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.
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.
"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."
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."
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."
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.
A rise in popularity attracted regular press coverage and bouts were staged in theatres and music halls, featuring theatrics as part of variety acts.
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.
It became a usual way to resolve disputes between men, who commonly wore loin clothes and clogs, and engaged in a combination of "wrestling, throttling, and kicking", although punching was not permitted.
In the 1820s, the sport was made illegal due to deaths that commonly occurred, and was succeeded by Lancashire wrestling, reflecting a similar trend in continental Europe.
Previously, amateurs competed in challenge matches to see who was better, commonly betting quarter or half gallons of beer, and tournament prizes included pigs and silver watches.
Lancashire catch-as-catch-can expanded abroad through the century, becoming particularly popular in the United States, where it was known as "ground wrestling" and also called "rough and tumble" by workers on the frontier, leading to an American variation on the style.
Regional bouts were also popular, such as a February 1897 match between Joe Carroll of Hindley facing "Bull Dog" Tom Clayton of Farnworth, which attracted 3,000 spectators to the Heywood Athletic Grounds.
As the century progressed, the style divided further into local competitions like the working-class men of south Lancashire, and the popular music hall acts seen nationally which would become modern theatrical professional wrestling.