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What
the media has said about wrestling over the years,
by Greg Tingle
Very
cleaver. -- John Laws (2UE broadcaster) to Greg Tingle
(Journalist), 2002
Whatever
the ingredients, the spectacle has definitely caught
the fancy of the mob. Today, wrestling is probably
the most popular of the pro sports. -- Joe Williams,
Judge, 1932
The
one nice thing about rassling is that no one can libel
it -- Arthur Daley, New York Times
Professional
wrestling is not a fraud. It is preposterous, if you
wish, or ludicrous, but it is not fraudulent, any
more than it is fraudulent when Abbott and Costello
fall into a cement mixer with a baboon -- injuries
may be regarded as industrial accidents -- to use
the word 'champion' in professional wrestling is to
lose touch with reality.-- Sam Beal
Can
you imagine the level of a mind that watches wrestling?
-- Max Von Sydow character in Hannah and Her Sisters,
1986
Although
professional wrestling matches are reportedly as fixed
as the romances of Helen Trent, 20,335 customers jammed
Madison Square Garden last night to watch hefty matadors
grunt, groan, pull hair, knock heads, and generally
behave like Mau Maus. -- Gay Talese, New York Times,
May 25, 1958
Men
like Savoldi, Sonnenberg, McMillen -- football players
-- started using that flying tackle mess and with
it came kicking, butting and even some biting. Wrestling
wasn't ability any more, it was more like legalized
murder. If wrestling is ever to gain the popularity
it deserves, it needs to cut out all the punching
and kicking and throwing guys out of the ring. Wrestling
wasn't dull when Caddock, Stecher, Pesek and Strangler
Lewis were going good. Those guys were real grapplers
and they'd give you a real contest. The officials
have got to stop these guys from getting away with
everything and anything. -- George Bothner, former
wrestler and longtime referee, to Nat Loubet, editor,
Ring Wrestling, August, 1965
Nat
Loubet's All-Time Top 15 in August, 1965, Ring Wrestling:
Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt, Great Gama, Stanislaus
Zbyszko, Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, John Pesek, Strangler
Lewis, Ivan Poddubny, Lou Thesz, Tom Jenkins, Dick
Shikat, Alex Aberg, Youssouf the Terrible Turk, Hans
Steinke. A few of them can wrestle, but I don't hold
that against them. I've never seen an honest wrestling
bout in my 20 years in the game. Maybe there was one,
but I wasn't there. - - Jack Pfeffer
In
our view, all-in wrestling cannot be regarded as true
wrestling. We do not consider that it contains any
element of sport, and we regard it as a degrading
and unhealthy form of entertainment. -- Public Control
Committee, London (England) County Council, in asking
for a wrestling ban, Nov. 17, 1941. For many years,
professional wrestling was popular in the United States,
reaching its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Notable
wrestlers in the 20th Century included George Hackenschmidt,
Ed (Strangler) Lewis, Earl Caddock, Jim Londos, Joe
Stecher, Stanislaus Zbyszko and John Pesek.& Professional
wrestling in the United States has now largely degenerated
into a pre-arranged parody of rough and tumble acting.
-- Philip J. Rasch, Encyclopedia Americana, 1970
From
Punjab, in India, came Daula He had shoes but not
any caula But his shoes they were tight And he threw
them one night At a wrestler who started to haula
-- Unknown Author, 1930s (perhaps Dan Parker)
The
things they say about in politics no honest man can
take. If I say in politics, I'll slug somebody for
sure. When a wrestler gets personal in the ring I
let him have one right on the jaw, or maybe I pick
him up and slam him to the mat. But if I tried that
on one of these politicians, I'd land in jail and
be sued for all I own. Wrestling is on the level,
but politics -- Man Mountain Dean, after withdrawing
from race for lower Georgia house of legislature,
Aug. 8, 1938
Links:
The
Miami Herald: Wrestling
Slam!
Sports - Wrestling
The
Post & Courier
Puroresu
Power
Salty
Ham
Wrestling
Observer Newsletter
Professional
Wrestling - Wikipedia
NWATNA
- Official website
World
Wrestling Entertainment - Corporate website
Articles
The
Great Yankee Promoters, by Greg Tingle
The
Great Aussie Promoters, by Greg Tingle
Wrestling
Promoters Down Under, by Greg Tingle
Wrestling
Book Reviews, by Greg Tingle
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