I was an intelligent 14-year-old at this time and so knew that it was show wrestling. However, I lived for noon Sunday and WCW. I am not embarrassed to say that I still get a thrill from watching these old matches.
In New Zealand we used to go to the Dunedin town hall which was packed to see all these wrestlers over from the Australian circuit, the build up on tv and in the papers always ensured full house ,it was so good as a kid, the wrestlers chased us all the time outside the ring...it was so exciting watching Lewin who was a hero as was Rick Martell, John Da Silva,loved all the bad guys, Abdullah the butcher, King Curtis, Big Bad John etc, great fun and great memories, the world title fights with Ric Flair & Harley Race etc were brilliant...so much fun as a kid going to these, there was blood everywhere and we loved it..
Yeah Bro', I went to the Stadium in Sydney as a kid with my older Brother, we loved every minute of it. Our Grandpop watched it with us Sunday Midday, then there was the Rollergame. My Pop died way too young.
Love this old Australian footage. Curtis was brilliant on the mic. This is the kind of stuff you will never see with the crap WWE is putting out today.
It truly amazing how this goes to show that under 9:00 min. of this terrific action is still 1000 times better than any pay -per view in the last upteen years that goes on for hours and hours that does not even get close to this!!!!!!Thanks a bunch for this cool post..
Agree all the way,Dennis. This is classic,underrated stuff. King Curtis was awesome on the mic. Great,intense action. So much better than anything today.
This very match-up was shown on television the week after the famous Killer Karl Kox broadcast explaining his face turn. A recording exists of the King Curtis and Abby match in the National Screen Archives in Canberra but has not been transferred to digital and therefore not available for public viewing.
In 1979, a new pro wrestling publication hit newsstands and magazine racks across the nation. It was Pro Wrestling Illustrated. When the first issue went to press, The Spoiler & Mark Lewin were ranked at #8 in the Tag Team Division. Lewin was also ranked at #8 in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Abdullah the Butcher was ranked at #7 in the Most Hated Wrestler category.
this was 1974 and aussie had all the big names. and blood-which wasnt allowed in britain until roh came there after the year 2000. this was way better than anything weve had in north america since ecw went down in 2001.
I saw Abdullah at this time in Newcastle NSW, I was 9 years old. He put on an absolute bloodbath and almost caused a riot. No one thought wrestling was staged that night..
Imagine the additional heat if Jack Little had been calling this. Jack's touches would have turned this into an historic battle on which hung the security of the nation. The cameraman obviously doesn't know his stuff or maybe was just being mischievous - at 4:27 he twice cuts to Big Bad J reaching under the mat to ready the blade. Mike Cleary was very likeable, although he would be first to admit he was recruited into the job. The master Jack Little had it all - authority, great showman's eloquence, and infallible instincts as to the memorable phrase, the narrative framing and pseudo scientific padding, and how to walk the line between the frenzied and the ridiculous. Observing this is a reminder also of how much Wallaby Bob McMaster was an asset, a personality in his own right (his "one - ah - two - ah - three" was the most imitated line in wrestling in my school playground). All in all, a lot of talent was involved in turning WCW into magic every Sunday lunchtime all those years ago.
all beefcakes and boofheads, saw them several times at Festival Hall, met King Curtis back stage, could not help smiling at the goon fans that believed this stuff, including me.
Don't be too harsh - I was eight years old when this was broadcast live on the Channel Nine. I laugh at on one level now, but admire the performance theatre.
Commentator was Michael Cleary, hopeless, but good winger for South Sydney. As a ten year old I used to think this was for real. Love the way the ref doesn't get spared.
Wasn't aware who he was ; was this filmed in Melbourne? Jack Little and Ted Whitten called matches here at Ch9 Richmond. As a kid we'd attend mass at 9:30 to be home at 10:30 for wrestling telecast, totally unmissable !! No tv ratings back then but in the schoolyard next day, gee, it was all we talked about !!
i remember back in the early/mid 70's when Stu Hart hired Lewin, Curtis and Abby to wrestle on Stampede Wrestling. with guys like The Mongolian Stomper and Sweet Daddy Siki already there, it was a ton of fun watching the weekly brawls at the arena in my hometown.
