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Part 3: The 1960s and a fractured landscape

In America, the 1950s was a boom period for professional wrestling because of television, but the 1960s represents the end of that boom and the beginning of a different landscape. There were many reasons the wrestling boom ended, with television overexposure being the biggest contributor. By the end of the decade, ratings were in decline and producers were starting to lose interest as a result. The NWA was weakened and new independent territories formed that recognized their own champions, the most notable among them Vincent J. McMahon’s World Wide Wrestling Federation out of New York and Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association out of Minneapolis. The NWA also had trouble finding a worthy successor to Lou Thesz, which led to him coming out of retirement in 1963. Wrestlers like Gene Kiniski and Pat O’Connor are legitimate Hall of Famers and wrestling legends, but they were less successful NWA champions than Thesz.

In Japan, the popularity of wrestling continued to thrive under the stardom of Rikidozan until his death in 1963 at 39 years old. We saw the ascension of his proteges Shohei “Giant” Baba and Antonio Inoki as stars in the 1960s and by the end of the decade, the rival International Wrestling Enterprise was formed. Likewise, the most prolific women’s wrestling company in history (some would just say the most prolific wrestling company in history) — All Japan Women — formed in 1968.

Because wrestling operated on far more of a regional basis in the 1960s than the 1950s, footage is less accessible during this time, and it remains that way until the VCR starts showing up in households in the late 70s. Still, while what we have doesn’t tell the full story of 60s wrestling, we do see some fascinating hints that reveal plenty on their own from all around the world, and much like in the 1950s, there are more complete matches than you might think. A key part of that is the continued availability of French Catch footage, but we also see an increase in Japanese footage and a treasure trove of fun clips from Toronto and Portland. We also continue to see footage from Los Angeles and Dallas as the decade progresses.

  1. History of Pro Wrestling #36 (January-May 1960)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #36 (04:20:37) Matches from January-May 1960 MICHEL ALLARY vs PAUL VILLARS (01/22/1960; French Catch; 00:27:07) PIERRE COMBROUSTE vs TED LAMARRE (01/22/1960; French Catch; 00:13:01) AL HAYES & RAY HUNTER vs ROGER DELAPORTE & ANDRE BOLLET (02/01/1960; French Catch; 00:31:31) Segunda Caida review of the match. EDOUARD CARPENTIER vs ART MAHALIK (02/03/1960; NAWA TV Taping Los Angeles, CA; 00:08:29) Carpentier is billed as the World Champion. Mahalick played minor league football in San Bernadino and spent most of his career as an enhancement guy. ANGELO POFFO…

    • 0 replies
    • 461 views
    Loss

  2. History of Pro Wrestling #37 (May-July 1960)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #37 (04:29:38) Matches from May-July 1960 RIKIDOZAN vs LEO NOMELLINI (05/13/1960; JWA 2nd World League Battle Finals; 00:01:11) Rikidozan wins the World League for the second straight year. FRITZ VON ERICH vs YUKON ERIC (05/14/1960; NWA Upstate Akron, OH; 00:13:41) Match takes place at the Akron Armory. BrockHatesWrestling @BrockHatesWres Fritz Von Erich vs Yukon Eric – NWF (05/14/1960) Fritz Von Erich vs Yukon Eric – NWF (05/14/1960)Fritz Von Erich vs Yukon Eric 05/14/1960 Akron Armory, Akron, Ohio, United States Watch: YouTube (reviewed 01/12/2020) Not a great match but a great Fritz performanc…

    • 0 replies
    • 387 views
    Loss

  3. History of Pro Wrestling #38 (August-November 1960)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #38 (04:03:31) Matches from August-November 1960 DICK THE BRUISER vs PEPPER GOMEZ (08/13/1960; Capitol Wrestling Detroit, MI; 00:04:19) ROGER GUETTIER vs COWBOY JACK BENCE (09/15/1960; French Catch; 00:35:28) Segunda Caida review of the match. ANDRE DRAPP vs ROGER DELAPORTE (09/22/1960; French Catch; 00:32:02) KARL VON KRAMER & KARL VON CHENOK vs GABY CALDERON & LUC STRAUB (09/29/1960; French Catch; 00:38:13) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. FRITZ VON ERICH vs REGGIE PARKS (10/07/1960; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:07:38) …

