David Mantell

Okay. But he did the loss to Sting as an act of friendship so Sting wouldn't have the same problems as him.

Yes I remember that in the TV guide magazine. I wouldn't have known what "Pressing Catch" meant if it hadn't said " Lucha libre Americana" underneath. Although from what you're saying it was just chance that it literally was "americana" (the WWF). Of course there were French promoters visiting as well so Spain never really "went dark" unlike Italy for stretches 1965-1988 or Greece after 1991

So 1986 was the end date of Spanish Wrestling? (until LIE in the early 90s which was fairly Americanised anyway. )

Another Mexican 25 years earlier than Carlos Plata and Sergeant Mendietta. We've already seen Pancho team with Anton Tejero and face Jeff Kaye on World of Sport. Here he tags with Victor Castillo the Artist Formerly Known As Quasimodo to take on Dan Aubriot and Remy Bayle the man later known as Der Henker. With Big Bon Martial as L'Arbitre. . A bout reviewed TWICE by OJ! Premier Manche - Les Méchants come out wearing black hoodies like they've just escaped from the Opus Dei. Bayle and Zapata start out. Bayle a lot slimmer than the French John Elijah of the 70s/80s. Plenty of throws and kip ups and Bayle does a nice handstanding escape from a Zapata headscissors. Zapata's not too bad technically, forcing whips and hard somersault bumps on Bayle. Bayle gets it together and rolls through throws then turns and gets a front chancery into backslide into guard armlock. He took uses whips whenever Pancho tries to get up. Aubriot tags and Pancho gets top wristlock dominance and tags Castillo who takes over the armlock (and hair pulling) treatment. Aubriot works Victor's jawcwith his boot to escape. A finger Interlock ends with Dab getting Vic in a double leg nelson for 2. It looks like Vic puts himself in a reverse bodyscissors from Dan then gets the ropes. Dan gets a rolling headscissors but misses a snapmare as Vic escapes. Dan bridges in an arm press but rather than go thecwhole Planchette Japonaise routine, moves out sideways leaving Victor to crash to the mat. Aubriot gets a hammerlock into side folding press for 2. Castillo gets another hammerlock so Remy tags back in. Victor refuses to release until Bayle threatens him. Victor gets morecwhip bumps but Bayle rolls out on one and starts a legspread causing Castillo to leap off quickly. He gets a headlock 8nto kneelift, Bayle gets a side headlock into backhammer into drop toehold into single toehold. He open collars Bayle who goes from armlock to ankle lock to lifting Victor by the leg and dropping him in his knee. (In Britain people try this on the likes of Johnny Saint and it backfires with Saint standing himself upmas the leg is lifted.) Both sides tag. Aubriot half breaks an Interlock to get a backhammer into headscissors takedown. Zapata does a kip up escape. Not what you would expect from a big ugly Toro of a Mexican heel. Commentator says Pancho is very well known in North America - any more information about this? Dan gets an interlock into Sunset flip but Runs Out Of Mat as Zapata's shoes hit the ropes. It's Pancho's folding press Vs Aubiot's headscissors as Dan attacks his nose (Martial disapproves.) Zapata chops out and gets dirty with stomps on the downed Dan. He somehow falls out the ring apron as Remy comes in and gets a reverse double leg nelson on Pancho as Castillo makes the save. Pancho has a chinlock but Martial shoves him off and orders a break. Pancho gets a lengthways press but Bayle bridges and gets thecspace for a Planchette Japonaise. Pancho gets a nice headscissors throw but Martial has to warn him off following in. Aubriot is back in with a Manchette. Pancho gets double reverse arms into a Gotch toehold - he has some good moves despite his brute heel image. Dan kneels up and crawls away. Pancho gets side headlock into kneelift and Manchette then pressure points. Aubriot gets a snapmare but Pancho fouls his way out. With help from both men tagging in the pressure points are maintained. They also smack Dan's head in the mat until Martial stops it, pulling Vic off. So it goes on, pressure points and illegal stomping. The crowd is angry and so is Bayle but Martial gently puts him outside. The pressure points and other dirties and failed rescues by Bayle continue. Ies smo Zapata tries smothering Dan with his chest. Bayle tags in with