Perhaps the last of the "OLD SCHOOL WRESTLERS"

These guys are perhaps the last of what we might call the "Old School" British wrestlers. By that I mean guys who could actually WRESTLE! Although the guys shown below were all, in their own way, great ring showmen, they also had something else in common. They could wrestle! They were capable of doing a 30 or 40 minute match without the benefit of the ropes or corner posts. They did not need to do somersaults from the top of the posts, back flips into the arms of other wrestlers, or anything else "spectacular" as they could wrestle. That is not to say they were not showmen, or that they could not do a lot of what the modern UK grapplers do. They could, and probably far better than some of today's crowd. But when it came down to it these guys knew how to wrestle. Kid McCoy was an accomplished amateur before he stepped into the professional rings. Richie Brooks too had come through the amateur ranks. Doc Dean came into wrestling the hard way - he started by helping to put the ring up. Then day after day he got into that ring and had his head ripped from his body by the likes of: John Palin, Keith Martinelli, Johnny Palance.....Only when they thought him good enough was he allowed to work a pro show!James Mason was another who started by putting rings up, worked his way through the amateur ranks and became one of the most gifted workers we've had in the past 20 years. Don't let Andy Flyer's cute smile give you the wrong idea. Andy was British Junior Freestyle Champion at the age of 17, at that same time he held 4 other UK titles. This guy really could do it "for real". Only when he'd worked his way through the amateur ranks did he turn professional, and a great pro he was in his all too short career. But as I say, these guys knew a head lock from a padlock and could, if they wished, tear you limb from limb! How many of today's British "stars" can do that I wonder?