David Mantell

Summer 1974, just months before the INA was formed and started taping Channel 2s colour bouts, of which this may have been one. This one starts JIP like Myers-Apollon on the British thread. Montreal has the muscles, Freddie M is the old guy. Take it from there. That's le Bon beating on Le Méchant with manchetes. Marcel tags Jean Pierre Le Compte, not to be confused with the Viscompte, Joel de Fremery. He has a moustache so easy to identify. Caclard we've seen before as a ratty little heel in patterned trunks. Reminded me of Buff Bagwell near the end of WCW. Helped turn Albert Sanniez méchant. He takes over on JP. Magnier is in and has arguments with the big tough L'Arbitre. Talking of hard nosed L'Arbitre, Delaporte has access to the commentators desk much like Mick McManus would do on ITV sometime Montreal has a side headlock on Magnier and a side headlok later on Caclard He slams and dropkicks Fred out of the ring. Les Méchants have JP cornered but L'Arbitre is of those tough Martial/Delaporte/Max Ward/Gorilla Monsoon type refs and himself pounds the heels on the ropes. It goes on like this until the heels win a fall, Magnier over JP. It seems clean enough - a crosspress in the middle of a forest of manchettes -but the crowd thinks it's a ripoff and so do the announcer and Montréal La Belle (match was 1:0 at the start says the commentator.). Heels pound on JP so e more, Caclard gets an Avertisement. Montreal gets the hot tag. He manchettes Magnier to oblivion then grabs Caclard and does him the same plus bearhugs him a good long while then switches to bodyscissors. Caclard does briefly get some in attempts in the bodyscissors. The two roll into the ropes. Marcel Montreal slams Caclard around then tags JP who continues the treatment, even giving him the old Ah Ouais bodyscissors atomic drop treatment with Montreal doing it to Magnier. JP and Caclard do finally dish up a minute or two of technical work, snapmaring and headscissoring and scissorthrowing and Gotch toe holding each other plus even the odd crawl through each others legs until Magnier comes in and it goes back to him pounding on JP. Marcel tags back and gets Magnier in an aeroplane spin, wiping out Caclard, slamming and splashing Magnier and getting the 2-1 win. Apart from that one little JP Vs Caclard bit at the 19 minute mark, it was all very slug and punch. Perhaps the science took place before the cameras started .Otherwise lightweight fun like 1983 Gunther & Gaetano vs Indio and Harris bout on the German thread.

You've got these two badly confused. Wagner is the taller German, and Dave Morgan is the shorter Brit, who notably spent a lot of time as a globe trotter and eventually settled in Germany. Wagners reputation as a worker really wasn't very good. Okay, here we go with 1983 this time. I've got the correct one for Gunther. Curly lighter hair, tall. gold trunks. Teaming with Bobby Gaetano and behaving himself to face John "Judd"/"Gunboat" Harris, a Brit like Morgan and Indio Guajaro, Germany's answer to France's Black Shadow. There's quite a bit of stop and start title sequence added years later before the bout commences. (Ther3 ar3 also so e odd voiceovers I don't understand.) When it does get going it's pretty much your typical fun 'n family friendly German tag match. The two big men start with Harris getting the early advantage with a mix of strength and dirty moves . Indio continues the trestment then Harris is back with a legdive and leglock. Th3 heels double cream Gold Gunther but a high energy Gaetano gets the hot tag, Ali shuffling, snapmaring Indio, leapfrogging Harris so H3 bodychecks the ropes and falls over for 6, Indio takes back the heat with a snapmare into some illegal stomps on the fallen Bobby, then Harris gets to forearm smashing, illegal choking work. Gaetano gets a hope spot cartwheeling out of an Indio cross buttock, leapfrogging to behind his man and scoring with some dropkicks and a chinlock.He eventually ties up both heels in the ropes and he and Gunther do all, the old battering ram spots to the baddies. By the time this is done we are 2/3 of the way through this clip. Gunther gets cornered by Harris a d the heels double team to get back their heat till Harris gets a pin on Gunther. Second fall, Gaetano tags in bu5 things still go the heels' way until Gaetano goes on a dropkicking rally, finding Harris to ringside and flying tackles Indio down for a cross press equaliser to make it 1-1. At this point things wrap up quick - between falls the two heels attack Gaetano and the referee forcing a DQ. They beat on until Gunthre comes to the rescue. Fun but lightweight compared to Myers-Apollon on the British thread.. TBC

