How did you discover wrestling?

I was hooked from the time I first saw wrestling on TV. I distinctly recall seeing Dropkick Johnny Peters winning by a k o and Ishka Kahn defeating Johnny Yearsley. I think my first live visit was watching Jack Pye v Ian Campbell at Morecambe - the bout finishing in a veritable bloodbath.

A fascinating topic with some great comments. We would like to add comments from a related topic some years back on the old forum when members were asked of their first wrestling show.

Caulkead

Mine was Roger Green against Zoltan Boscic (which name I shall mange to spell correctly one day). The venue was Ryde Town Hall on my native Isle of Wight. I cannot remember the outcome.

My first Joint Promotions bout (the above being on a Paul Lincoln promotion) was Adrian Street against Pasquale Salvo at Ventnor Winter Gardens, again on the Island. I do remember that Salvo was the winner.

So what was your first live bout?

Andy

Mine would have been under Jackie Pallo promotions and the very first bout was Alan J Batt v Tom Thumb - very entertaining it was too!

Jon Waters

My first live bout was whilst on holiday on the Isle of Man in 1979 - Steve Taylor drawing 1-1 with Kung Fu. The first live bout back home was Gwyn Davies beating Rex Strong 2-1.

PETER

My first live bout was Mick Mcmicheal v Mike Bennet.A very intense match between two very tough wrestlers.A draw

Ron Historyo

Mine was Pete Roberts v Steve Haggerty in the late 60's at Kings Hall belle Vue. A 1-1 draw over 6 rounds.

Followed by an impressive bout, Wild Angus v Ray Glendenning. Angus was disqualified. Glendenning really took it to him.

martin

Mine was Johnny Czezlaw vs John Kenny at Belle Vue. It will stick in my mind as they got a slow handclap throughout with The Polish Eagle wanting to shake hands after every move. 1978 it was. On the same bill was Johnny England vs Young David and I remember someone launching an apple at Mr Muscles and it hitting him smack in the middle of his head.

crimbo

Johnny Czeslaw v Ian Muir, Bristol Colstin Hall, main event that night was Stacks & John Quinn v St Clair & Bridges , I was hooked!

Tom H

I t was December 1960 at Ilford Baths. I can't remember all the bouts, but the main event was, Eddie capelli v Ken Joyce.

Duncan

Circa 1962. Burton Place Drill Hall, Taunton, (Dale Martin), Jack Cunningham v Barry Cannon and Jackie Pallo v Perez Lopez top of the bill.

SaxonWolf

1967 and Mick McManus vs Johnny Kwango was the main event, at Cliftonville, near Margate, while on a family holiday, trying to remember the rest of the bill!

Hack

It was in the early 1960's that I first took an interest in professional wrestling. Like millions of people around the country my family would sit around the black and white television every Saturday afternoon to watch the stars of the day: Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, George Kidd and a multitude of others.

As a result of watching Saturday afternoon wrestling, and persistent nagging of my parents, I ended up going to my first live show in February, 1965, as my eleventh birthday treat. The show, at Preston Public Hall, started at 7.45, but as we hadn’t booked in advance we had to arrive an hour or so before that to find a queue of considerable length. We waited patiently until just after seven when the doors opened and we began to shuffle forward. Tickets were 7/6, 5/- and 3/6. We went in the 5/- seats, which bought us a place in the balcony. Whilst waiting in the queue my dad gave me his generally unwelcome opinion that these wrestlers of today knew nothing. He had been a regular at Belle Vue, Manchester, in the 1930's, and told me he had watched real wrestlers like Bert Assirati and Jack Pye.

Sitting in our seats looking down at the ring below my senses were dominated by the smell and sight of cigarette fumes in the air. When the ring lights were switched on just before a quarter to eight the swirling smoke was illuminated above the ring. The house lights went down. I’d never imagined that wrestling took place in a darkened hall with a single bright light illuminating the wrestlers in action.

