David Mantell

I did warn you Like Otto vs Black Bart, I've linked to this in the past but not reviewed it. Yokuzuna the future extended interim WWF World Champion. Runde 1 is mostly a brawl OJ will like, occasionally settling into a Kokina nerve hold or Otto getting a toehold. Cute to Runde 3 - more of the same. some okay snapmares from each other. Kokina spends a lot of the round being dormant. Runde 4 Still much the same to be honest. Runde 5 dItto Runde 6, Otto gets the win with a clothesline, somersault splash,,slam and crosspress for the pinfall win. It made a lot of drunks in Bremen happy. Here is a fan cam off YouTube:

Actually we don't. It was Jim Breaks and Johnny England for the Ring Battlers. Not my fault - @JNLister had the wrong details on the page - you will need to fix that one, John. I did think of the triple tag from England Vs Scotland but instead I came upon this online and it's rather good: From 2012. This is from a small indie hence the crowd . The ring looks good Old School but I don't know if this company specialised in that style. I only dimply know Billy Morrison but Yourghos Christopholous, along with Alan Travis were two wrestlers for early period new wave of old school LDN who in 2008 both got beaten up by a sixty something Kendo and went crying to promoter Sanjay Bagga who astonishingly actually sent Kendo a letter of complaint (Norman Morell would have mentioned kitchen and heat tomTravis and Yourghos.) Kendo. understandably walked out on LDN after that only to return 16 years later. It's a pity cos Yourghosis a pretty decent technical worker as w3e can see here. The soundtrack is VERY muffled but never mind. Billy gets an arm and a wristlever Yourghos overpowers him and gets a guard armlock 8nto guard top wristlock but Billy turns out to regain the armbars, make a back hammerlock of it and turn him over forca pin attempt for 2. Yourhos gets upright in the wristlever and does a slow and graceful rollol!s backside and back into a bridge before turning on his backside to reclaim control of the armbar. Billy then uses the ropes Kid MCoy Yorkshire Rope trick style to flip over and reclaim control. , making the armbar into a standing back hammerlock, then a rear snapmare I to crosspress for two. Yourghos gets a Headlock but Morrison breaks it open into a top wristlock then a full Japanese Stranglehold. Yourghos slowly leans back into a bridge , straightening his arms as he goes down, then arcs back up pushing the power into his arms. He reaches upright and twists round to apply the full Japanese Stranglehold to Billy. At first Morrison appears to use the same counter, leaning back as he bridges and straightens his arms - but while down he catches YC neatly with a ground position dropkick. Billy gets a legdive into standing toe and ankle. Yourghos gets the other foot in and spins him off. Billy gets a standing full nelson but Yourghos gets one side free and makes the other into a lower wristlock and armdrags his mañ down. Billy gets a headlock but Yourghos bounces him down. Billy sells the shoulder and misses a charge landing at ringside. He butts Yourghos's chest from the apron and vaults into a sunset flip into front leg nelson Yourghos gets out at 2, bashing him with a heel on the head. He throws Billy who rolls up nicely. Billy twice throws back - Yourghos barely make it upright on the first and takes a minor bump on the second. Yourghos however goes for yet another throw and gets a decent bump on Billy from it. Yourghos gets a posting and Billy sells his back. Yourghos charges in and dropkicks Billy in the chest, twice. The second 9neceends Billy slumping over the ropes I'm hanging on with his feet - an old Les Kellett spot! Yourghos does what you wish every Les Kellett opponent did - he shakes the ropes, frees the feet and sends Billy crashing head first to ringside. He makes it back but into a hammerlock and suplex into headscissors. Billy tries kipping out then turning the hold upright and twice handstanding out. None of these work out. He turns the gold upside down and not only does it work (he slips his head out underneath) but he also gets a Gotch toehold out of it. He switches to the head, turns YC into the guard and gets a crosspress for 2. Yourghos gets a pair of one legged flips and a posting but Billy reverse leapfrogs his man, sprints toward and mounts the opposing corner, perching for a flying bodypress with which he gets the winning fall! Graceful rather than speedy technical match. Really beautiful if a bit slow - especially pleasing to see took place in 2012.

