The 1970s was the peak of wrestling and Indiana had the best wrestling. Legends like Dick the Bruiser, Bobby the Brain, Moose Cholak, the Crusher and Ox Baker will never be forgotten.
Ah late nights as a child. Wttv4 after Sammy Terry's nightmare theater. Been looking for these early 70s WWA matches forever. Thanks for the flashback to a much simpler and more enjoyable time.
WTTV was amazing.I was watching Sammy and All-Star with guys like Bruiser,Yukon Moose,Spike Hubert and Don Kent when I was kidding in the 80s.Man,I miss the old days .I loved it when they came to Deleware County.
Sailor Art Thomas was another great, often forgotten wrestler from the golden age of wrestling, here he is at 50 years old wrestling as if he was still in his 20s or 30s.
I remembered at time(Also In 1974) at Cleveland when Ox Baker was Running for His Life when A Melee ensued among An Angry Mob of Fans looking to attack Baker.
1974 in Los Angeles(Where I lived), we had Kenji Shibuya and his Partner, Masa Saito. Also we had Black Gordman and The Great Goliath as a Tag Team. The Other Regulars we had was “The Golden Greek”(John Tolos), Greg Valentine, Dennis Stamp, Louis Tillet, Salvador Lothario, Mando Lopez, The Outlaw, Raul Mata and of course, The Biggest Draw of them all, Mil Mascaras. Does anyone remember all or some of those names?
All except the Outlaw. Resided down south and in the midwest (late 60's-now) but would get some coverage of Calif wrestling from the magazines (The Wrestler, Wrestling Revue, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, etc.). Later we were able to get Calif wrestling in Chgo between 80-82 when Chris Adams, Exotic Adrian Street, Allen Coage (he went by his real name then), Tom Pritchard, Ray Evans et. al. were wrestling. Great memories.
Tres Fielder I remembered The Outlaw, very vaguely. Only once(or twice) did I ever see him wrestle. In 1974, I would have seen Butcher Brannigan, Lord Patrick Roach, and John Birch(Nobodys) more than I did The Outlaw. Only once did I see “The Wolfman” here in Los Angeles.
Tres Fielder There was One Match here in Los Angeles I will never forget in late 1980 which was a “Hair vs. Mask” Match between Mean Mike Masters from New York and Mil Mascaras. After Mil Mascaras won, and had Masters’s Hair Shaved Off, he(Masters) was on his knees crying over His Shaved Off Hair.
Anybody who saw Beyond the Mat remembers the late Dennis Stamp, best remembered for the line "But Terry... I'm not booked!" Masa Saito is better known to WWF and AWA fans as Mr. Saito. I doubt there are any fans more than 20 years old who don't know the name Greg Valentine. Mascaras and Tolos are two of the most famous wrestlers of the second half of the 20th century.
I’ve been watching pro wrestling since I was 6 years old, 1970. There are NO fans more rabid about their hometown hero like Indy is about Dick The Bruiser. Overall talent, Indianapolis had the best top talent and mid card talent in the 60’s-70’s.
man there were so many good wrestlers in the 60's and 70's by the 90's if you had 15 real good ones you were lucky and by 2000 we just ran out of good ones, look at the problem vince has finding good talent, they all look the same and wrestle the same match with a million high spots. what a shame thanks to you tube we can watch the classics
RE: 8/31/74 show that they pushing, Bruiser that same night was in Detroit in his first Detroit encounter against The Sheik in the so-called "match of the century" after the two buried the hatchet over the Detroit promotional war.
Grew up on WWA as I lived in Fort Wayne Indiana. This was our local territory. Dick the Bruiser was my favorite. So many stars came threw . Ox Baker , the black jacks, Moondog’s , Andre the giant , Bobo Brazil and so many more . Scott Steiner started in WWA . Just loved watching Busier Bedlam wrestling every Sat morning and NWA on TBS . always got mad as the main event would always go off the air and had to wait till next week to see who won. Lol the good old days .
Man this was a great time to live in this country ,simple ti.es great wrestling, baseball was the national pastime and everyone was a Patriot . Good times.
