MATCH DRAWN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26471, 27 May 1947, Page 8

MATCH DRAWN

LIVELY WRESTLING RUSS Alto BELL PROVIDE ACTION Otto Kuss (17st 41b), and Kay Bell (17st), wrestled a draw before a large attendance at the Town Hall last night, each securing one fall in a match which provided the liveliest and best wrestling of the season, mixed with a fair amount of comedy and clever showmanship by Kuss. The match was packed with action, not all of it according to the rules which govern professional wrestling, and some vigorous two-handed exchanges of forearm jolts at times descended into' straight-out punching rallies in which each man appeared to give as good as he took. Kuss obtained the first fall in the third round with a leg cradle hold and Bell equalised with a submission fall in the seventh round with an Indian deathlock. The last round was willingly contested, and the referee, Mr Frank Anderson, unable to separate the men, awarded a draw. This was the second time these massive wrestlers have met in Dunedin, their first match a fortnight ago ending in the disqualification of Kuss for striking the referee after the third man had endeavoured at the gong to break an Indian deathlock held by Bell. From the start both men settled to their work with a will, and the match was scarcely under way before Kuss heaved his opponent into the net by picking him up in a crotch hold which he used fairly frequently during the course of the bout. As in the previous match Bell worked effectively on a variety of toeholds in an effort to weaken Kuss’s legs of which the latter makes such clever use

Bright Interlude

Interludes during the first three rounds .were provided with some heavy forearm and elbow jolting, and it was this form of attack that Bell used when Kuss secured him in a winglock. Kuss offered his opponent his head as a tempting bait when Bell endeavoured to clamp on a headlock, but Kuss dropped to the mat and hooked his opponent’s leg in a pinning him with a leg cradle hold after the round had been in progress for two minutes.

Bell enlivened proceedings in the fourth round with a series of fierce jolts to the head, and Kuss flew from one side of the ring to the other in an unsuccessful attempt to bring his opponent down with a flying tackle. .This round was marked by some vigorous headlocking by Bell and a skilful application of the surfboard hold, and when the referee got in between the men as Kuss came up the latter good-naturedly patted the official on the head. When Bell launched anothen offensive with his elbows, Kuss came off the ropes with his feet and s t ent Bell to the mat. * The crowd was roused to excitement in the fifth round, when Kuss picked Bell up in a crotch hold and went back on to the ropes, Bell falling to the floor below. Bell came back with a battery of jolts, but Kuss secured a, punishing double leg-nelson, which he held for four minutes. The referee watched Bell so intently that he failed to see Kuss reclining full length on the mat for several seconds at a time, but when the third man did turn towards Kuss the latter sat up with remarkable celerity. Bell bridged, but he was still firmly held when the gong sounded.

Vigorous Exchanges

Bell tried hard for a fall in the sixth round, and applied some punishing toeholds and a standing splits. Kuss came off the ropes with flying tackles, and Bell retaliated by using a full-nelson, one of his favourite holds. The round ended in a melee, vigorous forearm and elbow jolting developing into a slogging match, with tempers becoming frayed. This form of attack was continued in the seventh round, and when Kuss went in to take a Greek cross but missed, Bell stood up with an Indian deathlock, and, using jolts to the face for good measure, secured a submission fall. There were some vigorous exchanges and lively wrestling rallies in the last round, but no further falls, and the match ended in a draw. Amateur Preliminaries G. Nixon (8.11) beat W. Jackson (8.11) by one fall, obtained in the first round with a cross-buttock and body-press. E. Goughian (9.8) beat E. R. Donaldson (9.7) by two falls, secured in the second and third rounds respectively by means of an armlock and body-press. C. Flowers (10.4) beat E. Donaldson (10.0) by one fall, secured in the third round with a headlock and body-press. L. Blackie (11.3) beat E. Davis (10.13) by one fall, taken in the second round with a quarter-nelson and body-press. The preliminaries, which were scheduled for three three-minute rounds, were refereed by Mr G. Mowat. The timekeepers were Messrs K. McCracken and J, Leitch, and Mr F. J. Campbell was the M.C. EARL McCREADY RETURNS P.A. AUCKLAND, May 26. “ I hope to be coming back as long as they want me," said the wrestler, Earl McCready, who returned on his sixth visit to New Zealand to-day. Wrestling was booming in Canada and the United States, he said.