Manchettes, an atomic drop and a saus chessé that sends Zapata to ringside like Danny Collins did in the last match. Zapata gets the better of a top wristlock battle and keeps his man down with hairpulls and rear Manchettes. Victor tags back in, overpowers Bayle who stomps his fingers and pounds with Manchettes. It stays very manchetty until Victor gets a leglock and keeps it some time. He drags Bayle to the Méchants' corner where Pancho gets up to plenty of no good. He tags in and jumps and stomps while Victor STILL has the leglock. The Hispanic villains take turns, one in the ring with a hold, the other fouling from the apron. Traditional dirty heel stuff. Martial warns them. administers the odd smacked bottom (!) even drags Victor off by the neck only for Pancho to continue the tricks as he reprimands Castillo. Les Bons retaliate with a double team to get a legdive, toehold and drops on Castillo, tagging in and out. Aubriot eventually has Victor by the chin. He Manchettes, headlocks and headscissors him. Victor gets back the advantage with pressure points and a smother until Martial pulls him off by the ears. Pancho takes over with a snapmare and stomps and knees, Martial only intervening when the ropes are used. He throws Aubriot who scoots through his legs and gets the full Boston Crab set up but Zapata spins him off. But he lands upright and scores a huracanrana on the Mexican. He gets a spinning stomp and Manchette. Dan gets a hammerlock into sunset flip into double leg nelson for 2. The two brawl and whip until Aubriot gets another sunset flip on Zapata for the opening fall. They brawl on a bit after the fall, Castillo is ENRAGED. Deuxième Manche: Pancho gets a crosshanded grovit, shoves Aubriot onto the ropes and chops him. Dan tags Remy. Pancho slugs him around and tags Victor who uses eye rakes and fish hooks under cover of pressure points. Remy slips out backwards between Castillo's legs but straight into the heel corner where Pancho also fouls him. Victor gets a kick then a legal snapmare and headlock. He full Nelsons Remy as the heels double team Bayle. Zapata misses a charge and ends up at ringside. He gets back, Remy fires a dropkick but Pancho gets a toehold and help from a rope whenever Martial is looking the wrong way. The big referee eventually catches him and orders a break. A fight breaks out between L'Arbitre and le Méchant Aubriot takes over but ends up thrown to ringside. Pancho knocks him off the ring apron but misses the next time and Aubriot tags Bayle who gets to work with Manchettes, chops and stomps. Victor tags in and gets a bearhug into the heel corner but Remy slips out behind. The brawl continues until Castillo gets a leglock and keeps it a good while, seeing off Bayle's attempts to break it. Pancho tags in and slams Bayle who dodges a Zapata flying headbutt and tags Dan who twice slams Pancho. Victor tags in and they interlock but Aubriot cartwheels to twist one side into arm armlock on the mat, getting Victor up and throwing him in the hold. Castillo tries a cross buttock press but is still in the hold. He throws him off, chokes his man on the ropes but misses a splash. Aubriot bounces off his back before tagging Remy who gets to work with chops. Castillo slams him on Pancho's knee three times as Pancho stomps him. The heels finally get their first Avertisement for this. They still get a fourth one. They continue to batter Bayle. Pancho gets a slam and kneedrop and tags Victor. Bayle resists two face first (tombstone) piledriver attempts from Castillo but goes down for a slam. Victor gets pressure points. Bayle gets a leg out underneath, the heels corner and double team Bayle despite Martial's best attempt to stop them. Bayle fights back with Manchettes and a snapmare of his own but gets backdropped outside and despite crowd anger is counted for 10. KNOCKOUT, oh yes OJ. It appears to be a one knockout bout as that wins Les Méchants the match, KO-1. The villains strut around taunting the crowd (including someone with an umbrella) to near riot as Les Flics look benignly on. Last week we saw two burly Mexicans dominate two plucky good guys in colour on satellite TV. This week, we see One Burly Mexican and a burly Spaniard bellringer do the same 27 years earlier in 819 line monochrome VHF.Such is the continuity of live and of Wrestling territories. Same territory, different era, same situation.

