David Mantell

A vlog piece about a visit to an All Star show in Yorkshire back in February this year.

A quick one to make up the numbers. The third and at the time intended to be final installment of the Masked Marauders storyline. The all masked tag team (in itself a rarity on British TV) beat Nipper Riley and Firearm Colin Bennett but then accepted a challenge from - and lost to - Big Daddy and Kid Chocolate on FA Cup Final Day World Of Sport. Marauder Minor (Lucky Gordon) was last seen being dragged to safety by Marauder Major who takes on Daddy solo in a lumberjack match, 3½ years before ITV screened Hogan Vs Savage in an MSG one. Just to warm up, Daddy arm wrestlers and beats the Marauder and armwrestles and SQUASHES perennial Marauders manager Gentleman Charlie McGeen, a UK knock-off of the then heel Captain Lou Albano. According to legend, a German with a pay dispute tried to infiltrate the lumberjacks and, in a scene cut from the broadcast, was frog arched out of the room by Daddy personally. This is KNOCKOUT ONLY oh yes. Otherwise known as a Texas Death Match in America. The match is a squash too. Marauder gets thrown out by Daddy and helped in by heel lumberjacks. Syd Cooper and Banger Walsh each run in the ring to attack Daddy but are easily seen off. Charlie stays up on the apron like Marquis Richard's butler in France. He and Marauder try to double team Daddy but are each collared and thrown off. Two postings and a throw send the Marauder out and his future tag partner on TV Walsh tries again and gets the sane treatment. Marauder comes back and takes the double elbows backdrop for a KNOCKOUT. He is now defeated and must unmasked. Daddy realises he hasn't splashed anyone so Charlie gets it. Some lumberjacks including, ironically, Black Jack Mulligan while referee Peter Szacazs the kid brother of Tibor unlaces the mask and pulls it off. A load of light brown hair is underneath covering the face. He rolls out the ring and the heel lumberjacks cover his head with a towel and lead him away. And that was meant to be the end of the Marauders gimmick but they had a second run in late 1983/ early 1984 with Mulligan replacing Lucky Gordon as Marauder Minor. Major and Charlie even teamed with Giant Haystacks to beat a Big Daddy-lead side in an Xmas 1983 triple tag. Finally Daddy and Pat Pattton defeated Banger Walsh and the Marauder who again unmasked and this timecwas clearly identified as Scrubber Daly. He and Gordon later wrestled as Marauders without masks and lost to Big Daddy and Andy Blair. If you like Ultimate Warrior Vs the Honky Tonk Man from Summerslam 88, you'll probably like this too. Best watched through a child's eyes.

Some more Robbie, this time in the ring. We've seen Karsten a couple of times now, wrestling a pretty decent scientific match with Franz Schumann in 1998 and as an old bald guy for the EWP in 2009, ironically taking on Robbie in a tag match. This starts JIP, presumably in round 1. Robbie gets a Superplex off the middle turnbuckle and puts on a curios combination of camel clutch and reverse grovit. The commentator calls it a "front lock"in German. It's not very effective as KK gets his legs out from underneath and stands in the hold. So the Wildcat reverse DDTs him. KK gets a quick folding press for 2, angering Brookside who stomps him and flings him to ringside. The bell goes but Robbie smashes KK's back into the ring frame before he's done. Round 2, presumably, Robbie gets a side chancery and forearm smash. KK is tangled in the ropes and the Wildcat pounces on him with brawling and a posting. KK gets a surprise slam for a 2 count but misses a dropkick. Robbie gets a rear waistlock and smashes KK forward on the mat then backwards in a German suplex. He gets a folding press opening fall. Round 3 and Robbie gets a drop toehold and crossface into Gotch toehold, adding a side headlock. He goes for the surfboard, gets all four limbs but instead of hauling KK up, reverse grovits him. The Wildcat lets go, kicking his man around. He gets a belly to belly suplex but is slow following in and so referee Didier Gapp refuses a pinfall count. They brawl on, Robbie mouthing off to the German crowd before KK posts, Stinger splashes and snapmares him for 2. Robbie gets a dropkick, some clobbering and Boston Crab. KK resists so Robbie releases him, boots him a bit and then the bell goes. Round 4 and Robbie races across the ring to resume the beating. He gets a side suplex and H&S (Actually the commentators just call in "ein Sleeperhold") transitioning to a chinlock on the mat. KK powers up, elbows out and jumps on Robbie's back with a sleeper of his own. obbie back him into the corner and posts him. KK reverses it but Rob takes the impact well and boots KK as h3vtries to follow on. He tries for a suplex but KK reverses it into a fisherman's suplex for the equalising pin. Round 5 and Robbie gets a knee in during a lockup and drapes KK in a Tree of Woe in the corner and sliding dropkicks him. He throws KK to ringside and tries to smash KK's head in the post but the local reverses and climbs the top turnbuckle and gets a flying Bodypress for 2. He snapmares and shoulder blocks Robbie who leapfrogs him but has hiptoss attempt reversed for 2 by the German who goes in for a flying tackle but is caught in a tombstone piledriver ("Á la Fit Finlay" says the commentator) for the deciding falls. Much the same comments as Franz/Doc apply. Slightly more wrestling but not intricate enough to be a technical masterpiece. Robbie is settling into the role of thuggy British heel, "2* world wars, 1 * world cup" and all that. TBC 5:00

