Here are twelve British wrestlers who were critical to the evolution of British wrestling and influenced some of the very best of today. Many prestigious titles and awards are under his belt, and he won Wrestling Observers Match of the Year in 1982 with Tiger Mask on August 5th in Tokyo, Japan. 1.8 Traditional/"Old school" British wrestling - the modern era. The "regional" titles were mainly honorific, with only the "southern Area" titles actually being fought for. He was 69. Late 80s female wrestling was a campy cheese-fest that will never be equaled. A complete list of wrestlers who have died, at least the ones IMDb has in their database. . From a press report, some wrestlers decided to go on strike against the Joint Promotions cartel and formed the Wrestlers' Welfare Society for hardship relief but also to act as an employment agency. In 1986, he won the The Best Gimmick of the Year award from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter a prize that has been held by the likes of The Undertaker and Goldust. But it's such a rich story that it deserves a lengthy retelling and she wouldn't have had it no other way. Tito Santana - Barnburner! Classic British Wome's wrestling as "Miss Yorkshire" Julie Starr takes on Donna Marie 11th August 1991 BathRestored and upscaled to HD from poor quality orig. [Photo: IMDB]His enormous stature was not lifelike as he stood an astonishing 6 feet, 11 inches (1.11m) tall and weighed 685 lbs (311 kg). Many of these rules diverged heavily from those in used in American Wrestling five-minute rounds (three minutes for title matches), two public warnings for rule breaking before a disqualification, "knockouts" (countouts) and disqualifications counting as automatic two falls in best of three falls matches (which were predominant), and no follow-up moves allowed on a grounded opponent. Both major 1990s US promotions made several arena tours of the UK (as later did TNA, Ring of Honor and others) while the WWF even held the pay-per-view event SummerSlam '92 in London's Wembley Stadium before a crowd of around 80,000. British Wrestling in the 1980's: The Saturday Afternoon War, out now and self-published, is definitely going to have an audience that it is intended for and that will get a lot out of it, but it will also intrigue others that know little about this period of grappling. The Liverpool-born wrestler initially performed in a tag team called The Golden Boys alongside William Regal (then known as Steven Regal). Pippa L'Vinn vs Germany's Alpha Female Pippa L'Vinn's "Zero Hour" Event Part 2 . One of its earliest stars was a CornishAmerican exminer named Jack Carkeek (world Cornish wrestling champion in 1886[6][7][8]), who would challenge audience members to last ten minutes with him in the ring. This would prove to make him a crowd favorite in Britain throughout the 1970s and 80s. Over the years, the United Kingdom has produced some of the very best in professional wrestling. After one of his shows on December 2nd, 1997, he died from a stroke. After the war, attempts to relaunch the business in 1947 failed to catch on with journalists who condemned the gimmickry calling the show fake. In 1989 and again in 1991, television tapings were held in Scotland and matches screened on Grampian Television and STV. Wrestling For Women. Parker wasn't the only out pro wrestler during the 1970s and 1980s, but her in-ring career stands at multiple intersections within the cultural landscape of pro wrestling. Watch. Circa 1970s. Fit Finlay over the years. Lincoln's own promotion was bought out and amalgamated into Joint Promotions at the end of the 1960s. Two female wrestlers perform in front of an audience in Hamburg. Border City Wrestling Brad McFarland was there with his camera! Wrestling against two opponents, she blacked out half way through the match but ended up winning her first fight. Professional wrestling as a whole seemingly began to fall into disarray as the true nature of wrestling began to fall into question as many newspapers tried to expose the worked aspects of the sport. - Battle Royale Download/DVD. Anton Tuscher/ullstein bild via Getty Images. He would win his first singles championship from none other than Mark "Rollerball" Rocco in November 1976 when he defeated him for the British Light Heavyweight Championship, a Joint Promotions title he would go on to hold five times. Afterward, it was discontinued until 2011. By. Although known nowadays as a coach at the WWE Performance Center, previously, Robbie Brookside had a very successful career as a performer. He joined WWE in 2000, where he would becomea four-time European Champion, four-time Tag Team Champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, and a five-time Hardcore Champion, also winning the King of the Ring tournament in 2008 despite issues outside of the ring. Many of the promotions which started during this time were directly influenced by the style of ECW and most were designed to appeal more to smart mark fans rather than the more mainstream audiences targeted by the classic British wrestling era. Many smaller