WIN FOR WALKER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 627, 4 September 1933, Page 6

WIN FOR WALKER

ROTORUA ASSOCIATION MAKES AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING UNEXPECTED CONCiUSION I i Despite an im&xpected and somewhat unsatis-tactory conclusion, the first profe^sional match staged by the newly-J^ormed Rotorua Wrestling Assoeiation on Saturday night, providtxi a splendid programme of wrestling before a reeord crowd. The amateur preliminaries were excellent and were a good introduction to the meeting between George Walker (14.7) and A1 Pereira (15.4) for the profession■al honours. The expectations which' which had been built upon the meet.ing were amply fulfilled, and although the deeisive fall went to Walker in a manner which was not in keeping with the reniainder of 'the bout, both men had given exhibitions of fast exciting grappling. The decision in the final fallfa came about in a most unusual manner. Walker had been pressing Pereira, who escaped and clamped his man in a hard body scissors. Walker was obviously in a tight corner and fighting hard when Pereira unconsciously allowed his shoulders to rest three seconds on the mat. The referee (Mr. A. Newton, Hamilton), immediately counted and awarded Walker a fall. The winner was obviously one of two very surprised men in the ring and of a great many more outside it. Previously the honours had been very even, each man holding a fall. The arrangements reflected great credit upon the new body and were favourably commented upon by visiting officials who were present. The seating was particularly good and the hall was filled to capacity. The consensus of opinion on the night was that the Rotorua Wrestling Association could not have made a more auspicious beginning in its career. There was no tedium between the rounds, panatrope music and two energetic youngsters (Ewart and Shuter) provided juvenile wrestling fii'eworks, keeping- the crowd amused.

First Exchanges There were some preliminary pleasantries in the first when Pereira slapped Walker's back vigorously and then shook him by the ears. Walker made the retort courteous by stampihg on his opponent's toe. After these little courtesies had been exchanged, however, tliey got down to serious business. Pereira applied a head scissors, but Walker earne out to wrench his man with a toe-hold. The first finished with Walker escaping from a hard head scissors and throwing Pereira twice with headlocks. It was anybody's round. The second started well for Pereira who fixed his man in a crucifix and held him well for four minutes. Then Walker prised him apart and came very close to seeuring a hammerlock when Pereira desperately kicked through the ropes to save. Walker almost had the same hold again later in the round, but Pereira broke away and retaliated with a toehold. Again the honours were even.

Over the Ropes Pereira had a short-arm scissois and a dangerous toe-hold in the third, but his wiiy opponent waequal to them all. Sundry shoulderings and imitation fisticuft's by Pereira failed to ruffle Walker who fixed his man in a head scissors and arm- I lock that had him worried. Suddenly unleashing himself, however, Pereiia fixed a head-scissors and escaped. Both men had a trip over the ropes during this round. The pair were tied in what was hardly a lover's knot when the gong went for another even round.

The First Fall Walker dumped Pereira hard at the beginning of the fourth and had hi.n squirming on the mat to avoid a fall from a body press. Pereira fought free, howevex*, aixd had Walker tied up in the splits until the Canadian kicked him under the chin and got free. The excitexxxent came suddenly after Walker had tlirown Pere: through the ropes and across the ring, the latter suddenly rushed him in.o a head scissors and applied an ax mlock that sent the big fellow's shoxnd-ex-s to the mat for the first fall. Walker was right after it in the next and comixxenced the festivii.:.»s by fixing Pereira in a head-scissms which almost decapitated him before he got free. Then there was an aie iWalker demonstration wlieix Wai er jumped on his opponent's recumbe.xt fornx and left him lying outside Ihe ring obvioxxsly in need of repa rs. Pereira was still quite hale anc hearty, however, when he returned to active life and he fixed a wristli-ck that looked hard for Walker's bandaged wrist. Just when Walker was beginning to look worried, howevr he broke free and throwing his opponent lxeavily, fell on him and forcec1 a fall with a head-scissors.

5 "Unexpected Finish With a fall apiece, xxeither man was making any concessions. The? e was a good deal of preliminary fr'ghtfulness uxxtil Walker fixed a short-arm scissors that fixed like a vice. Pereira was obviously badly worr'ed, but he seemed to be out of troub-j when he broke the hold and fixed his mar in a strong body-scissors. It v us thor. , that the unexpected denouemxnt oc curred. Pereira had his opponent ly ing practically help'less on the ma' and everything seemed ixx his favev when the referee suddenly counisd walked across aixd awarded Walker r fall. Pereira had forgotten, in thi heat of the monlent that his shoulcexx were restiixg on the mat. The decision was so unexpected that it took the crowd and the wrestlex-s themsel/eby surprise and for a few moments the hall was a bedlam of sound. Both men took the decision very sportingly, howevex*, after the first reaction had subsided.