In the Early 1960's that Promoting Genius and Publicity Guru-PAUL LINCOLN had Built-Up
a Stable of Great Wrestlers and was becoming more and more Successful!
He was also becoming a Major Headache and Rival for JOINT PROMOTIONS-Especially
in the SOUTH-Where his Shows were Playing to Packed Houses!Bold and Controversial
as ever his Next Move still came as a 'Surprise'!
In JANUARY 1966 at the end of a DALE MARTIN Show-LINCOLN'S Wrestler Voicepiece
WESTMINSTER'S 'JUDO' AL HAYES jumped into the Ring and threw down a Huge
Gauntlet!-The PAUL LINCOLN Roster of Wrestlers would Take-On Wrestlers Signed to
JOINT PROMOTIONS in a CHALLENGE!!...On TELEVISION or Anywhere else!!
With Side Money at Stake this was a Masterstroke by LINCOLN!- He was in a Win-Win
Situation!!-If the CHALLENGE was Declined..He had another Publicity Vehicle!! But if it
was Accepted..at the Very Best...Possible TELEVISION Exposure for his Stars!!
Below...The Challenge!...But what happened next??-Does ANGLO know?-Does HACK
know?.......
MAIN MASK
I asked this question on Wrestling Heritage's forum some years ago (1966 New Years Day Ring Invasion) questioning that surely such a collection of colourful and in some cases well known persons could have gone un-noticed in the audience that afternoon. Also how did they know the exact moment to invade the ring (just after the adverts and before the next bout)? What about the half - hearted atttempt by the MC to prevent them from entering the ring? The answers that I received were generally that it was pre-arranged and the takeover/amalgamation had already been signed and sealed; it did make good television however. I did see Marino, Wild Man Of Borneo,Quasimodo and Sky Hi Lee wrestle at Newcastle before I finished working there in mid 1966 but they didn't exactly drag the punters in off the streets.
Think we have mentioned this match before Main Mask, March 9th at the Granada Theatre, a double disqualification (keeping both men happy I am sure!).
Hi Main Mask
Doctor Death v Johnny Czeslaw, the first masked wrestler to appear at the Albert Hall, that May - that certainly defined total integration.
But what does integration mean?
The Lincoln wrestlers were wrestling DM wrestlers right from the start but, seemingly, without the needle and fanfare that your marvellous handbills indicated.
After a while they seemed to move backwards with Hunter, for instance, facing predominantly the likes of Hayes and Steadman and even the Wild Man (ridiculous mismatch) well into the late sixties.
It seems like there was integration, then de-integration ... but thankfully no disintegration.
Not quite sure what you're not agreeing with ☺
But sure. Take-over/merger/sell-out/bankruptcy .... who knows.
Trying to move on with this, though, and applying my own logic from before: the very fact that the Lincoln wrestlers were presented on tv was a sign in itself that Dale Martin had total control. They wouldn't have let Paul Lincoln in on it. The tv contract was the jewel in the crown.
In the coming months, far from feuding, the same Lincoln guys were billed against each other and trotted out their well rehearsed bouts around the Dale Martin venues.
I agree that much more could have been made of it - from our point of view. At the time, the vast majority of fans wouldn't have been aware of the different promoters and certainly not interested in giving allegiance to one or the other.
I don't agree Anglo. Although it was a DM/Paul Lincoln business deal (I notice you say "takes over" though have questioned that in the past) the deal (whatever it was) had national repercussions as the Lincoln men were now available for all the Joint Promotion members. Much, much more could have been made of this challenge on a national basis. We could have had challenges all over the country. Maybe a bit of show was made in Dale Martin land but the rest were too short sighted or lazy to be bothered.
To me it was just good business.
When one company takes over another, it is important to keep both brand names going so as not to dilute the value. This sensibly enhanced the value of the Lincoln wrestlers that DM had acquired.
This was completely a Dale Martin initiative as they wouldn't have let any other promoter near the precious tv wrestling slot without total control.
All excliting stuff that January but in essence the Lincoln wrestlers just merged in with the Dale Martin crew. They all had a good fair crack at glory but several disappeared after a few years: Fontayne, Steadman, Hunter .... Others like Cortez, Sargeant and Boscik flourished with Dale Martin and quickly were bestowed with national titles.
Norman Morrell had such a stranglehold on most of his wrestlers in the North, I couldn't see this catching on, up there.
This was given considerable coverage in the TV Times in 1966
You can read our account of it here
1966 And They Think It's All Over
It struck me as a half hearted affair, in the north anyway. I did see one poster advertising the challenge. Dave Larsen challenging the Joint man, who I forget. I think it was at Bolton but not sure. I saw no sign of any challenges in Morrell land. As most of the Lincoln men were southern based it's hardly a great surprise.
Well?-Did JOINT PROMOTIONS Accept PAUL LINCOLN's Challenge??
The Answer is Below!!..At least DALE MARTIN DID Accept!!
So HACK-ANGLO-Anyone else?-What happened next?....
MAIN MASK