Mick McCarthy's men were first to every loose ball and worked immensely hard to win possesion back.
The Latics on the other hand seemed to believe they had a devine right to win the game and strolled on through the ninety minutes without a care in the world.
Shortly after rattling the post with a curling strike, Andrew Keogh sealed what proved to be an early winner for Wolves when his header glanced in off the far post.
The goal was no more than Wolves deserved. They had opened the brighter of the two sides and some of the Wigan defending left heart's in mouths for the home support.
The recovery was little better either. Happy to be 1-0 up away from goal Wolves became more defensive and forced the Latics to attack.
Roberto Martinez's men could break down a resolute orange side. There was little movement in midfield and the wingers (particularly Koumas) went hiding behind their respective full backs.
The long balls were little better with both Titus Bramble and Paul Scharner guilty of some terrible cross field passing.
Wolves defender Michael Mancienne marked Hugo Rodallega out of the game
However up front was where the main problem lay. 4-5-1 may have worked wonderfully against Aston Villa who will have been chasing the game, but against Wolves it clearly wasn't working.
Hugo Rodallega was isolated up front on his own and to the credit of Michael Mancienne, he was marked out the game by a superior defender.
Only when Jason Scotland came on did the Latics gain any impetus up front, but there wasn't enough time to seal the all desired equaliser.
Player Ratings
Chris Kirkland 6, Mario Melchiot 5, Maynor Figueroa 6, Paul Scharner 5, Titus Bramble 6, Jason Koumas 5 (Sinclair 5), Charles N'Zogbia 6, Michael Brown 5 (Scotland 6), Hendry Thomas 5, Jordi Gomez 5, Hugo Rodallega 4.
Unused subsitutes: Mike Pollitt, Emmerson Boyce, Erik Edman, Marlon King, Ben Watson
Here is the reaction of the respective managers.
Roberto Martinez
Well I think we saw two different performances. In the first 20 minutes we didn't find that intensity in our play and probably we paid the price for what has been a very demanding week.
Many players went away on international duty and it is a big day the first league game and probably the first 20 minutes we looked sloppy. Wolves were on top in that period - obviously they got a goal and they created a couple of chances.
But then after that, the reaction in the second half I'm really, really pleased.
Mick McCarthy
I'm delighted. Apart from the three points I thought, coming on the back of a defeat (2-0 at home to West Ham), we came here and played very well in the first half.
I thought it was a mature performance and having got the lead I would hardly say we were hanging on. We have had to defend the lead for a long time but we still have managed to create chances.
We had a real disappointment on Saturday despite playing well so it feels pretty good at the minute to get an away win.
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the home game against Manchester United on Saturday. The return of Antonio Valencia to Wigan where he is likely to receive a warm welcome, so long as he has a bad game. Latics fans and Martinez alike will be hoping for a much better performance against Rooney and co.
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