Post by Himmy! on Oct 2, 2014 14:15:53 GMT -5
Hey guys,
Recently I've been trying to get into wrestling from a little further back. I got into wrestling in the 90's, so I've never gone further back than 1990 (barring a few events and matches here and there.)
I've been watching some WCCW from the early to mid 80's lately and analysing it in my head got me wondering a couple of things that I thought may make for interesting discussion.
What do you think has changed? Apart from the obvious, such as exposure and technological advances. I'm talking about the mechanics of what made a good match back then, and what makes one now. The thing I've noticed with a lot of the old school matches I've seen (particularly undercard matches) is that they are a lot slower paced. Almost everything back then is well thought out, and less is more. Its much more story based rather than action packed. It meant more in my opinion. Back then it doesn't seem like you HAD to be a complete athlete to tell a good story or get over with the fans.
Despite the slower pace, I have still been thoroughly entertained with the WCCW I've been watching. Bill Mercer is a great announcer, and there was some super talented guys in that promotion.
So that's my take on the 80's, but what about going even further back? Was it different even a decade before in the 70's and before that? I've never explored wrestling from the 70's or further back than that but of course you always hear of the great wrestlers from decades gone back: Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Bruno Sammartino etc to name just a few. It dawned on me that I really haven't seen much of their work. What made them great? They don't appear to be anything like the 'superstars' of recent days gone by.
The territory system has really interested me lately too and how the NWA worked as an organisation with its World Heavyweight Championship. It seems so different to what we see today, but it also appeared to be a great time to be a wrestling fan.
Basically, I just created this thread to throw out some of the thoughts I've had after visiting old school wrestling for the first time properly. I was interested to see what you guys think the changes are, is it better now than it was then etc? Obviously there's arguments for both!
Also, if there's any good documentaries or anything worth watching/reading about old school stuff that'd be much appreciated!
Cheers fellas.
Recently I've been trying to get into wrestling from a little further back. I got into wrestling in the 90's, so I've never gone further back than 1990 (barring a few events and matches here and there.)
I've been watching some WCCW from the early to mid 80's lately and analysing it in my head got me wondering a couple of things that I thought may make for interesting discussion.
What do you think has changed? Apart from the obvious, such as exposure and technological advances. I'm talking about the mechanics of what made a good match back then, and what makes one now. The thing I've noticed with a lot of the old school matches I've seen (particularly undercard matches) is that they are a lot slower paced. Almost everything back then is well thought out, and less is more. Its much more story based rather than action packed. It meant more in my opinion. Back then it doesn't seem like you HAD to be a complete athlete to tell a good story or get over with the fans.
Despite the slower pace, I have still been thoroughly entertained with the WCCW I've been watching. Bill Mercer is a great announcer, and there was some super talented guys in that promotion.
So that's my take on the 80's, but what about going even further back? Was it different even a decade before in the 70's and before that? I've never explored wrestling from the 70's or further back than that but of course you always hear of the great wrestlers from decades gone back: Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Bruno Sammartino etc to name just a few. It dawned on me that I really haven't seen much of their work. What made them great? They don't appear to be anything like the 'superstars' of recent days gone by.
The territory system has really interested me lately too and how the NWA worked as an organisation with its World Heavyweight Championship. It seems so different to what we see today, but it also appeared to be a great time to be a wrestling fan.
Basically, I just created this thread to throw out some of the thoughts I've had after visiting old school wrestling for the first time properly. I was interested to see what you guys think the changes are, is it better now than it was then etc? Obviously there's arguments for both!
Also, if there's any good documentaries or anything worth watching/reading about old school stuff that'd be much appreciated!
Cheers fellas.
