The day Peter Preston beat McManus was one of the bouts I wish I could have been there i am interested to know of other members wrestling memories of bouts they wish they were there.
P.S. Hope all those that I met at the Blackpool reunion are well , a shame that Dickie Swales will not be there R.I P. Dickie
Good question op54nessie. Trouble is, as so often, there are so many for various reasons. Limited to one I would go for the 1967 Pallo v McManus RAH clash. That one rather than earlier ones because of the context - the build up to the match had been carefully crafted for years, not something we usually credit DM promotions for.
If I had been in Paul Lincoln land at the time I suspect the Dr Death v White Angel match may have grabbed me in the same way.
With retrospective spectacles Nagasaki v Bartelli would be up there. But I don't think it would have grabbed me the same at the time unless I had been a Hanley regular. Many of the general wrestling public were unfamiliar with Bartelli and Nagasaki at the time of the match.
Maybe agile is the wrong word but was certainly slimmer and managed the odd ladder match.
The first time I saw him, before his Crabtree days on Joint, was at Rhyl Town Hall. He was billed as Haystacks Galhoan and he fought Orig Williams. I then recall seeing him on a couple of Brian Dixon shows; he faced Bobby Barron at The Granby Halls, Leicester, and Ricki Starr at The Civic Hall, Bollington. His first appearance for Joint as far as I was concerned was at The Queen's Baths, Derby, for Jack Atherton/Frank Woodhouse where he faced John Lees.
Within months Crabtree had taken over Joint and I found myself as his cornerman on a televised show at Wythenshawe Forum where, partnering Shirley Crabtree, he came up against Kendo Nagasaki and Rex Strong. I have to say though, I don't recall him being particularly agile; even comparatively.
Would have loved to see Haystacks in his slimmer and more agile days against some of the top heavywieghts. He did a lumberjack match against Nagasaki which seemed like an absolute barmstormer. He also fought Mal Kirk before blue eyes and baby faces were so polarized.
I would have liked to have seen ANY Dominic Pye bout.
Not fussy you see. Just never saw him, saw his Dad a few times so that is some consolation, but they say that Dominic was a few steps further on from Jack.
I would have liked to have been at the Doctor Death v The White Angel Match. A night to remember I think.
Although in her final years, Mae Young usually took part in short comedy bouts with Fabulous Moolah, in her hayday she would often go one hour cats. I forget her opponent but I remember her relating the story that she was working an arranged one hour cats when, halfway through the bout, the timekeeper rang the bell and the M.C. climbed into the ring to announce that Pearl Harbour had been invaded. I imagine that would have been quite a memorable one!
Great post op54nessie.The list for me would be endless but the Count vs Kendo unmasking would have been fantastic.Also,any of the Mick vs Jackie bouts.Others would be the Kellett/Rann bouts.Also any combination of bouts between Pye,Bartelli,Assirati,Kovacs and Thesz on his tours here.