Might This 1960 Match Be My New Favorite?
Here I go slipping off into nostalgia again. The faceoff between Michel Allary and bald, Teutonic Johnny Stein at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris is right up my alley, and all I've seen is the 30-minute first round* (on YouTube here). While watching and rewatching and immediately after, I jotted down some notes (or perhaps I should add a Frenchified touch and call them "pensees"). My love of the old stuff is not just affectation. Something's going on here that hits me in the right spots, and scribbling down my impressions gets me (I hope) a little closer to understanding (and defining) my peculiar wrestling kink. Here are the notes, for anyone who's interested:
No splashy entrance can equal two opponents fidgeting in opposite corners, trying to listen to their cornermen while busy sizing each other up.
Wrestling in the 21st century underestimates the drama and eroticism of the referee's pre-match pat-down of the contestants.
One wrestler backing the other against the ropes, their arms entangled, and then pressing in on him is something I unconsciously demand of every single wrestling match ... at least once.
The bearhug by itself is not enough. The victim must at least attempt to peel himself free of the assailant's grip.
Slowly working an opponent on the mat is better than a speedy hurricanrana. I want to see the bellies heave and fall as the enervated wrestlers strain to gulp down air.
Sweat. Always sweat. If the wrestlers don't sweat, they're not wrestling hard enough.
If the hair is curly, it must be pulled. (Ears can substitute when wrestlers are bald.)
I like refs big and tough enough to pry a heel off a babyface once that heel has crossed the line, but not big and tough enough to stop him when the heel flies into a mad rage.
When even the babyface shoves the ref away, you know the fight is spiraling upwards to greatness.
France versus Germany = always good for a fight
I would love to see Lane Hartley and Guido Genatto reenact this fight, move for move, blow for blow, and grunt for grunt, with Jonny Firestorm officiating. (Or if we want to keep the national rivalry intact, how about Tristan Archer versus Patrick Schulz?)
* I have not yet found the second round on YouTube. Any help in locating it would be appreciated.
I looked to find more of that match. No luck, but I did find this blog that, assuming you've not seen it, should interest you. There is a link, that is likely to the part you've already watched. I'd think that if there is more on YouTube, this site would know about it. http://alpra.blogspot.com/2012/10/tournoisallemandsmoins-de-100-kiloss.html
ReplyDeleteWhat I miss from this era is the formal introduction of the wrestlers: name, origin, height, weight. Cyberfights has the pat down. I also miss the initial, inevitable, clinch, as long as it wasn't also interminable. Alpra also has a YouTube channel. I'd keep my eye on it for more of the match.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your commentary on this wrestling match, which I spotted and watched avidly yesterday on Google+. It is so satisfying to read the musings of another wrestling enthusiast whose interests and observations so closely match my own.
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