The Top Ten Moves of Karl Gotch

[carlos3salas]

All those were from one fight? Huh the top ten......

[mkl62]

I hope that Karl Gotch gets into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.

[ParrryHottter]

The Stranglehold is a cool move. Sad that I never see it used anymore.

[Somesubjekt]

a true wrestler

[DanesFreedom]

They were all stiff bastards in those days. Not as exciting to watch, but stiff as hell.

[RPenta]

Dragon, I guess with Thesz, and Hodge, and let's not forget Ken Shamrock, and Billy Robinson Gotch was the real shooter.

Iron Sheik said that Gotch once told Verne Gagne: don't **** with me; I am a killer in the ring and a king outside the ring.

[CMY187]

Since I did not see it in this video, Suicidaldragon, I wish to know: was Gotch the innovator of the Cradle Piledriver, popularized by Jerry Lynn?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Indeed

[CMY187]

@TheSuicidalDragon Thanks. Do you have any videos of Gotch executing the move, and if not, do you know of any?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

I don't, unfortunately.

[theraphn1]

@TheSuicidalDragon was sagst du denn da du fickschnitzel

[100tojennah]

After one training session at Hard Knox Wrestling in Cleveland, Ohio, I can testify that this wrestling is harder than it looks. These people just make it look easy..

[warzyxx]

legend

[ladbroke8]

was hoping for a star ship pain at the end

[SuperDUDERIKI]

@ladbroke8 LOL. 

[conradsdad]

One of the first matches I ever saw was Gotch and Goulet vs. King Curtis and Baron Scicluna, and the latter two beat the former for the WWWF titles.

[getodachoppa1]

0:37 was sweet... truly a pioneer and possibly the best shoot wrestler of all time.

[Missknowitall77]

Stiff piledriver!  I like this old-school type of wrestling. Looks so much realer.

[McEaux]

Tombston Piledriver Undertaker's move

[SuperDUDERIKI]

@McEaux Nope.

[durandutz]

he was the archetype of strong style IMO.

[JonathanVonErich]

Gotch was awesome, maybe not as great as Thesz, but he was great.

[BandakaKush]

Frank Gotch is my hero!

[TheLeroyMoon]

About the “…event known as the Holocaust:" Understatement is a difficult rhetorical technique. Its application here could be taken one of two ways: (i) as an attempt to emphasize Gotch’ mettle by attenuating the event or (ii) as a sign of ignorance. In either case, you should rewrite. Mention of the Holocaust evokes strong reactions; given its place in history; ignorance is inexcusable. Also, you could offend a lot of people when you mention it for the sake of a humorous understatement.

[kingpharaohtsar]

@TheLeroyMoon the lolacaust az we call it was 70 od years ago get over it im 3 of the groups of people killed im it itz called history nazis lost so lets just forget about it jews have made enuff cash bi now its time to move on

[FerretJohn]

@kingpharaohtsar First, learn how to spell. Second, Those who ignore the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. We never forget, the moment you forget is the moment you invite others to do it all over again.

[kingpharaohtsar]

@kingpharaohtsar so u think if we let it b that the lolacaust will happen again hate is not good so let the dead b nazi are gone an now the jews are doing the bad shit new bad guyz are u 1?

[VisionofOrion]

I'm sure most people in the WWF didnt want to cross paths with Gotch. I guess they were apprhensive to wrestle a stiff shooter.

[DeidaraXL]

Karl Gotch is awesome

man he's so technical

he's what got me watching Old school wrestling

[neomysterio]

Looks boring.

[powerpunch2]

R.I.P

[Scorpion14]

Man, that is some stiff wrestling there. He doesnt even look like he's doing a show. He looks like he's just beating the shit outta Inoki. That scoop slam looked damn legit.

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Gotch was one of the last of the Shooters breed, and really didn't find any success in the states due to his reputation.

[RPenta]

@TheSuicidalDragon

Dragon: have you heard the rumor that John Cena's next WWE movie will be based upon the life of Karl Gotch?

[TheLeroyMoon]

@RPenta I think you may be mistaking Karl Gotch for his namesake Frank Gotch, the first wrestler to unify the heavyweight championship titles. The WWE did purchase the rights to Frank's life story, and - according to wrestling historian and novelist Mike Chapman - were prepared to invest several millions into producing the story into a movie.

[hcjc57]

I've said this numerous times, but this time it really hits it home-this was when wrestling was WRESTLING! A huge thx 4 posting!

