David Mantell

Not sure if pasting the translated transcript is a great idea, it takes a while to load and is fiddly for editing and I'm not sure I fancy copying and pasting translations from Welsh for Reslo or Japanese for puro company material.

This is a bout we've not reviewed before. Previously we've seen Morowski and the Polish Prince against Axel "Only One Shooter Here" Dieter and the man who told him to "pull the f'n trigger then," Bob UFO Dellaserra but here instead of Bob we get a different fourth man, Tino Salvatore aka Salvatore Belomo, last seen on British TV in the January 1973 Fanfare For Europe beating Sailor Tug Wilson 1-0 and next seen 14 years later in January 1987 losing to Kamala (also a World Of Sport alumnus as the Mississippi Mauler) in the first of six WWF Specials. It's not much of a tag bout to be honest.Dieter starts, gets beaten down, tags Tino who REALLY gets beaten down, eventually makes the hot tag to Axel who gives the villains a right proper pasting except it all gets out of hand with a DQ.for the heels after they bring a chair in the ring and pildrive Tino on it. You know the score.

Signsquad who I think is the same person as @sergeiSem has reuploaded this video with some new German commentary.

Surprised this has never been reviewed on here given the high esteem Terry Rudge is held in. This isn't quite a clean match but the referee stays in control and it most remains technical. Round 1: Rudge breaks opens a headlock into a top wristlock.but Steele regains. Rudge withstands a bodycheck attempt. Steele gets a side chancery and takes Terry down but he comes all the way back up to the top wristlock. Steele gets a side chancery (as discussed in the Ian McGregor bout this is his go to hold) but Rudge straightens it to a wristlever and then front chancery. Each man forces the other into the ropes for a break. Bell goes.Kent hint that Rudge might go heel later. Cut to Round 3: Steele gets front chancery, Rudge counters with toehold takedown. Steele tries to kick Rudge on the head but does not break the hold. Rudge goes up, gets a snapmare the slingshot. Steele gets cross buttock press for 2. Rudge goes from front to side chancery, Steele resist the throw. Steele gets single leg takedown into front open grovit into sleeper . Bell just as Rudge reverses to front chancery. They part exchangeing suspicious glances. Kent runs down Rudge 's International record including Greece and the draw with Inoki. Round 4: Steele wins finger Interlock but can only get the odd 2 with pins. Rudge fight back Hogan/Warrior style. Advantage goes back and forth.Rudge gets a butt to Steele's chest. A break in the corner gets rather needley. Rudge gets standing double wristlock. Ray Steele tries for a bodyslam but to no avail. Bell ends it, Rudge provocatively wipes his forehead on Steele's shoulder. Round 5. Steele gets standing full nelson. Rudge gropes for snapmare counter then tries powering out, eventually breaks it into front then side chancery, then forearm uppercuts. Kent worries it will degenerate in to brawl but luckily it Rudge gets a butt to the stomach then a flying tackle for 2. Steele gets semi Japanese stranglehold into wrist lever, straight arm weakener and hammerlock. Adds a grapevine the switches to rear standing armlock. Rudge gets drop toehold takedown, vaguely tries for a pin, eventually gets chinlock then up for forearm smash exchange with Steele firing back. They are locked in the ropes when the bell goes, Steele gets in a last slap, Rudge is unhappy and sells it long after. Round 6: Rudge tries to come out wet and slipper, ref Jeff Kaye wip noSteele gets front chancery, grapevine, arm lever but Rudge trips for a cross press and 2. Another finger interlock test of strength.Forearm smashes, Steele getting the best of it. Rudge gets a hammerlock takeover and headscissors. Steele tries to snap it open, Judges tries to crank it forward. And then the bell goes. Round 7: Steele gets headlock into side chancery into headlock in the mount from 135 degrees to armlock to cross press pin, Rudges bridges out nicely at 2. Tries to maintain the finger interlock but Rudge gets standing wristlever into rear armlock. Rudge gives a forearm but gets back a flying headbutt. Both up at 8 but Rudge sends Steele back down with a back elbow for another 8. Steele gets a good folding press for two and a front chancery while backed in the corner therefore broken up by the ref. Slap fight briefly breaks out. Happily for Kent (and purists like me, it goes back to science with a Steele headlock, then a Rudge folding press to match Steele's only he Runs Out Of Mat. Less happily, the bell goes again. Neither man can now win by two falls or submissions. The options are knockout, DQ (and they'll have to be quick about throwing it away with still no public warnings) or likeliest of all, a final round opener making it 1-0 at time. So to the final Round 8. They shake hands, temperamentaly but no one takes advantage. Steele gets an abdominal stretch. Rudge tries to make it a cross buttock throw but Steele stays anchored and gets the arm into wristlever while maintaining the leg grapevine element. He switches to double arms from behind (the upper part of a surfboard) Rudge tries a backwards headbutt but can't reach. He breaks it and gets two forearm uppercuts held by front chanceries. Exchange of forearms and bodychecks with Rudge getting the better, flooring Steele with a bodycheck for 9. Ray gets a folding press backslide for 2 in the corner but just Runs Out Of Mat as Rudge's feet curl forward into the ropes. Double bodycheck for eight, Steele flying tackle for 2. A final exchange of forearms but then the bell goes one last time for a 0-0 draw. Ray Steele looks like he's going to shake Rudge's hand at the end but he video cuts off so we don't see how that played out. Skill but not much speed. I found it solid enough but lacking compared to packer lighter weight bouts. The bell endings started to feel slightly cop-out-ish, it feels like they often could have got one more clever counter in but instead they just sat around for the last 10?seconds. I enjoyed it though and referee Ken Joyce came off well for maintaining order. Not a classic but substantial wholefood nonetheless.

