikey Whiplash in 2009 for All Star.
Rules
The Admiral-Lord Mountevans rules defined what holds were legal and how a fall could be scored:
The legal techniques were:
*standing and ground
half Nelsons, quarter Nelsons, three quarter Nelsons and
full Nelson
A nelson hold is a grappling hold which is executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpi ...
.
*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
In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team.
Background
A pinfall is a victory condi ...
*
Submission
Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
*
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 which consisted of six three minute rounds, with a thirty second break between each round, could either be 2-Out-of-3 Falls or the wrestler with the most falls wins at the end of the final round,
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
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
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.
See also
*
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
References
{{Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom, state=expanded
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom
Sports rules and regulations