Indikator

He is talking about his stint as Magnificent Maurice (not the Gene Dubuque version or Spellbinder/Del Rios from Memphis)

Bambikiller has managed to get the Austrian equivalent of a senator of his hometown region to attend his shows, something that is unfathomable in Germany. They really loved their catch wrestling, it's a pity that the national wrestling scene is in shambles (if the situation is as bad as in Switzerland, it surely is bad) Sorry, I don't recognize the song, should be some Motown record. Check out Soul Train on Youtube , for this European it has been a magnificent find. Gernot once had a website for Chall online, I don't know if this is the complete version (http://chatito.beepworld.de) . His debut was in 1955 apparently and he had a judo background.

I've noticed many loaded cards these past few months and in the near future. Do we have an up period for UK wrestling?

Tell me more? Lasartesse helped the Swiss wrestlers a bit. Lots of cardio, I think Rene was under the impression that most matches should last 20 minutes. Maybe the correct question would be what kind of finesse he could gather from the old school guys like Lasartesse and to a lesser degree the Austrian WWA outlaws. Over the second half of the 20th century you had a couple of promotions who were basically the opposition to the Vienna Heumarkt, I don't think the people at the Heumarkt ever liked them (this is a huge understatement). I kinda like the little WWA footage that I have seen, but I just can't expect them to be as knowledgeable as the Heumarkt guys as they didn't get around that much and probably worked a lot less.

Chong was a comedy wrestler who wrestled a lot of times in Vienna and Hannover. He is kinda helpful for me as his shenanigans are sometimes described in the vain of "he is the spiritual successor of soandso in that his matches tend to be filled with silly antics". I'm really happy to learn who was the monster heel/evil foreigner/comedy worker of the early 1900s. You might contact the Wrestlingheritage guys for more info, maybe they could use some screenshots from you for their biography section.

Last year I noticed an interesting thing regarding Bruno. This should be the work of Vance Nevada and quite possibly some earlier instances from people like maybe Georgiann Makropoulos 1971 01/02 McKeesport, PA drew George Steele 01/05 Johnstown, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat Jos Leduc & Mikel Scicluna 01/09 Boston, MA beat Bepo Mongol 01/15 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat George Steele & Mikel Scicluna by DQ 01/16 Philadelphia, PA double DQ vs. Bulldog Brower 01/18 New York, NY lost to Ivan Koloff *Lost the WWWF World title 01/22 Butler, PA w/. Victor Rivera, beat Jos Leduc & Mikel Scicluna 01/29 McKeesport, PA beat Jos Leduc by DQ 01/30 Allison Park, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, drew Jos Leduc & George Steele 02/04 Monongahela, PA beat Mikel Scicluna 02/05 Johnstown, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat Jos Leduc & George Steele 02/06 Baldwin, PA beat George Steele by count out 02/06 Boston, MA w/. Jay Strongbow, beat The Mongols 02/08 New York, NY beat Geeto Mongol 02/12 Pittsburgh, PA beat Ivan Koloff by DQ 02/19 Blairsville, PA beat Mikel Scicluna 02/26 McKeesport, PA beat Mikel Scicluna by count out 03/05 Pittsburgh, PA beat Ivan Koloff Texas Death match 03/06 New Castle, PA w/. Victor Rivera, beat The Mongols 03/12 Altoona, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat Jos Leduc & George Steele 03/13 Midland, PA lost to George Steele by count out 03/18 Weirton, WV beat Mikel Scicluna by DQ 03/20 McKeesport, PA w/. Domenic Denucci & Victor Rivera, beat Mikel Scicluna & The Mongols 03/27 Carnegie, PA lost to George Steele by count out 04/02 Lisbon, OH beat George Steele by DQ 04/03 Washington, PA lost to George Steele by count out 04/10 McKeesport, PA drew Bepo Mongol (aka Nicolai Volkoff) 04/15 Follansbee, WV w/. Victor Rivera & John L. Sullivan, lost to Mikel Scicluna & The Mongols 04/16 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, lost to George Steele & Mikel Scicluna 04/23 Leechburg, PA beat George Steele by count out 04/24 Hubbard, OH w/. Victor Rivera, lost to The Mongols 04/30 Ford City, PA beat George Steele by DQ 05/01 Beaver Falls, PA beat Mikel Scicluna by DQ 05/07 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, vs. George Steele & Mikel Scicluna 05/15 Allison Park, PA beat Mikel Scicluna by DQ 05/20 Canonsburg, PA beat Mikel Scicluna by count out 05/22 Robinson Township, PA beat Mikel Scicluna by count out 05/27 Greensburg, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat George Steele & Mikel Scicluna 05/29 E Palestine, OH beat George Steele 06/05 Johnstown, PA beat George Steele by DQ 06/11 Steubenville, OH beat Mikel Scicluna by count out 06/12 Altoona, PA w/. Victor Rivera, beat The Mongols 06/17 Wellsville, OH w/. Domenic Denucci, beat George Steele & Mikel Scicluna 06/18 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat The Mongols *Won the WWWF International tag team titles 06/25 Latrobe, PA beat Mikel Scicluna 07/16 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, lost to The Mongols by DQ 07/24 New York, NY beat Blackjack Mulligan 07/30 Greensburg, PA beat Mikel Scicluna 07/31 Munhall, PA beat Mikel Scicluna 08/13 Pittsburgh, PA beat Geeto Mongol Chain match 08/21 Pittsburgh, PA beat Geeto Mongol Chain match 08/28 Greensburg, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, double DQ vs. Bepo Mongol & B.J. Mulligan 09/04 Beaver Falls, PA w/. Johnny DeFazio, lost to Bepo Mongol & Blackjack Mulligan 09/17 Pittsburgh, PA beat Blackjack Mulligan 09/18 Altoona, PA beat Bulldog Brower 10/05 Johnstown, PA beat Blackjack Mulligan 10/15 Pittsburgh, PA beat Bepo Mongol 10/22 Altoona, PA w/. Batman, beat Bulldog Brower & Mikel Scicluna 10/23 Cannonsburg, PA beat George Steele by count out 10/29 East Liverpool, OH w/. Batman, beat Bulldog Brower & Mikel Scicluna 11/05 Johnstown, PA w/. Batman, beat Bulldog Brower & Mikel Scicluna 11/06 Butler, PA w/. Batman, beat Bulldog Brower & George Steele 11/12 Pittsburgh, PA beat Bulldog Brower 12/03 Pittsburgh, PA w/. Bepo Mongol, lost to Tarzan Tyler & Luke Graham by count out 12/17 Darlington, PA w/. Domenic Denucci, beat Jim Grabmire & Mikel Scicluna 12/18 Midland, PA w/. Johnny DeFazio, beat Luke Graham & Tarzan Tyler by count out Doesn't exactly scream Hall Of Fame, does it?

