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DIR Return to: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week
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#Post#: 25168--------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special; Johnny Saint in Prof
ile
By: SheriffLonestar Date: March 22, 2014, 2:32 am
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Some very kind folks requested that I take a look at British
wrestling and give some history to it, which I am more than
happy to oblige, however due to the fact that British companies
currently run on very small profit margins and tend to be very
good at protecting their copyrights, there is little in the ways
of full shows available for free on the web. So I thought for a
change we shall look at one very influential wrestler and some
of his finest work. So today's subject is “The Master of a
Thousand” holds, Chikara's living legend, the Ten Times
Lightweight Champion of the World, Johnny Saint.
Johnny Saint began his career in Manchester his home town. Born
John Miller in 1941, he was a natural sportsman who did well in
athletics at school. In a typical Northern working class
expectation of the time he left school at 15 and began factory
work while trying to pursue his boxing career as amateur. In one
of those classic tales that changes peoples lives, his mother
went to a hairdressers one day and got talking to the
hairdresser. She happened to be the mother of Billy Robinson who
was attending his father's gym. Billy was of course far more
into wrestling than boxing, and due to the limit of people into
boxing at the time, Johnny decided to give grappling a go and
discovered a natural affinity with the sport. Being somewhat of
a rum lad, not as rum as Billy mind, but happy to take the
knocks and bruises, he stuck at it till he had opportunities to
turn pro, making his début in 1958.
What people tend to forget about the British Wrestling scene was
how all pervading it was. Johnny was in the perfect place to
begin his wrestling career. Manchester, being an industrial
heartland, was a wrestling hotbed thanks to its proximity to
Wigan and the other mining towns of the North that had been the
driving force behind shoot wrestling in the late 19th century.
They had taken over the pro game in the North with the
establishment of Mountevans Rules and Joint promotions in the
post war wrestling era. But Joint where not the only show in
town. There was a connection of independent promoters that ran
shows in working men's clubs all across the Manchester and
Johnny fell into the circuit. Working in the factory by day and
nearly doubling his income with matches at night, Johnny was
earning a great living and learning the game as he went. Over
the next ten years he built his reputation and started to model
himself on the lead wrestler of the lightweights at the time,
the then Lightweight Champion of the World Scott George Kidd.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_1BrLgLmwc
George was a pure lightweight genius who had developed what
became known as an escapology style, using mat work and
developing interesting and new counters that had never been seen
before. Johnny watched and learnt and developed his style along
these lines. Wrestling five to six times a week and wanted all
over Manchester he was happily working his way through the week
until he got noticed by Joint promotions and was brought into
the national fold which meant Television exposure and of course
runs at titles.
As Johnny's profile blossomed, never moving far in character
from his hard working epicentre, he got over with the fans
purely on talent alone. All through the sixties he wrestled
people up to middleweight. His main point of focus being the
British Lightweight Championship and his feud with Bradford
native Jim Breaks became the calling card of this run. Breaks
and Saint established themselves as the go to Lightweights of
the era. Saint the face and Breaks the heel, the perfect
pairing. Yorkshire vs Lancashire, the straight wrestler vs the
rule breaking entertainer, they had everything going for them
and the blow off came in 1973 for the British Lightweight title
on Cup Final day on the biggest TV show of the year.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oshz4PjfRw0
For ease of use, this match is from the build up to that show,
its in the complete form rather than three videos, but it shows
the very best of British wrestling at the time. Breaks was of
course “Crybaby” and his whiny character was massively over with
fans, but he loved his wrestling. There is one moment on their
cup final day match where he breaks character and busts out into
a big grin at what Saint could do, and these were those kinds of
matches. They bled as well, anyone who thinks lightweight
wrestling is all mat game and no go should watch them for their
intensity and how to present a match with as little fanfare as
possible and to get the most out of them.
British wrestling in the seventies was at its height. The talent
pool seemed endlessly deep. The Fabulous Royal Brothers, Burt
Royal and Vic Faulkner who where the best tag team in the
country, loved their singles matches to and could produce
endlessly entertaining matches with Jonny. Here is a fine
example. The the Royals, tended towards comedy in their main
event matches, when they where put on down the card they liked
to wrestle. Here the grin never leaves Vic's face as he puts on
a technical master-class with Johnny.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNZjpi-NGmM
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHbG5jW2ZmE
In 1976 Johnny's life changed forever as he won the vacated
World's Lightweight title and began to defend it against this
great talent pool; Flash Jordan, Breaks, Steve Grey Kid McCoy.
