Loss Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Earl Caddock (c) vs Joe Stetcher World Heavyweight Championship January 30, 1920 New York, NY The World's Championship Wrestling Match Between Joe Stetcher And Earl Caddock Related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted August 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 While clips of older matches certainly exist, I am fairly certain that this is the oldest match that exists on videotape where we get a significant portion of the match instead of a minute or less of highlights. It’s difficult to provide too much critique of this match not only because I have no grasp of the normal working style at the time, but also because the footage is grainy and shot from a distance. The match pre-dates the National Wrestling Alliance as we know it just as it predates the television-fueled wrestling boom of the 1950s, where the template was created for what pro wrestling looks like today. Like much older footage, it also appears to have been slightly sped up, and distinguishing the wrestlers from each other would be virtually impossible. I realize this isn’t really a review, but it’s difficult to review a match like this. I think the mere preservation of the footage is an accomplishment on its own, and it has immense value as a historical clip. How cool is it that we have footage of a match that is nearly 100 years old? I found a few brief clips of President Woodrow Wilson during this time period when searching YouTube, but nothing approaching 25 minutes of film. Hopefully, 100 years from now, it’s much easier for our wrestling fan successors to watch footage from this era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 Awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachchaos Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 So we have an entry point. Very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrblue Posted November 28, 2015 Report Share Posted November 28, 2015 When was this, two years before moses? Back when the trunks were high and very woolen, and the holds were long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberger Posted June 3, 2016 Report Share Posted June 3, 2016 Now, that's what I call a classic! In all seriousness though, this was tough to watch. I needed 4 or 5 attempts to motivate me to watching this beyond the first 2 or 3 minutes. There isn't really anything I can say about the match, despite it resembling classic amateur wrestling a good bit, naturally, and having no idea who won and who lost. The picture quality is what it is, I don't think one can critisize it, it IS almost 100 years old after all. But yeah, it's really neat to just have something like this and beeing able to access it so easily. Would I recommend watching it? No, definitely not, except you're a super wrestling nerd who has the desire to suck up everything like a sponge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fxnj Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 Better quality version https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=18wMsQsLMGI I'm not convinced this wasn't a shoot. I agree that it looks like an old school amateur match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutenberger Posted June 14, 2016 Report Share Posted June 14, 2016 Thanks for the better quality, but I'm not gonna sit through that one again. It looks pretty shoot-y, but often times when you read about these times it seems that everything was shoot, so I'm just gonna attribute that to the general feeling of realism that existed back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Posted March 19, 2022 Report Share Posted March 19, 2022 Just had this on in the background while I worked, couldn't really believe we have 20+ minutes of a 100+ year old match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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