Weekly Watchlist 022 - November 10 2024

Welcome back purveyors of predetermined pugilism!

Have I got a treat for you folks this week! I've been holding back on watching this for days now and I'm so excited to share it with you guys finally. I don't want to take up too much time, so let's get right into it!

The First World Heavyweight Champion of Wrestling, George Hackenschmidt

Weekly Roundup

As you guys will notice right away, I'm trying out a new layout for the blog this week. The more I post, the more I realize that having my spreadsheet be the first thing a reader sees can maybe be a bit off putting, it doesn't really grab your attention. In fact, not a whole lot about each post really stands out. I'm gonna try posting a photo from the "main" match from each review right at the start, that way it catches your attention as you're scrolling through seeing what might be interesting to read. Once inside the review, I'll include my spreadsheet in the Weekly Roundup section at the start. That may be the only piece of news for the week, or I may have more to talk about! But that's the format I'm thinking of implementing from here on out. 

So, here's my spreadsheet from the week; 

Was on a bit of a Bockwinkel kick this week

Didn't watch as much as I wanted to this week, was a bit busier with some unexpected problems around the house that ate up a lot of my time and desire to watch wrestling, but I was able to watch some really good stuff when I did have the chance!

 

BlueSky

Let's face it, Twitter/X is kinda falling apart. For a long time, I was a twitter maniac. I was on it every day, scrolling and scrolling finding absolute gold. But, as time has gone on and ownership has decided to make change after change, it's becoming less and less fun to be on twitter. A lot of people have been jumping ship to BlueSky, which is basically Twitter without the bullshit, from what I can gather. A lot of people are bigging it up and I thought it would worth giving it a shot. I'll be using it to post about wrestling stuff happening in the week, maybe "live tweeting" matches I'm watching or rambling about stuff that probably doesn't warrant a blog post. You can find a link to my profile at the top of my page, I've replaced the "Twitter" button with "BlueSky." Let's see how it goes!

 

George Hackenschmidt vs. Joseph Rogers - 01/30/1908 

The lockup, a move as old as time.

Boy, what a treat this is. Some of you might remember my Weekly Roundup from Watchlist 019 where I talked about watching "the oldest piece of wrestling footage available." It was about 5 minutes of poor quality wrestling between Gustav Fristensky and Josef Smejkal, nothing of note really aside from its historical significance. That was until a few weeks ago. 

One friday night, I'm sitting with a few friends playing Dungeons and Dragons and I'm scrolling on my phone, probably waiting for the rogue to decide what he wants to try and trick his way through combat with or for someone to come back from the toilet and I see a tweet come across my feed that stops me dead in my tracks. An archiving site based in New Zealand called "Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision archive" uploaded a match between George Hackenschmidt and Joseph Rogers from 1908. 

Yes, you're reading that correctly. 116 year old footage has been found and uploaded online of the first World Heavyweight Champion of wrestling. Not only that, this is also the only footage of Hackenschmidt wrestling that has ever been found. Ever. This is completely insane. Like, I can't put into words just how crazy this is. If you need some help conceptualizing what things looked like about 116 years ago, here's some historical context;

1901 - Queen Victoria dies

1901 - The first transatlantic radio transmission happens. From Cornwall England to St. John's Newfoundland

1903 - The Wright Brothers make the first ever sustained motorized aircraft flight.

1904 - Dr. Seuss is born

1906 - The first animated film "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" is released.

1908 - The Ford Model T is introduced

1911 - The Lost City of Machu Picchu is rediscovered

1912 - The RMS Titanic sinks

1913 - Rosa Parks is born

And, for those who are more wrestling inclined, here's some other bits of context;

George Hackenschmidt, the first World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling, wins the title in 1905 by defeating Tom Jenkins.


Vince McMahon Sr. is born in 1914

El Santo is born in 1917

CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre), previously EMLL (Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre), the oldest professional wrestling promotion still in existence, is founded in 1933.


The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is founded in 1948

Think about that, before even the oldest wrestling organization is founded, before Senior is even a twinkle in the milkman's eye, before the fucking Titanic even touched water, let alone ice, we have footage of a professional wrestling match. And it's in incredible quality too! Better than the 1913 match uploaded to YouTube and we get to see both falls in this two out of three falls match. Legitimately insane. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.

