David Mantell

@JNLister do you have any information on exactly what wrestling footage was found in Zambia? (if not, suggestion - you may have the formal research credentials to contact these people and formally ask.)

Sounds good! Will it/could it be extended in the future to cover the Reslo, Screensport and Grampian/STV material on the site? (and the 2016-2018 "WOSW" TV show, come to that?)

It all comes down to an Old School/New School schism in Britain since the 1990s (and highlighted in an invasion angle the FWA did in 2001) with the neo Trad Brit scene as the Old School and the Americanised promotions as the "New School". Allmark, Spitfire, Robbie Dynamite, Mikey Whipwreck etc were the heirs to 90s kids James Mason/Justin Hansford/Jason Cross etc who in turn were of the final generation of ITV wrestlers (Robbie Brookside, Doc Dean, Kid McCoy, Peter Bainbridge). Jack Starz, Jordan Breaks, the Bryant Brothers etc are the next generation after Deano/Robbie Dynamite etc. On the other side of the coin, someone like Will Opsrey/Pete Dunne etc is the successor to people like Alex Shane, Mark Haskins etc- people who were trained in the Americanised promotions and consequently are a good fit for modern American indie promotions. (Incidentally, Doug Williams and Nigel McGuiness are in a halfway house as they come from the New School originally but can both work Old School fluently and can fit in nicely on All Star or Premier shows when booked on them.)

I wonder who the Arabic commentator was on these. In the 1990s, former top Egyptian babyface and "European Champion" Mamdough Farag embarked on a TV career that included him recording bootleg Arabic commentary. As Cairo is a BIG media hub for the Arab world, Farag and his cackling Cairo accent became ubitiquous throughout Middle Eastern wrestling fandom. Of course this was happening without Vince's permission and he and the execs were all spittin' FURIOUS about it - so much so that when WWE finally came to Cairo in 2012, Farag - the native citizen most closely associated with the sport in Egypt - was banned from the building! He died a few years later. This of course the raises the question of who was actually commenting on Farag's own matches as "Egypt's National Hero"/"Egypt's Own Rocky Story" Etc Etc back in the 80s and into the 90s:

Done! (both) Fair enough.

