club:

God I love Sid Cooper. An ugly, mean spirited, caveman dunderhead in the best way.

 

There’s a simple but great morality tale subtext to his matches; he’s a talented technical wrestler who cuts corners wherever he can. Thing is, this reliance on cheap shots never works. As Kent Walton’s reminds us, if he’d just stick to the technical wrestling he’d get somewhere. As it is he almost always loses. And we love seeing this idiot getting his comeuppance again and again.

 

When he’s not cheating, he makes for a fantastic buffoon, trying to hang with a more athletic opponent and failing miserably. See his matches against Sammy Lee/Sayama for the best example of this. I very much get Les Dawson “it takes real talent to play a piano that badly” vibes from these performances. Not sure what an equivalent reference would be for anyone who isn’t a 40+ Brit. The Washington Generals perhaps?

 

Recommended matches, all from World of Sport:

Vs. Clive Myers, 1975 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgAu4Uh0qsA

 

Vs. Kung Fu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jno3tW9YZq4

 

Vs. Steve Grey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDEBM-Ki7aU&t=13s

 

Vs. Dave Barrie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSXemeAyods

 

Vs. Sammy Lee, 1980 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehRX4YvSx6c

Another good-great WoS guy though I think he doesn't have quite the high-end matches to stand out above the pack. He's still well worth watching for being such an excellent straight forward heel. The Dave Barrie match is one of the finest examples of a veteran roughing up a rookie and getting the most out of it that I can recall.