Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a number of. Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher. Together, they started the united wrestling federation. Lou thesz, the uwfi, hooking, and contemporary catch wrestling. Billy robinson was also the awa british empire heavyweight champion. He was a pro wrestler and that was his only obsession. If the names billy robinson, karl gotch, or heaven forbid. Massive but amazing meltzer article on billy robinson. Buy billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board wwe uwf nwa psadna certified original nfl art and prints. Maple leaf gardens, toronto, ontario canada 1956 whipper watson with the canuck commando on buddy rogers. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board.
For the first time, billy robinson sets the record straight on. An opportunity to learn about a legend not only in professional. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board rare wrestling coa. 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. Robinson is just a different era and type of wrestler, to me. Lou thesz vs billy robinson louisville, kentucky,sep. 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. The untold story of the monopoly that strangled pro wrestling.
No matter who was champion, they would have showed up. Like i said, a wonderfully researched mustread for anyone who enjoys martial arts history of any kind. And as i said before, he was hired by the uwf to coach their grapplers in submissions. Find great deals on ebay for lou thesz and verne gagne. Snowden has painstakingly documented the historical conenction between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts in the united states. Robinson himself had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest, legit performers to ever enter the ring. It was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. Robinsons parents having died when he was a child, he was raised by a grandmother and received little formal schooling. If you like this site, please consider a small donation that will keep the site alive and advertisingfree in the future. Billy robinson bill robinson was a british professional wrestler from lancashire, england in the united kingdom. Whether youre a fan of pro wrestling or not, the stories presented within have. Dirty boxing for mixed martial arts from wrestling to mixed martial arts pdf full ebook.
The son of a middleweight amateur wrestling champion in hungary, lou thesz was a oneman dynasty whose records will stand the test of time. Lou thesz winner unknown cwa world heavyweight title 76. 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. Nwa united states tag team championship florida version 1 time with cowboy bob ellis. A detailed history of lou thesz is featured in the book. Robinson was also knocked out by art thomas in the locker room. Matches lou thesz wrestlers database cagematch the. Thesz was carried from the ring because of exhaustion and gagne was robbed. 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. Buddy rogers was the reigning nwa champion and if there was one person buddy didnt like, it was karl gotch. Old school pro wrestling grappling lou thesz, karl gotch. 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. George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of fame. Bill robinson, american dancer of broadway and hollywood, best known for his dancing roles with shirley temple in films of the 1930s.
Mike aldren wrote in his wrestling globe newsletter december 2, 2010. 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. This is the finals of iwes annual world league roundrobin tournament. 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. Lou thesz for awa title, first ever g1 final by f4w. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and kurt angle are also featured.
Awa world heavyweight title two out of three falls match. Thesz easily dispatched all the lighter wrestlers and then he went up against their heavyweight. Something was said no one remembers what mulligan punches harley and fight ensues. If youre a big wrestling fan or a big fan of martial arts and grappling then this is. With help from powerful friends, he rode out the war working in a medical company stationed at fort lewis. He was a catch wrestling instructor and also author of the book physical chess. 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.
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. 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. 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. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple. The debate is a real one among those who seriously study the history of this american popculture creation. In this memoir, billy robinson gives a unique insight into both show, and catch wrestling. Billy tells us that the altercation took place in late 1969 during a tour of japan. 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. I mean, lou thesz used to walk around like some sort of postapocalyptic avenger hurting people who talked bad about wrestling. 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. 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.
Robinson grew up in a style of wrestling known as one of the toughest and most punishing in the world. Lou thesz said he was one of a handful of hookers in the world. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video dailymotion. This card also featured lou thesz, fred curry and haystacks calhoun. Antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents. In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a. Gorgeous george would draw nearly the same amount of fans to the arena as lou thesz vs.
Thesz was thrown almost immediately to the shock of the tv station crew and reporters. 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. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple leaf gardens toronto 1956. Robinson himself had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video. 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.
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. Best of billy robinson mma, pro wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling legend. Robinson s shooting ability was pretty much his claim to fame in prowrestling. Catch wrestling showcases the holds and maneuvers shown to mma legends josh barnett, kazushi sakuraba, and the panoply of fighters in the uwfi. Yes, robinson was at the original wigan snake pit, not the aspull wrestling club. 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. Ray gunkel was posthumously inducted into the george tragos lou thesz hall of fame in 2008. Lewis friend, lou thesz, never had any desirer to go over seas to fight germans. The main even featured us champion the sheik vs whipper billy watson for the united states championship. William alfred billy robinson september 18, 1938 march 3, 2014 was a british. Billy and karl learned catch simultaneously at billy rileys famous snakepit gym in wigan, england. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. 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.
Aloysius martin thesz april 24, 1916 april 28, 2002 was an american professional wrestler. My life in catchascatchcan wrestling by billy robinson 20120601 at. Billy robinson record book the clawmasters archives. Lou thesz was a professional wrestler in the classic tradition. Billy robinson trained some of the best wrestlers even ric flair. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and. Had many great light weights and featured some of the best tournaments in the world that continue today. Go to page 2 of ring record 1916 april 24 banat aloysius martin lou thesz is born in a log cabin. Join facebook to connect with billy robinson and others you may know.
Hooker, written by lou thesz with kit bauman, is a surprisingly, bluntly honest book. Lou thesz professional wrestling ring record page 1. And lou thesz made millions of dollars as a pro wrestler not the case with karl gotch. It is named after lou thesz, who helped create it, and his. Aloysius martin lou thesz april 24, 1916 april 28, 2002 was an american professional wrestler. Robinson was always great friends with lou thesz, who always championed bringing legitimacy back to professional wrestling. 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. Lou thesz hides none of his opinions and speaking openly about his peers and his own career inside the squared circle. Billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board psadna wwe uwf nwa. Nicholas warren francis bockwinkel december 6, 1934 november 14, 2015 was an american professional wrestler. Rogers often compared gotch with lou thesz, whom he also distrusted, and let anyone within earshot know his feelings. Robinson passed away on march 3rd, 2014 at the age of 75. Blackandwhite film clips from iwethe earliest robinson match on tape.
Save lou thesz book to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. Aug 02, 2007 it was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. Friday, january 26th, 1951, at the chicago international. 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. Shooters ecw press a canadian indie book publisher. Lou thesz was also the first western catch wrestler to go to japan and teachwrestle the japanese professionally. George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of. The greatest wrestler of all time ring master norfolks lou. Billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out. 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. 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. May 30, 2009 billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out. And billy robinson was a legit catch hooker during the years he wrestled professionally, along with karl gotch, and of course, lou thesz.
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. Rewind the cassette of time until it spins back to the year 1937, a time when wrestling was real. Watson had just lost the nwa title back to lou thesz. Beth phoenix, bruno sammartino inducted into tragosthesz. Sep 11, 2014 lou thesz aloysius martin thesz faces buddy rogers herman gustav rohde jr.
Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher report. Robinson was a legitimate shooter, one of those dangerous grapplers old wrestlers speak about with the same respect as haku and dr. 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. The hall of fame honors wrestlers with an amateur background who have made an impact on professional wrestling. The life and times of a hooker by the phantom of the ring. Hes called billy robinson and karl gotch hookers as well as cecchine. Catch wrestling is a classical hybrid grappling style and combat sport. William alfred billy robinson 3 was a british professional wrestler, author and catch wrestling instructor. Learn as erik paulson, josh barnett, and others pick the brain of this catch wrestling icon. Backlund, antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents.
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