Japanese Women Wrestling 1969

 Hello out there.

I recently picked up a copy of "Skill Magazine" from 1969. It's a bit of a mixed bag covering boxing, pro-wrestling and bodybuilding but it's the cover that's relevant here. 

I love the expression on Miyuki's face. Definitely an air of "Oh this is gonna suck"

Womens Wrestling In Comics: Jaime Hernandez - Queen of The Ring

 

  I've previously mentioned  Love And Rockets and the offshoot Whoa Nelly! in the context of women's Pro Wrestling so when I heard that Jaime Hernandez was releasing a book of his unpublished wrestling drawings I promptly added it to my shopping  list. 

  I don't feel like I wasted my £15.32 because what I received was a decent sized, nicely bound  hardback book on quality paper and the contests were equally impressive. 

 What you get is a mixture of "pinups", "magazine covers" and "action shots" mostly presented as standalone pieces, although Mr Hernandez does pop up from time to time to offer commentary on his creative process.  

 The artwork is really very good. Not over-fussy but with some impressive touches with movement and personality. 

 The whole book comes across as a loving tribute to the 70s wrestling era; when lady wrestlers were solidly built women with solidly built hair and unflattering Mom swimsuits, and almost certainly hard as nails. 

I think if you're a fan of   Love and Rockets or old-school women's wrestling, you will like this. 

That's All Folks

Wrestling Reports October 1964

 A few days ago I got a comment on one of my older posts.

TheWrestlingNick posted :

"Hi. I wonder could you possibly check for me if there's any article about wrestling in Northern Ireland in this issue? And if so, would there be any chance you could provide me a scan of it? Requests from a complete stranger I know!"

 As it turned out, yes there was a little piece about Irish wrestling tucked away near the back so I dug my scaner out from under a pile of books and here it is. If it turns out that one of the wrestlers named is a relative of yours, Nick, then I'd love to hear about it. 

 I figured I might as well scan the rest of the mat reports as well so here they are in no particular order. 

 

This next one mentions two familiar names. 

Jim Breaks who was a  regular on World of Sport well into the 1980s

and Peter Maivia who would go onto star in American rings as well as being The Rock's grandfather.

                                          I did check and I managed to find a little profile on Mihalya Kuty on Wrestling Heritage.

https://wrestlingheritage.co.uk/kkostas.htm

I do find it fascinating that these days you can see a match result on the net about ten minutes after the bell sounds. You can even watch the match itself on any numbr of platforms.

Meanwhile in 1964 if you wanted to know what was going on outside your area then you either hoped your local tv station covered that promotion or you got the magazine weeks, months later. 

 A few more notable names here: Gypsy Joe - now mainly known from his infamous hardcore match with New Jack when he was about 70 - plus some lady wrestlers. I find the idea of Hobo Brazil fascinating. I wonder how many people didn't read the poster properly and  thought they were getting Bobo Brazil. 

 

 Just a reminder that there were promotions all around the country who all had their own stars and champions.

Tim Woods would later go on to be the first Mr Wrestling 

I do find it ineretesting that the USA and UK both had wrestlers called Skull Murphy who had absolutely no connection to each other and wrestled in different decades. Maybe some rings names are too good not to reuse. 

 A number of familiar names but of particular note is the prediction that Pedro Morales "will be a real contender"

And you know what, they were right. 

That's All Folks

 

Wrestling World October 1974

  I dusted off my scanner today (Literally, there was about 2mm of dust on it. I should hoover more) to bring you some more select pics from a vintage wrestling magazine.

 This time around we're looking at Wrestling World  from October 1974

 First up some pics of the Valiant Brothers, recently crowned WWWF tag team champions. 

  They look like nice lads.  Although they're definitely starting to pick up some battle-scars

  Dick The Bruiser was already a grizzled veteran by 1974. He was still wrestling well into the 1980s.  

Meanwhile Johnny was Rookie Of the Year in 1969

 Poor Johnny is looking a bit battered. 

I'd also want to have a word with whoever dressed that head wound. 

 Were they drunk at the time?  

Shit.. I hope that isn't a bit of his face hanging off. 

Next up, a couple more nice young men.

  Maaaaayyyybe not. 

Maybe their mothers shouldn't have named them "Brute" and "Skull"

Brute and new partner Bulldog Brower deploy a bit of charm here.

