Part 4: The 1970s and uneven prosperity
Until the 1970s, even as the territory system grew, all of professional wrestling seemed to share in successes and failures. When wrestling had its booms and busts during the Great Depression, or its mainstream boom in the 1950s, or its decline in the 1960s, it was up or down everywhere. The 1970s was the introduction of an uneven landscape that remains today. There were now winners and losers.
In 1974, Dusty Rhodes turned babyface, which led to an amazing and extended period of success for the Florida territory. Georgia and the Carolinas remained pretty consistent and strong for most of the 1970s as well. The Japanese scene was continuing to grow. Baba and Inoki were not stars on the level of Rikidozan, just as the next wave of stars weren’t at the level of Baba and Inoki, but wrestling was still healthy. The WWWF remained very strong, powered by the stardom of Bruno Sammartino, the championship reign of Pedro Morales, TV in the New York market and a lock on Madison Square Garden, the most prestigious arena in America. By 1974, they also had Andre the Giant as a top featured attraction and were able to book him on tours around the world.
In other cases, the decade started off strong and faded as the years progressed. That was true for the AWA, California and Detroit. Stampede, which almost closed its doors for good, needed a full scale reinvention when the old way of doing business stopped working, and found purpose rebuilding around smaller and more athletic wrestlers.
If the change in the in-ring style in Stampede predicted the long-term future of pro wrestling, the shifts happening elsewhere predicted the immediate decade ahead. Jack Brisco, an NWA World Champion and major star in the mid-1970s, was heavily influenced by great “pure” wrestlers like Lou Thesz and Danny Hodge, but would eventually seem passe when colorful, muscular characters like Superstar Graham, who copied the interview style of Muhammad Ali, became a major star. The change was less a flip of a switch and more of a gradual move. Bob Backlund, a square personality but talented pro wrestler very much in the mold of Jack Brisco, became the WWWF World Champion in 1978 and was accepted by fans at the beginning, but soundly rejected by the end of his run on top.
In 1972, an Atlanta businessman named Ted Turner started a UHF station called WTCG where he featured professional wrestling in a 6:00 time slot on Saturday nights, which was the first show to really do notable ratings. (When he expanded the show to two hours, the ratings increased even more.) Within four years, Turner put the station on satellite, which made it the first SuperStation and led to Georgia Championship Wrestling being available in many markets nationwide. Likewise, in 1973, a premium television network called HBO (short for Home Box Office) started broadcasting a show called World Championship Boxing, which hinted at a future for pro wrestling on pay-per-view. Wrestling was showing early signs of change. While most territories were insulated from the impact of cable TV at first, this meant that some fans would be able to not just read about what was happening in magazines, but possibly even see wrestling in other places.
Let’s say that a booker lays out an angle in the Mid-Atlantic area, then becomes a booker in Florida and lays out a similar angle in Miami a year later. It might even feature at least one of the same players. Are fans who saw both versions of the angle to think they only witnessed coincidence? In addition, fans who grew up in parts of the country with subpar performers who headlined shows in bad matches were now exposed to great wrestling happening elsewhere. These types of revelations couldn’t help but erode the mystique of the home promotion, and in some ways professional wrestling as a whole. Slowly but surely, wrestling fans who could at least play along with the idea that they were fans of real sport found it more challenging to suspend their disbelief. Sensing that wrestling was changing, Dory and Terry Funk decided to close the Amarillo territory in 1975, believing that the rise of cable television would render their business model obsolete.
By the end of the decade, a new form of technology called a Video Cassette Recorder, or VCR, started to become a household institution. This device allowed users to record shows from television to watch again later. The most devoted wrestling fans in the world seized on this new technology and started taping wrestling, not just for themselves, but to trade with other fans in part of the country. In previous times, hardcore fans who wanted to stay up to date on happenings around the country could only subscribe to wrestling magazines or fan-made newsletters. With the advent of the VCR, those newsletters were often accompanied by a videotape of local wrestling.