Back in Myers' pre Iron Fist days when he wore the Union Jack trunks, he was quite the purist-friendly technician and much of that carried over into Clive's Iron Fist days so I don't see why this would be a styles clash at all. Apollon was trained by Lee Bronson who himself was trained by Wayne Bridges and was the son of 40s/50s star Norman "the Butcher " Ansell. He is however no relation to "Golden Apollon" Richie Brooks, at this point a couple of years away from turning pro. We JIP at the start of Round 3 - the bout being a warm up match, the first two rounds having been scoreless and this being quite a short round. Apollon gets in quick with a snapmare and Legdrop Of Doom for a seven count then gets a posting in. Myers stalls i the corner breaking Apollon's momentum. Myers gets a snapmare into side headlock but Johnny neatly straightens the arm into a wrist lever then switches to another snapmare and twice tries a bodycheck but the first has little impact and on the second, Clive gets in a superkick. And suplexes his man, using his duplexing arm to get the cover (see also Myers and YAMADA Vs Kendo & Rocco from 1987) and the opening fall! Myers leads one-nil. Round 4. Myers is not the only one to have scored that Saturday afternoon. This being the original transmission, the latest football scores pop up and apparently bubble perked legend Kevin Keegan hàs got a goal for Newcastle Utd. Anyway, back to the match. Apollon goes from side chancery to front chancery to suplex and gets three before Myers craftily breaks the count by putting his hands behind his get a rope break with his elbows! Myers gets an arm, teases a Johnny Saint style stepover then forces a high whip and bump. Apollon absorbs it well, taking it on his behind and swivels into a position from which it is eay 6 to spring up. Nice absorption move by John. They single interlock and Myers switches hands to get a wrist lever and deftly develops it I to a back hammerlock then a double wristlock. He armdrags his man in the hold but Runs Out Of Mat as Apollon's legs hit the ropes as he goes over. Break and double interlock . Apollon tries a lean back dropkick but Myers steps back and John crashes. Myers gets collar & elbow into armdrags I to guard armlock but Apollon gets up swiftly and gets an armbar into posting. Myers resists the posting, squatting down like Ken Joyce. Apollon has more jo6 with a snappish monkey climb, but Myers then resists a snapmare attempt. Apollon gets an armbar into ankle lock on the standing Myers. He drops the foot back as Myers seeps to be planning a superkick. (Apparently Apollon had one planted on him in the untelevised Round 1.). Myers tries for a legdive but only gets a shove to the stomach, leaving Apollon down to get a legdive attempt of his own. Apollon gets an arm and tries an armdrag but Myers clamps down to make a long press for 1 . Myers tries a double arm stretch in the guard but Apollon picks them off with his feet in a bicycle motion. Apollon gets a wrist but the bell goes. They shake hands. Kent Walton mentions that Johnny trains at a gym in the Railway Tavern which later became the Bridges pub, home of Southern Wrestlers Reunions for many years. Round 5. Apollon gets a headlock but Myers counters with his backdrop suplex but isn't quite in the right position for another pin. So instead he gets an armscissor and side headlock on, adjusting as Apollon moves. Apollon gets a headscissors and so Myers drops his own holds to fight it. He bridges up and swivels into the front upright position, spreading his man's knees to release his own head with which he butts the legs. Myers gets off a legdive swatting away Apollon's attempt at a topé to spin him off. He switches to crosspress then armbar then an attempted straight arm lift but has to drop Apollon when he threatens a headscissors. So he ends up with just a guard armlock and Apollon aiming kicks at his back. A lockup goes nowhere except Apollon falls on his seat. Again he gets an arm but Myers resists the armdrags attempt that was actually intended. Myers also resists a side chancery throw but goes with an attempt at a long suplex which switches to cross press and slam. They try for some more lockups but the bell goes before anything substantial can happen. Again they shake hands. Round 6 Apollon gets a stomach jab and posting. Myers cartwheels out of a cross buttock throw but is caught by Johnny's dropkick and briefly tied in the ropes like late period Andre or the heel in a continental tag match comedy spot. He quietly untangles himself. Apollon finally gets his armdrag in finishing on a guard armlock. Myers is up and off the ropes but runs into a sharp Apollon elbow. Johnny capitalises with a side chancery (taking advantage of Myers' head not being quite up ) and Harley Race head-drop. then another armdrag into armscissor. He pulhes Myers back and slings him into the ropes but Myers again holds the rope to break momentum. He gets an arm. whip and superkick of his own twice . Myers gets the same suplex attempt converting to powerslam as earlier - practically a Goldberg jackhammer! - and gets the second straight fall with it. Myers the winner 2-0 What I like is how a seemingly inconsequential undercard bout like this can turn into a real clinic of " Human Chess,". Good match in a Territory where such things were common.

It's horses for courses which version was better. Lane/Eaton was better for pure wrestling. Condrey/Eaton were better heels. Lane being genuinely handsome somewhat undermined the idea of a heel team of two plain-looking guys who thought they were God's gift to women. Question - could Condrey/Eaton have done a babyface run like Lane/Eaton did in 1988/1989?

Another clip of Roland Bock from Der Sportliche Held has turned up. This time he's up against Billy Samson. Fans are shown pouring into the venue and giving their comments rather like a similar piece at the Heumarkt in the 60s. We then cut to Billy with Bock in a chinlock, chin against the inner joint. Bock gets Billy up into a Fireman's Carry Takedown and throws him off. They exchange forearm smashes then Samson gets a snapmare and reapplies the chinlock in one movement. Bock seems to be going for another Fireman's Carry. aiming at Samson's ankle, but the Runde ends there (with a whistle, not a ball.). Cut to Samson getting a legdive into leglock/toehold. He works the hold for some time before switching to a standing single toe and ankle hold. Bock has to pull his shoulders forward to avoid a possible pinfall count. Occasionally he relaxed and takes a 1 count. He tries kicking Samson off, succeeding at the second attempt. Cut to Billy powering out of an armlock - he is standing and front facing - so Bock slams him down, restoring things to Bock having an armlock in the guard. Samson stands up again and gets a cross buttock throw but Bock rolls with it and so keeps his guard armlock. Samson powers up yet again and this time it's Bock who goes for the cross buttock to take things down again. Cut to Bock with the chinlock from earlier regained. Samson gets up and bounce-throws Bock off the ropes but Bock parries the throw and instead takes Samson down, back into the guard armlock. Cut to Bock getting a posting and a double underhook suplex for another 2 count. The ref is knocked over but Bock picks him up and sets him on his feet again. Cut to an interview with Nico S of the VdB. Then cut to a four man brawl at ringside with Nico dangerously close and distinctly annoyed! Bock Vs Samson is real old time German stuff, everything slow and deliberate with the last option tried being the one that works. Back to 1983 at the weekend.

Tag team action from the same January 1964 Madrid show. No idea who is who but I'm guessing the guys in black trunks who pull a double team are the heels. Mostly a brawl, someone does a good rear crawl through legs into ground dropkick, Same awful sound effects as before only worse including a "Birdies" sound effect for being dazed from one too many forearm smashes. Also a "boing" spring noice like that spring your parents put on a door to stop it banging and with which you used to play when given half a chaThe aforementioned black clad heel double team consists of a standing full nelson with the illegal man coming in to administer a headbutt to the stomach. Heels also do a simultaneous leglock on each leg and one does an over the knee backbreaker. The audience shots reminded me a lot of the spliced in "Women's Institute" shots in Monty Python's Flying Circus. especially the "Not Amused" ones. We also get a rare shot of the panel of judges, led by a bald beardy guy who looks like Lenin. Not clear who won but we last see one of the faces down in the mount getting a KO count.

