Post by CW .org .info .net on Sept 28, 2023 13:43:20 GMT -6
Dave -
What's the most important match in my city's history?
Well, being that pro wrestling in Chicago, Illinois has a
history that dates back into the origins of the industry,
it is next to impossible. One match does stand out more than
the others, however, in the minds of most area historians
and is frequently mentioned as being a pivotal turning point
in the business.
So I'm going to sift through the decades of Chicago's rich history,
where Evan " Strangler " Lewis won the precursor to the World Title
by beating Edwin Bibby, and I'll skip the series between
George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch and jump right to the days of
Fred Kohler and his promotion that was featured prominently during the
infancy of television.
On June 30, 1961, the " Nature Boy " Buddy Rogers won the
NWA World Championship by beating Pat O'Connor.
In how many diverse ways was this match significant?
To begin, it took place in front of an audience of 38,622 fans at Comiskey Park.
This was the largest crowd for not just the NWA, but for all of pro wrestling and
this attendance record would not be broken for the next 25 years, until the
Exhibition Stadium show in Toronto, Ontario in July of 1986 where the WWF
drew 74,000 people to see Hulk Hogan vs Paul Orndorff.
Many historians also point to this match as being significant because of the fact
that Buddy Rogers was not exactly the best worker and far from the level of a shooter
or hooker. Now granted, the industry prior to this match was littered with double-cross
finishes that took place due to the champion being unable to take care of himself,
so it definitely was not the first time that someone that was less than a " tough guy "
was given the strap. But would a football player like Gus Sonnenberg be considered less
than tough? And hey, even people who could take care of themselves were victims
of championship losses due to double-cross finishes, like the debacle with Mildred Burke
that was covered in your piece on the career of the Fabulous Moolah.
The reason that this match correlates to the level of skill that Rogers had and is pointed
to as being significant is because the promoters not only insisted on putting the belt on
someone of this caliber, but that they had started a trend in doing so, and this trend lasts
to this very day. Thus, this match is significant because showmanship was put ahead of skill
level. In the end, how could anyone argue with ticket sales and box office drawing power?
What were they going to do, possibly point to the championship reign of Dick Hutton?
To people who still care about titles and championships and such, it is the last NWA Title
change before the World Title was splintered off and the subsequent branch became the
championship of the future monolith of the WWF. It seemed peculiar to many of the NWA
promoters that the " Nature Boy " had an affinity for the northeast corridor of the US and
try as they might, the promoters couldn't get that belt off of Rogers, even with shooters like
Bill Miller and Karl Gotch breaking the guy's hand and Killer Kowalski putting him out of action
for a short time. It wasn't until Lou Thesz forced him to drop the title on January 24, 1963
that his reign had ended.
Or did it? Technically, his reign as NWA Champion did indeed end, but the Capitol Sports
people decided otherwise and claimed that Rogers was still the champion and soon this group
began using the name of World Wide Wrestling Federation. Vince McMahon Sr and Toots Mondt
led this coalition and made claims that Thesz was not a powerful enough to draw large crowds in their area,
also that Rogers won a tournament in April of 1963, in of all places, Rio De Janiero, to become the first champion,
in addition to citing the fact that World Titles did not change hands in one fall matches, like the match where
Thesz regained the belt.
And finally, it must be noted that from a booking standpoint, the O'Connor/Rogers 1961 match in Chicago was
significant for the fact that it was the culmination of many years of matches being televised on a regular basis
and various build-ups of contenders before one contender, who stood out from the rest, finally beat the champion
on TV and won the belt.
Also, to this day, you can access this match on DVD, VHS, the internet, whatever medium you
choose. To my knowledge, it was the first World Title change that took place on a national television broadcast.
So as you turn the pages of the history books and you clearly see the importance of Gotch, Hack, and the
early NWA, and you can fast forward to the matches of the future, because Chicago has had its share of
important matches. It was where the Road Warriors should have been crowned NWA World Tag Team Champions
at Starrcade '87, but due to bad booking the Crocketts never drew a good house here again. You can point to the
second WrestleMania and the awesome star power of the battle royal and the media attention it garnered, as well as
The British Bulldogs having beaten Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake for the WWF Tag Team Championships that night,
with Ozzy Osbourne parading around the ring with Lou Albano holding the belts. One of the biggest matches in history took
place here when Bret Hart went against Steve Austin in what ended up being the famous double-turn.
You can pick any of these matches, and quite possibly a slew of others, like the Samoa Joe vs CM Punk encounter from a
few years ago. And you wouldn't be wrong. But above all these, Pat O'Connor vs Buddy Rogers has had more of an impact
on professional wrestling and had served to change it. It has stood the test of time, both in the ring and throughout the years.
