By Mike Sempervive, Torch Team Contibutor

About a month ago or so, ClassicWrestling.com aired the first in a series of pay-per-views titled "Wrestling Legends: The Early Years". It featured promo's and matches centering around Dusty Rhodes' first NWA World title victory over Harley Race, and several Memphis bouts from the mid-80's. This month, the second in the series has been running, "The Golden Age of Wrestling: The 1950's".

As was the case the first time around, the narration was done by "Mean" Gene Okerlund. (His son, Todd, is one of the executive producers of the programs, and was also the producer of the AWA pay-per-views that Verne Gagne had been airing.) And also, as was the case the first time around, you owe it to yourself to take a peek at these presentations -- even if you're not an old-school fan. With WWE buying up tape libraries, and the general lack of interest for much that took place before the mid-80's (with some noteable exceptions like Ric Flair), it's very possible that many important figures and events will go by the wasteside as time marches on. The matches were from the DuMont network's Chicago shows (sans one) that emanated from the Marigold Arena, and were products of promoter Fred Kohler.

The PPV began with the ring enterance antics of the "Toast of the Coast. The Human Orchid" Gorgeous George Wagner, complete with his male valet carrying the "atomitizer" to the ring, and placing a towel down so the "Gorgeous" one could wipe his feet. As he is shown getting into the ring, Okerlund's voice-over claims that George was so hated, that many a riot had broken out in the infuriated crowd, including one where a fan was stabbed. As George went stepping through the ropes, and his valet began to remove his golden "Georgie" pins from his hair, one of the Dumont announcers (I'm not quite sure if this was Jack Brickhouse, who later went on to much larger fame as a sports announcer) cracked that George was "a very beautiful, cerise, man," and also that George owned over 100 of his stylish ring robes, that were "at a value of over $200,000." (As you can see, the 1950's were when announcers really introduced the fine art of hyperbole into the wrestling game.)

While no match was shown, almost all of George's infamous pre-match shtick was shown, including his tossing of lei's and bobby pins to the people in the crowd, bowing and exchanging barbs with the audience, and his very funny exchanges with the referee who wanted to inspect him for foriegn objects. (Including his valet spraying the ref with the fictional "Chanel No. 10" that filled his "atomizer.") As his valet, Thomas, de-robed him, one of the announcers told us to take a look at George's hair. "It was prepared by Franklin and Joseph, two of the outstanding beauticians in Hollywood, California... Every lock in its place." At this point, Mean Gene's voiceover comes back on, and other clips of George primping and posing were aired -- including the hilarious site of a tired George after a match huffing from an oxygen mask that was connected to a box that had "Florida Air" printed across it. Okerlund explains that even though George died in 1963, his legacy lives to this day of the "bad guy" trying to be entertaining.

Okerlund then introduces the next wrestler to be featured by saying, "In the post-World War II 1950's, Americans held Nazi Germany in very low regard for obvious reasons," and said that a young wrestler named Jack Adkisson introduced his character Fritz Von Erich onto the world, and hoped to become the most hated man in wrestling. A match is aired from the War Memorial Arena in Buffalo, New York between Von Erich and the man who Okerlund announces is "The man with the cast iron stomach, the legendary," Reggie Parks. Cast iron abs? Yes. Legendary? Well, he is a truely legendary title belt maker, so I guess yes to that, as well.

One of the nice parts of these shows, are the little facts at the bottom of the screen that pop up every few minutes or so. These aren't exactly revelations to the die-hards that may be watching, but they are a nice touch to some newer fans who are just starting to get into the old days of wrestling. Although, there was one mistake that was glaring when it was stated that Von Erich was a "13-time NWA American champion, and a 2-time NWA World heavyweight Champion." The fact he was he was a 16-time America's champ is really splitting hairs, but he was definitely never a NWA champ. He was a one-time AWA champion (which was correctly shown in the next factoid about him) by defeating Verne Gagne on July 27, 1963 in Omaha, NE. At that time, the AWA title was actually split into a Omaha, NE and a Minneapoils, MN version. He won both from Gagne, but lost the Minneapolis version back to him first in Amarillo, TX twelve days later (8/8/63), and the Omaha version a month after that. Got all that? Good. Now, back to his match with Parks...

The match was your traditional old-school fare, with Von Erich playing the aggresive, punch-throwing, cheating heel and Parks trying to play fair. This was actually a pretty good old match to show for younger fans. While it looks pretty much nothing like anything hapening today, it was a relatively short punch-and-kick fest, that featured Parks getting dumped to the floor a few times. Von Erich won with the stomach claw. After the bout, more clips were aired of Fritz, while Okerlund said despite his accomplishments as a succesful promoter, he'll always be known first-and-foremost as the patriarch of a very jinxed tribe.

