Smedlos wrote:
> Machie wrote:
>
> Big Daddy killed someone in the 80ies? Oh my.
>
> If my memory serves me correctly he splashed him in the corner
> and he collapsed onto the canvas and turned blue and died.

ah, i seem to recall him delivering the big splash in the centre of the canvas.

It was against King Kong Kirk.

you can get a dvd of the the best of ITV wrestling, world of sport and all that good stuff. look out for a young Fit Finlay on there!

when LWT axed britsh wrestling in 1988 this was a tragedy yes big daddy giant haystacks and so many others ate no longer with us thats why we want it back. LWT is no more so as for ITV bringing it back maybe michael grade if hes like his unlce LEW then it should come back for the 21st century.

COLIN FLOWERDAY
ATV MIDLANDS.

pb wrote:
> Ah, the glory days of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Young David
> (Davey Boy Smith aka WWF British Bulldog), John Savage, Kid
> Chocolate et al.
>
> ITV's wrestling was a site to behold.  It wasn't as acrobatic as
> American Wrestling, or with quite so much drama, but it was all
> about technique and actual wrestling, where the outcome wasn't
> decided before the match and the whole thing wasn't scripted.
>
> During the 1980's British wrestling started to change, to make
> it appeal to a wider audience.  This is the time everyone
> remembers from ITV wrestling, with Big Daddy in a shiny leotard
> and all the showmanship that went with the big named, often
> masked, wrestlers.
>
> It was probably due to the World Wrestling Federation that the
> show was eclipsed and finally cancelled by Greg Dyke, but I
> think it would be time now for a resurgence.  I'm sure there are
> plenty of would be British wrestlers and who wouldn't want to see
> this form of sport back on TV, where outcomes are decided on the
> day and the winner is the best wrestler.
>
> So, I say bring back ITV Wrestling.  We might even find
> ourselves a new Big Daddy to champion the sport...

hm.  I'll have to re-watch it.  Perhaps my view has been tainted by the years and those ever-present rose tinted glasses!

I just remember that there was two different styles, one seemed to be proper wrestling and the other was for wrestlers like Big Daddy who were there for the show...

:-D

Plus wasn't there a ton of scandals also about Shadow and Warrior and others using Steroids and such. Shadow leaving was another blow to the show as he was awesome

Kawada wrote:
> Jet getting injured and leaving probably had alot to do with the
> Gladiators viewing figures going down, all the men turned off
> :-D

Hmm, I doubt 'men' is quite correct... 'Pre-pubescent boys' would probably be more acurate...

Jet getting injured and leaving probably had alot to do with the Gladiators viewing figures going down, all the men turned off :-D

Ohh...Celebrity Wrestling...man did that ever suck.

They did and it did and it sucked

If ITV were to bring back wrestling I'd worry it might turn into something like Gladiators. Used to be a big hit but for some reason viewing figures went down.

Ho ho got my edit in just in time :-D

There's 1 Brit in TNA as well...Norman Smilie...
Loads in ROH - Doug Williams, Nigel McGuiness, Jonny Storm, Jody Fleisch...even Spud has made an appearance...

Machie wrote:

> Big Daddy killed someone in the 80ies? Oh my.

If my memory serves me correctly he splashed him in the corner and he collapsed onto the canvas and turned blue and died.

Unknown to anyone he had a heart condition that no one knew about and up to that point his career hadn't upset it, however after this move he had a heart attack and died.

I don't think Big Daddy was prosecuted over it as it was just an accident waiting to happen.

3, Paul Burchill, Fit Finlay (who used to wrestle on ITV wrestling) and William Regal

There's also Norman Smiley in TNA

Big Daddy killed someone in the 80ies? Oh my.

I can remember the Birtish Bulldog but he wasn't that good, are there many (or any) Brits in the WWE?

I remember seeing Big Daddy wrestle and after he came out to "We Cannot Be Moved" the crowd started chanting "easy, easy, easy" as his opponent ran towards him and just bounced off his belly!

I think part of the downfall of British Wrestling was when Big Daddy killed King Kong Kirk during a match in the late 80's and the shockwaves and fallout did a lot of damage to British Wrestling.