At the Public Hall in those days we saw few of the big television names and certainly none contracted to the television promoters at that time. That was not to say that the shows were any less exciting, or wrestlers any less capable. We enjoyed a mixture of those slightly past their best before dates, such as Dai Sullivan and Jack Dempsey, those in their peak, but out of favour with the television promoters, such as Mike Marino, and those who were destined for greatness, such as Johnny Saint and Wild Angus.

The Preston Public Hall shows were organised by a reliable independent outfit, Cape Promotions. They put on shows throughout the country. All fans tended to favour either the Joint Promotions or independent camp. I was a fan of the independents because their wrestlers were more colourful, their shows were more exciting, and seats were a shilling cheaper than the Joint Promotions shows at Saul Street Baths.

There were four contests on that night in February, 1965. There were usually four, only occasionally did promoters treat us to a fifth. As was usual the show started with a couple of good straight wrestlers, Dennis Tracey and Ray Charles. They did the sort of fast, skilful moves that led members of the audience to comment, “These wrestlers are very fit,” and “They say some of it’s fixed. But you’re not telling me these two weren’t really wrestling.”

It wasn’t until the third contest that things began to really heat up. Unusual that, because the promoters liked to put on a bad guy in the second contest to get the crowd going. Two genuine stars faced each other in the main event, Golden Boy Mike Marino and the American Crusher Verdu.Don't get Anglo Italian started on Crusher! Even in 1965 Marino had been around too long to deserve the Golden Boy tag, but he was, and remained for many years, one of the post war greats. Marino had previously been one of the big names in the Joint Promotions camp, and so was something of a crowd puller. His opponent, Crusher Oscar Verdu, was a 20 stone giant, a genuine overseas star in those days when independent posters were liberally splattered with contestants allegedly from far flung corners of the world, but more likely to be from Blackpool or Manchester. Marino won when the big man was disqualified.

The final contest was a tag team bout. On one side were the unlikely pairing of Lord Bertie Topham and the Wildman from Borneo. The promoters claimed Topham was a “real live aristocrat,” but somehow even at the age of eleven I had my doubts. The Wildman walked slowly towards the ring, peering to see his way through the long hair that entirely covered his face. The omens did not seem good for this pair, one of whom didn’t seem to like getting his hands dirty, and the other whose restricted vision resulted in him attacking his own partner. The result was a win for their opponents, Martin Robson and Dave Larsen, who was later to become a television favourite, and then put on a mask, called himself Batman and move to France.

By 9.45 as the final bell rang I was hoarse, and bitten by the wrestling bug.

Mark

Blackjack Mulligan v Chris Adams...Wimbledon Theatre 1978.

Eddie Rose

Ernie Riley versus Eric Taylor at Belle Vue for Lightheavyweight championship over 15 rounds. I'd never seen wrestling before except the odd grey tv shows that left me unimpressed. This was different: live, colourful, atmospheric and very skillful wrestling. I was hooked, aged 19. I went to the YM and then Panther's gym over the next six years before turning professional. Felt really chuffed years after to wrestle Eric a couple of times. He was a brilliant worker and a pleasure to know as a promoter also.

grahambrook

My grandmother had a caravan on Prestatyn Holiday Camp in North Wales (later Tower Beach) and the TV wrestlers came one Saturday to do a recording in the ballroom so father and I went. In those days it was recorded live on a Saturday afternoon at about 2.45 pm (it was around 1965) with the two bouts for the following Wednesday night being recorded first. The "live" segment would commence around 3.45pm with the show being joined by the nation at around 4.00pm. Most of the camp was chalets which were booked on a weekly basis as opposed to the caravanners who booked for the entire season and Saturday was changeover day with one set of campers moving out and going home and the new lot arriving. They were still finding their way around and getting their bearings when the recording began so the place was not particularly full and we got good seats. I remember a blistering main event clash between Billy Robinson and Gwyn Davies which concluded with Robinson K.Oing Davies with a piledriver. The final bout on the Saturday afternoon show was Les Kellett vs Lee Sharron and they made the most of the short time they had available to display their wares (after a few minutes of round two they went to the football scores) with Les throwing Lee out of the ring on all four sides. Other wrestlers whom I recall seeing on that first show (it was a Wryton promotion) included Johnny Da Silva, Reg Williams, Alf Cadman, Roy "Bull" Davies and Terry Downes.

