Part 2: The 1950s and the television boom
While the first three volumes of this series covering the mostly pre-1950s period consisted mostly of 1-3 minute clips with occasional exceptions, you’ll find that most matches are complete in the 1950s. In fact, if you’re looking solely at American wrestling, there are probably more complete matches available to us in the 1950s than in the 1970s.
There are many reasons for this. A major one is the exceptional Russ and Sylvia Davis Collection released by the Chicago Film Archives on YouTube. CFA has uncovered hundreds of never or rarely before seen matches from the time period in pristine quality. CFA still releases new matches occasionally, but most of the matches were made available in 2015. It should also be noted that quite a few NWA Chicago matches were already in circulation in trading circles prior to the 2015 release, so not every NWA Chicago match originated from the Davis Collection. Chicago was a frequent stop for NWA World Champion Lou Thesz and also gives us our earliest extended look at major stars like Verne Gagne, Dick the Bruiser, The Crusher, Buddy Rogers, Gorgeous George, Killer Kowalski, The Sheik and many other legends. While Chicago makes up the bulk of the American footage, we also have extensive complete matches from Los Angeles, along with some footage from Buffalo and Dallas. As the decade comes to a close, we also start seeing some footage from Capitol Wrestling, the precursor to the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would eventually become WWE. Counting their history would be the only way Vince McMahon’s WWF could even enter the ballpark of accurately stating that they were “for over 50 years, the revolutionary force in sports entertainment” at the beginning of all of their TV shows in 1995.
Another reason for the increase in footage is the landscape of wrestling itself changing so much. The 1950s were when pro wrestling was introduced to Japan, with footage dating back to 1953. Rikidozan became a postwar cultural phenomenon. Most of the JWA matches that we have from the 1950s are somewhat clipped, but a few gems are not, most notably matches against wrestlers like Thesz and Don Leo Jonathan.
Finally, some French wrestling from the INA archives entered circulation in recent years and it has been a revelation. We’ll talk far more about that later, but needless to say, dozens if not hundreds of top-tier classics have been uncovered as the good folks of Segunda Caida make their way through the archive. The French footage really kicks into high gear in 1957, when it becomes the majority of available wrestling footage ech year.
The 1950s are a prolific decade for wrestling around the world.
33 topics in this forum
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History of Pro Wrestling #4 (04:15:40) Matches from March-June 1950 WILBUR SNYDER vs WARREN BOCKWINKEL 03/04/1950; (NWA Chicago; 00:07:53) Yes, Warren is Nick’s dad. He’s not someone for whom we have a lot of footage. LOU THESZ vs RUFFY SILVERSTEIN (03/17/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:27:41) Look for Dick York (the original Darren from Bewitched) at ringside, with 1948 Republican nominee for President Thomas Dewey and actual President Lyndon B. Johnson sitting on either side of him. Silverstein was apparently a shooter and Thesz always felt like he needed to stay guarded with him, but was proud of their matches together. Excellent match! 4 1/4*…
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History of Pro Wrestling #5 (04:17:11) Matches from September 1950-January 1951 BOB GEIGEL vs BUCK WEAVER (09/09/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:13:14) Some interesting technique in this one. BOZO BROWN vs JOHNNY BALBO (09/09/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:13:16) Bozo the Clown was also a Chicago original, which now has me wondering (a) which came first and (b) if one influenced the other. Would love to hear any information that anyone might have on this. ROY MCCLARITY & JACK GUY vs KIMON KUDO & WALTER ACHIU (09/13/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:19:50) LORD JAMES BLEARS vs IVAN THE TERRIBLE (09/27/1950; NWA Chicago; 00:13:39) …
