A Youtube History of the NWA World Heavyweight Title - Lou Thesz vs Ray Gunkel (1951)

Konichi-wa, campers. Welcome to the weekend, welcome to Texas, welcome to more Lou Thesz with a new challenger. 

 

I'm not gonna lie. I had zero idea who Ray Gunkel was going into this. At this point, people are probably more familiar with his wife, longtime Georgia promoter Ann Gunkel. We are assured he is one of the great heavyweights in the world today, and I will take this ring announcer's word for it until proven otherwise. 

I enjoy the participants checking out the ropes before the match. Important to get an idea of what your environment is like. Little touches like that build credibility.

And speaking of credibility, Gunkel is building his fast, going hold for hold with one of the all time great technicians and looking every bit his equal in the early going. We don't have a great angle on how Thesz comes out of that seated toe hold, but it looks like his old reliable double wrist lock is what does the trick for him. And Thesz does his part to make Gunkel look dangerous, begging off and selling generously and treating every hold Gunkel even attempts as a genuine threat. Lou has no concern for his own credibility; nothing could be more secure. So he makes sure his opponent looks good, knowing he'll come out all the better for overcoming (or perhaps merely drawing, I haven't see the finish yet) a dangerous man.

I'm a guy who doesn't mind a long headlock segment if the wrestlers know what they're doing, but I gotta tell you, this is a longass headlock segment. They're working it, Gunkel trying for falls and Thesz escapes, but I really feel like they could've done more with it if they're going to go to it that often and for that long. I do like the escalation element, as both men get increasingly frustrated and go to some cheap shots and "rough tactics". 

This announcer is pretty good. I'm typing this as he explains why the short arm scissor probably won't get a fall, but he's been solid throughout. No bullshit gimmickry or "I'm better than this" cutesy nonsense, only talks when he has something to say. Very professional. Like him.

By the standards Thesz has set for us so far, this is a pretty slow paced match. I wish Gunkel were more of an offensive wrestler for how much time he spends in control, though he does have the virtue of consistently looking for falls, like a man who's actually trying to win a wrestling match, so I appreciate that.

But man, this is a shitload of headlocks.

Don't give up on this a little too soon. I did, the first time, nearly quitting at the thirty minute mark. In those last ten minutes! Lou Thesz's great drop toe hold to stepover toe hold... and oh yeah, this is the match where Lou Thesz invents the power bomb.

OK, there is a 100% chance some Greek pankrationist power bombed his way out of a triangle choke in the 1400 BC Olympics. He didn't invent invent it. But this is definitely the earliest I can remember seeing, almost a decade ahead of the weirdly-ahead-of-their-time French catch guys. Lou Thesz. He'll always give you something you didn't see coming.

For more on Lou Thesz, read his autobiography Hooker. For a cross section of Thesz and the other legitimate pro wrestlers of the past and into the present, you can do no better than Jonathan Snowden's Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling. For an in-depth look at the NWA, I recommend Tim Hornbaker's National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling.