FANTASY BOOKING - LEGEND OF YESTERDAY VS STAR OF TODAY

Hello there everyone. I've been an avid grapple fan for many years now and a keen reader of Wrestling Heritage but have only now taken time out of my day to sign up. I look forward to taking part in many discussions in the future.

My question for folks today should (hopefully) be a stimulating one: fantasy booking - in short, if you could pit a British legend of yesteryear (for argument sake, let's say pre-1990) against a star of today (2000 onward) who would it be and, most importantly, why? Tag teams count, too.

My example: Mick McManus vs Marty Scurll - two villains going at it.

**I've no doubt we've had similar discussions here or variations of it, but hey-ho I thought it'd be fun**

19 comments

19 Comments

Hack

Jul 19, 2020

Thanks Graham. Rarely has a wrestling related question been answered with one direct word, "No."

grahambrookjazz

Jul 19, 2020

No, but I studied at Leicester University between 1972-1975 and my two regular venues in the city were De Montfort Hall where Morrell and Beresford promoted regularly and The Granby Halls where Gordon Corbett promoted sporadically. It was a huge hall to fill so needed a big attraction such as Two Rivers or Adrian Street. I recall Brian Dixon putting on a big show there around '74 topped by Ricki Starr versus Kendo Nagasaki and I presume this was with Corbett's permission for he was oin the bill partnering "Taffy" Jenkins in a tag match against Abe Ginsberg and Bob Taylor.

This indicates that Jack Taylor had been and gone. I did attend some of his shows which were usually at local schools promoted through the PTA and usually just featuring his own men although I do recall finding Guthlaxton School in Leicestershire where Taylor was topping the bill as Guy de John against Jackie Pallo.

Hack

Jul 19, 2020

Surely the difficulty that stars of today would have is that they rely on well rehearsed choreographed sequences. Matches of the Mountevans era were not choreagraphed but relied on the skill of the wrestlers to arrive at the pre-determined conclusion.

Graham, have you any idea when Gordon Corbett took over from Jack Taylor at the Granby Halls?

RON HISTORYO....Time Cop,

Jul 19, 2020

Great to pitch a good worker against a good worker from different windows in time.

But very difficult if you accept that way back ,a lot of stuff was stiff.

You could perhaps imagine Finlay managing to work with guys of today , but I am not so sure what , these guys could have done with Hans Streiger.

Could Streiger have changed his game.

Maybe he could , he seemed to have worked with Billy Two Rivers a lot , but I never saw that bout , and I never saw Streiger "SELL"

Just Another Wrestling Fan

Jul 19, 2020

Replying to

It's pure fantasy I know, but whenever I watch a bout with, say, Alan Dennison a part of me always thinks "I wonder what it'd be like if he wrestled Cesaro?"

I think most wrestlers today are better athletes than those of yesteryear, but I do question how tough they are when compared to the likes of Dempsey, Robinson or, as you mention, Streiger. It's quite amusing to imagine someone like Streiger just flat-out refusing to sell to someone like Ospreay or Zack Sabre Jr, though - probably would've ended up being a two-minute squash, a la Ultimate Warrior vs HHH at WM XII (1996).

Powerlock

Jul 19, 2020

Replying to

some guys still wrestle stiff, and some wrestle light, that's back then and now, there's some wrestlers who were of the age they wrestled in and we can't picture them anywhere else, but that's wrestling.

grahambrookjazz

Jul 19, 2020

Replying to

I recall attending a Gordon Corbett promotion at The Granby Halls, Leicester, in the early seventies which was topped by Billy Two Rivers versus Hans Streiger with Harry Yardley as referee (Corbett himself as Doctor Death versus Wildman of Borneo was the main support).

When the usual Two Rivers ending of KO'ing his opponent with a flurry of chops occurred Streiger did "sell" but, as he went down, he punched Two Rivers between the legs thereby losing by disqualification rather than having to roll around on the canvas clutching his throat whilst the referee made the ten count.

Shortly after this brief tour for Corbett, Two Rivers once again began gracing Joint Promotions bills and his earliest appearances back in the Joint fold were for Martin Conroy at Wryton where he was matched primarily with the also returning to the fold Hans Streiger. A famous poster at the time for The Wryton Stadium in Bolton bills "Billy Two Rives versus Hans Streiger". There could have been worse mistakes. Thank goodness Count Bartelli wasn't on that particular bill.

Powerlock

Jul 18, 2020

Piper Niven (Viper) vs Klondyke Kate, battle of the big girls

1978 Kid

Jul 18, 2020

C J Banks vs Frank Chic Cullen

Joey Hayes vs Dave Fit Finlay

Hack

Jul 18, 2020

Welcome Just Another Wrestling Fan. It's good to see someone new posting on here. I'm looking forward to you posting more about your favourites. If you were a fan in the 1980s that's a decade often overlooked on here because many of us had drifted away from wrestling by then.