This review was commissioned by CJ over on my Ko-fi account.
There’s a real cozy quality to the 50s Chicago footage that we have. It’s not always the kind of exhilarating, ahead of its time action that we might get in something like the French Catch footage of the same era, but there’s just something about well-done American championship wrestling that will always strike a chord with me. In this bout, we have two forefathers of the NWA World Championship style laying down the tracks for many others to follow in the decades to come. Of course, these two had their influences as well going all the way back into the 30s, but in terms of a direct throughline to many of the people considered all time greats now, it doesn’t get much more clear than Thesz and Rogers.
Here we have the prototypical ace traveling champion in Thesz against the preening heel in Rogers. Rogers is especially interesting in this case as the original Nature Boy, and on this viewing I couldn’t help but think about the connection to Ric Flair. There’s the influence on a gimmick level, of course, Flair became a direct inheritor of the Nature Boy title, but they both used it to different ends. Flair used the Nature Boy to get across this sort of 1980s excessive glamour, what with all the women, the luxury brands, and (implied but definitely clear in retrospect) the drugs. Rogers in this footage here uses it to tap into a more primal (and outdated) fear: homophobia. It’s in that little shimmy he does to take his bedazzled entrance gear off or the way the play-by-play commentator calls him “a little butterfly.” To a 2024 eye, Rogers is subtle enough about it that I doubt this would even be considered an offensive caricature (grain of salt here, I’m still a filthy straight after all) but one wonders if 50s sensibilities register his pre-match ritual as overt. Rogers isn’t the first to use a crowd’s homophobia to draw heat, and unfortunately won’t be the last, but there’s more Gorgeous George to him here than Ric Flair.
In-ring, the parallels and differences are fascinating too. Rogers uses a lot of classic heel mannerisms here that have been passed down to heels long after him. The most obvious one might be the temple tap to demonstrate what a clever bastard all before he goes on to eat shit at Thesz’s hands. More directly related to Flair though, there’s a real great strut that he affects even in just his movements between interactions with Thesz, but the most interesting parallel is Rogers’ use of the knee to the gut as a cut off. It’s actually really fascinating to see how Rogers seizes control here in comparison to his successor. With Rogers, it’s a lot of hidden chicanery, not just from the referee but oftentimes from us fans watching the footage too. It’s all about pressing Thesz up against the ropes, using the cramped space to get in a cheap shot like a closed fist punch or an eye gouge. Flair would use similar tactics, but it stands out just a little bit more with Rogers here for how much weight is given to these cut offs by Thesz. The champion gets shaken and increasingly pissed off about the constant cheap shots, boiling over into one of my favorite moments in the match when Thesz finally squares up to Rogers after one uppercut too many, and Rogers immediately folding like the coward that he is.
While it’s Rogers’ offense that drives most of this match, there’s such an undeniable quality to what Thesz brings here too. As an NWA World Champion, Thesz perfectly nails that sense of a dignified, workhorse champion. Commentary talks him up as always wanting the cleanest possible bout and being constantly active and pushing in even when it’s a strategic disadvantage, and all these things ring true from how he carries himself and proceeds in the match. Watch the way he struggles against the holds. Rogers has this about him too, but there’s this constant sense of work and struggle from Thesz that feels consistent without ever feeling desperate. He’s cool under pressure, used to defending his title around the world, and there’s this feeling of him as almost inevitable even as Rogers busts out every move in the book to try to take him down.
This especially works well in the moments that Thesz is able to make a comeback. When it’s not just escaping a hold, but rather finally breaking the oppressive streak of Rogers cutting off his momentum, it’s beautiful. Every time Thesz finally gets going, it leads to these great moments of Rogers stumbling and bumbling across the ring, crashing against the ropes more than hitting them, and generally looking like he’s suddenly so far out of his depth. It’s a wonderful thing to behold, having Rogers be so consistently be the aggressor only to come totally undone when this all-timer of a champion finally gets him on even footing.
It all builds and builds through a combination of problem/solution hold sequences into Rogers applying dirtier tactics like those uppercuts of his and then into the big Thesz comebacks. None so sweet and shocking as the finish itself when Thesz absorbs a series of shoulder block checks only to dodge one final attempt from Rogers which sends the challenger flying into a hangman spot on the ropes. Shockingly violent, nasty looking, and it happens in the blink of an eye. Again, a perfect reflection of all the match’s themes. Rogers can get ahead by being nasty and playing dirty, but when it matters the most, Thesz can make it happen in a single second.
Rating: ****1/4
