David Mantell

There are two Cullen-Hamill bouts filmed but @ohtani's jacket only seems to have reviewed one and I presume he was watching the other one (correct me if I'm wrong OJ.) This one was in Wales, the other was in Crewe, a town in Cheshire with an inordinately large and complicated railway station. We join the action near the end of Round 2 with Hammill winning a test of strength by putting his feet on Cullen's hands. Cullen can't slide them out so Kung Fu agrees to release but then jumps on them. behaviour which could have turned a lesser mortal heel on the spot. Cullen gets a cross armed shoulder grip, boots his man slowly but firmly in the chest to set him on his knees and switches to rear pressure points but the bell goes before he can get any revenge for having his hands stomped on. That referee looks downright ancient, like he was dug up from somewhere. Round 3. Kung Fu VERY QUICKLY gets a snapmare and double knees press. But Cullen inprone guard position fires a knee into Kung Fu's ribs then bucks him off like a bronco. Cullen grand the waist and Kung Fu gets the shoulders which he switches to a wristlever and posting with a superkick on the rebound. Kung Fu gets a snapmare and kneedrop, a posting and flying headscissor throw, pressure points on the kneeling Cullen and double knees to the head as he tries to get up. He gets a scissor chop then off the top turnbuckle for a magnificent sunset flip and double leg nelson opening pin. I like those nice golden brown stage curtains by the was, very plush theatre. Round 4. Collar and elbow lockup, Cullen gets a posting and then on the rebound he delivers - yes you've guessed it - a back elbow. Then a forearm and flying tackle but Hammill gets the advantage with a slam and double knees press but Cullen throws him off. Kung Fu tries his own flying bodypress but makes no impact and falls to the mat. Cullen gets a legscissor takedown, Eddie goes for pressure points. Frank pushes him off then switches to standing toehold and delivers leg weakeners. Kung Fu makes it up at 9, really selling the knee. Chic whips Kung Fu off the ropes and shouldeblocks his knee on the rebound, sending Hammill flying for quite a bump! He leivers a kick to the Achilles tendon which again floors Eddie. He blasts the back of the knee and takes the leg to do damage with a hold. This turns out to be the double foothold start of a surfboard but Cullen fails to get the arms and falls backwards as Kung Fu gets to his feet. Cullen floors Hammill again with a kick to the thigh. Odd he's doing these kinds of moves as his opponent is the one with the martial arts gimmick. He gets another superkick and an over the shoulder kneebreaker but with Hammill still in the corner so the referee demands a break. Cullen complies - he is still a blue-eye. Cullen again gets the legdives, leg weakeners and a basic leglock. The bell goes and Cullen sportingly helps his man up. Round 5. (A baby in the audience is not enjoying it! Probably middle aged by now.). They lock up, Kung Fu gets a side chancery throw and bodycheck but misses with a second one and Cullen pitches him to ringside. A little kid offers to help him up but Kung Fu gets back on his own power. He gets shit into the ropes but rebounds with a flying forearm. He gets a flying tackle which takes both of them over the ropes to ringside - the same little kid is encouraging them to get up - and they both make it back, Cullen via a showy jump over the ropes. If it was to avoid an ambush it fails, Hammill gets a karate kick, shoulderblock and over the shoulder armdrag. Cullen on the mat kicks Hamill in the back of the knee, fells him and gets a leglock into single leg Boston Crab then a straight leg bar against the chest ( a leg spread variant in fact.) Not getting a submission he stands and yanks the leg straight as a final weakener. Kung Fu is up and gets a wristlever augmented by a foot on the underside of Cullen's neck, he asks the ancient referee (Tiny Clarke is his name) to check for a submission. Not getting it, he switches to a standing arm scissor. Cullen lifts him up in the hold and Kung Fu gets a victory roll and folding press with bridge but Cullen crawls out. This is the same spot as in the Screensport match but it's done rather better here and gets a fantastic and well deserved round of applause from the crowd. (The baby from earlier still isn't impressed though!) Cullen gets a low flying bodyscissors on Kung Fu and takes him down with Hammill on top and himself in guard. Kung Fu tries a shoulder press and gets a 1. He briefly considers an elbow to the chest but Cullen swiped it away before Hammill can do any damage. Cullen tightens his bodyscissors making Hammill cry out. Kung Fu tries getting his arms inside the bodyscissors but to no avail. He tries for another shoulder press, gets a 1 but more importantly uses Johnny Saint's old trick of using his heel to pull the bodyscissors down until it is around his knees. The bell goes before he can capitalise. Tiny Ancient Clarke undies the feet and gets a clap for his efforts. Round 6. Final round, a good naturedly distrustful handshake, the crowd chuckles a bit. Cullen shoves Hamill into the ropes and Hamill briefly gets hooked up but quickly unties himself, no in the ropes antics you might expect from a blue eye Vs heel match on Reslo or in France or Germany. Cullen gets the head and chops down with an elbowsmash. He backs Eddie into the ropes, gets a wristlever, yanks it straight, knees the bent over Kung Fu in the chest, flooring him for 5. Cullen side chancery throws Hammill and dropkicks him out of the ring, hanging by his toes from the top rope. Cullen sporting lyb helps him back. He goes for a throw but Hammill stops him with a headlock, changes arms, goes for the ropes and a Kid McCoy Yorkshire Rope Trick MK2, turns 180 into a sunset flip position and takes his man down into a side folding press (instead of the usual double leg nelson) but disappointingly only gets a 2. (With only 70 seconds of clip left, I really thought that would be the second straight fall.) He tries again and gets a couple of 1s and a heel smash over the skull which keeps him down for 8. Kung Fu again stymies a throw off the ropes and this time gets a shoulderblock. He tries another but Cullen ducks the first pass,leapfrogs the second and gets a belly to belly suplex for the final round equaliser which is almost as good a finish as the sunset flip would have been 1-1 draw. They shake hands and Kung Fu gestures the 1-1 score to Cullen. A better and slicker bout than the Screensport one, the victory roll spot done better, the near second straight and the final equaliser were both joys to watch. Better filmed too - S4C had top notch camera crews from HTV/BBC Wales backgrounds whereas Screensport's cameramen probably had graduated up from filming wedding videos and the like. A good technical match and a good appreciative crowd (except the baby!).