I reviewed the original Prince/Noced match some time back and mentioned this rematch at the end. It gets off to a fast start. Prince gets in two armdrags, a double legdive and a neat cartwheel out of a leg throw, ducks under a Noced inner arm and lands a saus-chassé. A few seconds breather and they double interlock then Prince drops to one half and cartwheels to twist the arm, rolls horizontally across Noced's back and armdrags him. Noced gets dirty - as I said in my review he is Savage to Prince's Steamboat in the same white long tights as WM3. The two plus L'Arbitre Charley Bollet stop to have a good point and shout at each other then Noced gets a snapmare, a throw which Prince rolls up from then a second which he cartwheels out of, a Manchette across th3 back and a leg spin which Prince again cartwheels out of. He ducks a Prince Manchette but then falls for a Prince folding press attempt into trow out of the ring . Charley asks Prince if he HAD to do that. Noced is threatening to exit the room, Charley intermittently counts and holds LPP back. It's the audience who bring Noced back - sick of their giving him th3 bird, here turns to chide them, especially the commentator. Finally deciding that there is only one honourable way out, Noced returns to the ring (getting a first Avertisement on the way in) where Dubail intercepts him.. Daniel throws Daniel (sorry) back into the ring over the top rope LPP gets an armlock, spins to twist it, goes behind and takes Noced down with a flying armscissor . Noced rolls himself over on top and with Prince as a human glove, throws his man out, but Prince's bodyweight, such as it is, is enough to drag Noced over the ropes with him. They land on the ring apron and duffle in with Prince still holding the armscissors from earlier. Prince slaps his man's limb, Noced grabs his man's hair. Four times Prince rolls Noced in the hold. Noced stands but still had a human glove on his hand. He lifts and places Prince on the ropes - then rains illegal punches on him, pulls him down and stomps him repeatedly on the deck (just as the commentator tells us Noced's old Mum is in the audience - I only hope her son smartened her up beforehand! Bollet forces Noced back and starts a count on Prince. Dubail is up at 4 when Noced back hammerlocks him down and smashes his head in the canvas repeatedly.. Noced apparently gets a Second And Final Avertisement - the MC mentions disqualification but none is applied just yet. Noced puts Prince's arm in the hammerlock position then throws him so he lands bent arm first. He stomps the Prince out of the ring and Manchettes him back down as he is about to get back in (a second catches him and helps him upright.) and aims a kick at him from inside the ring. Bollet starts a count which reaches six when Noced goes to knock Prince down but Dubail drags him out side by the leg to join him. The two trade forearms at ringside then Prince rolls himself back in with Noced following. Prince butts Noced in the stomach then takes a side chancery but dodged being jumped upon and crawls away, gets up and dropkicks Noced in the back. Angry and fire up by the crowd, he picks up Noced and floors him in the corner with two Manchettes, flips off his shoulders and flying stomach butts him. Prince gets a headlock then ducks down and comes up in front with a hiptoss and a spin on Noced's nose. He gets another headlock and lands one blow on Noced's skull and lets him drop. He gets another headlock and - as Noced grabs for the hair - smacks him in the stomach with the heel of the hand. He gets a side chancery but Noced uses an actual illegal punch and Prince rolls away outside. Noced tries to keep Dubail out but he flying tackles Noced from outside and gets a 2 count. No ed backdrops him but is caught by a ground dropkick. Prince then handstand splashes him for a pin. He offers Noced a handshake but Noced tells him where to go! Prince puts on his spectacles and leaves the ring, stopping by for a brief peck on the cheek with a female fan who had been injured during the match. (He is married with 2 kids, the commentator told us at the start, so no hanky panky!). I'm not quite clear if it was her, but some woman gets in the ring and is introduced to the crowd. Meanwhile the next two wrestlers make their entrance. Batman looking like any normal balding caped crusader who'd lost his mask and a 30 stone bearded monster. Klondyke Bill, the senior of the two Klondyke Brothers, never made it onto ITV unlike Klondyke Jake although the brothers did make it onto that BBC2 documentary later used as stock footage in an episode of Til Death Us Do Part where Alf Garnett was watching wrestling on TV, to avoid paying any rights money for ITV footage. He did turn up at the end of Prince and Noced's previous singles match a year earlier to congratulate le Prince. I doubt Dubail wanted any more of his friendship after what follows. If you look at Bill and think Giant Haystacks, you're not far off. The real Martin Ruane was working for Brian Dixon at this point and after moving to Joint would make his ITV debut 13 months later tagging with Big Daddy to disqualification against Roy and Tony StClair. Big Bill meanwhile, despite his similar gimmick, only ever gets this one complete bout on TV anywhere in the world, against a fellow Brit dressed for closing time at a Halloween disco. He is Canadian just like Haystacks was American in Austria 1986. Shapewise he is the size of Haystacks in WCW 1996, mercifully Martin unlike Bill here did not wrestle topless. Bill works like later period Haystacks - slow and dirty. He bodychecks his man like Big .Daddy. He uses pressure points (a puff of cigarette smoke hilariously passes by Batman's behind like he's just done a Batfart.) He no sells butts and elbows. He can be leapt over to obtain superiority in a top wristlock battle but brushed his Batman off like Big Daddy does to Kendo 17 months later in Solihull. He abused refs like Stax do, throwing poor Charley out of the way and getting an Avertisement. Bat gets an armbar on but Bill uses the bounce of the ropes to shrug him off. He tries again, same counter. Finally he opts for high kicks/knees to the head and chest, flooring Bill on the seventh. Angry, the big man slaps on a rear chinlock - his first scientific move of this bout. After a couple of minutes, Bat hiptosses Bill off! Angry, Bill ragdolls Bat a fair amount then posts him. Bat respond with a Bat Saus Chassé leaving Bill tied in the ropes like the last days of Andre. Despite Charley's pleas as he works to untie the giant, Bat hits Bill with a flying tackle. Bill bearhugs Bat and delivers that most British of fouls, the concealed illegal punch to the lower stomach, shrugging off Charley's admonitions. Another dodgy lunch gets an 8 count then applies his second scientific move, a standing single toehold Bat tries to break the hold a few times with his other leg but it is swept away; finally he uses it to widen Bill's legs and cause him to fall backwards, then gets a toehold of his own. Charley refuses Bill's rope break attempts and even gives him the odd 1 count and helps Bat drag his man to the centre of the ring. Bat applies weakeners but Bill backcrawls back to the ropes and grabs with both arms and this time Charley reckons he's earned his rope break! Limping, the big man gets a rear waistlock into chinlock into H&S into side headlock. Twice Bat straightens it into a top wristlock but Bill reels him in, using the hair (such as Larsen had) the second time. Bill eventually bodychecks Bat and sits on his shoulders like he was going for a Victory roll. He bounces in the hold. Somehow Bat escapes and boots Bill in the behind causing him to fall forward. Bill gets pressure points but Bat drops him neck first on the top rope from outside. Bill gets a chinlock into rear chancery, shoving Charley away as he checks for air supply, before finishing Bat with a bodycheck. He twice gets waistlocks into concealed illegal punches. Bat hiptosses Bill by the beard out of the ring He pulls him back in over the top rope and posts him but Bill catches him in the corner and bodychecks him against the turnbuckles. Bill posts and splashes and posts Bat who then dodges a splash and flying bodypresses Bill for 2. Bill does something between Hulking Up and a Tugboat impersonation 16 years ahead of time then resumes squashing Bat in a corner. Bollet tries to intervene but is thrown off and finally splashed Bat goes to help Bollet but Bill throws him off but then misses a splash. This earns Bill a DQ. He gripes a promo about it but Bolet says Bat A Battu Bill. Prince Vs Noced was less than half the length but I found about twice as much to write about it. A case of from the sublime to the ridiculous. Haystacks - at least the young 29 year-old Haystacks of 1976 - deserves an apology. (Plus that's two bouts so I'll have to do another British and German bout each to make up numbers).

