Not exactly a real fight but a buffalo tv station was filming lou thesz working out with the u of buffalo wreslting team while he was touring the area. Antonio inoki are unfamiliar, you should look them up. Billy robinson trained some of the best wrestlers even ric flair. We were honored to receive a letter from billy robinson regarding his altercation with peter maivia grandfather of the rock which we noted in the last newsletter. A six time world champion, he held the nwa world heavyweight championship three times for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days 3,749 days longer than anyone else in history. This card also featured lou thesz, fred curry and haystacks calhoun. The debate is a real one among those who seriously study the history of this american popculture creation. Buy billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board wwe uwf nwa psadna certified original nfl art and prints. I mean, lou thesz used to walk around like some sort of postapocalyptic avenger hurting people who talked bad about wrestling. Aloysius martin thesz april 24, 1916 april 28, 2002 was an american professional wrestler. The george tragos lou thesz professional wrestling hall of fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located within the national wrestling hall of fame and museums dan gable museum.
A fifteentime world champion, he held the nwa world heavyweight championship three times for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days 3,749 days longer than anyone else in history. Aloysius martin lou thesz april 24, 1916 april 28, 2002 was an american professional wrestler. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and kurt angle are also featured. Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher report. He would have easily handled almost anyone off the streetbut in competition with another top grappler, like billy robinson, brisco was out of his element. Catch wrestling showcases the holds and maneuvers shown to mma legends josh barnett, kazushi sakuraba, and the panoply of fighters in the uwfi. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board rare wrestling coa.
Learn as erik paulson, josh barnett, and others pick the brain of this catch wrestling icon. George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of fame. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Billy rileys legendary wigan snake pit and the rigorous uwf dojo in tokyo are explored, revealing the secret history of both professional wrestling and the rising sport of mma. Yes, there was a wrestling school in england by the name of wigham, near manchester, england and they developed some very fine wrestlers and i think the best of the whole bunch was billy robinson who is still in this country now, he lives in nashville, but the europeans took a lot of pride in the knowledge of straight wrestling. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple. He was best known for his appearances with the minneapolis, minnesotabased american wrestling association awa from 1970 to 1987, where he held the awa world heavyweight championship on four occasions and the awa world tag team championship on three. Lou thesz vs billy robinson louisville, kentucky,sep. Save lou thesz book to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed.
Catch wrestling is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. Maple leaf gardens, toronto, ontario canada 1956 whipper watson with the canuck commando on buddy rogers. Matches lou thesz wrestlers database cagematch the. The greatest wrestler of all time ring master norfolks lou. May 30, 2009 billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out. Lou thesz was a professional wrestler in the classic tradition. Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher. Robinson himself had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest, legit performers to ever enter the ring. Mar 07, 2014 massive but amazing meltzer article on billy robinson a few years back, when josh barnett and i were in a discussion about billy robinson, he made a remark about something, which, ironically was. Does maiming members of the public who think wrestlers arent tough make him more of an asshole than billy, who usually only fought people backstage. Nwa united states tag team championship florida version 1 time with cowboy bob ellis. In this memoir, billy robinson gives a unique insight into both show, and catch wrestling. If you like this site, please consider a small donation that will keep the site alive and advertisingfree in the future.
May 07, 2014 billy robinson, who has died aged 74, was a britishborn professional heavyweight wrestler and a master of the catch or catchascatchcan style. Robinson s shooting ability was pretty much his claim to fame in prowrestling. Billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board psadna wwe uwf nwa. Go to page 2 of ring record 1916 april 24 banat aloysius martin lou thesz is born in a log cabin.
Buddy rogers was the reigning nwa champion and if there was one person buddy didnt like, it was karl gotch. Gorgeous george would draw nearly the same amount of fans to the arena as lou thesz vs. Something was said no one remembers what mulligan punches harley and fight ensues. Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. And lou thesz made millions of dollars as a pro wrestler not the case with karl gotch. Jul 19, 2015 best of billy robinson mma, pro wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling legend. Jan 2, 2017 lou thesz vs billy robinson louisville, kentucky, sep. Billy robinson bill robinson was a british professional wrestler from lancashire, england in the united kingdom. Lou thesz professional wrestling ring record page 1. Thesz was thrown almost immediately to the shock of the tv station crew and reporters. Together, they started the united wrestling federation.
And billy robinson was a legit catch hooker during the years he wrestled professionally, along with karl gotch, and of course, lou thesz. Robinson was a legitimate shooter, one of those dangerous grapplers old wrestlers speak about with the same respect as haku and dr. It was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. Lou thesz was the one professional wrestler who gave the national wrestling alliance credibility during its growing years, adding to the organizations credibility, and strengthening.
It was popularized by wrestlers of travelling funfairs who developed their own submission holds, or hooks, into their wrestling to increase their effectiveness against their opponents. Billy tells us that the altercation took place in late 1969 during a tour of japan. Bill robinson, american dancer of broadway and hollywood, best known for his dancing roles with shirley temple in films of the 1930s. For the first time, billy robinson sets the record straight on. Had many great light weights and featured some of the best tournaments in the world that continue today. Lou thesz aloysius martin thesz faces verne gagne laverne clarence gagne in a best 2 of 3 falls match with a 30 minute time limit. Dirty boxing for mixed martial arts from wrestling to mixed martial arts pdf full ebook. Lou thesz for awa title, first ever g1 final by f4w. Hooker, written by lou thesz with kit bauman, is a surprisingly, bluntly honest book. He held the world title for more than years, more than any other wrestler in history, with his eightyear reign from 1948 to 1956 ranking as the longest title run of all time. If youre a big wrestling fan or a big fan of martial arts and grappling then this is. He was a catch wrestling instructor and also author of the book physical chess.
