We Continue Our Series Highlighting Very Seldom Seen Wrestling Bouts:- Top Liners didn't Often Appear in Opposite Corners to One Another if NEITHER Hardly Ever Lost!! But here's Another Obscure Example where This happened!- For Decades LES KELLETT was Always a Winner-to My Best Knowledge he Only Ever Lost TWICE on T.V.-to PETER RANN and to LEE SHARRON- and Similarly RICKI STARR was Invariably The Victor in his Matches! So here We Find Them Facing Each Other at BRIGHTON!-1965! Don't Remember Any Other Contests Between These Two?-Can RON find more?? Of course-This will have been a Drawn Match?-Or No Score-Or Double K.O. Methinks! MAIN MASK

We All Know about The Handful of High Profile Matches between MICK MCMANUS and JACKIE 'MR. T.V.' PALLO!!-These have been Extensively Discussed on This Hallowed Forum for Many Years! 1967 was a Year when Several of These took place! The usual routine was to REPLICATE these Bouts at Some of The Largest Venues in The Country! The ROYAL ALBERT HALL Showcased One Such Encounter in This Year! Sorting Thru a Big Pile of My FLYERS Recently I came across This Amusing Bill for The DE MONTFORT HALL in LEICESTER in 1967! It's The 'FIGHT of a LIFETIME'!! On the REVERSE Side of The Flyer We find 2 CARTOON Caricatures of MICK and JACKIE- 'Squaring Up'!!-A Proper Novelty and Collectors' Item!! Not Sure though what the 'Music' Signifies at the Top?? MAIN MASK

2021 Proved to be The LAST BRITISH WRESTLERS' Reunion in KENT-Although at the Time We Didn't Know it! In MARCH 2020 We Lost WAYNE BRIDGES-and One of his Last Wishes was That The Reunion would continue! THAT was The Plan! But We DIDN'T Expect the Death of SARAH BRIDGES some 18 Months Later! This Culminated in the Loss of The Venue-The BRIDGES Pub in KENT which was Sold! So The AUGUST 2021 Event- The Special 30TH ANNIVERSARY Gathering Proved to be The FINAL Reunion in KENT after 3 Decades! The END of an Era! Below is The Special Souvenir Programme-In Honour of FRANK RIMER-the Excellent Compere and on The Organising Committee along with JOE D'ORAZIO-SARAH BRIDGES and Our Own KEN SOWDEN! Also a 2 Page GALLERY of Some of The Wrestling Greats Who Attended This FAB Reunion Down All Those Years!! I Really Miss it!! MAIN MASK

By 2018 The BRITISH WRESTLERS' Reunion in KENT-by Now the Largest in EUROPE-was Thriving Attracting getting on for 150 Attendees Per Year from All Over The World!! Amazingly The Nephew of GEORGES GORDIENKO Flew Over on One Occasion!! MAIN MASK was having Long One to One /Group Conversations with Great Wrestlers Like JOHNNY KINCAID-JOHNNY SOUTH and JOEY SKARLO! Also Briefer Chats with Wrestlers Like SCRUBBER DALY-BOB BARRETT and TONY ST. CLAIR! The Hi-Lite of the 2019 Event for Me was Meeting and Chatting with Our Very Own Resident ANTIPODEAN-The Great MR. OSTY who had Travelled Over from Down Under That Year!! In 2023 and 2024 DALE STORM's WRESTLING REUNION SCOTLAND was going Great Guns with COLIN JOYNSON-JOHNNY KINCAID and JOHNNY KIDD Regularly Making The Journey NORTH! Plus Our Friends SANJAY BAGGA-KEN SOWDEN-and The Popular MC and Referee LEE BAMBER from LDN Checking In!-Alongside and Perennially-Our Very Own HACK!-And of course The SCOTTISH and NORTH EAST Wrestlers like JIMMY DEVLIN and LES PREST!! TATANTULA/MUMMY comes Every Year Now too! When The KENT Reunion Finally Closed in 2021 due to the Sad Death of WAYNE BRIDGES and Later his Wife SARAH-LINDSAY-CRUSHER MASON's Daughter decided to Keep a SOUTHERN Reunion going Based in BRENTWOOD in ESSEX with JOHNNY SAINT as President as a Continuing Homage to BWR at The BRIDGES! Last Year MAIN MASK spent an Enjoyable Day at JOHNNY KINCAID's Table! So nearly Up-To-Date Now!! MAIN MASK

