David Mantell

They were on opposite sides of a tag match in 1987 with Owen partnering Rollerball Rocco (as himself, not as Black Tiger). This was an extension of Rocco and Yamada's UK feud over the Mountevans World Heavy Middleweight Championship.

Is that the the mysterious one Vs Jessy Texas and Marquis Jacky Richard? (sorry to have to post this clip YET AGAIN, folks) And is this a different midget match than the 1986 one you mentioned?

0:18 of this 1948 clip - years before Gilbert Leduc, this guy does a perfect toupie. FAO @Phil Lions who might be able to fill in a few blanks of toupie pre-Leduc.

And here is the full match: Well nearly complete, there are a few seconds missing here and there from where shots are changed but only one of these skips any action. It's also a good scientific match and a pallette cleanser from some of the bouts we've just just recently on the three Stronghold Euro Territories threads. I'm a big fan of the Birmingham Steve Logan, it's a pity he never won any Mountevans titles but at least H3 got to spread his wings and see other territories. Round 1: Morgan gets a side headlock and takes it to the mat. Logan is not secured and attempts a handstand escape at kneeling position so Morgan takes him up and cross buttock presses him back down still in the headlock. Logan tries to push him in the further nelson position and briefly has a headscissors on but it slips off. Logan turns Morgan sideways into a folding press for th3n first pin attempt of the bout. Morgan stands up and switches to front chancery but Logan straightens his arm and gives him the high whip and bump. Morgan gets a single legdive and leg straightener, even briefly getting a 1 count, before Logan leg throws him and he spins out to land with a bump. Morgan gets an armlock, armdrags Logan with it and develops it into a ground top wristlock. Logan gets up so Morgan armdrags him down again, making it a double top wristlock. Logan again fails to get the headscissor but he turns over and gets up and, Impressively, especially for a bout between two British wrestlers, does the French style flying headscissor takedown. (Usually with the British, the flyer is thrown off to the ground whereas in France it's what they do Instead of rolling out of armbars.). Morgan gets a rear waistlock takedown into H&S (Sleeper) but modified it to a simple side chinlock. Logan tries wedging out and attacking Morgan's head, neither work. Morgan stands up in the hold and Logan breaks it open into a standing top wristlock, forcing Morgan down in the guard. Morgan somehow gets a headscissors (sadly it's too zoomed in to see how) . Logan bridges up and it forcing the headscissors open when the bell (Gong? Saucepan?) goes off. Morgan releases Round 2: Morgan tries a go-behind but Logan is too quick, so Morgan gets a nice sharp armdrags. Logan gets a standing side headlock into side chancery but Morgan twice blocks the throw. He briefly breaks the side chancery but Logan quickly reapplies and this time gets the throw and a good, sharp one it is too. Logan gets a further nelson into side folding press and gets a few 2 counts before Morgan rolls off. Sadly for no good reason we get a close up of the ref, missing vital action of how Morgan gets a double leg nelson. The two Bascule back and forth getting 1 counts and two way leg presses. Logan rolls off and they shake hands; the Hamburg audience applauds. Logan tries for a cross buttock throw but Morgan blocks and armdrags him, getting an armlock in the guard. He gets up but Morgan resists attempts by Steve to throw his way out of the hold, even with assistance of the ropes. Logan tries for another French style headscissor takedown but this time it's the more normal British outcome - Morgan throws him off and he lands in a bodyslam position. Morgan still has the arm in the guard. Logan gets up to try a throw but all his efforts fail and he is bodyslammed back down - still in the armlock. He stands again - and sadly CUT to the round break with Morgan's Corner where Morgan is limbering up. Pity, I would like to have seen the end of that round. Round 3 Morgan dodges various Logan lunges. He tries forca waistlock but Logan clamps in a front chancery first, switching to armbar, bashing Morgan in the back and flooring him with an elbowsmash to the rear of the shoulder joint. He gets a back hammerlock and drops a knee on it, then cranks it up some more. Morgan stands up in the hammerlock and tries a reverse legdive but Logan dodges. He eventually slips his free arm into Logan's armpit and gets a beautiful cross buttock throw and press for 2. He gets a side headlock into another, less spectacular cross buttock throw into mat side headlock, pressing Logan's free arm down and getting a 1 before Logan gets his other arm free. He tries pressing both arms. Sadly the ref is in the way but it looks like Logan bridges up. Morgan loads himself onto the bridge (it is indeed that, as a cut reveals). and Logan pitches him off before they go into the Monkey Climb into double knee press spot, into a Morgan double arm stretch into a Logan folding press with bridge but somehow Morgan gets his head clear at 2. BIG round of applause from the crowd. Morgan gets an armlock into front chancery, long suplex, cross press for 2. He tries again with the cross press but Logan keeps getting a pesky arm or two up. Morgan switches to sitting rear chinlock to standing side headlock to standing back hammerlock to legdive and crosspress for 2. He releases. to more applause, and gets a drop toehold just as the, er, Bell, let's call it that and have done with, goes. They shake hands. Round 4: Morgan gets a rear waistlock into standing full nelson. Logan tries powering down with his biceps and grabbing his own leg for leverage (an old Johnny Saint trick) before rearing into Morgan to break the hold and coming back off the ropes with a sunset flip and double leg Nelson for two. He goes for the left arm as a cover for a single kneelift to Morgan's chest then whips him to the ropes and. on the rebound, floors his man with a shoulderblock to the chest. Morgan is barely up in time and straight into a side chancery. He blocks two throws but after Logan releases and reapplies, he finally gets the throw, finishing it with an H&S and adjusting to a side chinlock. He switches to a long press pin attempt but Morgan double ankle chops him in the head and gets up. Morgan gets the wristlever and a hefty kick to the chest. Morgan gets an underhook and crotchhold into a fisherman's suplrx, There is a bit missing of the impact but when it cuts back in, Morgan has the cross press and manages 2 before releasing Logan who is up at 6. Morgan gets 3 forearm smashes before the referee blows his whistle to halt it. He gets in another one and an axehandle to Logan's back, flooring him. He floors him with another forearm smash the n gets an underhook into whip to the ropes but Logan comes back with a kneelift that floors Morgan. Dave grabs the ropes from the guard position but Steve pulls him clear and lets him drop, an unusual spot for a clean match. Logan goes for a leg of his downed opponent but the ref warns him off. Morgan on his back tries a legdive from the mat but apparently Logan, out of shot, dodges it. Logan is getting a little impatient, he briefly ties Morgan up in the ropes but the ref blows his whistle and warns him off. The ref frees Morgan who quickly gets an abdominal stretch. Logan tries unfastening the grapevine but the bell goes. Great round of applause from the crowd. Round 5. Cut to Morgan with a reverse grovit in the mat. Cut again and he has switched it to a reverse chancery and gets a couple of 2s. Logan struggles quite a bit, can't quite escape but disrupts and further progress to Morgan releases. Morgan gets a side chancery throw and shoulderblock but Logan drops down under the next charge, leapfrogs the one after and then gets a cross buttock throw and press for 2 before Morgan kicks out. He jabs Steve in the stomach, gets a side chancery, ignores two Logan inner forearm blows to the chest, a chop and another inner arm before finally getting the throw, but Logan leapfrogs and leg flips Morgan then dropkicks him out of the ring, flips him back in over the ropes and forearm smashes him before Morgan gets an inner arm and single kneelift to floor Logan for 4. Morgan gets a double underhook suplex and crosspress but Logan swiftly has an arm up. He keeps trying but gets no more than 1s and is looking a little frustrated when the bell goes to end it all Time limit no score draw. Another big round of applause. Both men are exhausted but shake and raise hands to a standing ovation. There, that was pretty good. Funny how the first really good scientific match lately (after the Dean/Barrett brawl and the Andre/Valois big man antics) is on the German thread, the territory that specialises more in hearty brutal brawls. Not to deny we've had a few technical classics like StClair Vs Wright 1986, Owen Vs Tony 1990, Schumann Vs Liger 1992 and Kovacs Vs Cross 1999 on here. But it's nice to see that even the drunken, sausage stuffed Oktoberfest etc revellers can appreciate the higher end of wrestling.

