Here
are the wrestling reminiscences of the great Jack
Little, gravel voiced host whose unforgettable commentary
powered the World Championship Wrestling (Oz version)
television series from 1964 to 1978.
A
master showman with a genius for sensational spruiking,
Jack called matches from the perspective of a wildly
excited mark barely containing his outrage and concern
at the ringside drama.
No
one better expressed Jack LIttle's contribution to
the show's immense success than the reviewer in PILEDRIVER
magazine some years ago - Jack was the heart and soul
of the whole promotion. Unequalled in his skill at
whipping the crowds to frenzy with his rip roaring
commentary, it was Jack Little with his smarts, style
and humanity who made the whole thing work and got
a young nation to believe that it was witnessing a
mortal clash of titans.
With
Jack at the mic, World Championship Wrestling in Australia
became a national obsession in the sixties and seventies.
Viewing the television wrestling each Sunday was almost
a condition of Australian citizenship. It dominated
not just water cooler conversation at the office on
Mondays, but entered pub talk, dinner table debates
and kids' dreams. Only a master of his craft like
Jack LIttle could have successfully converted ludicrous
stereotypes and Three Stooges style slap downs into
a thrilling drama between good and evil.
Such
was his virtuoso work on the mic that everyone could
follow the story lines. We all knew what we should
fear each week from the bad guys, who was on top this
week in The People's War and what blood feuds we could
expect the following week.
Jack
Little - gentleman, showman and ring master supreme.
There'll never be another.
