Classic St. Louis Volume 3

Hosted by Larry Matysik

Highspots Home Video

www.stlouiswrestling.com

www.highspots.com

$13.85

Reviewed by Joe Babinsack

It’s easy to see how different professional wrestling was, just thirty years ago, and vastly interesting to hear how some of the all-time greats approach the subject back then and to this day.

Prior to an interview with the former NWA Champion Lou Thesz, Larry Matysik apologizes to the viewer for not airing the finish of the Rufus R. Jones vs Billy Howard match. Howard has the look and prospects I in this match as the consummate and solid veteran, who’s here really to shine the spotlight on the man often called “Freight Train.”

Rufus R. Jones has the look and the approach as a clone of the iconic Bobo Brazil, including the trunks pulled way up high to soften the big gut, and the tediously methodical approach, and the ubiquitous and somewhat unfortunate gimmick of the cast-iron head.

But before that match airs, we get an interview with Thesz, who’s in town for family, and who announces to the fans at ringside and the viewers at home, and the viewers thirty years in the future, that he’s had lunch with his Mother and Sister and Brother-in-Law.

Well, that’s not quite the insight and ground breaking commentary that you may be looking for, but it does show the quaintness, the simplicity and the honesty of the greatness of Lou Thesz.

Larry and Lou move from luncheon dates to current events, and then to an invitation to spend a few minutes commentating on the opening match. Lou politely accepts, dressed in what I can only call a blue bowling shirt, with a huge collar and a buttoned-down appearance that screams casual.

Well, as casual as the four-time former NWA World Heavyweight Champion can attain, in his home town, speaking off the cuff about the sport that he adores.

But wrestling was in the blood of Thesz, and he makes his statements on a few battles (Dick The Bruiser against Dick Murdoch in a cage!) and an upcoming and well anticipated match between Ric Flair and Ted DiBiase (pronounced dee-bee-aas here.)

There are more than a few interesting quotes, but as per Reviewing 101, there’s no reason to give away the quotes you should be paying to hear.

One final quote, before Thesz politely excused himself, was an interesting comment on the physicality of Strangler Lewis, as Thesz politely compared him to Rufus R. Jones in the ring.

Otherwise, I simply love the glimpse of wrestling gone by, as exampled by Classic St. Louis Wrestling Volume 3.

The finishes, as shown by four matches won by Rocky Johnson (yes, that Rocky Johnson, father of The Rock,) are simple, clean and crazily minimalistic. I love the nostalgia of seeing Johnson and his awesome drop-kicks, interspersed between his cat-like footwork, as he showed just how quick he can be.

Johnson worked the over-the-shoulder backbreaker as his finisher at the time, but wasn’t adverse to finishing a man with a suplex, or in the final of the four, a rather awkward brain-buster, copying off of the champion, Harley Race (or would it be the finisher of Dick Murdoch?)

Regardless, the products of territory promotions of the time, especially in the NWA, were always interesting. We always knew who the NWA World Heavyweight Champion was, but the big local match was always as important, and newcomers were built up with win streaks over jobbers, until paired with a feud, and perhaps rocketing up to challenge the local belt holder (in this case, the Missouri State Champion) or perhaps the NWA belt itself.

How sad it is that jobbers aren’t around anymore, and there’s a huge difference between a WWE superstar no longer in good graces, and a guy who’s purpose is to make the stars look good. St. Louis certainly had its fair share of jobbers: Max Blue, Bill White, Billy Howard and others are featured on this DVD.

But then, there’s the more important class of jobbers, the guys like Mike (later Spike) Huber and the firey mid-carders who took the bad guys to the limit, or the heels like Howard who did the same with the up-and-coming babyfaces.

It’s all about the measuring sticks. It’s all about showcasing the strengths of the new guys, and making sure they look nothing but good along the way.

It reminds me that, as we see in the bonus feature of this DVD with Kevin Von Erich demonstrating the body scissors on Larry Matysik, that professional wrestling has long gone past the eras where it was necessary to display feats of strength, new holds, or even just unique qualifiers as to why the guy in the ring should get your attention, appreciation or respect.

There’s lots of fun on this DVD, and it is representative of the different styles and the matchmaking of one of the great promotions and regions in wrestling history.

One great example was a spot-show match between Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher. Now, this was no match built up for The Kiel, and yet no match where the guys in question weren’t going to bring there all. But the match, held at a local gymnasium venue (yeah, let’s hear Michael Cole run down Brody and Butcher for working there!) was a clinic in professional wrestling because of the venue, because of the effort, and because of how it played out.

Spot shows are all about maintaining a presence and continuing the momentum and getting outside of the main venues.

So Brody and Butcher go toe-to-toe and give the fans a taste of their brand of violence and it spills outside the ring, at which point the referee signals the double count-out or the no contest. Meanwhile, we’ve got the voice of Larry Matysik dutifully announcing the scene obviously afterwards, providing the touches to smooth over some of the rough stuff, and explaining the fight to the fans.

And I would be remiss not to point out Matysik’s contributions.

He’s not just the announcer, and not just the guy putting together the footage, but Larry’s the voice for many years of the St. Louis promotion, learning at the feet of Sam Muchnick, and displaying – all the time displaying – an infectious enthusiasm for the product.

Announcers these days are not much more than handsome faces, listening to ear-pieces and regurgitating the demands of the masterminds behind the scene. But once upon the time, what went on in the ring was described, explained and professionally presented, not with an eye towards talking inside baseball, or having fun at the expense of the fans, but to enhance the enjoyment and bolster the product when things need a little push, or a little bit of fast talking.

So take in all the now vintage footage, and the threads of stories that feature Bulldog Bob Brown, various early appearances by the Von Erichs and a true representation of all that was great about St. Louis, but also take a listen to the voice that shapes the matches as well.

Classic St. Louis Wrestling was classic for a lot of reasons, and while the wrestling may be a little dated to some, I’m all the more appreciative of it because of the total package that surrounded it.

Joe Babinsack can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . I’m in that nostalgic (even though I’m not always reliving my own past) phase, and Mike Graham’s Kayfabe Commentaries is on deck, plus some other interesting subjects.