OK, plan C is on, a grand return to the safe waters of Les Trentes Glorieuses. One of OJs faves too. It's striking that the older bald man is Le Bon and the handsome younger man is the Méchant but there you go. Zadi (I'll use Matt's spelling as it's simpler.) gets dirty from the off. (Talking of dirty, what's with the dark murky film print? Was the negative allowed to fade and pale resulting in a positive print that looks like it was filmed down a coalmine? But I digress. Early on a concealed illegal punch by young Zadi gets a hefty bit of heat from la publique. LeMao does his best to keep it technical. He gets armdrags and a step over finger interlock into spin in the mat, taking Zadi down into a guard armlock. Zadi gets a rope break. He tries a double legdive but Mao spins his off. They battle for top wristlock and LeMao gets a snapmare down and more good throws. LeMao gets a drop toehold into Gotch toehold . Zadi gets a guard top wristlock and keeps hold until LeMao kips up, somersaults over behind and again gets drop toehold into Gotch toehold L'Arbitre refuses a rope break. Eventually LeMao gets a surfboard (I don't recall the French name but we've covered it in a past post.) When he loses his balance, Le Mao still lands ready for a backslide. He barely gets a 1 and converts to legscissor. Zadi gets rough with Manchettes and kicks and throws lLe Mao out of the ring. Henri gets back but into a guard armlock and kips up . He gets a victory roll a falls back from an interlock into crossed headscissors and toupie.He runs out of mat on the last move as Zadi's legs hit the ropes and,annoyed, twists a foot on the Pole's face. LeMao gets more brawl some, breaking out he Manchettes. It's a lot more slug and punch, Zadi is briefly kicked out the ring and has fan trouble. Back in he chokes and slingshots LeMao on the ropes and kicks him around until warned by L'Arbitre, Jean Journal. LeMao corners and posts him (the late 80s WWF watching teenager in me expects the crowd to start counting, in French. Zadi tries to pay him back in kind but gets pitched to ringside the long way- high over a corner post. He comes back, takes an arm and forces a somersault whip and bump before slapping an armhank on the limb. LeMao looks to be gong for a roll up toupie but instead kips up in the hold only for Zadi to drag him back down. LeMao tries again but managed to get his own feet in against Zadi's side to push him off., (If Zadi had kept his grip, this could have been a nasty arm-stretching for LeMao.) Zadie gets a standing rear chinlock - and a bunch of illegal punches which he claims are open handed slaps. La Publique don't buy that. To coneal it from Journal (and get a bigger heat response from the other side of the room.). LeMao rear-escapes the chinlock and makes a standing back hammerlock of it so Zadi forces a rope break, falling forward on the cords. LeMao powers out of a Zadi full nelson, hits the ropes and lands a shoulder block but Zadie no sells it so LeMao leapfrogs, dropkicks and Manchettes him. They brawl with Zadie taking a couple of counts until he gets a single legdive and after weakening it, upgrades to a grapevine leglock. LeMao gets the leverage advantage so Zadi gets a rope break and gets called a coward by the crowd . They exchange manchettes until LeMao goes down and Zadi stomps him. He shoulderblocks Henri in the corner but LeMao gets his legs on top and gets a sunset flip into double leg nelson.they both Bascule back and forth an Zadi gets a front folding press but LeMao spins him off. Zadi complains that he should have had a count for the folding press. LeMao backrolls on a double Interlock and gets the leverage advantage. He whips and boots Zadi who gets up at 9 for Manchettes. Zadi has LeMao cornered but Henri slips through his legs and gets some dropkicks. He backrolls off and ingle interlock to reel Zadi down into a guard armlock into some other guard hold (hard to see what as his body is in the way but it may be a grovit of some sort.) Zadi upturns it and has a grovit too or maybe just an illegal arm across the windpipe. Journal okays it but the crowd are unhappy but LeMao gets a knee to Zadi's head to perk them up, then ties him up in the ropes. Journal frees Zadi who likewise ties LeMao up and beats him up - and beats Journal up but the big Arbitre doesn't dish out any Avertisement until Zadie kicks his man to ringside. Fans help Henri back as the Pole waits to pounce. But LeMao gets a rear waistlock and atomic doo. He tries to flee but LeMao flips him back in then throws him out after working him over. He tries up and twice dropkicks him, pounding him in the ropes. Journal frees the Pole so LeMao drop toeholds him making it an ankle scissors but Zadi does something to what remains of LeMao' hair to regain the advantage, ending up as a rear chinlock with a few fouls slipped in. LeMao powers out and gets a hammerlock into double rear legdive into legspread (so not another surfboard then.) rolling to Zadi's head to get a sitting chinlock sat on his shoulders which becomes a straight legscissors. It hits the ropes so Journal separates them so LeMao gets and over the knee backbreaker. They exchange manchettes and leMao knees Zadi in the leg. They brawl and Zadi throws LeMao out Henri reappears on a different side - did he crawl underneath? Zadi won't let him back, he absorbs a Manchette from the apron then dodges a bodypress over the top rope and applies a double kneepress but LeMao throws him off and gets a forward folding press for the win. The cameras cut away from an incipient afterbirth in which a shoving match leads to LeMao throwing Zadi as the clip ends. Scientific Bon Vs Roughhouse Méchant - the old style clash. A lot of "good wrestling match" and "good fight" alternating - LeMao being responsible for most of the former. Zadi however is a much better heel than OJ gives him credit. His problem is that much of the fouls he does like the illegal punches, interference with breathing and attacks on a fallen opponent - are not really things that register with American Wrestling fans as fouls as they did with a French or British audience back in the day. But he is a good heel, young handsome and arrogant like Mark Lee in after his 60s heel turn.