One of the later Petit Prince bouts not really reviewed on here. OJ made it 4th in a list of faves 13 years ago but that's about it. Before the bell starts Anton Tejero (who is in for all sorts of fun 6 months down the line from this bout with a name like that) attacking Prince, knocking his spectacle off, not that he'll need them for the match but he's got problems to look forward to afterwards. This turns out to be a trigger for Couderc to come up with all manner of politically incorrect French teams for sight issues - "myope comme un dope" etc. Still the big moustachioed heel has some starter heat. Remy and Rocas'start out, good standard moves from both including a nice Roca's handstanding escape from a side headlock. They tag and LPP is having run running rings around Tejero, making a fool of him to pay back from the specs and for having Couderc dig up every synonym for "blind as a bat" he can come up with. Tejero ends up ejected from the ring. The referee has obviously been watching LPP's old opponent and real life trainer Michel Saulnier in action. It's not actually Saulnier but possibly George Wiesz. Not much actual Danny Davis esque biased calling but he does get cross with Les Bons especially Roca's, for clumsiness and recklessness that causes him to take bumps. Couderc finds the ref bumps hilarious but then he's not the one taking them. One time, the referee decides not to allow Prince out of a submission for getting the ropes and tries to kick his arm free. After a couple of failed attempts, the ref practically dropkicks LPP's hand, still fails and lands in a heap on the mat. Remy reminds me of a heel version of Mick McMichael of Doncaster, same look and build but a bad attitude. Tejero gets his personal heat back by interfering quite a bit while not tagged in. There is a great camera shot for this of him facing the hard cam when obeying tag rules and stepping out of camera facing position to go cheat. Roca's gets a pretty decent surfboard on Remy but no submission. By 21 mins in the ref is getting his first Aux Chiottes Arbitre chant. LPP rolls out of the ring and gets patted on the back and helped up by a kindly fan only for Tejero to knock him off the apron and sending him into La Publique like he is crowd surfing. It's quite a bump! He is helped back this time by a second smoking a cigarette. This could have ended up very badly indeed, not just for the second's long term health but because Tejero is intent on booting LPP out of the ring every time he tries coming back, even when the Chiotte Arbitre orders him off. Eventually the double teaming heat moves back to the ring. In the end it's Remy who gets the opening pin on LPP with a slam after the ref misses a tag to Rocas. Prince eventually gets a double monkey climb and the heels then tags Rocas who goes Manchette Mad, even giving the ref one to much cheers, before aeroplane spinning Remy (and taking out Tejero with the "propeller") for the equalising pin. Les Mechants regain their heat with some double teaming, a LPP/Ref argument ends with him scooting through Monsieur L'Arbitre's legs to make it a foursome. Les Bons have Tejero in a 2 on 1 toehold one on each foot, they lure in Remy and dump him on top, then the referee then themselves to make a pile of five bodies! A similar situation occurs later with Tejero tied in the ring ropes, Les Bons drive Remy into his stomach and the impact sends the referee flying outside. In the end. Prince gets the decider with a sunset flip on Tejero after cornering him and flipping over him into pounce formation. Prince gets a very good superkick at a time when Chris Adams was wrestling in England and possibly visited France. Who knows, perhaps Le Petit Prince and Shawn Michaels are only two links away in a chain of teaching the superkick. Overall, Tejero and Remy were carpenters making two of France's top Bons look hot stuff. Thirty minutes Big Daddy tag minus Daddy. A lot of skilled well executed moves from both sides, not to the point where blow-by-blow is required to convey the spirit of the match but enough to make it a handsome exhibition.