Nice short clean match and a good reminder that even in the wild excesses of Screensport Satellite Wrestling there was still room for the purist matches just as with Reslo, just as with All Star and Rumble to the present day. Chuckle Brothers Miller and Beezely seemed more into said wild excesses , talking more about their ongoing angle than the match, but never mind. Scotland versus Northern Ireland, the battle of the blonds. Cullen tries for a leg but Hammill dodges him and gets a headlock, breaking off for a bodycheck before reapplying, then getting another bodycheck. Cullen gets a rear elbow and headlock of his own but Kung Fu straightens the arm and transitions to his own headlock into a front chancery, but Cullen gets a quick sharp slam. Kung Fu gets a wristlever into hammerlock takedown. He turns him into a crosspress for four two counts then back to the hammerlock. Cullen stands up in the hold and scores a back elbow. He drags Kung Fu down with a wrist lever. Kung Fu uses his Vicks to get a leg spread that floors Cullen and breaks the hold.Cullen gets a rear waistlock takedown. From there, he grabs one leg, scissors the other and makes a Frank Gotch toehold of it.Hanill straightens himself and rolls over a couple of times to get to the ropes(no heat as he had to struggle for them.) Kung Fu posts Cullen and superkicks him on the rebound. Another posting and flying headscissors. He misses a whip off the ropes and is whipped himself but goes over and rotates into a sunset flip to get the double leg nelson opening fall. Bezely loses himself with excitement "To Kung Fu, King of ... of ... Of Those Moves!" Round 2 (I think).Cullen gets a back elbow, a knee to an arm, another back elbow, a posting, a suplex and cross press for 2, a rear chinlock, one handed chinlock with armbar and lean-back neck crank. Kung Fu breaks it open leaving Cullen with rear double wrists. Unable to get a surfboard, he shoves Hamill down from behind. The Irishman comes back with straight fingers and two postings. Cullen gets a back elbow but Kung Fu takes him down with a single leg. He gets the other and is ready to go for a legspread but referee Frank Casey won't have it so he sportingly releases. Cullen gets an arm and axehandles it. He picks his man up over one shoulder, slams him in the corner and posts him in the opposite corner then gets a slam and an over the shoulder backbreaker but Kung Fu wriggles out. Cullen gets a kick, tries for a tombstone piledriver and settles for a powerslam for the equalising fall. Round 3 (if there are rounds, it's not really clear. The caption slide says it's a session.) Cullen corners and posts Kung Fu who headbutts him down. Cullen dodges a charge and gets a belly to belly suplex for a 2. He follows with a side chancery throw and guillotine elbowsmash. He tries for a piledriver but Hammill backdrops him. He tries for a splash but Casey refuses the count as Cullen was down. Kung Fu gets a slingshot into the ropes but Cullen catches him with that back elbow again. Cullen gets a fireman's carry into cross body suplex (a la Finlay.) Kung Fu is up at 9 with a chop, side chancery throw and ground victory roll into bridging folding press but Cullen crawls out. He gets a wrist (actually more of a gi sleeve) but Kung Fu gets a wrist of his own and escalated into a crucifix takedown into further nelson pin attempt but the bell goes. 1-1 draw. On the whole I think Kung Fu came up with the best moves, Cullen had his moments but a little too over reliant on that back elbow for my taste. Still nice to see respect for the pure from even on Screensport. I gather these two also met on Reslo, perhaps I shall check that out too.