Another of the remaining Alessio clips. From Jan' 64 in Madrid . Sadly with stupid sound effects, I fear. This is a pity as there's some good serious fast paced action in there. Pedro in black with a title belt takes on Polman in white trunks. Polman gets a Japanese Stranglehold but Pedro drops and armdrags Polman then tries to turn out of harm but Polman follows him and gets a hammerlock on. He then gets a wristlever and high whip and bumpb All slightly spoiled by a kick drum for the bump and hi-hat/guirros for everything else. Cut the audience members smirking. Pedro has Polman cornered but Polman backdrops him to ringside. Cut to a full finge4 interlock test of strength - and watz music Polman takes a bump (kick drum) and they exchange forearm smashes,, kneelifts, chops etc (to whip sound effects.). Polman gers another Japanese Stranglehold thhen, leapfrogs and superkicks Pedro (more whip sounds.) There is some sppeeded up footage of forearm smashes then Polman redoes his Japanese strangle to leapfrog to superkick. Pedro gets a sideways folding press but it goes into the ropes. Pedro gets a backdrop but Pollman counters with a sunset flip into double leg nelson for 2. He then tombstone Pedro for the KO win and Pedro's Spanish national title and win. This was probably a pretty good match until the jokers at the Newsreel had to ruin things.

After some consideration am posting this here rather than the French thread as it took place in Spain 2008. Yes it was for a French promotion with a French heel Vs a Belgian babyface. There was a tradition after 1975 for French promoters to take over and colonise Spain as overspill turf so it's interesting to note IWSF kept this going in Y2K8. Admittedly they had by then expanded into Switzerland and FYR Macedonia so the old wrestlers' road trip across the Pyrenees is nothing by comparison.

RIP to now All Four of the Skywalkers from Starrcade 86.

Yes I had a very nice day out for my birthday, thanks for asking. I think you all deserve an actual match, not just a clip (however rare) and chat show appearance (ditto) so here's a quickie: I'd say he had HEAT rather than was just getting heckled. "WORRA LOADA RUBBISH" is what football fans would shout at rival teams in that era.Stax had the gift of the gab anyway and could give more than he got verbally as we shall see at the fnh Round 1 - Stax easily throws off Cox's lock up attempts including a top wristlock, sending him down for a count of 4. Stax resists a legdive attempt and gets presssure points into a chinlock. Cox fires back with some forearm smashes but again Stax shrugs them off and bodychecks his man down before following in with his trademark guillotine elbowsmash. Cox is selling his ribs and the referee cuts the KO count short at 8 and awards Stax the TKO victory right then and there rather than wait the two seconds. I defy anyone to suggest that Cox is "protected" by this finish. Afterwards Stax give one hell of a powerful heel promo, waxing Alice Cooper - "No More Mr Nice Guy" and growling like an angry Bengal tiger - as the crowd in turn vents it's spleen at him. Cox was no enhancement talent but this quick squash was a vehicle to relaunch the Giant on TV after he'd been off touring the world as Kent says. Some of this we shall see - or have already seen - on the German thread. This was October 1986 and Stax had been off TV some 16 months since beating Marty Jones in June 85. This and a win over Tony Francis in November helped set up Stax for a big Xmas Triple Tag (Steve ("Roy") Regal's second TV bout and the final comeuppance of heel manager Charlie McGee).

Okay. That's me free to enjoy M6 birthday weekend. In the meantime here is the world of French Catch finally catching up with the world of Wrestling action figures.

Okay let's watch the other Noughties match Bernie posted. That will free me up to enjoy my birthday weekend. This is two years later, but still in the big arched place in Thaon Les Vosges. I mentioned BVD being an ex European Champion in 2005, this is the story of how he regained it from Starbuck, a Canadian in no way sponsored by a chain of coffee bars. Talking of which I spy a nice little open air café in th3 doorway of the venue. Starbuck looks like an evil Hacksaw Duggan. The belt is a knock off of the 1986-1987 WWF World title belt from WM2/WM3. He comes to the ring to ghastly Noughties Nu Metal. A disabled kid in a baseball cap is made keeper of the belt while the match is on Starbuck saunters from one ring side to another abusing the crowd. It is nearly five minutes into the clip before they lock up. Starbuck pushes BVD Into the corner and a slug n punch breaks out. Starbuck comes off the ropes looking for an armdrag, trying for one but getting it reversed then dropkicked by the Belgian and shoved to ringside. Bernie gets a wrist lever and takes Starbuck down to the mount. Starbuck being a North American cannot do a British rollout or French backflip or even the Spanish horizontal rollout. He does however reverse the armbar into a back hammerlock, dodges a Rear snapmare and finies up with a Manchette or two. Starbuck no sells a bodycheck and BVD pays him back in kind. We return from a slo-mo highlight to find Starbuck in charge, developing a guard armlock into something more advanced. He gets up and he and Bernie take turns with the armbar. Starbuck gets a kneeling fireman's carry takedown but BVD slips out the back to retake the hammerlock. Starbuck does roll over and gets a headscissors plus wristlock. BVD tries to bridge out then kips out. They go into a round and round repeat of this then briefly brawl as the bell rings for some reason (there are no rounds.) They brawl some mor3 and Asta uck gets a long suplex and a snap suplex. A back elbow gets a 2. Starbuck gets a snapmare suplex and guillotine elbowsmash for 2s also. He gets a chinlock on the mat but Bernie kicks upwards. They brawl on getting the odd 2 count each. Starbuck gets a reverse neckbreaker for 2. Starbuck gets in Avertisement and a nice double underhook,.a slam but misses a flying elbowsmash, a neckbreaker, a second Avertisement, a powerbomb and double leg nelson for 2. Someone somewhere is a , rear leapfrogs the champion and He slams Damme but misses another elbowsmash. Bernard battering rams Starbuck in a corner, backdrops him, posts and powerslams him. Hits two elbow drops and a reverse flying shoulderblock. Starbuck reverses a posting but BVD impacts well, backwards leapfrogs the champion but Starbuck superkicks him and gets a couple of 2s as does an over the knee backbreaker and elbowsmash, as too does a piledriver. Actually Starbuck looks to have won with the piledriver but Bernard's foot is on the bottom rope. Bernard gets a big powerslam but lands out of position for the pin cover. Both men getup wearily from a double KO count Bernard gets kneelifts, Starbuck tries and fails to get a piledriver but BVD shrugs him off. He is on a mission. He lands on the top turnbuckle from a posting and comes off with a flying bodypress for the winning fall, the same finisher he used to polish off Bad Mask in the other match to regain the title. Afterbirth - Scott Ryder comes to the ring with Cannonball who looks like the last years of Giant Haystacks to challenge new champ BVD. This would have made a good modern American epic - big spot moves and lots of 2 count false finishes - but it lacks the fluidity of the chain sequence style in any Euro territory.