I like the post by Bix about Backlund, it gave me the thought that we should name it the "Backlund Factor" if somebody pretty much vanishes from public sight after losing a certain spot. I always wonder how many of the post 2001 guys might fall under that label. The exact opposite should be named the "Onita Factor".

Major update by Jason Campbell. Doesn't that wanna make you scan an Apter mag yourself ?

I'd be very careful with the anchor argument, as that could be interpreted as "he didn't own a territory and put himself on top".

Just to insert a tidbit - I have a scan of a Joint Promotions letter to wrestler Erich Koltschak from around 1965 where they decline his wish to have one of those 40 matches UK tours on the basis that business is way down

It's interesting to see that Yohe is more about the potential and the peak than the body of Lesnar's work. But if you consider him knowing quite a bit about short term superstars like Primo Carnera and Maurice Tillet I can't really criticize his argumentation too much.

If I had to choose then I would vote for Frank Bonnema instead of Brown. If Brown is a no brainer then Dave Prazak will have to get in as well at some point. To me Brown is more on the level with guys like Lord Zoltan or Henry Rogers, the guy who promoted that Malden, Missouri outlaw fed for 25 years. I have a soft spot for them but it's a Hall Of Fame and not a Hall Of Fame Academy (obscure Euro casting show reference)

I don't want to say that they are bad, it's just that other teams are probably more deserving. Just like one could say that the Kentuckians were good but the Kangaroos were better. There is some frustration on my part regarding these things as most people don't give a damn about much besides their childhood territory, but that doesn't apply to this case that much. I will probably want to strangle certain people when I will try to make my case why Duke Keomuka might be the most successful Texan wrestler of all time.

Unrelated to wrestling, but I named my son, Keyser after this movie So how often has he already just been called "West Virginia"?