Oh well, that was Plan B. Would have been a nice tribute to him (we've done pretty much all his other matches on video) but already done. Plan C then ...

I think that's all pretty unfair. Murdoch, we already know, is Dick Harrison aka Ron Clarke of UK opposition promotion tag team the Lincolnshire Poachers. Flesh's look, we now know, basically comes from his Lucha Libre background. This is him in an intermediate stage, no longer the high flying missile dropkicking tag partner of Walter Bordes but not yet the tubby bald aging moustachioed figure of the early C21st. It's the early Maxi Cuisine mat so presumably originally screened on TF1 In 1988. English language commentary is by British MC John Harris who also refereed the Johnny South Vs Johnny Palance bout I just posted to the British thread. Referee here is Charley Bollet (brother of Andre Bollet, Roger Delaporte's old tag partn Flesh gets a side headlock on but Murdoch resists cross buttock attempts. He gets a single leg coming off the ropes but Murdoch pounds him down, getting some stomps in., getting a 2 count on a pin attempt .Flesh fights back with two well executed flying cross buttocks and a dropkick. A snapmares gets Murdoch down for a 2 count. Flesh dumps Murdoch to ringside, gets in three elbowsm throws him back in, gets another over the shoulder snapmare, then a third flying cross buttock gets the win. Short but sweet and undeserving of the hatchet job @pantherwagner gave it. This was what I originally had planned for today -the first match on that New Catch episode, before Richard/Rocas and LaMotta/ Lacroix, but as you can see we've already covered it long ago. Yes I know Murdoch was Alain Lésage not Dick Harrisson so I have struck through that bit. I have noticed the topless ring girls thing was not exclusive to Flesh or even Les Bons - see Snake woman here or Judd Harris's "Wife" who thought she was a Rottweiler or Rocco's "Sensational Second". Clearly someone in production at TF1 had a mindset that equated glamour with hiring in rejects from the Folies Bergères. Oh well, I've got a plan B. Just have to check if that's been covered ...

Full bout from 11:50 :

You're welcome. Frenchy had been a big star in Quebec He was related to Rick Martel and tag partners with Rick's brother Michel. Vince got him in 1986 and used him as a jobber until the New Dream Team split up at the end of 1987 at which point Valentine went back to Jimmy Hart and Frenchy was given a more dignified spot as Dino's manager. When he quit, Dino joined Valentine under Jimmy and the NDT reunited as half of the King's Court at SS89. I saw the same matchup on WWF Wrestling Challenge (advertised as Superstars Of Wrestling) late night ITV only he was still Dingo Warrior there. The tape was from 1987 but ITV screened it in late 1988. I don't know if it was the same bout or not but Frenchy did a lot of walking out before losing.

He wasn't yet a manager at this point anyway. Bravo was still in the New Dream Team under Johnny Valiant two months later at SS87.

Marc Mercier has died, reportedly.

Sadly there is nothing suitably short from 1988 Germany/Austria to serve as a second bout like the British and French threads so here instead is a music video from the people who gave you We Are Dynamite. Worth watching for the sight of Haystacks in a sun visor. shades and Hawaiian shirt. Oh and Paul Neu is a much better singer than rapper.

