Nova

The second Mercier started to rip off Kayser's body hair as a response to eye gouging and illegal choking, I knew he was my boy. This was an extremely tight and brutal match from a smaller venue in comparison to the other French Catch matches of 1970, they quite literally didn't pull any punches in this one, making me giddy with the violence on display. Kayser took the more clear heel role, repeatedly choking Mercier and making spit sputter from his mouth. Mercier played the role of a mean babyface who would give Kayser everything back in the terms of ferocity and even underhandedness. I cannot see another match from 1970 being better than this. ****1/4

This was easily the best of the three matches from the 6/6/1970 show. Arras is a very strong ring general, taunting and brutalizing Steele in what was apparently Steele's first match on TV. The commentator also says that in one of Steele's first ever matches, he faced Arras in a match where Arras broke Steele's nose. True or not, they ramp up to heated and fun exchanges early on with Steele over-preforming and bringing a fight to Arras. It's not a high bar, but the best British match we have on tape for 1970. ***

Yoshihiro Takayama. Low Ki is a very close #2, both being tiers ahead of everyone else. The bit that pushes Takayama over the edge is the Don Frye shoot fight, whilst I’m not putting it as a match in his column or anything, the aura and presence that Takayama carries after the fight is one of pure magnetism.

Thatcher had one of the most cathartic years from an emotional standpoint, leaving the shackles of EVOLVE and proving to everyone that he HAS been one of the best in the world for a few years now. Though, he wasn’t THE best. That honor goes to his tag team partner and Ace of the promotion of the year (wXw), WALTER. He felt like a mountain that everyone was forced to climb, both as a heel and face. There’s some genuinely great stuff from him (see the feud with Bobby Gunns and 16 Carat as a whole). There’s two things that push him over the top though, and that’s the MOTYC vs Ilja Dragunov in 16 Carat and what is unfortunately the best feud of the late 2010s against David Starr. Not a “Slam Dunk” year for WALTER’s case, but one I basically had penciled in since the beginning.