The Wrestling Game

Director: n/a
Distributor: Mountain Films
Released: 1963

The Good
I don't know how much 1960s British pro-wrestling is kicking around, but this is a nice sampling that shows how that style is different than elsewhere. Although it does not feature many legendary British stars, it does feature "Judo" Al Hayes, who became a star in the US. The real draw here is seeing the action. This was a feature, but it was not exactly an expose. I had heard Ron Garvin elude to an expose that killed British wrestling (I'm not sure if this is it), but this more showed and explained the draw of pro-wrestling. Also, I popped for the powerbomb in the opening bout...who expected that?

The Bad
At just over 10 minutes, this hardly gets at anything. It is a neat historical piece, but the lack of commentary and explanation could be a turn off for many modern viewers. It also did not really have the star power that you'd expect. It was more of a random filming that had a couple of familiar names, but mostly people that even I didn't know.

The Rating: **1/2