Wrestling in 1952

Bobby Nelson and Bert Ruby vs The Great Balbo and Sam Hallock (Chicago Pro Wrestling) - 1952

A look at tag-team pro wrestling 71 years ago, when things were messy and not so acrobatic. As one commenter weighs in, "Notice NO kids in the crowd...When wrestling was for an adult crowd of ticket buying men and some of their gals." Another chimes in, noting the coats and ties in the crowd, when fans dressed up for wrestling shows. My eye is drawn to the absence of crisp, perfecto moves. Instead, the brawling is messy. Fans could not predict what the hell would happen next. 

Bruiser-grade wrestling still exists, mainly in small venues, where hometown heroes roam. Nobody dresses up for it anymore, but mixed into the small crowds there are still fans who ignore the contract negotiations and backstage politics, there are still fans who pretend the action is spontaneous and real, and still messy and unpredictable wrestlers who work up a real or realistic grudge. Even so, much of the roughhouse today is custom-tailored for children and advertisers. All is not lost, though: we have YouTube and old videos like this one.