On a related Kuwaiti note

Okay here goes. Coincidentally it was Xmas back then. Marius is a former tag team champion facing Jack Stars They lock up: a second time after the first ends up in the corner on the ropes. Jack gets in a quick cheeky armdrag. Fans are cheering for Jack yet the commentator likens him to Robbie Brookside (the Wildcat was a hated villain in Germany late 1990s-early 2010s). Jack gets an armlock Lin the behind Marius who tries going for a rear waistlock so Jack shifts his armlock further up towards Al Ani's shoulder and grabs the opposite pressure point, altogether forming a three quarter nelson. Marius rolls out and gets a front facelock but Jack undoes the crossface and makes another armbar, Marius again rolls out, father more gracefully this time. He finishes with a kip up and gets a wrist lever of his own., then connects with the other arm to form a full interlock and powers downwards, but when jack hits the mat, he does so in a bridge position. Jack twice takes Al Ani's load and there third time gets his knees in and monkey climbs the German. As with Allmark and Spitfire on the British thread the two raise alternative arms then bridge to avoid pins before agreeing to a stalemate - like Deano and Tony they Ed up shaking hands while both in a bridge! Marius gets an arm and makes a waistlock of it before dropping to the thigh and tripping Starz into the mount then converting to a toe and ankle hold. But Jack goes for the rope, forcing a break. (He had to struggle for it, so no heat.). Marius uses the same transitions to get the toe and ankle in the mount a second time but Jack slips into the guard and gets Marius's double legs, rolling him up in a forwards folding press for 2. The next lockup produces a Jack standing side headlock. Jack cross buttocks his man down into a side headlock in the guard then augments it with a wrist scissors. Marius responds with a headscissors but Jack shakes it off while maintaining his own two holds (side Headlock and wrist scissor, to remind you). He converts to a cross press but Marius kicks out at 2 . Jack quickly has the side Headlock reapplied so Marius stands in the hold, throws his man off but doesn't get much impact. Trying again, Jack comes off the ropes with the rebound seeing Jack pass under a Marius leapfrog and next time he walks into a Marius dropkick. Marius fires off an inner arm blow, mounts the second turnbuckle, goes for a flying tackle but is met with Starz's own dropkick and a cover for 2. (Amusingly a German male fan starts singing "Freed From Desire" by Gala whom Lauren Laverne once dubbed "the singing PE Teacher."). Stars is up and gets a boot into Marius 's shoulders. He goes for a side chancery but Marius heel of hand blow to Starz's chest puts paid to that. They lock up but Jack gets in a forearm smash. Just when you think it's getting too brawly, Starz pulls off a magnificent front chancery into long suplex. Jack gets a cross press for 2. Next he tries a seated rear chinlock. Marius fights his way out, goes for a kick but is caught and spun round and forearm smashing him. Jack gets a bodyslam and cover and hold the leg for two. The pair exchange forearms until Marius gets a long suplex and two counts cover of his own and ditto rear chinlock. (We get a shot of young German fans cheering Jack and what a bloody healthy lot they are. No kiddies or grannies, just fit junger men who swim ten lengths each!). Back in the ring. Marius has a side headlock (presumably developed from the chinlock). Jack side suplexes out nicely (and Marius sells the impact well, bridging up in agony.). Stars gets yet another cover and 2 count- clearly no No follow down rule in force here. It gets brawly for a while until Marius escapes a Jack bodyslam, gets a rear waistlock in the corner and rolls backwards into a front folding press but then releases and drops a guillotine elbowsmash. Jack in the corner dodges a knee first charge from Marius and strikes with a clothesline and cover for 2. Jack briefly gets a chinlock from which Marius rope breaks, after which it gets brawly again until Jack gets a front facelock and Marius counters with a single leg into toe and ankle into Single Leg Boston Crab which Jack escapes with a rope break. Marius comes in with pressure points but it goes back to brawling except for one little wrist lever from Marius to set up a forearm smash. Jack then got a rear waistlock into German suplex and 2 count cover. He gets his rear chinlock again, moving from seated to sideways on the mat Marius powers upwards and it gets brawly again until Marius ends up on the ring apron and delivers a sunset flip and a powerful German suplex and a missile dropkick off the top turnbuckle. Jack tries a flying bodypress on a charging Marius but is rolled off. He single legs Marius who spins round with a superkick. Jack catches an again charging in Marius with a dropkick. He gets a full Boston Crab but Marius pushes up to get a double kneepress only for Jack to take him down in a front folding press/double leg nelson for 2. Marius gets a toe and ankle and tries for a submission. Jack curls his way out and (after one token stomp) gets a swinging neck breaker for the one pinfall required. Jack is winner, EWP European Junior Heavyweight Champion and owner of the trophy Marius brought to the ring at the start. The first half was a fantastic scientific clinic. The second half was more of a brawl with a few curate's egg bits of technical work, particularly the final minute or so. It could have benefitted from enforcement of the no follow down rule and discouragement of rope breaks.

What it says on the tin. Pedro Morales, the Moondogs, Mr Fuji in tights, Putski and Tito as a tag team. All this and more. Booked by someone who was obviously a big fan of fthe WWF scene five years earlier .

( @El McKell as promised #2 of 2) I'm going out later so I'll do a review tonight hopefully but here is another Jack Starz EWP appearance from 2019 to be getting on with.

I did have a Hugo Perez bout from the same show as this here but it felt too much like the Samson/McDonald bout, all strength moves and little finesse. So here instead is Prince Zéfy in his autumn years, no longer quite the high flyer but able to work a crowd (and gets an Avertisement for "exciter la Publique" one of the heel rules Monsieur Jacky instituted in the Noughties as I recall. ) but fights gamely back back until Trash and Gannon start walloping him with corner pads and giving him quite a binding before missing a double team spot allowing The good Prince to get some retaliation both in wrestling and his corner pad flogging before scoring the pin with a shoulder charge. Two interesting points - the crowd singing along to Flesh Gordon's music (is that tune something more famous?) and Gannon Grey as a heel manager here - he later did a stint as un Bon during the Pandemic before becoming a méchant once again by 2023.

