Spain
#PWHS #Results #Europe #Spain
notes on pro-wrestling: before 1940
Pro wrestling in Spain dates back to the early 20th century when Greco-Roman pro wrestling tournaments were being held all across the country. The biggest Spanish star of that era was Javier Ochoa. Catch/U.S. style pro wrestling came to Spain in the 1930s. In Barcelona in particular the first known catch show took place on October 25, 1933. The card featured wrestlers from Raoul Paoli's French promotion. The headline match saw Henri Deglane defeat Sailor Arnold. The other names on the card were Len Hall, Dan Koloff, Hardy Kruskamp, Charlie Santen, Manuel Fullaondo and Louis Loew. Later on in 1936 at one point there were two groups of wrestlers working in Barcelona for a while, at the same time. One group had Wladek Zbyszko, Karol Nowina, Abe Kaplan, Dinarli Mehmed, Felix Kersic, Martin Zikoff, Carver Doone, Kara Ali, etc. The other group had Charles Rigoulot, Mike Brendel, Douglas Clark, Francois Berthod, Romeo Bukovac, Umberto Arpino, etc. Then the Spanish Revolution of 1936 took place and wrestling was put on hold.
Pro wrestling in Spain dates back to the early 20th century when Greco-Roman pro wrestling tournaments were being held all across the country. The biggest Spanish star of that era was Javier Ochoa. Catch/U.S. style pro wrestling came to Spain in the 1930s. In Barcelona in particular the first known catch show took place on October 25, 1933. The card featured wrestlers from Raoul Paoli's French promotion. The headline match saw Henri Deglane defeat Sailor Arnold. The other names on the card were Len Hall, Dan Koloff, Hardy Kruskamp, Charlie Santen, Manuel Fullaondo and Louis Loew. Later on in 1936 at one point there were two groups of wrestlers working in Barcelona for a while, at the same time. One group had Wladek Zbyszko, Karol Nowina, Abe Kaplan, Dinarli Mehmed, Felix Kersic, Martin Zikoff, Carver Doone, Kara Ali, etc. The other group had Charles Rigoulot, Mike Brendel, Douglas Clark, Francois Berthod, Romeo Bukovac, Umberto Arpino, etc. Then the Spanish Revolution of 1936 took place and wrestling was put on hold.
Notes by Phil Lions.
notes on pro-wrestling: 1940-1949
Things picked back up in the 1940s. Sala Gran Price, which had a capacity of 4,000 to 5,000, became the main wrestling arena in Barcelona. The promoter at the time was a guy by the name of Jose Pesudo and shows were held weekly, usually on Fridays. From the mid 1940s onwards another venue, Salon Iris, hosted weekly shows as well. And thus Barcelona had two weekly cards every week. Victor Castilla Sancha was working on those Salon Iris shows in the late 1940s under the name Castillo, and of course years later this Castillo would go on to be known as Quasimodo. In 1949 specifically the cards went up to three per week as for a while there were shows at Fronton Novedades, and later on Sunday shows at Gran Price. Pro wrestling in Barcelona was quite popular. Heading into 1946 the most popular Spanish wrestler was Victorio Ochoa. He was the son of Javier Ochoa and was the reigning Spanish Middleweight champion.
It's possible there may have been others before it, but the earliest mention that I can find of a wrestling show at a big bullring in Barcelona were a series of summer shows by empresa O. D. A., during 1946. The main stars on those shows were "El León Navarro" Victorio Ochoa (The Lion of Navarro), "El Tigre de Cataluña" Joaquin Saludes (The Tiger of Catalonia), Tomas Grau (a former three-time light heavyweight and one-time heavyweight Spanish national champion in amateur Greco-Roman wrestling) and Francisco Grifol (one of the first Spanish catch wrestlers in the mid 1930s). Another notable name was "El Capitán Maravillas" Julio Soria (Captain Marvels).
The matches in Barcelona were wrestled in four 5-minute rounds.
There were no bullring shows in Barcelona in 1947. 1947, however, saw the rise of "Cabeza de Hierro" Jose Tarres (Iron Head). He was a headliner at Gran Price and given that he was from Catalonia he was becoming a local hero of sorts for the fans in Barcelona, but also gaining popularity elsewhere in the country too.