Nixon had resigned just a week earlier and we were still in Vietnam. So the country wasn't all that united. Still, better times than we are living in now.
Sam Menacker was on a record called "America's Funniest Bloopers".He was live on air and didn't know it after he thought they went to commercial and said " Hey Mac! Where's the can?" LOL!
Re those house show promos: the wrestler known as Kim Duk (real name Masanori Toguchi) is better known by his WWF name of Tiger Chung Lee. He had a role as a heavy in the Eddie Murphy action movie The Golden Child.
RasslinRelics I believe I have the TV air date right though based on ads for upcoming show in the episode. I believe they just pulled old footage to air.
I guess The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser didn't believe in 'selling'. In the first match they beat up Mulligan and Lanza like a couple of jobbers. The Blackjacks were half the age and twice the size but apparently the fans were buying it.
In reality they were probably the two worst wrestlers ever, period. Lanza and Mulligan weren’t much better. People still flocked in wherever they went for decades lol
Is “Killer Cortez” a muscle bound guy that used to wrestle as “Hercules Cortez”. If so I saw him whoop 2 fans at the old Milwaukee Auditorium after they tried to attack him as he tried to make his way to the ring. That was the last we saw or heard of him in AWA territory
First match was hilarious. I can never figure out how Bruiser was a face for so long, he used so many dirty tactics. I guess when you own the promotion, you position yourself however you want.
Are you sure of the date? Bruiser was working a program with The Sheik at that time. I seen on Bruisers record book on the Sports and Wrestling page that the date of this match was 9/16/72
jolietdave3750 I'm pretty sure that's when this episode aired, based on the show announcements in it, and with Ox Baker being champion. It would've been taped earlier. WWA was known for often pulling matches out of the past and putting on their show... wasn't always current content lol.
It was hard to tell but it look like ox Baker was bleeding in his promo. Was that interview after a match where was he injured by a fan walking into a the ring ?
It's too bad that this area (WWA) was neglected & hardly covered by the Apter mags (PWI, Inside Wrestling, The Wrestler etc.) But was always well-covered by The Wrestling News, Wrestling Review & the other Melby/Kietzer magazines. Living in the metro NY area, we used to only read about this area & it contained many big names but was never covered in of the Apter rags.
Amazing wrestler, manger, talker, announcer, Bobby Heenan often left out of the GOAT conversation. Best "All around" talent ever in wrestling.
The 1970s was the peak of wrestling and Indiana had the best wrestling. Legends like Dick the Bruiser, Bobby the Brain, Moose Cholak, the Crusher and Ox Baker will never be forgotten.
Here in Los Angeles, at The Olympic Auditorium, it was The Mecca of Professional Wrestling as it was where the NWA was centered.
Ah late nights as a child. Wttv4 after Sammy Terry's nightmare theater. Been looking for these early 70s WWA matches forever. Thanks for the flashback to a much simpler and more enjoyable time.
WTTV was amazing.I was watching Sammy and All-Star with guys like Bruiser,Yukon Moose,Spike Hubert and Don Kent when I was kidding in the 80s.Man,I miss the old days .I loved it when they came to Deleware County.
Pound-for-pound, Heenan has been the best wrestler/manager/announcer/entertainer EVER. I will not argue this. He knew how to work the crowd.
Sailor Art Thomas was another great, often forgotten wrestler from the golden age of wrestling, here he is at 50 years old wrestling as if he was still in his 20s or 30s.
I remembered at time(Also In 1974) at Cleveland when Ox Baker was Running for His Life when A Melee ensued among An Angry Mob of Fans looking to attack Baker.
It’s on you tube. Look it up, crazy stuff
WOW! The intro brought back so many memories.
It is impossible to beat Sam Mennaker. He is the gold standard. He is the MAN.
1974 in Los Angeles(Where I lived), we had Kenji Shibuya and his Partner, Masa Saito. Also we had Black Gordman and The Great Goliath as a Tag Team.
