THE MAT GAME

Evening Star, Issue 20635, 7 November 1930, Page 6

THE MAT GAME

WRESTLING NEWS AND NOTES

[By Hookes.]

' LAST WEEK’S CONTEST. Varying, opinions may. bo held regarding -fclio attractiveness of the return contest between Kara Pasha and Billy Edwards. This writer thought the match colourless and disappointing after the spectacular bout provided when the men met for' the first time. It will hardly bo gainsaid, however, that the return was more strenuous than the first meeting of the two men, ■and the uninteresting nature of the ’bout up to the sixth round was duo to the tact that so keen was each man to register a win that neither was m- . dined to take risks. ■ Thus, tight wrestling prevailed, and f round followed round with a sameness ” about the rallies that caused the spectators to become very restive. There Wpro one or two exchanges of blows i which the referee quickly checked, and, taken all through, the contest was ejean enough. It just lacked that colour and spectacular incidents that -have been so conspicuous in many of the preceding bouts, and as so happens in a return match there was far less of an open nature than was the case, at the first meeting. _ ■ vi. Both men adopted defensive tactics, ' and it was Pasha who introduced more ‘ variety into his work, though he seemed to realise that his best means of securing a fall was by the Boston crab. And it must bo said that Edwards could afford to take few chances, for Kara was as quick as lightning to seize the opportunity and put on that devastating hold which almost invariably brings submission in its train. On the other hand, Edwards showed more speed than the Turk, but, though bo frequently secured the Turk with headlocks and reverse headlocks, in most instances he’ was unable to hold " them, which showed just what a powerful man Kara Pasha is. Once or twice Edwards appeared to have Kara in trouble with hammerlocks, but the Turk managed each time to stop the Canadian from applying the holds. Both men 1 executed the splits cleverly, Edwards in particular; hut it was not until the sixth round that the crowd had anything over which to become enthusiastic. Many people thought Kara was weakening when Edwards tossed him with a series of headlocks, but the Turk fell on his side usually, and as Edwards grabbed him round the body to • stop him from going towards the ropes ‘ Pasha had whipped Edwards’s legs from -.under him, and almost before the crowd realised what had happened the Turk had secured a submission fall by means of the Boston crab. It is the unexpected nature of the Boston crab that makes it so fascinating from the public’s point of view, hut though Edwards tried hard to even the score in the seventh it was not until the eighth that he equalised by secur’l ihg a fall after a series of headlocks. There was the usual noise and dissension when the referee gave the only decision in his power—a draw —but the record crowd had the compensation of .witnessing three fast and willing rounds .. after the colourless wrestling that was - indulged in over the earlier stages. ’ : BAY AND COLEMAN. Pur© strength prevailed over pure science iu v a furious, .exciting wrestling ? hoiit at Stratford on Saturday night last when Abo Coleman (America) beat his fellow-countryman, Tom Ray, by two falls to one. The bout went only six of the eight scheduled rounds, and two of them were very short; hut the big crowd was enthusiastically delighted with the colourful, thrilling match. The first fall went to Coleman in the third round. He caught his man in a vice-liko headlock that stretched Ray on his shoulders and apB 1 to make him groggy. The round had just begun when Ray ’ captured Coleman’s leg in a toe hold, ' which he quickly increased to a double - toe hold, and hung on till his opponent " submitted. Twice previous to this Kay had tried for the same hold and just missed. Followed a busy round, full of action; Then, in the sixth round, Rav angled for and secured the figurefour hold, and in so doing defeated his own cause. Earlier in the bout when Ray had the same hold Colemam releasee! himself by spinning. This time, ~ however,. as Ray citing to his hack, with his long legs wrapped about the ■' body,. Coleman deliberately toppled over backwards, slamming Ray underneath his 14st bulk to the _ mat and knocking the wind out of him. If not a very elegant move, it was certainly -r effective, for it ended the bout, A FINE RECORD. For a body only in its second year of existence, the Otago Wrestling Association has established a record that will take some beating, for during the present season-no fewer than ten contests have been staged in Dunedin, the intervals between each of them averaging probably less than a fortnight. The majority of overseas stars who have come to Neiy Zealand have been seen in the Dunedin ring, including Tom Alley ((light heavy-weight champion of the world), Kara Pasha (who has been one of the real successes of the season).; Billy Edwards Scotty I M'Dougall, Tom Ray, Walter Logan, Fred Ebert, Tony Sticker, and Alex Lundyn. From small beginnings the association has assumed extensive prq-l,.--portions.' The takings for the last two contests were £438 and £449 respectively, ' which is an indication of how the sport has increased in ponuParity, .in Dunedin. This success has ” been duo to two things—firstly, to the excellent spirit of co-operation that has been shown by members of the • association, and, secondly, to the „ adoption of the percentage, sys„V,tein ,of purses by associations throughout the dominion, a policy that has been satisfactory both to wrestlers and tho associations. In boxing some of tho best men have engaged in contests on an average of one or tfro a month, and sometimes not that, but the wrestler would have id count ; himself unfortunate if ho did not have one and sometimes two or three matches a week. Tho amateurs have been well _ en- ' Couraged in Dunedin, and in addition to a very active season, tho Otago Association, has done its part in establishing the sport in other centres, as ■ it was through its efforts that an association was formed in Invercargill and contests were held at Oamaru • -and Timaru, The season has been an attractive and enjoyable one, and the •return of the grapplers next season '■. will he eagerly awaited by the big ~ band of wrestling fans, in Dunedin. GOSSIP. A vastly improved showing was made by the' amateurs who took part in the preliminaries last week, and P. Lunan again gave one of the best displays ”oi tho evening. Ho was in splendid fettle, and .wrestling on top all the . time, beat B. Lucy by two straight falls. Lunan is a more open wrestler v than was tho case earlier in tho season, and should any amateur chain pionships bo hold locally in the near

future he will have to ho reckoned *f: M'Gregor beat N. Clark by two falls, but it was only the former’s experience that turned tho tide in his favour. M'Gregor has hardly lived up ; to the promise ho showed earlier in his career, and does not seem to put the vim into his work that ho used to, Clark is not possessed of a great deal of finish and is too often found off his balance, but ho is willing and strong, and with the experience that is acquired in actual contests should be a worthy opponent tor the best of them next season. < , , G Edwards again proved tho efficacy of his body scissors when ho beat H. Culbert, and the bout between this pair of willing lads was really interesting. Culbert usually has to give away weight, but is as game as they are made, and for a first-season wrestler lias made considerable progress. Abo Coleman is being kept fairly busy in the north. Ho meets Tom Alley on November 10 at Auckland, and wrestles with Kara Pasha at Wellington on November 12. Pasha meets Logan at Hastings on November 13. The desire of the dominion of New Zealand Wrestling Union to keep the game clean—and that is the only way that the sport can survive the test of time—is shown by its action in declaring that butting is illegal. Such methods of wrestling aro not wanted in New Zealand, and offenders should certainly be severely dealt with by referees.