    • 0 replies
    • 501 views
    Loss

  4. History of Pro Wrestling #39 (1960)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #39 (02:03:39) Matches from 1960 JACKY CORN & ROGER LAROCHE vs GIACOMO GUGLIEMETTI & JO CZIERNESKI (12/09/1960; French Catch; 00:37:43) Segunda Caida review of the match. THE SHEIK vs BOBBY BELL (12/09/1960; NWA Upstate; Buffalo Memorial Auditorium; 00:05:01) JOSE ARROYO vs AL ARAUJO (12/30/1960; French Catch; 00:27:03) Segunda Caida review of the match. JOHNNY GILBERT & BILLY GOELZ vs STRANGER O’DELL & JACK OWENS (1960; 00:15:32) LARRY CHENE vs GARY HART (1960; NWA Chicago; 00:09:16)

    • 0 replies
    • 344 views
    Loss

  5. History of Pro Wrestling #40 (1960-1961)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #40 (04:42:02) Matches from 1960-1961 LUIS MARTINEZ vs NIKOLAI VOLKOFF (1960; NWA Chicago; 00:07:59) RICKIE CORTEZ vs HANK LANE (1960; NWA Chicago; 00:05:55) VERNE GAGNE vs HANS SCHMIDT (1960; NWA Chicago; 00:22:15) JOHN TOLOS & CHRIS TOLOS vs BOB NANDOR & CHET WALLACH (1960; NWA Chicago; 00:13:33) The teams brawl through the studio, and this is one of the first matches I can recall seeing like this. Fun stuff! GREAT SCOTT vs MR. MOTO (1960; Southwest Sports; Dallas Sportatorium; 00:05:00) DICK THE BRUISER vs MIKE GALLAGHER (01/06/1961; NWA Upstate; Buf…

    • 0 replies
    • 426 views
    Loss

  6. History of Pro Wrestling #41 (April-October 1961)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #41 (04:21:23) Matches from April-October 1961 JACQUES BERNIERES vs JEAN MARTIN (04/21/1961; French Catch; 00:05:04) Segunda Caida review of the match. KARL GOTCH vs MICHIAKI YOSHIMURA (05/01/1961; JWA; 00:11:50) We don’t have much Karl Gotch footage, so it’s always a treat when we get to see any of his footage in the ring. You can absolutely see the influence had on Inoki and New Japan Pro Wrestling here. Some of these counters are out of this world. This is Gotch’s actual debut in Japan! Click through the below Twitter post to see a thread that contains GIFs of some of the most interesting parts of the match. …

    • 0 replies
    • 449 views
    Loss

  7. History of Pro Wrestling #42 (October 1961-February 1962)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #42 (04:35:26) Matches from October 1961-February 1962 JOHNNY GILBERT vs NIKOLAI VOLKOFF (10/20/1961; NWA Chicago; 00:15:22) Again, this is NOT the Nikolai Volkoff from 1970s and 80s WWF. THE CRUSHER vs KARL ENGSTROM (10/20/1961; NWA Chicago; 00:11:20) This and the previous match were shown repeatedly on ESPN’s short-lived Golden Age of Wrestling show. INCA PERUANO & COMTE DA DIADONE vs MICHEL CHARRET & JEAN FRYZIUK (11/10/1961; French Catch; 00:44:44) Diadone (who also worked as Giuseppe Diadone) was a bearded Italian wrestler working an aristocratic gimmick. JEAN DEBUT v…

    • 0 replies
    • 339 views
    Loss

  8. History of Pro Wrestling #43 (March-October 1962)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #43 (04:08:29) Matches from March-October 1962 All of the Toronto clips from Maple Leaf Gardens are brief 8mm clips that it’s extremely cool to have in color! They feature many wrestlers for whom I am not sure we’d have any footage at all otherwise. Credit to the Maple Leaf Wrestling Video Archives YouTube channel for making these available. I spliced up the longer videos they posted into individual short clips so we could work them into everything else chronologically. SWEET DADDY SIKI vs TIMOTHY GEOHAGEN (03/01/1962; Maple Leaf Gardens; 00:00:50) Geohagen was an Irish wrestler, strongman and hypnotist! He wasn’t really a h…

    • 0 replies
    • 591 views
    Loss

  9. History of Pro Wrestling #44 (October 1962-January 1963)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #44 (04:00:31) Matches from October 1962-January 1963 INCA PERUANO vs GUY MERCIER (10/19/1962; French Catch; 00:09:12) LARRY CHENE vs RED KELLY (11/09/1962; NWA Chicago; 00:08:06) DAN AUBRIOT vs PIERRE BERNAERT (11/09/1962; French Catch; 00:29:13) GUY TALLIEU vs CESAR FRANCK (11/09/1962; French Catch; 00:04:36) Segunda Caida reviews of the above four matches. JIMMY DULA & JEAN MARTIN vs MARCEL MONTREAL & LEON MINISSINI (11/16/1962; French Catch; 00:47:19) User ohtani’s jacket at Pro Wrestling Only: “I was kind of dreading this when I saw it was 46 minutes long, b…

