Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher report. This is the finals of iwes annual world league roundrobin tournament. This card also featured lou thesz, fred curry and haystacks calhoun. And lou thesz made millions of dollars as a pro wrestler not the case with karl gotch. Matches lou thesz wrestlers database cagematch the. Hes called billy robinson and karl gotch hookers as well as cecchine. May 30, 2009 billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out. 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. Billy robinson record book the clawmasters archives. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Billy robinson loses a fight with peter maivia where the rocks grandfather nearly gouges his eye out. 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. 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. Awa world heavyweight title two out of three falls match.
The greatest wrestler of all time ring master norfolks lou. Yes, robinson was at the original wigan snake pit, not the aspull wrestling club. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple. 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. Something was said no one remembers what mulligan punches harley and fight ensues. Backlund, antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents. 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.
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. 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. Catch wrestling showcases the holds and maneuvers shown to mma legends josh barnett, kazushi sakuraba, and the panoply of fighters in the uwfi. Had many great light weights and featured some of the best tournaments in the world that continue today. Bill robinson, american dancer of broadway and hollywood, best known for his dancing roles with shirley temple in films of the 1930s. 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. Shooters ecw press a canadian indie book publisher.
Go to page 2 of ring record 1916 april 24 banat aloysius martin lou thesz is born in a log cabin. He was a pro wrestler and that was his only obsession. Jul 19, 2015 best of billy robinson mma, pro wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling legend. 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. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video. Nicholas warren francis bockwinkel december 6, 1934 november 14, 2015 was an american professional wrestler. Robinson passed away on march 3rd, 2014 at the age of 75. Buddy rogers was the reigning nwa champion and if there was one person buddy didnt like, it was karl gotch. Whether youre a fan of pro wrestling or not, the stories presented within have. It was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of fame. Best of billy robinson pro wrestling technician video dailymotion. Robinson grew up in a style of wrestling known as one of the toughest and most punishing in the world. 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 was the one professional wrestler who gave the national wrestling alliance credibility during its growing years, adding to the organizations credibility, and strengthening. Join facebook to connect with billy robinson and others you may know. Find great deals on ebay for lou thesz and verne gagne. Billy and karl learned catch simultaneously at billy rileys famous snakepit gym in wigan, england. Antonio inoki and lou thesz all cite him as one of there toughest opponents. Lou thesz was also the first western catch wrestler to go to japan and teachwrestle the japanese professionally. Friday, january 26th, 1951, at the chicago international. Billy robinson was also the awa british empire heavyweight champion. Ray gunkel was posthumously inducted into the george tragos lou thesz hall of fame in 2008. Rewind the cassette of time until it spins back to the year 1937, a time when wrestling was real. Gorgeous george would draw nearly the same amount of fans to the arena as lou thesz vs. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and kurt angle are also featured.
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 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. Together, they started the united wrestling federation. George tragoslou thesz professional wrestling hall of. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board rare wrestling coa. Robinson was always great friends with lou thesz, who always championed bringing legitimacy back to professional wrestling.
Robinsons parents having died when he was a child, he was raised by a grandmother and received little formal schooling. Jan 2, 2017 lou thesz vs billy robinson louisville, kentucky, sep. Lou thesz was a professional wrestler in the classic tradition. William alfred billy robinson 3 was a british professional wrestler, author and catch wrestling instructor. With help from powerful friends, he rode out the war working in a medical company stationed at fort lewis. Squared circle icons strangler lewis and lou thesz and olympic heroes danny hodge and. Old school pro wrestling grappling lou thesz, karl gotch. 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. The debate is a real one among those who seriously study the history of this american popculture creation. Robinson was a legitimate shooter, one of those dangerous grapplers old wrestlers speak about with the same respect as haku and dr.