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History of Pro Wrestling #6 (04:15:48) Matches from January-May 1951 EL HOMBRE MONTANA & RAMON CERNADES vs AL WILLIAMS & RUDY KAY (01/05/1951; NWA Chicago; 00:27:15) MIGHTY ATLAS vs CHIEF DON EAGLE (01/05/1951; NWA Chicago; 00:27:21) LOU THESZ vs BUDDY ROGERS (01/26/1951; NWA Chicago; 00:51:08) Pretty disappointing compared to other Thesz matches at the time. DAVE LEVIN & LORD JAMES BLEARS vs TONY MORELLI & ANGELO CISTOLDI (02/05/1951; NWA Los Angeles; 00:27:14) HANS SCHNABEL & FRITZ SCHNABEL vs EL HOMBRE MONTANA & RAMON CERNADES (03/30/1951; NWA Chicago; 00:38:28) …
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History of Pro Wrestling #7 (04:10:09) Matches from July 1951-January 1952 PAT MCGILL vs MONTE LADUE (07/09/1951; NWA Los Angeles; 00:11:46) There was another Pat McGill who wrestled in the 1930s, but this was a different guy (Cecil McGill). ANDRE DRAPP vs ACE FREEMAN (07/26/1951; NWA Los Angeles; 00:19:31) Hall of Fame promoter Dick Lane is on commentary. HANS SCHNABEL vs VIC CHRISTY (08/13/1951; NWA Los Angeles; 00:20:23) EMIL DUSEK & ERNIE DUSEK vs GREAT TOGO & TONY MORELLI (08/20/1951; NWA Los Angeles; 00:31:49) LOU THESZ vs WALTER PALMER (10/1951; NWA Chicago; 00:27:27) …
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History of Pro Wrestling #8 (03:59:46) Matches from January-May 1952 LOU THESZ vs VERNE GAGNE (01/25/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:55:41) Widely considered one of Thesz’s best matches and one of the best matches of the decade. Thesz looks great, but Verne Gagne has a breakout performance. Match goes to a 60-minute draw. HAILE SELASSIE vs FUZZY CUPID (04/04/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:22:26) One fall little people match. IVAN RASPUTIN & CHEST BERNARD & FRITZ VON SCHACHT vs DON VEITELMAN & FARMER DON MARLIN & PAT O'CONNOR (04/04/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:37:43) VERNE GAGNE vs MIGHTY…
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History of Pro Wrestling #9 (03:30:43) Matches from May-September 1952 IVAN RASPUTIN & HANS SCHMIDT vs RUDY KAY & FARMER DON MARLIN (05/16/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:42:20) PAT O'CONNOR vs MIGHTY ATLAS (05/16/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:31:00) Good match! 3 1/4*** VERNE GAGNE vs GREAT TOGO (05/16/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:27:57) A sleeperhold vs sleeperhold match. DUKE KEOMUKA & IVAN KALMIKOFF & GEORGE BOLLAS vs RAY GUNKEL & WHISKERS SAVAGE & ED LISOWSKI (05/20/1952; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:05:20) FRED BLASSIE & BILL DANIELS vs WHISKERS SAVAGE & FARMER JONES (0…
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History of Pro Wrestling #10 (04:54:38) Matches from September 1952 -January 1953 LOU THESZ vs RAY GUNKEL (09/16/1952; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:42:03) This was labeled as May 30, 1951, when it hit the WWE Network, but the date was later discovered to be incorrect based on a Dallas Morning News article covering the match. This thread has more information. VERNE GAGNE vs RED BASTIEN (10/28/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:10:30) BOBBY FORD & ROBERT ROUCHE vs ALI PASHA & TOMMY O’TOOLE (10/30/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:18:40) DON ARNOLD vs EDMUND FRANCIS (10/30/1952; NWA Chicago; 00:07:47) BOB …
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History of Pro Wrestling #11 (04:15:32) Matches from January-May 1953 PAT O'CONNOR vs BOB ORTON SR. (01/16/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:22:01) ALI PASHA vs PAT MEEHAN (02/26/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:26:19) GORGEOUS GEORGE vs DR. LEE GRABLE (02/26/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:31:06) WARREN BOCKWINKEL & FRED BLASSIE vs JOE PASANDAK & MR. MOTO (03/23/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:26:09) LOU THESZ vs ANTONINO ROCCA (03/24/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New York, NY; 00:10:49) If someone wanted to understand the roots of the distinction hardcore fans often make between WWE style and non-WWE style, you c…