I've dropped Jim and Brian a note about British and French overseas sales of TV Wrestling kinescopes.

Jim Cornette talks about overseas TV sales

https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Georg_Blemenschütz

I think we need to find out more about this Georg Blemenschutz, he was obviously a very important babyface in 70s Germany. This is him doing a training session with two young wrestlers at Heumarkt 1967 (bits of the 1978 match stripped of colour at the start.)

Video about a mad Grandma fan in Austria 2003. One promotion she visits has an old school German ring like the CWA with the navy/grey canvas and white ropes. Also at the start a slightly melancholy visit to Heumarkt where neither the avenue staff not a nearby shop assistant seem to even know what Catch is.

Couple of extra things I noticed. 1)Blemenschutz and the referee are doing the whole Guy Mercier/Michel Saulnier babyface beats up crooked referee situation at the time when Saulnier started doing this with Mercier/Asquini/Herve/et in 1978. Maybe it originally came from Germany. 2) The ring looks a lot like the one in the September 1987 (I think Hamburg) tournament videos on @sergeiSem's channel.

Ringerparade was still an institution in 2002

TV obituary for Otto Wanz

You may notice a big guy called Georg Blemenschutz being interviewed. Here is some more old footage of him against The Great Vladimir. Afa Ano'is also pops up on screen for some reason. Apparently Big Georg B was an art expert awa from the ring Actually that entire YouTube channel may be worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/@catchwrestlingsuperstars805

Any ideas, @Indikator, @Jetlag, @sergeiSem ?

A few snippets of TV. So e docu footage from a sunny evening at Haumarkt in 1978. Jeff Kaye is a referee. Mighty John Quinn is there too, fresh from losing to Big Daddy at Wembley. Johnny Rasputin Howard/Doyle in there too. A couple of match clips interspersed with crowd shots. I recognise Judd Harris and of course Quinn and Rasputin . Short snippet of the Old and New Guards, Axel Dieter Vs Steve Wright. Heumarkt 1985 Two years earlier, Axel versus young hothead Klaus Wallas. Preceded by a Ringerparade including two guys who look a LOT like former WWWF World Tag Team Champions The Yukon Lumberjacks.

Bit of a short one this - Bernie Wright and masked man The Outlaw are to do battle but the mystery man does his knee in coming off the top rope and is knocked out and carried off on a stretcher. Even Bernie looks a bit worried.

