David Mantell

There are only photos of Javier in this but we get a definite taste of Victoria's style. Irish whipped to the mat, he is able to pick himself upright at arm's length, an ancestor of the British-style roll through. He gets a beautiful slide into a standing Fireman's Carry takedown on one of these whips. He gets the pin by upturning a long press. Later we see him get a face bar from behind a dona front somersault into a bridge to wrench on the opponent's neck. We see more of Ochoa's proto rollout of armlever (albeit in longshot) Ochoa takes on the headbutt king. Tarres. Most of this is already featured in the Leones de Navarra clip. clip but looks out for Victorio doing a toupie out of headscissors well before Gilbert Leduc hit the scene. More source footage for the Leones de Navarra mini docu. See Ochoa neatly kip up after being forearm smashes down by his opponent. He goes for and almost gets a legdive right across the ring, corner to corner. He rolls back from an arm at on the mat to get a ground dropkick. He also gets an Indian Deathlock and a double leg nelson pin attempt.

I've been rewatching the LeCroix Vs de Lonzac bout and Orig Williams says in the English commentary that Pouzade was not Eric's manager. just his tag partner (which further fits him being Domingo Valdez) and Miss Paris being the actual manageress. I'd quite like to see in full the tag match Caradec was complaining about in that promo (there is a short snippet).

You'd love the Americanised New School promotions in Britain - always telling the same old lie that British wrestling "Died" in 1981 and that they are The Great Renaissance. Then a few months later, they keel over while All Star just goes on and on for decades. One unanswered question about New Catch is how the flame was kept alive for the concept over the course of 1989 and 1990 between the two blocks of episodes filmed. There was hardly a lack of other new wrestling shows in Europe during the period - Catch Up on RTL, Reslo on S4C, ITV's Aberdeen taping on Grampian and STV (and later Granada) and of course the above return to FR3. Yet during this glut, New Catch found its way back.

So anyway, the bout. There's about 5 min of studio preamble in a studio set with storage draws and various trophies, footballs and other bric-a-brac that make it look like a 1970s episode of British infants' TV show Play School. As Matt mentioned, the presenter goes on about the Good Old Days so presumably this is either a one-off or a first with possibilities (possibly squashed by New Catch resurfacing on Eurosport.) It's an unashamedly retro presentation like the 1990 Aberdeen ITV taping, the 1998 VDB video, Premier Promotions' merch table VHS tapes from Worthing Pier Pavillion (examples have been posted to the British thread) and perhaps most pertinently, the show in the tiny room from somewhere in Paris 2096 I posted clips from to this thread a couple of years ago. So yes, Matt. there is life after this for this sort of show. Except for the lack of cords halfway down the ropes, the ring looks like a late 70s/early 80s relic, exactly like the ones on La Dernière Manchette in fact with the red ropes and dull green mat. (If the INA ever does chroma recovery on its prints of late 60s/early 70s Channel 2 bouts. expect a lot of those rings to be that same colour combination.) The venue is a sports hall with basketball hoops and climbing bars in the background but happily the lighting rig is properly focussed on the ring. Yes, that's the same nice red sequin jacket LaMotta/Daniel is wearing as on New Catch. Michel has a nice spangly jacket too, in Cyan with matching trunks. Les Rocky's, as Méchants, are both in black. Curiously the fans give them a big pop. LaCroix is the youngest by far and very much the star turn despite his Mr Spock hairdo. He bumps around for the elderly Bons taking their side chancery throws, cross buttock throws etc. He leg throws Daniel (I must remember not to call him Tony LaMotta for this one) who spins out nicely- he hasn't lost it. Valdez does the same for Daniel. Hilariously the commentator calls a dropkick (saus chassé) a flying headscissors (Scisseaux Volees) ! Michel rolls nicely out of and up from Domingo's throws while Domingo takes a bump when the tables are turned. Michel does huracanranas - somebody has been watching Scott Steiner on WCW! At one point we see Michel go up in the air and it's in excessive close up so it looks like he's going for a reverse snapmare but he comes back down the way he went up and bulldogs Valdez down back into a side headlock on the mat. When Eric gets back, he is getting real heat, not like the cheer at the start. He flexes his biceps a lot. an odd thing for a Welterweight to do. LaCroix kicks out of a crosspress and lands Daniel on top of Monsieur L'Arbitre. The second time it happens, Daniel gets a public warning. Other than this, the referee stays away from trying to be the heel. Things slow down with Valdez in the ring, he gets an armbar in the guard and uses fouls to keep him there, eventually gets a bunch of Manchettes for his troubles. Eric carries on with the arm work on Daniel, he and Michel have a pretty good top wristlock battle. Michel and Domingo end up outside with the Spaniard giving a ringside fan a lapdance . The two brawl outside the ring. Eric headstands out of the headscissors on a second attempt and gives Daniel a hearty slap across the face. Michel makes the hot tag, throwing the heels around before scoring the opening fall with a sunset flip mm double leg nelson despite protests from Eric. Daniel does a promo while standing on the tag rope on the apron, just as Les Méchants are double legdiving Michel and kicking his knees in in stereo. Despite all this, Les Bons get a Deuxième Et Derniere Avertisement. They flirt with a DQ after making a pile of villains and ref. Michel goes for a finger Interlock but Eric snatches away like Adrian Street and pouts lie Ada too. LaCroix gets a GREAT equaliser with a long suplex. Fans give it The Bird (ouch my ears!). Michel gives a mid match promo calling it Epouvantable. Domingo kicks him in the back midway. We are past 30 mins of the clip and La Belle is only a few minutes long. Very French Catch and can aspect of match structure @ohtani's jacket complains about in the old reviews. Daniel gets a combination flying headscissors and flying headlock on both heels sending them both flying. He gets a great flying bodypress on Eric, beautifully filmed but it only gets a 2. A reverse leapfrog into front folding press finally does the job. Yup that's about 3 mins of belle. Daniel does another in ring. We get the credits over a soca track and match highlights before back to the studio and the presenter calling wrestlers Grandes Voltigeurs. (Great High Flyers.) Fast action packed bout but little in the way of chain sequences. Moves tend to be isolated spots unto themselves. I DEFINITELY feel LaCroix deserved better than putting over two old guys. Eurosport New Catch and the French Welterweight Championship gave him that opportunity and the chance to work with other rising stars like Yann Caradec and Jean Phillipe De Lonzac.

