E-wrestling

E-wrestling (also spelt eWrestling, and referred to was e-fedding or fedding) is a form of creative roleplay based around professional wrestling. The most popular form of fantasy wrestling, the origins of e-wrestling are not certain, but since the mid-to-late 1990s the form of writing has proved to flourish in popularity.

The traditional e-federation would book matches between two people, with the best roleplayer winning. More recent federations have included more 'angles', where the matches are decided by the competitors beforehand, and are becoming more creative and less wrestling-orientated than their predecessors.

History of e-wrestling
The origins of e-wrestling are unknown. Some assert that fantasy wrestling existed before the formation of the internet, on a play-by-mail commercial basis. Others assert that the origins of e-wrestling are from the early days of Usenet, and a newsgroup called rec.sport.pro-wrestling.fantasy, which has posts dating back in the early 1990s.

Toward the end of the 1990s the popularity of e-wrestling increased, with many federations based around real wrestling, but a select few (including some which opened in the mid-1990s and are still around today) began to produce high-quality, original content. Some of these become the basis for communities such as Primetime Central, which formed in the early 2000s.

The most popular current federations began to emerge a couple of years into the 21st century, with federations such as the Fans Wrestling Organization, Primetime Championship Wrestling and Old School Entertainment emerging in around 2001. Although none of these is still active today, the time that such federations was open is deemed in many communities as the "golden era of e-wrestling", possibly due to an increase in the importance of angles, instead of just raw roleplaying skills.

Basics of an e-federation
Main article: E-federation

Most new e-federations are based on the basis of the anatomy of a real wrestling federation such as "World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE and subsidiaries)", "Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)" or "Ring of Honor(ROH)". Most federations start out with one show a week, and one pay-per-view a month, although in recent years several ideas to change this system have been used (such as Full Metal Wrestling's running on an odd, non-weekly cycle).

Many e-federations are started by one or two persons, and most close down within their first few months. This is due to the time involved in running it, and a need for handler support, which is often not available. Most unsuccessful federations open in the Summer, when school students have free time, and start federations, only to close them when the holiday ends due to school commitments.

Typically, federations run off websites, with more successful ones after having more graphical designs with wrestler images, backstage scripts and so on. Some run off forums, although tend to be less appealing to strong roleplayers, who often pick out the more visually appealing federations (due to their more professional appearance).

There are several types of e-federation. These include straight roleplay federations, angle federations, and hybrids. Some are more appealing than others to different handlers.