Found Footage Friday: 50s WRESTLING FROM BUFFALO~! HUTTON~! BRAZIL~! SNYDER~! LINDSAY~! CRUSHER~!

MD: My impression is that footage might have been converted and posted years ago but then was lost for a while. The Zabio vs Marino match is out there on YouTube but nothing else is and people in our community have never seen the Hutton match (or any other Hutton match! Or any other Luther Linsday match!), for instance. 

Footage Link

Luther Linsday vs. Fred Atkins Buffalo 10/11/57

MD: I could be wrong about this, but this feels like a historic find. We have no real footage of Lindsay who was a great Thesz opponent and spoken highly of him, one of the biggest African-American wrestlers of the 50s and 60s. We get most of a 20 minute draw here, just one clip in the middle of about a minute, tops, and it's good look at him, I'd say. Atkins spends a lot of the match working a wristlock (with brief trips to hammerlocks and other things), splaying the fingers when the ref can't see it to keep Lindsay down. Lindsay teases punches but eventually gets forearms in to force breaks. He works well from underneath, selling the arm throughout, but forcing Atkins to adapt and getting the fans excited for a potential shot. When it's time for him to fire off, he has big strikes in the corner and a great headbutt that Atkins sells like death. They're wrestling for a draw and it doesn't really boil over in the end but it's well worked up and down hold. You get some sense of how he portrayed his power, both physical and star, here. I'd be interested to see him against a more dynamic opponent, but I'm just glad to see him at all.

Wilber Snyder vs. Wally Greb 4/25/58

MD: You occasionally see this sort of match in the 50s, where an older journeyman who knows all the dirty tricks is put up against there against one of the young stallions of the wrestling world, one of those guys who are still getting established but who have the square jaw and all the skills in the world and will one day be a champion. I think of that mostly with young Verne (though we saw a lesser version of it with Bill Cody vs Honest John Cretoria not that long ago) but we get it here with Snyder. Snyder comes off as an absolute wrestling machine, able to chain holds and escapes beautifully. Greb's underhanded tactics means that he's on top for a good chunk of the match but there's always the sense that Snyder could beat him at any moment and it's just the cheating keeping him afloat. Examples of that are when Snyder does a perfect headstand to escape a headscissors and then jams Greb when he tries to repeat it. That sort of thing. Snyder has this great back of the neck clap shot he uses at times down the stretch once he's had enough with Greb and puts him away with the abdominal stretch once things pick up. Greb more than did his job here and Snyder looked like a future champ.

Bobo Brazil vs. Jim (Brute) Bernard 1/17/58

MD: This was sub-30 seconds, just a big leap frog and bigger dropkick by Brazil. That's how they brought him into the territory. He'd won his two previous matches in 13 and 23 seconds. Bernard and Brazil would have wars later, but not on this night. Post match, he called out Gene Kiniski. I don't think I've ever seen a 50s match quite like this but it was a great way to get Brazil over instantly as a sensation in a new territory.

Dick Hutton vs. Wally Greb 11/1/57

MD: So it was something to get our first Luther Lindsay match, but we get maybe the first Dick Hutton match on tape too? I'll say that ultimately this was almost more of a Greb showcase, as he controlled a lot of the match with holds and dirty tricks while in the holds. Hutton was almost understated working from underneath, coming back with really big shots, with definitive strength, with a sort of physical confidence. It was hard to get too much of a sense of things past that, though. The early holds were hard fought but there were times he seemed to be almost sitting in the later ones. Boxer Joe Muscato was the ref here, as in the Lindsay match and they did do a spot where Hutton kicked out pressing Greb onto him. So not a ton here, as the match goes just over 8 minutes, but you get a sense of Hutton's size and strength and what his comebacks looked like. That's something to go off of at least. Greb continues to look like a competent journeyman for what it's worth.

Roy McClarity vs. Al Korman 10/18/57

MD: This might have been the most purely entertaining match in this footage. So far as I can tell, we never had any Korman footage either though we have a few McClarity matches. Korman was a great stooge, a cheapshot artist, had a fun kneelift and great reactions. McClarity had a lot of stuff, kneelifts and knee crushers and a dropkick, and some nice shots, including a bit of punishment where he paintbrushed the head repeatedly was Korman was sitting in the ropes. A lot of it was Korman trying to take liberties in holds and then McClarity (who was touted for both his height and his speed) escaping and getting some real revenge before they went back into it. Snyder and Hutton had both used versions of the abdominal stretch in their wins, but McClarity took it with the cobra clutch, with Korman wobbling around the ring entertainingly post match.


