Muscle On The Mat In Crazy Gang Turn

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31135, 11 August 1966, Page 18

Muscle On The Mat In Crazy Gang Turn

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

It was rather like Saturday night at the Palladium when the professional wrestling season was advanced a further stage at the Civic Theatre last evening. The Crazy Gang of six came in widely varying ages, sizes, qualities with only the common denominator of distinctly unsporting habits.

There was also a demonstration of strength in which a pack of cards was torn in two and iron bars bent into croquet hoops. Killer Koroschenko was the man with the muscle, and the pity of it was that in his tag bout he was unable to treat the familiar knockabout team of Ricky Wallace and Dick Zolonowski with similar disdain. Koroschenko and Steve Rickard succumbed to this practised combination, two falls to one. But Koroschenko was the personality of the evening. Killed Time It all began rather unhappily, with a performance by Tony Kontellis of Greece and The Shadow from Chicago. Kontellis is familiar to the Civic audience. The Shadow was new. He looked, with his head-to-foot black outfit and hood, like an old-time executioner, but he left his audience to kill time. The Shadow, all substance, could probably not afford more than a token start to King Kong, in the unlikely event of their being matched over 25 yards. The black mask certainly gave its owner a strange expressionless air of detachment, but perhaps it was as well that he succeeded in. his efforts to keep his identity secret. This eight-round bout lasted seven, and it seemed several too many. There was not much to interest anyone, save, perhaps, any history students present, for the abrupt departure of Kontellis over the top rope, after being subjected to a blow or two, recalled immediately the defenestration of Prague. Kontellis later spent some time tied up in the ropes, like a large fly in a small web, but not all his earnest endeavours, which included what seemed to be some strange Hellenic oaths, could get the bout going. The Shadow showed considerable skill in the accuracy with which he kicked a Kontellis leg in the same spot some 20 or 30 times, but the piece lacked verve and movement. The Shadow had a fall in the fourth, Kontellis one in the sixth, and then The Shadow’ was disqualified in the seventh, just after some kicking exercises in a comer had given birth to the phenomenon, for the Civic, of slow clapping. Genial Czech The tag bout that followed was much more lively. Koroschenko is no youth, but he impressed his personality on the play. He was distinct-

ly energetic and convincingly enthusiastic about getting into the act His beatific smile, when in possession, was delightful. He is a Czechoslovakian by birth, and became a cafe proprietor —and no doubt a genial one —in Australia. He was clearly happy in his work, and just as obviously believed in givin good value for his pay.

Zolonowski, however, was often put out. one way and another. Once or twice he disagreed with the referee and stumped off into his corner. waving Wallace in. as though he had gone home after a row with the boss and sent his wife to work. It was a lively enough encounter, with Koroschenko at one stage being in the unfortunate position of having each of his opponents operating half of a leg splits. Rickard later made up for this by dragging both his opponents into the ring and flattening them. The fall to Wallace and

Zolonowski in the fourth was not a very convincing business. but things became a little brisker when Wallace was tied firmly in the ropes, spouting like Moby Dick as Rickard butted him. The heroes of the occasion levelled things with a fall in the sixth, but it was getting on for time for the last bus and the seventh did not progress very far. The end came, of course, through some underhand work —Zolonowski butted his man into a corner. Wallace from the outside grabbed Rickard’s ankles to upend him. and it was all rather like a line-out. Zolonowski and Wallace appeared to be delighted with their success. But they were not so happy when Koroschenko. working on after time, clasped a massive arm around each neck and looked likely to convert them into croquet hoops. He should have done it much earlier.