''Telecatch'' was a Brazilian

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 ...

TV program originally called ''Telecatch Montilla''. It was broadcast by

TV Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Gr ...

from 1967 to 1969. The name of the program would later be changed to ''Os Reis do Ringue in the 1970s by

RecordTV RecordTV (), formerly known as Rede Record, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In 2010, it was elected by the adver ...

, which translates literally to "The Kings of the Ring". In 1965, TV Excelsior premiered the program with the name ''Telecatch Vulcan''. For reasons of economy the chain of stores Imperatriz das Sedas (the main sponsor) and associated companies decided not to finance ''Telecatch'' and to definitively finish the program. It was similar to American professional wrestling with its diverse and colorful ring performers and pre-determined outcomes. The formation of the show was the direct result of the public's shock at the brutality of

vale tudo Vale Tudo (; en, Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would even ...

, which used to air on a TV show that originally aired in the time slot of ''Telecatch Montila''. It was decided by the TV executives that a show with pre-determined outcomes should replace the unpredictable and brutal vale tudo show, thus the creation of televised professional wrestling in Brazil. Due to the popularity of the program, even today ''Telecatch'' is sometimes used as a synonym for

pro 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 o ...

. An Italian-born Argentinian pro wrestler who went by the name of Ted Boy Marino signed on in 1967 and became the promotion's biggest star as a baby face. The show was a big success on the

TV Excelsior Rede Excelsior was a Brazilian television network founded by Mário Wallace Simonsen on July 9, 1960, in São Paulo, São Paulo. Its last broadcast happened on September 30, 1970, when the Brazilian military dictatorship put an abrupt end to ...

and its run lasted until 1980. In 2012, ''Telecatch'' was revived by the

Brazilian Wrestling Federation Brazilian Wrestling Federation (BWF) is a Brazilian professional wrestling association, the largest in the country. The federation holds one internet show, the BWF Telecatch. The company was founded with the mission to revive the popularity of Pr ...

(BWF) as the "BWF Telecatch" in attempts to revive professional wrestling in Brazil. A few years later, others companies such as FILL (International Luta Livre Federation), EWF (Extreme Wrestling Force) started to bring a similar product to the table. The most recent promotion is Action Pro Wrestling (APW), founded in 2018 with the objective to bring international learnings to the ''Telecatch'' tradition. Of those, only BWF and APW are broadcast by local television channels such as ''TV Garulhos'' and available at their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel. Shortly after, many backyard promotions started to arise, mixing the ''Telecatch'' wrestling style with international wrestling. Some of them include FBWA (Araçoiaba Brazilian Wrestling Federation), PWC (Pro Wrestling Curitiba) and CFW (Crazy Freestyle Wrestling), all of them available at their respective YouTube channels.

References

Professional wrestling in Brazil Professional wrestling television series {{wrestling-stub

See also

References