Gallaghers (Mike & Doc) vs. Lisowskis (Reggie & Stan) 4/17/59

MD: We have matches with the Gallaghers and matches with the Lisowskis but this might be the first we have with both against each other. Reggie, of course, would be Da Crusher. Stan was just his wrestling brother, but they fit each other well. Mike and Doc were the heels here and they really played the part well. Really, this almost felt like an All Japan tag. Mike and Doc cut off the ring, cheated at every opportunity. The Lisowskis just kept on coming in to even the odds. Reggie was an absolute force, a proto-Hansen, just constantly coming at you. The Gallaghers had a way of putting on a front facelock choke for a few seconds and immediately pulling things back to their corner but it was pretty inevitable that this would break down, with the Lisowskis tying up one Gallagher and repeatedly pile-driving the other until they got DQed. Post match they brawled some more and yapped on the mic about how they were the winners anyway and the crowd loved it. Just a good look at both teams.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Great Zabio

MD: Unfortunately, we only have three minutes of this but it's fun while it lasts. Zabio, past being a piano player, was a beatnik gimmick and the announcer lets us know that Fritz says there are no Beatniks in his Germany. He really laid it in but when it was time for Zabio to comeback, he recoiled well and took a good armdrag. That was about it for this one though.

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New Footage Friday: Fuchi, Liger, Bock, Hansen, Savage, Piper, Magee, Dibiase

Nick Bockwinkel/Stan Hansen vs. Dick The Bruiser/Crusher AWA 3/4/84

PAS: This is what we would expect from a Bruiser and Crusher tag in the mid 80s. They aren't going to bump, they aren't going to sell, they are going to eat their opponents alive and the crowd is going to dig it. It is funny to watch Hansen, an immovable object at eating up his opponents run into the irresistible force of Dick the Bruiser, at one point Bruiser no-sells an eye rake. Bockwinkle is unsurprisingly great at pinballing around the ring. Ref seems to blow the finish as they run the Heenan interference spot twice and he just throws the match out. This was a fun example of a hot tag, but I wouldn't exactly call it a good match.

MD: I'll take any new ten minute Bockwinkel match I can get. This we only had clipped before and it's immediately interesting because it's Bockwinkel teaming with Hansen with Heenan managing them both. I can't remember any other scenario where Heenan managed Hansen. It went pretty much as you'd expect with Hansen meeting them head on and Bockwinkel bumping around the ring for them. By far the best part of this was Hansen brawling with Da Crusher which made me think that they could have had a hell of a singles match even this late in the game.

ER: This is my kind of gem right here, two guys closer to 60 than 50 just punching their way through two great opponents for 10 minutes while the crowd loses it. Bockwinkel is great flying around for Crusher and Bruiser's punches, and it's awesome seeing Hansen not selling and punching through their offense...while neither of them are selling and punching right through Hansen's offense. Crusher moved really great for an old guy, especially loved his leaping stomp off the middle rope, and fully agree with Matt that a Hansen/Crusher match could have been great. Crusher throws big meaty balled up fists to Hansen's head and Hansen throws these vicious 12 to 6 elbows whenever he could. We got a stomach claw, elbowdrops, Captain Kangaroo haircuts, and something that I would have ranked unconscionably high on an 80s set.

Roddy Piper vs. Randy Savage WWF 12/13/86

MD: I hadn't been aware that they ran these in November/December of 86, let alone that one made tape. This a handheld from fairly far away but Piper and Savage work so big that you're never in doubt of what's happening. This was the same card that Dynamite hurt his back but you'd never know it from how hot the crowd was. Piper was immensely over here and they fully believed that they could get a title change. We've gotten three or four new Piper matches during the last year and every one's only raised his stock. This is no exception. He was exceptional at milking a moment, of containing this wild, manic, unpredictable energy but holding it in to let it charge and build so that when he released it, it would be to the greatest possible effect. He understood his audience and had this way of doing things that no one else would do to keep them engaged. I loved the opening flurry (including the eyepoke) which was really all to set up him holding the ropes open so Elizabeth could leave. By the time he landed a few more blows and hit a bulldog, the entire crowd was chanting his name. Obviously Savage was going to meet his manic energy mid-way. Some elements of this, like the two count teases, I liked more than what we got later with Steamboat. There was more pause to them, more struggle, more of a countering element instead of a choreographed dance and I think that made the crowd buy into them and care all the more. Obviously you would have wanted this to go longer with less of a BS finish but what we did get was worthwhile.

PAS: This was a pair of guys who push the pace, pushing the pace. Goddamn is Roddy Piper awesome, the opening flurry of punch combos knocking down Savage so he could open the ropes for Elizabeth is such a flex, I am going to whoop your ass and be chivalrous to your lady. Savage's dive to the floor is still one of the prettiest dives in wrestling history, looks better then some thing with fourteen twists and turns. For a BS finish, this was a clever one, with Savage bailing out of the ring, Piper chasing him, catching him and fireman's carrying him up the steps in a cool bit of strength, only to dump him in right as the ref counted Piper out. These guys really match up well  (they had a whole different house show run in 1990 which I wouldn't mind seeing) and I am really happy that it showed up for us to see.