Little did I know at the time that some fifteen or so years later that Pontin's would have bought the camp and begun staging weekly shows in conjunctuion with Bobby Barron with myself as referee for a most enjoyable two year period refereeing not only Barron himself but other northern wrestlers such as Eddie Hamil, Johnny Palance, Karl Mc.Grath, Woody Waldo, Ragnor the Viking, Billl Bennete, Kevin Conneely, "Bronco" Jack Cassidy, Paul Carpentier, Johnny Kincaid, Bobo Matu, Eddie Rose, Ian Wilson, Chic Cullen and Klondyke Jake.

Raven

dennis mitchell v bob silcock

stokes

Late 1950's at Peterborough Corn Exchange. Johnny Kostas (the Golden Greek) defeated Alan Garfield by a disqualification. The main supportwas Pasquale Savo & Joe Murphy in a £50 a side match won 2-1 by Savo.

Graham Bawden

1980`s Dave Fit Finlay v Danny Boy Collins. Steve Grey v Mal Sanders, at the Wintergardens Weston Super Mare. Finlay`s bout went to a draw, and Steve Grey won with a surfboard submission. It was a great evening.

ballymoss

Yuri Borienko against Charlie Fisher at a Dale Martin promotion staged at the Camberwell baths in South London. It was around fifty years ago, and in those days Fisher was quite a local favourite and Borienko, who was actually Russian,played the heel. Yuri managed to get himself disqualified by referee Bobby Palmer but susequently obtained a very small part as a villian in a couple of James Bond movies.

The evening concluded with a "blood and thunder" bout between a young Danny Lynch and Tony Mancelli.Now in the veteran stage, Mancelli found it hard going and looked far from pleased when he lost to the extremely aggressive Lynch.

elliott

I remember cycling seven miles to watch Black Butcher Johnson and Docker Don Steadman on a Premier Promotions (Frank Price) at the Kings Hall Herne Bay others on the bill were Zoltan Boscik, Bobby Barnes, Jack Taylor and Frank Price.then I had to cycle home to get up at five in the morning.

Tom H

Hi Elliot, I found your comments interesting. My father and I went by bus, on our second visit to live wrestling at Ilford to see Don Steadman face The Great Bula. A couple of months later it was Black Butcher Johnson facing The Great Bula. At the end of 1961 Frank Price, still Premier Promotions, switched to Joint Promotions wrestlers. Looking back I wish he'd stayed with the independants a bit longer.

maskedmummy

Lpool 1968 Jim Hussey v Bill Howes

Phillip Thomas

Jim Hussey v Frank Townsend at Drill Hall Cardiff 1961 I think. Townsend was on Thank Your Lucky Stars plugging his record the following week I seem to remember. All good entertainment.

John McCarthy

Crusher verdu v shozo kobayashi at Ipswich St Matthews baths hall

frank thomas

My first live bout, Pete Roberts v Barry Douglas Liverpool stadium 1972, top of the bill was les kellett v Abe Ginsberg, other contests my all time favourite, Albert "rocky" wall v perrenial for gwyn Davies. Topped off with a tag thriller, the saints(Roy and tony st clair) v. The skinheads, who comprised Roy Paul and I think, Eddie rose. I was hooked!!!