Been a while since we checked out the current scene. Rumble have overcome some recent technical difficulties with their YouTube channel, now fixed and are clearing off the backlog. I thought I'd reviewed a Ted Sabin bout before on here but seems I was mistaken. Here he is the latest challenger to British Lightweight Champion Nino Bryant, last seen on here defending against his own kid brother Leland. Not only the title is familiar to ITV viewers but the venue (the Woodville in Gravesend) and the referee Steve Grey, himself a former holder of this title and longtime dormant champion until its reactivation upon his 2021 retirement. Indeed we saw the same Steve lose the same title controversially to Jim Breaks a couple of posts above in 1979. It starts technical and goes on to stay that way with the odd forearm battle and flying move thrown in. Nino has a good headscissors and Ted a good kip up escape. A lot more rear waistlock manipulation than crafty counter moves which gives the bout a bit of a 30s-50s feel. The action moves like monkey climbs and huracanranas break out halfway through. Challenger Sabin gets the opener with a backslide and the story thereafter is Nino's chase to defend versus all the opportunities Sabin gets for another, potentially belt winning fall. Good near fall from Nino with a small package as counter to suplex. Nino gets the equaliser with a folding press but the bell fails to go leaving the commentator confused. Round 6 starts with that one forearm battle, not the hardest hitting one either. Fortunately it goes technical again with a bascule sequence. Nino gets the decider with a top rope splash, I'm a bit surprised Grey of all people let that go as continuous movement. Fuji Yamada got away with a moonsault in 1987 for a one required fall on Rocky Moran, but Mark Rocco frequently got public warnings for following down for moves like that. It's a tough call. Good title defence. Nino has grown up into the role of lightweight kingpin. Maybe some day he will hold Johnny Saint's old World title.

There's something very inevitable about Johnny Halliday popping up on any piece of 60s French pop culture. They were enormously proud of the guy, no one else gets why. Madame Catanzaro et Les Gosses are also on commentary - they would repeat this thing of humanising the heel by introducing you to his family with Pierre Lagache one time in the early 70s we've already seen. Apart from a few curtains, the ring is set up in front of a big, brightly lit backcloth which looks like a sun or a gas giant planet blazing away in the background. Vassilios is totally the star, constantly spinning around, s original g both straight falls, tying one heel up in the ball position. His only jeopardy moment is when he crashes into the tuxedo clad lounge lizard referee and gets an Avertisement for his troubles. Les Mechants are mostly there to be Vas's comedy stooges - like twin Cyanide Syd Coopers at an Elvis convention. They look oddly small - it's hard to relate Catanzaro to the hardened Steve Logan mk1-esque quiffed thug I saw in a 1971 bout. I.I. meanwhile seems to be an afterthought - he tags in, the heels get some mild heat, he makes the hot tag, the heels lose it again. Vassilios Mantopolous is fantastic but this is as much a vehicle for him as a Big Daddy tag is for Big Daddy. I would rather prefer to see him in a competent clean match against one of the top lightweight stars of the era like George Kidd, Le Petit Prince, Rene Ben Chemoul, Michel Saulnier - indeed just across La Manche in 66 there was a kid called Johnny Saint who was making waves around now (and who we know later wrestled in France albeit not in TV.)

I've had a skim view of the match. I'll do a full review soon. The bits I saw looked good and fast. I guess this wasn't a dedicated pro wrestling show. There were a bunch of musical instruments set up at ringside including a full drumkit. On a modern wrestling TV show that would be ASKING for trouble. I guess they had other stuff on that show like bands and it was just a variety/entertainment show that had a wrestling match on one week.

1) IThe toupie (thanks for the spelling correction) is one of those little things that French people of a certain age can be triggered by into nostalgic introversion (like "No, not the ears!" would do for similarly aged Brits). In a similar vein I would propose "Two falls, two submissions or a knockout" and "Deux Manches et une Belle s'il y a eu" as being idiomatic equivalents. We British still use the former phrase metaphorically, I would not be surprised if the equivalent is true in France. 2) One particular issue I've had with American fans when discussing the cultural magnitude of pro wrestling on either side of the pond, is that they do harp on about live attendance as the sole barometer (other than how much money made!) of legit success at pro wrestling. 4) Okay. I tend to equate the channel move more with the end of World Of Sport that summer. It does seem logical that if that new TF1/Eurosport show was New Catch, then FR3 broadcasts 1985-1987 must be part of Old Catch, so to speak.

Thanks Phil, I enjoyed that. Listened to it in installments through the night. A few points: 1) The toupee needed further discussion. I know you mentioned headscissors and therefore escape from headscissors but both forms of the toupee - the corkscrew escape from headscissors and the headscissor throw using the skull as a fulcrum - were big parts of Leduc's arsenal. I was watching a 1983 Flesh Gordon bout last night and commentator Daniel Cazal was on about LeDuc being a toupee specialist, all those years afterwards. 2) I suspect that France, like Britain, focussed on intensity of touring rather than individual giant houses. For the Wikipedia article "List of professional wrestling attendance records in the United Kingdom" I addressed the issue thus: "In its heyday, British-based Joint Promotions and its independent rivals generally relied on intensive touring rather than major individual shows - by the mid 1960s Joint had an annual touring schedule of between 4000 and 5000 house shows including weekly residencies in over thirty cities". I expect there may be some similar statistic relating to French Catch. 3) I liked the bit about Le Petit Prince - he would have been a more natural choice to get a Catcheur into the WO HOF. Probably - as with this thread - the voting panel could do with an influx of older French fans who grew up with Le Catch and have instinctive natural reactions to some of its (to the rest of us) more alien aspects. I was quite interested in the guy who was a fan who became a ring announcer who had a large archive of research. Maybe he has a JN Lister style archive of TV broadcast info. 4) erm, TV wrestling in France* didn't end in 1985, it just decamped to FR3 that summer where it stayed until the end of 1987 - with the 1988 TF1 preview run of New Catch as a coda (taking things up to ten days after The Final Bell.) *(as in unscrambled, terrestrial analogue broadcasts of indigenous wrestling)

