WRESTLING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 178, 30 July 1932, Page 4

WRESTLING

ELLIOT IN WANGANUI WANGANUI MAN APPEALS FAST AND COLOURFUL STYLE Two thousand wrestling enthusiasts were turned away from the Leichhardt ■Stadium, Sydney, on a recent occasion, when tho attraction was a, bout between Tom Lurieli, the ‘‘Russian lion,’’ and King Elliot, formerly of Wanganui and Auckland. It was a return bout. Lu rich defeated Elliot, on this occasion by catching the cx-Auckland policeman on the jaw with his boot. Each had gained a fall prior to this incident. With Elliot knocked out Lurich had merely to apply a body press for the deciding fall. Tho incident occurred when Elliot endeavoured to throw the Russian over the ropes. Wanganui people who know Elliot will smile at the “ballyhoo” which has been put over in some quarters on the other side of the Tasman, particularly the frequent references to King Elliot as the American mat man. Tho account of the first bout between Lurich and Elliot as it appeared in the Newcastle morning paper on July I,”>, makes interesting reading. Here it is: The increasing popularity of the wrestling, boxing and vaudeville programmes presented at the Newcastle Stadium on Tuesday nights was demon st.rated last night, when, notwithstanding the bad weather, there was another largo attendance. Tom Lurich, 14.2, and King Elliot, 14.0, met in th” wrestling contest, svhich was scheduled ’or six 10-miuuto rounds. Jim McMaster was the refereo. The bout, in which there was some rough work, resulted in a draw. Each scored a fall. On more than one occasion Lurich, resenting rhe referee’s intervention, got into holds with him, but the refereo showed that he knew how to take care of himself. Elliot, throw Lurich with a reverse double tzristlcck almost immediately after the first round opened, and soon had Lurich struggling in a short-arm scissors. When Lurich broke free Elliot applied a hammcrlock, and using his knee bumped Lurich around the ring. When Elliot charged with a flying tackle Lurich retreated through the ropes. When ho ro-entered the ring Elliot threw him with a flying mare, and then applied an arm-stretch. After breaking away from a short-arm scissors, Lurich headlocked Elliot and struck him in the abdomen with his knee. Elliot struck him in tho abdomen, and Lurich aimed several swings for the head, but missed.

Elliot brought Lurich down with a head throw in tho next round, and struck him with elapsed hands on. the napo of tho neck. Continuing to attack Elliot threw him with a reverse double wristloek, and applied a head scissors. After a struggle on the mat Lurich was thrown through the rones. Elliot obtain a fall five minutes 40 seconds after the start of tho round with a flying tackle and mody press. Lurich successfully countered a toe-hold with a face-bar in the third round, after failing to make Elliot release tho grip by pulling his hair. Lurirh sent Elliot hurtling through tho ropes with a head throw, but Elliot attacking when ho returned to the ring brought him down with a reverse double wristlock. Lurich threw him over the ropes, but Elliot landed on his feet. Lurich threw Elliot

over the ropes and slapped at him before he returned to the ring. When the referee intervened Lurich began io struggle with him. McMaster is a big man, and to the delight of the crowd he put a headlock on uLrieh and threw him heavilv.

The wrestlers engaged in some fast and colourful work in the next round without either gaining a fall. At one stage Elliot was on his back kicking at Lurich, and a little later Lurieli imitated him and grimaced at him. Elliot struck Lurich on the nape of the nock several times after the fifth round opened, but Lurich obtained a fall with a body scissors two minutes 10 seconds after the start of the round. Referee and wrestlers were involved in a struggle on the mat in tho last round, in tho course of which Lurich put a body scissors on the referee, but he soon released the hold to pay attention to Elliot. Irritated when Elliot, camo at him with a flying tackle, Lurich retreated through the ropes, and picking up a box used for holding sawdust threw it at Elliot, but without hitting him. They exchanged solid slaps in the ring a little later. Lurich went outside the ring when Elliot attacked but Elliot headlocked him back. The round closed without a further fall, and the referee declared the result a draw. Another Bout. An account of a bout between Elliot and Lundyn, whom Wanganui wrestling enthusiasts will remember, shows that Elliot is in his best form, though the repeated references to the Wanganui man as “The American” will be appreciated. The account proceeds: American King Elliot staged his best display at Loichardt on {Saturday night in his bout with Lundyn, and was a shade unlucky not to have gained referee McMaster’s verdict at tho end of the sixth round. Elliot was the faster of tho pair, used more holds, aud was the aggressor in most of the sessions. Lundyn is regarded as our fastest matman, and on Saturday night Elliot occasionally made him look very slow. Tho American took the first fall in the third round with a body press after having buffeted Lundyn round tho ring with a series of flying tackles. Lundyn appeared to be badly hurt, but ho was the aggressor in the fourth, and squared accounts in tho fifth. Elliot capitulating after struggling against a head scissors and hammcrlock for several minutes. The finl session was a fitting finale to a very fine match. Neither man, however. was able to clinch the issue, al though Elliot, was within an ace of pinning his man on several occasions. McMaster took the line of least re sistanco and called it a draw. “Mystery Mau of Mat. The Australian Boxing Ring makes the following commentary after tho Elliot-Lurich bout in Sydney: What, is the cause of tho sudden frenzied interest being taken in wrestling .in Australia? Some declare the mat game has come into its own because of the failure of some sports promotion schemes to give the patrons a run fur their money. Whatever It is. we do know that, wrestling has 1 taken patronage from several other branches of sport, ami there certainly must be a reason for it. “Colour” may be the answer to it, all, and tho rnatmen have plenty of it. Take King Elliot, newly arrived American wrestler, whose match with Tom Luri' h. is reviewed elsewhere in

this issue, King is introducing the “flying tackle” for tho first time in this country. Abie Coleman gave a very feeble imitation of it, but this husky young man used the genuine ono hundred per cent, branl-on-the-bottle article.

“Billy Goat.’’ Sonnenberg first introduced this spectacular method of “bumping off” opponents, and he butted his way to world championship honours.

Thon somebody stepped aside one night as ho camo hurtling through tho air at them, and “The Billy Goat” spent, the next six months in hospital. Somebody stepped aside from King ono night not. ro long ago in El Paso, Texas, and he finished up in tho fourth row ringside, with a badly gashed eye and broken arm. Sydney fans are due for a thrill when he struts his stuff w’ith Lurich, Labriola, Meeske and Browning at Leichhardt.

King Elliot has another hold, a secret one, which ho is just dying to try on someone. Ho may use it in Australia, or ho may keep it bottled up for Jim Londos, when he returns to the States. Whichever wav you look at him. King Elliot is “ The' Mystery Man of Matdom.” The rest of this article went on to explain a few of King’s holds, but the writer has scrapped it after watching this mat marvel in action last Saturday night, at Leichhardt. Aside from his murderous “flying tackle.” Elliot has at his command a staggering repertoire of holds. He uses Ted Thye’s tricky wrist locks in a way that would make Thye envious of his own pet hold, lie damped hold after hold on the Russian, and Lurich had to wrestle flat out tn make it a draw. Virile Elliot with his wrist locks and flying tackles is a welcome impetus to the mat game here. Wrestling fans should follow his matches closely—he never docs the same thing twice