In some ways, these fans were more forward-thinking than the promoters who aired the wrestling were, as most promoters simply taped over old episodes to save money. To this day, so much wrestling footage only exists because a wrestling fan somewhere preserved it. We start seeing hints of this trend in the late 70s, and by the early 80s, it was common practice — not just nationally, but internationally. Soon, wrestling fans, including those who had aspirations of becoming professional wrestlers, would have a way they could view wrestling from around the world, which would prove itself a game changer, as we’ll see in the 1980s.
16 topics in this forum
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History of Pro Wrestling #65 (04:02:29) Matches from December 1969-January 1970 GILBERT LEDUC vs GONZALEZ (12/20/1969; French Catch; 00:16:44) L’HOMME MASQUE vs L’ANGE BLANC (12/23/1969; French Catch; 00:32:48) EL SANTO vs BLUE DEMON (1969; 00:09:41) THE SHEIK vs TOM JONES (1969; BTW Detroit, MI; 00:05:00) THE SPOILER vs SPIROS ARION (1969; BTW Detroit, MI; 00:04:12) ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER vs JACQUES ROUGEAU (1969; Montreal; 00:04:44) BOB GEIGEL vs BOB ELLIS (1969; St. Louis Wrestling at the Chase; 00:16:03) KILLER KARL KOX & THE SPOILER vs MARIO MILANO & …
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History of Pro Wrestling #66 (04:22:47) Matches from February-June 1970 KURT KAISER vs REMY BAYLE (02/01/1970; French Catch; 00:03:38) RENE LASARTESSE vs GABY CALDERON (02/01/1970; French Catch; 00:23:12) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. STRONG KOBAYASHI vs VERNE GAGNE (02/06/1970; IWE AWA World Championship Series; 00:09:51) Kobayashi gets the first crack at the AWA World Title on this tour (he also challenged the night before), preparing him to be the ace of IWE. This thread has more information on this tour. ANTONIO INOKI & KINTARO OKI & MITSU HIRAI vs JIM OSBORNE &…
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History of Pro Wrestling #67 (03:23:05) Matches from June-August 1970 VIC FAULKNER & BERT ROYAL vs HONEYBOY ZIMBA & MASAMBULA (06/02/1970; Joint Promotions; 00:23:18) Really fun match for seeing everyone showcase their athletic ability. FRED BLASSIE vs THE HANGMAN (06/10/1970; NWA Hollywood; Wrestling at the Olympic Auditorium; 00:01:28) THE MONGOLS vs TONY MARINO & VICTOR RIVERA (06/15/1970; WWWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:28:13) This took a while to get going but turned into a fun match. BATMAN vs CESAR LEONI (06/27/1970; French Catch; 00:18:38) LE HIPPY DU RING vs GILBERT BERNAERT (06/…
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History of Pro Wrestling #68 (04:07:01) Matches from August-December 1970 ANTONIO INOKI & SHOHEI BABA vs DORY FUNK JR. & TERRY FUNK (08/04/1970; JWA NWA World Champion Series; 00:15:16) We only get less than half the match, but what we have looks GREAT, and finding an Inoki-Baba tag match against The Funks is the type of thing that makes this hobby worth pursuing. GUY MERCIER vs PETER KAYSER (08/22/1970; French Catch; 00:18:07) Segunda Caida review of the match. DR. X vs BLACKJACK LANZA (09/01/1970; AWA House Chicago, IL; 00:02:23) Clip of a match from the Chicago Amphitheatre. JOHN TOLOS v…
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History of Pro Wrestling #69 (04:29:37) Matches from December 1970-February 1971 GILBERT LEDUC vs BERT MYCHEL (12/12/1970; French Catch; 00:27:03) Segunda Caida review of the match. SHOHEI BABA vs GENE KINISKI (12/18/1970; NWA Hollywood; Wrestling at the Olympic Auditorium; 01:02:50) Baba regains the NWA International Title. The match has Japanese commentary. COWBOY BOB KELLY vs FRANK STANLEY (1970; Gulf Coast; 00:04:45) Kelly was the top babyface in the Gulf Coast area for a decade, and the childhood favorite of Michael Hayes, John Tatum, Robert Gibson, Paul Bearer and many others who grew up in the area. Unlik…