Okerlund then introduced Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis, as "one of the most influential brawlers ever." As The Bruiser was being intro'd before his match against 23-year old Emil Dupree (father of the current WWE Raw bluechip 20-year old, Rene) at the Marigold Arena, he grabbed the mic to correct the ring announcer, who began to call him my his full name. "It's just the Bruiser, bum." snarled the ex-Green Bay Packer. The Dumont announcer ran down his football achievements, including boasting that Afflis once broke the leg of a Chicago Bears offensive lineman, who claimed that he was the toughest lineman in football, not him.

The match must have taken place around around mid-1958, as the announcer claimed that Bruiser had won the United States title from Wilbur Snyder (which he did on December 14, 1957, in Chicago) and lost it to Hans Schmidt. (Which he didn't. He actually lost it to Verne Gagne on April 12, 1958, also in Chicago.) Although, the mistake was forgotten when he then dropped the line, "He's got the voice like an Army tank, rolling over a ton of gravel." This was another good one for a newer fan, as it was another very quick, punch-and-kick, with the action spilling to the floor at one point, where Bruiser slammed Dupree against the judge's table outside the ring, and body slammed him against the side of the ring. He won quickly thereafter with a top rope kneedrop to the throat, and a extra stomp to the chest, for good measure. After the match, he had to be restrained by the cops, and dragged to the locker room. Good stuff. As that was going on, Okerlund stated that Bruiser died of a heart attack after his morning workout in 1991, saying he was "only 62." It's too bad that we're in a trend of wrestlers from today's era dying before the age of 40.

Mean Gene then talked about how much wrestling was on the airwaves during the time of television's growth into the American conciousness, with clips of Bobo Brazil, Hans Schmidt and Yukon Eric being shown. Okerlund then introduces the next featured stars: Wladek "Killer" Kowalski and the "Flying Frenchman" Edouard Carpentier. Okerlund correctly points out that "although (Carpentier's) flying dropkicks and his spinning backdrop may not do much to impress the contemporary fan, there was a time when these types of moves were viewed to be on the cutting edge."

A few short clips of a heated match between Carpentier and Kowalski was then joined in progress. The match ends in a time-limit draw, and Kowlaski is shown going nuts at the end of the match. He claims in the post-match interview that "The referee deliberately called time on this match just to save Carpentier. There's honor of (sic) getting beat by a champion, and there's no disgrace in getting beaten by a good wrestler. I am that exactly! And I'm one of the best wrestlers to ever be seen on TV around here, and across the country!"

Okerlund then claims that Carpentier was a World champion for three different promotions. I'll have some fun splitting hairs again here, as Carpentier was really more of the "name" guy who those promotions used to legitimize their titles. He did win the NWA World title from Lou Thesz on June 14, 1957 by DQ in Chicago when Thesz couldn't continue due to a back injury. But, Thesz won the title back in a rematch, also by DQ on July 24 in Montreal. The NWA actually recognized Carpentier as the champion until Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn left the NWA in the latter-half of the year. The NWA then voided all recognition of Carpentier as champion, and returned the belt to Thesz. He continued to recognize himself as champion, losing to Verne Gagne (in the match that would establish the belt as the AWA Omaha title) and Freddie Blassie. (In a match that would establish the WWA/Olympic Auditorium title.) He was also recognized in Boston (where Quinn had a piece of the promoting puzzle), but the title -- which he ironically dropped to Killer Kowalski -- never reached any sort of major level, as promoter Tony Santos, who ran Big Time Wrestling, had his legs clipped out from underneath him by the WWWF, who were apparantly so spooked by the strange company, they rejoined the NWA in 1971 to cut off any southward advances.

Okerlund then talked introduced, and talked over a clip of the next featured men, one of the most popular wrestlers of all-time, Antonio Rocca and one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time, (who also had one of the biggest ego's of all-time. Hey, everyone else seems too scared to ever say it,) Lou Thesz. Okerlund said Thesz, "Was considered old school -- even during the 1950's." As quickly as it was introduced, it was over as Thesz (who was wearing the NWA World championship) won with his Thesz press.

An awesome treat is the finale of the show. The June 30, 1961 two-of-three falls NWA World championship between champ Pat O'Connor and "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. (Which had been shown on ESPN Classic a few times, in longer form.) This match between the two was legendary for a variety of reasons. It was the culmination of one of the biggest money drawing feuds in wrestling history, taking place at Chicago's Comisky Park in front of 38,622 people (which, I believe, was the second largest crowd to see a bout to that point, as was for quite some time after) who had paid over $140,000 which was the highest gate to that point. (And again, I believe stayed that way for quite a while, thereafter.) It was also the first time that wrestling had a true "made for TV" champion. Rogers wasn't horrible in the ring by any means, but after a line of champions that included Orville Brown, Thesz, Whipper Watson, Dick Hutton, and O'Connor, Rogers -- who was in his eleventh year as "original" NWA United States champion -- was truely the first man whose instinct for showmanship superseded his skills in the ring. He also dropped one of the more famous one-liners in wrestling history at the end of the match as well. (More on that in a minute.)