Okay, at least one of these guys is a European with technical skills. The ref is Didier Gapp former French Arbitre Méchant turned comedy hero of Germans and Austrians. Plus we postpone thhe battle of two Superheavyweight blobs for next weekend (you'll see). Runde 1 sand both absorb each others bodycheck attempts til Zrno dropkicks Rambo and twice armdrags him. Quite a lot installing. Twice Zrno gets a hammerlock and Zrno goes straight for the ropes, major heal heat throughout Europe. The second time Zrno kicks Rambo's behind. Crowd are chanting "MILE MILE MILE". Rambo twice uses a hairpull tho win a top wristlock battle. Mile gets a headlock and plans to forerarm smash Rambo. The bell goes but Mile presses ahead and is warned by Didi. Mile and Didi have a blazing row. Runde 2. The first good scientific move of the bout - Mile rolls therefrom and kips out of a Rambo armbars. He forearms the Quebecr who pulls him down by the hair. Mile kips up , forearms, is hairpulled down, then in a second scientific move and a real beauty, steps over Rambo's head, unrolls himself and coils back up with a ground position dropkick. Mile gets a Headlock, Rambo a rear waistlock. There is a battle to throw each other. Zrno wins. Cut to Mile battering Rambo with kicks. Mile gets a drop toehold into Gotch toehold and leans back to make an Indian Deathlock. Cut to Rambo clotheslining Zrno and repeatedly stomping on him, breaking the KO count. A brawl erupts, Zrno swings at Dido and gets a First Yellow Card. Rambo stomps a fallen Zrno again as the bell goes. He carries on and and gets a first yellow card of his own. Even that does not deter him as he posts Mile back to his corner. Didi holds the yellow card up again- not sure if this is a Second And Final or just a reminder to Rambo Runde 3 Rambo gets a front facing back hammerlock. Zrno tries to slam him but to no avail. Rambo batters him down. He gets a full Boston Crab. Zrno does not submit so Rambo, bored, drops the hold and stomps Mike in the back. He actually lets him up before smashing his head into the corner. Rambo hides a concealed punch from Didi but Gapp is suspicious. Rambo gets a posting for 6, a side headlock into concealed punch. Another posting Zrno converts into a flying bodypress but only gets 1. So he lands three uppercuts and dropkicks Rambo out of the ring. Cut to the bell going but Zrno gets in a stomp this time. Runde 4 JIP and Rambo is staggering. Zrno dropkicks him and rear snapmares him and flying cross headscissors him twice with Rambo taking spinning bumps. Another dropkick sends Rambo to the apron. Zrno tries to stomp him off. He gets a not very good shoulderblock, tries again but Rambo gets a big boot. He smashes Rambo's head twice in the turnbuckle, posts him, bodyslams him and gets the one required fall. Rambo is the winner. The scientific European Vs the Arrogant North American with total contempt for European rules. A common enough trope in all Europe. A few real bits of sparkle, mainly from Zrno,- the unroll and recoil into ground dropick. Rambo won and he went on to bigger things in the CWA, mainly against another arrogant American, Bull Power.

Okay we had two short bouts on the French thread, same for Britain. A less well known Johnny Saint match from the Royal Albert Hall just a couple of months later. Round 1 JIP. Curtis has a bridge (usually a Saint move). Saint tries to load it up but Curtis legflips him off (not the monkey climb I expected!). Saint lets go a wrist and wristlevers the other. He aims for a leg bu5 Jan gets the other wrist and makes a standing back hammerlock. Someone in the crowd honks an airhorn, they know a charging grow is coming and are right, Curtis is flung from the ring. but hits the apron and climbs back. Saint whips him to the ropes and butts his stomach on the rebound. Referee Johnny Kwango gives a 4 count. Saint gets a cross handed grovit, almost a scissor chop, Curtis misses something and falls from the ring. For a bit it looks like Saint will be offered a TKO but Curtis is back and on the attack with a standing full nelson into rear snapmare but Saint lands feet first like a cat. Jan gets an armlever into fireman's carry takedown. Saint kips up, still in the wristlever and sits in front.from where he takes over with his own armlever into rear snapmare into chinlock. Curtis gets an armbar back, throws Saint who lands feet first and goes behind for the side folding press rollup but Curtis rolls out and dodges Saint's attempts to get a grip on him. He gets a full Japanese Stranglehold, Saint lays full length, takes an arm then backrolls into a Japanese Stranglehold of his own! Curtis simply switches round to reverse the reversal. Saint bridges and turns to reverse again! Curtis starts his reversal but switches to single wrist. Saint uses a foot to part this from behind! Curtis gets the wrist again but Saint cartwheels out. He gets a wrist himself, switches to single leg into toe and ankle. Curtis flicks him off with the ankle but Saint cartwheels upright. Curtis gets a legdive, Saint turns head towards his man. Curtis is tempted to get the second leg, and in doing so releases and Saint now gets the wrist. He develops to standing full nelson, Curtis reverses. So does Saint with extra leg leverage. Curtis rears into him, hits the ropes and gets a sunset flip as the bell goes. Round 2 Saint again gets a standing full nelson. Curtis throws him off and gets a guard wristlock. Saint kips up, does a horseshoe leapfrog on Curtis's arm and head and gets a single leg takedown. Into si gle leglock. He switches to other leg then wrist into high whip and bump. Curtis is up at 5 and reverses a posting but Saint leaps the pad and goes through the legs into the full Interlock, clips both sides with a leg, grabs the side headlock and goes behind. Leapfrogs and goes backwards though the legs, feigns a full interlock and instead goes for the legs, turns his man into the mount, gets all 4:parts of the surfboard and gets the the submission! Additionally, Curtis is in no state from the hold to continue, so 2-0 it is! That's two good short but sweet matches we have had on the British thread plus some good news about Premier living on. Good week.