Is he the same guy as the promoter?

Okay, after those last two modern EWP fights let's get back to the vintage stuff. Rolo Brazil, hardy perennial of the German scene Vs Franz Van B, the Belgian who is an institution on both sides of the Rhine. Round 1 starts off slowly with a top wristlock leverage contest that FVB Agents the best of. Then Franz gets a front grovit but Brazil breaks it open and gets a whip and a bump. Rolo gets the position for a straight arm lift then spins horizontally to reel Franz down and kneedrop his bicep. Franz gets a double underhook but Rolo pushes him into a corner. Both men single leg each other then give up as stalemate. They finger Interlock and Franz breaks one side with his foot, cartwheels backwards to tighten up the hold. Then gets up to force Brazil down in a guard wristlock, then does his own kneedrop to bcip. The bell (sounds like a saucepan!) goes. Fade to black. Round 2 and Rolo gets an armlock, Franz throws him but it ends up with Rolo on top and Franz in the guard. He flips his way upright and tries again, with the same result. Franz tries bridging and pushing Rolo's jaw with his boot. He tries to force his way up but Rolo maintains dominance. Franz moves to a kneeling position then gets up, tries to bounce Rolo on the ropes, gets armdragged and is back in the guard armlock! Franz tries the French style flying headscissors takedown counter but Rolo uses the traditional British reply and throws Franz off. Franz tries more of the boot on the jow, Rolo pushes the offending leg away, leaving himself with his guard armlock still. Franz tries again and manages a leapover and a hiptoss but no broken hold yet. For his next try, Franz horizontally untwists the arm, uses the referee to back somersault and hiptosses Rolo, finally breaking the hold to Rolo's bewilderment. Franz sportingly helps him up. Not long after the bell goes. Round 3. (Audio goes silent!) Franz gets a side chancery hold - and eventually the throw. He gets a cross press and a couple of 2 counts. (Audio resumes) He is back with the side chancery He switches to snapmare and gets the throw and a ground side headlock on Rolo. Franz takes Rolo up for another Roll but Brazil slams him. Franz maintains the side Chancery on the mat however, getting the odd two counts before bringing Brazil upright. Brazil throws himself and Franz into the ropes, catches him in a hiptoss. They snapmare each other and roll back and forth in a two way grovit that eventually gets into the ropes. They full finger Interlock and Franz ends up on top but Rolo again bridges up. Franz loads himself onto the bridge - Rolo can take the weight. In the end, Rolo monkey climbs Franz and flips him Franz gets a legdive and leglock. The bell (saucepan!) goes. Round 4 and they hit the ropes then suddenly stop. Franz gets a snapmare and bodycheck. Runs over Rolo and flying butts him twice. then flying tackles him for the one fall required. Franz is the winner. Plenty of hugs and sportsmanship. Good clean sportsmanly match but a lot slower paced than a British match or even a Steve Wright type match. This is the old German style being done by two reasonably young fit guys.

