Loss

History of Pro Wrestling #32 (04:11:41) Matches from May-July 1959 ROGER DELAPORTE vs ROGER GUETTIER (05/30/1959; French Catch; 00:36:57) ISHA ISRAEL vs JEAN RABUT (06/04/1959; French Catch; 00:34:43) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. RIKIDOZAN vs MR. ATOMIC (06/15/1959; JWA 1st Annual World League; 00:03:03) Mr. Atomic wrestled in various American territories in the 1960s and early 70s under a variety of names. RIKIDOZAN vs JESSE ORTEGA (06/15/1959; JWA 1st Annual World League; 00:05:21) Rikidozan wins the first World League, possibly wrestling’s first-ever tournament presented as a global event, and the precursor to both the Championship Carnival in All Japan and the G-1 Climax in New Japan. NICK BOCKWINKEL vs MATT MURPHY (06/17/1959; NAWA TV Taping; 00:04:37) The footage debut of the legendary Nick Bockwinkel, who is only 24 years old and this point and about five years into a stellar career. NICK BOCKWINKEL vs GREAT JOHN L (06/18/1959; NAWA Bakersfield, CA; 00:08:56) JAMES MCTIFFIN vs ROGER GUETTIER (06/19/1959; French Catch; 00:26:35) MARCEL PARMENTIER vs BOB PLANTAIN (06/19/1959; French Catch; 00:02:58) CLAUDE MONTOURCY vs ROBERT GASTEL (06/26/1959; French Catch; 00:13:56) VASILIOS MANTOPOULOS vs ROBERTO RICETTI (06/26/1959; French Catch; 00:32:08) Segunda Caida reviews of the above four matches. JACKY CORN vs GEORGES GUERET (07/09/1959; French Catch; 00:34:58) ROGER DELAPORTE & PAUL VILLARS vs ARABET SAID & LEON MINISSINI (07/16/1959; French Catch; 00:34:53) SERGE FRANCILLE vs PIERRE BERNAERT (07/16/1959; French Catch; 00:15:15) Segunda Caida reviews of the above four matches. RICKI STARR vs HANS HERMANN (07/17/1959; NWA Chicago; 00:17:21) Kind of an odd match with Starr copying Gorgeous George mannerisms and the two doing a far more theatrical and over-the-top style than we usually saw in wrestling during this time period.

History of Pro Wrestling #31 (04:32:56) Matches from February-May 1959 JOHNNY STEIN vs JEAN BOUT (02/27/1959; French Catch; 00:46:20) Segunda Caida review of the match. AL HAYES & RAY HUNTER vs KARL VON KRAMER & DR. ADOLF KAISER (03/06/1959; French Catch; 00:21:29) L’HOMME MASQUE vs ROGER DELAPORTE (03/06/1959; French Catch; 00:25:43) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. FRITZ VON ERICH vs BOBBY BROWN (03/27/1959; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:07:26) CHARLES HUMEZ vs PAUL DEBUSNE (04/02/1959; French Catch; 00:16:30) JOSE TARRES vs KARL VON CHENOK (04/02/1959; French Catch; 00:34:28) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. DOC & MIKE GALLAGHER vs REGGIE & STAN LISOWSKI (04/17/1959; NWA Upstate; 00:15:58) JO RINALDI vs GASTON MAUJEAN (04/30/1959; French Catch; 00:01:55) ROGER LAROCHE vs HENRI LAMBERT (04/30/1959; French Catch; 00:33:01) Segunda Caida review of the match. JEAN BOUT vs JACK VAN DOOREN (05/09/1959; French Catch; 00:32:30) KARL VON CHENOK & ROBERT GASTEL vs CLAUDE MONTOURCY & GILBERT LEDUC (05/23/1959; French Catch; 01:03:34) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. ROBERT GASTEL vs GABY CALDERON (02/05/1959; French Catch; 00:08:16) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. EDOUARD CARPENTIER vs MIKE GALLAGHER (02/06/1959; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:17:36) PAT O'CONNOR vs JOE CHRISTIE (02/10/1959; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:05:00)

History of Pro Wrestling #30 (04:49:56) Matches from January-February 1959 PAUL VILLARS vs JUAN BOTANA (01/01/1959; French Catch; 00:17:13) Segunda Caida review of this match. TONY OLIVER vs SERGE GENTILLY (01/01/1959; French Catch; 00:31:36) Segunda Caida review of this match. JOSE TARRES vs DR. ADOLF KAISER (01/02/1959; French Catch; 00:32:32) Great bio of Kaiser from Phil Lions at Wrestling Classics, and a link to the Segunda Caida review of this match. L’ANGE BLANC vs PAUL VILLARS (01/09/1959; French Catch; 00:36:33) Great bio of L’Ange Blanc, again from Phil Lions at Classics. Blanc had many advocates for the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame on last year’s ballot. Segunda Caida review of this match. GORGEOUS GEORGE vs ILIO DIPAOLO (01/16/1959; Steel Belt Wrestling; Buffalo, NY; 00:07:32) Gorgeous George may or may not have been loaded here. An infamous match in Buffalo for ending so abruptly. ILIO DIPAOLO vs BILL MILLER (01/23/1959; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:18:10) DiPaolo was a talented wrestler, and was also the son-in-law of the legendary Ed Don George, who preceded him by a generation. DAN MILLER vs PAT FLANAGAN (01/30/1959; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:11:38) DANNY MCSHAIN vs JERRY CHRISTY (01/31/1959; JCP MACW; 00:14:29) HANS SCHABEL vs MIKE CLANCY (01/31/1959; JCP MACW; 00:07:23) JERRY CHRISTY vs JOHN HEIDMAN (01/31/1959; JCP MACW; 00:11:54) JUDY GRABLE vs RITA CORTEZ (01/31/1959; JCP MACW; 00:09:09) This and the previous three matches are from the very first episode ever of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling! This is a raw footage version with no commentary of the show that aired on WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina. Incredible find! DOC GALLAGHER & MIKE GALLAGHER vs DICK BEYER & BOBBY BROWN (01/30/1959; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:25:57) Our earliest look at the legendary Destroyer, wrestling here under his real name and without a mask, who went on to become one of the biggest foreign stars in the history of Japanese wrestling. GUY MERCIER vs ROBERT LE BOULCH (02/05/1959; French Catch; 00:01:07) LE BOURREAU DE BETHUNE vs GILBERT LEDUC (02/05/1959; French Catch; 00:24:51) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches.