@Jetlag: For Gordienko you should look at Vance Nevada's career record. There is not really too much for his case. I was about to say that he was compared to Billy Robinson what Wolfgang Saturski would be compared to Horst Hoffman - just to pull out something out of my ass. Of course with so few Euro tournament results around it might even turn out that Saturski could even surpass him. (btw, I can shill the 50s stuff I have already entered in WD, the sad thing is that I have next to nothing for the following decades). *searches through files* I can't find an instance of Thesz wrestling George Pencheff, so maybe it's just by chance that we have a Gordienko hype and not a Pencheff hype. @pantherwagner: Yeah, if you have Moolah you might as well get other shameless (and some just as successless) self promoters like Georg "Schurl" Blemenschütz (longtime Vienna wrestler/promoter who was even called the "Mumie vom Heumarkt" (Mumie=mummy)) and our beloved icons Bulldog Bob Brown & Al Tomko Some thoughts Gene & Ole Anderson The Assassins (Joe Hamilton & Tom Renesto) Von Brauners & Saul Weingeroff The more I know about the Andersons the less I want them in. At some point I might even start a "Aldo Bogni & Bronco Lubich > Andersons" debate, and if I get to hate Ole maybe even "George Becker & Johnny Weaver > Andersons". The Von Brauners, in this case we are talking about the first version which had it's height from 1960-1965, which isn't too long. B They did feud with the Assassins during that time frame, which should tell you that the Assassins will likely have a better case. I would rate the Von Brauners probably above the Kentuckians (Grizzly Smith/Luke Brown version), it would really be interesting to compare them with the Fabulous Kangaroos. A Gordy list for that team might be superb, as most of the somewhat older wrestling fans are aware of the adoration that team has received even long after Heffernan was gone from the US scene. Somebody would have to buy the Florida Mat Wars publications by RVK and check out their other work in mainly Georgia and JCP to come to a conclusion regarding the Von Brauners. The only musts for the other guys are imo John Tolos and Enrique Torres. I expect Wilbur Snyder and Pepper Gomez to reach the HOF fairly easy in the long run. Then it gets interesting, the more I know about them the more I would like to root for Ciclon Negro, for me he is with George Becker and Duke Keomuka one of the most underrated guys today. Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods and Red Bastien will probably get there as well, I wouldn't mind that too much. And I am totally ignoring the question if in the next few years the current crop of wrestler will water down things brutally. Kinji Shibuya might just be a more forgotten Red Bastien. Rip Hawk might have a better case in a team with Swede Hanson. Again, I would say Hawk/Hanson > Andersons. Count Billy Varga and Dutch Savage were very likely too regional. I might call that Ole Anderson syndrome. Dick Hutton doesn't have much outside of Canada going for him. For June Byers I need to look at her title reign. But if I then look at the modern performers category I wonder who of the above persons should not picked prior to them. The Sharpes have a really good case with California, Canada and the advent of puroresu. For the Euro guys somebody just needs to convince me why Billy Joyce should be included, not really sure why people bring him up. Everybody else was that good or successful. And if I would have to name another person I would instantly say Hermann Iffland (He posed for a picture with Prince Philipp once - how can such a person not be in every HOF? When the Ken Andersons and the Batistas are in the HOF you will also have the Ozeania guys. Colon is a sure pick, Lewin and Barend might pass the mark with a good write up easily. DeNucci has the problem that in the latter part of his career he was a victim of the downfall of the Northeast wrestling scene. I can not find enough merit for Arion, Kox and Milano. I should note that I will hopefully be able to take a good look at the Australian scene in the next few years. It will take quite some effort to convince me that Dave Brown belongs in here

Isnt ESPN UK now what last year was ESPN America in the UK? I was delighted to see that I could watch MLS and then Bundesliga on Sundays. I could even mix it up soon with La Liga from an Austrian online outlet. Good times

It doesn't even matter what you draw as long as rent and the cooperation with the owner of the venue are alright

How would you compare Pete Roberts' UK work to his Japan tours?

I recently got my hands on a French 5 DVD set (catch francais) which has some old New Catch/EWF on Eurosport tv shows that look like 2nd gen bootlegs. The first DVD has late 1988ish shows with "Mr. Wonderful" Dave Taylor vs Otto Wanz, Jacky Richard as the camp Marquis Richard de Fumolo de la Rossignolette , a great Dave Morgan vs Dave Taylor match, Finley and Dick Murdoch. Who is btw not that Dick Murdoch. But as he is French he clearly is the superior Dick Murdoch Furthermore it has lots of Flesh Gordon, topless dancers for a babyface and on DVD 2 there is a decent Eddie Steinblock vs Indio Guajaro match. Yes, that match was decent, I shit you not. I would have bet everything I would ever own against this match being anything but mindblowingly bad. The power of Flesh Gordon I guess.

I actually do not want TNA to go away as it can be another payday for wrestlers.... ugh, let's not discuss that here. What I do wonder about is that people tend to give TNA a chance much easier and earlier than other promotions. I can not see why people want to prefer TNA to 80s Portland or Vancouver. If you want to give a promotion or a style a chance and accept that it might be a waste of time why not watch some random independent promotion like ECWA or whatever crappy promotion has official releases on Youtube?

TNA would be wrestling suicide

I never thought to laugh this hard at a line containing the simple words "I tap" Good job

Thanks for the hat tip pantherwagner. My favorite video is Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Great Kojika, Motoshi Okuma from 1978 and seeing Halcon is neat, too. I am a sucker for Showa under- and midcarders (it can be debated that Kojika/Okuma were at times booked higher)

Not to sure about anime, there have always been quite a number of international co-productions as the Japanese were able to produce it cheap (just think of Heidi). The private stations had the major advantage that no conservative group or church was able to veto such programming, they could just start a media campaign condemning wrestling as a vile waste of time that will only corrupt the youth. TV got a lot more daring once private stations came into the pictures. For Germany it's actually a bit bizarre, the conservatives were violently against wrestling yet they were also strongly pushing for private stations when they feared that state tv would be overrun by young leftist hippies trying to destroy family values and what not. Had that happened in the 50s there is a good chance that there would have been some kind of World of Sports pendant. Alas, that was not to be. Do you have more information how WWF fared during their expansion, I am not aware of shows being canceled because of low ratings. In 1995 German station RTL2 tried to establish Superstars in a Sunday afternoon timeslot. After 2 episodes (can't remember if they aired on the same day) all those aforementioned conservatives groups had a meltdown and managed to make wrestling either FSK 16 or 18, 18 being an X rating. After that wrestling could only be aired after 11PM. That was the end of our mainstream boom