We Ended PART 1 in 2016 with The BRITISH WRESTLERS' Reunion Thriving at The BRIDGES Pub in KENT under the Superb Auspices and Management of WAYNE and SARAH BRIDGES-FRANK RIMER and Our Own KEN SOWDEN! That Same Year We Witnessed The Birth of The BLACKPOOL WRESTLERS' Reunion! with-Our Own HACK and JACKIE McCANN with Input from ROY WOOD!-This Proved to be Popular and Many Now Departed Wrestlers always came like SAM BETTS and 'DIRTY' DICKIE SWALES Who Attended in The Early Years! Also DALE STORM and The SCOTTISH Wrestlers along with LES PREST and The NORTH EAST Boys were Regulars to This Event!-Other Stalwarts Included The MITCHELL Brothers-JOHNNY KINCAID and TONY SKARLO! It was at One of The Early BLACKPOOL Reunions That MAIN MASK had The Pleasure Of Meeting and Chatting with Our Own Great RON HISTORYO!! The Following Year My Good Friend DALE STORM decided to Launch WRESTLING REUNION SCOTLAND Based in AYR!-With Close Affiliation to The BRITISH WRESTLERS' Reunion in KENT This NORTHERN Gathering was Very Soon going from Strength to Strength with Increasing Numbers and a Fabulous Buffet! This is Created Every Year by Mrs STORM-Diamond Lil!! I am Proud to be The WRS Official Wrestling Historian! Everyone is Welcome at WRS-held Each Year in SEPTEMBER! Another Long-Running REUNION is Held TWICE a Year at LEEDS!-This is Different being More Selective as it Only Includes-Nowadays-Wrestlers and Their Families plus Invited Guests! Down the Years Other Smaller Reunions have Popped-Up-such as One in ELLESMERE PORT run by MONTY SWANN-but This Handful of Events tended to be Ephemeral in Longevity! More to Come in PART 3!! MAIN MASK