Hold your horses - I've just remembered EXACTLY who Eric Lacroix is! In which case I wonder if Domingo "No Relation To Princess Paula" Valdez is actually Theo Pouzade the manager from New Catch and he's just got comedy attachments to his moustache when in character as Pouzade? It still means at least 2, possibly 3 of these four guys were on New Catch at some stage in its existence. Incidentally, here's my review of Tony LaMotta Vs Marquis Jacky from New Catch season 1 in 1988 As the review mentions,Tony teamed with a pre-Flesh Gerard Hervé to take on the Golden Falcons. There's a review of that in the archive but you'll have to go look it up as it's less relevant to the point of this post.

Anyway. speaking of 1991: I'll have a good overview this later over dinner. I'm not doing the review now as this tablet needs putting on charge. I wouldn't swear to it but Les Rocky's Du Ring look more than a bit like Kato Bruce Lee/Kato Gypsy and Elliot Frederico Rocky Du Ring/Grims Rocker (with hair grown out - Grim was Spanish so if the one I think is him turns out to be Domingo Valdez then I'm convinced ). Tony LaMotta also appeared on New Catch -IIRC against Jacky Richard ( still a Marquis, not yet a Travesti Man.). So three of these four guys did New Catch anyway.

Okay, how about "Sampler" then? I seem to recall someone saying (possibly on here) that a few other Eurosport shows got the same treatment. It occurs to me that New Catch was always meant to in some way become an international deal, given all the CWA and British talent on board, either unknown to French audiences eg Eddie Kung Fu Hamill or dim memories eg Fit Finlay, last seen on French national TV eight years earlier claiming to be a Scotsman in a kilt.

It got filmed though and was a big story in the Magazine. The Natural Disasters win and some of the Money Inc Vs Steiners back and forth were examples of the small house shows title changes. They printed photos of one match from the latter where there was no flash photography rig so it all looked very dull compared to usual WWF magazine photography. The same thing happened with the Midnight Express Vs Tully & Arn title change in JCP although there is a fancam of that.