There had been a few foreigners on the cards in previous years and then in 1948 Barcelona saw a huge upsurge in foreign wrestlers coming to wrestle in the city. Among the foreigners who worked in Barcelona in 1948: The French Angel (Maurice Tillet), Butcher Johnson, Jack Dale, Pat Curry, Jim Pantobe, Eric Husberg, Don Carver, Paul Leteurtrois, Marcel Manuel, Alphonse Zwahlen, Henri Cogan, Jean Casi, Frank Hewitt, Jean Jourlin, Felix Clody, Brossati, Joe Luis, Kid Zamboa, Cab Cashford, Tony Hall, Jo Baratte, Antonio Fusero, etc.
The first bullring show of 1948 was a significant one. Ever since 1935 the Englishman Jack Dale had been recognized in the UK as the British Middleweight champion. Then in 1947 he made his way to France and was now being billed as European Middleweight champion. As far as I know, there's no record of him ever winning such a title, but that didn't stop him from claiming it anyway. On June 29 1947 Dale dropped his European Middleweight Title claim to the French Middleweight champion Albert Arnaud. The match was held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris. I don't know if Dale won his claim back from Arnaud, but when he arrived in Barcelona in August 1948 he was billed as the European Middleweight champion. Beating Dale for said championship was Jose Tarres' defining moment in the 1940s.
The foreigners who worked at Gran Price in Barcelona in 1949: Eric Husberg, Raymond Bukovac, Brossati, Henri Cogan, Mike Brendel, Marcel Manuel, Stan Karolyi, Lou Rudelle, Andre Drapp, Lino Ventura, Gilbert Leduc, Vick Hesselle, Karl Pirock, Marcel Pawlas, etc.
The bullring shows in Barcelona in 1949 were an interesting case. They were all promoted by empresa Balañá/Pedro Balañá. He was the owner of the two biggest bullrings in Barcelona (Las Arenas and Monumental). I'm not sure if this was the case in 1948 too, but it appears the bullring shows in 1949 were considered opposition to the local Gran Price shows and therefore both shows used a different set of wrestlers. For example, the big Spanish names such as Tarres and Ochoa only worked for the Gran Price promotion as did the popular foreign stars like Karolyi, Drapp, Ventura, Leduc, etc. Some lower level wrestlers did jump from one promotion to another and there was one high profile jump later on in the year, which I'll discuss below. The first run of bullring shows featured headliners like the popular Portuguese wrestler Joe Luis, "The Spanish Gorilla" Eugenio Gonzalez (who would become a big star in France the following year), the Argentinian Cernada, the Mexican charro Madariaga and others.
Empresa Balañá's second run of bullring shows in 1949 was built around two names: Joaquin Saludes and "The Strangler" Grailet, who was now being billed as Dr. Grailet. Grailet was dominating his opponents and it seems like this was all building up to Saludes being the one to finally defeat the dangerous strangler, but things didn't work out like that in the end.
There was a series of big matches in November and December 1949 at Gran Price. A new face on the Barcelona scene was "The Strangler" Felix Lamban, who in 1949 had grown to be one of the most popular Spanish pro wrestlers along with Tarres and Ochoa.
Things picked back up in the 1940s. Sala Gran Price, which had a capacity of 4,000 to 5,000, became the main wrestling arena in Barcelona. The promoter at the time was a guy by the name of Jose Pesudo and shows were held weekly, usually on Fridays. From the mid 1940s onwards another venue, Salon Iris, hosted weekly shows as well. And thus Barcelona had two weekly cards every week. Victor Castilla Sancha was working on those Salon Iris shows in the late 1940s under the name Castillo, and of course years later this Castillo would go on to be known as Quasimodo. In 1949 specifically the cards went up to three per week as for a while there were shows at Fronton Novedades, and later on Sunday shows at Gran Price. Pro wrestling in Barcelona was quite popular. Heading into 1946 the most popular Spanish wrestler was Victorio Ochoa. He was the son of Javier Ochoa and was the reigning Spanish Middleweight champion.