It's my birthday this weekend so I'm going out so I'm getting this done early. We're between 1981 and 1983 on here so I gave this 1982 epic a proper long watch through. It's 1982 so Sarge is moonlighting between being NWA World tag team champion with Don Kernodle, being a WWF heel with the Grand Wizard and this. He's announced as Bob Slaughter and wears a cummerbund instead of his military uniform. I expect this was shot in colour but a combination of many generations of copies and heavy playback has worn off the colour signal entirely. It's no scientific classic - in fact a lot of the wild out of the ring brawling is very @ohtani's jacket- friendly. The Cobra Clutch does pop up a couple of times, the bell saving Wanz one time (is this what Sarge meant when he complained about the confusing European rules?). Wanz uses a couple of leglocks/toeholds and gets the one required submission with a full Boston Crab. Otherwise it's all very slug and punch, particularly the poor old referee who gets it badly from Sarge. After the match Wanz gets his belts and enough bouquets to restock Adrian Adonis's Flower Shop while Sarg3 the soldier gets a medal for valour. All te3 while through the end celebrations your eyes are on Sarge to see if he will trigger an after birth. In the end Wanz offers hima handshake but he refuses and storms off in a strop to return the next year.

Just found this morning - Adrian Street on Russell Harty's chat show 1972. Context - Harty himself was screamingly camp and was outed as gay himself in 1987 a year before his death. He did some famous TV interviews with Bowie and Bolan. He also got slapped around once by Grace Jones who thought he was paying too much attention to another guest. Russell Harty - Wikipedia Near the start there is a previously unseen clip of The Hells Angels in action. Not sure who the opponents are - Possibly the Borg Twins at Wembley, screened 6th May 1972 taped 29th April 1972- but @JNLister might well want the clip for the ITV Wrestling site (same as with the Daddy & Stax Vs Kendo & Rex Strong bout clip from Dec 75). Less of a certainty that the full bout survives as this is from a 1972 programme while the Daddy/Stax/Kendo/Rex clip was from a trailer 33 years later in 2018.

Staying with the modern era for a second week ... Okay, let's see how this impacts on a title bout other than Nina's British Lightweight title. Sid Manelli turned heel for the second time last year and shortly afterwards lost his Rumble Championship to middle Bryant brother Zander. From the same Xmas Ditton show as Callaghan-Marley III (hence the Xmas decorations), here is the return match. As usual, Rumble employs female seconds. Sid comes out in a lavender towel of which more anon. Round 1- Like Dave Viking in Hanover 1981, Sid goes for the false handshake and when H3 gets the Fake Shake he goes for the eyes. He jans Zander in the ribs and downs him but while down there Zander gets a quick side folding press for 2. Things get more Traditional British technical from there, Sid gets a wristlever and passes it overhead to tighten it, Zander rolls out - back, forward, back, forward - and forces a high whip and bump on Sid, leaving him in a guard armlock. The sequence repeats and Sid heads to ringside to break the flow. He gets back in, goes behind and gets a snapmare but the bell goes. Round 2 - Sid is getting a lot of heat! He again offers a handshake but Zander kicks it away and gets a cross buttock throw into side headlock. Sid folds himself up nicely to get headscissors, Zander gets a kip up escape. then rearcdropjicks Sid into the ropes. He aborts a 619 as Sid dodged and gets an eye fake and big boot for 2. Sid and referee Dave Macro argue. Sid gets a standing double wristlock and jerks it, getting another telling off from Macro. He posts Zander then does a kind of self reversing posting twic3 on Bryant, following in with a boot, getting a crosspress for a 2 count which he claims was a 3 ("Sid can't count" chant the crowd.). He gets another posting and Zander -like Bernard VanDamme on the French thread - takes it by climbing the corner but unlike BVD misses his man. At that point, the bell goes. Round 3 - Sid gets some scissor chops etc in the corner. He goes for a posting but Zander reverses and goes in for a monkey climb. Sid overpowers and makes it a folding press. He has his feet on the ropes but Macro doesn't see it so the fall still stands despite Zander's protests and Macro's suspicions. Unlike on ITV, MC Stephen Barker is not entitled to be a second pair of eyes. So, 1-0 to challenger Sid. Round 4. Zander tires to equalis with a rope assisted front folding press of his own but Marco this time seems the legs. He doesn't penalise Zander as he took is suspicious of that last fall. Sid gets dirtier throwing Zander across the middle rope and booting him. He takes down the red corner pad and as Marco is busy fixing it, grabs his towel and chokes Zander with it, then wipes his face and puts it back. Macro is suspicious of the towel but Sid claims to have the flu! He boots Zander around but Zander, sat on a top turnbuckle gets a boot of his own and sunset flip into double leg nelson for 2. Zander gets a dropkick and 619 (this time it connects) and Superfly Splash off the top for an equaling pin. 1-1. Round 5. Sid walks out for a while but comes back -then jumps and stomps Zander. He goes for the blue corner pad and the towel, using the latter while Macro fixes the former. This time Macro catches SidMoran(filmed late 1986,screened ear Moran with the towel and an argument ensues. Sid pulls down a white pad and Zander goes for some revenge with the towel, using it to sling Sid to ringside but Macro catches him but as Kent Walton would say, puts it down to retaliation. Zander topes Sid at ringside, 39 years since Fuji Yamada did that move on ITV to Rocky Moran (filmed late '86 Lewisham, screened early '87). Zander goes for another flying bodypress but Macro is in the way. Zander jumps down, lightly taps Macro on the shoulder and tells him to be more mindful in future! Sid gets brawl some and end up in a shoving match with Macro that earns Sid a bump and a Public Warning. Zander goes for a charge on the corner but the bell goes. Round 6. The final round but no sporting handshakes. They slug i5 out and Zander gets several clotheslines and goes for another superfly splash but Sid puts his feet up in the air to spike Zander, then gets a stomp and crosspress for 2. He grabs the belt and marches around with it, seemingly aiming at Xander but "accidentally" striking Macro. Zander gets a superkick and cover but there is no ref. Zander goes to revive him but Sid gets a crotch shot and folding press for the winning pinfall. 2-1 to recapture the Rumble Championship from young Zander. Well the reintroduction of Mountevans Rules (minus no follow downs and still with a slower cadence for KO counts) didn't stop Sid cheating his way to a title, did it? The antics with the towel, eye takes and belt would not have been appreciated by ITV although Screensport would probably have OKed them. Still there was a lot of good competent technical wrestling in here from both men amidst the dirties and retaliations. If anyone's interested here is Zander's previous title win from just before the above ruling came into force.

