Tri-State Wrestling: Week of 7/31-8/6 1961

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Our coverage of 1961 continues with a look at the week ending August 6, 1961.

For new readers, this post and this post will help you understand the SPOT rating and what it means.

Here's a look at the talent roster along with their SPOT ratings for the week.

The first number to the right of each wrestler's name is their SPOT rating for this week and the second number is their rating for the previous week. Babyfaces are in blue on the left-hand side, heels in orange on the right. They are listed in descending order; wrestlers at the top were mostly in main events while wrestlers at the bottom were mostly in preliminary matches.

I have data for the following house shows this week:
Monday - Shreveport, LA & Tulsa, OK
Tuesday - Little Rock, AR & Monroe, LA
Wednesday - Baton Rouge, LA & Fort Smith, AR & Springfield, MO
Thursday - New Orleans, LA & Wichita Falls, TX
Friday - Oklahoma City, OK

Analysis/Notes: There were no changes to the roster this week. Donnie & Ronnie Fargo continue to move up the cards. Also, Joe McCarthy moves up slightly while Corsica Joe moves down.  Bruiser Collins and Jack Curtis Jr. also move down the cards slightly.

Curtis and Corsica Joe faced off in the main event in Shreveport, a one fall winner take all match with no holds barred, no referee and no time limit. The previous week's card had also seen them in the main event, with Curtis disqualified after going berserk upon seeing his own blood, attacking Corsica, the referee, and other wrestlers who came out to calm him down.

Danny Hodge defended the NWA World's Junior Heavyweight title against Great Bolo in Little Rock. Oni Wiki Wiki defended the Oklahoma title against Nelson Royal in Tulsa. State titles such as this one were used inconsistently over the years, popping up every now and then in some of the towns. In Jack Brisco's book, he says that there was actually only one physical belt used for all the different state titles.

Hodge faced the Fargos in tag team matches twice during the week, teaming with Red McKim in Tulsa and with Oni Wiki Wiki on Oklahoma City. In Tulsa, the Fargos had beaten McKim & another partner the previous week and McKim got Hodge to be his partner this week. The same scenario occurred in OKC with Wiki Wiki instead of McKim.

In addition to the full time wrestlers listed above, Al Galento, Bob Clay and Ken Hill were all booked for at least one match.

Frequent matches:
Danny Hodge vs Great Bolo
Corsica Joe vs Jack Curtis Jr
Danny Hodge & Mike Clancy vs Great Bolo & Mighty Bolo

Frequent tag team combinations:
Donnie Fargo & Ronnie Fargo
Great Bolo & Mighty Bolo
Danny Hodge & Mike Clancy

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