Geoff Shoots

My first Wrestling event. August 1968, Hastings Pier Pavillion (The Pier burnt down in 2011, now being rebuilt should open again this year!)I can't remember all the matches. I think the Wild Man of Borneo may have been on the bill, Big Bruno Elrington? but one match has stuck in my memory, Zoltan Boscik Vs Bernard Murray because Bernard was such a funny man (the lightweight Les Kellett) and entertained us royally but Zoltan Boscik got the win as I remember.

Sapper James

Big John Cox (0) Vs Dalbir Singh (2) at Whitby in 1982. Top of the bill was Big Daddy and Mick McMichael Vs King Kong Kirk and Black Jack Mulligan.

David Mantell

We moved to South London in 1987 when I was 13 within reach (157 bus ride) of the Fairfield Hall. However I had my GCSEs to do in the summer of 1990 so it was hard to get out to anything until then. Shortly after I did my exams I went and bought tickets for my dad and myself to an All Star show featuring a Kendo-Rocco ladder match for the very same mask Rocco had made off with on TV in '88. I had some spare cash and there was a Joint Promotions show with Big Daddy in the headline so I bought a ticket for that too.

So my first bout was Ray Steele vs Jamaica George Burgess in Croydon June 1990, with a later headline of Big Daddy & Johnny Kid vs Mal Sanders and Cyanide Syd Cooper (who was either standing in for 20 Stone Iron Tallin from Poland or else who actualy was supposed to be Iron Tallin.) I seem to remember that Steele was being slightly heelish and the crowd was getting on his case quite a bit.

Before 1987 when we lived in Chigwell, the nearest bet for wrestling would have been Walthamstow. When I was five I remember seeing an advert llsting Giant Haystacks and The Iron Greek (Spiros Arion) on a show in the local press, possibly not as opponents.

Ask 'im Ref

Billy Two Rivers against Norman walsh. Walsh was a tough wrestler and the crowd were against him. Of course Two Rivers won by a KO with that chop of his.

chris hayes

Masambula v Alf Rawlings at VIctoria hall Halifax, Masambula won by disqalification

Paul

Mine would have been under Jackie Pallo promotions and the very first bout was Alan J Batt v Tom Thumb - very entertaining it was too!

I remember seeing Alan J Batt on the south coast during a caravan summer holiday. He was billed as the southern area champion and wrestled Bob Collins if memory serves me correct. It may have been a Neil Evans promotions and other notable highlights were the crowd being asked to help put the ring away after the show and a appearance by 'The Skull, ' who i was told somewhere was Alan J Batt as well.

Athlete and Wrestler. Ian The Gypsy. 1939. Ready For Upcoming Competitions.

CIRCUS. WRESTLING.

Fascinating stuff, Ruslan.

Of course commercially, pro wrestling is 100% capitalist so understanding how it might have fitted within a communist regime is mind-blowing.

At the end of the day, it all sounds like it was based on similar principles as our own wrestling, where international flair is essential whether exotic or to arouse xenophobia. The promoters weren't racist, they merely supplied the touchpaper to the fans' inherent prejudices.

All clever stuff.

I am mildly miffed that there were no British wrestlers dressed as bowler-hatted bastards but I guess that role has to be left to the real life politicians ☺

soviet circus pro wrestlers were former amateur wrestlers, some of them were young...who liked wrestling but weren't successful competitors as amateurs some were retired amateurs...profession was open to men of any age. they all had great training though, routines were memorized, yes each show had a 'script'...by the way 1955 world amateur champion was also circus pro wrestler.