Can anyone remember Giant Haystacks wrestling as The Loch Ness Monster in WCW in about 1996?

pb wrote:
> Some people have mentioned that this is what killed of British
> wrestling, too much of a show and not enough decent wrestling,
> but right till the end there were some great wrestlers.

No. What killed Biritsh wrestling was Big Daddy, even in the twighlight of his career being unwilling to put anyone else over. Having his brother as the leading promoter helped his squash all his opposition until the point that the British audience knew no-one else could beat him. No-one likes watching a sport where there is only one winner, look how much the popularity of Formula 1 suffered when Michael Schumacher was running a one-horse race...

Neither was the 80's and onwards British stuff. I don't think anyone watches the American, Mexican, Japanese etc federations for "real" wrestling because really, that's not what they're offering. Everyone knows the result is pre-determined but instead you just appreciate the wrestler's athleticism and being able to pull off those moves and the story they tell in the ring.

If you want real wrestling watch the olympics or various amateur contests (always did find it amusing how the actual real stuff was called Amateur)

pb wrote:
> Ah, the glory days of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Young David
> (Davey Boy Smith aka WWF British Bulldog), John Savage, Kid
> Chocolate et al.
>
> ITV's wrestling was a site to behold.  It wasn't as acrobatic as
> American Wrestling, or with quite so much drama, but it was all
> about technique and actual wrestling, where the outcome wasn't
> decided before the match and the whole thing wasn't scripted.

If anyone, like me, likes to relive those glory days and/or see what they missed out on, then tune in to The Wrestling Channel (Sky channel 427) from 2 until 7PM every Saturday to catch their Clasic World of Sport offering...(repeats throughout the week, check out Wrestling Channel Website for more information)

> It was probably due to the World Wrestling Federation that the
> show was eclipsed and finally cancelled by Greg Dyke, but I
> think it would be time now for a resurgence.  I'm sure there are
> plenty of would be British wrestlers and who wouldn't want to see
> this form of sport back on TV, where outcomes are decided on the
> day and the winner is the best wrestler.

Hmm, questionable, seeing as the Classic British wrestling was just as predetermined as anything else and Big Daddy/Giant Haystacks couldn't wrestle their way ouf paper bags...

> So, I say bring back ITV Wrestling.  We might even find
> ourselves a new Big Daddy to champion the sport...

*Shudders*. Although, anyone who appreciates the ideals of the British Wrestling scene - holds, counterholds, comedy etc...then you should also check out Ring of Honour on the Wrestling Channel, Colt Cabana, in particular, regulalrly pays homage to classic British Wrestling...

They were pretty bad when it came to technique, but then they were the 'showmen' to the ordinary wrestlers, the ones who got the bums on seats before the general public knew about the good wrestling they were going to watch.

Some people have mentioned that this is what killed of British wrestling, too much of a show and not enough decent wrestling, but right till the end there were some great wrestlers.  I mean the wrestling these days from the US is all well and good, but it's not 'true' wrestling, in the sport sense, is it?

Daddy and Haystacks were truly awful wrestlers, even make some of the lumbering botch monkeys in WWE nowadays seem talented

Ah the good old days 12 noon every Saturday on the dot I'd be in front of the TV enthralled all the way through.

2 falls to win, timed rounds like boxing and grannies swinging their handbags cheering for the good guy and booing the bad guy.

Great days!

*Sniff*

Ah, the glory days of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Young David (Davey Boy Smith aka WWF British Bulldog), John Savage, Kid Chocolate et al. 

ITV's wrestling was a site to behold.  It wasn't as acrobatic as American Wrestling, or with quite so much drama, but it was all about technique and actual wrestling, where the outcome wasn't decided before the match and the whole thing wasn't scripted.

During the 1980's British wrestling started to change, to make it appeal to a wider audience.  This is the time everyone remembers from ITV wrestling, with Big Daddy in a shiny leotard and all the showmanship that went with the big named, often masked, wrestlers. 

It was probably due to the World Wrestling Federation that the show was eclipsed and finally cancelled by Greg Dyke, but I think it would be time now for a resurgence.  I'm sure there are plenty of would be British wrestlers and who wouldn't want to see this form of sport back on TV, where outcomes are decided on the day and the winner is the best wrestler.

So, I say bring back ITV Wrestling.  We might even find ourselves a new Big Daddy to champion the sport...