Lou thesz winner unknown cwa world heavyweight title 77. The main even featured us champion the sheik vs whipper billy watson for the united states championship. 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. Sep 11, 2014 lou thesz aloysius martin thesz faces buddy rogers herman gustav rohde jr. Dirty boxing for mixed martial arts from wrestling to mixed martial arts pdf full ebook. William alfred billy robinson september 18, 1938 march 3, 2014 was a british. Antonio inoki are unfamiliar, you should look them up. Buy billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board wwe uwf nwa psadna certified original nfl art and prints. Robinson s shooting ability was pretty much his claim to fame in prowrestling. Snowden has painstakingly documented the historical conenction between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts in the united states. Nature boy buddy rogers vs whipper billy watson maple leaf gardens toronto 1956. And as i said before, he was hired by the uwf to coach their grapplers in submissions.
Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Robinson is just a different era and type of wrestler, to me. Nwa united states tag team championship florida version 1 time with cowboy bob ellis. Blackandwhite film clips from iwethe earliest robinson match on tape. Aug 02, 2007 it was while toiling for haft that gotch became embroiled in the biggest controversy of his day. 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. Watson had just lost the nwa title back to lou thesz. Lou thesz vs billy robinson louisville, kentucky,sep. Billy tells us that the altercation took place in late 1969 during a tour of japan. Lou thesz and billy robinson autograph signed shikishi board. 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.
If the names billy robinson, karl gotch, or heaven forbid. Save lou thesz book to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. If youre a big wrestling fan or a big fan of martial arts and grappling then this is. Rogers often compared gotch with lou thesz, whom he also distrusted, and let anyone within earshot know his feelings. Lou thesz, the uwfi, hooking, and contemporary catch wrestling. In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a. Maple leaf gardens, toronto, ontario canada 1956 whipper watson with the canuck commando on buddy rogers.
For the first time, billy robinson sets the record straight on. Lou thesz professional wrestling ring record page 1. 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. Billy robinson trained some of the best wrestlers even ric flair. If you like this site, please consider a small donation that will keep the site alive and advertisingfree in the future. 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. Billy robinson lou thesz signed shikishi japanese art board psadna wwe uwf nwa. Learn as erik paulson, josh barnett, and others pick the brain of this catch wrestling icon. 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. Hooker, written by lou thesz with kit bauman, is a surprisingly, bluntly honest book.
Thesz was carried from the ring because of exhaustion and gagne was robbed. Massive but amazing meltzer article on billy robinson. Robinson himself had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest. The life and times of a hooker by the phantom of the ring.
In this book billy robinson takes the opportunity to set the record straight on a number of. My life in catchascatchcan wrestling by billy robinson 20120601 at. The hall of fame honors wrestlers with an amateur background who have made an impact on professional wrestling. Ranking the 20 toughest pro wrestlers of all time bleacher. The untold story of the monopoly that strangled pro wrestling. Lou thesz for awa title, first ever g1 final by f4w.
Lewis friend, lou thesz, never had any desirer to go over seas to fight germans. Aloysius martin thesz april 24, 1916 april 28, 2002 was an american professional wrestler. It is named after lou thesz, who helped create it, and his. And billy robinson was a legit catch hooker during the years he wrestled professionally, along with karl gotch, and of course, lou thesz. Best of billy robinson mma, pro wrestling, and catch as catch can wrestling legend. In this memoir, billy robinson gives a unique insight into both show, and catch wrestling. A detailed history of lou thesz is featured in the book.
Mike aldren wrote in his wrestling globe newsletter december 2, 2010. 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. He was a catch wrestling instructor and also author of the book physical chess. 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.
An opportunity to learn about a legend not only in professional. Lou thesz said he was one of a handful of hookers in the world. Robinson was also knocked out by art thomas in the locker room. 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. Thesz was thrown almost immediately to the shock of the tv station crew and reporters. Billy robinson bill robinson was a british professional wrestler from lancashire, england in the united kingdom.
Lou thesz hides none of his opinions and speaking openly about his peers and his own career inside the squared circle. Thesz easily dispatched all the lighter wrestlers and then he went up against their heavyweight. Beth phoenix, bruno sammartino inducted into tragosthesz. I mean, lou thesz used to walk around like some sort of postapocalyptic avenger hurting people who talked bad about wrestling. 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.