Bernard Vandamme about a month ago uploaded a couple of his bout from the mid naughties for IWSF. This is from 2005 at that big venue with the stone archways . It was in Thaon Les Vosges in the Northeast and the crowd is pretty full despite it being two years before the French WWE/John Cena boom that apparently upped houses across the board for a while. Bad Mask is so called because he is un Méchant who wears a mask, not because there's anything bad about his mask. It's actually one of those scrappy Vader type affairs - overall H3 reminds me of a younger version of Randy Colley as Detroit Demolition in Southeast Continental 1987-1988. Or maybe that awful AI pic of Demolition I found and posted to the Demolition thread some time back.He spits on a TV camera lens. Bernard is introduced as ex Euro champion (We will see him regain the title next week.). Bernard has his usual Jimmy Snuka meets Ultimate Warrior image. The TV company have splashed out on nice graphic with Star Wars lettering in flames. I think that's Monsieur Jacky Richard refereeing and Flesh Gordon on commentary but don't quote me. Bad Mask gets a nice full nelson into snapmare into bodycheck series but BVD fires back with a drop kick. We get the same fire eff3ctvfor motion replays. Cut to BM choking BVD in the ccorner. He gets a posting but BVD gets a huaracanrana. Bern rears out of a standing full nelson and gets a good fly8ng tackle takedown for 2. BM uses a hairpull to yank him off. Quite a bit of garbage has been thrown in the ring. BM gets a single Interlock into high whip and bump but BVD kips up easily. Mask again uses the hair to pull him down but Bernard winds back further to free himself, winds forward and up and himself forces a pair of high whip and bump sequences on the masked man then a seating armscissor Bad god for the hair again so Bernie flips over 8nto a cross press, working on the arm, dropping knees, still twisting away on the arm. Bad Mask has a good kip-up of his own, locking Bernards arm and arm dragging him. Bernard painfully gets up from guard and hiptossing Mask only to be himself armdragged down again. Mask chokes Bernard on the ropes but Van Dammed gets a Yorkshire Rope Trick out and nearly heaves Bad Mask out to ringside. Bernard gets a flying armdrag.and another huaracanrana. He tries for the mask but Bad Mask low blows him. The villain rains down blows as more trash hits the ring. Bernard is in the corner getting a knockout count as Bad Mask makes thumbs down gestures. Bad Mask gets a long suplex for 2. He gets a crotch hold into an over the knee backbreaker. Bernard is still in the guard Bad Mask holds him with a knee and gets a Deuxieme Avertisement. Bad Mask whips Bernard across the ring but misses a clothesline and takes on himself from BVD. Bernard gets a slam, backdrop, two guillotine elbows. Bad Mask reverses a posting but BVD takes the impact well and comes back with a flying bodypress for the one required fall and the win. Fake snow (shaving foam I think) falls on the victorious BVD like at Survivor Series 1992 and 1993 on Bret and Lex respectively. A better match than I expected, not a technical masterpiece but some good moves from both men, especially Bad Mask who had some tricks quite incongruous with the image.