History of Pro Wrestling #29 (04:05:34) Matches from October-December 1958 PAUL DEBUSNE vs SERGIO REGGIORI (10/10/1958; French Catch; 00:08:59) VERNE GAGNE vs LEE HENNIG (10/24/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:08:30) I originally thought Lee Hennig was the same person as Larry “The Ax” Hennig, but he is in fact a different wrestler. Here is an interesting article about Lee Hennig. (h/t Dave Musgrave at Pretending To Fight for the correction and article) GILBERT LEDUC vs ROCCO LAMBAN (10/30/1958; French Catch; 00:30:58) This match is Segunda Caida’s 1958 Match of the Year. (Review) NIKOLAI ZIGULINOFF vs ROBERT GASTEL (10/30/1958; French Catch; 00:09:00) Segunda Caida review of the match. This post at Pro Wrestling Only has an awesome excerpt from the New Zealand Sports Digest in June 1963 about Nikolai Zigulinoff. I linked to it but it’s so perfect that I have to add it here anyway: ANGELO POFFO vs BOBBY MANAGOFF (11/07/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:25:59) DOC GALLAGHER & MIKE GALLAGHER vs TONY MARINO & PAT FLANAGAN (11/07/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:12:20) JUNE BYERS vs BETTY HAWKINS (11/14/1958; Atlantic Athletic Commission; 00:04:03) If you like bad puns, this is your commentary! ILIO DIPAOLO vs MASKED MARVEL (12/12/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:06:55) LINO DI SANTO vs LIANO PELLACANI (12/13/1958; French Catch; 00:32:12) RENE GERBER vs JEAN RABUT (12/13/1958; French Catch; 00:15:17) Links to Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. DANNY MCSHAIN vs PEPPER GOMEZ (12/19/1958; Houston Wrestling; 00:32:43) ROBERT DURANTON vs JIMMY DULA (12/26/1958; French Catch; 00:40:21) Segunda Caida review of the match. BUDDY ROGERS vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER (1958; 00:02:36) DR. JERRY GRAHAM & EDDIE GRAHAM vs ANTONINO ROCCA & MIGUEL PEREZ (1958; Capitol Wrestling; 00:04:45) FABULOUS KANGAROOS & DR. JERRY GRAHAM vs ANTONINO ROCCA & MIGUEL PEREZ & RICKI STARR (1958; Capitol Wrestling; 00:06:56)

History of Pro Wrestling #28 (04:26:29) Matches from July-October 1958 ROBERT DURANTON vs MICHEL CHAISNE (07/31/1958; French Catch; 00:24:01) CHERI BIBI vs PAUL DEBUSNE (08/16/1958; French Catch; 00:26:57) RAY ASSELIN vs MOISE BESCH (08/16/1958; French Catch; 00:19:22) JACKY CORN vs TED LAMARRE (08/23/1958; French Catch; 00:38:26) Segunda Caida review of the match. SERGIO REGGIORI vs GUY MERCIER (08/23/1958; French Catch; 00:06:24) INCA PERUANO vs JO LABAT (09/05/1958; French Catch; 00:20:03) LUC STRAUB vs TOMMY MANN (09/05/1958; French Catch; 00:26:16) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. GUY ROBIN & EDMOND LIEHN vs BERT ROYAL & VIC HESSLE (09/11/1958; French Catch; 00:25:51) Segunda Caida review of the match. User ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Vic Hessle was the father of Bert Royal and Vic Faulkner. Unlike his boys, Hessle was a heavyweight. He was a big star during the 1930s wrestling boom then served as a paratrooper in the Second World War. After the war, he was one of the few wrestlers to successfully re-enter the business and became one of the big names of the post-war era.” ROY MCCLARITY vs TONY MARINO (09/19/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:11:30) An interesting piece about McClarity (actually McClarty, but often misspelled by promoters, as the article points out) written by Roy’s son. BOBO BRAZIL vs HANS SCHMIDT (09/19/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:07:11) The Revenge of Hatpin Mary, a book I’ve cited in previous issues, points to this match as a big example of the gender imbalance in crowd reaction that was common at the time. RIKIDOZAN vs DON LEO JONATHAN (10/02/1958; JWA International Competitions of the Fall; 00:29:20) Don Leo Jonathan headlines Sumo Hall in his first main event in Japan. The match goes to a 60-minute draw and we have about half of it. JOSE TARRES vs JACK VAN DOOREN (10/10/1958; French Catch; 00:31:08)

History of Pro Wrestling #27 (04:21:58) Matches from May-July 1958 YULIE BRYNNER vs ROSE ROMAN (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:08:36) Yulie Brynner has a shaved head and is billed as the World’s Ugliest Woman, and the announcers cannot bring themselves to stop commenting on her looks for even a second, which gets old quickly and makes her heel act seem a little sympathetic, at least with 2022 eyes. The match has some really interesting chain wrestling, and Brynner’s act is a winner and interesting thing to see all the same. Brynner was often confused with Geneva Huckabee, another bald woman working at the same time who was billed as Lady Angel, but they are in fact two different wrestlers. A thread on Brynner has some interesting tidbits. It was a spoof of actor Yul Brynner, who made headlines at the time because he shaved his thinning hair bald. LEGS LANGEVIN vs BOBBY MANAGOFF (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:21:43) NED TAYLOR vs RAFAEL ALVAREZ (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:07:39) PAT O'CONNOR & BOB KANOWSKI vs HANS SCHMIDT & ANGELO POFFO (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:19:47) Schmidt looks excellent here! VERNE GAGNE vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:40:48) KILLER KOWALSKI vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER (05/03/1958; Atlantic Athletic Commission; Boston Garden; 00:17:05) CRUSHER LISOWSKI & STAN LISOWSKI vs BOBO BRAZIL & YUKON ERIC (05/23/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:24:48) BOB ORTON SR. vs ADRIEN BAILLARGEON (06/13/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:17:05) NIKOLAI VOLKOFF & BORIS VOLKOFF vs HANS SCHMIDT & DICK THE BRUISER (06/14/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:11:09) This is not the same Nikolai Volkoff who was a WWF star in the 1970s and 80s. EDDIE GRAHAM & DR. JERRY GRAHAM vs LUIS MARTINEZ & BUDDY ROSEN (07/10/1958; Capitol Wrestling; 00:21:05) This match really makes me wish we had a lot more footage of the Grahams, one of wrestling’s first great heel tag teams, but I am glad we had this one. This really does feel like the early version of how tag matches are worked today, and the Grahams put on a masterful heel clinic. Worth going out of your way to see! AL ARAUJO vs MARCEL PARMENTIER (07/25/1958; French Catch; 00:03:38) ROGER DELAPORTE & PAUL VILLARS vs GORDON NELSON & BUD CODY (07/25/1958; French Catch; 00:44:36) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. JO LABAT vs AMI SOLA (07/31/1958; French Catch; 00:23:38) Some comments from ohtani’s jacket at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was an excellent wrestling match filled with holds, counter holds, and forceful strikes. I swear if this match came from any other archive, we'd be heralding it as one of the best matches of the era, but because it's part of this amazing period of French catch, it's just another match. It will be interesting to see where Sola ranks among the French wrestlers when we're done with this footage. He's carved a niche for himself in this 50s footage as The Midcard Guy. One of the problems we face as we head into the 60s footage is that we don't get the same week-to-week footage. In fact, for some years we barely get any footage at all. I'm not sure if that's an indication that catch went off the air for a time. There was some sort of controversy that happened in the early 60s, but I haven't been able to nail down what it was all about. At any rate, Sola quickly disappears from the footage we do have, and I guess he retires at some point because he's not on any cards after 1963.”