It depends on the individual mask or face paint. This was the first face paint in wrestling I ever saw:

A rare piece of footage of the Liverpool Lads, Doc Dean and Robbie Brookside as heels together. Dean is twice former British Welterweight Champion. Tony StClair is in Franz's corner. Doc is looking much as he did in his final Reslo appearances as Disco Damon in 1985 versus Danny Collins, the old black mullet replaced by a fringe and odd paneled trunks. Round 1 It starts very technical. Dean straightens a headlock into an armbar and Franz replies, instead of a roll, with a Fireman's carry takedown and crosspress for 2. Doc gets a drop toehold and crossface on Franz. Th3 babyface brawls his way out but Doc gets double legs and a weakener. and a somersault splash off the opes. Schumann gets a side headlock cross buttock press but Dean gets headscissors.He keeps it for quite a while. Schumann eventually goes on his back and uses his legs to undress the clamp. He armdrags and armbars Doc who gets the headscissors back, augmented by a toehold. Bell goes but Doc doesn't release for ages. DJ plays Smoke on the water Round 2 and Franz gets an armbar. Doc rolls out and gets an arm if his own. He snapmares Franz down and adds an armhank. Franz pulls him self up and on the second attempt boots Doc in the head. Doc gets the arm with a knee on Franz's head. Franz goes up and down the ropes like Tony Stewart to escape. He armdrags and bodyscissors Doc, gets a 2 count pin. Then a chinlock.then double armlock . Bell goes. Round 3 Franz gets a legdive into legscissor. Doc gets H&S iplus bodyscissors . Franz pulls the headlock open to make a top wristlock on the mat. Doc briefly regains both holds then whips and shoulderblocks Franz and makes a pin but Franz's foot is on the ropes. Doc gets the earlier holds back on, keeps it until the bell goes. Robbie has to restrain Doc from going wild. Round 4: Franz gets a drop toehold into STF then almost a surfboard (Jushin Liger before Doc gets to the ropes.Franz posts and clotheslines Doc. Dean back leapfrogs Franz, backdrops him, puts him on a corner and huracanranas him down. Goes for a pin but the bell goes - both Liverpool Lads are furious. Round 5 Franz has a Marty Jones Powerlock but Doc scuttles to the ropes. Franz gets a double underhook suplex for 2. Doc Dean gets an American Figure Four Leglock. Franz tries to counter with an ankle lock. Doc snapmares Franz as the bell goes Round 6 Doc chops and slams Franz, who drops toeholds him out of the ring where Robbie is waiting. Franz sliding dropkicks them both then topés them both. He snapmares and headscissors Doc for a long while until he kicks out. He gets Doc in a suplex then dumps him on the top rope, the bell saves Doc in a Knockout count. Round 7. Franz throws Doc out the ring and threatens him with an elbow but gets into a fight with Robbie. Doc is back first, Frank appears to have bladed. Doc goes back out and smashes Schumann' into the timekeeper s table, Robbie rolls him back In the ring. Doc gets a moonsault on Franz for 2. He gets more 2s from crosspresses. He says he got 3 and the ref nearly gives him a yellow card. Round 8 Doc posts Franz but then they clash heads. Doc is up first, he suplexes Franz into the ring. Franz gets a DDT for 2. Doc gets a blockbuster suplex for 2. Franz gets the belly to belly suplex for the pin to win and defend his title. Robbie is angry. We Are The Champions plays. Good fight with some good bits of wrestling liberally sprinkled around. Later that year, the Liverpool Lads went to WCW who treated them as jobbers (see their squashing by Harlem Heat.). Doc settled in Florida and went on to indie wrestling, plumbing and sadly an early grave. Robbie came home and became All Star British Heavyweight Champion, the most hated wrestler in early C21st Germany the Wildcat and recognition as a legend.