British promoters were increasingly abandoning their British identity in favour of "WWF Tribute" shows, with British performers crudely imitating World Wrestling Federation stars. Despite being from the U.S., Maroulis attended Simon Fraser University in British Columbia to wrestle at a Division II level. You can find this story in My Bookmarks. He was also a trainer at the WWE Performance Center, where he trained the newest batch of WWE superstars. [13] A follow up series of 10 episodes was due to be filmed at Preston Guild Hall in May 2017 but this was postponed[14] until a year later. Wrestling stars of the 60s/'70s. He worked in Brixton offices by day but would become a villain by night. Apartment Wrestling Match No. Wrestlers Who Made Face Paint Fashionable! British Empire/Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship, British Empire/Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Championship, British Empire/Commonwealth Middleweight Championship, British Empire/Commonwealth Lightweight Championship, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 20:01. Giant Haystacks was one of the best-known wrestlers on the British wrestling scene in the 1970s and 1980s. [Photo: huckmag.com]Street played by his own rules, and, according to his peers, was known to be able to hurt you in the ring if needed! Apartment Wrestling Match No. The Wrestler 9 Surprising Unrevealed Facts About The Film! Then, when the circus circuit hit North America, the wrestling sideshows came along with it. As long as you work hard and strive to improve yourself, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to. Easily one of the most underrated wrestlers on the main roster today, Manchester-born Gentleman Jack Gallagher has had top-class matches with Neville and Akira Tozawa on 205 Live. Regardless of how old you are, whether you started watching Professional Wrestling during the Glory Days of the 1950s, 1960s & 1970s, the Golden Era (1983-1992), The New Generation Era (1993-1997), The Attitude [] This series of highly regarded matches would also lead to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) contacting Rocco, leading to the birth of the "Black Tiger" persona and some of the most highly rated matches in Japanese television history against Sayamas Tiger Mask. Meet Khloe! As a result, there was a rise in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Calgary's junior-heavyweight divisions, both of which had their roots in British wrestling of the time. The wrestler who popularized the superkick: Gentleman Chris Adams back in the late 80s. One of their biggest stars went by the name Big Daddy.. "It's a pure way of building confidence. Other British wrestlers like Joel Redman, PAC, Martin Stone and Britani Knight (daughter of veteran Ricky Knight) have received contracts with the WWE on its talent development show NXT. Pat O'Connor (NWA World Champion)Buddy Rogers (NWA United States Champion)Edouard Carpentier (NAWA World Champion)Antonino Rocca; Billy Watson (British Empire Champion)Verne Gagne (AWA World Champion)Bob Ellis (United States Champion [San Francisco])Killer Kowalski (World Champion [Boston])Gene Kiniski (AWA United States Champion)Dick Hutton He has written for websites such as Mersey Sports Live and is now taking his degree in sports journalism from John Moores University into the wrestling business. Profiles (A-Z) WWE Roster; IMPACT Roster; ROH Roster; Independent Wrestling; Womens Wrestling; Tag Teams; . This was followed by six live tour dates (of an originally scheduled nine) in January/February 2019. The cast of wild characters and insanely tacky costumes made for a rollicking good time. Browse 8,283 vintage wrestling stock photos and images available, or search for old wrestling or pro wrestler to find more great stock photos and pictures. In this article, we'll be taking a look at the 10 best active British WWE wrestlers. Out of traveling carnivals, circus acts and sheer ambition, these wrestlers started a sport that was followed by hundreds of thousands across America, Canada and England. The legendary stars and matches of women's professional wrestling history are presented in "Brawlin' Beauties 2." This Classic Wrestling documentary takes a look back at the women who helped to pave the way for today's professional wrestling sports entertainer. That is what women's wrestling advocates are hoping for. Champions of British Wrestling. While the World and British titles had some credibility (particularly as they were often placed on the more legitimate wrestlers), the addition of European, Empire/Commonwealth, Scottish, Welsh, and area championships got out of hand, and at one point there were conceivably 70 different titleholders to keep track of within Joint Promotions alone. Tokyo, Japan. However, the promotion kept afloat on live shows at certain established venues and particularly on the holiday camp circuit and remains active right up to the present. Born in 1946, Peter Thornley, aka Kendo Nagasaki, was a popular wrestler throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Japanese wrestlers Sadako Igari and Hiroye Hojoji battle it out in front of approximately 10,000 fans who arrived to get their first look at women's wrestling. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Tiger won championships in New Japan Pro Wrestling and other groups. 1970 - April 2, 2010. Nowadays, All Star tours extensively and successfully with shows mixing British Wrestling tradition with family entertainment, while another company, John Freemantle's group Premier Promotions, (established in 1987) presents a more purist version of British Wrestling. The first show aired on ABC and ATV (the weekend franchise holders on ITV) on 9 November 1955, featuring Francis St Clair Gregory (9 times Cornish wrestling heavyweight title holder[10] and father of Tony St Clair) versus Mike Marino and Cliff Beaumont versus Bert Royal live from West Ham baths. He was so popular in Britain that in one of his performances, he pulled in twenty million viewers against Jackie Mr. The introduction of American wrestling to the UK and the eventual axing in 1988 by Greg Dyke of Wrestling shows on terrestrial TV saw the eclipse of Joint Promotions from its dominant position in the British wrestling scene. He, however, was a considerable draw himself. From 1970 to 1973, Pedro Morales left a permanent mark on WWE. PWSTees.com Your favorite Pro Wrestling Stories, on a tee! Marty Jones perhaps might be the least known of the names mentioned on this list but is one of the best all-around grapplers of the bunch. She performed both in NXT and on the main roster and was known for her signature red hair. Lady Wrestlers! British wrestler Dynamite Kid Tom Billington was one of the best to lace up a pair of wrestling boots. 10 Molly versus Jenny. Numerous big-name stars came and went during the early inception of wrestling within the UK, with many, like Hackenschmidt, leaving for the US. British wrestling Stock Photos and Images. British wrestling's revival is not limited to critical acclaim alone. Disgruntled conotemporaries such as Adrian Street have attributed this to Shirley's lack of conditioning, although Max in response has insisted that this was what people wanted to see.[11]. Finally, promotions were left in the hands of Max Crabtree, the brother of Shirley, who was headhunted by Joint as the most experienced booker still in the business. Eva Maire (aka Natalie Eva Marie) is a former pro wrestler who worked for WWE from 2013 to 2017. His glam rock looks and in-ring ability instantly attracted attention from the fans and cemented his place as a top heel. Champions through the years are available via the website. On November 29th, 1998, he would sadly die of lymphoma at his home near Manchester, England. Peter Thornleys version of the character remained a household name throughout Britain, but most Americans and Japanese fans associated the character mostly with Kazuo Sakuradas version. Mark Rocco was a fourth-generation British wrestler. Although his father was against his son becoming a professional wrestler he would go as far as having Mark banned from his gym in Manchester, England Rocco would "learn the ropes" from many veterans from the age of 16 while his father was out on tour. Having promoted shows in the 1950s with himself in the main event as masked heel Doctor Death, Lincoln led a consortium of independent promoters under the British Wrestling Federation (BWF) whose name was used for a rival championship, built around Heavyweight champion Bert Assirati who split away from Joint Promotions in 1958 while still champion. . One compilation from the early 1990s was released on VHS (in English) as Wrestling Madness. This would remain the case for several decades to come. With Lancashire catch-as-catch-can already a major amateur sport particularly in Northern England, there existed a ready-made source of potential recruits to professional wrestling. [20] Although RT never had a wrestling show of its own, in the mid 1980s, a major championship match between Mighty John Quinn and Haystacks in Claremorris was publicised with a contract signing ceremony of Derek Davis' Davis at Large show. He worked for Joint Promotions and frequently wrestled on ITVs World of Sport. [17] WWE introduced World Of Sport and UK Wrestling legend Johnny Saint as its General Manager earlier that month for their newly established NXT UK brand of which the UK Championship would be the top championship. His calculated evil ways made him one of the biggest heels in any company he worked. Far worse for Joint Promotions, however, was that with their contract up for renewal, they were forced to share the TV rights as part of a rotation system with All Star Wrestling and America's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). These weight divisions included lightweight (154-pound limit), welterweight (165), middleweight (176), heavy middleweight (187), light heavyweight (198), mid heavyweight (209), and heavyweight. He was a top heel and was renowned for bending the rules so the crowd would despise him as much as humanly possible. 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