What's the most important match in my city's history?
Well, being that pro wrestling in Chicago, Illinois has a
history that dates back into the origins of the industry,
it is next to impossible. One match does stand out more than
the others, however, in the minds of most area historians
and is frequently mentioned as being a pivotal turning point
in the business.
So I'm going to sift through the decades of Chicago's rich history,
where Evan " Strangler " Lewis won the precursor to the World Title
by beating Edwin Bibby, and I'll skip the series between
George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch and jump right to the days of
Fred Kohler and his promotion that was featured prominently during the
infancy of television.
On June 30, 1961, the " Nature Boy " Buddy Rogers won the
NWA World Championship by beating Pat O'Connor.
In how many diverse ways was this match significant?
To begin, it took place in front of an audience of 38,622 fans at Comiskey Park.
This was the largest crowd for not just the NWA, but for all of pro wrestling and
this attendance record would not be broken for the next 25 years, until the
Exhibition Stadium show in Toronto, Ontario in July of 1986 where the WWF
drew 74,000 people to see Hulk Hogan vs Paul Orndorff.
Many historians also point to this match as being significant because of the fact
that Buddy Rogers was not exactly the best worker and far from the level of a shooter
or hooker. Now granted, the industry prior to this match was littered with double-cross
finishes that took place due to the champion being unable to take care of himself,
so it definitely was not the first time that someone that was less than a " tough guy "
was given the strap. But would a football player like Gus Sonnenberg be considered less
than tough? And hey, even people who could take care of themselves were victims
of championship losses due to double-cross finishes, like the debacle with Mildred Burke
that was covered in your piece on the career of the Fabulous Moolah.
The reason that this match correlates to the level of skill that Rogers had and is pointed
to as being significant is because the promoters not only insisted on putting the belt on
someone of this caliber, but that they had started a trend in doing so, and this trend lasts
to this very day. Thus, this match is significant because showmanship was put ahead of skill
level. In the end, how could anyone argue with ticket sales and box office drawing power?
What were they going to do, possibly point to the championship reign of Dick Hutton?
To people who still care about titles and championships and such, it is the last NWA Title
change before the World Title was splintered off and the subsequent branch became the
championship of the future monolith of the WWF. It seemed peculiar to many of the NWA
promoters that the " Nature Boy " had an affinity for the northeast corridor of the US and
try as they might, the promoters couldn't get that belt off of Rogers, even with shooters like
Bill Miller and Karl Gotch breaking the guy's hand and Killer Kowalski putting him out of action
for a short time. It wasn't until Lou Thesz forced him to drop the title on January 24, 1963
that his reign had ended.
Or did it? Technically, his reign as NWA Champion did indeed end, but the Capitol Sports
people decided otherwise and claimed that Rogers was still the champion and soon this group
began using the name of World Wide Wrestling Federation. Vince McMahon Sr and Toots Mondt
led this coalition and made claims that Thesz was not a powerful enough to draw large crowds in their area,
also that Rogers won a tournament in April of 1963, in of all places, Rio De Janiero, to become the first champion,
in addition to citing the fact that World Titles did not change hands in one fall matches, like the match where
Thesz regained the belt.
And finally, it must be noted that from a booking standpoint, the O'Connor/Rogers 1961 match in Chicago was
significant for the fact that it was the culmination of many years of matches being televised on a regular basis
and various build-ups of contenders before one contender, who stood out from the rest, finally beat the champion
on TV and won the belt.
Also, to this day, you can access this match on DVD, VHS, the internet, whatever medium you
choose. To my knowledge, it was the first World Title change that took place on a national television broadcast.
So as you turn the pages of the history books and you clearly see the importance of Gotch, Hack, and the
early NWA, and you can fast forward to the matches of the future, because Chicago has had its share of
important matches. It was where the Road Warriors should have been crowned NWA World Tag Team Champions
at Starrcade '87, but due to bad booking the Crocketts never drew a good house here again. You can point to the
second WrestleMania and the awesome star power of the battle royal and the media attention it garnered, as well as
The British Bulldogs having beaten Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake for the WWF Tag Team Championships that night,
with Ozzy Osbourne parading around the ring with Lou Albano holding the belts. One of the biggest matches in history took
place here when Bret Hart went against Steve Austin in what ended up being the famous double-turn.
You can pick any of these matches, and quite possibly a slew of others, like the Samoa Joe vs CM Punk encounter from a
few years ago. And you wouldn't be wrong. But above all these, Pat O'Connor vs Buddy Rogers has had more of an impact
on professional wrestling and had served to change it. It has stood the test of time, both in the ring and throughout the years.