Hopefully I have done this correctly, and will see you all there!

Many of us have been talking to each other on this site, and the old 1Stop Wrestling site, before that, for about 20 years! When I first stumbled across the old 1Stop Wrestling site, it was to find out more information about what had happened to the Wrestlers of my youth, a sort of "where are they now?", that you see about pop groups and actors. I always wanted to believe that the Wrestlers we grew up liking (and hating, of course!) had been well paid and had all retired to a comfortable life. It was buying, and reading, "The Wrestling" that changed a lot of that thinking. It told of Mick McManus in a nice apartment filled with antiques, Jackie Pallo in a bungalow with various old Saab's outside. Kendo Nagasaki in a large country house. Adrian Street living in Florida. So some people had done well, but what about the rest?, I found out that Iron Man Steve Logan ended up working on the sea front, in the North West, Johnny Czeslaw, was in an old person's home, blind, Dynamite Kid was in a wheelchair. Then other questions popped into my head; why did the likes of Mike Marino, Brian Maxine and Count Bartelli hold belts and titles for decades?, did they own the belts?, if so, why did the promoters play along with the fictitious titles that these wrestlers (at least in Bartelli's case) bestow upon themselves? As for results, the interesting thing became "why" did someone go on a long winning streak, or lose to an unlikely opponent. What happened if someone gave you a hard time in the ring (like Cliff Belshaw with Jackie Pallo, in Pallo's book), did the promotor have words with them after? My favourite part of the business, as those who have read things that I put on here will know, was about the international travel, which back in the 60's and 70's, must have been fantastic. Finding results online about the Hell's Angels in Spain, or Judo Chris Adams in Mexico, Ringo Rigby in Los Angeles. Travelling the world at someone else's expense, and working for around 20 minutes a night.

Just to be clear, my reference to "styles" was more to do with Cornish and Devon vs Cumberland and Westmorland vs Lancashire, etc., not between the pro-wrestling companies.

Interesting stuff, Ruslan, I think I (personally) would use the word "style", instead of the word "brand", but I can see that both words would probably work, in this instance.

I think we are over-complicating things here, somewhat. I don't think anyone would disagree that, probably due to the rise in TV set ownership, Wrestling took off in the late 50's and early 60's on ITV and one of the main beneficiaries was "the man you love to hate", Mick McManus. I've always said that Mick was as much an icon of the 1960's as The Beatles, Cilla, Twiggy the Mini (skirt), the Mini (car), Carnaby Street, etc. I don't know why he took off, but maybe an exaggerated villainous persona was missing from the TV channels and he was the ultimate (at that time) rule bender. I think we deduced (a while back) that Mick had a printing company and probably had the contract to print all the Dale Martin posters. He seems to have been a loyal company man, enough to tip off his employers about certain things. He was a very famous TV wrestler who could put bums on seats. Did the Dale Martin organization decide that the above made him a good contender to be match maker? Another thought popped into my head, probably way off base, but did we ever know exactly who were the members of the Hurst Park Syndicate? When they bought DM, did Mick see his chance and tell them he wanted a slice of the business or he was off? Didn't Tony St. Clair say that when he was told that Joint Promotions were going to put the heavyweight belt on him, it was Mick who told him, after Tony had been summonsed to Leeds to meet with the board at the Joint board meeting? I think we all suspect that McManus had a lot more involvement than we originally thought, but I still don't see a "power shift" at promoter level, not if we are using 1961 as a starting point, and then saying that the belts changed hands, briefly, years later.

Hmmmmm what you said, Anglo, was "...Once the balance of JP power had swung dramatically in Dale Martin's favour in approx 1961, Dale Martin redressed the title imbalance, claiming control of nearly all of them through the sixties. Dale Martin wanted the titles all right and claimed them as soon as they had the power..." It was, in fact, late 60's, not 1961, not claiming control of nearly all of them through the sixties, but late 60's. I don't claim to have the in-depth knowledge of the Wrestling business that a lot of you lads do, but always thought that many of the names you mention, were brought into business by Northern Promoters, along with being based in the North. Bert Royal was a Morrell man, or at least started his career with him? Zoltan arrived in the UK in Huddersfield and got his break through Ted Beresford or The Crabtree's, same with Al Miquet, I think? Maxine, not sure, I would have guessed being introduced into the business by Buddy Ward via Billy Best Promotions, but I am unsure, as I said. I have no doubt that Dale Martin enabled a lot of Wrestlers to earn very good money, by virtue of their booking of the lucrative southern area they controlled. I'm not sure that Dale Martin suddenly had control of who was awarded the belts, in the 1960's. The fact that the Joint Promotions office was in Leeds, tells its own story. As always, this is all just a bit of fun amongst old blokes who should know better!

