David Mantell

You can see Cortez's physique just from the thumbnail. He was a big star with TV adverts and film appearances but if the 1971 car crash hadn't got him, the cocaine bust would have done. Otherwise he could have been a star perhaps up to the 80s. He does seem to have inspired quite a few other strongman top stars- Blond Adonis Shirley Crabtree on the UK opposition scene, Otto Wanz in Austria/Germany (before he got fat), George Tromaras in 80s Greece. Tarres has a large scar on his forehead which may or may not have anything to do with metal plate implants. W.e.do see a few of his famous headbutts but Cortes just gets straight up. He gets the submission win with a single leg Boston Crab and Tarres looks as good as crippled afterwards. Herc does another Hulk Must Pose at the end. There is a silly moany sound effects on the clip whenever anyone sells. It sounds like two elephants mating.

Herc certainly looks the part with his huge physique. He doesn't do much scientific wrestling but he absolutely destroys Sakata. Afterwards he does a Hulk Must Pose deal.

They're pretty good mostly. Occasionally I have to pick them up in the comments on stuff.

Quite a good vlog commentary on Daddy's This Is Your Life episode.

More Modesto. Apart from that 1983 bout and Los Heroes del X'Ondo, this is the only Spanish footage I've seen with full length corner pads. Julien Morice spent quite a bit of the 60s in the UK. Some background from Wrestling Heritage: Very like th3 French style, lots of flip moves. Aledo gets a leapfrog into rear snapmare. Aledo backrolls to take Morice down into a wristlock in the guard. Aledo on the receiving end of a rear snapmare himself but keeps hold of a back hammerlock through it. Aledo backrolls to get in for a legdive but Morice spins him off. Aledo gets dumped on the top rope while doing a human glove type move. Sadly also a forearm smash battle.

Some more Modesto Aldeo. With no hood and without the whole Leatherface face face thing we've seen on the French thread. Just a short clip from 1961. Akio his Japanese opponent comes up with some good moves, rolling nicely from a throw and turning 180' Ron front facing to side headlock and from there transitioning to back hammerlock and then when Aledo tries to go behind, gets him with a rear rear snapmare . I wouldn't mind seeing more of Akio Yoshihara. Moledo gets a cross buttock, legdive and leg weakener. Akio backrolls out of an armbar (not the British front roll.) Aledo appears to get a Gotch toehold submission although the commentator says he pins Akio'sxshouldrs. Possibly this refers to the longshot at the end which looks like a folding press. Suggestion - watch these shooter clips using the YouTube slot mo function. You'll pick up on a lot of smaller detail (plus it makes the jaunty jazz music sound dark and bluesy.)

One great thing about Alessio's playlist is that we have samplers of pretty much all the big stars of Old School Spanish Wrestling. Here is Kamikaze MK2 (not Modesto Aldeo, although we have footage of him with and without a mask, but Benny the second Kamikaze. We get to see his famous flip back in the ring but it's not like a Ricky Steamboat slingshot back in the ring., more a horizontal slide under the bottom rope. This Kamikaze has a different darker costume than the ones on French TV but he does the same sinister kneel in the corner. Caratecha was an important figure too, apparently he once held a version of the World Lightweight Championship before losing it in a unification match to George Kidd. Of course in England, the name Benny brings up other connotations:

Had a watch through of all this, not widely exciting. Most of it felt like a Spanish version of the American Wrestling Academy in Britain that same year. Obviously the WWF TV taping in Barcelona headlined between Bret Hart and Bam Bam Bigelow earlier that year had been a massive success and someone felt like cashing in. Only wrestler I knew at all was Luc Bejar who MIGHT be the same one who was European Heavy Middleweight Champion in 1973 (but I wouldn't swear to it) On a related note, I'm pretty sure Rambo was not Luc Poirier but then again, neither was Greg Gagne). The masked Rey Nustria had one or two good moves. They had a Ringerparade at the start (to the tune of, of all bloody things, "Music Was My First Love by Barry Manilow) and one wrestler Joe Adell (who I thought might be either Terry Rudge or the Grim Rocker/Rocky Du Ring but on second thoughts, too heavy for either.) chose to pick a fight with some dignitary on hand. P.S. apparently Joe Adell was also a survivor of early 70s Spain

I stand corrected, it was Pat Roach.