Then there was the time Big Daddy and a little kid teamed up to beat Giant Haystacks and I forget who - possibly another little kid - at BBC Studios for Jimmy Saville's "Jim'll Fix It."

Heavy gimmick for a country under Nazi occupation just 26 years earlier. Astonishing as it may sound. Kayser actually did his gimmick in Germany - Peter "Kaiser" faced Roland Bock in one of four 16mm colour pre-filmed insert clips of Bock in action (the other three being Donjon El Coral, Michael Nador and Beau Jack Rowlands.). Then again James "Baron Von" Raschke did HIS goose stepping gimmick in front of real Germans in 1984 for the IBV. Both trap each other on the ropes. Guy gets a side chancery but Kayser slips out so he reapplies and, with a struggle gets a throw but Peter rises up and slams him. Very much a strength bout with both getting wrapped up and not listening. Mercier gets a headscissors out of a headstand (it's not exactly a Gilbert LeDuc toupee as OJ claims but I can see the similarity.) Kayser fold them down and chops Mercier who ground suplexes Peter. Mercier gets a throw from the initial lockup. Spinning legdive and weakener. Mercier slaps his man stound. Grabs Kayser by the nose. The German is still in the leglock, until he throttles Mercier. Warned of by the ref, he switches to pressure points and a choke on the ropes. He finally gets his First Avertisement. Nearly a second for chopping Guy on the mat. Big Manchette for 5 stopped by Peter following down with axehandles. Three more forearms and a kick on the mat and more admonition from L'Arbitre. He tries pressure points but Mercier gets up and a Manchette battle ensues. Kayser gets a rear chin but Guy gets a knee. They break. Mercier takes his man down with a rear chinlock, briefly switching to a sleeper. Hec releases with one final Manchette. Kayser is up at 6 and another Manchette battle, the German cowering in the corner at one point. Mercier gets legdives into leglock.Mercier gets his own First Avertisement for reasons unclear. Mercier gets a front chancery, Kayser goes for the ropes. More manchettes and Mercier gets a slam and cross press for 2. Spinning leglock, Kayser gets the ropes, Mercier pulls him in and gets a leglock. Forces the legs open. They try each others threads then Mercier goes for the armpit, ref doesn't like it. They exchange chops in the hold, Kayser turns his man over in the hold.Kayser goes for fingers, ref slaps him off. When Mercier ties his man in the ropes, the ref tries to stop himm. Guy, years before his Saulnier-manhandling antics, gently lifts L'Arbitre out of the way. Kayser escapes, throttles his man down to the canvas and gets a second and final Avertisement while Mercier's seconds tends to him. Kaiser gets two postings for counts of 6 to 8.Hecslams and cross presses Guy for 2. Guy gets Manchettes, two postings, an aeroplane spin, slam and double knees press for the one fall required and a trophy. Afterwards Mercier cuts a rather rambling promo about how Kayser is An Athlete and says something I can't quite catch about all the Manchettes in the bout. It pains me to say it as a technical purist but the forearm smash battles were the best thing about this. The holds were slow and seemed to be used as American rest holds rather than lead to transitions orcreversals. There was something lacking in the cerebral department about this bout. Two nice details at the end - despite being a dirty villain Kayser is a good sport after the match, hugging and congratulating Mercier who reciprocates. Also at the end the camera pans up to a rather magnificent roof supported by all sorts of cool wooden beams etc.

Well properly it would have been in Greek script anyway. Maybe @Phil Lions could post a Kats Eleniki poster with his name on.

Whereabouts can these new videos be seen? I've not seen any French Catch done in a TV Studio a la Southern US Wrestling (the only European use of this format I know of is that late 70s German TV Show where Roland Bock wrestles a bear and there is a tag match beforehand). Maybe it was a particularly odd looking smaller live show venue. I seem to recall British promoters spelled it Montopolous with an O, but don't quote me on that.