The Other Regulars we had was “The Golden Greek”(John Tolos), Greg Valentine, Dennis Stamp, Louis Tillet, Salvador Lothario, Mando Lopez, The Outlaw, Raul Mata and of course, The Biggest Draw of them all, Mil Mascaras.
Does anyone remember all or some of those names?
All except the Outlaw. Resided down south and in the midwest (late 60's-now) but would get some coverage of Calif wrestling from the magazines (The Wrestler, Wrestling Revue, Pro Wrestling Illustrated, etc.). Later we were able to get Calif wrestling in Chgo between 80-82 when Chris Adams, Exotic Adrian Street, Allen Coage (he went by his real name then), Tom Pritchard, Ray Evans et. al. were wrestling. Great memories.
Tres Fielder
I remembered The Outlaw, very vaguely. Only once(or twice) did I ever see him wrestle. In 1974, I would have seen Butcher Brannigan, Lord Patrick Roach, and John Birch(Nobodys) more than I did The Outlaw. Only once did I see “The Wolfman” here in Los Angeles.
Tres Fielder
There was One Match here in Los Angeles I will never forget in late 1980 which was a “Hair vs. Mask” Match between Mean Mike Masters from New York and Mil Mascaras. After Mil Mascaras won, and had Masters’s Hair Shaved Off, he(Masters) was on his knees crying over His Shaved Off Hair.
Anybody who saw Beyond the Mat remembers the late Dennis Stamp, best remembered for the line "But Terry... I'm not booked!" Masa Saito is better known to WWF and AWA fans as Mr. Saito. I doubt there are any fans more than 20 years old who don't know the name Greg Valentine. Mascaras and Tolos are two of the most famous wrestlers of the second half of the 20th century.
@@ernestcruz6316
I ought to see that movie one day.
Thank you for sharing this incredible footage.
I’ve been watching pro wrestling since I was 6 years old, 1970. There are NO fans more rabid about their hometown hero like Indy is about Dick The Bruiser.
Overall talent, Indianapolis had the best top talent and mid card talent in the 60’s-70’s.
Sailor art Thomas ! Man oh mann...and Pretty boy B.Heenan. Lovely 70's.
This is the first time I've actually seen Bobby Heenan as wrestler! He was an excellent manager,too.
man there were so many good wrestlers in the 60's and 70's by the 90's if you had 15 real good ones you were lucky and by 2000 we just ran out of good ones, look at the problem vince has finding good talent, they all look the same and wrestle the same match with a million high spots. what a shame thanks to you tube we can watch the classics
Vince McMahon jr fucked up pro wrestling in America.
Vince made more men well off while producing mostly shit.
RE: 8/31/74 show that they pushing, Bruiser that same night was in Detroit in his first Detroit encounter against The Sheik in the so-called "match of the century" after the two buried the hatchet over the Detroit promotional war.
This promotion blew WWF away back then. Just blew them away. THIS is THE primary promotion that sold wrestling mags.
Grew up on WWA as I lived in Fort Wayne Indiana. This was our local territory. Dick the Bruiser was my favorite. So many stars came threw . Ox Baker , the black jacks, Moondog’s , Andre the giant , Bobo Brazil and so many more . Scott Steiner started in WWA . Just loved watching Busier Bedlam wrestling every Sat morning and NWA on TBS . always got mad as the main event would always go off the air and had to wait till next week to see who won. Lol the good old days .
Yeah, I hated when the really great match started with like 8 minutes left in the show.
So many stars came through, not came threw.
Do posters proofread, or are they just illiterate?
Man this was a great time to live in this country ,simple ti.es great wrestling, baseball was the national pastime and everyone was a Patriot . Good times.
Nixon had resigned just a week earlier and we were still in Vietnam. So the country wasn't all that united. Still, better times than we are living in now.
If you were 3-17 years old and you’re parents had a good job, yes it was
Miss those days....
I loved Bruiser, Crusher and Little Bruiser against The Blackjacks and Bobby Heenan. Fun match!
