Lou Thesz vs Masa Chono

[mikosaaol]

lou thez artificial hip gave out......caused him to tap out.

[RemoteCellularUnlock]

Great stuff.

[ExplosivoFueled]

Masahiro Chono was trained by the great Antonio Inoki.

Antonio Inoki was trained by the great Rikidozan.

Lou Thesz wrestled all three of those men.

[Chuloloc]

Awesome. Amazing in every sense of the word. Dispite the defeat, Lou was very impressive. Definitely, the greatest wrestler of all time. RIP, Lou Thesz.

[winfir0]

hey lou thez looked faboulous but he taught chono everything

[winfir0]

hey lou thez looked faboulous

[silverbeast75]

the innovator of the power bomb man it would be cool to have a time machine and bring all the old schoolers like Karl gotch Lou thesz and killer kowalski oh well i guess i have to settle with raw vs smack down create a wrestler feature

[HollywoodKendrick]

72??? Yeah right.

[ArnoldOldSchool]

@HollywoodKendrick 74, oops

[ArnoldOldSchool]

@HollywoodKendrick

[Pintassilgo12]

''Give me your money, old man!''

*sheerdrop driver, sunset flip, and lou thesz press*

''These youngsters are way too free! Back in my day...''

[astrosteve]

Lou Thesz was a true badass. He's 74 in this match and still could put a lot of guys in WWE today to shame. A few weeks ago The Miz said Lou Thesz was 'nothing' compared to him. I think Miz has a case of dyslexia, because the opposite is surely true.

Great match, great way to end a career.

[mkl62]

Lou Thesz was the NWA World's Heavyweight Champion on March 7, 1965. And I hope that everyone reading this has a Happy New Year.

[DefLeppardVanHalen]

This was a real passing the torch between Thesz and Chono.

[cmhero85]

Lots of Respect to Chono... imagine Thez vs Johnny Saint... classic. One thing about wrestling dream matches... anything is possible. Thez is and forever will be in a Hall of Fame... WWE will induct him and it will be long overdue... just understand the times and trends... but understanding roots, he deserves to be there beside Andre the Giant. And Chono like Inoki deserves to be in WWE hall of fame

[getodachoppa1]

Look how respectful Lou Thesz was. Class act. RIP Lou...

[MadcrazeTV]

All I can say is thank God for Japan, and thank God for Lou Thesz.

[WillyMac99]

Is it me or does Thesz kind of look like RObert Duvall here?

[PWisArt]

R.I.P Don Thesz, The Godfather of Professional Wreslting.

[dackbinder]

Bad ass... Excellent match... Great the way the story was told.

[richimusprime]

It's amazing how long his career lasted, and the fact that he was a world champion at 21!!! Younger than Orton!!

[Sanguiluna]

@richimusprime Actually, this one documentary I watched said that Thesz won his first world title at the age of 18! o_O

[brentr82]

THE MOST HATED WRESTLER IN JAPAN VS THE GREATESTS WRESTLER OF THE 50s AND 60s,R.I.P. LOU THESZ.

[phoneix91]

Lou Thez was a real badass for still wrestling at age 74.

[judopathoftruth]

Amazing at 74 he could work it

true grappler as he is a catch wrestler

[Padulas]

he was very strong for a 74 year old guy

[GentileReadingList]

thesz hardly has any gray hair at all.

[eslubin]

What Keith Hernandez, Walt Frazier and Emmitt Smith know won't hurt em

[Sanguiluna]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Chono-san was Thesz's last great student.

[EvilJeter]

You are correct. There was a lot of references to Lou Thesz "handing over" the STF to Chono during his runs in WCW.

[AziaXtreme]

I'm surprised Thesz let Chono win this match

[Sanguiluna]

It was a believable ending. He knew that a 74-year old man beating his 27-year old prodigy wouldn't be credible, even IF that 74-year old man was Lou Thesz.