Travis has posted a comment on YouTube. Apparently it's Brian Last who uploads the clips and decides what gets its own video

Discussion is at 1:26:32. 1:26:32 well Jim I have a a couple emails here before we get to the roster want to ask about this one cuz uh 1:26:38 it made me laugh this was sent to cornydgmail.com from Brian in Wal 1:26:44 England hope you guys are well i have a three-part question for Jim in relation 1:26:51 to Flesh Gordon who had several tryyout matches 1:26:56 in the WWE back in the early 2000s did he say Flesh Gordon that's what he said 1:27:03 was Jim ever aware of this guy in WWE developmental did he spend time in OBVW 1:27:10 have you seen his dark match on Smackdown versus Sin Bodi among other 1:27:15 matches thank you do you remember a wrestler named I my first thought was he's confusing 1:27:22 flesh with Flash but then I was like did Flash Flanigan do this no no 1:27:28 and there was a Flash Gordon movie that was I think in the late 70s it was when 1:27:34 they were still shooting porn on 35 millimeter it was a big budget oh my god flash Gordon takeoff there's a there is 1:27:41 a wrestler named Flesh Gordon okay flesh Gordon i'm afraid to ask what 1:27:48 his gimmick is well Flesh Gordon who uh is a French wrestler his real name is 1:27:53 Gerard Hurvey he has been a dominant fan favorite is he a brother of Jason Hervey 1:28:02 he's he's been a Why did that get me he's been a dominant fan favorite in 1:28:07 France since the 1980s when his matches began airing on national television since the 1980s how old is this [ __ ] 1:28:14 guy he was born June of 53 he's 71 now jesus Christ did this does this guy just 1:28:21 asking if we was in OBVW or something what did he say in the early 2000s uh let me see if it says anything here 1:28:26 about WWE having practiced boxing from the age of 14 as well as 1:28:32 pancration in the 1970s he went to Mexico and discovered lucha libre he started wrestling as super 1:28:40 flesh by 1979 he returned home and made his debut on French TV wrestling 1:28:45 initially under his real name but soon adopting the flesh Gordon identity he wrestled for the 1:28:53 FFCP regularly teaming with Walter Bours with Oh well if he he's okay with 1:29:00 Walter he's okay with me with whom he held the FCP French tag team championship later in the decade he 1:29:06 would team with Prince Zephy he became a regular on Euro Sports New Catch program 1:29:12 also appearing in Wales for Welsh Channel 1:29:17 S4C's Reslo Wrestling Show and home video releases by German CWA now I know 1:29:24 them the point is if this guy was born in 1953 what [ __ ] how old was he did 1:29:30 they think he was going to be in OBVW or get a try out or be in 1:29:35 developmental or whatever the [ __ ] and he was in his 50s he became the European champion in 1988 the world light 1:29:40 heavyweight champion in '92 and then created a wrestling school in '95 the Belgian TV show Strip Tease devoted an 1:29:48 episode to him entitled Flesh Gordon and the Firemen he has been wrestling for French 1:29:54 wrestling promotion wrestling stars since its creation in 2001 and holds the position of national 1:30:01 technical director so you don't remember flesh in this 1:30:10 no I I do not remember old fleshy if I Google flesh is he is is he still 1:30:17 wrestling or is now is he's just a technical director also it says here Flesh Gordon is a 1974 American 1:30:24 superhero sex comedy which is a spoof of the Universal Pictures Flash Gordon serial films of the 1:30:30 30s all right I've not seen that smut i'll see if we can find the copy of that but uh no knowledge of Flesh Gordon what 1:30:38 do you think of the name Flesh Gordon well for a porn movie I think it's pretty [ __ ] neat for a wrestler not 1:30:45 so much I don't think because again what how would you go out and portray 1:30:52 that you'd be dressed up as a space traveler except that you're [ __ ] thrusting your dick in people's face i 1:30:58 don't know what flesh Gordon

Hypothesis: Quite a few Spanish stars appeared on French TV - Modesto Aledo, Jose Tarres, Quasimodo, Jose Arroyo, Los Halcones De Oro, ... Also remember that Spain's CIC regularly toured Morocco. I wonder if ORTF was bicycling prints of Le Catch through Morocco and so they were screening these Spanish stars there? If so, before sending its stars to Morocco, CIC could send them to France to be televised and the matches kinescoped and once the kinescopes were screened in Morocco (before being mailed on to, say Tunisia and/or Algeria) the CIC could promote its top talent in Morocco as Stars Of Television. We saw from the 1976 Zambia film on the British thread how a visiting tourload of British Wrestlers were hyped as "TV Stars" on the strength of local screenings of ITC's Wrestling From Great Britain (repackaged World Of Sport footage.). The same principle could be at work here.

