Jordan G. Teicher at Slate shows us some amazing photos of professional wrestling in England throughout 1988.

The photos show just how much the wrestling business has changed since then.

Byrne hasn’t been to watch or photograph wrestling since that time in the late 1980s. The sport, he said, was pulled from mainstream television around that time and, while it still exists today, it has never been quite as popular. Looking back on his images now, Byrne said he is sad that wrestling has moved out of small venues and that the sport has become influenced by the American model of “big names, glamour and glitz.”

“I think it’s a great loss for small communities. When wrestling came to town, for that evening, once every few months, you could escape the hardships of life. You could totally immerse yourself in the moment in pure theater,” he said. “You could scream and shout at someone twice your size and get away with it. It was just great, clean fun.”

For perhaps the most revealing look inside the wrestling business today, look no further than CM Punk’s interview on the Art of Wrestling Podcast with Colt Cabana.