Here is a classic WWF match featuring young Sam Houston, looking fresh faced and smooth in his shiny white trunks, against a thicker, hairier Steve Lombardi. These rookie vs. veteran, or Boy vs. Man, match ups are very common in pro wrestling. The eager kid takes a lesson, pays his dues, and learns the ropes thanks to the one-on-one instruction from a patient but strict teacher. A match like this almost takes on a father-son vibe, which may be why the fans enjoy seeing these encounters — a reminder of tussling around with their father while growing up, often the only physical contact many boys received from their dads.
The father-figure, in this case Steve Lombardi, teaches the rookie how to wrestle in two ways. First he models how to suffer for the lad, allowing the kid to slap on some holds at the start of the match and then displaying the most dramatic displays of sweet agony ever seen in the ring so the kid can learn not to restrict or limit the quality or quantity of his pain. He shows his boy how to lay it on thick. This will come in handy later.
The second way the older man teaches his pupil how to wrestle is when he turns the tables and begins to dish out the punishment. Now the pup can show what he learned from the big dog, curling up in the fetal position and flopping around like a ragdoll as the dominant man brings the pain. If he fails to properly “sell” a move, the next kick to the young man’s ribs or elbow to his throat is for real — extra stiff so he learns to grunt and groan louder.
It’s a tough lesson, but we wrestling fans want to see suffering and plenty of it, so these rookies need to be put through their paces.
The contrast between the wrestlers, always an important aspect of a pro wrestling match, is obvious. Lombardi is thick and hairy, Houston is smooth and wiry. Lombardi is mature and confident, Houston is young and flexible.
Lombardi has dark hair and big blood-red trunks, Houston has lighter hair and tiny white trunks. Lombardi likes to choke and smother, Houston likes to grab onto an arm, but not too rough. Lombardi is a man, Houston is a kid who wants to be a cowboy when he grows up.
The rumor is that Lombardi was good friends, like really really good friends, like frequent room-mates with promoter Pat Patterson, if you get my drift. Therefore, Lombardi could probably call the shots as long as his boy Patterson was in a good mood. This makes me wonder if Lombardi requested this match with Sam Houston. Maybe during pillow-talk one night, the sadistic Guido asked if he could be the one to break in the cute rookie cowboy and show him the ropes.
If you want to get technical, Sam Houston was actually able to apply his “Bulldog” move in order to stun Lombardi long enough to pin him. Houston was being “pushed” at the time as the next young hopeful. But that’s not how I tell the story. I like it better when the rookie has no chance. The way I like to tell it, Houston is slowly beaten into submission and eventually pinned by the older man. (When you create your own pro wrestling Blog, you can tell the story however you want to.)