I was hoping there would be some German/Austrian footage of Eddie Hammill/Kung Fu to tie in with my last 3 posts on the British and French threads but if there is any it seems not to be on YouTube. So instead I've got a few oddities starting with this from 1986: I believe this is the same tape where Haystacks called himself. Mal Kirk and MJQ "Us Americans" (in a broad Manchester accent.) Here there is no ribbing about the hometowns - Finlay, StClair and referee Mick McMichael are from different parts of the UK (respectively: Belfast, Cornwall although residing in Manchester, Doncaster in South Yorkshire) but the announcer still has to ask Finlay "what does this mean?" Finlay is already quite adept on the mic and tells StClair he is going to "kick you arse" - on British TV he couldn't talk about wiping it, never mind kicking it. All though having your behind kicked is the least in store for you if you ask questions like that in any Dublin pub. Unlike the TF1 bout two years later Paula is here, billed as "Princess Beautiful" . No headdress, and her dress looks like a hairdresser's smock frankly. Or is it an outsize T shirt? Finlay is actually in the same position as Danny Collins against Kung Fu back home a year later, taking on a champion in a bigger weight. Tony still claimed in All Star and BWF shows to still be twice and current British Heavyweight Champion since regaining from Haystacks in 1979 although Joint and hence ITV recognised a splinter version they created in 1985, held at this point by Pat Roach. This would be terminated in 1989 after claimant Dalbir Singh moved to All Star taking the title with him, restoring Tony (who briefly lost to Kendo Nagasaki in 1988) to undisputed status so that Finlay could beat him for the title in 1990. This matchup can be seen as an early step in that title quest. Only a few minutes of highlights - mostly brawling which OJ will like but also some big suplexes and a powerful dropkick from Tony. Paula interferes like she couldn't on ITV and gets chased out by Tony who gets the win with a folding press rear roll up. Mention has to be made of two female fans who if they are not plants must surely be German ring rats as they are dressed for Eighties style manhunting who get so excited about Tony getting the advantage they start making out with each other. Question - how was RTL involved in this? Did they make the tape for the IBV/CWA or did they broadcast this on TV?