Big Bad John and Abdullah run away to the dressing rooms. They’ll be having a beer together with Curtis and Lewin later having done their promotional fight on TV.
When Curtis said that he almost lost an 👁 eye,the announcer was holding back his laugh!😂-By the way what took Arion and Billy White wolf so long to come to the rescue? The damage was already done.
He wasn't no flabby Abby back then. Lewin looks different when Lewin was in Texas as maniac Mark he look like Johnny cash if became wrestler. Same hair n side burns
I was an intelligent 14-year-old at this time and so knew that it was show wrestling. However, I lived for noon Sunday and WCW.
I am not embarrassed to say that I still get a thrill from watching these old matches.
In New Zealand we used to go to the Dunedin town hall which was packed to see all these wrestlers over from the Australian circuit, the build up on tv and in the papers always ensured full house ,it was so good as a kid, the wrestlers chased us all the time outside the ring...it was so exciting watching Lewin who was a hero as was Rick Martell, John Da Silva,loved all the bad guys, Abdullah the butcher, King Curtis, Big Bad John etc, great fun and great memories, the world title fights with Ric Flair & Harley Race etc were brilliant...so much fun as a kid going to these, there was blood everywhere and we loved it..
Yeah Bro', I went to the Stadium in Sydney as a kid with my older Brother, we loved every minute of it. Our Grandpop watched it with us Sunday Midday, then there was the Rollergame. My Pop died way too young.
Love this old Australian footage. Curtis was brilliant on the mic. This is the kind of stuff you will never see with the crap WWE is putting out today.
Mark Leewin wrestling in Australia in the 70s was my favourite childhood memories.
Mario Milano , Tiger Singh , Spiros Arion
That was great, brought back many memories.
this 1970 wrestling event, i was at it, great!!!!!!! .
Mark Raza I think late 1960.
It truly amazing how this goes to show that under 9:00 min. of this terrific action is still 1000 times better than any pay -per view in the last upteen years that goes on for hours and hours that does not even get close to this!!!!!!Thanks a bunch for this cool post..
Agree all the way,Dennis. This is classic,underrated stuff. King Curtis was awesome on the mic. Great,intense action. So much better than anything today.
JS1966 You always knew when King Curtis was on the Mic. That booming voice and his story telling was incredible.
Get bbj for us Lou it might be worth it
dennis stevens SO , SO TRUE...
The Butcher was downright agile here. LOL
VINCE JR....LOOK WHAT YOU RUINED...These guys are great....totally believable...listen to the crowd
+@sheldonlevine6187: This promotion closed in 1978, six years before WWE went national. Vince had nothing to do with this promotion's demise.
Abdullah, Lewin and Iaukea. Pure carnage. So good.
I have NEVER seen a ref get suplexed before!!!
King Curtis came to Austral as a heel but ended up being a beloved face.
Abby is rather slim at 23 stone (322 pounds). His forehead was still rather smooth.
An Abdullah vs King Curtis would be bloody and violent !
This very match-up was shown on television the week after the famous Killer Karl Kox broadcast explaining his face turn. A recording exists of the King Curtis and Abby match in the National Screen Archives in Canberra but has not been transferred to digital and therefore not available for public viewing.
The best
In 1979, a new pro wrestling publication hit newsstands and magazine racks across the nation. It was Pro Wrestling Illustrated. When the first issue went to press, The Spoiler & Mark Lewin were ranked at #8 in the Tag Team Division. Lewin was also ranked at #8 in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Abdullah the Butcher was ranked at #7 in the Most Hated Wrestler category.
mkl62 can you explain this bull crap about a new wrestling magazine i had seem this stament countless times some thing can be new only once
Damn...even then King Curtis had a forehead like an exposed brain...
I had the biggest crush on Lewin. Great bod he had.
this was 1974 and aussie had all the big names. and blood-which wasnt allowed in britain until roh came there after the year 2000. this was way better than anything weve had in north america since ecw went down in 2001.
Lewin and King Curtis was a great team
The Butcher is shredded here....damn
Five of the baddest bodies in wrestling.