( @El McKell as promised #1 of 2) I frequently like to post the above Southport match as an example of the state of the Great British Clean Match in the C21st. The only downside is that, having already posted it a couple of times early on, I feel like I've already covered it off. So here instead for the blow by blow treatment is another bout from the same period a few weeks away at the Epsom Playhouse. Unlike Southport, the Epsom video cuts straight to the action. They link up and Deano turns horizontally to convert a half Interlock into a standing armbar. Tony immediately positions himself for a cartwheel out. He rolls forward, does a 180° spin on his behind and unpicks the wristlever with his foot á la Steve Grey, then horizontally swivels again to drop toehold Deano into the mount then rolls across him to apply a grovit on the mat. But Dean rolls round with his back to Tony's torso to reverse the grovit. Tony stands up in the hold, feigns trying a waistlock counter then whips Dean overarm forcing a somersault bump, Still holding the wrist himself he rolls back to make another armlock. Deano stands and uses a rope assisted somersault to escape the hold, then gets Tony's arm and deftly turns to get the wristlever again, forcing Spitfire to position for the rollout. But Deano reverses the direction of torque forcing Tony to take a backwards roll and bump. Deano tries to bend the arm into a Jim Breaks Arm Submission position. But Tony stands up (note his World Of Sport logo bicep tattoo!) and tries to hook Dean's head before Allmark forces him down again. Dean goes back to work with the arm submission, even applying it backwards, until Tony gets up and this time gets a headlock. They hit the ropes in the hold, Tony is thrown off on the first rebound but on the second rebound he floors Dean with a bodycheck. Allowing Dean up in compliance with the no follow downs rule, he gets a headlock and cross buttock throw into guard Headlock on the mat. Dean turns into an upright kneel and then into a headstand in the hold and falls backward across Spitfire to escape the Headlock and get one of his own with his legs pointed securely away. Tony uses a similar headstand in the hold to simply uncork himself. The two exchange sportsmanship and start over. Tony offers a half interlock but then falls backwards and gets the crossed headscissor on Allmark. H3 turns round to get at Dean's legs and after pulling his hands away lifts him off ground by the knees. His power goes and Deano, still in the crossed headscissor tries a quick double kneepress and gets 2. As they try to lock up, Dean gets a legdive, floors Tony, scissors his ankle and adds a wristlock on top. He then switches to a side chancery hold (while maintaining the ankle scissor.) . Tony meanwhile has an incipient half bodyscissors in place with his free leg. He forces the foot down to join the other ankle and complete the bodyscissors. Dean tries to switch back to the wristlever but Tony gets it free - worse he is forced to ditch his own ankle lock to focus on prising Tony's bodyscissors open. Tony keeps the hold and turns Dean Allmark into the double leg nelson. But Dean leans forward, grabs both Tony's wrists from behind to make the surfboard setup but can't haul his man up in the hold. He turns over and tries getting a double leg nelson but Tony resists being turned over and they start over. A collar and elbow becomes a Tony full armlock, driving Dean to his knees. Tony makes a back hammerlock with Dean in the mount. He half leg Nelsons Dean's other arm to turn his man into the guard and get a cross press for 2 from referee Frankie Sloan (cousin and then tag partner of Robbie Brookside.) and still has a wristlock on the arm he was hammerlocking earlier. Deano springs up in the hold but Tony headlocks him (before he can roll out). They hit the ropes and Deano gets free, drops to slow Tony to pass over but gets mown down with a Tony bodycheck on the third rebound. Mindful of the no follow down rule, Tony lets Deano up then takes him back to the mat with a side headlock. Dean turns him sideways into a folding press but at 1 Tony regains his gravity and rolls back. So Dean gets a headscissors Tony turns it unto the upright position. Despite Dean obstructing with an elbow. Tony uses a headstand to uncork the hold and kneel on the scissors to form an incipient Indian deathlock. Dean sits up but Tony gets a double underhook on him. Dean gets a leg free and outstretched but Tony tries for a front hammerlock so