Okay here it is. There is a LONG talky but at the start. Social context: The presenter has one of those big moustaches that in Spain meant the hardline Francoist right wing. Franco has one (he shaved it off in the early 70s when he tried to rebrand as a kindly old man playing on the beach with his granddaughter) Antonio Tejero had one (both Terejo the Lieutenant Colonel and Anton Tejero the wrestler on French TV). Jose Maria Aznar who won power with the Partido Popular in 1996 after 14 years socialist rule, combined one of those moustaches with a Tony Blair haircut and suit. The local PP mayor in Salamanca where I did the first half of my ERASMUS year abroad had one. Hell, even Saddam Hussein had one. So that's the buttons that look pushed in the context of late C20th Spain. The wrestlers come in and the jazzy Mexican national anthem for the challenger and the Spanish Matcha Real ("...because his wife/Washes it with Ariel" - if you know, you know!) Acapulco looks like Steve Grey in his silver boots. Rico looks halfway between Tiger Dalbir Singh and Pedro Morales. An old man in a fur hat makes a long boring speech and we are off. 1'ero Salto. They lock up and Santi gets an early advantage with a rear snapmare. This draws a pop. Acapulco gets a standing full nelson, but Santi broke free and went to reverse it only for Manuel to get a rear snapmare on him. He gets a legdive into sitting leglock only for Rico to turn into the guard, pulling Acapulco sideways and escaping (hard to see how as the camera was very zoomed in). Rico gets a front chancery, unlike in Britain or France, Acapulco has to turn him sideways to extract the arm for a armlock and even then, Rico turns him into an over the shoulder backbreaker and gives him a powerbomb like move but Acapulco lands feet first and is up. Another big pop from the audience. I think Kent Walton would like this crowd. Acapulco gets a standing side headlock and cross buttocks Rico into a mat one. Rico tries to force Acapulco's head away and eventually gets a headscissors. Acapulco turns it upright and rolls beautifully across Rico into his own side headlock again. Rico tries the headscissor counter again but can't get the grip and has to let Acapulco up - so the No Follow Downs rule is in force like Britain and France. Another big pop. The Mexican gets a drop toehold - across BOTH feet! - and folds his man into a Frank Gotch toehold. Rico turns into the guard and Acapulco cross presses him, but no count. Rico kicks out. This time it's Rico who gets the drop toehold into Gotch toehold. He gets Acapulco's chin and makes a crossways surfboard of it. Acapulco gets the ropes and then rolls off (in Britain, going for a rope break would get jeering heat, so only heels did it unless at the end of a whole load of effort.). Acapulco gets a double underhook but makes a slam rather than a suplex of it. Rico gets a curious double armlock, takes Acapulco down and rolls him in it. Acapulco gets a straight headscissor on Rico but flips him into the ropes - he Runs Out Of Mat! Rico rear snapmares Acapulco who bridges up and does it back to Rico who bridges up and does it to Acapulco. They both roll out the ring in front facelocks and seconds (YAY they have seconds!) come round to help them both as the bell goes. Ring card girl wearing shiny multi tone satin short we all wore as kids. Blokes in the audience exchange last purpose (that - and mildly lewd comments - was considered good manners and chivalrous appreciation back then in Spain. Don't ask.) 2'ndo Salto: Acapulco gets a standing armlock - Commentator says it's a Japanese hold (news to Kent Walton, I bet) - and takes Rico down into a cross press. He doesn't get a pin count (second time this has happened) so switches to a side Headlock. Rico turns him over but breaks away rather than trying for a side folding press. Acapulco gets a cross armed grovit (the commentator calls it a Stranglehold) and forces Rico to the ropes. Acapulco takes his time releasing despite repeated whistle blows from the ref but gets no heat from this from the audience -like they don't know it's a heat spot. Which perhaps they indeed don't. Perhaps, as a Mexican , Acapulco was expecting a 5 count. When he does come off the ropes, Acapulco throws Rico off the cross arm grovit and gets a polite clap. The Mexican goes for the same move on the ropes, Rico double chops and twice armdrags him, huracanranas him and twice gets the flying headscissors on him. A third headscissor fails, both men tumble to the ground. Rico is up first. The challenger takes his time. Acapulco gets a rear snapmare then a side chancery (briefly in a long press) then an inverted front chancery. Rocco pushes him off, almost getting DDTd in the process and gets a standing toe and ankle. He tosses Acapulco to onecside so that he inadvertently ends up upright but then side Chancery throws him. Rico catches his man with a dropkick just as he is nearly up, firing Acapulco out of the ring. Acapulco cartwheels into a headscissors and takes Rico down into the ropes. Again he is tardy in releasing, again there is no heat. Acapulco gets a legdive into a folding press but he Runs Out of Mat. This time, he releases promptly. He obviously realises he is wasting his time trying to get heat out of this crowd. Just to emphasize it, the two shake hands, which gets a couple of claps. They finger Interlock and Rico forces Acapulco to his knees. He kicks away his grip on the Mexican's hands and dropkicks him but Manuelo lands upright against the ropes. Acapulco gets a kneeling rear snapmare (his go to move in this bout). Rico tries a shoulderblock but Acapulco steps back and sort of no sells it. Bell goes. They shake hands. Ring card girl gets in- cue more vile sexism, or gentlemanly appreciation - or just a bloody annoying high pitched sound - depending on your cultural perspective. 