Part 3: The 1960s and a fractured landscape
In America, the 1950s was a boom period for professional wrestling because of television, but the 1960s represents the end of that boom and the beginning of a different landscape. There were many reasons the wrestling boom ended, with television overexposure being the biggest contributor. By the end of the decade, ratings were in decline and producers were starting to lose interest as a result. The NWA was weakened and new independent territories formed that recognized their own champions, the most notable among them Vincent J. McMahon’s World Wide Wrestling Federation out of New York and Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association out of Minneapolis. The NWA also had trouble finding a worthy successor to Lou Thesz, which led to him coming out of retirement in 1963. Wrestlers like Gene Kiniski and Pat O’Connor are legitimate Hall of Famers and wrestling legends, but they were less successful NWA champions than Thesz.
In Japan, the popularity of wrestling continued to thrive under the stardom of Rikidozan until his death in 1963 at 39 years old. We saw the ascension of his proteges Shohei “Giant” Baba and Antonio Inoki as stars in the 1960s and by the end of the decade, the rival International Wrestling Enterprise was formed. Likewise, the most prolific women’s wrestling company in history (some would just say the most prolific wrestling company in history) — All Japan Women — formed in 1968.
Because wrestling operated on far more of a regional basis in the 1960s than the 1950s, footage is less accessible during this time, and it remains that way until the VCR starts showing up in households in the late 70s. Still, while what we have doesn’t tell the full story of 60s wrestling, we do see some fascinating hints that reveal plenty on their own from all around the world, and much like in the 1950s, there are more complete matches than you might think. A key part of that is the continued availability of French Catch footage, but we also see an increase in Japanese footage and a treasure trove of fun clips from Toronto and Portland. We also continue to see footage from Los Angeles and Dallas as the decade progresses.
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