Remembering and Celebrating The Golden Days of BRITISH Wrestling-1930-1988 is VITAL to Keep Those Years Fresh and Alive in the Memory!-To Help Keep The Flame Burning Bright-We have of course Our Wonderful WRESTLING HERITAGE where Still Hundreds of Us Convene and Communicate Via The FORUM as well as Titans Like HACK-ANGLO and RON who Manage a Vast Amount of Detail and Historical Information Superbly!-Wrestling is STILL Hugely Popular-Steeped in Our DNA and a Big Part of BRITISH Sporting CULTURE! But in 1991 a NEW Dimension was Created-a NEW Concept! Inspired by a Comment made by CATWEAZLE-GARY COOPER-The 'Idea' of Organising a REUNION for Wrestlers was Mooted where Former Colleagues and Friends could Meet-Up again to 'Re-Live' the Old Days!-TONY SKARLO Took-On the Task of 'Developing' an Annual 'Get-Together'-and Legends like JOE D'ORAZIO and WAYNE BRIDGES soon got Involved! The First REUNION was a 'Flop'!!-Held in a Back Garden-it seems ONLY 3!!! Wrestlers Turned-Up!! The Idea Looked Immediately 'Dead in the Water'!! A Better 'Venue' was Needed and JOE CORNELIUS Offered the Use of his Pub in LONDON! After This the REUNIONS were Really Born! More and More came Over the Next Few Years to Include Die Hard Wrestling Fans! But another 'Crisis' Loomed when JOE decided to Sell Up and Leave for SPAIN! Luckily WAYNE BRIDGES Stepped in and Offered his Own Pub-The PRINCE OF ORANGE in GREENWICH and the rest is History! This Began a Golden Period of Over 2 Decades with the Yearly Events under his Stewardship! Everyone was Welcome and Attendances were Always 100+ A Special Souvenir was Produced Every Year and Even Wrestling Legends like TONY ST. CLAIR and The Fabulous MARK 'ROLLERBALL' ROCCO Jetted-In from Abroad to Enjoy the Day! The BRITISH WRESTLERS' REUNION's Final Home was THE BRIDGES Pub in KENT-it became the 2ND Biggest in EUROPE! Many of The KENT Reunions were FILMED for Posterity and I have Several of them in my Wrestling DVD Collection! In 2015-After YEARS of Asking KENDO NAGASAKI came to THE BRIDGES for the Very FIRST Time EVER-and was The 'Star' of The Show!-This Reunion was Filmed-I have it- and Just for Good Measure KENDO was back AGAIN in 2016!-The REUNION's 25TH Anniversary Year!! So Many Wrestlers came to THE BRIDGES-SEAN REGAN Flew Over from SOUTH AFRICA Once JOE CORNELIUS came in from SPAIN! I Met LOTS of Wrestlers down The Years Including:- EARL MAYNARD-JOHNNY SAINT-BOB KIRKWOOD-JACKIE PALLO JNR-FRANK CULLEN- BRIAN 'GOLDBELT' MAXINE who came EVERY YEAR-JOHNNY KINCAID-COLIN JOYNSON- DALE STORM And So Many More! And Last but certainly NOT Least Our Own HACK and ANGLO Attended for Many Years too! MAIN MASK has been to So Many and Below I'm Sharing My Collection of Souvenir Programmes with you All!! More to Come! MAIN MASK

Here's a Treat for BERNARD-His Hero NORMAN WALSH is in an Eliminator with MIKE MARINO- The Winner to Take-On LOU THESZ for his WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT Title at...Wait for it.......... MIDDLESBROUGH!! Below My Original FAB Programme for This Match-I Love The Big BLACK Block Font for the Wrestlers' Names!-It's for DECEMBER 7TH 1957! The WORLD Title Contest is 'Promised' for BEFORE Christmas 1957! Well!?-did it Happen Then?-Over to RON?! Also on This Bill ERNIE RILEY Challenges for The EUROPEAN LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT Title! Another MIDDLESBROUGH Wrestler here too!- PETER CARIS??-Not heard of him at all??? MAIN MASK

Suddenly Out of Nowhere in 1957-A 'Mystery' HEAVYWEIGHT Wrestler Appeared! It seems his 'Identity' was a 'Secret'! He Appears at NEW ST. JAMES HALL in NEWCASTLE and it is Stated That he is a 'Refugee' and doesn't want Who he is to be Known! Why Then? I would Venture here That The DATE is VERY Significant Indeed! Remember what happened in 1956?? Yes!-The HUNGARIAN Uprising!! Was This Wrestler Fleeing This Attempted 'Coup' Was RADAK In Fact Non-Other Than TIBOR SZAKACS?? Below 3 of My Original NEWCASTLE Programmes for Early 1957- Featuring This 'Enigma' of a 'Newcomer'! What do We think?? MAIN MASK