Alexander Mazur, heavyweight champion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_World_Wrestling_Championships

Here's the thing Anglo...we did have pro wrestling in the USSR in 1920-1972...but it was verydifferent from what the western people know and consider as pro wrestling. Soviet pro wrestling was a circus wrestling, they had their own 'championship' of course it was a 100% showcase. My dad attended countless number of those circus performances. Style was called 'French'. 2 of 3 fair back falls ONLY.

tourneys were on the terms of all wrestle each other, who lost 2 times is eliminated...if I remember it right...the one who's left was a winner, would receive a certificate and gold medal, usually a 'diamond star' hahahaha, no belts...they did have trophies though, usually cups. it was beautiful wrestling, there were NO brutalities or any offensive or inappropriate actions at all...since kids were allowed to watch the shows, no villains, no baby faces...BUT they did have different 'nationalities'....to make it look 'international KO's", Russians were billed as French, dutch, germans, Spanish etc...kazakhs were billed as japs, Chinese etc...residents of Caucasus as turks…

Ruslan, our wrestling loved and exploited national stereotypes in fun ways. 80% of foreigners seemed to be cast as villains, in the case of Soviets nearly 100%.

But now you mention Russian Wrestling, were there sterotypical westernised villains during The Cold War?

I was born into loving wrestling, my dad was a wrestler and I am happy I just found him on this website...I thought his time wrestling was long forgotten 😊

Black and White TV broadcasts

https://thegorillaposition.com/today-in-pro-wrestling-history-dec-31-breaking-the-iron-curtain/

December 31st, 1989, Moscow, Luzhniki Small Sports Arena, there, in the 1989 soviet people saw the first NJPW show in the USSR. World class wrestlers, soviet sportsman, bushido legends have fought against each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Atm1wCF6Ic

My father used to go to shows at De Montfort Hall, Leicester when he was training to be a fireman. This would have been 1964. I was born in 1967 and was exposed to the T.V. shows straight away, according to my mother's diaries. My earliest actual memories are of Les Kellett talking to the audience during his bouts. I didn't see a live show until 1982 at Whitby Spa Theatre. Then in 1993 I had a few bouts, having trained at Holbeach under the guidance of Dick Harrison.

I saw my first live card when my uncle and aunt came down to stay with us on my native Isle of Wight for a couple of weeks, and Uncle Jack decided he'd like to go to "the wrestling". Would I like to come with him? Yes, I would.

I enjoyed it.

By the next week, Uncle Jack and Auntie Peggy had gone home, so my Dad took me.

Following that I was there every week during the summer months, and every month after that.

Paul Lincoln promotion.

Two things:

- everybody talking about McManus & Pallo in the same way as they were discussing Cooper & Clay and the Krays. It was mainstream.

- Doctor Death imperiously glowering down from the easel which seemed always to feature him on the posters at the top of the marble steps at the Granada Tooting.

This was all then fused together when The Outlaw was very unruly towards Steve Viedor on tv late 1965. Dad had a rare Saturday off and saw this bout with us on tv, and if dad said it was outrageous, well, I was easily outraged too. And of course, even though we ourselves deny it, the promoters knew that we get a kick out of being outraged.

Willingly manipulated.

Hi Hack, I read the article from the link that you put up. That wasn't the one where I said about Jimmy Purvis taking me to St James Hall for the first time. That would make more sense to the O.P.

There was the excitement of the Lancashire Evening Post arriving to see if the next bill was advertised. When I was 12 or 13I would cycle from Leyland to Preston, where eploring the suburbs there were a surprising amount of old posters to be found pasted to walls and derelict buildings.

I think we did Powerlock , but you and I have been on here a long time now.

Topics inevitably cycle round again after a few years

did we not have a thread similar to this in the past

Every Monday morning in Morecambe the blue and red posters went up at the Winter Gardens. Very often with Jack Pye topping the bill against a collection of what I presumed were villains such as Bearded Ken Davies. Once there was a bill The Pye Family v The Rest of the World. Jack, Harry, Dominic and Tommy. I was hooked.

I only ever saw Jack once v Sandy Orford and to my horror it was he who was the villain.

I think Kendo caught the imagination of every kid. I can remember cutting off the hood of a rain coat, turning it back to front, cutting holes for my eyes, nose and mouth and painting a cage on the front like Kendo. I'd jump around the bedroom fighting invisible opponents... This would have been fine had I not been in my mid forties at the time :)