3'ero Salto. Crowd starts to get behind Santi. Still not giving Acapulco heat when he headlocks the champagne delivers a concealed closed fist punch. Even Rico selling it a bit, clutching his chin and looking at the Mexican in mikd disappointment, doesn't get the boos. This crowd doesn't know how to boo. Maybe we should be grateful they don't know how to Give The Bird either, given that they Gave The Bird a whole load of 'orrible high pitched wolf whistles between rounds, poor lass. Acapulco gets two side chancery throws, pulling Rico up by the hair each time. He gets his "Llave Japonesa" (top armlock ) from earlier. He armdrags Rico and does something nasty with his fist to keep him down. The bout is getting rougher, he gets a couple of kneelifts and Rico gets three karate kicks and threatens a closed fist making Acapulco wave with one hand to signal pleading for mercy (had there been heat, this would be the face retaliation I guess). The crowd don't really get this stuff, so back to scientific wrestling for now. Rico gets a rear waistlock, rides Acapulco down and gets a curious reverse arm hank with Manuelo in the guard and the banking legs almost underneath him. He turns the Mexican in the hold twice, the second time nearly losing grip. I smell a BOTCH! Or maybe a transition as he comes out of it with a headscissors. Acapulco bridges and twists this way and that until he lands, feet in the ropes in the mount, and Rico has to release. Acapulco gets a high rear waistlock and transitions it to a full nelson (I think it was meant to be this originally - another botch?) and thence into a side chancery throw. He can't follow down so instead he gets a dropkick the moment Rico is up. A second one oddly clamps on Rico's neck, a third leaves him draped over the middle rope. Acapulco starts slapping Rico around, flooring him. He chops Rico twice in the neck (commentator calls it a "Rabbit Punch" in English) and lands a Legdrop of Doom (this from when Hogan was still in the AWA.). He gets in another chop and kneelift. Crowd don't boo Acapulco but they do cheer their man Santi. Santi kicks Acapulco into the corner where he legs the rope and begs for mercy. Rico goes ahead with several forearm smashes in the corner plus a heart punch and gets the first public warning of the bout (sadly the commentator talks over the announcement and I can't hear what a Public Warning is called in Spanish) Rico gets a double underhook suplex and turns Acapulco into the mount in the underhooks. He turns round and round but can't get th3 shoulders down in that position. He armdrags the challenger and grabs his hair on the mat while making a fist. The referee and the bell stop him. Acapulco has to be retrieved by his seconds. Ring Card Girl either endures gross cultural sexism or badly in the glory of male admiration - take your pick. 4'ero Salto.and Acapulco gets loco with a bunch of headbutts. More headbutts and punches, even the odd kneelift, clearly OJ's preferred stage of a bout. Is that a bite? A whip and a back elbowsmash on the rebound, then again. Acapulco misses a third and gets chopped down and stomped. He recovers and twice bulldogs Rico into the corner. He whips and chops him down. whips and tries something that doesn't really work, knees his man and goes for a flying bodypress but misses badly. Rico gets a kick, back kick, chop, axehandle and finally Camel Clutch (someone has been watching tapes of the Iron Sheik in Mid Atlantic!) for the one submission required. He has to be wrenched off. Acapulco is flat on the floor and his second in yellow gets a bit panicky, dashing for something to revive him. Rico gets presented with the belts and he and Acapulco are quite sporting despite all the dirties earlier. Kind of like in Sixties France, even the heels shake hands. Ring girl who has changed into a white miniskirt, presents a trophy to Rico and steals kisses off both wrestlers, an official and anyone else she can get her hands on. Clearly she gives as good as she gets. (Correction - it's a different girl. But the original does return and get a piece of both wrestlers) Jackie Pallo - and I shall dig out the exact quote later - said (either in his own book or in Simon Garfield's, possibly both)that the Spanish style was very quick fire, "like comedians" and I can see his point from this bout, especially the earlier scientific stages. The audience were frankly an odd lot, they probably mostly didn't have much if any experience of wrestling shows, much less of watching it on TV. they didn't recognise fouls when they saw them and didn't give heat when intended. (An experienced live crowd might have been a different story.) But I think they enjoyed what they saw.