What I would really like to have would be a singles match between Vic Faulkner and Masambula. Two men from vastly different cultural backgrounds United in their shared values of technical wrestling excellence, sportsmanship and GSOH. But there isn't one, nor is there a Vic Vs Tony StClair match which would have been rather good too. But at least I found this - which doesn't seem to have been reviewed on here before. A very young Steve Grey with sideburns, in against Vic. MC is Charlie Fisher -he was a European Champion in his day and I think one or two of his bouts have been covered on the French Catch thread. Round 1 and the more experienced Faulkner goes to work with with a rolling single leg dive. Mindful of Running Out Of Mat, he drags Grey by the leg to the centre of the ring and turns him into a Gotch toehold but when he tries to stub Greys knee into the mat, Grey suddenly pulls himself upright, a common move of Vic's ironically. Steve gets the better of a finger Interlock and has Vic down in an armlock in the guard but he kips up. Vic succeeds in getting Grey to look up and snapmares the distracted Steve but he keeps his hold and drags Vic back down in the guard. Vic again tries the kip up and snapmares, with the same distraction, but also with the same result. So he changes tack and forward rolls out, kicks off the middle rope to push himself into a backwards roll that lands him standing in front of Grey. He uses his foot to pick off the wristlock and himself armlocks Grey on the other arm. Grey forward rolls twice and is out, to a round of applause. Faulkner gets a figure 4 top wristlock into armdrag into long press but Steve turns him over. He gets a couple of 1 counts despite Vic having bodyscissors on him. Grey turns himself into a front facing position to work on breaking th3 lock at th3 ankles.Vic tries for the French "Ah Ouais" style atomic drop but Grey puts his upright legs down like aeroplane wheels and stands up to break the bodyscissors. Grey gets a headlock but Faulkner works on the ribs to force Grey to break the hold. He wins a full finger Interlock, puts Grey's palms on the mat, holds them down with his feet and pulls up his chin. Grey resists, even when Vic turns his neck. Vic tries for a stomp but Grey pulls his hands back and scores a dropkick on his man! They cross cross and Vic gets a forearm smash in but not much more. Vic throws Steve into ropes, leapfrogs him on the rebound, then takes him down twice with a flying headscissors for five each. Vic rear double legdives Grey, runs up his length, gets the feet under the arms and turns him over into a double leg nelson into folding press with bridge. It's a magnificent pin and it's successful. Faulkner, now ahead, generously helps Grey back to his corner and even attends to him before going back to his own corner to get his own. Round 2. Faulkner gets a full finger Interlock, leans back to turn him into a double leg nelson. Grey tries to force a Bascule but over shoots and Vic rolls through into his own double leg nelson. Grey makes a better effort of getting a folding press but Vic just upturns the press. It ends with the flat two way leg nelson with both men getting an arm up at 2. Vic tries a bridge loaded feet press but it doesn't change things. All four arms up at 1 after 1. So referee Max Ward calls a break and they get up. Vic gets a full Japanese Stranglehold, kicks out a Grey knee, lens back and gets the surfboard. However he leans a bit too far back and to his surprise gets counted for 1 a couple of times before Grey rolls backwards and nearly has his own Japanese Stranglehold until Faulkner double knee chops him. Grey gets a single side interlock and resists Vic's attempts to get the other side, picking it off with his foot. Grey gets a headlock but again like round one Vic works on the ribs to break free. Also like round one, Vic gets a leg and turns Grey into the Gotch toehold - but this time Grey just rolls away. Vic gets a collar and elbow into armdrag into bodyscissors, occasionally getting counted 1. Both try to divert each others attention upwards. From a waistlock position, Vic manages to push off and fall away leaving Grey to land on the canvas. Vic gets an armbar and twists to force a somersault and bump on Steve. He then gets a top wristlock on the mat, driving Grey back down when he tries to stand. Grey does vertically stand, up a foot to unpick the hold, take the other hand and get a wristlever. Vic similarly reverses the armbars back with a rear foot pick but Grey rolls out and away. Vic gets a straight arm over the shoulder, they march around in the hold then Grey leaps up on Faulkner's shoulders, scissors one arm locks the other and tries a crucifix takedown. He manages it with a grab of Faulkner's chin but once down in the further nelson Faulkner shakes himself free. Vic gets a side chancery but Steve resists the throw. So Faulkner gets another reverse double arms, trying for another surfboard. Grey flips out but lands in a double armstretch position. Grey tries to tempt him into a folding press with his legs but Vic will have none of it. So Grey boots him away on the chin (or possibly the throat as Vic is selling his neck a bit) and rolls off. Vic kips up. Steve gets an armbar, passes it over his head and almost forces a somersault and bump- in the end Vic just rolls through. He posts Steve but Grey takes the impact well, on his lower leg. Vic gets a single legdive to drop Grey into the mount, then adds a single toehold with a foot in the back of the knee for extra torque. He sits up but Grey turns into the guard, leaving Vic only with a single straight leg and anyway the bell goes. They get a good long round of applause and shake hands. Round 3 and Vic gets a standing full nelson Grey tries the lean forward escape and unpicking the clasp. Neither have any success. The straight arm drop escape does work but as he rolls over, Faulkner reapplies the hold. The same thing happens a second time and then Grey breaks one side to go behind and apply a full nelson of his own. Vic rears his way out and gets a sunset flip on the still doubled up Grey who uses a leg chop to break out. Vic stays down til 9 to get some rest. Grey throws him and they bounce off the ropes until Grey tells Vic to stop (normally a mind game Vic uses) . Bewildered, Vic turns round and Grey strikes with a rear waistlock into front folding press for a surprise equaliser. One fall each. Vic is exasperated with himself for falling for it but congratulates Steve regardless. Grey offers Vic a bottle of water and toweling off as recompense for when H3 lost a fall in Round 1. Vic gamely accepts. Round 4 and they finger Interlock. Grey forces Vic on to his back and loads himself onto Vic's torso as Faulkner bridges up to avoid a pin. He tries to drop his weight but Vic gets underneath and goes up into a monkey climb and flip. Vic goes for a double kneepress but Steve gets both legs in for a leg nelson. Vic kicks up and over into a folding press with bridge. but Grey crawls out. Vic gets a wrist and high whips forcing a somersault and bump. Vic still has the wrist and kneedrops the bicep. Steve stands up in the hold so Vic armdrags him back down again. Grey slowly backrolls and Vic gets a back hammer . Grey gets both Vic's legs and lifts him, placing him on the top turnbuckle. An amused Vic shakes Steve's hand. Vic gets a bearhug s and rope a dopes Grey off various sides. The third time, Grey comes back with a bodycheck then both men miss a splash apiece. Twice Vic gets double legs only for Grey to spin him off. A third time, Vic cartwheels upright and catches a charging Grey with a backslide for a pin and 2-1 win. They shake hands. Grey would go on to many long years as British and European Lightweight Champion, only finally vacating the former title in 2021 (only a traffic holdup prevented him from refereeing current champion Nino Bryant's win over Lewis Mayhew for the vacant title.) He would also be Rick Steamboat to Johnny Saint's Ric Flair for the World Lightweight Championship with Grey's 1989 moment coming in 1992-1993. A great Vic Faulkner bout, technical, sporting and cheerful. What I like about him.