Okay last 1981 bout and it's one I'm feeling pretty certain hasn't been done before. Gaetano vs another bigger badder heel, this time Scots expat Dave Viking. Blond, bearded and in no mood for a handshake. Runde 1 - Dave takes his time to lock up and quickly forces rope breaks when they do. Finally he gets an armlock, making good use of his size to beat down on Bobby, who lifts him with a crotch hold but instead of going for a slam, plants him on the ring apron and threatens to pummel him but breaks instantly the ref calls him off. They lock up and Viking gets another armlock which he converts to a standing back hammerlock and adds a facebar before switching to a side chinlock. Bobby reaches up, gets Viking in a lock on the back of the neck, try to pull him down for a rear snapmare. Viking resist for a good long while. So Bobby, by now on his knees gets Viking in a fireman's carry and forces a rope break again. Viking gets a shot before Gaetano is up . Bobby is vengeful but the bell goes. DJ plays bebop jazz. Runde 2. Bobby gets 8nto action with spinning kicks and forearm smashes galore, flooring the bigger man. He grabs the rope for a break but Bobby yanks him up by the leg and drops him. Someone in th3 crowd has eithe4 a harmonica or pitch pipes. Dave regains the advantage in the corner, choking Bobby halfway down and bashing him the rest of he way down. Bobby darts out of the way. He gets a straight arm and twists. Dave may be a Scot therefore British but he is also a big man so he does not roll out. A boot to the stomach and forearm smash follow up floors him. Bobby gets distracted encouraging fans in anti Viking chants so Dave takes advantage with fists and boots. This time Bobby goes for a rope break, but the ref kicks his arm off, eventually trying to use a dropkick and missing, taking a bump to the delight of the crowd. Viking gets a front chinlock into full nelson, cornering both Bobby and the referee who is non3 too happ6. bell goes.The MC and ref have a long debate while Bobby's second tends to him. The ref inexplicably blames Bobby then hides behind Big Dave. Bobby goes for a forearm smash, hits the referee who nearly gives him a first yellow card with Dave's encouragement but is talked out of it by the MC. Runde 3. Dave seems to have the ref's ear. Crowds chant for Bobby who does an Ali shuffle. Dave stalls in the ccorner, Bobby turns away in disgust and Dave strikes from behind, following in with a choke/smother. The MC is furious and even Dave's pet referee tries to coax him off. Dave lets Bobby up and forearms him down and the ref's knockout count reaches eight before Viking breaks it with a follow down axehandle. Dave gets pressure points (his torso obstructs the camera so it's hard to see what else he does) eventualy forcing Bobby flat down in the mount. Bobby rallies, lands multiple forearm smashes, tells the refs to stay clea4 and rear snapmares th3 bigger man!!! He butterflies Dave's arms with his legs and gets a neck twist. Eventualy the bell goes. Viking tells "his" ref off. German folk music plays Round 4 Dave gets a legal stranglehold but then switches to choking and pounding Bobby on the the tope rope. He hauls him off and blatantly punches him - getting a 6 count nonetheless. Dave continues the choking on another top rope. Gaetano throws Viking out and sends the ref with him. Dave is back first as the ref dazedly paces ringside before coming back. Dave wins a test of strength getting Bobby on his knees, hoisting him up and booting and dubiously punching him down for another KO count of 5. Bobby hulks up, getting a superkick, battering and rear snapmare in. He gets dirty with rope assisted stomps. The ref appears to have mislaid his cards! (He pats his pockets furiously trying to find them). Turns out Bobby has pick pocketed the yellow card, he back elbows the ref and waives the yellow card at him. The ref snatches it back and awards Gaetano his First Yellow Card officially. Bell goes, seconds come up. Shuffle type music plays. Runde 5 Gaetano does his shuffle, refuses Viking's NHS d again. Ref does a sarcastic version of the Bobby shuffle. MC announces something unpopular. Bobby moves in with side chancery throw, stomp and forearm smashes . He ties Viking in the ropes and charges him, the referee tries to obstruc5 but chickens out of a bump twice. Eventualy he gets caught and sandwiched, earning Gaetano a Second And Final Yellow Card. Fed up, Bobby slingshots the ref into Viking and needless to say gets a red card. Viking is the winner by DQ. (We see a brief snippet of a more professionally filmed wrestling show with an elderly TV host shouting to camera. Slow with a lot of stalling - actual proper stalling, not just this methodical Old German style. Mostly comedy with the heel referee and Bobby getting a moral victory over himif not Viking.

The s out I did anothe4 more detailed review of that Graz 1980 bout just three weeks earlier last summer!

Gerard Bouvet and Claude Rocas going at it in their later years:

Rematch 10 months later in Hanover, continuing with 1981 Wondering if I should rewatch the Graz 1980 bout as preparation. Runde 1 - mostly threatening to pummel each other on the ropes. Interlock tests of strength where Rene has the advantage. Bobby does the French style back flip off a top wristlock, from there getting a nice monkey climb. Gaetano kips out of guard wristlocks. After the bel they fight on and the ref blames Gaetano who I think gets a public wart(this ref is not equipped with cards, apparently.). Runde 2. A round of super heavyweight heel heat. René doing his best Sid, power dominating Bobby. Snapmare, elbow drops combination. Slams of all sorts. Chinlocks. Uncovering the corner pad for a posting. Stomping on the mat. Gaetano ends up in his corner on the mat being tended to by his second. Runde 3 more of the same so far so heel. A long running chinlock until Gaetano lifts Lataserre in a fireman's carry and threatens to dump him to ringside. But the big Swiss is soon back in charge. Crowd rallies for Bobby who goes all karate kicks forcing Rene outside for a breather. René soon gets his heat back. Runde 4. Bobby gets up some speed with a dropkick and snapmares. Ref gets knocked down, reprimands Bobby for it. Bobby stomps big Rene on the mat, crowd says yes ref says no. René gets snapmare, stomp and tries the top rope but Bobby throws him down. Bobby doing dirty back to Rene including the uncovered turnbuckles. I think he gets a second a final public warning (still no cards.) Rene goes outside for another breather or two. By the end of the round he is back in charge and has good guy Gaetano down again for a 7 count. He gets a tombstone piledriver between rounds. Runde 5. René gets another Tombstone and Bobby stays down for the 10.. KNOCKOUT. THE Big Swiss wins. A much more lopsided contest than what I recall of Graz July 1980.

