Anglo Italian started the discussion:
Ron just Wrote: “I had given up by 1981”.
I had just written: “I’m all at sea after 1978.”
We’re all the same.
Here we are, clearly articulate pensioners, probably much sharper youngsters way back then, yet we all came to the difficult but obviously inevitable decision to bin ten or fifteen years of our young lives, 80% or 90% of our aware years, as the whole wrestling show became too difficult not merely to defend, but even to enjoy.
We suffered in our decision making. Well, I did.
Speaking 100% personally, and others will disagree, I hated Max Crabtree and his coarse dumbing down of the magnificent “business” that was professional wrestling. The hatred was deep, not a superficial graze. Here was I, a wrestling nut, appreciative all along of the efforts of all involved to make a serious go of it. Joining in, from my tiny, tiny perspective, as a committed fan.
Then somehow – I was largely unaware then, but my virginal judgment was unimpaired – this absolute OAF arrived and crashed the lot. Ok, there were challenges. A brain resolves and moves ahead, as the Yanks did. This OAF merely lined the pockets of his family with a short term plan based on Yorkshire greed.
And yet, in my twilight years, as I try to elevate the interests of my youth and analyse what excited me, I feel like a martyr. A believer whose belief was wiped out.
Oh, I don’t mean belief that it was all real. We were too intelligent for that even without hindsight and 21st Century internet. We, and thousands like us, bought into a suspension of disbelief. It’s weird. But on a larger scale, the Americans are still doing so with their wrestling. Look at the love for Hulk Hogan today.
What a shame no greater seventies brain appeared.
Am I alone?
RON HISTORYO….Time Cop,
Like you Anglo I burned out. Last Belle Vue visit 1978 and had stopped all other venues before then. Loved some of the new guys, Rocco, Jones, Iron Fist, Kung Fu, then Dynamite Kid and I will also throw in the excellent Goro Tanaka. But a huge swathe of heavies were finishing for these guys to come in. We needed both.
I was ruthless and frustrated by the shows shown in the paper. If I thought they had the content then I went, and if not then I did not go. And it was becoming more a miss than a visit and I could see from the crowds dropping off that I was reading it right. And without going most weeks, then the habit just dies.
The depth of roster was not there any more, neither was the overall quality despite some of the finest wrestlers ever just below full heavyweight. My Heroes, Kendo for one, saw him four times against Crabtree in eight days. The script was unbelievably the same . Shirley ripped his mask off and he ran from the ring. One Sunday night I left Blackpool in disgust. Street was great into the 1970’s as a tough guy who could wrestle. Went to see a showdown with Maxine. It was pathetic, skipping about round each other wasting time, no wrestling. Not what I wanted. I always wanted it to look real. Rocky Wall, loved Albert, but he had to lose to Shirley. Hurt his back trying to pick Shirley up after his flying head butt. Probably fake, but even if real, it destroyed Alberts invincibility. Not long after Albert had had enough of Joint.
I went over the years with many partners in crime, but none had my passion and they all dropped out. People were coming with me for a quiet pint after and Fish and Chips. Or otherwise I went alone. It may be an age thing, I just could not enjoy it so much anymore.
Of course I got married in 1979 and leisure time dropped off with the responsibility of being a home owner and two kids in the next three years.
As for TV, well I moved over to the WWE WCW until about the end of the century, enjoyed it, but the amount of microphone work became stupid. Asleep for a long time. Wrestling Heritage awoke me by chance in 2009. I sold some old stuff to Hack on ebay and learned of the site.
Digital newspapers have brought it alive again for me and I have some understanding now that was just not possible back then.
adrianpollard.shangri-la
I Agree That after The 1970’s Wrestling Wasn’t as Good! I was Genuinely Heartbroken when Kings Hall, Belle Vue, finally closed in 1981, and I attended the last ever show – and so did Jack Pye, making a final ever ring appearance!!
Kendo Nagasaki retiring in September, 1978 was another blow for me too!
I think British wrestling was somewhat ‘reprieved’ in the 1980’s with All-Star gettingpart of The T.V. contract, satellite wrestling and also RESLO!