I know. That's why I said during the peak years of Spanish pro wrestling, i.e. before WWF came to Spanish TV. Notice in the Rico/Acapulco match they call it "lucha libre profesional" too. https://www.planetawrestling.com/pressing-catch-en-espana-por-que-utilizamos-este-termino/ To be fair, a lot of this is obviously cribbed from the Valentin Maldonado piece (Maldonado seems to have been unaware of continuing TV Wrestling in France, something I noticed two decades ago when contemplating ordering classic French Catch videotapes from the FFCP's website and pondering how much the PAL > SECAM conversion would cost once I had the tapes..)

For what it's worth, the announcer says Puma is from the Antilles.

https://www.wrestling-titles.com/europe/spain/sp-h.html According to Hisaru Tenabe here, Vincente Febrer was the final Spanish Heavyweight Champion, he retired and then had a comeback title match in Barcelona, February 1978, against Conde Maximiliano where he came out of retirement to regai/.defend/whatever his old title. Who actually promoted both that and the RIico/Acapulco TV bout? A local promoter or an invader from France?

Yes, I think you posted a video of that before to the French thread. I was a bit suspicious when I saw the yellow ring ropes on Rico Vs Acapulco.

I did Spanish and French up to University level. WWF was definitely calling itself "Catch" in the early 90s. "PRESSING CATCH" it would say in the TV listings for Telecinco on Saturday/Sunday morning.

Presumably a reference to this:

This is an early 90s promotion but it looks a bit Americanised- possibly Luchadores Independents de Europa which was formed in response to the WWF's success in Spain.

Okay, I think we have enough odd bits of footage to warrant its own thread like the Greek and Egyptian ones. I'll look in depth at the Rico Vs Acapulco match later and then we can go through the clips Alessio has compiled but here is a slideshow about the times Jean Ferre took his car southwards across the Pyrenees and toured Spain.

Yes, Louis the heel Referee starts cussing out Flesh Gordon at the end. Well okay but maybe there were more local broadcasts in Picardy and elsewhere. (We know there were other production teams - ex A2 man Jean Pradinas did the March 1987 broadcast with the trumpet player and then there's the November 1987 Flesh/Zéfy Vs Jessy/Jacky bout, clearly filmed elsewhere by yet another team but with FR3 cameras.) One is a start, one is better than none.