[BOREDUMBAS]

On roids in the 70's my arms were 20" & no neck (Literally) & had to step sideways through doors at 116 kilo & one day after training hard (Heavy sweat) 4-hours straight my 72-year-old ex commando Dad figured I-should be taken down a peg so he said "RECKON YOU'RE FIT BOY" & of course I-said "YEAH" & he said "WATCH THIS" & grabbed the lintel with his fingertips & touched his toes over his head 3-times without curling his arms or stomach then said "DO-THAT" & it took me a year to do one...

[RockDempsey]

It's funny these old school wrestlers aren't much to look at. Yet in a real no holds-barred wrestling match guys like Gotch and Thesz would most likely destroy a lot of the steroid abusing freaks we see today.

[BOREDUMBAS]

I-was fast hard & pretty aerobic & could punch body & head like Foreman (Scary) but when Dad did that 3-times then left his feet 5-inches off the ground for ten seconds after the 3rd time his feet touched the wall over his head & casually talked without a quiver in his voice from a straining diaphragm I-thought about his commando training & realised he could have kicked my arse bad... I-took up kung-fu (Really) & trained harder & never forgot his lesson about never underestimating ANYONE...

[LOKITUPISBACK]

lous thesz was an amazing athlete and i love this match, but how am i supposed to believe that a 72 year old man can beat up an amazing wrestler in the prime of his career?

[johncenahillsong]

this wrestler is better than all the wwe

mexican wrestling and japanese wrestling are better than american wrestling

aunque les duela gringos

[smashupdriver]

damn it. finally got to see this match. read about it. Lou you did a great job. thanks for posting this Arnold. he wrestled like it was yesterday. no ring rust there. thanks Lou!!!!

[TheForgottenFlesh]

All say it before and I'll say it again.

Thez>>>>>Flair.

End of story.

[jakemcclain30]

Lou, at this age, BLOWS 90% of the WWE roster away.

Put a time machine of 1990 Lou vs Rick Steamboat of now. Would embarass just about that whole locker room.

[RPenta]

@jakemcclain30

How can you say that BROTHA? Did Lou Thesz follow the demandments of Hulkamania to train, say his prayers and take his ster. . .I mean vitamins?

[McMahonHater]

@jakemcclain30 Thez in his prime vs Hart in the early 90's would have been another good one.

[ajhayes]

Looking at this and then looking at WWE is just sad. Thesz at this age still puts on a better match than Cena could ever hope to.

[jamdawg]

I believe Thesz had an artificial hip by that time, but was still in amazing shape for an older man. He was also still teaching wrestling. Chono was one of his students. This was basically a sparring session with an audience.

[HugoRune1976]

0:25 thats a pretty crisp suplex for a 74 year old

[jus2sik]

im guessing you typed the wrong time

[HugoRune1976]

2:52

:)

[riverpotato]

Listen to the astonished sound the crowd makes at 6:53 as Thesz bridges completely off the mat for a brief moment with Chono on top of him. They seem to be chanting his name around 7:20. He was very popular in Japan. I wonder if he knew at the time this would be his last match.

[TruStory007]

Some say he was greatestest wrestler of all time.

[Lfdjake91]

Fantastic. Even at 74 YO Lou Thesz was still credible in the ring.

[goodlookin41]

is that lou thesz making them breathing sounds?

[NewsMan580]

holy shit. I can only hope to be in that kind of shape when I'm 74. Hell, I'm not even close to it at 25.

[washington95]

he was 74 at this time

[9InchWarrior]

I honestly reckon Bruno and Thesz would've had a decent scrap. I absolutely love Bruno, so I'd vote for him to win, but in his absolute prime, I think Thesz would've been far too dangerous even for the mighty Italian Strongman. To put it in a modern context, it could be similar to Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar (Thesz being Angle, of course), though I think Bruno would embody Lesnar more in terms of pure power than wrestling skill. I think Bruno could've proven a tough match for Thesz

[Lfdjake91]

Bruno was legit strong but had no shoot wrestling skills, no way would he have ben able to hang with Thesz. Also Angle reportedly easily best Lesner in a backstage amatuere sparring session.

[Drumshanbohustle]

This is 1990, isn't it? So Thesz is 74 years old (and seven months!).

How great would it be to see some promotion or other put their title belt on a REAL wrestler...