Yet again it's Bernie Wright in a team event. This time from long before Stampede and Bearcat against the Birmingham Steve Logan still very much a TBW at 18 going 19ingb, part of a squad of blue eyes called the Jets in white running vests, also including Pat Patton and Alan Kilby.. Once again Bernie is the White Sheep among an otherwise villain side - his team mates in the Ring Battlers are Black Jack Mulligan (Larry Coulter not Bob Windham, obviously) future masked Emperor Bill Bromley and John Wilkie the future Wildman Wilkie. We JIP in Round 3. Logan is trying a rear legspread on Bernie but Wright can take the stretch. He easily folds at the waist and knees to escape and gets an appreciative clap. Bernie gets a single leg takedown and weakener. Logan gets a front chancery into single leg takedown, tries for a single leg Boston Crab, can't get it so settles for a leg weakener of his own. Wright is up at for and easily kicks out of a slam into crosspress. Getting more crowd clap.he gets a cross buttock 5hrow. It's a beauty but only gets him a couple of 1s. Wright uses a foot to cut a double Interlock to single then make it a wristlock, start a posting but suddenly get a high whip and force a bump. Up at 6, Logan likewise cuts an interlock from double to single, rear snapmares Bernie down and low elbowsmashes him. He throws Bernie 2hi lands feet first bu5 Logan again gets the snapmare and elbowsmash. Logan gets a crotch old, slam and crosspress for 2. Bernie whips and shivers Logan but the bell goes. Round 4. Logan twice throws Bernie in a back hammerlock but both times Wright is upright from the landing. Steve equally makes a feet first landing from a throw, going over on his hands. Wright too can handspring over. He then gets a boot and a dropkick and two postings but on the second Bernie, (like Tony LaMotta on Eric Lacroix on the French thread) gets a backwards leapfrogs into a waistlock rollup front folding press pin! Bernie is one up! Round 5 Logan shifts between front, side and rear chancery before going into armlever and high whip & bump. Bernie sells his arm on the canvas. He is up at six but straight into another Logan wrist lever into knee lift on upper arm. Logan tries the Hammerlock throw but Bernie still takes it head first and comes upright. Bernie reduces a double Interlock to single and dropkicks the other arm. Now Logan is selling. He splis off an interlock but gets a spinning single legdive. Talking the other leg, he gets another legspread. Wright can cope and when Logan spins off the corner to adjust, Bernie takes it nicely, getting the inside advantage. They agree a stalemate, then run the ropes. Logan misses a grab for cross buttock, Wright overshoots a double leg takedown. They double interlock and Logan gets behind into a rear double leg takedown into Gotch leglock. Wright tries a chinlock counter but it slips off. Logan tries for the arms to make a surfboard but Wright curls up to extricate himself. Wright gets a cross buttock and press for one. Logan gets a quick go behind legdive into side folding press but Runs Out Of Mat. The bell goes. Round 6 Final round and Logan is 0-1 behind. He can only win on KO or DQ. Wright wants 2-0. He gets semi Japanese Stranglehold into nearly an unwind bodycheck bu5 makes it an armdrag into flying armhank at the last second. Perhaps Logan is trying for that Ko as he dodged a charge and Wright flies out to ringside but is back inside the ring easily. He leapfrogs Logan who tries to clamp down on a legflop attempt with a folding press. Bernie gets his legs round for a bridging folding press but Logan crawls away. Wright tries thecsunset flip into double leg nelson but gets only one, Logan gets his own folding press with bridge and gets the final round equaliser!!! It's a 1-1 draw. Nice sportsmanly TBW Vs post-TBW match. Logan would in turn be the senior younster against Owen Hart in 1984. These two met again in the competition ina tag match with Patton partnering Logan and Wildman Wilkie partnering the future Bearcat, still a Parejas Increible in 1982. There's one guy who can top this though ...