Obviously, the match was chopped down significantly from its original time, but a good deal was shown. Okerlund introduced the match towing the line of the announcers of the show, saying there was over 50,000 people in attendance. (A factoid popped up at the bottom of the screen stating that it was the largest crowd to see a show to that time, but not debunking the inflated number.) The crowd was hot for O'Connor, as they exploded at every big move, including a sweet looking spinning armbar early in the match. O'Connor actually made the move look like it could work today, and Rogers sold it like his left arm was going to come off his body. The announcer let us know that there were several wrestling luminaries in attendance including Los Angeles promoter Jules Strongbow, Detroit promoter Jim Londos, St. Louis promoter Sam Muschnick (which was pronounced Stan Matushiack), and New York promoters, Toots Mondt and Vince McMahon.

Rogers won the first fall when O'Connor, who had dominated nearly the entire fall, went charging after a cornered "Nature Boy" who raised his knee up at the last minute to collide with the champion's face, leading to the pin that silenced the large crowd. Between falls, the announcer interviews The Fabulous Kangaroos and their "very loquacious" manager, Red Berry. The announcer says he hesitates to start with Berry "because once he takes over our two minutes are gone. But I'm going to because I want to get his opinion without the superulatives and adjectives that this crowd does deserve." I'm not sure about that one. Berry praises the crowd, and picks Rogers to win the match. Al Costello and Roy Heffernan pick O'Connor.

The second fall begins in progress, with Rogers having the advantage with an armbar. When O'Connor fights up, Rogers grabs the hair and slings him back down towards the mat. The announcer then offers up a little jewel that many promotions used to use to show the "anything can happen" athletic part of wrestling, and something I wish WWE would still use on ocassion now. He announces if the match, which is scheduled for 60 minutes ends early, there will be a match between Antonio Rocca and Karl Von Hess. I don't know why I was also a sucker for that type of thing, but I was. As O'Connor tries to fight out of the armbar, the announcer claims that his annual earnings are in the $100,000 range. O'Connor fights out, and is able to tie Rogers up in an ankle lock. In a pretty sequence, Rogers kicks off of the hold, and springs off the ropes hitting a dropkick. O'Connor immediately kips up and scoops Rogers' leg, taking him back down again. Rogers would break the hold, again, but this time gets punched in the face, sending him begging off into the corner. The New Zeland native continued with punches to the face, before another gorgeous exchange that would end the fall.

After an armdrag sent Rogers over, the "Nature Boy" immediately popped back up to deliver a shoulderblock that dropped the champ. As Rogers went springing off the ropes, O'Connor kipped up again, and locked on behind Rogers' waist, pushing him to the other side of the ropes before rolling him up to win the second fall, tying the bout at one. After the bout, the announcer held his second "Soundoff" segment, this time with Mighty Atlas (another wrestler who became a star due to the wrestling heavy TV airwaves.)

Fall three began with Rogers doing a semi-strut to delay the action. O'Connor went for a big punch as Rogers came off the ropes, but the challenger held on to the ropes and went into a full "Nature Boy" strut. After a double knockdown due to a clash of heads, O'Connor took the advantage with two big body slams, and a pin attempt. Rogers begged off, but O'Connor would again get a big bodyslam and pin attempt. Once again, Rogers was able to put his foot on the ropes to break the count. O'Connor would continue to pound on Rogers, beating on him from literally corner to corner. After a fist to the face, O'Connor would go for a third attempt at a pin, and again, Rogers would break it with his foot on the ropes. The champion would then hit a dropkick that looked like it landed flush to Rogers face. A second attempt would result in disaster as Rogers moved and O'Connor would bounce off the ropes, and crash to the mat leading to Rogers getting the pin, and winning the World championship.

After the match, promoter Fred Kohler congratulated the new champion, who responded with one of the great one-liners in wrestling history...

"To a nicer guy it couldn't happen."

Now, I'm not sure when this will debut for everybody, but my cable company has the newest event listed to begin on Friday, November 7. It goes under the name of "Mat Mayhem" and will be all about matches that took place at the Mid-South Coliseum in the mid-80's. It will feature portions of several matches including a bunkhouse brawl between The New Fabulous Ones (who the fans hated) of Tommy Rich and Eddie Gilbert vs. Phil Hickerson and The Spoiler. The Pretty Young Things (Norvell Austin and Koko Ware) vs. The Fabuolous Ones. In a hair vs. mask match, Jimmy Valiant vs. The Assassin, The Road Warriors defending their tag titles against Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol. The Rock-N-Roll Express vs. Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, a AWA title match between Nick Bockwinkel and Jerry Lawler, and a "main event" of Lawler and Savage vs. Rick Rude and King Kong Bundy.

According to the website, other future presentations will be "Lone Star Shootout" (Southwest Championship) in December, "The Best of Blackjack Brawl" (Herb Abram's UWF), "Brawlin' Beauties: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling" (yes, it's the infamous GLOW), "Ringside Retribution" (Florida Championship), and "The Best of Beach Brawl" (the only major show that Herb Abram's UWF held.)

I hope you enjoyed the review, if you're feeling nostalgic after all of this visit GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com and MidAtlanticGateway.net.

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