Faulkner and McMichael were like two friends in a bar who are both brilliant pool players and who like to have a banter with each other as an expression of their cameraderie, especially while having their friendly but high powered pool matches which would honour any Pool Championship. When they get on the pool table together, the whole pub gathers round, partly to hear them mock-gripe in jest at each other but mainly to see them both do some amazing trick shots and other skilfull stuff on The Beize. We have access to four of their eight ITV matches and in three of those the focus is on both men's technical skills with their banter as nothing more than added spice. The one time the banter is overwhelming, they only have two rounds to play with and were probably under pressure from Max C to get stuff in, so the more serious spots suffered. The only other person McMichael had this on-screen banter with was Owen Hart in Germany/Austria and that was when Mick was refereeing. As a referee in the German speaking territory, McMichael was grumpy but fair-minded as opposed to an out-and-out miserable bastard like Didier Gapp. Actively wrestling in 80s Britain, he is an avuncular gentlemanly sort who, when disqualified for recklessly injuring an opponent, is prepared to own up to having messed up and takes his punishment like a man. Vic against other blue eye opponents such as Johnny Saint or teaming with Bert against Roy and Tony StClair or even Masambula and Zimba, he used his tricks sparingly, but when he did, opponents and even the referee take it in good humour. Saint, Faulkner and referee Jeff Kaye in 1981 are all good friends together having a fun sporting contest. When Vic tries it on with a heel, it only humiliates the heel because the heel treats it that way. The heel hasn't got the self confidence to relax and laugh just like he hasn't the confidence in his abilities to play by the rules.

And that last one is in colour too. Possibly another test. Perhaps by that stage they may have advanced from just filming stuff in colour to doing test run transmissions. By way of comparison, here in Britain, BBC1 and ITV both went colour Saturday 15th November 1969 (the first official ITV broadcast being World of Sport. indeed including some Wrestling although not as the first item of the show) but the colour UHF signal was switched on in August and certain programmes -famously including the first 8 or so episodes of Monty Python - were simulcast on the colour frequency as tests , usually only at a few minutes notice. Some older fans report that both World of Sport and the midweek wrestling were beneficiaries of the colour testing. Another possibility is that some of this wrestling was part of the few hours per day colour broadcasting TF1 did between September 1975 and Spring 1977 although most of this was reportedly recycled FR3 programming. By contrast, all the 1975 bouts were before September so could only possibly have been in 819 line monochrome. If they are ever recovered, it will be as 16mm b/w kinescopes, same as all bar one match of everything we have 1956-1974. Incidentally, Bob Plantin's copy of the August 1976 broadcast and the late Albert Sanniez's silent copy of his 1977 bout with Angelito both look very much like colour kinescope films, which ITV was also doing by the mid/late 70s (apparently someone has a print of one of the Marty Jones-Rollerball Rocco matches that had been used on a plane as in-flight entertainment.)

By 1978 TF1 was in colour and the INA does have some TF1 bouts from that period including that Oct 15th 1977 broadcast which I've reviewed before. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems there was only one TF1 broadcast in 1976. It was taped in colour presumably as a test but only aired as 819 line B&W -and the colour tape got sent to INA like that one lucky unwiped colour tape from January 1969 (Delaporte &Bollet Vs Montreal & Zarzecki) was. In which case the four 1975 TF1 bouts were the very last bouts to be shot only in 819 line B&W and since the INA probably didn't have an 819 line video recorder, they didn't record those bouts. They probably were kinescoped and sold as 16mm b&w film like all the 1956-1974 footage we have but the INA probably didn't bother going back to the former ORTF's overseas sales department (or however it was organised after the ORTF breakup) to buy an update on the stock they had onboarded upon the INAs formation in early 1975. Or if they did, those bout got filed separately under some funny indexing. If the INA don't have those bouts, there are still three possibilities for finding them; 1) They are in an archive somewhere in the world gathering dust. 2) Prints got nabbed and taken home by staff either at the last station in a bicycling chain or else back home in France, and are now in the hands of some elderly film collector 3) A very rich French fan bought an 819 line machine.years earlier when the format still had a future and was still routinely taping bouts in 1975 (or else worked in the VT engineering department and was routinely knocking off their own copies of stuff like the person at ITV who made their own copy of Johnny Saint Vs Keith Martinelli that same year 1975.)

How many of these were on TF1? I recall there were four in 1975.

Just realised that is is actually this one: With all the crowd shots etc cropped out. Was this an actual wrestling show or a mockup of one on a movie set?

I've watched the first bout, Souglakos Vs Thompson. Quite a wild brawl. OJ will like it except that it appears to end in a Double DQ (they get pulled apart and packed away , then it cuts to AS in the gym.). Venue looks like Tromaras fight above, similar sports hall similar ring with similar problems with putting the apron on properly. AS looks like mid 80s Don Muraco, big power man gone to seed somewhat. There's a slo-mo of him in a gym ring doing a dropkick. Another match, another sports hall, possibly a converted squash court. Surely not a boarded up swimming pool? Why would they do that in Greece? Ring canvas looks like an old blue tarpaulin . AS in handicap tag match, heels have biker rocker look. One looks like Buff Bagwell. He is quickly carted out. The other looks like Renegade minus the paint. AS has a crewcut and Terry Funk striped tights. He's not a technical guy, he just destroys the opponents like Big Daddy or Schurli Blemenschutz. Hell gets a top wristlock but AS throws him off like Big Daddy. AS doing a photoshoot with hot ladies. A girl's gotta earn a crust, I guess. AS in the second venue talking to TV journos. No ring, just a mat. AS versus Masked Man and Renegade Man. Mat looks like the canvas from Tromaras match ring. Perhaps the ring truck never showed up. AS has leglock on masked man, Renegade shows up, tried to stop unmasking, gets snapmared. He wears nice yellow/red Bermuda shorts. AS does flying bulldog/headscissors on heels. AS's trunks say CRASY. The S has been rubbed out where someone realised it was wrong. Masked Man has another nicer mask undrrneath. Heels double team AS. They stomp him like they are doing an Irish jig. Renegade gets smashed into crowd barrier, quite a juice job. He eventually is bleeding too much and is carted away by the legs. AS gets a Boston Crab submission on Masked man. Footage of AS's posh up-market gym. All the latest weights machines. Some more match highlights including Renegade. Kids flop all over AS as he does a promo. AS Vs the earlier masked man and another Superheavyweight masked man in leopardskin Very like the Mambo Le Primitiv types in some of the film clips. Leopard stomps AsS on the ropes, they say under his weight. Referrwears a HORRID 80s shell suit. AS gets revenge choking Leopard Man between ropes. Somehow he gets a submission out of it.Ringvgets besieged. I think this could be an AS/Tromaras superbout. Lots of armbars and snapmares and top wristlocks. If that is Tromaras. he's working heel. Horrid cheap Hoover bag corner pads. Canvas looks like an eiderdown. Mid 80s post-prog background music. Shots of the bout 2 match spliced in. Perhaps this is a music video for AS? He gets a title belt at the end. I think these venues are basketball courts. Filmed carefully, they look like mini stadiums with only one wall of 5 rows of fans so a 200 strong audience can be made to look like a stadium crowd. And it's still better than that awful Underground carpark theatre from 1987. Overall verdict. Nice buildings, rough gimmicky wrestling. Indie wrestling a decade before its time.

