Lancashire wrestling, commonly called Lancashire catch-as-catch-can or Lancashire style, is a folk wrestling style that originated in the historic county of Lancashire in North West England. It became notable as the least restrictive and most aggressive style in England. It was popular across Britain and abroad, becoming a primary influence on catch wrestling, through which it is an ancestor of freestyle wrestling, American folkstyle wrestling, Brazilian luta livre, Japanese shoot wrestling and Shooto, modern submission grappling, and associated styles like mixed martial arts and theatrical professional wrestling.

The style was practiced and popularised in the area that now includes Lancashire, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. The objective was to achieve a back fall on the opponent by making both of their shoulders touch the ground simultaneously. There were two approaches to this, “wrossle for a thrut” (wrestling for a throw) and “up and down.” In “wrossle for a thrut”, competitors utilised stand-up techniques such as throws, trips, and other takedowns with the goal of sending an opponent to their back or otherwise taking them off their feet, depending on the conditions. In “up and down”, the wrestling would continue on the ground, utilising grounded techniques to win by pin or submission. This was similar to German and Dutch/Flemish folk styles: halber ringkampf (“half wrestling”) and ganzer ringkampf (“full wrestling”) in German, and neergooi (“throwing someone down”) and ondergooi (“throwing someone down and keeping him underneath”) in Dutch/Flemish. According to Jim Parr, a champion from Wigan in the early 1900s, “In Lancashire, where the Lancashire or catch-as-catch-can-game, as it is called, originated, all falls count when the shoulders touch the mat together. It makes no difference whether you throw a fellow over your head, and let go of him, or whether you press him down with a hammerlock, or roll him: It is a fall every time the shoulders strike together.

There were minimal restrictions on holds and the use of legs, for throws and trips, was permitted. Common holds and positions included the knuckle lock, collar tie, body lock, headlock, fireman’s lift, cross-buttock (hip throw), the Nelson, single leg and double leg takedowns, as well as par terre (grounded). The attire was simple, shorts and socks. The Snipe Inn Rules disallowed applying any resin, drugs, or grease; foul acts or wilful brutality, unmanly techniques and tactics like those common in “up and down fighting” bouts, choking (“hanging” or “throttling”), kicking, headbutting, biting, gouging, or scratching. The Snipe Inn Rules allowed submissions with the intent of using them to achieve a pin but not with the intent to hurt an opponent or make them quit.

Although submissions were usually disallowed, wrestlers were known to evade this by using variations of legal techniques to inflict pain and make their opponents “concede” the match.

Wrestling on the ground made the Lancashire style unique in England, along with its minimal restrictions on holds and techniques—known as “catch-hold” or “catch-as-catch-can”—in contrast to the more restrictive Cornish, Devon, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling styles.

In his book Wrestling (1890), Walter Armstrong described the style as:

“…without doubt, the roughest and most uncultivated of the three recognized English systems, as it includes catching hold of the legs, wrestling on the ground, and other objectionable methods of attack and defence. In Lancashire, wrestling displays are confined to matches promoted by the proprietor of some popular pedestrian resort, and differ as much as it is possible to imagine from the immense gatherings in the arenas of Cumberland and Westmorland, where sometimes nearly two hundred wrestlers will assemble, varying in weight from nine stone up to twenty stone odd.”

Although, Armstrong admitted, “In a rough-and-tumble encounter, when ‘all is in,’ a knowledge of Lancashire wrestling might be of service; but even in a street fight it is not the fashion for an Englishman to battle on the ground, but to allow his opponent to get up again.” He compared it to French wrestling, now known as Greco-Roman wrestling, “The Lancashire system is closely allied to the French style. The only material difference is that the French forbid tripping and catching hold of legs, whereas both are allowed in the County Palatine, in addition to the use of any fair means of throwing an antagonist.” And describing the wrestlers, “Fortunate it is for the human race in general that Lancashire wrestlers are mostly small men, Acton and Bibby, the two fiercest exponents of this uncivilised fashion of wrestling, being only 5 ft. 5 in. in height and 10 stone weight and 5 ft. 4 in. and 11 stone weight respectively.” According to Armstrong, the referee was “invested with full power to decide any point not provided for in the articles of agreement, subject to no appeal in a court of law.” Although throttling (choking) was disallowed, it continued to be common. Breaking limbs such as fingers or arms was permitted if the wrestler could “satisfy the referee that such took place during a fairly-conducted struggle for the mastery, and not through any desire to deliberately act in an unfair manner.” It was possible to disqualify and replace the referee if he was proven incompetent or prejudiced. There were rest periods between falls and if a match did not finish on the day, it would be restarted at the same time the next day (except Sunday) after reweighing the competitors.

Many of the wrestlers were textile workers and colliers, with a predominantly working class audience. As a result, Victorian era newspapers and magazines gave it little recognition until its popularity grew, leaving relatively few written records in contrast to the more widely accepted styles of the time. The wrestlers and their financial backers would sign an agreement under a governing body (usually a newspaper like the Sporting Chronicle or Wigan Examiner), with a referee being appointed to control the match and pay out the wager. Matches were known to take place at locations like taverns, public houses, sporting grounds, or even coal fields. Gambling was standard, an audience would gather and bets would be collected in hats. Casual wrestling was also common in pubs and public parks. A rise in popularity attracted regular press coverage and bouts were staged in theatres and music halls, featuring theatrics as part of variety acts. Wrestlers from Europe, the United States, and other countries also toured England. Such flamboyances along with match fixing moved the style from sport to commercial entertainment, gradually setting a foundation for modern theatrical professional wrestling in Britain.