"Then" vs. "Now"

Once upon a time wrestling was "territory" business in the U.S.
Each promoter controlled their own geography; they exchanged talent;
and used TV as the driver to get their big pay-offs, which was a live gate.

Today, the U.S. is dominated by World Wrestling Entertainment, with story lines to promote the big pay-offs, which are now pay-per-views and merchandising.

When Buddy Rogers and Pat O'Connor had their classic 1961 2 out of 3 fall title
match, you basically had to be there, and the promotion money was the live gate.
In 2009, if the match were held, it still would have had the huge crowd, but
also pay-per-view revenue that the combatants could never had imagined.

In 2009, wrestlers periodically defeat each other, and title belts switch
constantly. Buddy Rogers held his title close to two years, defending it all
over the country (although more in the Northeast as Vince McMahon Sr. controlled
his schedule); Bruno Sammartino had 8 and 3 year reigns respectively; etc.
It is unlikely that a multiple year reign will occur again, unless the make-up of pro wrestling changes once again.

The first Sammartino-Gorilla Monsoon match

In 1963, Bruno Sammartino was WWWF champion. A new monster heel, the 401
pound Gorilla Monsoon, was brought in by Bobby Davis, "Manager of Champions".

Monsoon demolished opponents on television weekly, finishing them off with a
giant swing, Manchurian Avalanche (big splash), and pin.

When Buddy Rogers retired prior to a big rematch set for Roosevelt Stadium, in Jersey City, a tournament was held on television in association with "Ring Wrestling" magazine. In the final match, Monsoon pinned another major heel, Killer Buddy Austin,
in less than a minute, to get the title shot.

Thus, the first meeting of Monsoon and Sammartino was now set for Friday, October 4th, 1963.

Little known trivia is that Gino Marella (Monsoon's real name) and Sammartino had previously fought in Canada -- however, this was the first time Bruno met "Gorilla
Monsoon", who Bobby Davis had discovered wading nude in a mountain stream in Manchuria.

Monsoon won the first meeting via disqualification, and they had a series of rematches at Madison Square Garden. Bruno finally vanquished his huge (billed at 401 pounds) opponent.

Bruno Sammartino's early days as champ

When Bruno Sammartino won the WWF title from Buddy Rogers, he
quickly went after Rogers' associates, Handsome Johnny Barend and
Magnificent Maurice.

Then came Hans "The Great" Mortier, with manager Wild Red Berry, and with
rippling stomach muscles. Mortier had a powerful full nelson, called "The Guillotene", which made opponents lose consciousness.

Sammartino defeated Mortier in Madison Square Garden -- his first opponent after
Rogers.

Rogers wasn't quite done. With partner, Handsome Johnny Barend, he teamed in the
Garden to take 2 out of 3 falls from Bruno Sammartino and Bobo Brazil. Rogers pinned
Sammartino in the 3rd and deciding fall, to take the match.

Rogers was set for a return match with Sammartino, on Friday, October 4th, 1963,
at Roosevelt Stadium, an outdoor venue,in Jersey City, NJ. The tickets were printed with Rogers vs. Sammartino noted. However, Rogers retired before the match took place, and a new replacement emerged -- Gorilla Monsoon.

Enter Bruno Sammartino

Bruno Sammartino was the "Italian Strongboy" from Abruzzi, Italy.
He had numerous title bouts with Buddy Rogers, but never at Madison
Square Garden.

His time came in 1963. Sammartino put up $1,000 of his own money
to wrestle Buddy Rogers, on Washington, DC TV. The match never got started.
Rogers turned around to attack Bruno before the bell (Rogers later said
"I just wanted to shake the man's hand"), but Sammartino was ready. He quickly
demplished Rogers before the bell. The match was ruled a "no contest".

Announcer Ray Morgan, who had been holding the checks, gave them to Bruno.

The big title match was then set for Madison Square Garden, on May 17, 1963.
Sammartino won in less than a minute, in front of a packed house, and became
the new Worldwide Wrestling Federation Champion.

Buddy Rogers' title reign

Buddy Rogers was the ultimate heel -- probably the best of all time,
as far as can be determined. People really hated the guy, and wanted to
see him beaten.

Rogers had strong wrestling skills, and terrific showmanship. The strut, the
figure-4 legvine (submission hold), the arrogance. He was very cowardly when fan favorites were coming after him, and often didn't want to defend the world title
against the challengers with momentum. However, when the match ultimately came,
he would prevail.

Rogers won the NWA world title in Comisky Park, Chicago in June 1961; lost it in
January 1963 to Lou Thesz in Toronto, Canada. However, eastern promoters
(Vince McMahon Sr.) didn't recognize the title change, and Worldwide Wrestling
Federation President (new organization ath the time) "returned" the belt to Rogers
on Washington, DC television.

While NWA champion, Rogers teamed with Handsome Johnny Barend to win the
U.S. Tagteam titles.

When Rogers won the NWA title, in his first interview, in the ring after he defeated
Pat O'Conner, his comment was "To a nicer guy this couldn't have happened." And the fans booed.

Wrestling Classics

Professional wrestling has gone through many changes over the decades, and
today's wrestling, while entertaining and exciting, is a departure from the
simpler presentations of heroes vs. villains, feuds, and rematches of the
1950's and 1960's.

Many people today think that Ric Flair is the greatest wrestler of all time.
Maybe. However, the man he patterned himself after -- "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
(NWA world champ and first WWWF champ) could be also -- certainly the best "heel" (bad guy) of all time.

The era of Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Bobo Brazil, Johnny Valentine, Spiros Arion,
Ed Carpentier, Antonino Rocca, and Gorilla Monsoon (remember when Bobby Davis "found" him wading nude in a mountain stream in Manchuria?) was truly classic, and the matches were terrific.

I plan to reflect on many of these greats in the coming days.