History of Pro Wrestling #26 (04:18:30) Matches from February-May 1958 JO LABAT vs AMI SOLA (02/11/1958; French Catch; 00:25:19) Segunda Caida review of the match. ADRIEN BAILLARGEON vs DAN MILLER (02/14/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:09:16) Dan and Ed Miller were tag team stars, most notably for Stampede Wrestling, and Dan later became a local promoter for Jim Crockett. JACKY CORN vs INCA PERUANO (02/21/1958; French Catch; 00:20:45) Segunda Caida review of the match. MICHEL CHAISNE vs JO LABAT (02/27/1958; French Catch; 00:34:29) Segunda Caida review of the match. ED MILLER & DAN MILLER vs WHIPPER WATSON & BOBO BRAZIL (03/21/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:24:51) ANDRE DRAPP vs YVES AMOR (03/27/1958; French Catch; 00:36:52) Segunda Caida review of the match. WILBUR SNYDER vs WALLY GREB (04/25/1958; NWA Upstate; 00:15:54) KARL VON KRAMER vs SERGE GENTILLY (04/29/1958; French Catch; 00:36:42) ROBERT DURANTON vs PIERRE BOSS (05/02/1958; French Catch; 00:29:21) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. BRONCO LUBICH vs JACK ALLEN (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:18:35) Yes, this is the same Lubich that was a referee in 1980s World Class. JACKIE NICHOLS vs BILLY GOELZ (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:22:10) Another great outing from Billy Goelz. Nichols was a junior heavyweight who later promoted locally for both Angelo Poffo and Mario Savoldi. I love the commentary focusing on how there are really seven types of pro wrestling holds. Watch this!

History of Pro Wrestling #25 (04:25:22) Matches from October 1957-February 1958 ROY MCCLARITY vs AL KORMAN (10/18/1957; NWA Upstate; 00:10:25) TOMMY MANN vs CLAUDE MONTOURCY (10/17/1957; French Catch; 00:24:23) Segunda Caida review of the match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Tommy Mann was billed as an American here but he actually hailed from Manchester (by way of London.) I had no idea what to expect from him, but I knew he was one of the great middleweight champions. It turns out that like Hessle, he made his start in the ring in the 1930s, so he was a vet here. A real hard nosed, tough as nails type. A bit like Les Kellett. They put him against a good looking fella named Montourcy as they are wont to do in the wrestling business. It took a while for the bout to heat up, but once it got cooking I liked it a lot. Mann started working the whole cheating foreign shtick that the crowds liked. He started to grow on me with his tricks, and Montourcy was a fine babyface. An injury finish brought the whole thing to a halt but it was still a satisfying bout. I was kind of surprised that Mann wasn't treated like a bigger deal since he had a big feud with Rene Ben Chemoul, but I dug him all the same.” DICK HUTTON vs WALLY GREB (11/01/1957; NWA Upstate; 00:07:53) A remarkable match to surface. This is the only existing footage we have of Dick Hutton, Thesz’s handpicked successor who’d drop the NWA title to him about two weeks after this match. Thesz believed Hutton to be the best wrestler he had ever faced, and while he was exceptionally talented, he was a box office disaster as NWA World Champion and Thesz later admitted that he made a big mistake. Hutton was a World War II veteran and star collegiate athlete who won the NCAA wrestling championship three times before his streak was ended in 1949 by another amateur wrestler named Verne Gagne. FRITZ VON ERICH vs WHIPPER WATSON (11/22/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:17:07) JOE BLANCHARD vs PIERRE LASALLE (11/22/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:14:48) LaSalle is the grandfather of Jacques, Raymond and Armand Rougeau. Joe Blanchard is of course is Tully’s father who also promoted Southwest Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s. BLACK SALEM vs LIANO PELLACANI (11/29/1957; French Catch; 00:17:44) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Black Salem was billed from Ethiopia and that's about all I know about him. He had a similar physique to someone like Masambula as opposed to the hulks we've seen like Mammouth Siki, Jimmy Dula and Earl Maynard. It looked like he might have had some cool leg scissors spots. Pellacani was brilliant here. He was every bit as good as Delaporte at working the crowd. The difference was that it was a nastier, meaner reaction. There were fans who actually wanted to attack him. I was surprised that he kept his cool when he had his head draped on the apron and a fan struck him across the throat. I'm sure there's been a fair few wrestlers who would have gone apeshit if a fan did that. It's a shame that Pellacani only appears once more on tape (aside from one appearance where he's introduced before a bout.) He's definitely been one of the highlights of the '57 footage.” JACKY CORN vs ROBERTO BLASCO (11/29/1957; French Catch; 00:10:29) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was from a venue I hadn't seen before, Le cynodrome de Courbevoie, which I believe was a greyhound trace track up until 1951. I don't know if Rafael Blasco wrestled this way all the time, but if he did it was an exciting style. He absolutely pummeled Corn. I was surprised because usually it's Corn dishing it out. I thought for sure that Corn was taking the punishment because he was getting the win, so the finish was a bit of a shock.” AL HAYES vs JEAN CASI (12/07/1957; French Catch; 00:27:31) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Jean Casi was an Italian boxer who fought professionally for a couple of years in the mid-40s. He wasn't anywhere near as successful as Laurent Dauthuille or Charlie Humez. but people say he was a good boxer. His other claim to faith is that according to Roger Delaporte, Casi and Delaporte fought the first televised wrestling bout (live from Vincennes in 1953.)” AL HAYES vs JULIO GASPARRINI (12/12/1957; French Catch; 00:18:02) RAY HUNTER vs KING KONG TAVERNE (12/12/1957; French Catch; 00:26:59) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. GENE KINISKI vs MIGHTY URSUS (12/13/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:10:29) Mighty Ursus is also prominent in JWA footage around this time as Jesse “Bull” Ortega. ERIC HUSBERG vs JOSE ARROYO (12/27/1957; French Catch; 00:38:16) Segunda Caida review of the match. EDOUARD CARPENTIER vs MIKE VALENTINO (1957; Capitol Wrestling; 00:08:04) Valentino is the famous WWWF TV Jobber To The Stars Baron Mikel Scicluna, already working for Vince Sr. to put over the babyface flavor du jour. Carpentier defends one his many alternate versions of the World Title. BOBO BRAZIL vs JIM BERNARD (01/17/1958; NWA Upstate; 00:03:06) Bobo makes quick work of the future Brute Bernard and even manages to leave with his ring jacket intact. FABULOUS KANGAROOS vs ED MILLER & DAN MILLER (01/24/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:23:44) Maybe the earliest example of a “Southern” (read: “traditional American”, but they’re often called “Southern” because there tended to be more of them in the Southern territories at various points) tag team match that we have on tape. The Kangaroos made their name as heels managed by Wild Red Berry, but they are babyfaces here. Very good match. 3 1/2*** JOSE ARROYO vs PIERRE BERNAERT (02/11/1958; French Catch; 00:06:22) Segunda Caida review of the match.