Back in the days when wrestling was believable and WWE turned it into a circus
日本のブッチャーファンです🇯🇵 素晴らしい映像をありがとうございます😊
Wow Abdullah was slim back then.
Did you notice how Abdullah bladed himself?
I don't know if "slim" is the right word...lol
I don't know if "slim" was the right word..lol
A 'slim' 23 stone!
I saw Abdullah at this time in Newcastle NSW, I was 9 years old.
He put on an absolute bloodbath and almost caused a riot.
No one thought wrestling was staged that night..
I remember the days these two put on a good & convincing show in Atlanta's Omni. Late 70's.
great footage, thank you so much
Imagine the additional heat if Jack Little had been calling this. Jack's touches would have turned this into an historic battle on which hung the security of the nation. The cameraman obviously doesn't know his stuff or maybe was just being mischievous - at 4:27 he twice cuts to Big Bad J reaching under the mat to ready the blade. Mike Cleary was very likeable, although he would be first to admit he was recruited into the job. The master Jack Little had it all - authority, great showman's eloquence, and infallible instincts as to the memorable phrase, the narrative framing and pseudo scientific padding, and how to walk the line between the frenzied and the ridiculous. Observing this is a reminder also of how much Wallaby Bob McMaster was an asset, a personality in his own right (his "one - ah - two - ah - three" was the most imitated line in wrestling in my school playground). All in all, a lot of talent was involved in turning WCW into magic every Sunday lunchtime all those years ago.
Abdullah the butcher cuts his forehead 3x 2:49
Amazing
I thought that was going to be quite tame - but it turned out to be more explosive than anticipated..
Abdullah The Butcher was my favorite "heel" wrestler!
No, no, it was a brain buster.
abdula the butcher rough back in the day
Abdullah owned a fruit shop in Bexley back in the 70s.
I see where Mick Foley got his hangman routine from
Is the ringside announder former Australian rugby union, rugby league and track and field athlete Michael Cleary?
Yes.
I certainly hope Wallaby Bob was OK.
This is from 1973, when mgr. Big Bad John was in Australia.
all beefcakes and boofheads, saw them several times at Festival Hall, met King Curtis back stage, could not help smiling at the goon fans that believed this stuff, including me.
Don't be too harsh - I was eight years old when this was broadcast live on the Channel Nine. I laugh at on one level now, but admire the performance theatre.
Commentator was Michael Cleary, hopeless, but good winger for South Sydney. As a ten year old I used to think this was for real. Love the way the ref doesn't get spared.
He sounds a like a Race Caller!! LOL
Wasn't aware who he was ; was this filmed in Melbourne? Jack Little and Ted Whitten called matches here at Ch9 Richmond. As a kid we'd attend mass at 9:30 to be home at 10:30 for wrestling telecast, totally unmissable !! No tv ratings back then but in the schoolyard next day, gee, it was all we talked about !!
@@terrycarthy4433 Might be at The Hordern Pavillon in Sydney, especially with Cleary's commentary.
I REMEMBER KING CURTIS DURING HIS WWWF RUN , FEUDING WITH PEDRO MORALES - 1974 ?
Crazy!! Love it!!
I’d swear Abdullah the Butcher hadn’t changed one bit in 50 years.
Amazing the butcher and lewin are still alive and well cool!!! Tooday
Amazing .
Abdullah the Butcher was one of the greatest heels ever
I heard mark lewin alternated between the maniac gimmick and baby face gimmick since the 1960s. Can anyone explain how this was done?
Simple, Lewin was a multiple personality XD
You wrestle in one territory as a heel and go to another territory and them bechamel a face back them there was no Smart phone
i remember back in the early/mid 70's when Stu Hart hired Lewin, Curtis and Abby to wrestle on Stampede Wrestling. with guys like The Mongolian Stomper and Sweet Daddy Siki already there, it was a ton of fun watching the weekly brawls at the arena in my hometown.
Wallaby Bob McMasters is my new hero.
Lewin and The Butcher had some bloody battles.
Big Bad John and Abdullah run away to the dressing rooms. They’ll be having a beer together with Curtis and Lewin later having done their promotional fight on TV.