Zimba, from Wigan via Sierra Leone via the Windrush, a Wigan Snakepit man yet noted for being reliant on strength in the pro ring unlike the sleek, lover of a nice tasty goat for Xmas dinner (see Pure Dynamite) also a stiff worker with a real Wigan Snakepit attitude (source ditto) Round 1 and Zimba just throws Bob off a headlock (as Big Daddy did in both the 1975 Kendo fight and in 1977 Vs John Elijah) and rather nicely cartwheels out of a single leg ankle lock. Kirkwood gets a side chancery throw into rear chinlock, Zimba pulls out of it to leave a back hammerlock but Bob rolls off and away. Zimba gets an armdrag into guard armlock. Bob backrolls, tries for a legspread but Zimba corrects it so H3 rolls back forward and goes for a high whip but Zimba rolls out nicely, Zimba gets a front chancery but Bob snaps out, Zimba tries a cross buttock but Bob holds onto the wristlock even into a standing position, shagging off a flying headscissors attempt. Bob still holds steady with the armlock until switching to a headscissors. So Zimba goes upright with escaping the scissorhold and grabs a headlock on escaping, but Bob turns him into the mount and the barring arm into a back hammer. Zimba tries a couple of crotch holds but can't get the lift. A sidewards Fireman's carry slam does bump Kirkwood heavily but he keeps the wristlock and even tries a couple of crosspress pin attempts (Zimba bridges out), along with top Breaks Specials against the mat. Kirkwood eventually releases to try again. They full interlock until Bob gets a whip to force a somersault bump on the big man. Another lockup results in Zimba throwing but Kirkwood rolling up nicely.Bob gets a legdive into leglock. It's possibly a legscissor, Zimba tries a foot against Bob's head to upturn the hold. The bell goes and they release without any untying from referee Tony Mancelli. They shake hands. Round 2 Bob gets a grovit and Zimba one back. Zimba gets a suplex out and rolls over into a cross press but Bob has his shoulders up and fights upwards. Zimba uses a rolling suplex but still to no avail. Kirkwood gets a legdive but Zimba spins bi off. They get a single interlock and Bob gets a wristlever but Zimba replies with an armdrag. Bob keeps holding and has an armbar Zimba tries a legspread and a single leg but neither get him out. A snapmare does the trick however. Kirkwood jumps into a seated leglock . Zimba turns him over for a 1 then tries a side headlock which does free his legs but Bob stands and whops Zimba who rolls away well. They double interlock and Bob gets a standing back hammerlock. Zimba gets a rear legdive between his own legs but Bob boots him in the behind and Zimba gets leg flipped as he comes off the ropes. He takes the bump but gets the leg again upon landing. He gets a double clamp on it and slowly turns Bob into the mount in a single leg Boston Crab. He converts it into a folding press and Bob responds with a front bodyscissors. Zimba nonetheless keeps trying for pin including shoulder presses and an elbow in the stomach. Time is running out and Zimba switches to Indian Deathlock, throwing off the opponents' attempts at a sit-up counter. In the end Bob uses the momentum of Zimba's throwoffs to roll away backwards. Zimba gets a legdive and drops his weight on Bob's knee (nasty!) The bell goes as Mancelli's KO count hits three. Round 3 and Zimba gets an unspectacular hiptoss early on. Bob takes him down with a leglock so Zimba turns himself into the mount but Kirkwood gets a Gotch toehold, adds a crossface and and tries for a surfboard. Zimba resists by pointing his arms flat forwards and slipping out of the crossface. Bob drives an elbow into Zimba's spine which he instinctively grabs at allowing Kirkwood to get the arms but Zimba forces them back forwards and Bob decides to release. He gets a side chancery throw into seated chinlock and resists Zimba's attempt at a throw as he stands up. But Zimba is now in a standing side headlock and from there he gets an easy over the knee backbreaker. Bob is up at 8 but Zimba throws him to land on his back right on top of where the knee went in. Kirkwood takes another 8 count but then sharply goes for a lunge on Zimba. Honey Boy goes down but takes a single leg takedown as he does so. and makes a grapevine leglock of it which he keeps for some time. He eventually gets bored, helps Kirkwood up th3n chops him in the shoulder. Curiously Boob takes this sportingly - not everyone would. They double interlock and then Bob breaks to get a chop of his own. As Zimba gets up, Kirkwood gets a front chancery. Zimba lifts him but places him on the ring apron. They run the ropes and Zimba drops to trip Kirkwood but Bob just halts himself. They full Interlock and Kirk releases one side and backrolls then forward rolls away. Another full interlock and Zimba backrolls in the double arms to tighten the lock. They continue to battle for power until they end up back to back. They try for a backslide but end up sat down! At which point the bell goes. Round 4 and Kirkwood throws Zimba who for once takes a bit of a bump rather than roll through. Bob gets a rear snapmare, a posting, another rear snapmare and a crossface which he powers out of, getting in a headbutt. Kirkwood shoves him off into the ropes but Zimba rebounds with a flying elbowsmash for 6 (it could have been more but Zimba followed up a tiny bit early and referee Mancelli has a quiet word with him. Kirkwood bounces Zimba off the ropes and shoved him down just as Zimba fires off a headbutt - both men are impacted. Bob gets a snapmare and bodycheck and Zimba gets a flying headbutt to stomach. He gets another over the knee backbreaker for 4 and an overhead press into stomachbreaker on his knee for 8 and finishes his man with a slam and double knees for the winning fall. Some time ago (I've looked but can't find where I said it) I recall describing a bout as more Skill And Strength than Skill and Speed. The sane applies here. Kirkwood has the speed against another speedster and Zimba had some nifty rollouts earlier on but while it's still an intelligent game of human chess, there is a distinct lack of pace to the bout and Zimba seems to be the underlying cause. Kent Walton remarks that there is something "Lazy" about Zimba's style of movement and I take his point. I wouldn't wish appendicitis on anyone but according to the Wrestle Me guys, that's what transformed Masambula into a fast paced stylish Middleweight. His sometime Black Knights tag partner shows us which way Masambula was heading before he dropped all that weight and moved from power to speed.