History of Pro Wrestling #24 (04:05:00) Matches from August-October 1957 LOU THESZ vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER (08/16/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:54:48) Carpentier wins the NWA title! Thesz wasn’t crazy about Carpentier as a wrestler, but did the honors as a favor for Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn, whom he liked very much. However, Quinn and Carpentier had a problem with the $25,000 bond that the NWA champ was expected to post at that time and the title change was ultimately ignored. That didn’t stop Carpentier from debuting in other territories in the months ahead with an alternate version of the title, which ended up creating alternate lineages of the World Title in California and what would later become Verne Gagne’s AWA. Historic match! VERNE GAGNE & WILBUR SNYDER vs CRUSHER LISOWSKI & STAN LISOWSKI (09/13/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:44:08) GILBERT LEDUC vs MICHEL CHAISNE (09/20/1957; French Catch; 00:06:06) RENE BEN CHEMOUL vs JOAQUIM LA BARBA (09/20/1957; French Catch; 00:23:59) GUY ROBIN vs ERIC TAYLOR (10/04/1957; French Catch; 00:26:38) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was a really early Eric Taylor match. In fact, he'd only made his debut on British TV the month before. I thought it was interesting that he fought Guy Robin just as Al Hayes and the Fisher brothers had. I wonder if there was a reason why Robin fought the British lads. Perhaps his English was good. I was excited when I learned that we had a Taylor match. Taylor is one of those guys that Walton used to talk about ALL the time. He was a wrestler's wrestler, and one of the stars of the early 60s. He quit Joint Promotions in the mid-60s and began working for the independent promoters, but he sure as hell left an impression on Walton. I thought he was good. I'm sure he was even better in the 60s, but for a young talent he did a stand-up job. Robin's not really the type to chew the scenery so he gave Taylor enough chance to shine. The match seemed to run a bit short, though, as the commentator had to bullshit his way through the beginning of the next match which was a guy who doing a Butch Cassidy gimmick against a guy named Monsieur X, whom the commentator thought was a gorgeous viking. Oh, and that damn martian was at ringside.” LOU THESZ vs RIKIDOZAN (10/07/1957; JWA World Championship Series; 01:04:38) One of the biggest matches in the history of Japan, as 30,000 fans watched the two wrestle to a 61-minute (yes, 61) at Korakuen Stadium. The match drew a monster 87.0 television rating, meaning 87% of all homes in Japan watched the match. It was the first-ever NWA title match in Japan, one in which Thesz proposed that he drop the title for a short period to really boost business. However, NWA promoters were already uneasy about the champ leaving the country, so the idea of dropping it was out of the question. LUTHER LINDSAY vs FRED ATKINS (10/11/1957; NWA Upstate; 00:20:28) Lindsay holds the distinction of being the first African American wrestler to challenge for the NWA World Title. He was also a major star in Portland, the Carolinas, Texas and many other territories. Lou Thesz heavily praised Lindsay’s wrestling ability, and notably, Lindsay took Stu Hart in a shoot, which earned Stu’s respect. According to Heath McCoy’s Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Stu carried a photo of Lindsay in his wallet for the rest of his life. Despite a prolific career, this 20-minute draw is the only footage of Lindsay that we have on tape, so it’s a major find! LOU THESZ vs RIKIDOZAN (10/13/1957; JWA World Championship Series; 00:24:43) The rematch only 6 days later draws 27,000 fans to Ohgi-Machi Pool Stadium in Osaka. Each wrestler takes a fall.

History of Pro Wrestling #23 (04:07:38) Matches from July-August 1957 PIERRE BERNAERT vs MICHEL CHAISNE (07/11/1957; French Catch; 00:23:06) ROGER DELAPORTE & GUY ROBIN vs CHARLES FISCHER & ARTHUR FISCHER (07/19/1957; French Catch; 00:40:31) Segunda Caida reviews of this and the previous match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was a main event from the Cirque d'Hiver. The Fishers were British wrestlers, which continued the trend of Delaporte and partner wrestling foreigners. If you're having a hard time telling the Fisher brothers apart, don't worry. The commentator didn't have a clue either. For the record, Charlie Fisher was the animated one with the longer hair. He was pretty much the Terry Funk to his brother's version of Dory. The Fishers came from a family of seven brothers. Legend has it that they all wrestled but the Wrestling Heritage site expresses a fair amount of skepticism about that claim. Whatever career the older boys enjoyed didn't survive past the war. Arthur and Charlie were the youngest of the brothers and well known to Heritage fans. The Fisher brothers all started in boxing and you could see that in their approach to pro-wrestling. Charlie was the most renowned of the Fishers and was familiar to Parisian fans. This was a fun bout and an effortless watch, but if you think this was good, it wasn't even top end Delaporte. Just for kicks, I tried Matt's subtitles trick for this bout. I had to give up halfway through since the commentary read like philosophy. The highlight of the bout for me was Charlie Fisher's performance as the aggrieved baby face. I really need to learn what the French terms for heel and baby face were.” AL ARAUJO VS JIMENEZ (07/26/1957; French Catch; 00:40:54) ROGER DELAPORTE vs KING KONG TAVERNE (07/26/1957; French Catch; 00:30:43) Segunda Caida reviews of the previous two matches. CHERI BIBI vs ANDRE CHEAUVEAU (08/02/1957; French Catch; 00:12:13) MICHEL CHAISNE vs JO LABAT (08/02/1957; French Catch; 00:26:15) JACQUES COUDERC vs AMI SOLA (08/08/1957; French Catch; 00:20:46) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Fabulous match. Couderc was amazing. I've watched a few Ami Sola matches now, and I swear I couldn't recognize him before this bout. I won't forget his face again. Couderc was just brilliant. It felt like you were watching some kind of eccentric catch genius. I haven't felt this way about a worker since the first time I saw Mocho Cota. In many ways, this bout reminded me of Mocho Cota vs. Americo Rocca with Sola making a pretty good Rocca. I loved how they blended all of the elements of catch together. I especially loved the comedy spot where Sola performed his move on the ref by mistake. That was one of the best comedy spots I've seen in catch. Naturally, we don't see Couderc again, but this is a match that I'll go back to again and again when shitty catch gets me down.” MOISE BESCH vs JOE BENARDO (08/08/1957; French Catch; 00:08:34) Segunda Caida reviews of the previous four matches. RIKIDOZAN vs BOBO BRAZIL (08/14/1957; JWA International Competitions of the Fall; 00:11:03) RIKIDOZAN & TOYONOBORI vs BOBO BRAZIL & LORD ATHOL LAYTON (08/15/1957; JWA International Competitions of the Fall; 00:17:36) PAT O'CONNOR vs LEGS LANGEVIN (08/16/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:15:57)