[mumiakickboxer]

muy bueno

[NYCman530]

LOL@Face scrape

[Nelly47yo]

Did he wrestle in WWF??

[TheSuicidalDragon]

He was there briefly, yes, though he was generally not welcomed, since some promoters thought that his style was a thing of the past.

[TheLeroyMoon]

@TheSuicidalDragon Gotch' style was never considered a relic. His self-indulgent personality and lack of charisma, however, were. Unlike Billy Robinson, also a Riley’ alumn, Gotch' personal traits are what led to his limited success stateside. There was no lack of shooters. Well into the 80s, promoters kept shooters around to strong-arm the disagreeable. Until the 70s, traveling champs needed the ability to shoot, lest they fall victim to a screwjob overseas & return without the belt.

[FerretJohn]

@Nelly47yo For a little bit, he was WWWF Tag Champ with Rene Goulet back in the early 70s I don't think Vince Sr though Karls style was "a thing of the past" but was concerned about his temper and stiffness

[Takerfanatic93]

Gotch is a legend and one of the biggest Pro-Wrestler the Business has ever saw. Just take a look how he wrestles.

[bradleybravo]

@Takerfanatic93 Hell yeah and he invented the German Suplex he made the move very popular and is a German Icon

[SilenceMoonClaw]

@bradleybravo the german Suplex hold was actually inovated by Lou Thesz and only named by Karl Gotch, since he was it's most prominent user

[KJGould]

@SilenceMoonClaw That's not actually correct. Thesz rear suplex is slightly different, Gotch called his version the Atomic Suplex (it was later named german by others in tribute to Gotch). Gotch learned the move from Greco-Roman wrestlers from Finland, where it was known as the Finnish Overthrow.

[SilenceMoonClaw]

@KJGould I take my hat off. You know your stuff. Do you by chance know the differences betwen rear Suplex and Atomic Suplex?

[KJGould]

@SilenceMoonClaw I think Thesz called his a Greco-Roman backdrop and used it like a folding press to get on top and pin. That's as much as I know in the differences between the two in that scenario.

[SilenceMoonClaw]

@KJGould Thanks.

[xIceBreakeramamaria]

Strange Hold = Straight Jacket Hold

[pedigreeY2J]

Belgium ! The country I'm from !

[verhoogje]

@pedigreeY2J wie we hier hebben XD You know me.. I'm that BWS student from Torhout... ;-) hehe

[eslubin]

not bad but you forgot the crooked head scissors, brother. thats #1

[liam6starr]

haha! nothing like vintage wrestling!

f**king sweet! nice one dragon!

[Mugel1981]

Karl Gotch is a REAL Wrestling God. He inovated Strong Style and the German Suplex.

[soir8]

@Mugel1981

I'm pretty sure Lou Thesz innovated the German Suplex, Gotch named it.

[SLiDaRr]

He innovated maybe the Backdrop suplex, a very similar move.

Karl Gotch has the "German Suplex" From a finn he respected. He himself called the move "Finnischer überwurf" (Finnish wrap). as far as I know.

[Gewinner123]

interesting! ( :

[MrWolf316]

your opinion. I was just thinking that Gotch Angle would be a great Wrestling match because the two of them had awesome amature styles combined with some strictly Pro Style moves. But Gotch vs pretty much anyone except Khali, Ma rk Henry, Chris Masters would probably be decent.

[EpicArt]

huh, I thought Gotch was born in Antwerp, Belgium to German parents. Oh well, my bad.

These are top tens i thoroughly enjoy. Got Gotch?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

I believe that's correct, actually.

[bertvg86]

It is, when he competed at the '48 Olympics, he represented Belgium. These past few years, I also worked out at a gym in Antwerp which used to be run by a local 'catch wrestler' by the name of Jack Deen. The place still has some old school posters billing 'Karl Istaz' at the Antwerp 'Sportpaleis', a large event hall that used to be popular for fighting sports events. No major facts, but still fun details to know, I think :)

[MrWolf316]

I just realized, the best Dream Match of all time, A match that I would bend time and Space to see, Karl Gotch vs Kurt Angle.

[CKNola]

Wow, that back to belly underhook suplex was really awesome, I'm surprised we don't see that more nowadays.

[CraigJericho]

The guys in WWE NEEDS to watch footage of the old-school as far as promos,ACTUAL WRESTling & other stuff goes.