Mike Marino is an interesting case, Bernard. As we know, he was highly regarded in the Dale Martin office, similar to Mick McManus, and both had belts that they kept for a long time. The lineage appears to be Norman Walsh has his unfortunate car accident, the belt then appears to be with Geoff Portz for a short time, and then to Mike Marino, then to Scotland's Andy Robin and then back to Marino. Maybe this was a reward to Mike Marino for his work away from the ring, in the office. But to answer your question, no, I don't see Morrell giving it up if his wrestler is still active.

"...Once the balance of JP power had swung dramatically in Dale Martin's favour in approx 1961, Dale Martin redressed the title imbalance, claiming control of nearly all of them through the sixties. Dale Martin wanted the titles all right and claimed them as soon as they had the power..." Eh?, you will have to give us a bit more information here, Anglo, as I am not sure which titles you mean?, the British titles (Mount-Evans)? They were held by Northern Wrestlers throughout most of the 1960's and through to the end of the TV era, in many cases. The obvious exception being Mike Marino holding the British Light-Heavyweight title for a long, long time. Using your reference point of Dale Martin taking all the titles from 1961, which titles are you talking about? British Lightweight Title Jim Breaks and Alan Miquet traded this one in the 1960's until Jon Cortez, 1970. British Welterweight Title Jack Dempsey until 1966, then Alan Sargeant for a short while. From 1968 onwards, Northern wrestlers. British Middleweight Title All Northern wrestlers apart from McManus in 1967. British Heavy-Middleweight Title Apart from Pallo for a few weeks in 1969 and Steve Logan for a few months in 1975, all Northern Wrestlers. British Light-Heavyweight Title All Northern Wrestlers. British Mid-Heavyweight Title Mike Marino for a few months in 1966 and then continuously from 1969 onwards. British Heavyweight Title All Northern Wrestlers. To me, it looks like lads aligned to Morrell, Beresford and De Relwyskow kept hold of the belts. Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are actually saying.

What year was the Muir of Ord event, Ron? I am guessing 1965? It's a Saturday night in the middle of Summer, a prime night for making money by wrestling at a big venue, anywhere in the UK, so why would these lads travel up there? It's a seven hour drive from Wakefield, for Reg Ray, using today's road system.

That 1963 bill is great! "Syd" MacManus, the "TV bad man of the ring", I assume this was Mick? Gorilla Reg Ray from the USA!

Sono stata nelle Marche, l'anno scorso, per una settimana, che posto meraviglioso, vino e formaggio deliziosi e anche ottima birra. Abbiamo adorato le piccole città, i villaggi e gli splendidi scenari.

Peter Kaye was a great "villain", really knew how to work the crowd, and I am sure I read that he was a genuine wrestler, who could hold his own, on the mat, in training, or (if needs be), in the ring.

Hi Adrian, in one interview, Dave Larsen said there were three White Angels, just so they could make sure they covered all the dates they had booked, in various parts of the country. I think it was Dave, Bob and Judo Al. There were probably more than that!

Replying to myself here, yes it was Dave who ended up in Opera and married an opera singer. https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20040116&slug=kell16

RIP Dave Larsen. Was it Dave who married an opera singer?

Hi Adriana, If you click on the link below, this should give you an example, and if I have done it correctly, you should see a list of matches, in a panel on the right hand side. I just used the search words "world of sport wrestling" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GOUdpBor3k&list=PLBC9876071E997304

For old repeats, you will find plenty on Youtube.

I'll do it, Bernard, see below: Tony Kolokotroni Wrestler Tony Kolokotroni worked the independent rings of southern England in the 1960s. At other times, as Tony Ellis, he worked behind the scenes as a fight arranger on numerous films and acted on tv as a supporting role actor in programmes that included The Avengers and Coronation Street. Tony Ellis also staged wrestling shows, mainly in London, featuring big names such as Count Bartelli in aid of charities for those facing difficulties in society.

I have found a record of one of Tony Ellis Promotions events. 5th of December, 1974, Seymour Hall, London. Tag Team Match: Roger Wells and Butch Mason vs Tony Kolokotroni and Tommy Milo Gregorius vs Johnny Wilson Bob Taylor vs The Wild Man of Borneo Dr. Death vs Joe Cornelius That is all I can find, so far.

I seem to to recall this happening, and talking to some lads at school about it, it was back when Big D was a villain, from memory. He either did this (Kamikaze Crash) or lifted him up in a crutch hold and slam movement. I remember at the time being impressed, but over the years, began to doubt my memory on this.