[ryanrider]

Wow first time I've seen this match...he was still amazing even in his old age.

[AtomicDogStudios]

HE SHOULD BE IN THE WWE HALL OF FAME!

[HirotakiBukkake]

Lou Thesz WAS wrestling, and more importantly, what wrestling SHOULD be today. He was professional, athletic and a gentleman. Today's talent can't compare at any level. MHO.

Thank you, Lou! R.I.P.

[PoppaDon317]

what year was this?

[georgyfontaine28]

December 26, 1990

[djpraiseadelik]

Awesome match...Lou at 72 could still get it done. Wanna talk about a dream match? Flair vs. Thesz retirement match. Won't ever happen...maybe in heaven ten or fifteen years from now w/ God as the ref!

[chris11212]

This was greatness right here! R.I.P. Mr. Thesz!

[MaxK18]

While he is not my all time favorite, Lou Thesz was quite possible the greatest pure wrestler who have ever lived!

[louthesz]

the greatest

[LOKITUPISBACK]

lou thesz was amazing, r.i.p

[TheDeadManINC]

it said on wikipedia that he invented the power bomb when botched a pile driver but than again people just write what they want on that shitty site.

[NathanArnoldCharging]

You idiot, Thesz botched a powerbomb and inadvertantly invented the piledriver. Not the other way around. And Orton barely survived Angle's shoot style... Randy wouldn't last 5min in the ring with Thesz!

[TheDeadManINC]

You call me an idiot and yet you're completely wrong? Yeah, you Aren't a hypocrite. Thesz botched a piledriver and let go of his opponent and the guy landed on his back, They didn't do powerbombs back in his day, they did neck breakers, scoop slams, PILEDRIVERS (!), ETC.. Yeah wrestling is real and i'm sure Thesz's shoot style would make a difference against Orton, Vince would make him (Lou) take the RKO and job to Orton.

[geldofpunk]

The piledriver came before the powerbomb.

[TheDeadManINC]

If he was alive today WWE would bring him in and let Orton RKO him lol...

[wrestler50000]

It is very sad to think, but you are right!

If Thesz was in his prime today Vince probably hire him to give WWE extra publicity but I am very sure to say that Lou would be more of a jobber than anything else. He would probably be there to push younger talent. However, Thesz was very smart at making business deals and I don't think he would be interested in the WWE product. It just isn't his form of wrestling.

Thesz was professional, and did what was right for the business. Lou is awesome! RIP

[wrestler50000]

Lou was one of a few that kept Pro Wrestling as a serious sport. Noone messed with Lou Thesz!

Today in most wrestling promotions and even WWE... you don't need to know real wrestling moves. All you need is to be athletic and be able to put on a show, sell, etc. This is why I left Pro Wrestling because I feel that is disrespectful towards its roots. Now, I am a decent submission wrestler. If I go back to pro wrestling, I would love to do matches the way Thesz did them. Old-School is the way! LOL

[Lfdjake91]

Where & When did you wrestle?

[wrestler50000]

I got into Pro Wresting a few years ago, and did some local shows in the UK. I am not a big guy (compared to typical Pro Wrestler size) but did do some great matches. Some was on tape, but cant find any. Their just local shows, not TV stuff, but could have gone that direction if I stayed in Pro Wrestling.

Reality kicked in that I was "pretending" to be a wrestler, and when I saw myself in this fashion, started seeing wrestling matches differently, which led me to studying guys like Thesz.

;-)

[wrestler50000]

Part 2,

I still have an involvement in Pro Wrestling, as a few I keep in touch with (old school wrestlers) stick to wrestling form, as oppose to typical (WWE) style which doesn't interest me at all. Unfortunately, most promotions follow that form to keep the customers coming.

Today, I just enjoy doing MMA training and submission wrestling... Might do some fights, who knows?.

Peace

No personal attacks to WWE style, it just doesn't interest me.

[RoderickStrong]

Thesz was a a wrestling God, forget about the idiot, JBL. Thesz invented more moves than most wrestlers even forget. RIP, Lou

[newschoolz]

awesome always wanted to c this match

[rhomdizzale2]

id choose a 72 year old thesz over half of the wwe roster!

