Match #10
Peter Szakacs (c) vs. Robby Baron
World of Sport - March 16, 1974 (aired)
Our first dive into British wrestling! And by British wrestling, I mean REAL British wrestling, the one that everyone remembers. Except not quite, because we hadn't yet seen the rise of Big Daddy (he wouldn't come for another year) and instead just get the basic, rules-heavy, and unflashy stuff. This was broadcast on World of Sport, though, so maybe it'll be decent. Peter Szakacs is a name I have vaguely heard of, but maybe it's his more famous brother Tibor.
One of the hallmarks of a rules-based product: the referee EXPLAINING the rules! This match is getting 6 rounds but only going to 1 fall, apparently. The crowd has very little noise for the wrestlers but boos the portly referee, Max Ward. Apparently both these guys weighed in at exactly 165 lbs, which feels a bit too coincidental. It starts as you'd expect, as just a series of holds that last slightly too long. Also, I know it's called "grunt-and-groan" but the noises of grunting on this broadcast are way too distracting. It doesn't seem to be either wrestler. I'm not ruling out it being the referee. First actually impressive thing I see is Szakacs grabbing Baron's head with a headscissors that's both quick and precise, as a counter to Baron's arm work.
Some of these holds are strangely erotic. Szakacs is on one knee, digging his raised knee into the back of Baron's neck, whilst Baron is wrapping his arms around his opponent's head. Or the time when Szakacs rolls a bodyscissors into a sort of prone jackknife pin, but Baron counters it into a surfboard (the most sexual of all the holds, naturally). I'm now not ruling out this distracting grunting (it's the same grunt sound again) being added in post. Baron locks in a full nelson, but like the amateur he is, doesn't even jerk Szakacs around like a true pro like Bobby Lashley would. He later starts trying to choke Szakacs with his own arm before round one ends.
We get an inter-round break and I ponder how good it was that entertainment came into wrestling. I know it's "less realistic" than this sort of thing, but fuck me, this is a difficult watch in the modern day.
The second round finally answers the question for me: that grunting really is the referee. He's just counting the downs in case there's a knockout. Baron claps Szakacs' ears with his knees in the first actual impact move of the match. "A toe-and-ankle with a difference", says the commentator about a Szakacs hold, to which I'd assume mentioning the difference (the fact that he's twisting his opponent's knee off) is important. It's interesting how different the psychology is here, because I see Baron repeatedly attempting to get his shoulders up every time the referee even thinks about counting one. Szakacs has Baron in a bodyscissors while Baron's lifting him and trying to deliver some sort of suplex... and then they just.... agree that neither of them is going to do anything and break it up??
Commentary pretty much gives up describing the tangles of legs and arms midway through round two. I don't know what to make of it either. Szakacs goes for a crucifix pin towards the end of the round, but Baron keeps jerking his shoulders up. Apparently kickouts weren't even a thing back then, you just jerked your shoulders up.
Apparently part of the story here is Baron's injured knee, something I only just noticed, it's mostly been holds with barely any reaction. Another incident where they just agree to break up a hold... why? Baron's thing appears to be that he has educated feet (see: the leg attacks to the head) and he uses a cross headscissors choke for about a minute that seems to be legitimately robbing the Hungarian of air. Is that... actual selling?? Later it's the return of the erotic holds as Szakacs appears to be sitting in front of Baron and spreading his legs apart.
A small moment of comedy, somehow, as while trying to get an armbar on Szakacs, Baron pulls his foot back so it smacks his opponent in the head. The "Ow" is what sells it. Final hold of round three is Szakacs binding his opponent's foot with his own feet, in a way that doesn't look in any way intense or harmful. During the break we get a bit of backstory on Baron: he wants to fight at middleweight but he can't bulk up enough. In the commentator's opinion, though, he should probably fight lighter.
Round four, and Szakacs looks like he's just strangling his opponent from side-on. We finally get some wrestling as we in 2022 know it as Szakacs brings a snapmare into what looks like a headscissors driver! Sunset flip by Baron fails, and Szakacs Irish whips, Baron looks like he's attempting a takedown but Szakacs brings it into a rana pin for the win. Crowd is VERY mixed, because you know, foreign.
I tried. I tried to wring some enjoyment out of this match, but it's just so dry. Maybe the reason why they were able to keep the illusion that British wrestling is real instead of that "fake American rubbish" is that they managed to remove almost anything that could be considered entertainment. Sorry to whoever suggested this one. This just felt so empty.
GREAT transition. Kurt Angle would be proud of that transition to an ankle lock. She then changes it up to a high angle half crab, and Uematsu's whole leg must be wrecked by this point.
We then get Muneco ripping the mask of Panthro, and crowd pops HUGE. Muneco tosses Leono into the crowd, so a friendly fan tries to help him up! 