Abyany way we no more from the middle of East he is Canadian and still alive.ba miracle.
A main event anywhere in the world and what a name of the referee
Im waiting for back to the territorys to do an wcw Australia doco as it was huge here in the 70s
Those are the fattest turnbuckles I have ever seen.
better than the wwe crap
。
確かに70年代のブッチャーですね。その頃は小太りですが、この団体にレスラー大きい選手が多いのかブッチャー小さく見えますね。このころからマークルーインとキングカーティスは、仲良かったのですね。もっと前にコンビでらいにちすればよかったのに。いいもの見せてくれてありがとうございます！
this is so great
Wallabie Bob could sell a brainbuster
I never thought Lewin would eventually turn heel and become‘Purple Haze’😅.
They nearly killed each other.
love it
They blade in Australia like there's no tomorrow.
This is great Wish it was in Color Mark Lewin was also the Purple Haise
The guy in the white shirt reminded me of Sgt Slaughter when he talked.
Was wanting to hear Sullivan my son from Kurtis
When Curtis said that he almost lost an 👁 eye,the announcer was holding back his laugh!😂-By the way what took Arion and Billy White wolf so long to come to the rescue? The damage was already done.
If I would have watched this as a kid I would have had nightmares for years
If I could travel back in time or bring someone back, it would be a young buff and hairy Mark Lewin to wrestle with him for days
How many managers did Abdullah the butcher have 🤔
Wrestling at its best
commentator seems like a
horse racing in equistrian club!
Pure CHAOS!!!!!!
Some short years later King Curtis and Lewin would join Kevin Sullivan and form the army of darkness
Jesus when did Australia finally get color tv
1975 from memory. I think this is 1973.
March 1975
Does anybody have the video from 1979-1980 Era GCW Steel cage Abdallah vs Maniac Mark Lewin w/ the great mephisto
Wow abdullah was actully good
King Curtis was a primary school teacher in Burwood. Love how Cleary can't keep a straight face.
Interesting to see how much bulk Mark Lewin put in some years later when obviously juiced up big time in America.
Bill goldberg would laugh at these clowns haaaa love it
Abby's head is scarless.
😱
I met wallaby bobs daughter kelly in 1993 at burleigh heads-- she was a model and a real stunner-- certainly didnt get her good looks from wallaby bob
I forgot it wasn't till the late '70s that Australian finally got color TV
1974
March 1975
Blood on tv wow. I wonder if Wallaby John ever recovered?
Yea,I was surprised too that Adnan and Whitewolf were same person.
10 years later Lewin wrestled in Florida looking like a body builder. Gotta love those roids.
Chief Billy White Wolf
aka Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie
aka General Adnan.
And an old childhood friend of the late Saddam Hussein.
laggerg WHAT?! BILLY WHITE WOLF IS ADNAN?!!
Yep...all true...even won the WWWF tag team title with Chief Jay Strongbow I believe.
Chief Billy was one of the most popular wrestlers in Hawaii.
@@Jack21Spades: Yes. He was an Iraqi playing a Native American.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS IF THERE WAS CABLE WE COULD HAVE SEEN IT IN THE DAY/
6:09 - that's not a Brain Buster, its a suplex!
That's what it was called back then. It was the signature move of Killer Karl Cox.
Mini Abby
Big bad John was excellent on the microphone
Abby was small back then
you sure this is the 70's? by how trim Abdulla is it looks more like a match that took place in the 60's
+Murphdogg4 It was definitely the early part of the 70s and it took place @ Channel 9 in Sydney on a Saturday lunchtime.
about 1974. Mike Cleary commentating.
1973.
Wow I was negative 2 when he was in this match
Amazing 💋
Pummel Lewin haaa haaa love it
Poor old Wallaby Bob!
4:40 - Real dangerous moment
He wasn't no flabby Abby back then. Lewin looks different when Lewin was in Texas as maniac Mark he look like Johnny cash if became wrestler. Same hair n side burns
7:40 Announcer almost cracks up.
The same thing that happened to mick foley wow
Has anyone counted the number of times the commentator said "this is war"...?