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History of Pro Wrestling #12 (03:58:27) Matches from May-June 1953 HANS SCHMIDT vs KILLER KOWALSKI (05/08/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:27:24) FRED BLASSIE vs WILD RED BERRY (05/18/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:36:32) WARREN BOCKWINKEL vs WILBUR SNYDER (05/18/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:32:19) WILBUR SNYDER & FRED BLASSIE vs WILD RED BERRY & JACK MCDONALD (05/25/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:38:42) JACK ADKISSON vs ELLIS BASHARA (05/26/1953; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:03:32) Jack Adkisson later made his name in wrestling as Fritz Von Erich. Interesting to see him wrestling in the Sportatorium 3…
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History of Pro Wrestling #13 (04:37:21) Matches from July-August 1953 BARON MICHELE LEONE vs RITO ROMERO (07/13/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:54:10) Baron was a major star in California during this time. His story is fascinating. JOHN TOLOS & KARL DAVIS vs WILD RED BERRY & BUD CURTIS (08/10/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:33:38) Davis was mostly Los Angeles-based and had a second career as an actor, appearing in Mighty Joe Young, Requiem For a Heavyweight and a wrestling-themed episode of Adventures of Superman, among other things. SANDOR SZABO vs GREAT BOLO & LOUIE MILLER (08/26/1953; NWA Los Angeles; 00:49:44) …
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History of Pro Wrestling #14 (05:29:14) Matches from August 1953-March 1954 GREAT BOLO & LOUIE MILLER vs WILD RED BERRY & BUD CURTIS (08/31/1953; 00:56:52) BILL MELBY & BILLY DARNELL vs MIGHTY ATLAS & BOB ORTON SR. (09/25/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:26:26) I think this is the earliest match we have in color! LARRY CHENE vs ROCKY COLUMBO (09/25/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:27:08) YUKON ERIC vs HANS SCHMIDT (09/25/1953; NWA Chicago; 00:26:18) Pro Wrestling Musings has a good summary of the match and participants. KILLER KOWALSKI vs GENE STANLEE (10/27/1953; Manhattan Booking Agency; MSG; New Yo…
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History of Pro Wrestling #15 (04:18:10) Matches from March-May 1954 LARRY CHENE vs GORDON HESSEL (03/05/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:28:27) Great, GIF and video-filled Twitter thread on this match. FALL Wrestling @FallWrestling I haven't done one of these in a minute, so let's do a thread on Larry Chene vs Gordon Hessel, from 1954 (1954? Yes, sit down, you'll like this I promise) Simple little slide away to break clean off the opening lock up from Gordon Hessel May 20th 2020 4 Retweets10 Likes THE SHEIK vs HARRY LEWIS (03/05/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:18:07) A review of this match from Brock Hates Wrest…
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History of Pro Wrestling #16 (04:33:37) Matches from May 1954-February 1955 PAT O'CONNOR vs KILLER KOWALSKI (07/21/1954; Promotions Eddie Quinn; Montreal Forum; 00:08:41) BENITO GARDINI vs AL WARSHAWSKI (08/06/1954; NWA Chicago; 00:16:01) RIKIDOZAN & KOUKICHI ENDO vs HANS SCHNABEL & LOU NEWMAN (08/08/1954; JWA Pacific Coast Tag Championship Series; 00:06:42) Endo had replaced Masahiko Kimura by this time as Rikidozan’s go-to tag team partner, as Kimura allegedly priced himself out of the business. The Pacific Coast Tag Titles didn’t stick around very long. LOU THESZ vs TOM RICE (08/14/1954; NWA Los Angele…