Well My Beloved KINGS HALL-BELLE VUE-MANCHESTER was Truly the MOST Iconic of All the BRITISH Wrestling Venues in The U.K.!!-Why? Apart from being a 6,000 Seat Stadium-Purpose Built for Wrestling and Boxing!- it was also Part of a Huge Complex Leisure Centre that Included a Fun Fair-A Zoo-Speedway-Side Shows and Many More Various Attractions-Such As The Ghost Train and The Log Flume and The Fun House with its Hall of Mirrors! A Family Must Go Place on a SATURDAY Nite-I used to take Girls Most Weeks! Following-On from KATHLEEN LOOK's Wrestling Promotions in the 1930's along with ATHOLL OAKELEY-A New Incarnation of Promoting The Shows began in JANUARY 1945 under the Aegis of DICK and JESSE ROGERS-and it was to Run for 12 Years in all!! Famous for its 'Signature' either RED/WHITE or BLUE/WHITE Coloured Programmes JESSIE and DICK 'THE DORMOUSE' Put -On Some Great Bills Featuring All the Top Wrestlers of The Day! But Sadly in DECEMBER 1956 Their Time as Promoters came to an End! And from JANUARY 1957 a New Era Started under JOINT PROMOTIONS! Below I'm Sharing My Original Programme for The Final Ever ROGERS's Show! Coupled with One of My Original DM Programmes for 1957! Times Move On-Don't They?? From 1957 Special Flyers were Included within Programmes! See Below also One of My Originals! Also See Below a Selection of Some of My Original BELLE VUE Programmes from DICK and JESSIE's Early Days Promoting Wrestling at The KINGS HALL! MAIN MASK

Back to the Beginning of 1957 for Our Poster This Weekend and a Visit to NEW ST. JAMES HALL in NEWCASTLE! Top Liner NORMAN WALSH is Facing GERMAN Opposition in the Shape of RUDI SCHUMACHER! Also here is One of My Favourite HEAVYWEIGHTS-DENNIS MITCHELL who is in with 'Golden Boy' MIKE MARINO! And the Third HEAVYWEIGHT Contest Features a Young GWYN DAVIES! In the 1950's the Heavy Boys seemed to Dominate Bills!! Plus An Article on LOU THESZ! MAIN MASK

Our Programme for This SUNDAY is for STROUD at The STRATFORD PARK LEISURE CENTRE in 1980! The Bill Topper is yet another Titanic Clash of Champions-between 2 Excellent Top-Line Wrestlers- One being a Personal All-Time Favourite of Mine The Fabulous MARK 'ROLLERBALL' ROCCO Taking-On MARTY JONES!-These Matches were ALWAYS Great Value to Watch with Non-Stop Action and Great Wrestling!-Hard and Tough Bouts with NO Quarter Given on either side!! In an Interview JONES Describes ROCCO as 'Out of This World'!!-Two REAL Champions going at it!! Another BRITISH Champion is here too-STEVE GREY at LIGHTWEIGHT! Plus an 'Embryo' BRITISH BULLDOG too in his Early Incarnation as YOUNG DAVID!! Great Bill! MAIN MASK

In The 1950's the Body Builder who was Destined to become BIG DADDY had a Very Up and Down Wrestling Career!- Ranging from Holding a 'Version' of The BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT Championship to just making Sporadic Appearances here and there! He Never Really Achieved The Top of The Sport which left him 'Disillusioned' with Wrestling! In the 1960's he would later Turn his Back for a Few Years on the Grapple Game Altogether! Below We find him at NEW ST. JAMES HALL in NEWCASTLE in FEBRUARY 1957-Coming into Conflict with ANGLO's Hero-ALAN GARFIELD!! Also despite being 'Promoted' he Never seemed to Really Inspire the 'Allegiance' of Fans! MAIN MASK

A Bonus for This Weekend's Poster for Our Newsletter-One for The 11TH and One for the 12TH!! Firstly We Return to The EMPIRE HACKNEY in 1963 for Another LINCOLN-ALEXANDER Promotion!-Topping The Bill-'REBEL' RAY HUNTER-The HEAVYWEIGHT Champion of the EMPIRE Takes-On 'GOLDEN BOY' MIKE MARINO The 'Official' MID-HEAVYWEIGHT Champion of The WORLD!!!-Probably a Win for MARINO there?! The Excellent TONY CHARLES is here and also HEAVYWEIGHT-GEOFF PORTZ-although NOT Opposing!! Not to mention-'NODDY' (JOHNNY) MAJOR before he went into Politics!-Ha,Ha!! Quite a Good Card Really!! MAIN MASK Bonus Programme for SOUTHAMPTON on the 11TH-Featuring One of My Favourite Heavyweights- BLACK (WILD) ANGUS who is in with 'JUDO' AL HAYES!- I'd Love to have seen that Match-Up!