Okay, after a couple of weeks of the sublime, how about the ridiculous? Flatliner and Little Legs recently did a reunion match for Joel Redman/Oliver Grey's ASW South training promotion for All Star. Mark is looking a bit older these days with his grizzled beard and Flatliner is looking a bit skinnier than his prim3 but they still send the family audience home happy. This starts as a personal appearance by Little Legs with Lee Bamber (a link back to ITV) interviewing him about his film credits including Harry Potter until a couple of heels (including Kian "Mr Fox" Kelly whom I've seen at All Star main roster shows in Dudley) plus their pet heel referee Bradley James pick on him forcing Flatliner to come out and make it a match. I'm not going to go into blow by blow, it's just the giant and the midget humiliating the heels, including Bradley, except for them double teaming Little Legs for a while to get some heat. Flatliner does do a Vasilous Montopolous style tie up on both villains. Like I said in 2023, at least Flatliner and Little Legs knew their place as end of the night relief rather than having the show revolve around them like Big Daddy.

Okay, my night out was very good last week. Back down to business. Some more of the nascent Gordon/Zefy tag team on New Catch Season 1 in 1988. Gordon, Zéfy, méchant Jessy Texas and l'arbitre Charley Bollet were all familiar figures from Old Catch in France, indeed Flesh and Jessy date back to A2 (and the three of Jessy. Flesh and the Prince were on that last FR3 broadcast in November 1987). and our earliest Charley is on a 1969 kinescope but Pat O'Hara is a newcomer - a French version of Scrubber Daly (whom Flesh faced in season 2 in 1991) in a fleece jacket and demons. This is from the Eurosport rescreen of season 1 with Peter Wilhelm of the CWA on German commentary. Gordon takes quite a bump from a Jessy backdrop and still comes back with a ground dropkick. and crosspress for 2. Zéfy gets to work with cross buttock throw and bodychecks. Jessy gets a standing full nelson but the Prince rears out and dropkicks. Gordon is back with a side chancery throw and dropkick on Jessy who suits the ring in protest. Pat finally comes in, Moon dog denim and Sid Cooper beard. He gets a wristlock and drags Flesh down into a guard position only for Gordon to kip up. He uses an illegal hairpull to get Flesh back in the guard - nom wonder Flesh shaved it all off later on, not just alopecia. Still Flesh climbs over, rear leapfrogs with a trapped wrist and rear dropkicks Pat til he tags My essay back. Neither heel wants to go but Jessy must. Flesh gets to work with a snapmare, monkey climb and tries for a second one. Jessy parks him on the corner and pounds but then turns his back and is caught by a leap from behind into an armdrag. Zéfy tags in and gets two snapmares, two armdrags and two dropkicks until Jessy is back at ringside complaining. Both sides tag. Gordon gets a standing hammerlock, Pat rear snapmares him I to a kneeling chinlock. Flesh eventually turns out an d regains the back hammerlock, this time with Pat kneeling forwards. Pat gets up so Flesh double rear legs him and gets a dropkick as Pat gets up too quickly for any leglock. It's Prince Vs Pat and Zéfy gets a side Headlock. He tries a cross buttock but can't get the power so switches to side chancery. He takes Pat down with a victory roll and hammers him down with a pair of dropkicks. Jessy is back and into snapmare, two monkey climbs, dropkick and a top corner missile dropkick. Flesh is back and Jessy finally gets some heat by double legs into a full Boston Crab. He releases and gets a guilloche elbowsmash, flying axehandle to the back and a leglock which Flesh kicks out of and dropkicks Jessy back to ringside. Zéfy and Pat are back and the Prince has a side chancery into leaping rear snapmare. He tries for another but Pat fouls him and bounces him off the ropes into a couple of backdrops. Zéfy gets a dropkick back. Flesh is back but Pat grabs his hair and gets Un Avertisement for his pains. Flesh gets dirty too, rubbing Pat eyeballs first on the top rope. (Charley disapproves.). Jessy back gets an illegal punch to the chest and heel of hand blow to the face that gets Les Méchants some more heat. He stomps Flesh and slingshots him out of the ring then follows up with a flying axehandle off the apron and stomps at ringsid before heading inside, leaving Flesh to desperately pull himself up by the crowd barricade as Charley makes the count. In the end Flesh pulls Jessy out for some ringside Manchettes and a slam. He gets himself and his man back in time for a long vertical suplex to get the winning pin. Nice straightforward enhancement vehicle for the Gordon/Zéfy team which succeeded Gordon and Walter Bordes and which was still going together in the 2010s. Only one man different from that lady November 1987 last FR3 bout as I said so a good link to the past also.

Oh drat. That's what I originally had planned as the quickie for this week. Okay something else nice and quick. Fast forward to 1996. Paul Neu the former PN News versus Tony StClair whom is either in his final British Heavyweight Championship reign or has already lost it to Marty Jones. Both are in T shirts and Neu - I suppose I should call him Grizzly here - sports a Q tip ponytail like he, Kendo Nagasaki and WCW era Jesse Ventura all went to the same barbers. Two minutes in and they still haven't locked up. Billy Haley's Rock Around the Clock is playing. They finally get going and Grizzly throws Tony to ringside but misses a dive to ringside on top of him as St. Clair darts back in. Tony leads Grizzly cat and mouse out of the ring and back in and over to the ropes where he pitches the former rap master to ringside. Grizzly has had enough and walks out. Audience and MC sing "Auf Wiedersein" at him sarcastically but he is gone and Tony the winner. Okay that was quite some quickie. I wonder why this was done? Back to 1981 next week for the penultimate 1981 bout with the last one to follow the week after.