Take a moment to note how close the audience are to the ring. 

No barrier either. 

This is why 1970s "Heels" frequently had to fight their way back to the dressing room. 

One of the things I find fascinating about these old mags is reading the profiles of guys I've never heard of.

Like this cheerful chappie.

Naturally I googled him and Ron Martinell seems like an interesting guy.

Served in Vietnam in the Army, Navy and Marines then became a wrestler.

Crippled in an auto-accident that doctors thought would leave him in a wheelchair forever...

but returned to the ring to become Continental Champion in 1980. 

He has a book on sale Heaven, Iron and I.

Skipping ahead a bit, Andre The Giant battles Japanese legend Antonio Inoki. 

  Then scares the crap out of some other grapplers. 

Inoki, Kowlaski and Vachon are all pretty big blokes and Andre makes them look like kids playing with daddy. 

There's a piece next about whether Kung Fu should be allowed in wrestling.

(This was during the 1970s Kung Fu craze, remember.) 

Mad Dog Vachon clearly fancies his chances. 

Following by the near obligatory "Lady Wrestlers " piece.

Daisy Mae and Joyce Grable wait for the bell to ring. 

Female Hillbilly gimmicks are surprisingly rare. 

When I say "Surprisingly" I am of course being very sarcastic.  

  Veteran Belle Starr tries to roll Vicki Williams over into a Boston Crab. 

This is going to hurt a lot so Vicki is reluctant to let this happen. 

The British Wrestling scene was clearly big enough to be of interest to American readers.

  The scary looking Ken Davies tries to strangle Mel Cartwright with his own elbows.

Johnny Czeslaw was a refugee from Communist Poland who became a popular star 

in British rings. Later on, Czeslaw did some acting before losing his eyesight to a brain tumour.

He died in 2014.

Lastly, Betty Nicoli looking sweet and innocent in a glamour headshot.

What's that?

"Didn't the cover say something about mud wrestling?"  I hear you ask.

Oh alright then.

Here's actual pro wrestlers War Star and Jackie West ruining their hair in a mud puddle that looks a wee bit chilly to me.. 

That's all folks. 

Wrestling Scene October 1983

Time to share some more wrestling mag scans with you lovely people.

  I remember seeing this one in the shops when I was a kid but since my pocket money was nowhere near enough, I just ended up reading it in the shop time and again, until I got chucked out by the pissed-off shopkeeper.

The cover features a pissed off Andre The Giant battling Blackjack Mulligan. Inside we get a report on the Superheavyweight clash which leaves Andre in a bit of a mess.

 Hairpulling. Really?

 A dejected Andre sits in his dressing room after the match was stopped by the ref.

Remember up to this point, seeing wrestlers covered in blood was a bit of a shock to me. 

That just never happened on World of Sport. 

In other stories, 

 Debbie Harry cuddles up to "Boogie-Woogie man" Jimmy Valiant in the days before his beard went crazy.

More cool beard action from the inside front cover.

Was Hayes in the Freeebirds by this point? 

I'm guessing that Ray was a heel. 

The legendary Larry Zybyszko-Bruno Sammartino feud spills into the next generation and Larry has words for David Sammartino

 This is back before shaving your chest became mandatory.

The well-regarded tag team of Adrian Adonis and Jesse Ventura splits up. 

Jesse with hair but not quite so much muscle. 

Fritz Von Erich has his final match.

   That's an almost unrecognisable King Kong Bundy gettting a dose of boot. 

A shaved head makes all the difference. That, and a few kilos of pie.  

The next photo is particularly poignant in view of subsequent events.

Fritz and his sons. 

Within a decade or so David, Kerry, Mike and Chris would all be dead. 

Poor bastards.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown gets a chance to batter NWA champ Ric Flair 

But first, he gets some tunes on.

Can you guess which feature had me so fascinated back in 1983.

Hint; It also featured something else you didn't see on World of Sport.

Lady wrestlers. 

Penny Mitchell has Sherri Martel and Fabulous Moolah in trouble.

Of course in a minute it will occur to them to just drop her. 

There's a short tribute to the late Peter Maivia

(The Rock's grandfather and I think he's great-uncle or something to Roman Reigns too)

And finally, a name picked for greater things: Salvatore Bellomo

That didn't really work out, did it.

