Lou Thesz

[gd]

Lou Thesz is known by many as the father of pro wrestling, or someting like that. He was big back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, holding the NWA World Title for over 10 years combined. He's known for creating a multitude of wrestling moves that are still used today including the Thesz Press and the Powerbomb.

The question is, how would Thesz have faired if he would've came around in modern day pro wrestling instead of over 50 years ago?

If that was the case, I don't think he'd be nearly as famous as he is today in the pro wrestling world. Thesz was best known for being an originator and wasn't exactly exciting to watch, at least by today's standards. I'm not trying to take anything away from him, lest I feel Gelgarin's wrath, but it's safe to say that Thesz came along at the perfect time period for both himself and pro wreslting.

Thoughts?

 

[yur_momma]

Lou Thesz would adjust as best he could, I would imagine, but still fall short. But the comparison is silly...

Jim Brown would not do as well in the NFL because back then NFL players had regular jobs also so most didnt try too hard. Wilt Chamberlain wouldnt be so hot in the NBA with three point lines, shot clock, etc. Babe Ruth's fat ass wouldnt last one season in MLB after he experiences the new pitching distance, speed, sliders, corkscrews, etc. Putting vaseline or even shaving the ball was legal during alot of Ruth's years because there were no sliders and the like.

Whatever sport it is, after 30-40-50 years rules and plays change so much along with training facilities, medical facilities, salary...its just not comparable. Would you ask if an 1950's black and white Zenith TV would sell today if the black and white was in HD?

thats just my outlook on it...

 

[RATED R CHAMPION]

I THINK LOU THESZ IS LOU THESZ AND HE IS WHAT HE IS BECAUSE HE WRESTLED IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME IN WRESTLING HISTORY, I DONT KNOW WHAT EXACTLY WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM IF HE WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND THESE DAYS OF THE WRESTLING WORLD, BUT TRUTH BE TOLD, HE'S A LEGEND CREATOR, INNOVATOR, AND PIONEER OF MANY WRESTLING MANNERISMS AND MOVES, SO THESZ MUST BE BETWEEN THE 50 GREATEST WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME AND ONE OF NWA'S BEST TOO.

MAYBE IF HE WOULD HAVE BEEN WRESTLING THESE DAYS HE WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT, WITH DIFFERENT MANEUVERS AND STYLES BUT CERTAINLY I THINK YOU CANNOT THINK THAT WAY, HE WRESTLED FROM THE 40'S TO THE 60'S PERIOD, THAT'S IT, DONT THINK ABOUT A POSSIBLE THESZ IN THE 90'S OR 2000'S.

 

[The Conscience]

Sorry but noone seems to have considered that if lou was around today;it is entirely possible that the moves he generated could still have derived from him; if the moves were in fact his idea. It Is also possible he could have created entirely different moves perhaps now credited to other stars due to the time they were prominant being different. or moves that have yet to be invented... I mean someone resently
created MVP's "finsher" (austins lou thesz press was IMO awesome btw)

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, it's not really a fair comparisson. On the surface, if you look at footage of Lou Thesz and then go look at a TLC match between CM Punk and Jeff Hardy or the most recent match between AJ Styles and Kurt Angle then, of course, the first impluse I think is to say that Thesz would be swallowed up today.

In Thesz's day, you were the best if you could get in there and have legitimate wrestling skill. Today, first and foremost, you have to have some charisma as well as some degree of athletic ability. Being a techinically sound, Greco-Roman style grappler is non-issue today and most people would find it boring as hell.

I respect Lou Thesz and what he meant to the overall history of pro wrestling. If someone were to go back in time, pluck a young 25 year old Thesz and bring him to our time, put him in the ring and say let's see what you got, some would laugh the guy right out of the ring. Had Thesz been born in 1976 rather than 1916 and entered the world of pro wrestling in the modern era, who knows what would've happened.