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History of Pro Wrestling #70 (03:41:14) Matches from March-May 1971 ANTONIO INOKI & SHOHEI BABA vs MIL MASCARAS & SPIROS ARION (03/02/1971; JWA; 00:24:48) Mascaras and Arion placed first and second in a fan poll to gauge interest in wrestlers who were not booked in Japan. This post goes into more detail. BILLY CATANZARO & GILBERT LEMAGOUROU vs ALBERT SANNIEZ & BOB REMY (03/12/1971; French Catch; 00:32:20) Segunda Caida review of the match. PEDRO MORALES vs BLACKJACK MULLIGAN (03/15/1971; WWWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:23:42) Incredible heat for Mulligan taking on the new WWWF champion. …
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History of Pro Wrestling #71 (04:04:49) Matches from May-July 1971 BARON VON RASCHKE & HANS SCHMIDT vs HAYSTACKS CALHOUN & MOOSE CHOLAK (05/15/1971; AWA House Chicago, IL; 00:09:54) Most of the AWA matches during this time are clipped, but a decent amount is shown, with commentary from Bob Luce. They provide a good glimpse of wrestlers we wouldn’t see much or anything from otherwise. BATMAN & PACO RAMIREZ vs INCA VIRACOCHA & DON GONZALEZ (05/17/1971; French Catch; 00:28:32) Segunda Caida review of the match. ANTONIO INOKI vs THE DESTROYER (05/19/1971; JWA World League; 00:29:41) …
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History of Pro Wrestling #72 (03:44:39) Matches from July-September 1971 GILBERT LEDUC vs DER HENKER (07/31/1971; French Catch; 00:32:58) Segunda Caida review of the match. ANTONIO INOKI vs JACK BRISCO (08/05/1971; JWA Summer Big Series; 00:35:42) Inoki defends the NWA United National Title, which he won from John Tolos in March. This title would be merged into the All Japan Triple Crown in 1989. An absolutely brilliant match, and one of the best of the decade. Some of the most spirited grappling you’ll ever see. 4 3/4* PAUL BOESCH vs GEORGE HARRIS (08/13/1971; Houston Wrestling; 00:11:18) Another tre…
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History of Pro Wrestling #73 (04:30:14) Matches from September-December 1971 RENE BEN CHEMOUL & WALTER BORDES vs ANTON TEJERO & ANTONIO MONTORO (09/20/1971; French Catch; 00:27:15) Segunda Caida review of the match. GUY MERCIER vs KAMIKAZE (10/04/1971; French Catch; 00:33:02) Segunda Caida review of the match. JOHNNY WEAVER & GEORGE BECKER vs RIP HAWK & SWEDE HANSON (10/16/1971; JCP House; 00:09:52) The earliest of the Mid-Atlantic film footage we have. For those unaware, this and other 70s JCP film footage was rescued from a dumpster by Jim Cornette when Crockett sold to WCW. M’BOABA LES …
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History of Pro Wrestling #74 (04:37:33) Matches from December 1971-January 1972 DORY FUNK JR. vs SEIJI SAKAGUCHI (12/09/1971; JWA World Champion Series; 00:36:38) Sakaguchi was a last-minute replacement for Inoki, who disappeared from the tour after he and Baba dropped the NWA International Tag Team Titles to the Funks two nights earlier. More of a Dory special than the matches against Baba and Inoki but he makes this an excellent NWA title defense. 3 3/4* SEIJI SAKAGUCHI & MICHIAKI YOSHIMURA vs DORY FUNK JR. & DICK MURDOCH (12/12/1971; JWA World Champion Series; 00:36:38) Sakaguchi also filled in for Inoki in this match. By thi…