Having reviewed theIr New Catch bout, I thought I'd come back here to compare it to this one. We start with Bryn Fon outside the prefab leisure centre where this was filmed. Then cut to inside where unlike in France , Princes Paula is part of the fixtures and fittings. Finlay takes down Kung Fu with a finger interlock, stomps his hand and gets a wrist lever. Hammill turns backwards, unpicks the hold with a foot, snapmares and double stomps Finlay 's face, all in one move. Finlay attacks Hammill on the ropes and floors him with a concealed closed fist punch. He posts him and holds him in the corner with a knee despite referee Brian George (Dixon) warning him. Finlay with another chop, concealed closed fist punch and pressure points. Finlay appears to release on the ropes but then follows in with chops until Eddie ducks sending Finlay flying through the ropes to Paula. Eddie taunts the Finlays from the ring. Finlay gets a legdive and standing toehold. Eventually Eddie spins him out. Finlay gets headbutts and elbows, following down illegally. This gets him a public warning, making him angry and the Welsh crowd happy. He slingshots Kung Fu into a backdrop but KF goes for a sunset flip which Finlay punches out of. Referee is suspicious ofit. Finlay illegally works Hammill in the corner but a posting gets reversed leaving Finlay landing crotch first. Kung Fu gets a couple of postings, a flying tackle and 2 count. Finlay stomps Hammill but Edie catches his foot, spins and chops him. Finlay is selling his throat. Hammill is by the ropes, seemingly not paying attention. Finlay attacks from behind but it's a trap and Hammill hiptosses him out. Paula says (in English ) that should have been a. Public warning but he didn't dump him over. Finlay gets a wristlever, Hammill goes from behind to go for the head but gets his fingers bitten by Finlay. He smashes Hamill into the post and bionic elbows him, moving out the ring to get his man on the ring apron and then dragging ihim out to the floor. S4C unlike ITV can get away with showing this but rules are rules and Brian privately warns Finlay. He misses a punch and hits the corner post, Hammill rolls back in as Paula checks on her husband's injured paw. Finlay argues a lot with Dixon. He gets on a front chancery, throw and kneedrop but misses a second one and Hammill kicks him out. Paula aids and comforts her husband who gets in and out again, trying Dixon's patience. Finlay gets a bearhug and concealed punch and two kneelifts. He uses the ropes to stand on Kung Fu's throat but Eddie pulls him outside before disciplinary action can be taken. Hammill hauls him in, whips and slingshots him and dropkicks him. Finlay offers a handshake which Hammill accepts after a brief pause. It works out and fans clap politely. Finlay gets a forearm, a fireman's carry into a throat first drop on the ropes which surprisingly Dixon lets go and gives an 8 count to. He double leg slingshots Hammill up into the ropes which Dixon warns him about but Finlay protests innocence until Dixon tells him about the ropes, then warns him again about the rules. Finlay boots Kung Fu out the ring and stomps him on the outside so Kung Fu gets his legs and drags his crotch knto the post, that old spot. Finlay protests but Dixon puts it down to retaliation. Hammill ties Finlay in the ropes and charges. Finlay dodges but Hammill headscissors him over the ropes. He gets the returning Dave with chops and knees, he responds with similar and gets the one fall required with the same inverted waistlock and slam as the TF1 New Catch bout. Longer than the French match and more of a fight, I can see this fitted OJ's tastes more than mine. A bout between King Fu and the younger hungrier Finlay of 1983-1984 would really have been something both for intensity and technical speed. The crowd were happy to see Bully Finlay get a hard time before he ultimately prevailed.

OJ on the British thread a long time ago: This all Irish bout was effectively Finlay's second bout on French TV, he and Ian Gilmour having dressed up as Scotsmen eight years earlier in a bout which might also have been on TF1. For French viewers, New Catch on TF1 was just a continuation of Old Catch on FR3 and previously A2 with shorter bouts, nicer rings and various British and German/Austrian talent popping up. This copy is taken from the recap repeat broadcast on Eurosport early 1989 just after the Astra launch with English commentary by veteran MC./referee John Harris. I believe Hammill had also wrestled in France a few times in the 80s but not on TV AFAIK. Hammill is introduced as "Jimy" which Harris picks up on. He also notices Princess Paula 's absence. Finlay can definitely get heat in France just as in Britain - this is the same year as the Croydon catch-weight bout with Johnny Saint on ITV. He has a headlock switching to front chancery now and then before finally switching to wristlever. Eddie takes two rolls to untwist then widens Finlay's leg stance to more easily fell him with a stomach stomp. This doesn't get the pop it gets in England,. Finlay is up and angry however. He gets a full nelson, spins and Manchettes him then gets pressure points. Hammill kicks and chops Finlay down and gets a flying tackle for a 2 count. Finlay boots Kung Fu a couple of times, eventually getting his foot caught, being spun round, chopped and thrown out of the ring. The French fans, especially the little kids, are having GLORIOUS fun antagonising Finlay. He comes back with a wristlever into back hammerlock. Kung Fu tries for a crotch hold and slam but can't get the weight. Finlay gets in a concealed closed fist punch just like his dad taught Rasputin to do in the Fighting Finlays documentary. The ref complains but Finlay insists in was an open hand. He gets pressure points bit Kung Fu gets a chop, posting and superkick. Another posting and Scisseaux Volees from Kung Fu. A posting, chop and snapmares follow. He goes for a lean back folding press on Finlay but only gets 2. Finlay picks up Hammill by the hair and gets in TWO concealed illegal punches. He snapmares Edie but misses with a kneedrop and Kung Fu further weakens the knee with kicks, then posts Finlay who comes back with a solid Manchette. He climbs the ropes but Kung Fu knocks him off. Another posting (breaking the top turnbuckle) and a backdrop follow. Finlay gets up, illegally punches Hammill again and pitches him out the ring. He catches Hammill returning and tries to bash his head in the corner. He tries a missile dropkick but misses, due in part to the ropes still not being right says Harris. A reverse waistlock bodyslam finishes Eddie for the one fall required in little more than five minutes. Mediocre OJ? I think Hamill gives it his all for good moves mixed with martial arts. Finlay was mainly concerned with getting over as a heel and a bully on national French TV and I guess he achieved that. I shall have a look at their Reslo bout that same year. to compare .