But wait! There's another quick bout for the last 5 mins of the episode. Speak of the devil, here is Tony LaMotta, facing Eric Lacroix, future young heel French Welterweight Champion (how does that fit onto the lineage Phil?) and student/tag partner of Theo "Popov Le Gitane" Pouzade on both FR3's on 1991 bout and New Catch Season 2 later that year, but back in 1988 just a promising TBW. Once again old time heel Pierre Lagache is refereeing. They take turns shoving each other down from a collar and elbow start. Tony gets an armdrag but Eric takes it well. So Tony gets a dropkick then a side headlock I to back hammer into rear takedown folding press - shades of Saxon Brookes on the the British thread. Lagache is late getting to the count but credit to Lacroix, he comes up with a fantastic escape, getting headscissors and going up into a handstand and throwing LaMotta with his legs - unfortunately into th3 ropes, causing Lagache to call for a break. They got from collar and elbow to top wristlock. The younger Eric wins the test of strength and has Tony down in a guard armlock. LaMotta eventually kips up and when LaCroix armdrags him down, he slaps on the Scisseaux a la tête. Lacroix turns the hold upright and tries to handstand out but LaMotta destabilises him and turns the hold back sideways. Lacroix turns upright and uses a handstand to uncork his head. LaMotta gets a but more brawly with a shovedown and two Manchettes. Lacroix reverses a posting but LaMotta backwards leapfrogs him and rear waistlocks him into a forward folding press for the pin. Some good promise from Eric Lacroix here especially the handstand out of a folding press. The older LaMotta won this time but Eric would have his day as a Popov-mentored heel champion in Series 2.

Once again with a 1988 season one episode of New Catch, the appealing bout for the old time fans is match 2 so we'll fast forward tho the 11'minute mark. Jacky Richard Vs Michel Falempin with Charley Bollet refereeing . Actually I was a bit worried I'd already covered this match but no, I was thinking of another one this season with Tony LaMotta. (I found a bunch of casual refs to zRocas Falempin on New Catch also but that was it, so I'll sigh with relief and proceed. Falempin we've previously seen teaming with Walter Bordes before he ran off with a younger Fleshier partner in 1983 and. since we've been talking titles, is announced as champion of France in the 88kg category. @Phil Lions I see from your listings he and Marcel Roger passed the Championnat de France des Poids legères back and forth in the 70s. I'm not too sure of the relation of metric bodyweight to size so I don't know if 88kg would be a lightweight. Richard is doing the Marquis gimmick he took over in 1985 from beard sneery Eduardo. He has butler Paul Butin Fluchard with him and this time wears his old Black and Red heelish colours (this became purple and red for the LaMotta match.) H3 comes out in a long blond wig 7 years ahead of Lord Steven Regal (at this point in the Golden Boys with Robbie Brookside) Bollet L'Arbitre is just the same old guy he'd been for the last 20 years.Richard grabs the hair and forces Rocas into the ropes a couple of times. Rocas gets as high side chancery. Richard backdrops him with quite a bump and moves in to follow up but is caught with a ground position dropkick. Rocas gets a couple of armdrags, a dropkick and throws Richard out of the ring. The crowd cheers as Jacky sells being dazed, Paul BF tends to him and Charley lays on the KO count. Richard stalls for a long time before getting a top wristlock down into guard armlock. Rocas kips up but the butler pushes him down. The second time Paul actually gets in the ring to domit and earns his master Un Avertisement. Rocas instead shifts to a Scisseaux de tête, cranking it up.while balancing on his hands. Paul runs across the ring and kicks Clause in the back. The two wrestlers have a full finger interlock. Paul trips Rocas so Richard now has almost a double arm press Charley L'Arbitre tells the butler off. Still Paul persists, pulling Rocas flat and getting the Raynaud Brothers on commentary calling for un Deuxième et Derniére Avertisement. When Rocas gets a bridge Paul clips an ankle out from under him. Rocas does get a pretty decent one legged h Planchette Japonaise on the Marquis and corners him.m Bollet warns him off but Paul actually pulls him off. Richard gets a snapmare into chinlock into elbowsmash over the cranium. He Manchettes Claude down and riles up la publique, soaking up the heat before interrupting Bollet's KO count with a kick to the downed Claude. They lock up and Paul holds Rocas on the ropes so Richard can thump him. When Claude gets up, Richard gets another snapmare into chinlock. Rocas eventually makes his Bon Comeback with Manchettes and a snapmare of his own, a Scisseaux Volees and a other throw to ringside. He aeroplane spins the butler down and Manchettes a returning Richard to join him. He flying shoulderblocks the butler and crotch holds and lifts Richard for a bodyslam but Paul pushes his master down on top of Rocas for the pin. Potential ivy league match overshadowed by Paul Butin's tribute act to Bobby Duranton's manservant Firmin.

