Following on from the Austrain wrestlers question, i wondered if anyone knew whether or not Otto Wanz ever faced Germany's Roland Bock or our own Pat Roach? I thought perhaps clashes between these men may have occured during some of the european tournaments but i've drawn a blank so far in my searches.
Both Bock and Roach were roughly equal in size and would have been a match for the bulky Austrian during the 1970s.
Thank you for your posting Gernot. This bout you mention may well be the same bout that I said, in my 20th February posting on this topic, that I had read about in a British wrestling magazine. It is nice to have it confirmed from a second source, as you are never quite sure how much truth there is in the reports of overseas bouts of British wrestlers.
I have heard that Pat Roach was very highly regarded in the German and Austrian wrestling scene and it seems that he was, if he was wrestling in a bout billed as a world title qualifier, then this was the case.
There was a match on June 30th 1977 in Graz between Otto Wanz and Pat Roach. It was billed as a qualifcation for the world title. After 30 minutes Otto pinns Roach in front of 5000 fans for the win.
If Roland Bock had'nt retired due to health issues in the early 1980s the scene in Europe and Wanz's domination may have looked differently these days. Bock held the VDB-World Heavyweight title, Wanz the CWA.
During Antonio Inoki's CATCH Tour 1978 Otto Wanz only managed a draw against Inoki. Bock too fought a least a couple of drawn contests against the Japanese star before defeating Inoki in their final encounter. Wanz would lose in 7 minutes of a contest against Inoki via Inoki's Octopus submission hold in a tournament in Japan.
In December 1979 during Andre the Giant's CATCH tour Bock fought a No-Contest bout against Andre. A month following this bout Bock was hospitalized. Veins in Bock's thighs had burst. It was suspected that this had occured due to Bock suplexing Andre during their melee.
That was August 1974 I think Ost? (26th?), Bock defeated Wanz at the same Munster Tournament the following week, 2nd September 1974.
Bock and Wanz were in the 1974 Münster tournament and had a couple of time limit draws.
Hi alanapaily, the Wrestling Scene magazine that I read about the Otto Wanz vs Pat Roach bout in was the Joint Promotions version. I think it ran from early 1977 until about 1980, produced on about a quarterly basis. It was always on sale at the wrestling shows I went to in Crewe. I have copies of the first 8 or 9 issues and still enjoy reading them. It focused mainly on the British scene but did have articles in each issue on some European or American wrestling.
Thanks gentlemen, your information is much appreciated. Can i ask where you discovered your info Saxonwolf? I've been scouring the "interweb" and have'nt been able to trace any bouts between Bock and Wanz. In saying that, i'm not the most gifted in searching the web LOL. Wanz although bulky during the 1970s, was no where near as obese as he was during the 1980s. So their encounters may have made for interesting viewing,particularly as i'm not sure if Wanz was a promoter or a world champion during this period.
Details concerning Roland Bock are at best difficult to find. From what i've gleaned he may have held a world title. He wrestled a draw with Antonio Inoki in Japan, but when Inoki fought Bock in europe Bock was declared the winner at the end of the bout. I believe the contest in europe was televised in Japan, much to the disappointment of both Inoki and the Japanese audience. It's said that Bock had the reputation of being a "shooter."
I think the afore mentioned bout may have been re- uploaded to youtube (as stated by Romeo) many years ago, youtube also held a copy of the Inoki/Bock Japanese contest along with other videos of Bock facing other Japanese opponents. Unfortunately these videos were taken down before i managed to copy them.
John, The Wrestling Scene magazine you mention, was/is it an American publication? As Joint promotions brought out a mag by the same name. I've got a gut feeling it's the American version. It was a fantastic magazine that covered results from around the world."Ringsport" editor Evan R. Treharne supplied the regular British article. The write up on the European tournaments used to be one of my favourite parts of the magazine. Unfortunately i didn't start buying it until around 1980.
Roland Bock defeated Otto Wanz a few times in the mid 70's, and they had a few no contest matches, from what I can see.
I have a copy of the Wrestling Scene magazine that I bought at the first wrestling show that I ever went to, in October 1977. One article in it discusses the European wrestling scene and mentions a tournament in Graz where 'there was red bearded Pat Roach from Birmingham brushing aside all opposition on the way to a final day showdown with local hero Otto Wanz, the mighty Austrian heavyweight. Massive press coverage preceded the contest. The contest started before a packed five thousand crowd and it looked like it would be settled on points until Wanz snatched a fall seconds before the 20 minute gong'.
An interesting bout on YouTube is Roland Bock vs Antonio Inoki (50 mins).Sorry can't give the link but it only comes up when you put in wrestler Roland Bock.Worth a watch.