Hi all, I wonder if you experts on here who know a million times more than me can answer these fairly trivial questions, please?
Firstly, I have read a lot on here about some of the famous feuds that were stage-managed over the years - to our great enjoyment at the time, of course.
Were there any long-running feuds where the guys involved really DID hate each other, or was it a case of having the fight and then a drink together afterwards?
My second question is whether some wrestlers disliked turning up for their fight to be told "you lose 2-1", or was it just a job to them? I know there are instances of people going "off script" (Peter Preston as an example) but I presume the vast majority obediently did what they were told. Would they ever have queried being told to lose (or indeed to win) or did they just get on with it to ensure being offered further fights by the promoters?
I think I read on here a while ago that Steve Logan often did not know who he was fighting and simply turned up at the venue. I guess that might perhaps might answer my second question in that it was "just" a job?
Any responses would be read with great interest.
Many thanks and kind regards to all.
Peter
Hi PETER S-Wrestling was Just Like Real Life!!- Some People you Meet or Work
With You Really Don't Like On A Personal Level!-So Two Such Wrestlers Finding
Themselves in Opposite Corners would Find 'The Losing Pill 'Bitter to Swallow!!
However Most of The ACTUAL Bouts around The 'Result' were Largely 'not in any
way 'Rehearsed' Outside of a Certain Routine' with The Other Wrestler!!
Thus a Contest Could Easily Turn Out to be a 'Harder Affair' than it would be against
a Mutually Respectful Pair of Protagonists!!
It Was Also about 'On The Day Itself' too!!
JACKIE PALLO Tells Us Regarding LES KELLETT That he'd 'Sooner go in with 3
Wrestlers Than Fight LES if LES Was In a 'Bad Mood'!!
Another Example would be WAYNE BRIDGES-Then World HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion- Losing by 2!! Straight Falls to PETE ROBERTS On T.V.!!
KENT WALTON Stated he'd 'Never Seen BRIDGES Lose 2-0 Before'!!
Either They were Great Actors During and After The Match-...OR There was
Genuine Enmity Between Them!- In This Case I Tend to Lean Toward The Latter!!
MAIN MASK
Adrian Street and Johnny Kincaid had a series of matches at Norwich in which they knocked hell out of each other. In one match Street got hold of a steel comb from somewhere and raked it across Kincaid‘s neck leaving a nasty welt. They were fantastic no quarter given matches. I was later to find out that both men had a personal grievance (Details not repeated here) which spilled into their ring work.
If this was not the case, they were certainly convincing as not being a ‘work’.
If there was any feuds it made sense to keep them outside the ring, why jeopardize future bookings, as for a drink afterwards it would depend purely on the individuals.
I certainly think in later years it was just a job for Steve Logan as his bouts definitely became more lacklustre as we went into the 1970s, as for winning or losing you got the same pay regardless and as it was before merchandise such as t-shirts I don't think it had an effect long term. The wrestlers wanted to be working regularly not being precious about results.
I think wrestlers cared about their wages . The result was part of the job.
It was a hard mans game , but the career records are not real , that's why records were never kept.
I should imagine most did their job with pride.