Before Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, the most famous names in British wrestling were Mick McManus and Jackie Pallo. With his striped trunks, gold boots and blonde hair tied in a pigtail with a velvet bow, Pallo was a cocky, flamboyant, arrogant, charismatic villain who spent much of each bout in verbal combat with the crowd. Unlike some wrestlers who only wrestled in a particular area, Pallo travelled nationwide from the south of Cornwall to the north of Scotland every week and he became one of the highest paid grapplers in the country. His matches with his arch enemy McManus are legendary. It is said that their cup final day clashes on World of Sport attracted more viewers than the cup final itself. When Professional Wrestling first appeared on ITV in 1955, Jackie sat with commentator Kent Walton to advise him on the names of holds etc. Before the T.V. days, it was the heavyweights who were the top of the bill stars, but the T.V. made stars of the lighter men too and Pallo made the most of this. He wasn't called 'Mr. T.V.' for nothing. Apart from regular appearances in the ring on World of Sport, he also appeared in adverts and on many other programmes including Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Avengers, Emergency Ward 10, the Eamon Andrews Show and Are You Being Served?. He also had a This Is Your Life programme dedicated to him in 1973 and played the part of Barbara Windsor's husband in the film Not Now Darling.

He appeared in panto many times alongside people like Dick Emery and Lionel Blair and released a couple of records - a single called Everyone Should Get What I've Got and an album recorded with his wife Trixie and his son Jackie Jnr called Ring Along With The Pallos. Trixie could always be found sitting in the front row of his television matches and Jackie would often jump out of the ring to give her a kiss. Jackie Jnr followed his dad into the ring and they formed a tag team called Pallo & Son. They had some top of the bill matches with McManus and Steve Logan all over the country before leaving Joint Promotions to work on the Independent circuit and promote his own shows in 1974. When the ITV television contracts came up for renewal in 1977 and 1982, Pallo tried to wrestle the long term contract from Joint Promotions. He failed in his bid and retired in 1983 with hip problems. In 1985 he brought out a book exposing the business which created a lasting bitterness among those still making a living from wrestling. He died in 2006 just a month after his 80th birthday.