Here is Jose Bejar's opponent Marco against one Jean Saenan. No audio so we can't tell who's who. One of them does rolls more like the British style. The younger one gets an armhank on the older moustachioed one. They both take turns doing the bridge and snapmare out of a front grovit. The older one gets a toe and ankle, switching nicely to another armhank. He has the double armstretch on the younger one whom manages to kick him off without being folding pressed. One of them gives the other some high whips. The older one gets tied by the neck in the rope and the ref has to save him from worse damage by the younger one (the older is a heel getting his comeuppance?). After that there is a brawl with the odd front facelook thrown in an a "comically" speeded up bit. We don't see a finish, just them heading outside for a ringside brawl. Neither one in the Bejar/Marco bout looks like the older moustachioed one so .I guess he is Saeanen and the younger one is Marco.

This is Julio Antonio Sofia: I think he Might be the one who tries and fails to get a Boston Crab so makes a Giant Swing of it, and does the leapfrog later.

Not sure if Luc Bejar was related to Jose Bejar a few decades earlier. He's in the second of these two matches. In the first (rather murky and filmed from upmin the lights) we see an attempted Boston Crab being foiled and a toehold close to the ropes. In the second with Bejar facing one Marco, we see a backdrop and missed dropkick, a headscissors, legspread and some good rollouts from armbars. As I've noticed, it's not done QUITE the same as in traditional British Wrestling, they keep their body at a length from the opponent , almost rolling over on their side rather than a clean forward or backwards roll. Otherwise the two just fall into the ropes and run out of mat. Can't match either of them to the photo in the Pablo Campo book.

The cheeky thing is not their actual gimmick. It's a part of their shoot personality written large. More importantly it takes a backseat to their serious technical skill and sportsmanship (and in Masambula's case the witch doctor aspect although this is discarded by the time the bell rings, a pointed difference from the likes of Papa Shango. Vic Faulkner and Mick McMichael's banter as cheeky chappy and grumpy-but-with-a-good-heart is their way of articulating their sportsmanship and mutual bonhomie. Against Johnny Saint or with Bert against the StClair brothers, he is simply a clean sportsmanly wrestler with a conspicuously cheerful disposition which neither opponents nor referees regard as a threat.) The two are radio DJs by trade. Being a pair of twats is a common occupational failing: I disagree with a lot of stuff they come out with but this video and the video on Big Daddy's This Is Your Life are mostly spot-on. (For anyone concerned, the AWOL university degree certificate has been located, scanned and sent to my new employer)

If you can specify parts that need explanation I can drill down further. I'm not going through the entire piece. I have to find some important documents right now and that is a bigger priority.