From @Matt D. I'm about to do this on the French thread on account of it having a Mexican (Pancho) in it and last week's New Catch having two of 'em (Mendietta/Plata). So anyway, was he or wasn't he related?

It was the fashion at the time, sadly. Horrible yuppie trendy look, like Hipster beards nowadays. Barry Windham and Paul E. Dangerously also had ponytails. I used to go to school in central London at that time and see these stockbroker/financier eejits walking around the streets with their fn ponytails.

His contract had run out and he was fine except that he wanted to job to his friend Sting so that Sting wouldn't face thecsane credibility crisis he had faced with the start of his reign.

Amen to this. He was great as the heel World champion making Simmons look a million dollars before destroying him. It's no coincidence that Vader - Lex's replacement as Harley's Sith Apprentice - did the job to Simmons 10 months later (Vader took over Lex's spot lock, stock and barrel starting with the Jan 92 Clash tag with Hughes Vs the Steiners) but I wish it could have been Lex who did the job - and then won it back in December.

WCW Worldwide was on Saturday afternoon ITV (British wrestling's old slot) at this time. Central had it an extra 6 months after everyone else, continuing to show it until the end of 1995 Hulk and Flair did headline two shows in London and Brum late summer of 94.

The fans DID get the idea by the time Luger, Race and Hughes got out the cage. There's a definite bit of heat as they strut up the ramp, Lex leading the way. They figure it out quicker than the Survivor Series 88 crowd figured out the Demolition/Powers double turn. It did all hang on Hughes's involvement - without him it's just a face enlisting a legend's help to beat the hated heel who shat on him 3 years earlier. There's an interesting subplot with all the new moves Lex is doing in the bout, culminating in his new piledriver finisher. Apparently Harley was supposed to be teaching him them - and was doing this as a shoot! If Lex had stayed on with Harley until 1993 and had all Vader's reigns and carried on being taught new stuff by Race, he would have ended up quite a decent technical wrestler by American standards. If it had been that exact same finish but with Flair in Windham's spot, that would have been AWESOME - Harley telling Lex to Do It Now to Ric, Luger screwing Flair after years of the other way round, Race betraying his fellow Legend to go with the New Generation... Of course originally, a long time earlier it was meant to be Sting losing to Lex, ending a year as champion by getting screwed by his best buddy in what started as a babyface match. Then came Jan 11 1991 ...

Erm, he had the big GAB 91 cage match where Luger won the world title! Speaking of which ...

This being during the Second Republic, just before the Civil War (supposedly) shut things down for a bit? Presumably during the "bienio oscuro" of the conservative Gil Robles as PM.