A Youtube History of the NWA World Heavyweight Title - Lou Thesz vs The Mighty Atlas (3-30-1951)

As we wait for the World Catch Wrestling Tournament to shake out (there are twitter polls! You should vote in them!), it's time for new projects. One of my favorite things is pretending that the NWA world title and its history are really important. Therefore I will endeavor to bring to you, through the magic of youtube (and perhaps other video services), an achronological history of every NWA title defense I can find, and maybe some analysis on the evolution of style and angle and so forth. This will be an ongoing series of no set schedule, so feel free to leave comments or hit me up on twitter (@FALLWrestling) with suggestions for anything in particular you're interested in seeing. 

First match in, and it's 1951. The NWA proper is just three years old. By this time, there was a national broadcast out of Chicago, and you'd get some quality matches involving (and making) top stars and top titles. Multiple time world champ Lou Thesz, in a clipped down title defense against The Mighty Atlas.






You'll notice this is from a Japanese rebroadcast of the original show. For various reasons, the NWA title and history maintained more cache in Japan than it did in the US, and NWA title matches were more frequently televised and that footage better maintained in Japan than in the US. This will become particularly apparent when we get to the 1970s. It's just as well. I've heard the Chicago announcer and he's terrible. You'll hear him later and agree.

I'm not gonna lie. This match kinda sucks. That said, a couple of things stick out. One is that, while it's evidently clipped down somewhat, this is not some 60 minute epic. There's an old talking point about how NWA champs like Thesz would lay on the mat for an hour and not do much, and it wasn't until (Your Hero Here) came along and sped everything up that wrestling got really exciting. I've heard everyone from Flair to Riki Choshu get credit on that score. The match isn't much, but you can't say they're not moving. 

For that matter, Thesz, whose reputation is as a classic shooter, doesn't spend much time on the mat or do much while he's there. He does have some fun subtle heel stuff, like the kick against the ropes, but Atlas appears to be the real heel in the match. Working babyface isn't really Lou's strength.

The '50s style bumps are broad and theatrical. You don't see much in the way of big throws - if there's a suplex to be found in that match, I've already forgotten it - but both Atlas and Thesz react to shoulder blocks like they got hit by a bus. It takes some getting used to. Ditto the old-school dropkick.

I do like the finish to the final fall, which combines three things I love. First, it plays off the second fall finish, and shows Lou adapting as the match goes on. Second, I really like that kick off the corner counter. Bret Hart was a master of it. I first saw it at WM... 8? Hart vs Piper for the Intercontinental title, as a counter to the sleeper. He did it again to get a win over Austin, countering the Million Dollar Dream. This is the first time I've seen it as a counter to the full nelson, but it works. And third - and I realize I'm alone here - I love the double pin NO HE GOT A SHOULDER UP! screwy finish. I wish there were more of those.

NEXT TIME! More Thesz! Probably!

Learn more about Lou Thesz and support the site by buying his autobiography Hooker via this link. All proceeds go towards promoting a professional catch event in 2019.