Black History Month DAY 2

Johnny Valentine v. Bearcat Wright



Merciful crap was this awesome. Just pure angry violence. The first part of this match has the single greatest front face lock I have ever seen. It legitimately looks like Wright is going to rip Valentines head off. He leans all the way back and then slams Valentines back into the turnbuckle. In a world where every indy schmuck does a 630 splash or a burning hammer on a chair, it takes a lot for a move to make you mark out, but Bearcat Wrights front face lock does it. When Valentine final gets out they just start pounding the piss out of each other. Nasty forearms, punches, elbows to the back of the head, I love 70's stiff wrestling like this. It isn't flashy kicks to the head, it is a forearm across the chest which looks like it collapses lungs.

Wright was one of the early black stars who would wrestle white wrestlers. Along with Bobo Brazil he refused to only wrestle other blacks. Even ballsier though, he was the first black wrestlers to work heel in the South. Watch the cops come to ringside as Wright is headbutting refs and choking Valentine with a rope and you can imagine there might have been a close call or two leaving an arena.