OLD SCHOOL Match of the Month

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Let's try something new and a little different. Once a month, a new vintage match to discuss. To kick things off, Buddy Rogers meets Killer Kowalski in a 2/3 falls affair.

 

 

 

 

Interesting stuff here. Rogers was a wonderful heel on the mic. Kowalski had psychology down, working the leg of Rogers and possibly preventing the figure four. Rudimentary high spots bring finishes. The fans were tremendously into the action.

 

I'd love to hear some other thoughts.

[Jingus 0]

I actually have this on tape, and wrote a bit about it last year after Kowalski died:

 

I think this is from Chicago in the early 60s, though I'm not sure, and it's 2/3 falls. Oddly, Kowalski is actually the babyface here, with Rogers as the chickenshit heel; the vocal crowd seems a little split, as you can hear cheers and boos for both men. This is a no-holds-barred match which is according to the commentator allegedly a rematch from one they had in Canada where Killer broke Buddy's leg. Babyface or not, Kowalski still wrestles like a heel, immediately going after Rogers' bad leg. Kowalski has those goofy 60s strikes which look so ginger and obviously phony, but he knows how to crank a hold in tight so that it looks hella painful. He wins the first fall in like four minutes, just squashing Rogers. "No holds barred" apparently doesn't include chokes, and the ref still makes them break if they get to the ropes, so call this Relaxed Rules I guess. Rogers shows me where Flair got his old "beg off, then cheapshot" routine. Mostly a bunch of punching and basic holds, with the occasional hiptoss or flying forearm for highspots. Still, they pace it well and do a good job selling, they have the crowd into it. Rogers cold-cocks Kowalski with a punch for the second fall. BTW, no idea who the old-school announcer here is, Bob Somebody, but he does a really good job, a pro at putting over the psychology and listing off random facts of both wrestlers, unlike a lot of the older announcers I've heard who treated the sport as a joke with irony and disdain. And... Kowalski tries to put Rogers in the tree of woe?! Tree of whoa. Didn't work, his foot didn't catch, but still, didn't know that spot was that old. Late in the match, both guys trade body slams like a ROH match trading headdrops. Kowalski goes up top for his kneedrop, but misses, and Rogers piledrives him for the final pin. It's dated, sure, but it's perfectly watchable even to today's fan.