VdB on a rare trip across the Iron curtain to Hungary - date uncertain but I'd say it's the early 80s. Mamdouh Farag (black trunks), future national hero babyface of Egypt and scourge of WWE's Arabic language content division, during his German days Vs British wrestler Ray Glendening (red one arm leotard), a journeyman who occasionally popped up on World Of Sport. There's a couple of seconds Ringerparade at the start. Farag is bigger and stronger and slow motion ragdolls Glendening about. He powers out of a full nelson and lifts him and puts him on the ring apron while held in a front chancery. Farag is also the natural babyface, cheered all the way for his actions. He finishes Ray with a dangerous looking piledriver/powerbomb hybrid which scores him a KNOCKOUT!!! The clip is just 6.5 mins long and has been edited by someone doing acid who wanted to make the viewer trip out too, hence lots of silly effects. Promoter was Arpad Weber whom we saw in action two posts above.

https://www.facebook.com/bobbyandkeef/videos/414895559744169 Kendo Nagasaki, Blondie Barrett and The Superflies (Jimmy Ocean and Ricky "Paige's Dad" Knight) versus Marty Jones, Johnny Kidd and The Liverpool Lads (Doc Dean and Robbie Brookside) - 8 man "Survivor Series" elimination tag match, Victoria Hall. Hanley October 3rd 1992. Post TV All Star was RED HOT as you can see from the action in this clip, filmed at the same venue as the Tony StClair Vs King Kendo and Tony Vs Mighty John Quinn title tournament matches. Both the crowd intensity and the sheer pace are AMAZING. At one point fans on the stage (before Health and Safety banned such things threaten to riot so Kendo, nearly 51 years old, leaps on the stage and makes them FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES!

That man Gunboat Harris again, same tournament. Dave Morgan whom we've seen quite a bit of on here, sometimes wearing a Mashcke, other times as a clean British Blue-eyes, is here a dirty British villain while completely unMashcked. Jorg Chenok, according to Kent Walton in 1985, beat Wolfgang Saturski at around this time to capture the European Welterweight Championship (his first confirmed sighting as champion was turning up to job the title to Danny Collins on the FA Cup Final Day '85 World Of Sports Special, seven years after Dynamite Kid handed the belt back to Max Crabtree before heading off to Stampede. Arpad Weber I confess to being unfamiliar with but I think I've seen the name on the French Catch playlists. Another cheap and cheerful tag for bier swillers in a festive mood in May 1981. Jorg as a babyface reminds me a lot of Roland Bock. The same archetypal facially haired, pipe smoking,* Alsatian owning working class German everyman. * not literally, but the archetype does. Another family friendly, drunk friendly, wrestling match. The villains get more substantial, getting more heat than Harris and Viking did and eventually winning by DQ when the babyfaces go a bit over the top with the old hog tying one heel in the ropes and using the other heel on him as a battering ram routine - in response to which the faces use the disapproving ref as a battering ram too. You've sent the routine on late 70s/ early 80s French Catch TV. Never done on Delaporte (at least not as un Arbitre) or Martial in the 60s and I wouldn't fancy their chances trying that on with British refs like Max Ward. Although as we have seen, Georg Blemenschütz was treating referees like this in the late 1970s. The beer flowed freely that festival 44 years ago, they were easily amused.

Mammouth Siki clearly is a much bigger guy than Bobby Gaetano. I apologise for suspecting they were the same person because thy were both black with horseshoe baldness. Hansi Rooks I've had a soft spot for since reviewing his 1986 win over King Kong Kirk. He's what Big Daddy could have been without Max Crabtree's crazed and excessive level of Booking Him Strong. We've also seen B/W footage on here of him in the early 70s as a young man with dark hair looking like Hercules Cortez. Dave Viking I know little about, a Scotsman based in Germany with no career back home AFAIK but who seemed to be a hardy perennial across the North Sea. Judd Harris did have a few memorable moments on ITV - as Daddy fodder Gunboat Harris for Joint in 1980 and as Baron Von Schultz for All Star in 1988 popping up on the same Croydon TV taping as the Kendo-Rocco falling out to lose a title eliminator match to ex World Heavyweight Champion Wayne Bridges (who thus earned a second return match against new champion Kendo Nagasaki which he won on DQ to regain the title, then retired soon after, taking his red/white/blue ball, sorry, belt back home to his pub where it was on display for the next 30 years. Cheap basic goodies/baddies tag match, the baddies get a period of dominance over Siki before Hansi makes the hot tag, the heels are then generally mown over - including the old rowing boat spot - until they try a double team on the big blond, are DQd and sent packing in disgrace from the ring.

(Phil wrote that bit you quoted, not me) I like him better than Daniel Cazal. Unfortunately like his colleagues he does feel the need to poke for at proceedings eg calling a chair used for entering the ring "l'escalier de Service". This trend among all the commentators to make light of proceedings seems to be a gesture of solidarity with Darget after his suspension, upholding a journalistic freedom. His rugby commentary on Swiss Radio was notorious pro France and he is similarly militantly pro Bon on Catch.

Flesh Gordon got discussed at length on the Jim Cornette's Drive Thru edition 395. My Wikipedia article on him got read out at length by Brian Last, I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. Videos as soon as they are posted. Hopefully Travis Heckel wil do some photo research. I expect we will get old bald tubby moustachioed Flesh as that is on the article but you never know we might get late 80s/early 90s Flesh with the long hair and in good shape. I doubt we will get the young boyish Flesh from the tag team with Walter Bordes (Jim made a joke about him.)

The final has already been reviewed on here. For those who need reminding, here you go: From the same venue 17 years earlier before Health And Safety banned fans from sitting on the stage leaving it free for the promoter to project nice swirly lighting patterns on it. Some background - in early '86 Wayne Bridges had a real life disagreement with Brian Dixon and walked from All Star, taking his ball - or rather his red/white/blue World Heavyweight title belt he beat Jim Harris to win at Wembley '81- with him. All Star still had the original black belt first claimed by Spiros Arion in 1979 so held a tournament on All Star's TV show on Screensport (their audition forca share of ITV coverage.). StClair beat notorious Kendo Nagasaki impersonator Bill King Kendo Clarke, Quinn beat Johnny South and we were left with this final. We join in progress. Quinn doesn't particularly work the British style, he is soon getting a public warning from referee Frank Casey (recently kayfabe-suspended due to complaints from viewers about him being too lenient on villains.). StClair gets a 2 count with a missile dropkick. Quinn throws him out but rather than try taking to KO win, follows him out and hits him with a (rather comfy-looking plush) chair. A heavily juiced StClair stumbles back into the ring but Quinn works on him with closed fist punches. What with that and the chairshot, I'm beginning to think the anti Frank Casey letter writers had a point. StClair fights back a bit but Quinn nails him with a Duthty bionic elbow and undoes a corner pad and bangs StClair into it. Chuckle Brothers on commentary are going crazy and so is the crowd. StClair still fights back, brother Roy is in his corner and he slams and cross presses Quinn for two. Quinn kicks StClair down, Casey inspects the cut and awards the bout and the belt to Quinn on a TKO. Quinn and StClair continue to have potshots at each other as Roy and a second (in green) tend to Tony. The ring is under siege from fans as Quinn puts the belt on. Chuckle Brother #1 Max Beezely, later an MC on ITV's All Star bouts gets in the ring for a French Catch style post match interview which cuts off before it starts. Apparently this was the kind of envelope pushing stuff supporters of the Indies loved but the IBA would have blown a fuse over. Quinn and StClair did have their wild brawl on ITV a year later when they were both DDQ'd and left Kendo Nagasaki and Neil Sands to finish a tag bout as a solo contest, but at least that time, the referee was able to assert control. Clearly Brian Dixon needed a good filter if he was going to stay on ITV once he got a slice of it. Wayne Bridges settled up with Dixon, brought his tricolore belt back and reunified it with Quinn's version in Autumn (Fall) 1986 before losing the whole crown to the real Nagasaki on ITV a year later P.S. have added a link to the quoted section of this post back to Dean Allmark vs Mikey Whiplash at the same Hanley venue in 2003 (by which time fans could no longer be seated on the stage.)

Oh I dunno, plenty of WCW and other promotions had referees, wrestlers and even announcers with thick deep "Y'All" accents (Randy Hales springs to mind.) Bit of background - in early '86 Wayne Bridges had a real life disagreement with Brian Dixon and walked from All Star, taking his ball - or rather his red/white/blue World Heavyweight title belt he beat Jim Harris to win at Wembley '81- with him. All Star still had the original black belt first claimed by Spiros Arion in 1979 so held a tournament on All Star's TV show on Screensport (their audition forca share of ITV coverage.). In one semifinal, Quinn beat Johnny South and this was the other semi. Tony was British Heavyweight Champion in 1981 when he defected from Joint to Orig Williams and Brian Dixon . In 1982 in this same venue Hanley he defeated Quinn for the black title belt up for grabs here. Wayne Bridges followed across also with the red/white/blue belt he won at Wembley Arena on the undercard of Daddy Vs Haystacks. In early 1983 on Reslo, Bridges confronted StClair and demanded a title unification match The resulting series was inconclusive but after Tony lost his version back to Quinn, Bridges won a title unification bout. However here he has taken his red white and blue ball, er belt, home with him. Bill Clarke had been doing his Nagasaki tribute act since the mid 70s. After running afoul of the real Nagasaki's lawyers and eventually spending a short sentence in prison alongside promoter Sandor Kovacs for contempt of court after flouting a cease and desist order, Clarke had rebranded as King Kendo but continued to wear the full garb. In 1981 Thornley and Clarke settled matters by having a series of Battles of the Kendo's which saw the real Nagasaki defeat and unmask Clarke night after night. Oddly, this got Clarke some work with Joint Promotions - he teamed with Giant Haystacks in the main event at the Royal Albert Hall and got 2 or 3 TV appearances - he was in a 1982 battle royal won by Daddy and a 1984 2-1 loss to Marty Jones with Jones's enemy, World Mid Heavyweight Champion Fit Finlay in his corner. Clarke also popped up as the Masked Red Devil to lose a Big Daddy tag. Ironically the real Nagasaki would join All Star as its flagship star later that year just in time for ITV and would remain in that role until late 1993. This is a bit like seeing Randy Hogan work as enhancement talent in WCW 1989 knowing one day five years later the real Hulk Hogan will be WCW's top star. We join in progress. Tony easily throws KK with his legs but Clarke gets an armbar and slams Tony's head in the mat. KK gets pressure points and Tony counters with a bearhug. He breaks the pressure points and scores with a powerful lean-back dropkick. KK responds with a couple of concealed fist and gets a telling off from Scouse referee Frank Casey (who was back after a brief kayfabe suspension from refereeing after viewers complained he was too lenient- and who as a wrestler later became the British Bushwhacker) gives KK a stern ticking off. Tony gets an armbar but Kendo turns it into a sleeper. He knocks Tony to the mat and illegally follows in with blows and a choke on the downed StClair. Tony gets up, armbars KK and fells him with two forearm uppercuts.He gets a snapmare and legdrop but Casey disallows a pin cover for not being part of the same move. KK chops Tony down and illegally follows down to choke his man and now it's his turn to be blistered by the newly zealous Casey. KK does let his man up but then strikes with an elbowsmash, posting and an illegal knee across the throat (interfering with a opponent's breathing, like closed fists and attacking a grounded opponent was serious heat in Britain) A concealed fist and elbowdrop get Clarke a first public warning. Kendo gets pressure points but Tony corners him and bashes away with forearms accidentally knocking Casey down. Tony gets his own public warning for this while KK slams Tony and cross presses him for two 2 counts. He posts Tony and goes for a second one but Tony cushions himself, fires back with a flying headbutt and a flying tackle for the one required fall and a final against Might John Quinn, the same opponent in the same venue as his first World title win four years earlier. Verdict, sloppy match but enough crowd heat there to be visceral fun, like an American match