No French Catch Tuesday this week. Is that the end of the new bouts? (Or are you down to just the ladies'mud match from 86.) If it is then I shall just have to get back to working my way through the stockpile of old matches, probably at a weekend with my British and French reviews. Okay, let's do one. From 1973, set in OJs favourite venue, a swimming pool oh yes. Just three years after this in 1976, Caclard and Saniez would be teaming up, in snazzy trunks, in that TF1 bill filmed in colour presumably as a test since the station only went full colour a year or so later. The film print has been through the wars a bit, you can see scratches and tramlines on it. I thought the INA had cleaned the footage up? There are quite a few second-long jumps that indicate some lost frames possibly also resulting from film damage (this can be fixed with software like Gazelle as used on 1967 Doctor Who episode The Faceless Ones pt3) 1er Manche. Caclard and Hassouni are in the ring as we start, Bernard does a finger Interlock into Planchette Japonaise on KH and goes for double legs but Khader spins him off then folks with a snapmare and a long hiptoss. Caclard lands well on his feet so Khader takes him down with Scisseaux Volees. Les Berned tag and Pierre is in. He gets a finger Interlock and leans back to get a crossed headscissor that takes Hassouni down. Khader counters nicely by turning into the kneeling position, lifting his head out and making a Gotch figure four toehold from what is left. Pierre is about to roll out so Khader let's him go anyway. (A kid in the crowd shouts something and the commentator replies "yes, like he said"). Pierre gets a top wristlock takedown and briefly lets Khader up to get a better position then reels him back down. Khader bridges up and narrowly misses getting the Scisseaux Volees takedown, it slips past Bernaert's head- possibly a botch? Pierre gets a grant facelock but Hassouni forces his way up, straightens the lock into his own armbar and gets a high whip and quite a bump. Sanniez tags in. They finger Interlock which Albert reverses inton double arms from behind. Bernaert gets behind but Sanniez slips backwards through the legs and gets three dropkicks from behind. Caclard tags in and we have a battle of future tag partners. Caclard gets two armdrags and and armlock in the guard. Sanniez kips up but gets another armdrag for his troubles. Sanniez kips up and rolls backwards so Caclard give him yet another armdrags and slaps headscissors on with a wristlock. Sanniez kips out but the wrist pays off to reel him back in. Caclard leans forward to put pressure on with the headscissors. Sanniez headstands and bridges out quite beautifully. He gets a back hammerlock out of a finger Interlock, turns his man round and gets what would later be called a Powerbomb although the fact that he's not a monster like Vader or Sid undemines that aspect. Sanniez gets a rear snapmare then tags Khader back in. He gets an armbar into high whip and bump. Caclard kips up so KH gives him the whip and bump back down again. He kips up again so Khader armdrags him back down. He gets a headscissors so Khader turns it upright, folds the legs the widen them and springs out backwards. Pierre tags back in. He gets a full nelson into snapmare into chinlock but Khader gets his head out to make it a back hammer. Pierre gets a leg through his own legs put Khader pushes him off to the ropes and meets him on the rebound with a big backdrop. Pierre goes from full Interlock to single wrist forcing a backwards somersault bump. He drops knees on the bicep. Hassouni works Pierre's spine overcwith his boot and Pierre, suspicious, releases and gets away quick. He gets a top wristlock, taking Hassouni down. Hassouni is soon the main on top. Bernaert misses a headscissors He does get a single legdive but Khader kicks him off. Sanniez tags in. He gets a top wristlock but Pierre gets the better of it and makes a high whip and bump of it. They interlock and Sanniez gets a side headlock into top wristlock out of it. Bernaert tries reversing but Albert grabs a headlock. When Pierre tries an atomic drop, Albert takes him down under his own weight into a cross buttock throw. Good clap from the audiences. Sanniez maintains the headlock . Commentator tells us his is a top footballer and gymnast too. Bernaert tries another atomic drop but yet again Sanniez rolls him over in a cross buttock. Pierre tries for crossfaces but Sanniez just shrugs them off. He stands and throws off Sanniez to the ropes but Sanniez regains the hold and again throws his man back down. Sanniez lets him up a bit then goes for the rear waistlock and rolls back into a forward folding press. He Runs Out Of Mat.as Bernaert's feet hit the ropes. Pierre offers a handshake - and then pulls his man in for un Manchette, unsporting but not illegal. The science is giving over to something else, Pierre is pulling him up and slapping him down. Caclard tags in and gets a suplex. Sanniez is up at 5:but his future partner Manchettes him down. He gives him another suplex and a crafty boot to the head. Sanniez gets a surprise elbow up from the mat but Caclard boots him down again. He gets one more forearm smash then tags Bernaert. Bernaert mixes Manchettes with naughtier stuff like hair pulls and eye rakes. Khader runs in and attacks Pierre. He is escorted out while the heels double team Sanniez. Bernaert slams his head into the mat until L'Arbitre warns him off. He gets a slam for 5 and a kneelift for similar. Sanniez fight back and tags Hassouni who really lets rip with the kneelifts. It's more of a brawl now.Khader goes after both men with stomach butts and headbutts. Caclard gets a crotchhold and lift and threatens to dump Hassouni sur l'eau Sanniez protests. Caclard settles for chopping him on the middle rope and more brawling and dirties. Caclard tries for a reverse snapmare but Khader makes it an atomic drop and a fair bump. Caclard tries again and gets over and lands a Manchette to the back, dives for a headlock and misses as Hassouni gets a back hammer on the mat. Caclard kips up rather nicely but then it's back to brawling again. Bernaert is back in as Khader takes a long count. He semi Japanese Strangleholdd Khader and drags him down by the hair, keeping the hold on the mat. He gets one more chop in before contemptuously throwing the Algerian to his corner to get the tag. Sanniez is in, dodges a charge but misses a dropkick Pierre gets a finger interlock into snapmare into kneedrop and applauds himself. Another snapmare into kneedrop and he antagonizes Khader on the apron. More chops and a bearhug but Sanniez chops back. Bernaert throws him off a full Nelson. He gets acgood double leg slingshot but tries again and Hassouni lands feet first, back leapfrogs his man in the corner, backrolls away and gets two dropkicks and a splash for the opening fall as Sanniez prevents his future partner interfering. One nil to Les Bons. 2eme Manche. Sanniez gets a couple of good throws but misses a dive and takes the first water bump of the bout. Caclard chops and hairpulls him around. Sanniez comes back from a rope whip through Caclard's legs and double legdives him. He is spun off but gets a Scisseaux Volees takedown. Bernaert tags in, whips Sanniez down and slaps on a headscissors. Sanniez uses the same bridge escape as earlier, getting a slap in on the heel's face before tagging Khader who gets a side chancery throw into a chinlock. Bernaert is doing something dirty to annoy him (we can't quite see what as the camera is too zoomed in) so Hasouni pulls him up by the ears and headbutts him like Johnny Kwango sorting out Mick McManus. He gets snapmare and a legdive into toe and ankle plus legspread. Sanniez jumps on the leg - in Britain this would be a nasty heel tactic and an automatic public warning Perhaps L'Arbitre put it down to retaliation. Khader switches leg and Caclard runs in but also ends up in the sane hold next to his partner. Sanniez climbs the corner, descends on both joints and gets at least a private warning. "La symertrie est parfait" says the commentator, well that's one way of looking at it. Hassouni throws Bernard back to his corner and continues the leg weakeners on Bernaert. Sanniez tags in, takes the other leg, waits til Khader is out and switches to the weakened leg., giving it a hearty leg stretch. Caclard tags in and gets snapmared and Manchetted. Sanniez corners him, flips off and chops him. Caclard goes for a tag so Sanniez chops them both. Les Bons tag off screen but Khader runs into trouble, snapmared then double teamed. Sanniez gets in and full Nelsons Caclard, throws him to the corner just as Khader breaks free, cannoning Bernaert into the water, a moment fans have been wishing on the Vieux Pontoufle Méchant all match long. Caclard nearly follows him and the two heels try to trag Hassouni out before L'Arbitre warns them off. Caclard is angry, all Manchettes and kicks (one at Sanniez on the apron) He slams and stomps him and tags Pierre who continues the dirty treatment as some of La Publique call for L'Arbitre to do something about it. As the heels get their heat, we see the commentator (young longhaired flowery shirt type) interview Roger Delaporte about the period of a swimming pool match (he would have one himself later that year). He talks of the perils of drowning the way American colour commentators talk of being smashed into the steel bars/fence in a Cage Match. The commentator mentions their Souplesse and Delaporte concurs, especially Hassouni. He runs down their amateur and pro backgrounds. Things must be getting nasty in the ring meanwhile, we hear a chant of Aux Chiottes L'Arbitre. Back to the ring, evidently Hassouni has been getting double teamed. Caclard Manchettes and splashes his man for the equaliser. Les Méchants double post Hassouni but L'Arbitre misses it as he is fixing a corner pad. La Belle. (Parce-Qu'Il Y A Eu) . Sanniez tries the old Ill start the fall trick as Hassouni appears to have shell shock, but the ref will have none of it. Hassouni is snatched up and double teamed by the heels. Caclard gets a legsweep into kneeling leglock. Apparently the heels got an Avertisement at some point says the commentator but the crowd still want to ref matched off aux Chiottes with the rest of the Chie. Caclard gets more leg weakeners then tags Pierre. Hassouni absorbs Manchettes before striking the Hot Tag. In comes Sanniezwith chops, a hiptoss and dropkicks. He tags Khader back who misses a grab to Pierre's head but fights back with chops and headbutts and a pressure point. Pierre tells his partner to Regarde what he does. He goes for a slam but Hassouni blocks it so he tags back Caclard who has the same problem. Khader dropkicks Caclard in the back, cannoning him into Bernaert who goes in L'Eau. Meanwhile, Sanniez shoves Caclard down but he kips up and shoved Sanniez down. He goes twice off the ropes before Sanniez strikes with a Scisseaux Volees and comes back from a good backdrop with a ground based dropkick. The two hit and miss stuff until Pierre tags back in. Caclard fouls his way out of a side chancery and into dominance. Hassouni tags in a d rolls on a single finger interlock to wind Caclard into a full Japanese Stranglehold. He rides him to the mat as Bernaert tries to interfere but slips over on the mat. L'Arbitre babyfaces himself to the crowd by booting Pierre into the water but Caclard has meanwhile reversed the hold. Hassouni reverses it back, leapfrogs and superkicks his man. Pierre tags back in and Hassouni headbutts both men. Some arsehole in the crowd is blowing an airhorn. Sanniez gets a Headlock into back hammer into Manchette. Both teams tag and brawl frequently. The horn is blown by the aforementioned sphinctre in the audience. Sanniez gets two dropkicks in on Pierre before he tags. Khader gets an aeroplane spin on Caclard, Bernaert tries to intervene but his own partner's leg boots him into the water yet again. Hassouni drops Caclard and strikes with a flying tackle for the winning pin. Les Bons win 2-1. Les Méchants both end up with one more soaking each. Good technical match in parts especially the first 8 minutes, good brawling fight elsewhere, the sort of thing OJ would like if not for la piscine.

