Steve Veidor

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[GSR]

I'd recommend folk check out Steve Veidor vs Judo Al Hayes from 5 November 1975. Haven't watched this one for years but was a bundle of fun when I did, really good stuff and Hayes was a tremendous heel in this one with the crowd totally into it. Hayes especially opened my eyes with his performance here.

[ohtani's jacket]

The master stylist. I suspect a lot of people would find the Wigan trained heavyweights like Billy Joyce and Billy Robinson boring as bat shit, and there are a lot of other heavyweights out there who are dry and technical and a bad place to start. Veidor had a flair for making his bouts exciting and is the perfect gateway for the British heavyweights. There are a bunch of his matches on YouTube so you can start with the Davies bout and get stuck right in. My other favourite is against Tony Charles.

[soup23]

Steve Veidor vs. Gwyn Davies (5/26/76)

I watched this after Jumbo vs. Flair and thought it was terrific. Davies has been receiving a ton of the praise and he was great gradually having to take more short cuts after he thought he could coast on size alone. Veidor though really made the match work well. It is not easy to go into a match like this and make it that convincing of the size disparity. It takes both individuals playing their role well to execute the simplistic story. Veidor was great at doing cartwheels, diving presses and other quick bursts of speed to get that across throughout each round.

 

The buildup to the public warning and punch is magnificent and the crowd and announcer add to the dismay of Davies seeping to these levels. The bloody mouth visual only amplified things and Veidor was able to play out on his foot or on the ropes really well. His roundhouse punches to give some slight hope were well timed and provided a good contrast that Davies would remain frustrated by this plucky babyface. Finish felt definitive in that Davies won but everyone came away with Veidor gaining the moral victory. Awesome intro to the WOS stuff for this project.

 

****1/2

[bradhindsight]

Before watching the Gwyn Davies match, I just happened to click on Lord Al (or Judo Al) so ended up being topical given the earlier remarks.

 

Veidor has the scrappy, undersized underdog shtick down pat. Really emotes well, crowd just eats out of his hands. I'm not big on the floaty (parv's word) cartwheels against Lord Al, but against Davies he used them to spring off the ropes, which was very good. The crowd is so disgusted by Lord Al making a stop back in the UK (first time in four years) that when he tries to bail on the match, an old lady confronts him and he heads back to the ring. Al was just awesome here, sporadically cheating, egging on the crowd and really getting them behind Veidor. Al controls most of the match, using the ropes to work the neck and back, and that is paid off in a big way when Veidor finally levels him with a punch. Bodyslam-> sitting dropkick by Veidor is a big high spot here (he does the same sequence against Davies). A sunset flip from the outside into the ring finishes for Veidor as Lord Al claims his trunks were pulled.

 

The Davies match is very good. 30 minutes or so and it is worked at an excellent pace to play off the storytelling but also not be bogged down by matwork. Veidor gets in a considerable amount of offense too - I loved the SHINING WIZARD (!) he pulls off to surprise Davies. Davis is great at being a bully and really pounds Veidor down in the later rounds, but the comebacks are timed superbly and the crowd goes nuts. Really good nearfalls and then Veidor gets his head stuck in the ropes and the ref calls off the match. Great finish with Veidor coming so close. Love how biased the ring announcer was too.

[bradhindsight]

I'll second OJ's recommendation of the Tony Charles match (from '72). They work a face vs. face respect (lots of nice handshakes after stringing together sequences) match that is really, really good. An absolute must watch after you've seen Veidor's work against bigger guys like Davies and Hayes.

[GSR]

Gwyn Davies vs Steve Veidor (05.26.76)

Plenty has already been wrote about this one, but I will say that I don't think I've ever seen a crowd so into a match as they were this one. They are totally behind the undersized Veidor as he tries to dethrone Davies for the British Heavyweight title, and they come unglued when Veidor gets the first fall to the point that Kent Walton even comments on it. Davies gets the equalizing fall with his suspension hold, and when he goes for it later in the match but this time Veidor manages to escape from it, well maybe the upset is on? Davies gets a second and final public warning from an illegal punch, and Veidor does an incredible job selling it. Davies at this point is all cocky and posturing around the ring, he then charges at Veidor and posts him into the turnbuckles but Veidor reverses the situation and starts unloading with forearms to Davies face who has amazing facials here (also check out the facials when they have the double interlock and when Veidor has him in the wrist lever early in the bout!). The bout comes to a halt after Davies throws Veidor into the ropes, but he goes head first through the top and middle getting tangled up in them and the referee stops the match. Veidor does a tremendous job post match, pleading and begging for the match to continue but the official was having none of it.

 

This was some match and showcases Davies is this big, bad ass, bullying heel and Veidor as the plucky undersized, sympathetic babyface. Heaven knows what the crowd reaction would have been if they had gone full on title change here?

[El McKell]

The Gywn Davies match is awesome; but then I watched three matches in a row that all ended with Veidor taking a bunch of two counts then immediately after winning with a school boy.

[Childs]

I watched the Hayes match after listening to Matt's podcast with Jimmy and what tremendous fun it was. Veidor delivered a world-class portrayal of rising frustration, and the finish, executed just when a disqualification seemed imminent, was thrilling. Veidor, Roach and Roberts are in a whole different class than most of the wrestlers falling around them in the poll. Makes me wish that I had voted for more of them, not that it would have made much difference.

[Matt D]

It was funny. I went on and on about the Hayes match and then had to be reminded about the freaking amazing Davies match. I'm really glad you liked it though.