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Mud wrestling is defined as physical confrontation (fighting,wrestling, etc.) that occurs inmud (or mud-like substances) or a mud pit. The popular modern interpretation specifies that participants wrestle while wearing minimal clothing and usually goingbarefoot, with the usual emphasis on presenting an entertaining spectacle as opposed to physically injuring or debilitating the opponent to the point where they are unable to continue the match.[citation needed]
The primal activity itself dates back totime immemorial, with a sport similar to mud wrestling calledpale recorded inAncient Greece at leastc. 4th century BC.[1]The first professional mud wrestling organization was formed inAkron, Ohio in the 1930s by Michael Wittrock and Tyler Carroll. The first women's match occurred there on 7 January 1938.[2][1]