Why did the lighter weights die off in America?

[David Mantell]

Bounced from the French Catch thread:

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What I wonder is what went wrong with lighter weight wrestling in America?  There was George Bothner in the early years of the C20th, he later referreed Caddock- Stecher and ran legendary shooter gym Bothner's Gym in New York.  After that you get the odd name like Ad Santel or Benny Sherman but by the start of the 30s there was virtually nothing left below Light Heavyweight and that title was also exiled to Mexico in the late 30s.

Why did the three lighter weight titles get bounced off to Mexico in the late 1930s with the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship following in the late 1950s?

Why was America unable to come up with its own versions of George Kidd. Rene Ben Chemoul, "Le Petit Prince" Daniel Dubail, Johnny Saint etc etc.  Was George Bothner a household name and pals with Babe Ruth like Strangle Lewis was?

Why did Europe, Mexico and Japan managed to make stars in the lighter weights but not America?

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't know the exact reasons, but there was clearly an emphasis on size in America and a larger focus on heavyweight titles. Where that emphasis originated from, I don't know. Lightweight wrestling wasn't the only form of wrestling that fell by the wayside. Women's wrestling and minis wrestling was also marginalized after being fixtures of the Golden Age of professional wrestling. I don't think lightweights ever completely disappeared from the sport, but certainly by the time the 80s rolled around there was a lot of pressure on lighter weight wrestlers to bulk up. I don't think that pressure ever completely disappeared. If you look at the Mysterio that broke through in the WWE, he is far more jacked than he was in ECW or WCW. Japanese and Mexican wrestlers are generally of smaller stature than their American counterparts, so that likely played a role in the development of their wrestlers. However, in both countries, the lightweight wrestlers tried to climb the weight divisions. Fujinami, for example, was one of wrestling's great lightweights, but harbored a desire to wrestle in the heavyweight class. In the US, where weight classes mattered less, small wrestlers also aimed for the world title. 

I suppose the true answer is that until Mysterio arrived on the scene, there wasn't a Petit Prince level talent working in the States. Some very good workers, but no-one spectacular.