No previous review of this. Sound quality is pretty dire too. Still the bout itself is a pretty decent scientific match. Danny, double crown British/European Welterweight Champion (the referee here Ken Joyce once held said European title) was looking to challenge for heavier title. He'd started the previous year chasing Fit Finlay and got his tail kicked to the point where even Kent Walton criticized the matchmaking. Over three years Danny would improve against Finlay until 1989 when he beat him for the British Heavy Middleweight title . Meanwhile here he faced the then current champion, ex masked man Eddie Kung Fu Hammill. (although his title is not mentioned by MC Brian Crabtree and neither man wears any of their belts to the ring.) This was also Danny's first TV match since having an operation to remove a kidney Round one, Hammill gets a real waistlock on Danny, jabbing a foot or two through to term the young whizzkid to make a grab through the legs. Instead he breaks it first and when Hammill reverses, he reverses back a few times until Hammill switches and goes for rea double legs, runs up the spine to go for a double leg nelson but falls off as Danny gets up. Collins gets side headlock into side Chancery throw. Hammill gets a standing full nelson., switches to side chancery throws into further nelson/crucifix press. Danny bridges to prevent any pins being more than 1. Reset - Hammill offers Danny his foot to make into a Gotch toehold but this is a ruse so he can turn into a side headlock, take his man down with a trip from behind and switch to a further nelson, then a cross press. Danny bridges and resists. He goes wrist level to armdrag to cross press but Hammill kicks out. Danny gets a wrist lever and rolls to take down to the mat. Hammill stand so Danny switches to hammerlock. Hammill cannot unpick it with a foot behind. It goes down to the mat and up again with them hammerlock intact. Hamill tries snapmares which Danny resists. Danny still has his fist and takes Kung Fu back down to the mat. He kips up and rolls a couple of times before kicking Danny's ankle to finally break the hold. They finger interlock but Danny gets a leg takedown switching back into the wrist lever! Hammill stands and unpicks the wristlock with a foot. He snapmares Danny down, gets a rear seated bodyscissors. He managed to traps Danny's finger between his toes, tries for a further nelson.still has the finger. Hamill sportingly let's go. Danny gets a leg takedown as the bell goes. Round 2. Danny cross buttocks into a ground side headlock. switches to headlock & Strangle (sleeper.) Hamill turns, lefts Danny in a fireman's carry and places him on the turnbuckle. Break- Hamill throws Danny but he handsprings upright. They hit the ropes, Kung Fu gets 2 with a cross buttock throw and press. Hammill gets double rear wrists. Danny flips forward then backwards for a ground dropkick. Hamill gets an ankle takedown. He pulls up Danny to drive the knee into the mat but Danny pushes upright. Hamill folds Danny into a folding press but Danny straightens and a Bascule ensues. Stalemate. Hamill gets a folding press takedown but Runs Out Of Mat. Finger Interlock and Danny rolls back. He gets a wristlock into leg lock. Hamill tries widening the legs but Danny rectified. He turns himself into the Gotch toehold and a foot of Danny's neck to turn him into a folding press for 2. Danny gets a finger interlock, bridges and powers upright, moving Kung Fu into an underarm position. Switches into backwards roll up, he pulls Hamill over into a small package but Eddie kicks out. Danny gets a headbutt to the chest then a wrist lever then jabs him down with a double stomach blow. Kung Fu looks to be contemplating a Kung Fu blow or two but then the bell goes and they shake hands, no needle. Nice applause. Round 3 Hammill gets a rear waistlock, switches to pressure points, forces Danny to his knees, sits down and reapplies the seated rear bodyscissors from round 1. He gets Danny underarm into a folding press, untucking his own shoulders and using the bodyscissors (now in a reverse underneath position) to hold the pin attempt. He turns over into the seated bodyscissors then over again into a more securely applied version of his previous pin attempt. Danny turns it up right and when Hammill tries to keep the turn going back to pin attempt Danny four times rolls through before Hamill gets a one count. Danny rolls backwards Ito a standing start to rest. He offers his hand, Hammill bows instead, no matter. It is the thought that counts. Hammill gets a posting on Danny, keeping him down until 7. He bounces him off the ropes for a double handed chop that Danny oversells with a somersault. Up at 6, Danny retaliates with a bodycheck but Hammill gets a crucifix/ further nelson takedown for the opening fall. Round 4. Cut to Danny releasing either a