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Post by jetlag on Jan 6, 2018 7:36:51 GMT -5
tl;dr excellent old style technical match starring master grappler Billy Goelz
This was a seriously great match; naturally, these 1950s bouts have a high degree of intensity and struggle over basic holds, so it feels like you are watching a shootstyle match built around hammerlocks and headscissors. Then you also have Billy Goelz in the match, who looked like a master grappler in the vein of a Blue Panther or Ken Joyce, adding all these cool little touches. Such as turning himself into a turtle, constantly going for Verne's arm from any position, breaking Verne's arm over his own leg to keep control etc. The running and leapfrog spots where also fantastic, honestly. Verne is a former football guy, and Goelz would do these awesome bumps where it looks like Verne just ran right through him. At 20 minutes this also a pretty trim match, and they show a great sense for the subtleties of wrestling; Verne lands a big flying headscissor after being controlled by Goelz that gets a huge reaction, and the battle fiercely over the pinfall just as the time runs out. Excellent, pure wrestling match.
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Post by fxnj on Jan 20, 2018 3:29:43 GMT -5
Seconded. Not much to add to the review aside from that Gagne had just a year of experience under his belt when he wrestled this match. I've always assumed Akiyama had the best rookie year without much competition, but if matches like this are any indication it just might have been Gagne if we had more footage.
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Post by mattsdmf on Jun 26, 2018 18:29:24 GMT -5
Third.
Just finished this and I thought this was a great 20 minute match in which the time just flew by. The work in this match while is just so crisp and even looks impactful. I really liked the couple matches of Billy Goelz that I've seen and Verne Gagne just keeps getting better in everything I've seen him in. The arm work by Goelz was really masterful and the way he would break Verne's arm over his knee just as the arm lock was going to be broken looked incredibly painful. The match being built really around 3 key moves and then using so many different variations without feeling repetitive are lacking, really says something about the repertoire that these two really employ in this match. Just a hell of a professional wrestling match.
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Post by wrestlingfan on Aug 21, 2018 19:35:42 GMT -5
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Post by fxnj on Aug 21, 2018 23:01:35 GMT -5
Yeah, that's it.
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Post by mrjmml on Jun 18, 2023 11:54:25 GMT -5
Here’s another 50’s classic that impressed me, Gagne is a rookie in 1950 but he doesn’t look like one, his holds, especially the hammerlocks, feel really rough and actually meaningful in this match. Billy Goelz is the definition of a hidden gem, we have very few matches of him but what we have is very impressive, the way he sold Gagne’s offense in this bout was absolutely outstanding, his style was very unorthodox for the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1950’s, it’s closer to something France in 1956 and 1957 onwards, he wasn’t just another tough guy from this era, he was special.
As many might have guessed by now, the match took place in Chicago in June the 21st 1950. The Illinois Jr Heavyweight title is on the line, this means that it’s only one fall with a twenty minute time limit, Billy Goelz entered the arena as the champion.
The main plot point of the match was the battle between Goelz’s hammerlock against Gagne’s headscissors as Superstar Sleeze pointed out a few years ago. As I said before, both men’s work over their opponent’s limbs was sublime especially Goelz hammerlock, this was a thrilling match with a surprising amount of near falls considering the era. When they were close to the time limit, Goelz hit a dropkick and it legitimately felt like a match-ending move but it wasn’t Gagne kicked out in two, the match was declared a time limit draw protecting Gagne’s push to the top of the card and Goelz retaining his belt, very intelligent booking if you ask me.
An absolute timeless classic, if you aren’t a fan of the style that we associate with the 1950’s at least give this a try, I hope you like it as much as I did.
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Post by elliott on Aug 25, 2023 22:38:17 GMT -5
This match is awesome. This was one of the first 50s matches I watched decades ago. I thought it was cool as fuck then, it's still cool as fuck.
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