ER: I thought this was really great, with an expected house show non-finish but a non-finish that was super clever and continued the violence. Both guys did all the things these guys do, extremely well. The more we see of Piper the more there is an argument for him as the best WWF worker of the 80s. Savage is one of the guys that would be his competition. I don't know if some of Piper's stuff would look as effective as it did here without Savage bumping for him. Savage's bumping here was fast and violent, but organic, and never looked like he was showing up Piper with his bumping; the bumps looked like a natural reaction to Piper's big shots. Macho Man had some great shots too, and his big wind up punch with one leg up, free hand grabbing his opponent's head, is one of my favorite punches in wrestling. Piper had an absolutely incredible kneelift in this match, one of the only kneelifts I've ever seen where someone looked like they threw their whole body into a move, and it looked tremendous. The finish was one of the more spectacular non-finishes I've ever seen, with Savage getting launched to the floor and Piper retrieves him in manly fashion, and walks him back up the ring steps in a fireman's carry, getting counted out while throwing Savage in. That's such a great BS finish. Piper saves his best punch of the match for the ref, and we understand. I loved this!

Ted Dibiase vs. Tom Magee WWF 12/7/88

ER: More evidence that WWE has been catering this series to a bunch of weird internet fans, or course they go weird on us and upload a Tom Magee match, only it's a Tom Magee match that nobody knew even existed. Now we know that there are seemingly two Hart matches, I don't think anyone ever talked about a Dibiase match. Here it is and really, it's not bad. Magee looks far more clueless in his available All Japan matches, here he looks like someone that 7 year old me would get excited to see on a weekly basis. He was a muscular guy who did handsprings, that was pretty much my brand then (if you missed my love letter to Mark Young, same thing). This was Dibiase crafting a solid match around a limited opponent, as we all assumed it would be. Dibiase sets up some unfuckupable moments where he either runs into a Magee limb or aims his own limb at where Magee is running, and the fans respond really well to Magee. Magee is a stiff, his selling is a kind of Great Khali teetering while swinging arms, but Dibiase keeps the sequences simple and keeps his timing in check so it works. Magee handspringing out of a rolling clutch attempt was really cool and he had a decent back elbow, and this was a great Dibiase performance making Magee look like someone who was a threat. I wish we had audio for a large portion of this, as the crowd reactions to Magee would have been cool, but this was a fun find nonetheless.

Jushin Liger vs. Masa Fuchi AJPW/NJPW 1/28/01

MD: Really glad that Phil came across this one. Fuchi has a clear and distinct size advantage over Liger, so much so that it can be the narrative of the match. That's not something you always see with Fuchi and lets him bully in a slightly different way than how he usually bullies an opponent. So that's your big picture. Liger would use his speed and savvy and never-say-die attitude to fight back but ultimately get cut off until a reversal and dive on the outside that lead them towards the finish.

On a micro level, you get stuff like the immediate start of the match, where Liger, disadvantaged on a lock-up, climbs the ropes to win it, only to add insult to injury by slapping Fuchi. Fuchi's response? Staring, fixing his hair, and walking right over to kick Liger in the gut so he can slam him hard twice. Fuchi's cutoffs were generally reversal based and expert. I don't know if it was because of how colorful his opponent was or the fact he had the luxury due to the size advantage, but he played to the crowd a bit more than I was used to. I loved the varied holds he used here, be it the crossface into the STF or the cobra clutch over the knee, and the openings he found, like when he worked on Liger's midsection using the ring as a prop based off of a hold leaving Liger vulnerable to some nasty elbows. Liger was great working from underneath but still confident enough to give Fuchi so much. When he stole the match with at Casita at the end it still felt earned because of the damage he'd absorbed.

PAS: This was the only matchup between the biggest All Japan Juniors star of the 90s and the biggest New Japan juniors star of the 90s. It was on an All Japan dome show so it was appropriate that it was Liger working a Fuchi match rather then the other way around. We get some classic Fuchi torture, as he grinds out a crossface, twists Ligers limbs with a brutal leg stretch and even steps on his stomach. We get a couple of cool Liger comebacks including a big dive, but Fuchi retakes control and dumps Liger on his horns with some really violent back suplexes. Finish was Liger escaping by the skin of his teeth as he reverses an Irish whip into a leg trip and a Magistral for the pin. Liger wins but it felt more like an escape then a triumph. 

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