The story goes that this match was more than likely from Hackenschmidt's personal collection of match tapes (can we even call this a tape? Film reel?) when he toured New Zealand in 1910. The Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision archive obtained this footage from someone's personal collection in 1981. 

Now, why don't we talk about this match a bit? I can gush about how cool it is that we get to see this footage (for free guys! It's just out there and you can watch it on your phone! What a time to be alive) but let's get into the nitty gritty of the oldest match available. 

First thing's first, this is completely and utterly different from anything, and I mean anything you'll see in wrestling. Obviously in modern times, but even in the last 50 years. There's no ring to speak of, just some gym mats laid out in a rectangle, everybody is dressed to the nines like they're at the ball, and the thing that I found the most enticing, pins and pins. What do I mean by that, you may be asking yourself? Simply put, if both shoulders touch the mat, that's a fall. Full stop. No count, certainly no kick out, and both men are right back up after the pin and return to the middle. 

Joseph Rogers - Hackenschmidt's opponent for this match.

The match or rather, the video itself, starts with a clip of Joseph Rogers flexing for the camera. Just a quick little show for us, he just wanted us to see how yolked he is. Crazy to think that it's 1908 and people can just look like this. Not a single syringe in sight, just bologna sandwiches and cheese. Real men. 

When we get to the match itself, its Hackenschmidt (further referred to as Hack to save my precious fingers) in the shorter shorts, with Rogers in the longer shorts. Aside from Hack being a touch paler than Rogers, it's hard to distinguish them without seeing their faces. They lock up in a standing position and stay that way for a while, pushing and pulling until Rogers is able to get Hack down for a moment but he squirms free. Back on their feet again, Hack loses a shoe and they lock up once more. This isn't the collar and elbow tie up guys start their chain grappling sequences with now, it's Hack and Rogers bearing their heads into the other guys shoulder as they try and grab at a lose arm or reach around the body to try and catch the other guy off guard.

With this being wrestling, I don't know how confidently I can say this was a shoot or not. Obviously the idea of fixing matches and "working the crowd" was common place during the era where wrestlers travelled with the circus, but I don't know if that concept came about before or after the carnies started to adopt wrestling. I'd like to believe this is a real athletic contest, because this looks really real to me! There's a legitimate struggle between these two that would be hard to replicate, so for the sake of journalistic integrity, I'll air on the side of caution for this one. 

There's a real effort made to just try and grab a limb and hold on. Nothing is given.

 Eventually, Hack is able to force Rogers off balance, making him stumble forward and Hack latches on, driving Rogers down to the mat and riding him from the back. The first hurdle is done; get the guy down. Now, get him off his front and onto his back. Easier said than done. 

Both men are meticulous and careful, with no motion being wasted or undue exertion to try and execute something that might not work. Both guys know that the simplest move or smallest mistake could cost them the fall, so they are careful and deliberate with everything they do. 

Hack is able to catch the left arm of Rogers and floats over him to put pressure on the arm, grabbing him against the bicep on the ground. There's real intent in Hack every time he tightens the grip on the arm, he's forcing his entire body into Rogers, trying to pull the arm out from under the body of Rogers so he can force him onto his back. Eventually, Hack is successful, he forces Rogers onto his back but Rogers slips out, crawling out to the floor as they both separate and meet each other back in the centre of the mat. I think we just witness the very first instance of the "Code of Honor."

Back to vertical and Hack quickly takes Rogers off balance, sending him flying off the mat and onto the ground. He backs off to let Rogers stand and meet him in the middle again, both guys strictly abiding by the rules. Guess nobody was booked to play the heel tonight. They have some sort of discussion with the referee but, again, no audio so all we can do is guess. Hack is pointing to the middle as if to say "he lost his footing here" maybe, but I can't be certain what they're discussing. 

They grapple back and forth on their feet, with both men trying to get the other off balance and find an opening they can exploit. With insane speed, Hack dives down out of a lockup and takes Rogers by the legs, who fights the whole way down but finally lands on his side, with Hack wrapping an arm around his neck and floating over to his upper body. Rogers' right shoulder is on the mat and his head is cocked back, holding his other shoulder off the mat as Hack shifts and clamours above him. 

There's a real struggle to just pin the guy. Its awesome.