Well!-The First Newsletter of The New Year!-And Our Flyer is for The HACKNEY EMPIRE in 1963! We have a LINCOLN-ALEXANDER Promotion Featuring a Tag Match between the Notorious DOCTOR DEATH with his 'Buddy' GORI ED MANGOTICH Who are Taking-On JUDO AL HAYES and his 'Assistant'-The AMERICAN ROY LE GAROIA?-never heard of the Latter Wrestler!!? As Well We See The DEAN Brothers in Solo Bouts! Plus JOEY SCARLO is in with 'GORILLA' REG RAY! I had a Long One-To-One Chat with JOEY at a KENT Reunion Some Years Back Now! Really Nice Guy-He told Me a Few Interesting Stories about Early 1960's Wrestling-None of which I will Repeat on This Forum though!-Suffice it to say They were 'Eye Openers'! Sadly Only a Few Months after This JOEY Passed Away!! MAIN MASK

Sorting Thru Piles of 1980's Wrestling Programmes Recently I came across a Few DALE MARTIN Shows Featuring a Wrestler I've Never heard of!-And neither has the A-Z! CHESTERFIELD SMITH is The Ring Monicker Here! The Year is 1983-The Month (for Both) is MARCH! We are told that CHESTERFIELD is a WELTERWEIGHT and he's an 'Ambitious New Discovery' and he's 'Tipped for the Top'!-Really?-Well he Never made it did he?!! He seemed to Operate around the MIDLANDS-HANLEY and NOTTINGHAM Specifically! Has Anyone heard of this Chap?-Let alone seen him Wrestle?? Over to RON?? MAIN MASK

Here's a Festive Treat for Our FORUM Readers!- My Original Programme for NEW ST. JAMES HALL in NEWCASTLE Featuring The (then) WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT Champion-LOU THESZ Taking-On the Very Capable and Skilful SANDY ORFORD-of MASKED BLACK ANGEL and THE MASK Fame! Plus a Great Supporting Bill! And Guess What?-NO Sign of BERT ASSERATI??-Where was he?? I Know Someone Who States that THESZ 'Ducked' BERT!! He also Maintains JACK SHERRY 'Ducked' BERT too!! Really??-I don't think so!! A Real Gem This Programme!! MAIN MASK

Another Trip Back to My Beloved KINGS HALL-BELLE VUE for This Weekend's Programme- Back to 1962! Top Bout being BILLY JOYCE against MASAMBULA!-Would have Liked to see That Match!! Also KEITH MARTINELLI-who for Me was a Really Good but Underrated Wrestler who is in with 'BLACK DIAMOND'-ABE GINSBURGH!-Bet That was a Great Bout! EARL MAYNARD is also on This Programme! I Met EARL Some Years Ago Now at One of The BRITISH Wrestlers' Reunions at KENT!- I Remember him being Very Friendly!-He won his Bout This Nite! MAIN MASK

2 for the Price of 1 for Our Posters for This Weekend's Newsletter! To Start with We are at My Beloved KINGS HALL BELLE VUE in MANCHESTER in 1962! My Original Programme for This Show-Complete with Match Results Annotated- Features a Cracking Heavyweight Contest between JACK PYE and THE MASK with the Hooded Mystery Man emerging Victorious! Plus LES KELLETT notching-up yet Another Victory too! Also We are at PETERBOROUGH in 1966-where the Best Bout Features STEVE VEIDOR- who I was Chatting with Only Last AUGUST-Really Nice Guy-in a Tough Match-Up against One of My Favourite MASKED Men-The Original ZEBRA KID! My Original Programme also has JOHN HENRY YEARSLEY coming into Conflict with ANTONIO ROCCA-Who I saw Live a Few Times at My Beloved BELLE VUE!! MAIN MASK