All came for the belt and put in some classic encounters for
Saturday afternoon viewing. The best of these in face on face
encounters would be Steve Grey. Wrestling for long periods of
time at full tilt these are the matches that would get them
noticed not only in their time, but a generation of wrestlers
later.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-siSb6kCH4
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqN1SMRrLAI
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg-MNVqDowI
The rounds system did them the favour of putting a natural break
in their flow, and meant each round became a story. As Steve
Austin has been watching a lot of World of Sprot stuff lately
you should go and listen to his podcast with William Regal here;
HTML http://podcastone.com/downloadsecurity?url=aHR0cDovL3NlcnZlLmNhc3RmaXJlLmNvbS9hdWRpby8yMDkyNjQwLzIwOTI2NDBfMjAxNC0wMi0yNC0yMjAxNDAuNjRrLm1wMz9hZF9wYXJhbXM9em9uZXMlM0RQcmVyb2xsJTJDTWlkcm9sbCUyQ1Bvc3Ryb2xsJTdDc3RhdGlvbl9pZCUzRDE3MzcqKnwxMzk1NDcwMzIyNjE4Kip8.mp3
HTML http://podcastone.com/downloadsecurity?url=aHR0cDovL3NlcnZlLmNhc3RmaXJlLmNvbS9hdWRpby8yMTAxNDU0LzIxMDE0NTRfMjAxNC0wMy0wMy0yMDUwNTQuNjRrLm1wMz9hZF9wYXJhbXM9em9uZXMlM0RQcmVyb2xsJTJDTWlkcm9sbCUyQ1Bvc3Ryb2xsJTdDc3RhdGlvbl9pZCUzRDE3MzcqKnwxMzk1NDcwMzIyNjE4Kip8.mp3
Stone Cold and Lord William give a great breakdown of British
Pro Wrestling history and psychology. A really interesting
listen especially when they star talking about Fit Finlay,
speaking of which. As the 80's grew on and desperate for TV
ratings, the TV companies offered up catchweight contests often
billed as champion vs champion. Johnny by this time had enough
political clout to stay out of the super heavyweight's road.
However other contests with realistically heavier wrestlers like
Finlay and Marc Rocco where common place. Here is a classic from
that period. Dave still with Princess Paula at his side;
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52DyOdMTcZU
As the eighties grew on an Wrestling dropped off TV, Johnny was
in demand all over the world as a touring wrestler. But it
actually wasn't until he retired that he made his first trip out
east. Having decided to settle down in the 90's and relinquished
his beloved Lightweight title Michinoku Pro came a calling for
their celebration of pro wrestling called “These Days”. They had
invited pretty much everyone who as influential to the Michinoku
style including the original Tiger Mask, The Dynamite Kid and
Dr. Wagner. Johnny was the icing on the cake. He wrestled
Naohiro Hoshikawa in an old school British style match that
proved even in his retirement he could thrill a brand new crowd.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev1O2hdZ8uU
He didn't stay retired for too long. With the development of
tape trading and of course the openness of youtube, he would
soon become a wrestling darling once again. Guys like Chris
Hero, Daniel Bryan, Mike Quackenbush, Colt Cabana, CM Punk and
Nigel McGuiness began emulating him in matches and Hero went so
far as to write him a letter asking to go meet him. What got his
juices really flowing again was when Colt Cabana decided upon
his dismissal from WWE that his life goals where 1) Move back to
Chicago 2) Wrestle Johnny Saint. He coaxed Johnny out of
retirement and wrestled him in Leeds. His gander up for the game
once more Johnny started taking select dates and offering
seminars around the country, but eventually he was persuaded
abroad by Mike Quackenbush and his Chikara crew. Having had a
vision of how use Johnny to shocase his talents, Mike put
together the 2009 King of Trios with Johnny in mind as his own
team mate and the results where sublime. A British Wrestling
legend in the ECW arena? That takes a special kind of genius and
Quack was the man.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMdg9tTqPrg
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJK30ya0AQ
Johnny continues to offer seminars, he is touring alongside
another British great Marty Jones right now, if your an aspiring
wrestler you should go and check him out. Enjoy the matches for
now.
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