Okay, as promised the third and final (actually the earliest) of the three Johnny Saint Chic Cullen matches. From summer 1983, the early days when it was not much different from what was on World Of Sport minus Big Daddy. Cullen is still Dynamite Frankie Cullen - he was Chic by the time he made it to WOS. a year later. Round 1: Saint has a good firm headlock on which withstand a Cullen rear waistlock thow counter of some sort (possibly German suplex). Saint shrugs off an attempt to straighten the barring arm and a leg attack but flubs it as he tries to take it to kneeling position and Cullen uses a simple Mike Marino in cork to free his head. It gets an early round of applause. Cullen gets an arm, passes it overhead and armdrags Saint down to the guard. Saint kips up twice but Cullen armdrags him down again. Third time Saint unpicks the lock with a foot and makes a back hammerlock in the mount of the arm he picked. Cullen is up and rolling through arm twists, once ending up on his back but kipping up, finally high whipping Saint who makes a good feet first landing to more applause. Cullen gets a Japanese Stranglehold and put Saint down on his knees, with a knee in his back. Saint tries powering out but Cullen pulls him back in again. He does a fine backwards roll to nicely reverse the JS. Cullen equally deftly reverses it back through Saint's legs. (More applause). Saint tries a sidewards standing reversal but when he gets it, switches tack and goes through o e of his sequences from breaking an interlock with a foot to going behind via a back hammerlock to coming through Cullen's legs with single leg takedown. Cullen spins him off but Saint absorbs it in a cartwheel upright. Cullen gets behind with a rear waistlock into rear double legs takedown into rear crossface. (This was 1983 when the Iron Sheik's camel clutch was the talk of the American biz). He pulls Saint's neck way high and back then switches to a Headlock and Strangle (as Kent Walton called Sleeperholds). He has a good grip but Saint gets him worried with various distractions with hands and feet that sucker Cullen in until he makes a grab and ends up in a hammerlock takeover into headscissors. Saint resists kip out escapes and an attempted upright turn. Cullen tries a bridging escape as the bell goes. Cut to Round 3: Cullen is quickly in with a side Chancery but switches to a hiptoss for the subsequent throw into a cross press. He has several tries including the 180 degree spins round we saw in the other two bouts, but Saint keeps getting an arm up until Cullen gets sportingly fed up and released. Saint gets a rear waistlock and takes Cullen down into a seating position. Cullen unfastens the waistlock and takes the arm up top for a high whip and bump, following in with a Legdrop to the shoulder (I think I called Cullen 's legdrop "Of Doom " previously but to be fair he's doing it here when Hogan was still in the AWA.) He then gets a Cobra clutch (this was the year of Sgt Slaughter's second crack at Otto Wanz's CWA title - perha ps Cullen saw it on the continent or perhaps he saw the video at the time.). Saint turns out I to a standing wristlever and then into front chancery. Cullen easily breaks this and high whips Saint but he lands well on his feet. Cullen tries for a headlock but Saint end up getting front facing pressure points from it. Saint throws him off, leapfrogs and shoulderblocks him down for 3 and catches him coming up with a side headlock. He switches arms, goes for a single leg but Saint gets a rear snapmare and bodycheck. Cullen leapfrogs the rebounding Saint and gets a stitch kick and inverted waistlock suplex into crosspress for the first fall. Round 4 and Cullen gets a single leg takedown into standing toehold into over the shoulder leglock into an odd leglock held by the thighs (not quite a leg scissor.l) and back to the standing toehold with Saint up on his other foot and getting a single leg monkey climb and 5 count. Cullen launches himself at Saint and floors him for 4 then gets a front chancery as he rises into a powerslam into crosspress for a couple of 2 count and a long press that Saint counters with a bodyscissors. Cullen stands up in the hold, forcing a stalemate - Saint releases. Saint gets pressure points but Cullen snatches an arm and armdrags him I to an armscissor which Saint counters with a headscissors. This time Cullen gets the upright position and handstands out but Saint pushes him back in again. So Cullen turns the hold upside down and uses his feet to uncork the hold. In the process he scissors both Saint's ankles in the same leg trap Jordan Breaks likes to use in the 2020s. Saint briefly gets a 1 count shoving Cullen's shoulders (a trick Jordan's Rumble opponents should consider.). In the end Cullen fells him again, in the guard. Saint gets up, manages to part the feet.gers one leg, switches to the other and makes a single leg Boston Crab of it, then a full length Boston Crab. Eventualy it either goes to the ropes or Cullen resists long enough but Saint releases. He gets an over the knee backbreaker but Cullen rolls off, taking an arm in the process. Saint goes over on one fist then gets another spin to weaken Cullen's arm. Cullen is down for 6, selling the arm.Saint gets a reverse snapmare and seated chinlock into neck twist into rear pressure points Cullen gets a snapmare of his own and three rapid bodychecks but Saint gets a rear waistlock into standing full nelson. Cullen rears sharply and gets a cross buttock throw and press for some 1 and 2 counts before releasing. Saint rolls backwards in a full interlock to gain the strength advantage. Cullen gets up, turns back to back with Saint - and then the bell goes! Cut to Round 6 and Saint -who now cannot get a 2F or 2S win in this bout - gets a side headlock takedown switching to guard armlock. Cullen gets up but finds himself caught in an over the shoulder armbar into a posting cum whip that he is unable to roll or somersault with, only take the arm weakener. Saint on the run leapfrogs Cullen and drops down I to the Ball. He offers a handshake to Cullen who accepts and is dragged down into a crosspress - but only for 2. Cullen reverses snapmares him but Saint lands on his feet. He trips Cullen and scores a front folding press pin for the final round equaliser. Yet another fine match between thesectwo even if certain tropes like the Cullen 180 degree spin on a crosspress become noticeable after watching all three bouts in a short spa e of time. A win for each man plus a draw - a nice even long-term tally.

Well yes. Any old idiot can kick out of a pinfall. But to "undress" a submission hold and escape/reverse it and to do so in an original or otherwise aesthetically pleasing manner - THAT takes skill.