History of Pro Wrestling #22 (04:09:00) Matches from May-July 1957 AMI SOLA vs ROGER TRIGEAUD (05/17/1957; French Catch; 00:23:21) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Cheri Bibi was a character in a series of novels written by Gaston Leroux, who also authored The Phantom of the Opera. It's the nickname of a young butcher's apprentice who is gifted with extraordinary strength. He gets framed for the murder of his boss, and later on, in a twist of fate, has his face surgically replaced with the face of the murderer for whose crime he was convicted. Over the years, the novels were adapted into several different films. There was a film in 1954 that may, or may not have been, the inspiration for Trigeuad taking on the gimmick. French promoters from this era often drew inspiration from films and literature. Off the top of my head, there's Spartacus, Batman, the French version of James Bond, and a character from The Three Musketeers.” DR. ADOLF KAISER vs INCA PERUANO (05/17/1957; French Catch; 00:08:15) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. AL HAYES & RAY HUNTER vs ROGER DELAPORTE & ROGER GUETTIER (05/24/1957; French Catch; 00:39:15) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Ray Hunter was an Australian from Tasmania who began wrestling in England in the early 50s. The team of Hayes and Hunter would go on to form an important part of Paul Lincoln Promotions in the early 60s, a rebel promotion that rose to prominence after wrestlers started breaking away from Joint Promotions in the late 50s and began promoting their own shows and working on the independent circuit. Lincoln and Hunter had bought a steakhouse in Soho in '56 and turned it into a coffee shop that was considered rock 'n' roll central in the late 50s. One cool thing about Lincoln, who managed some of the early rock acts in the UK, was that he encouraged the musicians to take on stage names and gimmicks just like wrestlers. Hunter doesn't have a great reputation among old school British fans. Most of them are only familiar with his work after the merger with Joint Promotions. People who went to the Lincoln shows swear Hunter was involved in a number of memorable feuds. I thought he was okay here, but you can understand how he didn't impress in the UK given the quality of heavyweight workers at the time.” MARCEL PARMENTIER vs JEAN FRYZIUK (05/24/1957; French Catch; 00:08:52) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. GILBERT LEDUC vs WARNIA DE ZARZECKI (05/30/1957; French Catch; 00:34:58) Ryuma Go Memorial Account @secretwrestlin1 Nice series with Gilbert Leduc trying to get out of a hammerlock and Warnia de Zarzecki trying to hold on March 26th 2020 1 Retweet8 Likes ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was a fantastic wrestling match. I'm totally sold on the idea of Leduc being The Guy. He was in his prime here, the World Champion and Prince de la Lutte Professionnelle. He carried himself as well as anyone I've seen from the 50s and that includes Thesz and Gagne. Note the tape over the eye. That's a side of Leduc I haven't explored yet -- the sympathetic babyface being savaged by cruel and brutal men.” GASTON MAUJEAN vs GUY CAVALLIER (05/30/1957; French Catch; 00:08:04) LINO DI SANTO vs MICHEL ALLARY (06/07/1957; French Catch; 00:29:43) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. INCA PERUANO vs CHERI BIBI (06/14/1957; French Catch; 00:22:06) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “While doing my research, I discovered that Inca Peruano died last year in Paris at the grand old age of 93. Apparently, he was born in a small village in the Andes where sport was everything, and excelled at acrobatics, boxing and wrestling and moved to Spain to learn about the world and earn a crust.” JOE BENARDO vs ERIC WASBERG (06/21/1957; French Catch; 00:04:20) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. ANDRE DRAPP vs JACK LASKIN (06/21/1957; French Catch; 00:25:55) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “I'm starting to see past Drapp the bodybuilder and view him strictly as a wrestler. I'm glad this showed up because it's a tremendous showcase for his skills. You can see that he wasn't just influenced by Greco-Roman amateur wrestling and the European pro style but by the wrestling he picked up wrestling in the States and throughout the world. For a guy his size, he had a serious motor. I loved they way they laid this out. It's not the first time we've seen uppercuts lead to a KO victory in this French footage but it kicks ass every time. This was such an interesting time in wrestling history. Drapp could have easily gone into the movies like Steve Reeves, who made those Italian-made sword and sandal films, and in fact he was the toast of Hollywood at one point, but he was a wrestler and a culturist first and foremost. One of the things I love about French wrestling from this era is how guys like Laskin and Jack Bence can get main event bouts. It's hard to imagine a guy like Laskin getting a bout like this in North America, but in Paris he took center stage. There is actually a chapter in his book where he describes a match he had in Brussels right before this bout, although in typical wrestler fashion the facts don't support the claims. It's a good yarn, though.” PAUL DEBUSNE vs AMI SOLA (06/26/1957; French Catch; 00:08:19) PIERRE BERNAERT vs LAURENT DAUTHILLE (06/26/1957; French Catch; 00:22:07) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Dauthille was part of a golden generation of French boxers. Names such as Marcel Cerdan, Robert Charron, Robert Villemain, Charles Humez, and Jean Wanes, some of whom also turned to pro-wrestling for a living. Dauthille, as we know, was leading Jake LaMotta on points heading into the final round of their world title fight before LaMotta staged a furious comeback and knocked Dauthille out with 13 seconds to spare. Apparently, that loss haunted him for the rest of his life. He wound up hitting the bottle and recreating the loss in circus shows, dying destitute in 1971. He made his pro-wrestling debut in 1953 against Debusne, so he had been wrestling for about four years at this point. But even though he was an important figure in the boxing world, this bout wasn't really about him. It was more of a showcase for Bernaert. Bernaert reminded me of Tully Blanchard in the sense that he was a technically gifted heel who preferred to use his technical skills in an evasive way. This was building nicely to Dauthille knocking him the fuck out but instead Bernaert did a runner and Dauthille was left looking weak. I can only assume that Dauthille didn't translate into box office otherwise you'd think this match would have been handled differently. It's interesting to see how the world of catch was so closely related to bodybuilding and boxing, however, and how pro-wrestling was one of the only ways these guys could make money after their chosen careers were over. Definitely a stark contrast between Drapp and Dauthille.” JO RINALDI vs ROBERT MOINE (07/11/1957; French Catch; 00:13:44) Segunda Caida review of the match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Fun preliminary bout. Rinaldi was billed as an Italian but I'm pretty sure it's another one of those deals where he had an Italian grandfather. Moine was an interesting wrestler. He was a short man but he could clearly wrestle. Rinaldi also looked like he knew his way around the ring. Moine disappears from bills at the end of 1960 but Rinaldi wrestled throughout the 60s.”