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History of Pro Wrestling #17 (04:22:31) Matches from April-October 1955 HANS SCHMIDT vs LOU NEWMAN (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:13:09) Newman wrestled in the U.S., Japan, Australia and Europe. A very good bio on Slam Wrestling. MIGHTY ATLAS vs CARL ENGSTROM (04/15/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:19:50) Carl Engstrom never made it huge in wrestling, but was accomplished amateur wrestler and boxer and a highly-skilled dancer. He taught gymnastics at the Engstrom School of Dance and Acrobatics in Oak Park, Illinois, where one of his pupils was a 7-year old Lanny Poffo, a student of Engstrom’s for three years. He also trained Angelo Poffo in p…
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History of Pro Wrestling #18 (04:05:51) Matches from October 1955-April 1956 VERNE GAGNE vs DICK THE BRUISER (10/28/1955; NWA Chicago; 00:36:20) RIKIDOZAN & HAROLD SAKATA vs DARA SINGH & SYED SAIF SHAH (11/14/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:06:35) RIKIDOZAN vs DARA SINGH (11/19/1955; JWA Asia Championships; 00:03:11) Singh was also a famous actor, film director and politician in India, and was easily as well-known in India as Hulk Hogan in the United States, as a point of reference. He’s a world class wrestler, and it’s evident here. Lou Thesz said great things about Singh’s wrestling ability in the book Hooker. …
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History of Pro Wrestling #19 (04:03:45) Matches from April 1956-January 1957 VERNE GAGNE vs WILBUR SNYDER (05/04/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:33:48) ANGELO POFFO & THE SHEIK vs REGGIE LISOWSKI & STAN LISOWSKI (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:03:56) BILL MELBY vs BILLY GOELZ (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:21:56) BOB ORTON SR. vs DICK THE BRUISER (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:16:20) HANS SCHMIDT vs WILBUR SNYDER (06/01/1956; NWA Chicago; 00:40:47) DOC GALLAGHER & MIKE GALLAGHER vs GUY BRUNETTI & JOE BRUNETTI (07/19/1956; Maple Leaf Wrestling; 00:15:00) The Brunettis played football tog…
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History of Pro Wrestling #20 (04:13:50) Matches from January-March 1957 JOACHIM LA BARBA vs INCA PERUANO (01/17/1957; French Catch; 00:25:31) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. User ohtani’s jacket notes at Pro Wrestling Only that Peruano went on to be Rocky Tomayo, who worked in several territories, along with All Japan and New Japan. La Barba was better known in the UK as Pancho Zapata. ISKA KHAN vs JIM OLIVER (02/01/1957; French Catch; 00:21:23) Segunda Caida reviews of the match. ANGELO POFFO vs JERRY CHRISTY (02/03/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:06:43) Slam Wrestling did an intere…
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History of Pro Wrestling #21 (04:12:38) Matches from March-May 1957 MAURICE VACHON vs AMAZING ZUMA (03/19/1957; Promotions Eddie Quinn; Montreal Forum; 00:14:34) AL HAYES vs GUY ROBIN (03/22/1957; French Catch; 00:27:55) Yes, it’s Lord Alfred Hays, the 70s manager and 80s WWF announcer, and what a wrestler he is! He’s a spry 29 years of age here. Segunda Caida review of the match. DR. ADOLF KAISER vs WARNIA DE ZARZECKI (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:19:02) INCA PERUANO vs COMANCHE INDIAN (03/29/1957; French Catch; 00:23:02) Segunda Caida review of the above two matches. ANDRE BOLLE…
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History of Pro Wrestling #22 (04:09:00) Matches from May-July 1957 AMI SOLA vs ROGER TRIGEAUD (05/17/1957; French Catch; 00:23:21) ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Cheri Bibi was a character in a series of novels written by Gaston Leroux, who also authored The Phantom of the Opera. It's the nickname of a young butcher's apprentice who is gifted with extraordinary strength. He gets framed for the murder of his boss, and later on, in a twist of fate, has his face surgically replaced with the face of the murderer for whose crime he was convicted. Over the years, the novels were adapted into several different films. There was a film in 1954 …