Rogers often compared gotch with lou thesz, whom he also distrusted, and let anyone within earshot know his feelings. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple leaf gardens toronto 1956. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video. Robinsons parents having died when he was a child, he was raised by a grandmother and received little formal schooling. Shooters ecw press a canadian indie book publisher. Backlund, antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents. The main even featured us champion the sheik vs whipper billy watson for the united states championship.
The life and times of a hooker by the phantom of the ring. They would be even more surprised to know that lou thesz is the greatest wrestler of this century and, in the opinion of many, the finest who ever lived. Massive but amazing meltzer article on billy robinson a few years back, when josh barnett and i were in a discussion about billy robinson, he made a remark about something, which, ironically was something robinson himself had bemoaned to friends years earlier. Lou thesz winner unknown cwa world heavyweight title 77. Robinson passed away on march 3rd, 2014 at the age of 75. The hall of fame honors wrestlers with an amateur background who have made an impact on professional wrestling. Listen to the jim cornette experience each thursday and jim cornettes drive thru each monday on itunes, stitcher, podcast addict, iheartradio, and everywhere else podcasts are available. Robinson was also knocked out by art thomas in the locker room. My life in catchascatchcan wrestling by billy robinson 20120601 at. Thesz easily dispatched all the lighter wrestlers and then he went up against their heavyweight.
Watson had just lost the nwa title back to lou thesz. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video dailymotion. October 11, 1969 former nwa and wwwf wwe world champion nature boy buddy rogers faced mr wrestling gordon nelson at the cobo arena in detroit michigan. In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a number of. Friday, january 26th, 1951, at the chicago international. Find great deals on ebay for lou thesz and verne gagne. Aug 02, 2007 it was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. Guests lou thesz, the destroyer, karl gotch, freddie blassie njpw 1972owner antonio inoki style featured mostly the same hard hitting japan vs evil gaijin style made famous by rikidozan. Massive but amazing meltzer article on billy robinson. Wwe hall of famer beth phoenix copeland became the first woman ever inducted into the george tragos lou thesz professional wrestling hall of fame on saturday night in waterloo, iowa. Robinson himself had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest. In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a. Best of billy robinson mma, pro wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling legend. Also includes about 5 minutes of footage of rikidozan hanging out, playing with crabs, looking cool in a suit, and having a relaxing afternoon next to the pool with lou.
Blackandwhite film clips from iwethe earliest robinson match on tape. This is the finals of iwes annual world league roundrobin tournament. He was a pro wrestler and that was his only obsession. If the names billy robinson, karl gotch, or heaven forbid. Billy robinson record book the clawmasters archives. Hes called billy robinson and karl gotch hookers as well as cecchine. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board. Billy robinson was also the awa british empire heavyweight champion. Lou thesz said he was one of a handful of hookers in the world. Lou thesz winner unknown cwa world heavyweight title 76. It is named after lou thesz, who helped create it, and his. But by lous own admission, there was no reason whatever to teach the japanese fellows in the uwfi hooking because thats not what they were getting paid to learn. Robinson grew up in a style of wrestling known as one of the toughest and most punishing in the world. Yes, robinson was at the original wigan snake pit, not the aspull wrestling club.
George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of. Antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents. And as i said before, he was hired by the uwf to coach their grapplers in submissions. Thesz was carried from the ring because of exhaustion and gagne was robbed. Old school pro wrestling grappling lou thesz, karl gotch.
Sep 11, 2014 lou thesz aloysius martin thesz faces buddy rogers herman gustav rohde jr. Rewind the cassette of time until it spins back to the year 1937, a time when wrestling was real. With help from powerful friends, he rode out the war working in a medical company stationed at fort lewis. Lewis friend, lou thesz, never had any desirer to go over seas to fight germans. Billy and karl learned catch simultaneously at billy rileys famous snakepit gym in wigan, england. Unless they had archer distract cody during the semis, and cody returns the favor in the finals against darby, so you can have a new champion, a program thats a bit hotter and with minimal effort required. Lou thesz, the uwfi, hooking, and contemporary catch wrestling. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and. The son of a middleweight amateur wrestling champion in hungary, lou thesz was a oneman dynasty whose records will stand the test of time. Like i said, a wonderfully researched mustread for anyone who enjoys martial arts history of any kind.
Snowden has painstakingly documented the historical conenction between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts in the united states. Nicholas warren francis bockwinkel december 6, 1934 november 14, 2015 was an american professional wrestler. The untold story of the monopoly that strangled pro wrestling. Ray gunkel was posthumously inducted into the george tragos lou thesz hall of fame in 2008. A detailed history of lou thesz is featured in the book. Beth phoenix, bruno sammartino inducted into tragosthesz. An opportunity to learn about a legend not only in professional. William alfred billy robinson 3 was a british professional wrestler, author and catch wrestling instructor. Awa world heavyweight title two out of three falls match. Robinson is just a different era and type of wrestler, to me. Mike aldren wrote in his wrestling globe newsletter december 2, 2010. Join facebook to connect with billy robinson and others you may know. No matter who was champion, they would have showed up. Billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out.
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