Ah well, I've got a REAL one! 😄 There are two sections of interest to pro wrestling fans, the biographies and "Prensas de Lucha Libre Americana (American Wrestling holds). Plus also there's a group photo of thirties wrestlers in a ring and that shit of Javier Ochoa (although this was clearly him in later life so Spain had gone catch by then.)

Simple, it was co-owned by Sky until TF1 bought it and was on the same Astra satellite as part of the same package of satellite channels as Sky. It stayed on there after the buyout. As I think I mentioned, any household in the UK capable of getting WWF (other than the bits ITV screened on the specials 1987-1988 and the small hours 1988-1989) could get New Catch too. Whereas in France you already had Canal + for the WWF. Preview run for the new revamped channel. I equate that run with the Oct 1990 Joint Promotions ITV tapings in Aberdeen.

For starters...

By the way, Say Hello To My Little Friend. I bought it in Salamanca, Spain in late 1995 during the first half of M6 year abroad before I moved to Metz, France at the end of January 1996. It was printed in about the late 50s/early 60s. It's not an exclusively pro wrestling book but it's got some interesting material I intended to scan up for this thread. Somewhere I believe Instill have another book from a bit later circa 1964 (stamped <<España - 25 años de Paz>> - the Paz in question being the Carthaginian Paz of 25 years under Franco's rule since the end of the Civil War in 1939) which has a rather funny essay about Kayfabe which concludes that anyone who is desperate to see the boys legit injure each other must be a dreadful sadist! LOL. I'll put in relevant scans from time to time from the Campo book and the other one too should it resurface.

Yes, this could possibly explain why tape traders like Adam Mumford's EWV claimed a 1991 date -just before Rocco's retirement - for the Rollerball Rocco/Danny Collins Paris World HMid title bout (We now know this was on TF1 in 1988) Some 1988 episodes rescreened on Eurosport have John Harris (the MC from the Kendo Nagasaki Vs Skull Murphy bout recently on the British thread) instead of Orig Williams as A English commentary. Mainly the ones with the MAXI CUISINE ring canvas. Most of the non 1988 episodes have a Eurosport logo on the shiny blue ring canvas.

Two days as champions over here. Anything can happen. (4WIW it did get mentioned by the WWF in America, contrary to popular belief. When they went heel, WWF Magazine did a piece on how the short reign and the downslide afterwards made them bitter.) Luke Williams is now the last surviving one of the Survivor Series '94 Four Doinks.

So why do a lot of what we know to be the 1988 TF1 Episodes circulate with Eurosport idents on them? We know more episodes were made after the TF1 run because for example the Superflies did not yet exist as a tag team in 1988. Also Bull Power's vacant CWA World title win over Rambo took place December 22nd 1990, this was screened as part of a New Catch episode which I have on VHS with a Eurosport idents and English commentary by Orig Williams. (For what it's worth I saw a few of the New Japan episodes while on my ERASMUS year in Metz, France in Spring 1996.)

Okay we've had two Midget Matches. Who fancies making it a hat trick? NO??? Oh well. tough, here comes a third midget match anyway. 😛 This is from Alessio's 1970-1987 playlist - judging by its position in the playlist I'd say 1978. We see them being let to ringside by guys in tennis gear across tennis courts. A kid in a stripey shirt is taller than one midget. But don't tell any little people that. No idea which midget is which. Well say Red and Black after the colours of their trunks. The ring is set up in what looks like a school playground on a sunn6bday with practice football goalposts and hurdling barriers in the background. Red has a bad combover. Black headlocks him a good long while, trying for a cross buttock but not quite getting it. Red gets an atomic drop on Black but Black finally gets his cross buttock throw. Red counters by finally getting that cross buttock throw. They take turns getting legdives. Red gets a Planchette Japonaise and various Scisseaux Volees. Black eventually counters one of these into an Indian Deathlock of sorts. Back to more monkey flip business. Black gets a sunset flip but then gets backdropped. It commences to Manchettes, kicks and other brawling. Midget test of strength. Red backdrops black. Black does a FANTASTIC backwards roll over Black's back. Black gets crossed scissors on the Red midget. We then jump to a snippet of another match. A man in a mask - Der Henker? Not enough body hair or muscles - battles an old guy with a goatee who looks like Colonel Sanders mated with the elderly Ed the Sheik Farhat. Grey old man gets the win with a double leg nelson. Two younger guys- one might be a Corne brother or even Jacky Richard. They get ready and start and the film ends. ***†****************** Okay I posted this to equal things out after I posted the last Lukestik match because I liked the outdoor location and then posted Finlay-Turpin because I enjoyed it this morning after breakfast. Will there be another French Catch Tuesday match tomorrow night or are they all done? If no more, I'll just do a replacement then afterwards do all three at weekends. I should be starting a new job this time next week so it'll be easier to do one review of each at weekends.