It's possible there may have been others before it, but the earliest mention that I can find of a wrestling show at a big bullring in Barcelona were a series of summer shows by empresa O. D. A., during 1946. The main stars on those shows were "El León Navarro" Victorio Ochoa (The Lion of Navarro), "El Tigre de Cataluña" Joaquin Saludes (The Tiger of Catalonia), Tomas Grau (a former three-time light heavyweight and one-time heavyweight Spanish national champion in amateur Greco-Roman wrestling) and Francisco Grifol (one of the first Spanish catch wrestlers in the mid 1930s). Another notable name was "El Capitán Maravillas" Julio Soria (Captain Marvels).
The matches in Barcelona were wrestled in four 5-minute rounds.
There were no bullring shows in Barcelona in 1947. 1947, however, saw the rise of "Cabeza de Hierro" Jose Tarres (Iron Head). He was a headliner at Gran Price and given that he was from Catalonia he was becoming a local hero of sorts for the fans in Barcelona, but also gaining popularity elsewhere in the country too.
There had been a few foreigners on the cards in previous years and then in 1948 Barcelona saw a huge upsurge in foreign wrestlers coming to wrestle in the city. Among the foreigners who worked in Barcelona in 1948: The French Angel (Maurice Tillet), Butcher Johnson, Jack Dale, Pat Curry, Jim Pantobe, Eric Husberg, Don Carver, Paul Leteurtrois, Marcel Manuel, Alphonse Zwahlen, Henri Cogan, Jean Casi, Frank Hewitt, Jean Jourlin, Felix Clody, Brossati, Joe Luis, Kid Zamboa, Cab Cashford, Tony Hall, Jo Baratte, Antonio Fusero, etc.
The first bullring show of 1948 was a significant one. Ever since 1935 the Englishman Jack Dale had been recognized in the UK as the British Middleweight champion. Then in 1947 he made his way to France and was now being billed as European Middleweight champion. As far as I know, there's no record of him ever winning such a title, but that didn't stop him from claiming it anyway. On June 29 1947 Dale dropped his European Middleweight Title claim to the French Middleweight champion Albert Arnaud. The match was held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris. I don't know if Dale won his claim back from Arnaud, but when he arrived in Barcelona in August 1948 he was billed as the European Middleweight champion. Beating Dale for said championship was Jose Tarres' defining moment in the 1940s.
The foreigners who worked at Gran Price in Barcelona in 1949: Eric Husberg, Raymond Bukovac, Brossati, Henri Cogan, Mike Brendel, Marcel Manuel, Stan Karolyi, Lou Rudelle, Andre Drapp, Lino Ventura, Gilbert Leduc, Vick Hesselle, Karl Pirock, Marcel Pawlas, etc.
The bullring shows in Barcelona in 1949 were an interesting case. They were all promoted by empresa Balañá/Pedro Balañá. He was the owner of the two biggest bullrings in Barcelona (Las Arenas and Monumental). I'm not sure if this was the case in 1948 too, but it appears the bullring shows in 1949 were considered opposition to the local Gran Price shows and therefore both shows used a different set of wrestlers. For example, the big Spanish names such as Tarres and Ochoa only worked for the Gran Price promotion as did the popular foreign stars like Karolyi, Drapp, Ventura, Leduc, etc. Some lower level wrestlers did jump from one promotion to another and there was one high profile jump later on in the year, which I'll discuss below. The first run of bullring shows featured headliners like the popular Portuguese wrestler Joe Luis, "The Spanish Gorilla" Eugenio Gonzalez (who would become a big star in France the following year), the Argentinian Cernada, the Mexican charro Madariaga and others.
Empresa Balañá's second run of bullring shows in 1949 was built around two names: Joaquin Saludes and "The Strangler" Grailet, who was now being billed as Dr. Grailet. Grailet was dominating his opponents and it seems like this was all building up to Saludes being the one to finally defeat the dangerous strangler, but things didn't work out like that in the end.
There was a series of big matches in November and December 1949 at Gran Price. A new face on the Barcelona scene was "The Strangler" Felix Lamban, who in 1949 had grown to be one of the most popular Spanish pro wrestlers along with Tarres and Ochoa.
