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Post by swarm on Aug 21, 2011 9:51:54 GMT -5
Lou Thesz is arguably the greatest wrestler of all time who used the Lou Thesz press. Him or Austin.
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Post by marktaggart on Aug 21, 2011 10:53:55 GMT -5
Lou Thesz is arguably the greatest wrestler of all time who used the Lou Thesz press. Him or Austin. Excuse me? Tommy "Wildfire" Rich ring a bell? Thesz and Austin? Right. Anyway, Thesz and Andre in their primes? No problem. Andre could get up for it and Thesz could pull off the move.
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Post by Mike M on Aug 21, 2011 15:46:00 GMT -5
Lou Thesz is arguably the greatest wrestler of all time who used the Lou Thesz press. Him or Austin. Excuse me? Tommy "Wildfire" Rich ring a bell? Thesz and Austin? Right. No disrespect intented towards Rich, but I would have omitted him as well. Thesz (obviously) is famous for the move, since it carries his name. Anyone who didn't see him wrestle (myself included) usually assumes that he was great at that move as a result. As a modern mega-star who used the move frequently, Austin would have been the next who came to mind for me. I never really watched NWA territories as a kid- growing up in the northeast, I was a WWF fan. While I have heard of Tommy Rich, I never watched him wrestle much and never knew that was a top move of his. The little I saw of him was probably at the end of his run in the NWA when he was a mid carder at best. To be honest, I'm still not sure that I'd put him above Austin, but that might be regional bias on my part. As for the question initially posed, I think that Andre would probably respect Thesz enough to let him do it, so I think that it's possible. Otherwise, I'd substitute another move like was suggested by others.
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Travis
Infinity Challenge
Posts: 141
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Post by Travis on Aug 21, 2011 16:15:32 GMT -5
Pretty sure Mark's comment was dripping with sarcasm, although he could be a huge "Wildfire" Rich mark, somehow i doubt it.
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Post by maddog1981 on Aug 21, 2011 16:23:01 GMT -5
Tommy Rich was huge for a time in the 80s. There was probably a 1-2 year period where he was one of the hottest acts in the NWA. Granted, he was washed up by age 23 but he briefly held the NWA World Title in an era where it was a rare thing to achieve.
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Post by LWPD on Aug 21, 2011 17:03:53 GMT -5
No disrespect intented towards Rich, but I would have omitted him as well. Thesz (obviously) is famous for the move, since it carries his name. Anyone who didn't see him wrestle (myself included) usually assumes that he was great at that move as a result. The flying vertical body press was one of Lou's patented moves as far back as the DuMont Network era, but it was never his exclusively. From what footage has survived from the vintage days predating Lou, it was a common spot that was used by a number of wrestlers (just as it is today). Why was a common vintage era move called the Lou Thesz Press? I first heard it referred to as that on early 80s GCW television when Gordon Solie was trying to get over Tommy Rich (who the bookers also had using the move as a finisher in an attempt to pass him off as the most promising young star since Lou Thesz!). In later years, Steve Austin's version of the flying vertical body press was a transition that led into the crowd pleasing mounted punches spot. In that case, there was no intention of synching Lou with Austin, Jim Ross was simply paying homage to both Thesz and Solie (who he paid homage to throughout his announcing career by carrying forward his concepts, regardless of where he worked). This was probably an example of JR calling an audible back when he was given more latitude (which eventually stuck through repetition). I doubt Vince ever spoke the term Lou Thesz Press into his headset while he was calling the action.
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Post by Mike M on Aug 21, 2011 17:48:58 GMT -5
Pretty sure Mark's comment was dripping with sarcasm, although he could be a huge "Wildfire" Rich mark, somehow i doubt it. Well, if that's the case.... oops.
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Post by Mike M on Aug 21, 2011 17:50:29 GMT -5
Why was a common vintage era move called the Lou Thesz Press? I first heard it referred to as that on early 80s GCW television when Gordon Solie was trying to get over Tommy Rich (who the bookers also had using the move as a finisher in an attempt to pass him off as the most promising young star since Lou Thesz!). In later years, Steve Austin's version of the flying vertical body press was a transition that led into the crowd pleasing mounted punches spot. In that case, there was no intention of synching Lou with Austin, Jim Ross was simply paying homage to both Thesz and Solie (who he paid homage to throughout his announcing career by carrying forward his concepts, regardless of where he worked). This was probably an example of JR calling an audible back when he was given more latitude (which eventually stuck through repetition). I doubt Vince ever spoke the term Lou Thesz Press into his headset while he was calling the action. I had no idea this is how it came to be known as the "Lou Thesz Press", but it makes sense. Thanks for the history lesson.
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Post by marktaggart on Aug 21, 2011 18:26:40 GMT -5
Pretty sure Mark's comment was dripping with sarcasm, although he could be a huge "Wildfire" Rich mark, somehow i doubt it. Well, if that's the case.... oops. Yeah Mike, I was just being ridiculous.
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Post by smathis on Aug 28, 2011 14:05:11 GMT -5
Tommy Rich was huge for a time in the 80s. There was probably a 1-2 year period where he was one of the hottest acts in the NWA. Granted, he was washed up by age 23 but he briefly held the NWA World Title in an era where it was a rare thing to achieve. Rich could've been a much bigger star than he turned out to be. He had a unique voice and was a decent talker. He was good looking and had a big enough frame that he could've muscled up well if he'd had the drive. His bloody feud with Buzz Sawyer was/is the stuff of legend from that time period. His NWA title reign was a fluke. But he could've taken the opportunity to the next level if he wanted. Ultimately, it was drugs and the rockstar lifestyle that seemed to be his ruin, like so many in that era. Sad, because a lot of potential was wasted among the stars of the late '70s, early '80s.
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