Dean counters with a small package attempt for 2. They start over. Dean switches from the double interlock to a rear waistlock and rides out Tony's escape attempts until Spitfire prises off one arm and wristlocks it in the guard. Deano kips up and briefly gets a countering wristlock but Tony switches to a headlock and bounces them both off the ropes. Deano ducks under the rebound, leapfrogs the next one and cross buttock presses Tony but is caught with a ground position dropkick as he moves in. Tony t gets a bodyslam but this time it's his turn to be caught by a ground position dropkick followed by a cross buttock into armlock. Tony counters with a legdive into toe and ankle hold. He loses his grip but manages to make a full Indian Deathlock instead. A couple of times Dean's shoulders touch the mat for 1. Tony turns into the same front underhook from earlier - and again maintaining an existing leglock as he does so! He tries to switch to some form of armlock but Deano rides out on top, gets a half nelson then a full nelson. Tony gets into the seated then standing position. He detaches the hands to make a backwards full interlock then backs Deano into a corner and throws him but Deano rolls through and upright. They pause to encourage the crowd and shake hands before fully interlocking. Tony gets the test of strength advantage but Deano forms a bridge. After Tony trying to break it with a couple of headbutts to stomach, Deano kips up and takes the advantage, having Tony in a double arm press for two before Tony pushes one arm up. He counters a second attempt but pushing up his other arm and a third attempt with a bridge. Dean loads himself on twice but does not break the bridge. The third time, Tony has got his knees on an Monkey Climbs Deano. Both men are flat on the mat, each getting an arm up for two 2 counts from Sloan. On the third, both men bridge then Tony rolls into a double kneepress but Dean rolls him the rest of the way round with a double leg nelson. They flip back and forth in "La Bascule" double leg Nelsons then a two way leg press before calling it a stalemate and getting up to soak in the crowd applause and shake hands. They lock up again and Tony manages to get a Posting on Deano and follows in but Deano leapfrogs him in the corner (catching him slightly on the way over.) He then handstands on the opposite top turnbuckle - although reminiscent of Masambula's pinfall celebrations, this is actually a trap move similar to the Johnny Saint/George Kidd/Rene Ben Chemouel/Vasilios Montopolous "Ball". Tony pauses for thought before getting Dean in a powerslam position but it's not secure and Deano slips out behind and gets a folding press for 2. He gets a wristlever, a weakener before Tony can roll out and then a rear standing armhank. He switches from there back to straight arm lever then a side headlock on the mat (sadly there is a cut in the video so we don't see how he did this) switching to a front facelock then the first forearm smash of the match before getting a posting but Tony takes it well, absorbing the impact on his knee and coming back with a sunset flip and takedown into double leg nelson for 2. Deano springs out and gets double legs into an inverted front folding press but Tony bridges out, turns Dean around into a front-facing rear waistlock position and then round into a backslide position but Deano gets the better of it and gets the backslide, securing it with a handstand, but can only hold it for 2. Deano gets another forearm smash into posting but again can't get the full impact as Tony rear leapfrogs him and bodyscissors him back into a somewhat clumsy sideways-held double leg nelson for 2 (I think it was meant to be held in top with a bridge!). Now it's Tony's turn to try the forearm smash and posting but Deano in turn takes the impact well, leapfrogs his man, crouches down, briefly gets caught himself in a double leg nelson for 2 but then gets free and grabs a double arm, tricking Tony into rollin backwards right into a folding press with bridge for 3. Dean Allmark wins with the one required pinfall. They shake hands and embrace. If anything an even better match than the Southport bout (which has a bit less wrestling and a bit more crowd working, but has a more old school ring with red and blue corners which is more persuasive when showing to lapsed fans that old British Wrestling is alive and well) Two guys in the 2010s giving me as much fine detail as any two no nonsense shooters in the early 70s. Fantastic stuff.