Boston Crab or Gotch toehold. They shake hands. Danny gets a bearhug of all things (having just earlier done a bodycheck. That's quite a few heavyweight type strength moves he's trying out here.) He pushes Hammill back who comes off the ropes with a kick then follows in with a big splash and misses as does Danny with a guillotine elbow attempt. Hammill gets a snapmare and kneedrop follow down, allowed as continuous movement. Hammill forces Danny down from initial lockup to pressure points. Danny forces his way up. Hammill gets a double kneelift.then a flying tackle but Danny overpowers him with a Powerslam for a 2 count. Hammill gets a single leg takedown. He stands up with a toehold and behind to turn. Danny boots him into the ropes but Hammill stops himself going over, springs back and regains the toehold. He kneels to prevent a repeat of the the previous boot and turns Danny into the guard in a foldup leglock. Hammill looks to develop it to another Gotch toehold but Danny keeps his leg firmly straight. Hammill eventually gets the hold, lifting underneath for extra pressure, which Danny pushes up on his knuckles to relieve. The bell goes. Round 5. Danny must equalise In this round if he wants a 2-1 win. He gets a kneelift and snapmare and another sleeper. Hammill lifts and drops him by one knee with the free leg taking the weakener. They go for a finger interlock, Hammill tries a drop toehold but doesn't properly fell Danny who ends up with a wristlever out of it. He stands, gets in a twist an running whips Kung Fu who takes the bump.bDanny gets the wristlever slips in an underarm and throws Kung Fu, softening his bicep with a well placed knee before getting a seated armhank on. Hammill kicks from side to side like a high-kicking clockwork Majorette doll fallen over on its back, until rolling up the hanked arm and getting a side headlock on the mat. Danny turns into a further nelson press but Hammill back rolls out. Danny gets a wristlever and yanks it as a weakener, then a twisted wristlever. He gets a stranding armlift but Kung Fu shifts his weight to drop behind Danny, taking him down in a small package attempt but it doesn't come off and Danny still has the wristlever. Hamill gets in a low dropkick to the chest then a rear leg scissor in the mount, switching to rear double wrist (possibly a failed surfboard attempt.) He gets Danny kneeling with another low dropkick to the spine and applies a double arm scissors which becomes a crossed double wrist scissors. It has Danny pinioned from behind anyway. Hammill doesn't get a submission from this so he turns it upside down into a folding press secured by the wrists. He goes up onto his knees to further turn Danny's shoulders back but it isn't getting anywhere so he releases with help from the referee untangling the legs. They get up and Hammill gets a rear waistlock then switches to a hammerlock then gets a leg overvand straightens the arm to make a standing reverse hammerlock. He switches back to hammerlock this time from the reverse front-facing position. Danny puts his head between Eddie's legs and tries for a backdrop, eventually making it with some effort but is too worn down to follow up and in any case the bell goes. Danny sportingly helps Kung Fu up. Final Round 6 - Hammill can only lose by KO (or DQ - unlikely from Hammill and an undesirable finish anyway for a technical bout like this, as Kent notes). Danny's only other option against the heavier champion is to force a 1-1 Broadway with a final round equaliser. Danny goes to work to stop a 1-0 at time win for Hammill, jabbing, snapmaring and leg diving him but Kung Fu gets in a kick from behind that again Danny oversells with the somersault! He gets a kick to the stomach and a posting, but on a second posting Danny scuttles through Kung Fu's legs and fires off a night dropkick. He fires off a posting of his own but Hammill easily reverses. He tries a third posting but Danny goes into a sunset flip into folding press. It's a little lopsided but he gets the shoulders down for the equaliser. So there you have it, 1-1 draw. Shortly afterwards Kung Fu would lose his title to Chic Cullen who in turn would lose it to Fit Finlay at the same Bradford TV taping as Kendo Nagasaki's World title win over Wayne Bridges. Finlay and Kung Fu would face off in 1988 in New Catch's very first bout on TF1. OJ has previously reviewed that bout on here but I shall post my upcoming review to the French Catch thread instead. Danny also developed a new urgency to avenge the beating from his first TV match with Finlay by dethroning him - a goal reached in 1989, too late for TV. He also pursued world champion Rollerball Rocco with bouts on ITV, S4C and Eurosport but was never a Mountevans World champion above Middleweight (although in later years in the 2010s he became WAW's World Heavyweight Champion.)