Weirdly enough. about 10 years later he appeared on a card in Stafford, England (my old hometown)

I was broke so, y'know, couldn't go. 

I'm still kicking myself about that.

That's all folks.  

Women Wrestling: Misty Blue v Kat LeRoux

How about some more wrestling scans?  

The following are from a 1992 edition of Wrestling Eye (Is that magazine still around?) and show a match between Misty Blue Simmes and Kat Leroux.  It's weird but every time Misty Blue showed up in a wrestling magazine back then she was inevitably fighting Kat Leroux or Linda Dallas.  And people say TNA's Knockouts roster lacks depth.

Anyway, I apologise for the quality but these were sitting in a cardboard box for the last two decades. Some wear and tear is inevitable. 

That knee on Kat's face can't be fun either.

Is it just me that really wants the onepiece to make a comeback in wrestling?

Ouch. 

Remember that Misty is supposed to be the Good Girl here.  

A hold that always seemed to involve more effort than it was worth. 

"Here. let me bend your leg into a position that's mildly uncomfortable while putting my face at just the right height for you to kick it"

"You spin me right round, baby, right round"

Truth, Justice and Blondeness wins again!

That's all folks. 

The Wrestler 1993

  I thought it was about time I shared some more wrestling scans with you lovely people, except this time you're getting some British stars.

 I picked this particular magazine up at an All Star Promotions wrestling show in Hanley in 1993.

After wrestling was unceremoniously dumped from British TV in 1988 the old-style British promotions went into something of  decline. Some tried to pretend everything was as it had always been. Others resorted to tacky gimmicks like the Restling Power Ranger (yes, really) or blatant knockoffs of The Undertaker and The Bushwhackers.
  Eventually new British promotions appeared with something fast-paced and dyanmic, gradually building themselves up to the point where wrestling in the UK is now healthier than it has been in years.
They might not be able to fill the NEC like WWE or TNA but give it time ( I hope)

That was all to come. Back on that a particular Spring evening, the classic World of Sport style was still in effect - albeit more violent than the TV cameras ever allowed. I don't remember all the matches but I do remember Dave Finlay (pre WWE) battering Danny Boy Collins with a chair.  I also got to see the late, lamented Princess Paula  leaving local girl Klondyke Kate slumped in an unconscious heap.

So a good, family night out then.

Thanks for sitting through my ramblings. Now here's some pictures.

 Top: Dave Taylor presses Dave "Fit" Finlay  

Bottom right: The Mongolian Mauler lives up to his name.

I never did understand that weird hair antenna.

Bottom left:  Your guess is as good as mine. 

Wrestling Revue October 1971

I dusted off my scanner at the weekend. ( Literally. Anybody know why computer desks attract so much frigging dust? ) and scanned some of the more interesting pics in the October 1971 issue of Wrestling Revue. Hope you like them. 

Ring Wrestling May 1968 (Pt 3)

The third and final batch of scans. Hope you like them. 

The first two are of Waldo Von Erich (Who wasn't really related to Fritz, you know)

 I've always been impressed by how brave - or mental - you need to be to lie there while an enormous man jumps on you from several feet up. And there's no way Waldo pulled off this move without hurting himself either.

Waldo is about to get a face full of fist, courtesy of Luis Hernandez.

Next, two Polish wrestling heroes from back in the d ay

 Wladek Zbyszko (brother of semi-legendary World champ Stanislaus) in training 1926. 

30s star Frank Bronowicz looking quite brawny.

I can't help noticing that the belt has obviously been cut'n'pasted in afterwards. 

Over the Atlantic for some Brits. 

Wrestling in Britain was probably at something of a peak in the late 60's so it's nice to see an American magazine giving us some love. 

IIRC Vic Faulkner was a bit of a grappling pinup and he definitely has a nice smile.

What? I'm just saying. 

These guys aren't so photogenic.

I'm fairly confident that if I ran into any of these guys even now, they could kick the shit out of me. 

More tag team action. Hillbilly style.

 Jake from Hillfolk team The Kentuckians moves in on his opponent, who is already bricking himself.

The Kentuckians chat to a small man backstage.  

And finally...

 Arman Hussian in action. Born in The Sudan but "currently wrestling in London", among other places.

If you enjoyed these posts, let me know.

I have other wrestling mags kicking about that I can share with you lovely people.  

That's all folks.