Do any esteemed members of Heritage, recall a tournament (one night or other duration) or tournaments, remembering any of the intricacies of the booking, if there were any?
Anglo, the one night tournament was a favourite in Australia. I remember one such night when instead of a bye, they didled us with a Lewin v DeNucci (may have been the other Italian, Milano). Now Lewin was a big favourite of mine, however on this occasion he was complicit in a bit of a sham. The two men never left their feet in the fifteen minute match, when one tried to 'post' the other they WALKED together across the ring, each one taking turns in being the 'thrower' and the 'thrown' until one would gently feel himself up up against the corner turnbuckle. Hammer-locks would be applied with the trapped arm held loosely at waist level and would be stepped out of with ease, reminiscent of Ernie Wise stepping away from Eric Morecombe's hand on shoulder, when Eric challenged 'get out of that'!
Anyway, the upshot was, a draw. This meant that two babyfaces were eliminated without actually losing a match. It was a throwaway, nothing match, but it did allow for Roy Heffernan to lose in one semi, but then much to the shock of the crowd, turn from heel to babyface and see the hated Skull Murphy, win the final over Red Bastien and become even more a box office attraction, as all fans wished to be in the building, to witness his downfall whenever it should occur!
I knew I had seen something , but it turns out it was "Tag". Can't remember any results but it was a decent nights entertainment. Well matched teams and a good singles match as well.
(still waiting for the furniture to arrive, John, delayed by foot and mouth, then mad cow, then Brexit, then Corona ....)
I was always very uncomfortable with the six-entrant tourneys where two wrestlers had a bye to the final. But Dale Martins used this format a lot.
I did attend one evening where we had 2no. 4-man tourneys and that was more symmetrical.
The tournaments that mattered seemed to be those where some even local trophy was arranged. Peter Szakacs claimed the highlight of his career was winning a Reading tourney. I think Mary Rand presented the trophy.
I tended to witness meaningless and asymmetrical 6-manners,
Work-wise, winners like Tibor had to wrestle three times to win a tournament. Must have been gutting to be the loser after three bouts. I wonder if they got paid any more for three bouts? They juggled the time around, and the semis were often short.
It was the one nighters I expected, maybe some held over a few visits to the same hall over a period of weeks. I would imagine they could even be a couple of matches within a card that had stand alone matches also. Maybe elimination matches over a period of weeks, leading up to a title challenge, or a trophy win. I don't believe there was ever a European style tournament in the U.K. between the 60s and 70s?
Knock out tournaments and handicap tournaments came to Newcastle in the 1950's. I saw a few of these, but there did not seem to be any prizes or awards to the winner.
They did a few before the war , but in the early 1950's seemed to become popular with Dale Martins. I think I saw one at Belle Vue and if I can find it I will put it on. In the meantime here are some examples. And as I say all Dale Martins.
The real big tournaments in Europe were held in Austria and Germany every year from 1955 until the end of the twentieth century between late spring and Christmas.
Eight of us competed in a knockout tournament in Banbury in April 1993. The trophy was presented by a local fighter, possibly a kick boxer. The competitors were Mal Sanders, John Elijah, Steve 'Gunner' Johnson, John Prayter, Phil 'Flash' Barker, Dale Broughton, Dick 'The Bruiser' Harrison and myself, Sapper James. I lost by submission to Dick, who later lost in the final to Dale. The referee for the night was Johnny Kidd and the promoter was Neil Evans (Tiny Tom Thumb). I remember losing my bearings at the end of my bout and I kept heading down the wrong aisle for the changing room. In the end, some little kid took my hand and led me there. There was a crowd of seven hundred or so and I believe it was filmed by some local cable T.V. channel.
Sounds like a good night Ron!
Anglo, the one night tournament was a favourite in Australia. I remember one such night when instead of a bye, they didled us with a Lewin v DeNucci (may have been the other Italian, Milano). Now Lewin was a big favourite of mine, however on this occasion he was complicit in a bit of a sham. The two men never left their feet in the fifteen minute match, when one tried to 'post' the other they WALKED together across the ring, each one taking turns in being the 'thrower' and the 'thrown' until one would gently feel himself up up against the corner turnbuckle. Hammer-locks would be applied with the trapped arm held loosely at waist level and would be stepped out of with ease, reminiscent of Ernie Wise stepping away from Eric Morecombe's hand on shoulder, when Eric challenged 'get out of that'!
Anyway, the upshot was, a draw. This meant that two babyfaces were eliminated without actually losing a match. It was a throwaway, nothing match, but it did allow for Roy Heffernan to lose in one semi, but then much to the shock of the crowd, turn from heel to babyface and see the hated Skull Murphy, win the final over Red Bastien and become even more a box office attraction, as all fans wished to be in the building, to witness his downfall whenever it should occur!
I knew I had seen something , but it turns out it was "Tag". Can't remember any results but it was a decent nights entertainment. Well matched teams and a good singles match as well.
(still waiting for the furniture to arrive, John, delayed by foot and mouth, then mad cow, then Brexit, then Corona ....)
I was always very uncomfortable with the six-entrant tourneys where two wrestlers had a bye to the final. But Dale Martins used this format a lot.
I did attend one evening where we had 2no. 4-man tourneys and that was more symmetrical.
The tournaments that mattered seemed to be those where some even local trophy was arranged. Peter Szakacs claimed the highlight of his career was winning a Reading tourney. I think Mary Rand presented the trophy.
I tended to witness meaningless and asymmetrical 6-manners,
Work-wise, winners like Tibor had to wrestle three times to win a tournament. Must have been gutting to be the loser after three bouts. I wonder if they got paid any more for three bouts? They juggled the time around, and the semis were often short.
It was the one nighters I expected, maybe some held over a few visits to the same hall over a period of weeks. I would imagine they could even be a couple of matches within a card that had stand alone matches also. Maybe elimination matches over a period of weeks, leading up to a title challenge, or a trophy win. I don't believe there was ever a European style tournament in the U.K. between the 60s and 70s?
Knock out tournaments and handicap tournaments came to Newcastle in the 1950's. I saw a few of these, but there did not seem to be any prizes or awards to the winner.
They did a few before the war , but in the early 1950's seemed to become popular with Dale Martins. I think I saw one at Belle Vue and if I can find it I will put it on. In the meantime here are some examples. And as I say all Dale Martins.
Although we know there were knock out tournaments, Ruslan has uncovered loads, I never came across one myself.
The real big tournaments in Europe were held in Austria and Germany every year from 1955 until the end of the twentieth century between late spring and Christmas.
Eight of us competed in a knockout tournament in Banbury in April 1993. The trophy was presented by a local fighter, possibly a kick boxer. The competitors were Mal Sanders, John Elijah, Steve 'Gunner' Johnson, John Prayter, Phil 'Flash' Barker, Dale Broughton, Dick 'The Bruiser' Harrison and myself, Sapper James. I lost by submission to Dick, who later lost in the final to Dale. The referee for the night was Johnny Kidd and the promoter was Neil Evans (Tiny Tom Thumb). I remember losing my bearings at the end of my bout and I kept heading down the wrong aisle for the changing room. In the end, some little kid took my hand and led me there. There was a crowd of seven hundred or so and I believe it was filmed by some local cable T.V. channel.