History of Pro Wrestling #21 (04:12:38) Matches from March-May 1957 MAURICE VACHON vs AMAZING ZUMA (03/19/1957; Promotions Eddie Quinn; Montreal Forum; 00:14:34) AL HAYES vs GUY ROBIN (03/22/1957; French Catch; 00:27:55) Yes, it’s Lord Alfred Hays, the 70s manager and 80s WWF announcer, and what a wrestler he is! He’s a spry 29 years of age here. Segunda Caida review of the match. DR. ADOLF KAISER vs WARNIA DE ZARZECKI (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:19:02) INCA PERUANO vs COMANCHE INDIAN (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:23:02) Segunda Caida review of the above two matches. ANDRE BOLLET vs HENRI BURY (04/26/1957; French Catch; 00:30:59) Segunda Caida review of the match. According to user ohtani’s jacket at Pro Wrestling Only, Henri Bury was a Belgium heavyweight champion from Liege, who was a regular fixture in England, France and Germany during the 1950s. DICK THE BRUISER vs BILL MELBY (04/26/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:29:01) THE SHEIK vs BILL MELBY (04/26/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:32:56) The Sheik is a wrestling legend, but he is not someone you want to see in 30-minute wrestling matches, that’s for sure. ANTONINO ROCCA & MIGUEL PEREZ vs KARL VON HESS & SKULL MURPHY (04/30/1957; Capitol Wrestling; 00:03:43) GILBERT CESCA vs BILLY CATANZARO (05/02/1957; French Catch; 00:33:11) This match made its way into the consciousness of wrestling fans in my circle in 2010 and blew everyone away, as it was the first hint about this entire universe of French Catch being something special, even though we didn’t really have much of it we could watch. Those who have seen this usually tend to view it as the best match of the 1950s. An interesting thread about the match. The below podcast also walks through the match in great detail. EDOUARD CARPENTIER vs LEGS LANGEVIN (05/10/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:10:18) Langevin was a former bodyguard to Elizabeth Taylor, Louis St. Laurent and Princess Soroya, wife of the Shah of Iran. Slam Wrestling did a great write-up on him years ago. LUIS EL GAYO vs RENE GERBER (05/11/1957; French Catch; 00:27:57) Segunda Caida review of the match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was amazing. Gerber was a Swiss wrestler and for some reason Swiss wrestlers are always heels in catch. He gets out-outmaneuvered on a hold early on and starts abusing el Gayo. And it's not in a brutish sort of way. He's clearly an accomplished wrestler who knows how turn a legit hold into a dirty one. And boy does he know how to work a crowd. We've been blessed with some great heel work in this 50s catch, but Gerber may be the best of the lot and that's saying something considering how good the rest have been. I lost count of how many fans Gerber argued with. It started off with this guy who looked like he was a train driver or a chimney sweep and ended with up half a dozen other altercations. At one point, he was down on the canvas and someone pulled his hair. And in between rounds he would threaten to throw his stool at people and flickered his water at them. He wasn't a big guy either. Really well build but short. But he really had them worked up. I was surprised when they brawled on the outside. All el Gayo had to do was be demonstrative and he would have drawn heat, but to his credit he was really good as the aggrieved babyface. His retaliatory moves were just as nasty as the holds Gerber dished out, and there were a lot of vicious strikes. I was surprised this went to a finish actually, and the post-match was incredible with el Gayo attacking Gerber with Gerber's own towel. This was one of my favorite matches in the collection so far. If you're going to have a match disintegrate into a nasty brawl then you might as well do it in the first few minutes. I loved the camerawork too. They usually have a single hard cam in the 50s. The closeup shots at ringside felt like something out of a movie. They reminded me of the cinematography from a film noir. Think Body and Soul. Great match that I think would entertain a lot of people outside of the French catch bubble.”

History of Pro Wrestling #20 (04:13:50) Matches from January-March 1957 JOACHIM LA BARBA vs INCA PERUANO (01/17/1957; French Catch; 00:25:31) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. User ohtani’s jacket notes at Pro Wrestling Only that Peruano went on to be Rocky Tomayo, who worked in several territories, along with All Japan and New Japan. La Barba was better known in the UK as Pancho Zapata. ISKA KHAN vs JIM OLIVER (02/01/1957; French Catch; 00:21:23) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. ANGELO POFFO vs JERRY CHRISTY (02/03/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:06:43) Slam Wrestling did an interesting feature on Jerry Christy and his brother Bobby. JEAN BOUT vs LIANO PELLACANI (02/15/1957; French Catch; 00:38:49) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. BERT ROYAL vs TONY OLIVER (02/22/1957; French Catch; 00:39:55) CLAUDE DREYFUS vs UNKNOWN WRESTLER (02/22/1957; French Catch; 00:06:57) DR. ADOLF KAISER vs MICHEL CHAISNE (02/28/1957; French Catch; 00:26:17) Segunda Caida reviews of this and the above Bert Royal vs Tony Oliver match. JOACHIM LA BARBA vs ROGER LAROCHE (03/07/1957; French Catch; 00:38:06) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. VERNE GAGNE vs HANS SCHMIDT (03/12/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:22:15) BOBBY MANAGOFF & PEPPER GOMEZ vs DUKE KEOMUKA & DANNY MCSHAIN (03/12/1957; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:27:54)