S4C's outside broadcast team takes the long trek Eastwards across the Severn Bridge, across Lloegr with its feral Saesneg population (look those up if you can't guess) and across the North Sea to Bremen where then current British Heavyweight Champion Tony StClair takes on former NWA Champion Masa Chono. Chono is doing his New Japan heel act here and shows it from the off, karate kicking Tony down then booting and stomping him to ringside where Orig had been welcoming the Reslo viewers in Welsh and in a snazzy blue suit just moments earlier. After some family American work, Tony and Masa set down to an old school German long work the hold sequence with Tony having an armbar in the mat and moving to keep up with Chino trying to get out. He gets a leg to the ropes but at least there has been some struggle to do so, so no heat. Chono gets a side headlock and Tony tries various things to turn him into a pinning predicament. Chono let's Tony get up then punches him down, we can't see if referee Mick McMichael, minus his kilt, reprimands him or not. Chono gets a drop toehold into his famous STF, the move he ended mentor Lou Thesz's final bout with 3 years before. Tony grabs a rope, the first time everyone ignored it, the second time he gets the break while Chono gets a First Yellow Card and consoles himself with tampering with me rd corner post cover. Chono takes Tony out and slams him in a ringside table. By the end Tony has bladed and Chono got a Second and Final Yellow Card. He gets a sleeper on Chono and takes him down. Chono backs him off in the corner but collapses. He gathers his strength and gets up in time to catch Tony with a flying shoulder block. He tries a flying axehandle but Tony catches him in the stomach. Tony's turn to fly now - he gets a flying bodypress but Chono rolls through and gets a 2 count. Chono takes it outside again, missing a charge on the metal post like Ron Simmons at Halloween Havoc 1991. McMichael blames StClair and gives him the yellow card. Undeterred, Tony slams Chono's face into the ringside table No card for that one. Or for stomping Chono from inside the ring. Tony is tired and - on the second attempt and badly- lands a clothesline on Chono. Tony bodychecks him and puts on a Zoltan Boscik Special/Octopus.Atomic Stretch. Chono eventually gets the cross buttock throw but is too tired to follow down. Both men run the ropes, collide and fall down Chono reverses a posting but Tony boots him and lands a spinning vertical splash (Puro and Lucha fans no doubt have a fancy name for this one) Tony slams Chono but misses a flying kneedrop off the top. Chono lands.three kicks on the wounded knee and takes the leg but Tony kicks him in the head with the other foot. They run the ropes and Tony gets a DDT. He doesn't follow down. Chono is up at 9 before Tony gets the Powerslam and pin. Apart from the public warnings and long protracted hold sequences of the old Germany (that StClair would have seen in his youth) there indeed wasn't much European about this bout. Slow and protracted with long double counts.

Do you mean this? That's a heat getting finish. Yes it's fluky but that's the whole point. Breaks accepts the win which most of Grey's fellow good guys would have rejected and would have then been recorded as a no contest (we saw how in 2023 one of Nino Bryant's challengers Joe Lando refused the British Lightweight Championship over a similarly fluky win.) . Breaks treats it as a great triumph. The crowd sees this and RIOTS over Breaks' attitude, so smug over his cheap win - and getting the title out of it. See also Breaks coming up to champion Vic Faulkner in 1977 and spooking him in his corner so that he punches Jim, gets DQd and so loses his title. Kent Walton claimed at the time that hate mail and protest mail had come in by the sackload.

A simple throw over the ropes (except from point blank range) could be just as much a knockout as a finisher. Wrestlers didn't bumble through the ropes of their own accord (well not that often. ) Generally they were thrown or otherwise ejected. I understood this concept as a small child long before I understood pinfalls.