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History of Pro Wrestling #23 (04:07:38) Matches from July-August 1957 PIERRE BERNAERT vs MICHEL CHAISNE (07/11/1957; French Catch; 00:23:06) ROGER DELAPORTE & GUY ROBIN vs CHARLES FISCHER & ARTHUR FISCHER (07/19/1957; French Catch; 00:40:31) Segunda Caida reviews of this and the previous match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “This was a main event from the Cirque d'Hiver. The Fishers were British wrestlers, which continued the trend of Delaporte and partner wrestling foreigners. If you're having a hard time telling the Fisher brothers apart, don't worry. The commentator didn't have a clue either. For the …
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History of Pro Wrestling #24 (04:05:00) Matches from August-October 1957 LOU THESZ vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER (08/16/1957; NWA Chicago; 00:54:48) Carpentier wins the NWA title! Thesz wasn’t crazy about Carpentier as a wrestler, but did the honors as a favor for Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn, whom he liked very much. However, Quinn and Carpentier had a problem with the $25,000 bond that the NWA champ was expected to post at that time and the title change was ultimately ignored. That didn’t stop Carpentier from debuting in other territories in the months ahead with an alternate version of the title, which ended up creating alternate lineages of the World Title …
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History of Pro Wrestling #25 (04:25:22) Matches from October 1957-February 1958 ROY MCCLARITY vs AL KORMAN (10/18/1957; NWA Upstate; 00:10:25) TOMMY MANN vs CLAUDE MONTOURCY (10/17/1957; French Catch; 00:24:23) Segunda Caida review of the match. ohtani’s jacket comments at Pro Wrestling Only: “Tommy Mann was billed as an American here but he actually hailed from Manchester (by way of London.) I had no idea what to expect from him, but I knew he was one of the great middleweight champions. It turns out that like Hessle, he made his start in the ring in the 1930s, so he was a vet here. A real hard nosed, tough as nails type. A bit li…
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History of Pro Wrestling #26 (04:18:30) Matches from February-May 1958 JO LABAT vs AMI SOLA (02/11/1958; French Catch; 00:25:19) Segunda Caida review of the match. ADRIEN BAILLARGEON vs DAN MILLER (02/14/1958; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:09:16) Dan and Ed Miller were tag team stars, most notably for Stampede Wrestling, and Dan later became a local promoter for Jim Crockett. JACKY CORN vs INCA PERUANO (02/21/1958; French Catch; 00:20:45) Segunda Caida review of the match. MICHEL CHAISNE vs JO LABAT (02/27/1958; French Catch; 00:34:29) Segunda Caida review of the match. …
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History of Pro Wrestling #27 (04:21:58) Matches from May-July 1958 YULIE BRYNNER vs ROSE ROMAN (05/02/1958; NWA Chicago; 00:08:36) Yulie Brynner has a shaved head and is billed as the World’s Ugliest Woman, and the announcers cannot bring themselves to stop commenting on her looks for even a second, which gets old quickly and makes her heel act seem a little sympathetic, at least with 2022 eyes. The match has some really interesting chain wrestling, and Brynner’s act is a winner and interesting thing to see all the same. Brynner was often confused with Geneva Huckabee, another bald woman working at the same time who was billed as Lady Angel, but they are…
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History of Pro Wrestling #28 (04:26:29) Matches from July-October 1958 ROBERT DURANTON vs MICHEL CHAISNE (07/31/1958; French Catch; 00:24:01) CHERI BIBI vs PAUL DEBUSNE (08/16/1958; French Catch; 00:26:57) RAY ASSELIN vs MOISE BESCH (08/16/1958; French Catch; 00:19:22) JACKY CORN vs TED LAMARRE (08/23/1958; French Catch; 00:38:26) Segunda Caida review of the match. SERGIO REGGIORI vs GUY MERCIER (08/23/1958; French Catch; 00:06:24) INCA PERUANO vs JO LABAT (09/05/1958; French Catch; 00:20:03) LUC STRAUB vs TOMMY MANN (09/05/1958; French Catch; 00:26…
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