In a word, 'no'. Without the gimmicks - the showmanship, the flamboyant gear, the characters, the posturing, the goading of the audience, etc. - professional wrestling would have much, much less appeal. Yes, you can have an impressive, less glitzy, technical match in among the rest, and the true fans do enjoy it, but it only works as part of an overall package in which the more entertaining wrestlers and matches take centre stage.

You make a very good point: it is largely thanks to Bert and Vic that I got into tag-team wrestling when watching pro wrestling on TV as a boy.

One of the all-time masters of the pro ring. A wrestler that I admired greatly as soon as I started to watch professional wrestling in the early 1970s. RIP.

Rollerball Rocco was one of the wrestlers that I recall as having made a real impact on British professional wrestling back in the 1970s and 80s, when I was watching wrestling as a boy/teenager. His ring presence and personality were bold, and stood out compared with many other wrestlers at the time. He was also a wrestler that understood that distinctive ring attire was a useful part of becoming a household name among wrestling fans: you only had to glance at the ring on TV to know that Rocco was in the ring. He wrestled hard and fast, interacted with the audience, and always gave his opponent a difficult time in the ring: good pro wrestling entertainment. I now realise he was a precursor of what was to become much more normal in wrestling in later years.

https://youtu.be/MdTf4aDDw5o I am presuming this is the match you're referring to? I shall watch with interest. Thank you for drawing it to our attention.

Given Jim Breaks' recent travails, if a wrestler were to re-introduce that particular hold into his repertoire, I rather suspect he will re-name it. It's a nice hold if done well.

My favourite way to see a bout end was, and is, a painful submission hold. The hold will be applied after some effective punishment of the body part that is then victim of the relevant submission hold.

Yes, I remember liking that hold back in the day, but haven't seen it used in years.

I always much preferred pro wrestling matches with timed rounds, and still do, although it's increasingly uncommon with live shows now. I grew up watching World of Sport wrestling in the early 1970s and rounds was the norm. I liked watching the wrestlers going back to their corners to assess the match, recover from a bruising hold and take stock of their opponent.