Just checked my notes and that KMG story is definitely not true either. Even Hervé himself is on record that he started using the name Flesh Gordon in 1982. And indeed, I have him on posters as late as February 1982 still using his real name. So the KMG, with G for Gordon, was definitely not founded in 1979. **The Penny drops** Of course it's always possible the G stood for Gerard (Hervé).

Which style are you referring to? Osprey's high flying stuff or Old School British Wrestling? If you mean the latter then grrr, frankly. 😄 (unless you're serious in which case you and I need to have a debate)

From Bob Plantin's FB page "Two Frenchmen, for a championship from the world, in Spain _GILBERT LEDUC vs RENE BEN CHEMOUL" (autotranslated) Also on there Quasimodo/ the promoter of LCDR and the great Victorio Ochoa! I expect "Font" was Salvador Font (see profile - and IIRC a clip or two - on page 2 of this thread).

I shall be posting separate matches involving both Tony Spitfire and Jack Starz to the British and German threads at the weekend and you can judge for yourself. I have seen both live and saw Tony working as a ring announcer less than 2 months ago. Nino and Jordan I have not seen in the flesh but have seen plenty of on Youtube, particularly on my Smart TV, to the point where they are regular current TV wrestlers in my life.

The salient point.

Add structure - the classic structure of an American wrestling match is (1) Initial babyface pop (2) Heel Heat (2) Babyface comeback into face win or heel screwjob win. However, when you have two blue eye (babyface) teams (or solo opponents) in a clean sportsmanly match, this obviously becomes redundant.

On a general level Mason, Allmark, Breaks, Bryant and others including Robbie Dynamite (Berzins), Tony Spitfire, Jack Starz, Harry Sefton and Nino's younger brothers Xander and Leland have perpetuated the Traditional British style into the 21st century whereas Osprey and ZSJr are just two guys who fit the bill of what is deemed trendy by the US indie cognoscenti and who just so happen to b3 British. Teenage Mason was the hot prospect Old School British Wrestling needed in the mid 90s, regarded by some as the last great product of the old time system of brining up talent in the game, (FOOTNOTE: some would argue he shares that distinction with Jason Cross and Justin Hansford and I could add a couple more mid 1990s names like Stevie Bee and Robbie Michaels, but anyway ...) a light in the seeming oncoming darkness of tribute act hell By the Noughties he had the reputation of being able to have a great match with even the proverbial broomstick (no less than Chic Cullen has used those terms in private correspondence to me when discussing James) and charming good guy while equally capable as both a thuggish villain and a slightly edgy tweener on the verge of getting upset with a situation and going heel. Dean Allmark was in 2001 the frontman of a crew of around half a dozen teenage rookies from the Staffordshire area whose hardcore promotion GBH was shut down by the local council and who were retrained from scratch by All Star veterans into an entire new generation of Old Schoolies. If Mason kept the lights on, the Staffs gang banished the darkness permanently. The charismatic and boyish Allmark quickly became star turn of this crew and a natural top blue eye for All Star for many years. His long running feud with fellow Staffs crowder Robbie Dynamite was for several years the natural match of the night on many All Star shows. Mason and Allmark's style meshed well enough for them to have state of the art Grad Brit matches. While some saw mason go into paranoid heel mode others remained technical masterpieces to the climax Jordan Breaks is a blossoming retro wonder, a serious scholar of the less flashy lights of yesteryear - such as his namesakes Mike "Flash" Jordan and Jim Breaks. Often breaking out in the modern era spots and sequences last seen decades earlier and breathing new life into them. Current British Lightweight Champion Nino Bryant is the heir apparent to the lineage of the great parade of TBW wonderkids in the 70s/80s like Bobby Ryan. Dynamite Kid (whom the curly mopped Nino physically resembles.) Davey Boy, Danny Collins, Kid MCoy etc. Able to on the one hand have speed and skill masterpieces for his title and on the other to be the raging fuming underdog in his feud with heavier arrogant heel Tate Mayfairs. The emergence of his kid brothers Xander and Leland have allowed Nino to walk his first miles in the shoes of the experienced veteran helping to build a younger generation, jobbing a trophy tournament final his his brother and giving him a competitive title match before ultimately retaining, germinating the next generation.

Damn, was planning to review this one at the weekend, but it seems I've already done it. Never mind, I've got a great alternative lined up.

I personally get tied of him and Zack Sabre Jr being shoved down my throat as the best this country has while James Mason and Dean Allmark - and more receontly Jordan Breaks or Nino Bryant - get overlooked or even deliberately ignored. But that's just me.

