Loss Posted July 1, 2022 Report Share Posted July 1, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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