Quite a good docu piece on Masambula. Tagging @William Bologna in this as he liked the last one I shared on here. @ohtani's jacket The guys on here have an interesting take on whether people like Vic Faulkner or Masambula (and possibly Owen Hart in Europe) were comedy wrestlers or not. They class them as "cheeky wrestlers" who were a separate category from the outright comedy guys like Catweazle/ Kevin Coneely/ Les Kellett.

Pretty good show, sadly no clean matches but Joel Redman (he no longer uses his NXT name Oliver Grey) did some good moves in his bout with Kian the Fox Kelly. Harley Hudson from TNA was there too. There was a Rumble at the end - Micky Long won, beating Kris Dekker who beat him in the opening match. Plus there was a TRIPLE TAG 😛match. Tony Spitfire was MCing although the programme featured his heel "Loudmouth" persona, and it was a new programme. I guess he must becstil doing it in other parts of the country. There were plenty of WWE action figures on sale including a classic one of Jake Roberts - young Joe Dixon and I got chatting about Jake's UK tour in 2001- all before Joe's time of course but he's been brought up with it all like a bible story.

Held in a brightly lit sports palace. The only thing shoddy about the production is the ring apron which is coming loose an the hard cam side. We onl6 see a spli5 second of Tromaras "signing in" - countersigning the match contract at the time keeper's table, an odd double of Kats Eleniki we see in so e other clips on this thread. Tromaras gets a good ood pop and shakes his opponents hand. No idea who the opponent was, we'll just call him White Trunks. He establishes dominance early with a couple of armdrags and a leg spin in response to a double legs Boston Crab attempt . We cut to Trunks with a toe and ankle plus legspread and Tromaras spinning him off by flipping himself over on the mat from guard to mount. Despite his strongman gimmick/legit reputation, Tromaras loses a full finger Interlock test of strength only to take back power when down. Trunks is unable to get a 3 on a crosspress and complaining about it. Tromaras benchpresses him off and gets a side headlock into standing back hammerlock into single leg folding press but White Trunks gets his shoulders up. They exchange forearm smashes until Tromaras knocks White Trunks to ringside. (The ref counts in English.). Back in the ring, Tromaras slams White Trunks who gets up but is headbutted and dropkicked down, taking a somersaulting bump on the way, then two flying headscissors which send WT to ringside again. WT delivers slaps and Kicks but gets a shoulderblock to the chest as payback, then a shoulderblock, slam and rear snapmare, then a sleeper into chinlock. Tromaras takes WT down with a rear single legdive into toehold 7ntil WT gets a rope break. Tromaras gets a whip, legdive and pin, Hecwinsca stone thing and a trophy while White Trunks just rolls around in defeat. This is only highlights so a lot of match content is missing but clearly Tromaras is not your Bill Kazmair/Ted Arcidi immobile fireplug, he has some moves and some agility. All the other footage we have of Greece is of shabby rings in even shabbier venues. Apart from the detaching ring apron this one looks pretty good. Some sort of Greek equivalent of the 1983 Spanish TV bout, a one off TV Special, perhaps? Parting Question. What is ATV? One of these? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATV

One of Salvador Font too.

A couple of profiles of wrestlers from that last clip.

Joaquin seems to be a bit of a brawler, we see him roughing up Mariano including a knee to the stomach.Mariano still uses crossed bodyscissors to get out of a Boston Crab attempt. Joaquin still gets the fall with a German suplex then a cross press. Sadly most of the last two bouts are played too fast to judge them or even to work out who is who.