This may be the best example of "physical chess" in this first fall. Rogers is fighting to keep his left shoulder off the mat so he doesn't lose and he's at a disgusting disadvantage right now. Hack is fully in control and just needs to find the position that will give him the most leverage and power to force Rogers down. This is deliberate, this is measured, this is two men who, physically, are fairly similar, but are using their bodies to prove technical superiority. If Hack moves his rook to the wrong square, no matter how well he's played, he could lose in an instant. Same goes for Rogers, he's holding Hack off as best he can with both arms pinned.

Eventually, Hack is able to force Rogers down and the referee taps Hack on the shoulders to signify the pinfall. They're up on their feet and make their way to their separate corners, taking a breather before the second fall. 

And now! Onto a completely different match!

Yes, that's right! In the middle of this Hackenschmidt and Rogers bout is a completely random match, seemingly already in progress? I couldn't find a whole lot about this match and I don't want to give it much time as it's not the focus of my review, but I'll give a bit of context and then we can move onto the second fall. According to Mark Hewitt, a historian referenced in the SlamWrestling article I linked above, he claims this is a match between Joe Carroll and Peter Gotz and was from a tournament that was running at the same time as the match we're focusing on today. I couldn't find much else about these two, I did find an article that talked about Carroll being the first British heavyweight champion wrestler in 1899 after winning a catch wrestling tournament but I can;t be certain he's the same guy in the video. Gotz apparently had won belts at 3 different weights by 1907, and the article even references this match with Carroll from 1908, so I think we may be onto something with this article at least. 

It's a real treat to get not only one match from 1908, but two! It's like Christmas came early.

There doesn't really seem to be a winner in this match, as the man I assume to be Gotz takes Carroll over with a suplex of sorts but gets crushed and is clutching at his stomach. People start tending to him as he rolls around on the mat (brother really knows how to sell!) and then we return to the Hack and Rogers match.

It's more of the same at the start of the second fall, but Hack is able to get the advantage early and doesn't let up. The film is pretty damaged here and the middle of the picture is difficult to see for a minute or so but it clears up and we're able to see Hack still in control, with Rogers trying to stay on his hands and knees and Hack trying to taker him over however he can. Something that really caught me off guard was the respect these two have for sportsmanship. They've managed to crawl and work there way around the mat, from the "west" side to the "south" side and are starting to get onto the floor. We can't see the referee, but he clearly tells both me to return to the middle and they comply! Not only that, but they pick right up where they left off! Seriously! Hack was on top and Rogers was on all fours at the edge, and when they return to the middle, that's how they start again! God, I'm such a nerd.

This fall is almost entirely Hack, Rogers is able to maybe grab him by the head and try to pull him over but Hack is completely in control. The final fall comes much quicker than the first, with Hack pulling Rogers over in almost the exact same method as he did before but getting both shoulders pinned in only a few seconds compared to the minute or two the first fall took.  

After the match we get a little flexing video of 'ol Hack and, can I say something real quick? This dude looks insane. Like think about it, this is 1908, what were people eating 116 years ago? My brain can't even fathom how someone can be this strong, ripped and lean and he's probably never even heard the word "protein" before. I'm blown away at this mans physique. 

To the winner goes the spoils.

We get a little champion ceremony too, with, who I assume to be Hackenschmidt, receiving a trophy and walking off stage. It's the same stage as the Gotz/Carroll match and I don't know if these matches were in the same building or not but I think we can assume they would be. 

 

It's so strange to see where wrestling started out and where it is now. Just think about how far it's come since 1908. Watch a RAW match and then watch this one and remind yourself that this match is the great-great-great-grandfather to Chad Gable and Jey Uso. This is the foundation. This is what "wrestling" was, an athletic contest with the objective being to pin your opponent to the ground. It's why so many old timers, especially those that have a background in catch-as-catch-can or even Greko-Roman call wrestling "physical chess." It's about manipulating your own body, as well as your opponents body, in a way that prevents them from moving. To prove dominance and skill over another athlete. 

This is one of the most unique things I've covered on my Watchlist and I don't know if I'll ever be able to top this as far as historical significance goes. Unless some footage of Hackenschmidt and Gotch finds its way online or, dare I say it, something from 1899 or even older?! The possibilities are endless, now that we know this exists. I can't wait to see what shows up next.

As always, feel free to drop me a line if you have some more information about these matches or if you happen to come across something else from this time period, I'd love to check it out. cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com

Until next time reader, take it easy!

Cliff Morgan