Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 Here's an answer Meltzer gave to a question about British wrestlings popularity: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Here's an answer Meltzer gave to a question about British wrestlings popularity:Â Â Thoughts? Thought it would be worth discussion for the BritWres~ fans on here. Â Lister will verify that Meltzer is pretty close to spot on. The promoters took the share of the cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 One of the biggest shows ever held was probably at Wembley Arena with Big Daddy v Giant Haystacks. But isn't it more of a cultural thing? I'd hazard that a higher % of the British viewing public watched Wrestling every week than most other countries including the USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Teedy Kay Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 Weren't the footie grounds hosts sometimes? Â I'm sure I've seen footage of Jack Pye at Burnden Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey_Jim Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 out of interest, Ian... why and in what context was Meltzer making these comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Fuck Meltzer. Who'd he ever beat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members IANdrewDiceClay Posted September 5, 2011 Author Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 out of interest, Ian... why and in what context was Meltzer making these comments? He was asked the question on the lastest audio updates Q&A. Its in the context of how its written. He was asked a question and he answered it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members theironshake Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 I guess that people like Max Crabtree were just to tight to hire Old Trafford or Villa park! But then football grounds didn't really do things like this in the 70s and early 80's the 1st concert at Wembely Stadium wasn't until 1970 (the great London Rock n Roll show) so i hazard that the option wasn't really there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Reefer Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Thinking it about it. Could it be as simple as... Wrestling was mostly a Saturday afternoon/evening thing and Football is a Saturday afternoon/evening thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kralcdxela Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 And what was the question? Â I suppose it was just simple supply and demand, they couldn't put on every show at a football stadium, they were putting on several shows a night, all over the country, I don't know how many punters they turned away, but the venues always seemed pretty full, however come on, I seriously doubt they'd fill a football stadium, they had the big Royal Albert Hall shows. But on your average show they filled the Victoria Hall with 2,000 folk. The halls were probably the ideal size for the product and its audience. This is back when they had the proper theatres and not these silly arenas that they started building later on. Television was a huge thing for British wrestling, Daddy, Haystacks, McManus, Naggers, etc. were household names, proper celebrities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members theironshake Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 Back in those days football was very much a saturday afternoon thing (no evenings till Sky) but was world of sport recorded on a saturday afternoon? im guessing not tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members theironshake Posted September 5, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted September 5, 2011 we all know if you mention Wrestling to anyone over 40 they will more than likely mention Daddy,heystacks,Kendo and Mcmanus than Hogan,Austin or the Rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britishwrestlinglegends Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 They also packed out Ice Arenas in Scotland in the 60"s. When it comes to British Wrestling, Meltzer knows very little IMO. He is VERY knowledgeable of American & Japanese wrestling, I subscribe to The Observer & have done for years. You will notice on the very rare occasions he covers a historical piece on the British scene, He always calls on outside help. I was around when British Wrestling was at its peak & you should never play down how popular it was. There are always people mentioning how good the territories were in the States at around the same time. But for such a small island, The UK was one big thriving territory from coast to coast with few gaps inbetween? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Atkins Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Wrestling just wasn't seen as a big deal in this country. It wasn't something that people would generally travel very far to see, or pay high ticket prices to see, or that would even be the highlight of anyone's week. It was just something to do instead of going to the pub, or the bingo, or the dog track or whatever. The booking was never really structured around feuds or big blow-off matches either, which were generally the matches that were held in big stadiums in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swift89 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 And what was the question? I suppose it was just simple supply and demand, they couldn't put on every show at a football stadium, they were putting on several shows a night, all over the country, I don't know how many punters they turned away, but the venues always seemed pretty full, however come on, I seriously doubt they'd fill a football stadium, they had the big Royal Albert Hall shows. But on your average show they filled the Victoria Hall with 2,000 folk. The halls were probably the ideal size for the product and its audience. This is back when they had the proper theatres and not these silly arenas that they started building later on. Television was a huge thing for British wrestling, Daddy, Haystacks, McManus, Naggers, etc. were household names, proper celebrities.  The question was from someone who had been watching World of Sport recently and they asked how much were the wrestlers getting paid and how big were they in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.