First match I ever saw was Sailor Art in Milwaukee in 1971. Second match was Ox with Big K vs some pudgy rookie named Flair
the Bruiser and the Crusher were like having 2 Brock Lesners as a team...they would clean house today
Brock Lesnar is Garbage 🗑
Little bruiser looks like Hornswaggle .
Sam Menacker was on a record called "America's Funniest Bloopers".He was live on air and didn't know it after he thought they went to commercial and said " Hey Mac! Where's the can?" LOL!
THANKS
Re those house show promos: the wrestler known as Kim Duk (real name Masanori Toguchi) is better known by his WWF name of Tiger Chung Lee. He had a role as a heavy in the Eddie Murphy action movie The Golden Child.
Matches in Indy Murray was Little Bruiser.....Matches in Milwaukee he was Little Crusher......
Luv the ox! Rip, big man
Heenan took awesome bumps
I didn't realize that Bobby Bold Eagle was a Chief. He didn't use that designation when he wrestled for the Vachons and Grand Prix Wrestling.
Fucking awesome thanks for posting
This is from September of 1972,a week or so after the Soldier Field card in Chicago.
RasslinRelics I believe I have the TV air date right though based on ads for upcoming show in the episode. I believe they just pulled old footage to air.
Dave Dynasty Yeah,that's why Dick never had belts or ID'ing info on his basic tapes.
Wake me up when the Gomez/Snyder promo is over.
I guess The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser didn't believe in 'selling'. In the first match they beat up Mulligan and Lanza like a couple of jobbers. The Blackjacks were half the age and twice the size but apparently the fans were buying it.
In reality they were probably the two worst wrestlers ever, period. Lanza and Mulligan weren’t much better. People still flocked in wherever they went for decades lol
Is “Killer Cortez” a muscle bound guy that used to wrestle as “Hercules Cortez”. If so I saw him whoop 2 fans at the old Milwaukee Auditorium after they tried to attack him as he tried to make his way to the ring. That was the last we saw or heard of him in AWA territory
No, Hercules Cortez died in a car crash in 1971.
First match was hilarious. I can never figure out how Bruiser was a face for so long, he used so many dirty tactics. I guess when you own the promotion, you position yourself however you want.
Dick the bruiser and the crusher looked like they could've been brothers. They looked so similar!
Are you sure of the date? Bruiser was working a program with The Sheik at that time. I seen on Bruisers record book on the Sports and Wrestling page that the date of this match was 9/16/72
jolietdave3750 I'm pretty sure that's when this episode aired, based on the show announcements in it, and with Ox Baker being champion. It would've been taped earlier. WWA was known for often pulling matches out of the past and putting on their show... wasn't always current content lol.
Probably a rerun then. I remember seeing this from earlier. Might have been matches from a few different shows too.
yep, you are correct! that match was in 72
Blackjack Mulligan was Barry Windham's Father.
Did Price Pullins later wrestle at Calypso Jim?
No. Different wrestler.
show more
Sailor Art Thomas was very muscular . Wish there were more videos of him .
Just google his name on youtube and you will get it .
Ah the old 8' x 8' ring.
It was hard to tell but it look like ox Baker was bleeding in his promo.
Was that interview after a match where was he injured by a fan walking into a the ring ?
Cool intro music! What's the name of the song?
Its called. Who let the dogs out...
It's too bad that this area (WWA) was neglected & hardly covered by the Apter mags (PWI, Inside Wrestling, The Wrestler etc.) But was always well-covered by The Wrestling News, Wrestling Review & the other Melby/Kietzer magazines. Living in the metro NY area, we used to only read about this area & it contained many big names but was never covered in of the Apter rags.
Little Bruiser has alot of nerve.
wow great show thanks
Is there any footage of Bobbie Heenan as a temporary face in Indianapolis in 1974? DB switched him back to heel because he was more popular.
I've never seen any footage but am always looking
He was a face in WWA? What was the story on that?
The Masked Heel check it out...
kayfabememories.com/Regions/wwa-ind/wwaind3.htm
Pantera? It
Ox: "He's rode his last race. He's roped his last horse." Neither of which are things cowboys actually do.
😀😃😁
LOL@13:11