    • 0 replies
    • 365 views
    Loss

  10. History of Pro Wrestling #45 (February-April 1963)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #45 (03:52:08) Matches from February-April 1963 BOB ELANDON & ALBERT FALAUX vs RENE CABALLEC & GILBERT POUYDEBAT (02/22/1963; French Catch; 00:38:58) Segunda Caida review of the match. BUDDY ROGERS vs KILLER KOWALSKI (02/22/1963; IWA Chicago; 00:17:54) Rogers had lost the NWA title to Lou Thesz by this point, but still claimed to be the World Champion (without saying NWA). Here’s Bryan Alvarez in Figure Four Weekly with the best and most concise explanation of the story that I’ve seen: SAILOR ART THOMAS & DORY DIXON vs JOHNNY BAREND & MAGNIFICENT MAURICE (02/22/1963; IWA Chica…

    • 0 replies
    • 367 views
    Loss

  11. History of Pro Wrestling #46 (April 1963-February 1964)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #46 (04:40:12) Matches from April 1963-February 1964 KINTARO OKI vs KILLER X (04/11/1963; JWA; 00:01:20) HAYSTACKS CALHOUN vs FRED ATKINS (04/12/1963; JWA; 00:01:29) SHOHEI BABA vs PAT O’CONNOR (04/12/1963; JWA; 00:02:17) GORILLA MONSOON vs COWBOY BOB ELLIS (04/13/1963; JWA; 00:01:55) MICHIAKI YOSHIMURA & KILLER X vs MAMMOTH SUZUKI & FRED ATKINS (04/15/1963; JWA; 00:00:52) RIKIDOZAN vs HAYSTACKS CALHOUN (04/17/1963; JWA; 00:03:43) RIKIDOZAN & GREAT TOGO & MICHIAKI YOSHIMURA vs KILLER KOWALSKI & HAYSTACKS CALHOUN & KILLER X (04/…

    • 0 replies
    • 418 views
    Loss

  12. History of Pro Wrestling #47 (1964-1965)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #47 (03:40:12) Matches from 1964-1965 All of the Toronto clips from Maple Leaf Gardens are brief 8mm clips that it’s extremely cool to have in color! They feature many wrestlers for whom I am not sure we’d have any footage at all otherwise. Credit to the Maple Leaf Wrestling Video Archives YouTube channel for making these available. I spliced up the longer videos they posted into individual short clips so we could work them into everything else chronologically. JIM HADY vs JOE CHRISTIE (03/26/1964; Maple Leaf Gardens; 00:00:40) THE BEAST vs ERICH FROELICH (03/26/1964; Maple Leaf Gardens; 00:01:38) Froelich was …

    • 0 replies
    • 352 views
    Loss

  13. History of Pro Wrestling #48 (February-April 1965)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #48 (04:14:33) Matches from February-April 1965 THE DESTROYER vs TOYONOBORI (02/26/1965; JWA New Year International Competitions; 01:07:10) This one-hour draw did an unbelievable 50.1 television rating. (Yes, that means half of all Japanese households were watching the match.) RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA vs ABE GINSBURG & JOHN FOLEY (02/28/1965; French Catch; 00:39:49) Segunda Caida review of the match. RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA vs ANTON TEJERO & INCA PERUANO (03/12/1965; French Catch; 00:32:16) This was Segunda Caida’s pick for 1965 Match of the Year!…

    • 0 replies
    • 379 views
    Loss

  14. History of Pro Wrestling #49 (April-June 1965)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #49 (04:26:48) Matches from April-June 1965 JOAQUIM LA BARBA vs DAN AUBRIOT (04/11/1965; French Catch; 00:05:51) PIERRE BERNAERT vs ARMAND ZARPA (04/11/1965; French Catch; 00:23:54) REMY BAYLE & MARCEL MONTREAL vs CHERI BIBI & ERIC HUSBERG (04/25/1965; French Catch; 00:36:40) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. CAVERNARIO GALINDO & RAY MENDOZA vs PANTERA BLANCA & MEMO RUBIO (04/26/1965; EMLL; 00:03:04) An extremely rare look at lucha libre during this time period. RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA vs ALDOLPHE SEVRES & ROBERT LE…

