The Doctor Will See You

Paul Lincoln must have lived a great life, at that time, he was there at the birth of British rock and roll, at the heart of it, with his cafe and the skiffle boom, and he was a major player in one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment, with his wrestling promotion, putting himself front and centre within that, as Doctor Death.

Swinging London, the Swinging 60's, and he was hopefully making a lot of money.

I always wished I'd seen the real Doctor Death. After reading this I wish it even more. This website is full of fantastic pieces and this must be one of the best.

I agree with Ron. The Dr Death piece wasn't just a great read, but it took me right back to those days when I'd go to the Hackney Empire to watch the good doctor in the vain hope that I would see him get unmasked. I was the wrestling equivalent to a new born baby and always thought that one day it would either be Ray Hunter, Mike Marino or Al Hayes who would get the mask off. I remember screaming when Marino tried pulling it off but of course it was never going to get beyond DD's nose! Yes, in those early days I was truly innocent but Wrestling World could have come and asked many of the young wrestling fans who surrounded me who DD was because it did appear that I was the only one there who didn't know he was Paul Lincoln. But no one actually knew anything about Lincoln outsider of him being the promoter and so far as I knew, no one had ever seen even a photo of him back then! But it didn't really matter because we all went back for the next promotion because everyone wanted to see him lose his mask even though we knew that the magic would vanish if he ever did!

I disagree that Kendo was the greatest masked wrestler for the simple reason that Paul Lincoln brought colour to wrestling at a time when it badly needed it. By the time Kendo arrived, wrestling was a far more sophisticated model. But in their own ways they were both brilliant and both took our sport to heights it may otherwise not have achieved because whatever aficionados may say, pure wrestling can't survive without heels and heels like Dr Death were few and far between.

Great article...

Thanks Ron, pleased to hear you enjoyed it.

It's a fantastic story and a great piece of History. To know your wrestling it's about more than what was on T.V. You need to know this story and others like the Manchester Night Clubs , Holiday Camps , the 1930's etc.

For me it has been a great pleasure to collect many Lincoln bills covering a relative small patch of time , to get a feel of how you can make an organisation seem huge with a relatively small Roster. The trick being regulars and guests to keep it fresh.

The story explains the workings of the business to perfection. A story in tandem with all that went on in Joint with the McManus v Pallo TV feud , Billy Two Rivers and many other tourists.

Somehow Lincoln got the punters through the doors and left a powerful memory that we are still talking about.

I can only differ on one point. For me Kendo Nagasaki has to be the greatest Masked Wrestler of all.

But the Lincoln Story is a beautifully written piece.