I'd go beyond what OJ says and put it forward that structure and pyschology were not native characteristics of Old School Western European wrestling cultures like they were of American/Canadian wrestling and that it is necessary to backpedal on the strict requirement for structure and pschology in order to appreciate Trad Euro, especially Trad Brit, the way an original fan of these territories would have appreciated them. That's not to say that such ideas never found their way across the Atlantic, but when they did they were very much an exotic outside influence. I do love Saint/Faulkner from Oldham 1981. It's the bout I post to WWEers on Facebook to stretch their perceptions of what wrestling can be.

The referee is the unsung blue eye/babyface of the 1972 Street/Breaks match, keeping control of these two notorious villains and getting a good technical 1-1 draw out of them with only 1 public warning seconds before the end.

Thanks for that, will check it out. I've already got a 2019 EWP match earmarked for the German thread for this weekend but this can slot in for the weekend after. Paco Ramirez sounds an interesting opponent - a complaining Spanish heel, Gerard "Flesh Gordon" Hervé's debut French TV opponent in 1979 IIRC. Interesting to see if Street is the babyface or if it's heel vs heel like the Breaks match.

I only know of one (vs Axel Dieter Senior 1981). He's almost a babyface there. He still does his act but it's almost like him and Axel are politely flirting with each other as an expression of sportsmanship! AFAIK the only other pre America bouts in circulation are: (1) The Hells Angels (Street and Bobby Barnes) vs The Dennisons (Alan Dennison and Sid Cooper) 1960s 8mm fading colour fancam (2-4) World Of Sport/ midweek late evening ITV vs Jim Breaks, Mick McMichael and Dave Barrie (son of Les Kellett who faced Barnes on the same broadcast) (5) Jackie Pallo Promotions home video cum pilot for a (declined) share of ITV coverage - teamed with Steve Kelly to lose to Pallo And Son (Jackie and JJ) In both the last bout and the German bout with Axel, Street has a beard which was later cropped down to form the muttonchop sideburns he sported in 80s America

Here in Britain you can tell peoples' age by asking them who Fit Finlay's sidekick is. Young 'uns say Hornswoggle. Old 'Uns say Princess Paula. Probably also true in Germany/Austria. Finlay's feud over the World Mid Heavyweight Championship with Marty Jones - including his defence against Steve Logan mk2 were MAGNIFICENT as was a Clean Match putting an on-his-best-behaviour blue eye (babyface) Finlay Vs fellow blue eye Davey Boy Smith in 1982 as an eliminator for a shot at Alan Kilby's British Heavy Middleweight Championship title. (Finlay went heel again to win the actual title but lost it back to Kilby in a return match, this cycle happening a total of 3 times)) During 1985-1990 Finlay was given a push as a bully boy heel, part of which involved a feud with him and Big Daddy stalking each other at shows. During this period Finlay had a tendency to "work strong" and his technical skills went out of the window as he brutally beat down on lighter opponents. Jackie Turpin (brother of tragic boxing champion Randolph Turpin) got a decent match out of him, so did Johnny Saint and Chic Cullen (who won the belt off Kilby the course of losing the British Heavy Middleweight title to Finlay) but the other main outcome of this period was one of his poor helpless victims, 18 year old British & European Welterweight Champion Danny Collins who began a slow mission to get revenge. This started with Danny suffering some narrow competitive loses to Finlay such as at Croydon 1988 (for the "Mick McManus World Of Wrestling" videotape) culminating in 1989 with Danny winning the said Brit H-Mid title off Finlay - a year too late for ITV - plus a coda in 2012 when middle aged veteran heel Dirty Dan Collins took it upon himself to beat down on rookie Fit Finlay Jr at a Croydon show "as payback for all the beatings your dad gave me!" Finlay and Paula split up in real life in about 1991ish when Finlay was British Heavyweight Champion. He later had a great match at a 1992 Euro Catch Festival with Jushin Liger (formerly Flying Fuji Yamada in the UK). Finlay and the UK Skull Murphy (Peter Northey , son of 60s star Charles "Roy Bull Davies" Northey) were a pretty hot heel tag team in the early 80s and they had a passable reunion in the early 90s, mostly on Welsh Language TV. Ike all good heels of his era, he had a one night blue eye stand against mega heel Kendo Nagasaki circa 1990. Finlay's ring act with Paula pussywhipping him for losing falls - was a big hit with British audiences at the time although apparently many American fans find it unsettling.