    • 0 replies
    • 367 views
    Loss

  15. History of Pro Wrestling #50 (July-August 1965)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #50 (04:26:55) Matches from July-August 1965 LUC STRAUB & AMOR ZAFAR vs PIERRE BERNAERT & MICHEL MANNEVEAU (07/02/1965; French Catch; 00:33:44) Segunda Caida review of the match. GIL VIONET vs GEORGES KASBARIAN (07/11/1965; French Catch; 00:18:22) ISKA KHAN vs JEAN GASPARINI (07/11/1965; French Catch; 00:18:16) LUC STRAUB vs GIACOMO GUGULIEMETTI (07/16/1965; French Catch; 00:31:48) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. RENE BEN CHEMOUL & GILBERT CESCA vs ANTON TEJERO & PANCHO ZAPATA (07/18/1965; French Catch; 00:33:20) KARL VON K…

    • 0 replies
    • 357 views
    Loss

  16. History of Pro Wrestling #51 (September-November 1965)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #51 (04:17:56) Matches from September-November 1965 DICK THE BRUISER vs DANNY DOLLY (09/1965; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:06:10) Dolly was more known as Dennis Hall and was mostly known for teaming with Roger Kirby as his cousin in the 1960s and 1970s. LARRY CHENE vs RED KELLY (09/1965; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:09:36) MOOSE CHOLAK vs TONY PARENTE (09/1965; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:08:21) GENE KINISKI vs TOM JONES (09/03/1965; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:07:48) THE ASSASSINS vs PRINCE POULIN & ROCKY MONTERO (09/03/1965; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:19:39) GASPARIAN vs…

    • 0 replies
    • 367 views
    Loss

  17. History of Pro Wrestling #52 (November 1965-January 1966)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #52 (03:59:34) Matches from November 1965-January 1966 This isn’t rare at this point, but I still think that it’s super cool that in this stretch of January 1966, we have three consecutive episodes of WWWF television. You’ll notice that I don’t have much in the way of notes on the matches because I wasn’t able to find much on the specifics but if you have information that adds context, feel free to share and I’ll include the information with full credit in a future issue. PANCHO ZAPATA & VICTOR CASTILLA vs DAN AUBRIOT & REMY BAYLE (11/28/1965; French Catch; 00:39:22) Segunda Caida review of the match. R…

    • 0 replies
    • 348 views
    Loss

  18. History of Pro Wrestling #53 (January-April 1966)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #53 (03:58:18) Matches from January-April 1966 TARZAN TYLER vs PERRO RODRIGUES (01/20/1966; WWWF TV; 00:14:30) DANIEL BOUCARD vs RED DIAMOND (02/06/1966; French Catch; 00:28:08) JAMES BROWN & RAY APOLLON vs JACK DE LASARTESSE & HANS HESS (02/11/1966; French Catch; 00:31:09) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. GUY MERCIER & CLAUDE MONTOURCY vs KIYOMIGAWA & CHATI YOKOUCHI (02/20/1966; French Catch; 00:35:49) ANDRE DRAPP vs L’HOMME MASQUE (03/04/1966; French Catch; 00:27:24) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. CHERI BIBI…

    • 0 replies
    • 361 views
    Loss

  19. History of Pro Wrestling #54 (April-August 1966)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #54 (04:18:32) Matches from April-August 1966 DAN AUBRIOT & REMY BAYLE vs MANUEL MANNEVEAU & CLAUDE GESSAT (04/09/1966; French Catch; 00:27:58) HENRI LE MAO vs ZADI KOCHESKI (04/17/1966; French Catch; 00:24:43) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. GEORGES COHEN vs PASQUALE GIUSTO (05/08/1966; French Catch; 00:25:35) LE PETIT PRINCE vs BOBBY GENELE (05/22/1966; French Catch; 00:28:24) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. LE PETIT PRINCE vs MICHEL FALEMPIN (05/27/1966; French Catch; 00:21:23) Segunda Caida review of the match. …

    • 0 replies
    • 345 views
    Loss

  20. History of Pro Wrestling #55 (August-December 1966)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #55 (04:19:50) Matches from August-December 1966 GILBERT LE MAGOUROUX & BILLY CATANZARO vs VASILIOS MANTOPOULOS & FRANCIS LOUIS (08/29/1966; French Catch; 00:37:41) Segunda Caida review of the match. GILBERT CESCA vs CHERI BIBI (09/02/1966; French Catch; 00:29:25) Segunda Caida review of the match. RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES vs MANUEL MANNEVEAU & CLAUDE GESSAT (09/06/1966; French Catch; 00:33:44) DANIEL BOUCARD vs FRANCIS RAGOT LE LEGIONARE (09/20/1966; French Catch; 00:31:45) Segunda Caida review of the above two matches. LOU THESZ vs JOE WALCO…