It's been quite a while since we discussed Premier Promotions on here. This has mainly been down to their lack of online presence other than ticket sales for their shows. Fortunately somebody (not me, I assure you) has been busy updating their shows to Cagematch: Events « Premier Promotions (PWF) « Promotions Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database It's particularly interesting that John Freemantle has even held a couple of shows away from his Worthing home base. In other present day scene news, I've bought my ticket for All Star at Dudley Town Hall 30th Oct and will post a report here afterwards.

The TV show on TF1 /Eurosport was finished after '92 though. The TV show that later popped up on small private networks was Eurostars and was BVD's babyface. Anyway that poster says EWF/FEC, not New Catch.

Strictly they were Eurostars/IWSF titles as there was no more New Catch after 1992 (Lacroix's title and medal were definitely New Catch and a big feature of that 1991) season.). Gordon and Bordes as European tag champions were earlier, circa 1983. I think Hisaru Tenabe has that one on his site. Zéfy did a title loss/regain in the early 00s, I forget who to, I've got an uneasy feeling we've already said who on here in the past. Kato Bruce Lee had the European title off Gordon which he regained and We've had the video on here (or possibly the German thread.) We may as well mention Bernard Van Damme's European Heavyweight title (we've covered him regaining it.)

Some other title ponderings: What was the backstory for the European Tag Team Championship Bordes and Gordon claimed in 1983? Or Flesh's later European Heavyweight title. Or Eric Lacroix's French Welterweight title on New Catch Season 2 in 1991? And did the Championnat Du Monde Des Poids Mi Lourds have a back story before Prince Zéfy in 2002 or is it unproblematic to treat Zéfy as heir to the title Jones finally lost to "Legend of Doom" Johnny South in Bristol, April '99.?

Thanks for that. Did Marty actually beat Walter Bordes on May 2, 1982? If not this would have fit perfectly with the titles in Britain - after the Spanish version died out, Adrian Street was champion for Brian Dixon 1977-1981 ("in the Amateur Ranks" - Gordon Solie). with occasional losses to Jon Cortez before Street headed to North America that year. The next two versions of the World Middleweight title in Europe are the IBV/CWA version 1985-2000 and the All Star/Rumble version 1991-1996. So apart from Bordes being a rival claimant to Adrian, it all works nicely. Jones was also not World Mid Heavyweight champion until he beat Bobby Gaetano on World of Sport in Nov 1982..

Otto versus the visiting American, Black Bart, former World Class champion and sometime WWF jobber has Orig Williams in his coner, Otto has Steve Wright in his. A man with a trumpet plays the US and Austrian National anthems. He's not the only only horn player here, dozens of the crowd have those airborne you Americans HATE. There's also a jazz funk version between rounds of Time After Time, a song by former WWF Diva Cyndi Lauper. It's a professional multi cam set up but let down by a lighting failure, the match taking place in shadowy darkness like that WWF In You House where they had a power cut. Lights only improved about 5 minutes from the end. The match is your usual Otto Brawl and your usual Cowboy Bart brawl Little to write blow by blow about. Otto gets the odd good side chancery throw on Bart. They also brawl outside the ring a lot -;OJ will like thafThey have an electronic sound effect instead of a bell for Runden. Otto gets the win with a bodyslam and big splash pin . The public charges the ring like that old Bob Backlund clip from a title sequence. You get what you pay for with an Otto mat frankly.