Saulnier vs Torres

Michel Saulnier vs Ricardo Torres, 2 May 1970

You know I'm turned on by this - gentlemanly conduct, fierce competition, prolonged clutches, healthy but not chiseled physiques, the best man the victor. And as one commenter notes on YouTube, "under a circus tent" (I can almost smell the sawdust). I still don't know for certain why mid-century television wrestling turns me on. Maybe it reminds me of the one battle I saw briefly on black-and-white TV at a relative's house. I was shocked and shaken - as a child might be witnessing sex for the first time. Maybe it reminds me of an earlier masculinity, which drew me in but also made me shiver, which then quickly evolved into a kink. It dawned on me that I liked fights, not just muscles.