[akuma634]

I don't think he had much or anything on film in the US though. All I've seen was his work in NJPW in the 70's and even then it's just not much. I wish there were more of his matches on film but I guess back then they didn't think filming a lot of events would be as profitable.

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Generally, wrestling has been filmed since the 1920s. It's simply a matter of the footage not existing anymore, which is unfortunate. How the hell am I supposed to make a top ten for The Strangler when I don't have enough to work with. :P

[Therevolvingdoor]

Here's a challenge: Steve Corino.

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Corino's will be back up eventually.

[Therevolvingdoor]

Wait, you had a Corino one? He actually has distinguishing maneuvers?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

I did, yeah. Not sure when it's going to be re-upped, if at all. The previous vid was missing the Old School Expulsion, so it probably won't be back up until I can find a usable clip of it. I've got a bad feeling it's going to be as frustrating as trying to get a usable shot of Jericho's Liontamer.

[QvsQ]

That counter is really one of a kind. Really genuine.

[00AwesomeOne00]

OMG! That BtB. D.U. Suplex is sooo cool... Why nobody uses it nowadays? (Or maybe somebody does but I don't know...?) You made my day day SD. Now I feel like watching some of this oldschool stuff :)

[vendetta941]

Yeah, its an awesome move.

And as for your question Gregory Helms used to do a single underhook version (sometimes he did double) that's the only person I remember doing it.

[00AwesomeOne00]

Thanks for the info. I must try to find some footage :)

[BigGoldenWolf]

thanks for this Top Ten,SD

[heavyhandeddoom]

How about a Billy Robinson Top Ten?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Right now, my footage of old school wrestling is pretty thin.

[KingAndy1992]

I say, there is a distinct lack of properly "old-school" anecdotes in the provided space beneath this video presentation.

[gregalon]

Number three: armbar!

These old school top tens are great. And although it rarely gets mentioned in the comments, the writeups/biographies are much appreciated. The video clips are just the appetizer - the biography is the main course.

[iALECZENG]

that reverse double hook suplex was amazing

[Quixotic311]

Was it Karl Gotch who invented the German Suplex?

[TheSuicidalDragon]

He named it, Lou Thesz invented it.

[deindafy28]

Guessing that videos of (Frank) Gotch, Hackeshmidt, Ed Lewis and Stanislaus Zbyszko (whom Larry named himself after) just to name a few, would be hard to come by due to the simple fact they were mostly active before movie cameras were around :)

Cool vid

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Actually, the movie camera came about in the late 1800s. However, it's doubtful whether any footage of those legends even survived this long.

[vendetta941]

if you could find a top ten of FRANK gotch, you'd be the man SD.

Well your already the man. But you'd be the manx20!

[LOKITUPISBACK]

frank retired before any matches were on film

[TheSuicidalDragon]

I would imagine a few of them were filmed, but whether they survived this long is certainly doubtful.

[vendetta941]

Guy can dream though, since Frank is the supposed innovator of the Ankle Lock.

[TheSuicidalDragon]

Defeated the great George Hackenschmidt with it almost a hundred years ago.

[UnstableProtagonist]

No finesse in Gotch's wrestling repertoire, esp. with the German Suplex. Once again, there's nothing like the old school!

[TheBalancedMan]

Great Top Ten. These old school legends innovate so many moves, and often you see better versions of it as younger guys come up, but I think its safe to say Gotch still has one of the smoothest looking Germans, period.

[Mistertbones]

Forget JBL, Karl Gotch is the true wrestling god. RIP Karl!

[FreeFloatingDropouts]

This is very cool. Thank you, Dragon.

[Makinorro13]

WOW, that Double Underhook Suplex was awesome. And the Counter Roll Up also is a good move t

[Superplex1001]

The German Suplex has to be the best move which could be used in just about any match you see by anyone, credit to this guy for naming it.

[PerfectChannel]

He give the German Suplex only his Name.

[seb2112]

Ok thats what I thought, thanks. Always wondered what was so GERMAN about that type of suplex!

[PerfectChannel]

No problem,dude

[seb2112]

Thesz invented the german suplex, but I assume Gotch named it the GERMAN suplex?

[dietfreeman42718]

Are we ever going to see a Rip Rogers Top Ten moves?

[ChikaraThemes]

Lulz I w1n I hazzzz 1St VIEW! XOMG!

Gotch is awesome. For some reason, i really like the face scrap.

Also isn't the Belly to Back a Double Overhook?

[Orton2008V2]

For all those who gave this guy thumbs down, he was taking the piss out of all the people who say first win.