[newschoolz]

yah isnt that sad but thats what u get with wwe crap if it was wcw around and wwe wasnt wrestling would be better

[CACKFUCKINGCACK]

Thesz' arms are LONG!

[FaustusInferno]

@Alphaz559 This guy was throwing guys around the ring before you were even a streak mark in your mommas puss, boy. Piss off as you know nothing.

[robbystlace]

Sammartino would of seriously hurt thesz I believe. Yes Thesz was an experienced shooter and top at his profession, but Sammartino was a power house and was a lot stronger and heavier than Thesz. Thesz was 225 on a good day and back then Sammartino was weighing in at 285. It would of been a good match I believe. They was going to have Bruno beat Thesz at one time but Bruno refused because of the time frame.

[NathanArnoldCharging]

I disagree. Thesz was a master in the art of "hooking", a more lethal technique than BJJ, which believes that strength and power doesn't make much difference in an outcome when against a hooker like Thesz. Whether you're bigger or smaller, each individual has what are called "pressure points" and there are many of them throughout the body. And in "hooking", once you know how to manipulate these pressure points, you can literally bring a giant down in pain, regardless of muscle mass.

[JPThunder01]

Unless that giant knows how to hook as well, in which case size does come into play.

[jerrybishopxwe]

that old fuck woulda beat your ass, dude was a wrestler for real. back before it was staged.

[brottarnacke]

@jerrybishopxwe No he wasn't. Pro wrestling's been staged since the 1920's. But he's damn good.

[jamesgville]

@brottarnacke I know what your saying but there actually were legit shoots from time to time all the way into the 70's. That's why the champ's allways had to be legit hookers so they could defend themselves in a shoot. That all went out the window with Hogan and the WWF in the early 80's.

[austinlbuckner]

@jerrybishopxwe While I don't doubt the fact that Lou could beat anyone and everyone's ass, pro wrestling was still staged the ENTIRE time Lou Thesz was doing it.

[FlowerFlo1983]

Thesz had a worthy opponent for his last match. Today Chono is a legend in Japan.

[thunderbare]

you have to feel bad for chono here he is fighting a guy like 3 times his age and is being made to look foolish as for thez I think his last wrestling match was in japan and he was like 75 when it happend why japan simple thats where they wrestle not mcmahons wrestling enternatinment circus of roid heads

[quicker2006]

thez was a real hooker

hed have sammartino on the mat in seconds out like a light

[mkl62]

He may have lost but Thesz went out a winner in everyone's eyes. Masa Chono would win the NWA Title from Rick Rude in August 1992 when they were reactivating it. When Rude won it from Ric Flair in September 1993, the NWA had severed ties with WCW, so the belt was now the WCW International Title. What a farce.

[FatsoFatman]

actually he was 74

[mikextreme]

Lou should have won that one but oh well, we win some and we lose some.

[theredraven]

You mean NJPW's future hot star and the guy Thesz taught should lose to a 72 year old who could hardly wrestle at all anymore?

[btmscl03]

man...he was such the real deal...who else competed or competes now into their 80's...and looks in the asthetic shape that lou does...a real professional...way ahead of his time!

[BryanJingus]

Nobody competes into their 80s, unless you count Mae Young. The only wrestler I can think of who beats Lou's record is Gypsy Joe, who still wrestles every week even though he's about 75 (nobody knows his exact real age, but he's way up there).

[DefLeppardVanHalen]

December 26th, 1990.

[mysteriowc]

The moves Thesz is using are very awesome!

[louthesz]

RIP Lou, John Cena wouldn't even make the queue to lick your boots

[louthesz]

An incredible effort. No-one with any common sense can critcise a 74 year old man and arguably the greatest World Champion of all time - he clearly put everything he had in this match and when most wrestlers are done or dead by the age of 45, Lou Thesz pulled off a truly remarkable contest. If you watch other videos of his performances, how he got even close to performing the way he did 50 years ago is amazing.