Plus, we still had a handful of highly skilled wrestlers left, such as the likes of MARK ‘ROLLERBALL’ ROCCO, DAVE ‘FIT’ FINLAY, FRANK ‘CHIC’ CULLEN, ‘MIGHTY’ JOHN QUINN, MARTY JONES!-SKULL MURPHY and PETE ROBERTS! I was Thrilled when Kendo returned, masked again, in January 1986, although he did a few bouts for Brian Dixon in 1982!
My final live wrestling show was at Stockport Town Hall in 1990! Kendo topped the bill. It was a great night ot.
I took a lot of people from work-the wives and partners too! I booked the whole front row!
I too Watched a Great Deal of WWF and WCW in The 1990’s!
Norfolk Snake
Ha….you oldies speak for yourselves !! Some of us came into it in the late 1970s through to the early 90s….the glory days of Rocco and Marty Jones, the peak of Steve Grey, the arrival of the Mighty John Quinn, new youngsters like Dynamite Kid and Fit Finlay then later still Danny Collins, Richie Brooks, Kid McHoy….the list goes on. I am gutted to have missed George Gordienko, Billy Robinson’s heyday, Albert Rocky Wall, the Hells Angels and Black Diamond tag teams, Adrian Street feuding with George Kidd, Jack Pye, Bert Assirati….another long list that goes on and on… but that’s life. We all think the era we are most familiar with was the best, but again that’s life, without a crystal ball who are we to say? But I miss those days, the dimming of the lights, the roar of the crowd, the sound of the bell, the silence and polite applause of a scientific encounter, the venom and hatred of the villains, the commentry of Kent Walton….nothing in the modern world of wrestling compares to what we saw live or on the telly through our eyes in our era….but the fans of Will Ospreay and the AEW/WWE would think what we all still rave about as boring old hat…yea that’s life !
Anglo Italian
Very valid, Norfolk Snake.
I suppose what I was trying to get at was our reactions when wrestling transitioned from a serious sport, albeit with some very dodgy aspects, to a fun show.
I don’t think fifties and sixties fans had to face that moment; and I suspect fans from 1981 onwards didn’t either.
I think it was just a seventies thing. But I’m in no way certain, which is why I posted to learn other people’s feelings, and the responses have been quality.
It’s probably our various disappointments that serve to heighten our nostalgic enthusiasm for earlier times that we remember as so exciting.
Hack
It would be easy, and satisfying, to blame my martyrdom on Max Crabtree and what he did to wrestling. It wasn’t that simple, though Max was a major factor. My involvement began to lessen about 1974, though the wrestling was just as good and the Max factor hadn’t taken effect. It was just a case of other interests and wrestling getting nudged out. When Max took over things changed. Quickly and dramatically. Initially he seemed like a breath of fresh air; wrestlers came from further afield, there seemed to be more title matches around. That was very short lived. The dumbing down and the rot soon set in. I’d realised long before that results were pretty determined, so it wasn’t that which led to disillusionment. It was the dumbing down we’ve talked about endlessly, fans treated as fools, the Big Daddy nonsense. The last two years I went to shows with any regularity, 1977-8 had no emotional involvement, it was just something to do on a Thursday night when I had moved to Birmingham and knew few people.
So I agree with all Anglo Italians sentiments except one. I was no martyr. I just enjoyed a dozen good years and am thankful for that.
As an aside, picking up my interest again around 2005 my second coming has lasted much longer than my initial period as a wrestling fan.
Powerlock
I saw a noticeable decline in the shows by the mid 1970s . The shows dates became erratic where previously you knew when the shows were on months ahead. Although you had some good bouts myself and many others became disappointed in what we were seeing, the lack of regular shows on set days meant people did other things, a lot never come back. The Crabtrees didn’t help, their insular self centred approach killed the credibility of both the promotion and the roster as none could be allowed to best a fat over the hill immobile man. I’d had enough and walked away from shows that were often changed roster wise on the night, I decided I had better things to do with my money. As for Hogan have a look on some other forums, he badly tainted his legacy with actions in later years, and people haven’t forgot, he was booed out of the arena at his last appearance on a WWE wrestling show, his final appearance in front of a wrestling crowd.
25423
Wrestling Heritage 