This was the Cup Final blowoff in question.

Well anyway that's what that Valentin bloke wrote. I've got some other material of the Ochoa family to post as well as another video snippet from Alessio. Valentin praises Victorious as the first technical wizard of France and so does my other source, once I dig i5 out from wherever it's hiding. @ohtani's jacket any chance you could also do a review of Santí/Acapulco match?

This was filmed at the end of January 1986 and screened shortly afterwards in early February on ITV's standalone Wrestling show (.Season 1, the remainder of Joint's 1981 5 year contract extension) It was part of the buildup to the FA Cup Final match where Big Daddy's crusade against Fit Finlay and his bullying ways would hopefully lead to punishment for Finlay in the form of the standard Daddy treatment. This then is Finlay in bully mode. OJ's opinion is that Finlay got lazy during this run, but this bout shows he could still do a lot of his old technical tricks as well as ever. Turpin was (is) the brother of tragic champion boxer Randolph "Randy" Turpin. There's an exhibit for Randy including images of Jackie in the Leamington Spa museum which I sometimes used to visit before going to All Star shows at the Royal Spa Centre in the 00s/10s. He wears a splendid red/blue clock (MC Brian Crabtree's old colour scheme). Paula and Finlay force poor Brian to recite a whole load of compliments to Paula. Jeff Kaye, ex of the Barons is a familiar figure on this thread and the French thread too. Round 1: Turpin swiftly and cleanly rolls out of a Finlay armbar then reverses direction, re-rolls as a standing tumble (not quite a cartwheel). He tries to give Finlay a high whip and bump but Finlay gracefully rolls through and upright. He gets a double finger Interlock, picks off one side with a boot then puts the remaining arm through various weakeners. He retakes one side of the Interlock and forces a high whip and bump on Turpin, cheekily kicking him on the mat, which antagonises the ref and crowd alike. Turpin goes to lock up and swerves to a single arm. Finlay sidesteps this but Turpin gets in his own cheeky slap, the a dropkick from behind. They exchange slaps then Finlay slams Turpin and hauls him off the mat (minor private warning foul) for a big forearm smash. Finlay side chancery throws and kneedrops Turpin. He gets a grovit but the bell sounds. Round 2 Finlay is still being pampered by Paula when Turpin rolls straight up to his corner looking for trouble. Finlay flings him across the ring, let's Paula finish he4 job, the couple lip kiss and Finlay is ready to go. Turpin gets a single leg and pushes Finlay into a corner. Finlay pushes him off with a boot. He gets a standing back hammerlock switching controlling arms, backs Turpin into the ropes and throws him so that his hammerlocked arm takes the brunt of the impact. Finlay gets a side headlock but with Turpin's neck resting on the bootom rope so illegal. Finlay takes his time releasing then quibbles with Kaye, and boots Turpin on the mat, some or all of this earning himself a First Public Warning. Finlay gets a legdive and kneeling toe and ankle hold, Turpin shoves his other boot sole in Finlay's face and hammers down on his knee, giving the odd kick to the Irishman's shoulder then back to pressing on his face. Turpin grabs the ropes for a break. Finlay tries to drag him away by the foot but Kaye saw the ropes grab and orders the break. Finlay throws the foot down with disgust and Turpin kips up only to get a powerful posting He is selling his back but up at 8 only to get a kneedrop to the back just on top of where the posting impacted. He is clearly planning for a back submission. Finlay tries to trap Turpin on the ropes but gets two headbutts and a Kendo style straight fingers chop. The bell goes. Kaye has trouble sending them to their corners. Apparently he and Paula argue, says Kent, but we see nowt of it on screen - just she and Dave calmly talking strategy. Round 3 and Turpin gets an arm and horizontally spins on it to twist the limb. Finlay smartly rolls to untwist the twist. Turpin gets a. Top wristlock but Finlay goes into a bridge and kips up smoothly into a crotch hold with the other