Apparently his name was filched off a luchador who had toured Europe some years earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Shadow_(wrestler) I added a little Legacy section about the French Catch Black Shadow.

Point being that exec decisions that produce inconveniently negative reactions can have impact on decisions decades later. "You've got to be careful and subtle about cancelling that show. Its cult fans are loonies, they will end up doing protests outside our studios. ". Entire genres, not just individual shows can be impacted. In those cases, tact and subtlety, not Greg Dyke/Jamie Kellner/Michael Grade publicity stunt cancellations are the order of the day.

I'd imagine an exec today would scrap AEW exactly the way Jamie Kellner scrapped WCW unless they were a wrestling fan (unlikely in such circles) in which case they would replace it with some better wrestling. If a show survives a cancellation attempt due to lobbying by a hardcore fan base, execs will be careful if they try again (compared the flagrancy of Michael Grade canning Doctor Who in 1985 to execs quietly scrapping it in 1990.) If ITV had a past bad experience cancelling wrestling - or if the WWF's UK Invasion had been more advanced - Greg Dyke wouldn't have been so cocky about it in 1988. Also I wouldn't bet the house on TV execs not knowing their history. The entire media stereotype of Star Trek fans as autistic spectrum "Trekkies" comes from the temporarily successful campaign in 1968 to prevent ST Classic Series being cancelled after Season 2. A very noisy lobbying fan campaign got Season 3 commissioned, it was generally regarded as jokey and crap and cancellation went ahead without fuss but the lesson was learned about SF/Fantasy series gaining small but obsessive cult followings which could make nuisances of themselves but could also be relied on to view or buy pretty much Anything related to the franchise. France only had one TV station in 1961. Events there could easily stand out in media history.

I'd imagine an exec today would scrap AEW exactly the way Jamie Kellner scrapped WCW unless they were a wrestling fan (unlikely in such circles) in which case they would replace it with some better wrestling. If a show survives a cancellation attempt due to lobbying by a hardcore fan base, execs will be careful if they try again (compared the flagrancy of Michael Grade canning Doctor Who in 1985 to execs quietly scrapping it in 1990.) If ITV had a past bad experience cancelling wrestling - or if the WWF's UK Invasion had been more advanced - Greg Dyke wouldn't have been so cocky about it in 1988.