European Classics #4 (02:14:09) Matches from March-May 1957 AL HAYES vs GUY ROBIN (03/22/1957; French Catch; 00:27:55) DR. ADOLF KAISER vs WARNIA DE ZARZECKI (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:19:02) INCA PERUANO vs COMANCHE INDIAN (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:23:02) ANDRE BOLLET vs HENRI BURY (04/26/1957; French Catch; 00:30:59) GILBERT CESCA vs BILLY CATANZARO (05/02/1957; French Catch; 00:33:11)

American Classics #35 (02:15:18) Matches from December 1956-April 1957 WILBUR SNYDER vs ANGELO POFFO (12/28/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:16:29) ANGELO POFFO vs JERRY CHRISTY (02/03/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:06:43) VERNE GAGNE vs HANS SCHMIDT (03/12/1957; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:22:15) BOBBY MANAGOFF & PEPPER GOMEZ vs DUKE KEOMUKA & DANNY MCSHAIN (03/12/1957; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:27:54) DICK THE BRUISER vs BILL MELBY (04/26/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:29:01) THE SHEIK vs BILL MELBY (04/26/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:32:56)

History of Pro Wrestling #19 (04:03:45) Matches from April 1956-January 1957 VERNE GAGNE vs WILBUR SNYDER (05/04/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:33:48) ANGELO POFFO & THE SHEIK vs REGGIE LISOWSKI & STAN LISOWSKI (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:03:56) BILL MELBY vs BILLY GOELZ (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:21:56) BOB ORTON SR. vs DICK THE BRUISER (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:16:20) HANS SCHMIDT vs WILBUR SNYDER (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:40:47) DOC GALLAGHER & MIKE GALLAGHER vs GUY BRUNETTI & JOE BRUNETTI (07/19/1956; Maple Leaf Wrestling; 00:15:00) The Brunettis played football together at the University of Utah and later promoted wrestling in Salt Lake City. Joe Brunetti’s obituary in his hometown Utah newspaper can be found here. ANGELO POFFO vs MIGHTY ATLAS (09/14/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:18:47) DICK THE BRUISER & REGGIE LISOWSKI & STAN LISOWSKI vs VERNE GAGNE & WILBUR SNYDER & ANTONINO ROCCA (09/14/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:43:39) Hard to get more star power in the ring than this. WILBUR SNYDER vs ANGELO POFFO (12/28/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:16:29) JACKY CORN vs LUIS EL GAYO (01/11/1957; French Catch; 00:25:02) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “I think this is the first footage we have of Corn. He was a prominent name in the 50s and 60s catch broadcasts. I'm pretty sure he was a middleweight (at least at this stage of his career.) This was faster paced than the heavyweight match with a lot of tosses and the odd wrist lock or head scissors. The Spaniard wrestler, El Gayo, was a lot of fun, especially when he started getting heat for himself. Corn was good but it's always hard to identify with the baby faces in this type of footage. It was clearly a showcase for him but he didn't exactly set the world on fire. The match was a lot of fun when it broke down and the forearm smash contest was well worked. I really liked the escalation in the final minutes.” Ryuma Go Memorial Account @secretwrestlin1 It's tuesday, so as hype for tonights upcoming Catch reviews on Segunda Caida, have another round of badass ancient French wrestling highlights! Spanish pro wrestler Luis El Gayo with a weep-inducing Tombstone Piledriver set up by a back hammerlock. 1957. January 28th 2020 14 Retweets47 Likes LINO DI SANTO vs JACK VAN DOOREN (01/11/1957; French Catch; 00:13:01) Segunda Caida reviews of both of the French matches can be found here. I had trouble finding comments on reviews on almost all of the American matches, so if you watch them and have thoughts on them, please share and I’ll edit them in.

NWA World Title History #3 (02:04:06) Matches from 1953-1956 LOU THESZ vs ANTONINO ROCCA (01/05/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:07:24) LOU THESZ vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/16/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:27:09) LOU THESZ vs ANTONINO ROCCA (03/24/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:10:49) LOU THESZ vs RIKIDOZAN (12/06/1953; JWA House Honolulu, HI; 00:09:16) LOU THESZ vs TOM RICE (08/14/1954; NWA Los Angeles; 00:21:08) LOU THESZ vs DON LEO JONATHAN (02/24/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:24:22) LOU THESZ vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:23:48)

WON HOF Series: Dick the Bruiser #1 (02:02:08) Matches from 1955-1956 DICK THE BRUISER vs IVAN RASPUTIN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:07:01) DICK THE BRUISER vs CHEST BERNARD (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:12:53) DICK THE BRUISER vs VERNE GAGNE (10/28/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:36:20) DICK THE BRUISER vs VERNE GAGNE (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:31:07) DICK THE BRUISER vs BILL MELBY (04/06/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:24:47)

WON HOF Series: Lou Thesz #3 (02:04:06) Matches from 1953-1956 LOU THESZ vs ANTONINO ROCCA (01/05/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:07:24) LOU THESZ vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/16/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:27:09) LOU THESZ vs ANTONINO ROCCA (03/24/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:10:49) LOU THESZ vs RIKIDOZAN (12/06/1953; JWA House Honolulu, HI; 00:09:16) LOU THESZ vs TOM RICE (08/14/1954; NWA Los Angeles; 00:21:08) LOU THESZ vs DON LEO JONATHAN (02/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:24:22) LOU THESZ vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:23:48)