Notes by Phil Lions.
notes on pro-wrestling: 1950-1951
The bullring shows of 1950 started in July. They were once again promoted by Pedro Balañá. All of the shows were at Plaza de toros de las Arenas. This run of shows did not last long. Around the same time the Gran Price promotion moved their shows from the smaller Gran Price arena to what was called Palacio de los Deportes at the time, but the following year it would become known as Pabellon del Deporte. This was not the Palacio de los Deportes arena that was opened in 1955. Rather this was an open-air racetrack that could seat anywhere between 7,000 to 10,000 depending on the event. Now for the first time in Barcelona there were two competing groups running open-air shows at the same time. The Gran Price/Palacio promotion would run their "A" shows on Thursdays and their "B" shows on Sundays. Those weren't bullring shows, but they were also big open-air shows so they're worth writing about.
1951 was a very interesting year in Barcelona for the fact that during the summer months not one, not two, but three weekly shows were being held at major venues in the city. Pedro Balañá once again promoted wrestling events at his bullrings, but this time he would have one during the week at the 14,893-seat Plaza de toros de las Arenas and a second show on Sundays at the 19,582-seat Plaza de toros Monumental. As they had done the year before the Gran Price promotion also ran big open-air events during the summer and those were held at Pabellon del Deporte, which had a capacity of 7,000 to 10,000. Unfortunately, attendance numbers are not available (beyond a few vague mentions here and there), but I would imagine business must have been pretty good for there to be so many big venue shows during the summer.
The rosters for those shows were an interesting case too. As usual, the bullring shows and the Gran Price/Pabellon shows started off with completely separate rosters. One group had Felix Lamban and Pedro Bengoechea as its Spanish headliners, while the other one had Jose Tarres, Victorio Ochoa and Jim Oliver. As of 1951 those were the five most popular pro wrestlers in Spain, Oliver and Bengoechea being the newest sensations on the scene. Each group also had its own foreign wrestlers too - Stan Karolyi, Gilbert Leduc and Bolo Hakawa being the top foreign names for the Gran Price promotion while empresa Balañá had Jos Wolbach, Roger Laroche, Claude Montourcy, Rene Bukovac, etc. But then in August wrestlers started working for both groups. I'm not sure why that was, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
The bullring shows of 1950 started in July. They were once again promoted by Pedro Balañá. All of the shows were at Plaza de toros de las Arenas. This run of shows did not last long. Around the same time the Gran Price promotion moved their shows from the smaller Gran Price arena to what was called Palacio de los Deportes at the time, but the following year it would become known as Pabellon del Deporte. This was not the Palacio de los Deportes arena that was opened in 1955. Rather this was an open-air racetrack that could seat anywhere between 7,000 to 10,000 depending on the event. Now for the first time in Barcelona there were two competing groups running open-air shows at the same time. The Gran Price/Palacio promotion would run their "A" shows on Thursdays and their "B" shows on Sundays. Those weren't bullring shows, but they were also big open-air shows so they're worth writing about.
1951 was a very interesting year in Barcelona for the fact that during the summer months not one, not two, but three weekly shows were being held at major venues in the city. Pedro Balañá once again promoted wrestling events at his bullrings, but this time he would have one during the week at the 14,893-seat Plaza de toros de las Arenas and a second show on Sundays at the 19,582-seat Plaza de toros Monumental. As they had done the year before the Gran Price promotion also ran big open-air events during the summer and those were held at Pabellon del Deporte, which had a capacity of 7,000 to 10,000. Unfortunately, attendance numbers are not available (beyond a few vague mentions here and there), but I would imagine business must have been pretty good for there to be so many big venue shows during the summer.
The rosters for those shows were an interesting case too. As usual, the bullring shows and the Gran Price/Pabellon shows started off with completely separate rosters. One group had Felix Lamban and Pedro Bengoechea as its Spanish headliners, while the other one had Jose Tarres, Victorio Ochoa and Jim Oliver. As of 1951 those were the five most popular pro wrestlers in Spain, Oliver and Bengoechea being the newest sensations on the scene. Each group also had its own foreign wrestlers too - Stan Karolyi, Gilbert Leduc and Bolo Hakawa being the top foreign names for the Gran Price promotion while empresa Balañá had Jos Wolbach, Roger Laroche, Claude Montourcy, Rene Bukovac, etc. But then in August wrestlers started working for both groups. I'm not sure why that was, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
Notes by Phil Lions.
