Episode 56 – Working Outside the US

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In this episode, we discuss wrestlers and jiu jitsu fighters working matches in Brazil. We also review WWE’s King and Queen of the Ring.

We had a few audio issues in this episode but the audio was still usable. We should correct the issue in June. We will be back to the normal recording studio in July.

Update

Due to my busy work schedule, we are returning to last year’s podcast schedule for the summer. We will post an episode on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Mondays (when we have one), in June, July, and August. We will relook at the schedule in September 2024.

I discovered in researching the new book on John “The Nebraska Tigerman” Pesek that a lot of the information previously published about the Pesek versus Nat Pendleton match is not correct. I have corrected it in the book and will give disclaimers in the future on any topic I have not researched thoroughly.

Main Content

While I understand the reasons behind working wrestling matches in the United States, wrestlers have worked matches around the world.

While reading Choque, Volume 1 and Volume 2 (affiliate links), I discovered many of the jiu jitsu fighters and wrestlers in Brazil worked their matches also. The notable exception being Helio Gracie.

In 1938, Wladek Zbyszko traveled to Brazil. Zbyszko primarily worked the matches but wrestled two legitimate matches against George Gracie and Helio Gracie. George Gracie was the family champion before Helio. George had a falling out with Carlos Gracie, which led to George leaving the Gracie Academy.

The 47-year-old Zbyszko defeated 27-year-old George. Zbyszko could not beat 25-year-old-Helio in a match that went to a draw.

George admitted working matches for the money to supplement his martial arts instruction income. Most jiu jitsu fighters, other than Helio, fought challenge matches because the money for martial arts instruction did not pay all their bills.

Even though George did not get along with Carlos, and Helio by extension, George vouched for Helio saying Helio never took part in a fixed match.

Review

Dan and I discuss the WWE King and Queen of the Ring premium live event on Saturday, May 25, 2024, from Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. I rated three of the matches on the five match card as excellent. I thought one match was good and one match was an absolute head scratcher.

It is the first event that Paul Levesque did not hit it out of the ballpark. Still much better than the last ten years under Vince McMahon.

Our next episode will be Monday, June 10, 2024 and cover the three match series in 1926 between Joe Stecher and John Pesek.

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