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History of Pro Wrestling #75 (04:10:00) Matches from January-February 1972 TRAMPOLINE WRESTLING (01/31/1972; French Catch; 00:09:47) A pretty neat thing to see, almost analogous to a Harlem Globetrotters take on a sport. The wrestlers are shot into the ring off of platforms with compressed air. Bryan Danielson has mentioned this match on the Masked Man podcast. Segunda Caida review of the match. KARL GOTCH & RENE GOULET vs RUGGED RUSSIANS (01/31/1972; WWWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:26:00) A major treat anytime a Karl Gotch match surfaces, as this one did when WWE ran its Hidden Gems series on their Network. Gotch is really the centerpie…
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History of Pro Wrestling #76 (04:12:17) Matches from February-April 1972 GUY MERCIER & MICHEL FALEMPIN vs INCA VIRACOCHA & JO GONZALEZ (02/28/1972; French Catch; 00:29:32) Segunda Caida review of the match. BLACKJACK MULLIGAN & BLACKJACK LANZA vs DICK THE BRUISER & THE CRUSHER (03/04/1972; AWA House Chicago, IL; 00:04:50) Even with the clipping, slightly sped up film footage and Bob Luce’s lovable but overbearing commentary muting the crowd to an extent, it’s clear in these clips that Chicago was HOT for Bruiser and Crusher. PAT PATTERSON vs ROCKY JOHNSON (03/04/1972; Big Time San Francisco; 00:02:05…
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History of Pro Wrestling #77 (04:28:34) Matches from April-May 1972 TUG WILSON vs JOHN CASANOVA (04/19/1972; Joint Promotions; 00:22:04) FRANCIS LOUIS & JEAN CLAUDE BOURDEAUX vs ANTONION PEREIRA & MOTA DOS SANTOS (04/24/1972; French Catch; 00:31:03) Segunda Caida review of the match. STRONG KOBAYASHI vs DON LEO JONATHAN (05/02/1972; IWE World Series; 00:28:05) Good match! Don Leo Jonathan is such a blast to watch. You can find a bio of Kobayashi here. RUSHER KIMURA & ISAMU TERANISHI & THUNDER SUGIYAMA vs MONSTER ROUSIMOFF & ALI BEY & FRANZ VAN BUYTEN (05/02/1972; IWE World Series; 00:2…
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History of Pro Wrestling #78 (03:19:22) Matches from May-June 1972 JEAN MENARD & ALAN MITCHELL vs JEAN CORNE & MICHEL FALEMPIN (05/22/1972; French Catch; 00:09:28) KAMIKAZE vs NICOLAS PRIORE (05/22/1972; French Catch; 00:18:07) Segunda Caida reviews of the above two matches. CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW & SONNY KING vs KING CURTIS & BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA (05/22/1972; WWWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:05:37) MIKE GRAHAM vs BOBBY SHANE (05/23/1972; CWF House Tampa, FL; 00:04:57) Mike Graham makes his professional wrestling debut. THE CRUSHER vs BLACKJACK LANZA (05/23/1972; WWA Indianapolis, IN; 00:…
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History of Pro Wrestling #79 (03:09:25) Matches from June-August 1972 BOBBY HEENAN vs BILLY RED CLOUD-CHAIN (06/24/1972; AWA House Chicago, IL; 00:04:24) JIM BREAKS vs STEVE BEST (06/28/1972; Joint Promotions; 00:28:58) PEDRO MORALES vs GEORGE STEELE (07/01/1972; WWWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:09:08) GILBERT LEDUC & JACKY CORN vs DER HENKER (07/03/1972; French Catch; 00:28:07) Segunda Caida review of the match. BUDDY ROBERTS & JERRY BROWN vs EDOUARD CARPENTIER & YVON ROBERT JR. (07/05/1972; Grand Prix Montreal; 00:05:24) PAT PATTERSON vs ERNIE LADD (07/08/1972; B…
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History of Pro Wrestling #80 (04:08:48) Matches from August-November 1972 JACK BRISCO & RAUL MATA vs BOBBY SHANE & BEARCAT WRIGHT (08/12/1972; CWF House St. Petersburg, FL; 00:02:35) TIM WOODS vs ZODIAC (08/12/1972; CWF House St. Petersburg, FL; 00:02:56) PAUL JONES vs TIM WOODS (08/12/1972; CWF House St. Petersburg, FL; 00:06:59) Fists and karate were legal in this one! Unfortunately, the clip doesn’t really give us much of the rulebreaking brawling you’d hope for. TIM WOODS vs PAUL JONES (08/15/1972; CWF House, Tampa, FL; 00:04:27) BUDDY COLT vs TIM GEOHAGEN (08/29/1972; CWF House Tampa, F…
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