[Phoenix7786]

A pity Thesz just couldn't hit that powerbomb but I admire the way the crowd cheered for him anyways. Shows great respect for the efort. Also, at what point did Thesz throw his hip out? Was it the landing during the powerbomb attempt?

[astrosteve]

He threw his hip out when he was bridging to break the pins. He likely would have gotten that powerbomb off if he hadn't thrown his hip out. Though I'm wondering if it was supposed to be a pile driver.

[smudgeVIW]

it was probably going for the move he invented the ORigianl powerbomb/ganso bomb/hangmans DDT

[JTZissman]

According to his biography "Hooker", his hip went out as he was preparing to drop him into the power bomb, or, as he called it "the reverse body slam". Just to clear up the age thing, Lou was born April 24, 1916, which makes him 74 on December 16, 1990.

[gottheyayo]

Thesz is the best ever and anyone who says he isn't, doesn't know wrestling.

[mferg240]

bruno sammartino was better,and in a real fight outside of the ring he would have destroyed the 230 pound thesz.

[thunderbare]

I am a big fan of bruno and you are right outside the ring bruno was formidable having said that lou thez was a shooter if it went outside the ring he brought it back in fast because his strengh lied between the ropes bruno is like 74 now and still looks like he could really raise havoc even today

[Hoodooswamp]

I have always wanted to see this match! Thank you so much for uploading it!

[wrestler50000]

I want to correct myself as although I said this match was slow, I actually disagree as it follows the Thesz style rather well. How other people say that this match was okay or mentioned the "f" up's obviously don't appreciate was Thesz done here. Chono obviously respects Thesz, and he did his part also. This is still a class act!! Great stuff.

[wrestler50000]

Yes, this match is rather slow in a sense that one of the guys is over 70 years old. However, this 70 year old is one of the best wrestlers ever in Pro Wrestling. Sure, he is bound to make mistakes, but still a great performance by Thesz. He is in great shape here, and I would watch this guy ANYDAY than the crap seen in "sports entertainment".

[seatownbeatdown]

WOW, it's rare I see a truly touching moment in wrestling anymore but that really brought chills. Just thinking about being Chono to pick up the win over Thesz with the move he invented in his last match! Amazing. And if Thesz would have somehow hit that powerbomb (even a botched one) I would have marked out, glad the audience still cheered afterwards for the effort.

[wallywest219]

A weak match. Thesz was really slow and weak in this, However, it's better than half the crap that you see in WWE these days. Had Thesz done this in the WWF, he would have gotten throughly dominated and humiliated. In Japan, he was allowed to go out with the dignity and honor he deserved.

[JPThunder01]

The Japanese always had the utmost respect for the old stars.. heck I bet if Thesz wanted to stay in wrestling after that match they would've probably given him an IWGP title run.

[bjornar84]

I believe mr Thesz had a match against mr Inoki in 75.

[wallywest219]

You're wrong. In fact, so is the poster. Thesz was 73 at the time of this match and this was his very last match. And it was wonderful to see everyone to show respect to one of the greatest men to ever step foot inside a wrestling ring. A hero from a time where men were men and it was wrestling, not "sports-entertainment."

[rubenv101]

I think you're wrong on the age. From my magazines and what not, Thesz's age was 74 at the time of the match.

[BRANDONBISHOP]

CHONO = CLASS ACT for selling a 72 year old mans stuff

[jwctkd28]

Absolutely right Brandon, but that's no ordinary 72 year old man at all. You better sell for him.

[Sener]

too bad about the fuck ups :(

[Funkmonk]

Lou Thesz Greatest of all time

[wrestler50000]

72!! Fab stuff by Mr. Thesz!!

[youscrewedbret]

xuxa... vs masahiro chono YEAH!

[jestrada03]

thesz = pure class

[AdamBradbury]

GREAT MATCH!

[thebigandgreat1]

Great Match, I expect nothing less from Thesz even at that age. Chono caught him slipping at his older age but if this was 20 years earlier Thesz would have crushed his former protege.

[louthedog2007]

That opening back suplex by Thesz was great.... What a class act Thesz was.... True Legend