    • 0 replies
    • 515 views
    Loss

  21. History of Pro Wrestling #56 (December 1966-May 1967)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #56 (04:17:16) Matches from December 1966-May 1967 KILLER KOWALSKI vs JACK LANZA & JOE PESEK (12/09/1966; AWA TV; 00:16:10) MAD DOG VACHON vs PAUL CARUSO (1966; AWA TV; 00:03:14) EL SOLITARIO & MARCO TULIO vs POLO TORRES & EL REBELDE (1966; EMLL; 00:05:39) Solitario is a wrestling legend who started wrestling at 14 years old and never saw his 40th birthday. He is part of the original class of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. RENE GUAJARDO & ESPANTO SEGUNDO vs BLACK SHADOW & ROLANDO VERA (1966; Monterrey; 00:08:07) Guajardo’s legacy includes ending th…

    • 0 replies
    • 383 views
    Loss

  22. History of Pro Wrestling #57 (June-October 1967)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #57 (04:22:38) Matches from June-October 1967 VASILIOS MANTOPOULOS vs JACK ROUXEL (06/29/1967; French Catch; 00:28:12) Segunda Caida review of the match. BOB REMY vs MODESTO ALEDO (07/29/1967; French Catch; 00:34:17) EDDIE WILLIAMS vs ROBERT GASTEL (08/02/1967; French Catch; 00:29:23) FRANK VALOIS vs JACKY WIECZ (08/02/1967; French Catch; 00:03:59) Segunda Caida reviews of the above three matches. GENE KINISKI vs SHOHEI BABA (08/14/1967; JWA Summer Series I; 00:30:08) This is 30 minutes of what appears to be an incredible 60-minute draw with awesome atmosphere and th…

    • 0 replies
    • 675 views
    Loss

  23. History of Pro Wrestling #58 (December 1967-January 1968)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #58 (05:14:18) Matches from December 1967-January 1968 GILBERT LEDUC & BATMAN vs MARCEL MANNEVEAU & CLAUDE GESSAT (12/01/1967; French Catch; 00:30:34) Segunda Caida review of the match. Handwerk review of the match. ANTONIO INOKI & MICHIAKI YOSHIMURA vs BARON SCICLUNA & VICTOR RIVERA (12/06/1967; JWA; 00:33:17) Scicluna looks better and more interesting here than I can recall him ever looking on WWWF TV, going overboard to make Inoki look great. Nice blend of comedy and action in this one. 4* KINTARO OKI vs NICK KOSAK (12/06/1967; JWA; 00:13:40) Oki came through t…

    • 0 replies
    • 425 views
    Loss

  24. History of Pro Wrestling #59 (January-August 1968)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #59 (04:17:43) Matches from January-August 1968 LE PETIT PRINCE vs BOBBY GENELE (01/20/1968; French Catch; 00:07:06) Segunda Caida review of the match. BEAUREGARD vs SANDY BARR (02/1968; PNW; 00:01:49) Sandy Barr was a Portland-area wrestler, referee, trainer and promoter with a pretty unimpeachable reputation in wrestling, and the father of “Love Machine” Art Barr. Barr stayed semi-active in wrestling all the way to his death in 2007. TONY BORNE vs STAN STASIAK (02/1968; PNW; 00:01:45) SHOHEI BABA vs DICK THE BRUISER (02/28/1968; JWA; 00:18:01) Baba really had excellent brawls wi…

    • 0 replies
    • 345 views
    Loss

  25. History of Pro Wrestling #60 (August-December 1968)

    Started by Loss,

    History of Pro Wrestling #60 (04:08:03) Matches from August-December 1968 JACK DE LASARTESSE vs BERNARD VIGNAL (08/24/1968; French Catch; 00:03:35) Segunda Caida review of the match. VERNE GAGNE vs DR. X (08/31/1968; AWA House Minneapolis, MN; 00:04:41) Dr. X is of course The Destroyer. Rare look at stateside footage of Dick Beyer, and one of the earliest clips we have from the AWA as well. PEDRO CABRERA & ALBERT SANNIEZ vs TONY MARTINO & BERNARD CACLARD (08/31/1968; French Catch; 00:35:51) Segunda Caida review of the match. PIERRE BERNAERT vs MARCEL MONTREAL (09/07/1968; French Cat…

    • 0 replies
    • 412 views
    Loss

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