arm and Fireman's carry. Rather than his usual blockbuster suplex he clumsily drops Turpin, whips and clotheslines him and forearm smashes him. Turpin reverses a posting, but Dave takes th3 impact well. He underhooks Finlay and gets another posting which Finlay also absorbs well, mostly on his lower leg, then dodges the worst of a Turpin dropkick, this landing another back weakener on top of the ones from the last round. Finlay builds on this with three postings and a backdrop leaving Turpin rolling around the ring clutching his back and selling like crazy. To top it all off, Finlay gets an over the shoulder backbreaker which he converts to a Hercules Hernandez/Lex Luger torture rack (reverse Fireman's Carry backbreaker). This appears to give him the first submission but Finlay is slow in releasing then goes to Turpin's corner and gives him a between rounds posting . As a result of either or both of these, the submission is Disallowed. The Finlays are not happy bunnies and Paula slaps Kaye in the face. Round 4. Finlay pounds Turpin in the back, stomps his hand and delivers a late kneedrop on the already fallen Turpin. Finlay tries again for the submission but Turpin this time undresses the clamping arms and drops down behind. Finlay whips him into the ropes, backdrops him for a five count then delivers a face first piledriver for a KNOCKOUT!!!! Finlay is your winner and you can't call that knockout a cheap finish, can you? And now ... The Afterbirth. Paula celebrates her man's victory by ripping up a b/w 8x10 of Big Daddy. This bait brings the big man himself out with a pair of grannies. one under each arm like the dolly birds they last were 60 years earlier (about a century ago now.) He stomps to the ring and exchanged words and rude pointing with Dave until the Finlays make their exit. A bunch of wrestlers (including I think Pat Patton) and WWF-style "backstage officials" hold Big Daddy back, but he bodychecks the whole lot of them off, including his own brother, MC Brian Crabtree. This all lead to Cup Final Day where Daddy got his hands on Finlay although it was tag partner Scrubber Daly who took the decider. (We reviewed it previously, I shall dig it out anon.) There were also house show rematches including one where Finlay, partnering Mel Stuart, used the same tombstone piledriver to pin Daddy's partner Richie Brooks for a 2-1 win. But anyway this bout. It may have been meant to build Finlay as a cruel sadistic villain and at the same time part of the buildup storyline (Daddy after Finlay's blood) for a showcase Daddy tag but Finlay and Turpin had a pretty decent scientific battle here with Finlay executing his repertoire of escapes, reversals and transitions with, if not breakthrough ingenuity, then certainly a fair bit of grace and style. Call it the Antidote to Bully Finlay beatdown matches.

Another Helmut Lukestik video just came up on my Smart TV. He looks more his usual self on here with a black double leotard that screams HEEL andthe dark hair combining with the moustache to make him look like 1980s Freddie Mercury. And once again he's demolishing another babyface Gil Cabanas (the name sounds Hispanic) with the good guy getting the odd hope spot, the most notable of which sees him land on the referee who blames the poor goody and gives him a yellow card. Afterwards we see Helm tackling another opponent in long white Big John Stuff tights. What's interesting about this clip is the venue - it's a public square in what looks like a German or Austrian rural village and it looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL ❤️. They are trees and gorgeous buildings everywhere. The crowd looks like a pub beer garden crowd until the camera swings round and you see there are hundreds, perhaps hitting a Thousand, spectators sat out in the sunshine enjoying the wrestling show while being fed beer by barmaids in saucy versions of traditional Teutonic dress. Professional Wrestling slipping into its element as a staple of a traditional and picturesque part of rustic Teutonic life. The only blot on the horizon is right in front of the camera, a rusty piece of ironmongery which was built as a support for something but in this clip just gets in the way.