History of Pro Wrestling #18 (04:05:51) Matches from October 1955-April 1956 VERNE GAGNE vs DICK THE BRUISER (10/28/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:36:20) RIKIDOZAN & HAROLD SAKATA vs DARA SINGH & SYED SAIF SHAH (11/14/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:06:35) RIKIDOZAN vs DARA SINGH (11/19/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:03:11) Singh was also a famous actor, film director and politician in India, and was easily as well-known in India as Hulk Hogan in the United States, as a point of reference. He’s a world class wrestler, and it’s evident here. Lou Thesz said great things about Singh’s wrestling ability in the book Hooker. RIKIDOZAN & HAROLD SAKATA vs KING KONG CZAYA & TIGER JOKINDER SINGH (11/19/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:06:51) Sakata was ‘Oddjob’ in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger. RIKIDOZAN vs KING KONG CZAYA (11/22/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:07:28) Rikidozan becomes the first All Asia Heavyweight Champion. ILIO DIPAOLO vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/06/1956; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:12:06) MAURICE VACHON vs LARRY MOQUIN (01/11/1956; Promotions Eddie Quinn; Montreal Forum; 00:01:11) Our earliest footage of the legendary Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon. BULL CURRY vs OVILA ASSELIN (01/11/1956; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:10:37) Rare appearance from Asselin outside of Montreal, where he was a mid-level mainstay. Asselin was Mr. Canada as a teenager before breaking into professional wrestling in the late 1940s. LOU THESZ vs HANS SCHMIDT (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:23:48) VERNE GAGNE vs DICK THE BRUISER (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:31:07) An interesting review of this match from Brock Hates Wrestling. WILBUR SNYDER vs MIGHTY ATLAS (01/27/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:19:03) Snyder was heavily debated as a Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame candidate for many years. This match works as an excellent showcase for him — a big man, but really spry and athletic. EDDY WIECZ & EDDY KOPARANIAN vs ANDRE BOLLET & GEORGES GUERET (02/23/1956; French Catch; 00:48:56) Wiecz is of course better known as the legendary EDOUARD CARPENTIER! A long match, but they cut a hard pace. Segunda Caida reviewed this (along with all the rest of this footage). Likewise, this thread at the Death Valley Driver Video Review message board has comments on this and other French match. Ryuma Go Memorial Account @secretwrestlin1 Dropkick off the top rope into a folding pin! To reiterate, this was 1956. January 23rd 2020 8 Retweets17 Likes DICK THE BRUISER vs BILL MELBY (04/06/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:24:47) Melby had a background in bodybuilding. TINY ROE vs IVAN THE TERRIBLE (04/06/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:13:51)

AWA History #3 (01:58:30) Matches from 1952-1955 BONUS! VERNE GAGNE vs CARL MEYER (10/31/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:10:46) BONUS! VERNE GAGNE vs KILLER KOWALSKI (11/26/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:02:51) BONUS! CRUSHER LISOWSKI & THE SHEIK vs RUDY KAY & SKY HI LEE (05/07/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:35:57) BONUS! VERNE GAGNE vs YUKON ERIC (01/21/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:29:13) BONUS! VERNE GAGNE vs DON LEO JONATHAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:32:42) BONUS! DICK THE BRUISER vs IVAN RASPUTIN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:07:01)

American Classics #31 (02:16:01) Matches from June-August 1955 ANTONINO ROCCA & ROY MCCLARITY vs DON LEO JONATHAN & HANS SCHNABEL (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:37:38) BILLY DARNELL vs HANS HERMANN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:13:27) DICK THE BRUISER vs IVAN RASPUTIN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:07:01) GREAT YAMATO vs LEN ROSSI (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:32:22) DICK THE BRUISER vs CHEST BERNARD (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:12:53) JUNE BYERS vs PENNY BANNER (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:14:04) RUDY KAY vs JACK BAUER (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:18:36)

American Classics #30 (02:20:46) Matches from January-April 1955 VERNE GAGNE vs YUKON ERIC (01/21/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:29:13) DANNY SAVICH vs BULL CURRY (02/22/1955; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:21:30) LOU THESZ vs DON LEO JONATHAN (02/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:24:22) HANS SCHMIDT vs LOU NEWMAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:13:09) MIGHTY ATLAS vs CARL ENGSTROM (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:19:50) VERNE GAGNE vs DON LEO JONATHAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:32:42)

History of Pro Wrestling #17 (04:22:31) Matches from April-October 1955 HANS SCHMIDT vs LOU NEWMAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:13:09) Newman wrestled in the U.S., Japan, Australia and Europe. A very good bio on Slam Wrestling. MIGHTY ATLAS vs CARL ENGSTROM (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:19:50) Carl Engstrom never made it huge in wrestling, but was accomplished amateur wrestler and boxer and a highly-skilled dancer. He taught gymnastics at the Engstrom School of Dance and Acrobatics in Oak Park, Illinois, where one of his pupils was a 7-year old Lanny Poffo, a student of Engstrom’s for three years. He also trained Angelo Poffo in pro wrestling. This Slam Wrestling bio has more information on Engstrom. VERNE GAGNE vs DON LEO JONATHAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:32:42) ANTONINO ROCCA & ROY MCCLARITY vs DON LEO JONATHAN & HANS SCHNABEL (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:37:38) BILLY DARNELL vs HANS HERMANN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:13:27) DICK THE BRUISER vs IVAN RASPUTIN (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:07:01) Dick the Bruiser was still billed under his real name, Dick Afflis, at this point. GREAT YAMATO vs LEN ROSSI (06/10/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:32:22) Rossi was a major drawing card in Tennessee and Alabama and formed what’s believed to be the first racially-integrated tag team in history with Bearcat Brown. This article has a lot more on Rossi. RIKIDOZAN & AZUMAFUJI vs PRIMO CARNERA & HARDY KRUSKAMP (07/15/1955; JWA International Big Competition; 00:02:47) RIKODOZAN & AZUMAFUJI vs JESSE ORTEGA & BUD CURTIS (07/28/1955; JWA International Big Competition; 00:09:51) DICK THE BRUISER vs CHEST BERNARD (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:12:53) JUNE BYERS vs PENNY BANNER (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:14:04) RUDY KAY vs JACK BAUER (08/26/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:18:36) Rudy was a big star in Montreal in the 1960s. RIKIDOZAN vs JESSE ORTEGA (09/07/1955; JWA International Big Competition; 00:04:28) ANGELO POFFO vs MAURICE ROBERRE (10/28/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:17:43) Poffo is of course the father of Lanny, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. ROSE ROMAN & LORRAINE JOHNSON vs SHIRLEY STRIMPLE & RAMONA TESELLE (10/28/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:36:00)

American Classics #29 (02:51:05) Matches from August 1954-January 1955 BENITO GARDINI vs AL WARSHAWSKI (08/06/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:16:01) LOU THESZ vs TOM RICE (08/14/1954; NWA Los Angeles; 00:21:08) DON LEO JONATHAN vs TIGER JACK MOORE (10/22/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:08:32) GREAT KARPOZILOS vs GREAT YAMATO (10/22/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:26:50) ANTONINO ROCCA vs DON LEO JONATHAN (11/15/1954; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:03:27) THE SHEIK vs JUAN HUMBERTO (12/14/1954; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:11:09) LARRY CHENE vs BOBBY NELSON (1954; NWA Chicago; 00:27:57) RED RYAN vs ADRIAN BAILLARGEON (1954; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:03:56) BILLY GOELZ vs JUAN HERNANDEZ (01/21/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:22:52)