Thanks for this. I know there were still French promoters touring Spain in the 80s and that Danny Collins (with his European Welterweight Championship) and Robbie Brookside both toured Spain in the 1980s. Thanks for the match also, although I notice (1) Acapulco is a Mexican and appears to be trying to work heel but is not getting much crowd heat. (2) the show is filmed in a TV studio emblazoned with the TVE2 logo.

You could be right but then why have a Hispanic ring name if not either Hispanic oneself or doing such a gimmick (which Puma is not obviously doing).

Well you should see how much I can extrapolate out of a serious clean scientific match. I thought they, or certainly the one without the beard (it was late last night and I don't trust myself to get the names the right way round) did the cartwheeling escapes from the throws brilliantly, almost as well as any promising British TBW, this despite their builds (they seems to have normal thickness torsos, disproportionate to their limb length). I gave just as much time to the heel ref and to it being 1986! Unless I'm very much mistaken, we now have a pro Wrestling show or segment filmed on Metropolitan French soil and broadcast on one or another of the three unscrambled French terrestrial TV channels for every calendar year 1956-1988

OK, the first thing to be said is that it's good to have SOMETHING - ANYTHING of French Catch from French terrestrial TV from calendar year 1986. It plugs that particular gap and disproves any notion of a hiatus (I'm sure there was plenty more, probably another bout with this one) but at least this is hard evidence that there was anything at all.. It's got the same miserable heel referee from the 1982 FR3 broadcast and the 1987 Jones Vs Kramer match, although it's not filmed at the nice place with the sloppy wooden ceiling, rather in somewhere with a big top tent over it. Possibly on a boat of some sort. The two little people work in much the same style as the two in the support slot for Marc Mercier Vs Albert Sanniez 1982. They can both credibly cartwheel and handspring out of throws etc. The referee does a similar reverse DQ decision to the one he did in the tag match in 1982 and ends up being squirted in silly string for his pains as "ER" mentioned. If you try ignoring the comedy aspect, it's a reasonably fast paced gymnastic sort of bout, but not intelligent enough to motivate me to try a blow by blow description. Not sure where these two were imported from but I'm guessing Mexico from the El Puma name (the Spanish CIC having shut down 11 years earlier before anyone makes that suggestion).

I remember reading that at the end of the show, after the cameras cut, Lex Luger came back out and shook hands with Sting, but I can't find a source. Does anyone have any information? Lex basically did this match as a favour to his buddy Sting and he phones it in, which is a pity as this was meant to be THE headline feud of the early 90s (as indeed Sting vs Vader was). With Harley telling him what to do in both kayfabe and real life, Luger had all the makings of a classic arrogant heel champion like Buddy Rogers or Nick Bockwinkel (and HH91 gives us a real taste of what he could have blossomed into) but sadly the We Want Flair smarks broke his spirit. If he had gone on to have all Vader's reigns, losing to and recapturing from Ron Simmons, by 1993 it would have been a whole different world.

Didn't he turn babyface and form a Dog And Cat tag team with JYD after JYD accidentally broke Hughes's shades then stopped the match to make sure he was all right? Or was that later? His last big match was tagging with Vader to lose to the Steiners at the Clash in January. That was step 1 of establishing Vader as Lex's replacement even before this here title change. (It was actually a rematch of night 3 of 3 of WCW in London the previous month but with Vader in Lex's spot.) Hughes was Lex and Harley's heat anchor. Without him, there was a real danger of the GAB 91 crowd regarding Luger and Race as the babyfaces. Lex was up til then a face, Windham had spent 3 years as the most hated Traitor Heel since Larry Zybysko. Harley was a respected legend like, say, Lou Thesz. If Lex wanted him as coach, most fans would not have begrudged him that. It took Hughes, with his existing York Foundation heel links, to get the point across - Lex was getting clearly booed by the time he got out the cage and stride up the ramp.