Miserable heel referee has a name, by the way - Louis Deblamecque (sp?) The silly string was not meant to be part of the show, it was a rogue fan. This is what happens when you have zero ringside security of barriers (actually silly string is on the tamer end of the scale) There's a gag where Hassan grabs Puma by the beard and Arbitre Louis chops Hassan off and he ends up apparently taking some beard with him. Gwyn Davies and referee Brian Crabtree did this to Giant Haystacks on World of Sport in 1976. Most likely it's an ancient wrestling trope.

I wonder if this was a similar deal to that 1983 Spanish World Welterweight title match (Santi Rico Vs Modesto Acapulco) - a one off TV coverage of a bout? Given the general state of the Greek house show circuit (see the three underground car park videos above) maybe we shouldn't have too great expectations aboutmid 80s Los Colosos del Ring shows.

Rare - or maybe not so rare - media appearance by Cortez on Spanish TV with a painter (obviously an unthreatening enough one for the Franco regime to have not just not arrested him, but promoted his work on their propaganda channel). Painter has an arm wrestle with Herc and Hercules helps the painter reach awkward parts of his painting. Herc does a straight to camera bit which gives me the impression he would have been rather good at this Promos lark if he had ever been required to do so. (Did Verne etc make him do promos later on?)

It's been a bit of a while since we saw in action one of my favourite journeyman heels of Germany/Austria Helmut Lukestik. Here he faces a smaller,younger, budgie haired.guy called Freddy Barnes in a darkened tent, illuminated only by a curious inverted pyramid light fitting directly over the ring at Austria's 1989 Volkevestcup. Helmut is looking unusually flamboyant with a bleached mullet and shiny golden tights but the moustache should make him recognisable. Round 1 (presumably) is JIP with Helm choking Fred who is tied up in the ropes. When the ref frees Fred, Helm simply ties him on another side. He boots Barney around the shiny black mat til the bell goes. Round 2 and Fred gives Helmut some of his own treatment on the third side and in the corner until Helmut bangs him down and chokes him on the ropes, earning himself a public warning (no sign of cards.) He continues the beatdown till the bell goes. Round 3 and it briefly looks scientific as Helmut gets a legdive but them he ties the leg in the ropes and boots the kid, then ties him by the necon the fourth side for another beatdown. Fred fights back with charges and clotheslines but then himself goes to work on Lukestik's leg with a toehold/ legspread and weakening dips to the knee. Round 4 sees Fred switch tack to the arm with a cross buttock into armlock in the guard into armhank, Helmut tries to get up but is twice dragged down. The third time, Freddy walks away (so no toupie from Lukestick!) Helmut gets a full nelson and it's back to choking on the top rope. He leaps to the ground to drag down on Fred's neck then comes back to continue the treatment. The throttling then moves to a corner on the camera side. Helmut includes an over the knee backbreaker. He interrupts KO Counts to beat down more on Fred. When the bell goes he taunts the crowd (some of whom chant USA at him, following the example of that nice Mister Duggan I guess. He argues with thecref who gives him a second and final Public Warning. He even jaws with the unseen MC while accepting a swig of drink from a ringside. Round 5 and Lukestik gets a cross buttock throw but does not follow down. He slams and stomps the kid, armdrags him then gets slammed himself as Freddy tries to start a face comeback. Freddy speeds things up with throws and Irish whips that force Helmut to take solid bumps. Helmut takes his time getting up but is met by another bodyslam. He fights back with a snappy standing full nelson into side chancery throw. Freddy gets behind, creeps through Helmut's legs and rear snapmares him, an unexpected great scientific move among this heel beatdown. He gets his former tormentor with a long suplex, side chancery throw and full finger Interlock into high whip and bump. Another finger Interlock turns into a lean-back dropkick. Helmut has enough of this, pummels young Freddy in the corner with forearm smashes and side chancery throws him and knees him down, apparently enough for a third public warning and the a DQ and an upset win for Freddy. The tape cuts out at this point. A traditional heel beatdown and fightback by the bullied kid. Helmut is very much playing the same role as late 80s Fit Finlay. It's a pity we don't get to see more of his reaction to being DQd in disgrace (we last seen him protesting to the ref.).