Verne Gagne vs. Billy Goelz (Chicago - 6/21/1950)

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.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcdWgjbTqgg

Is it this match ?

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.