Saw this on the smart TV the other night - an interesting illustration of the situation with Ritchie Brooks. Four years earlier than November 1990 this would have been a simple matter - roughouse heel Rocco vs clean cut blue-eyed boy Brooks. However Rocco is getting somewhat popular due to his feud with the hated Kendo Nagasaki and Brooks is getting somewhat hated due to his feud with the popular Danny Collins so the blue-eye/heel dynamic is somewhat convoluted here. One from the same 1991 Bath show as the Rocco/Brooks match. The big headline Kendo Nagasaki Vs Skull Murphy match is also up on YouTube but I thought I'd already reviewed it. But I can't find it so maybe I didn't so I'll review it some other time. This was a hot matchup in 1991 for two reasons. (1) Barrett and the late Doc Dean were in two tag teams with a strong rivalry, especially between their respective partners. Blondie Barrett was Kendo Nagasaki's regular tag team partner while Doc was in the Liverpool Lads with Robbie Brooksiide whim Kendo had "hypnotised" on ITV in late 1988 (with Barrett tagging him) and continued to do so at various matches over the next several years. 2) Doc and "the Rock N Roll Express" (NOT Morton & Gibson!) were in the middle of a feud over the British Welterweight Championship. After Danny Collins won the British Heavy Middleweight Championship from Mal Sanders in 1989 he was forced the finally relinquish the British Welterweight Championship he had first won back in 1984 and lost/regained to Steve Grey and Cyanide Sid Cooper. Sanders, ironically, won the vacant Welterweight title but in October 1990, Doc beat Mal for the belt. Barrett challenged him for the belt and the chase was on. Bob would eventually defeat Ian for the title in December 1991 but lose it back in July 1992. At this stage however, earlier in 1991and before Rocco suddenly retired after heart trouble, the RNRX is chasing the title and the good Doctor is still on his first reign. The bout is without rounds for a 15 min time limit although the Rocco-Brooks and Nagasaki-Murphy bouts on the same bill are for rounds. Bob (nice guy. FB friend of mine!) spend a lot of the early going outside the ring working the crowd until finally getting in the ring and after locking up, forcing the back of Doc's neck against the top rope. He hauls him off and gets a snapmare into chinlock. Doc gets the face-crossing arm out and armbars it until Barrett rolls out. He applauds himself, knowing 5he fans won't, and it is a nicely done move. He gets his own armbar and develops it into a front held hammerlock. He uses the other arm to get a grovit but Doc snatched it and forces a high whip and definite bump on Blondie. Bob takes over with pressure points on Dean. Doc is almost unconscious but first back and elbows his way out. An extra kick gets a quiet word from the ref. Barrett brawls back. He snapmares and fistdrops Dean á la Jerry Lawler. This earns him a First Public Warning. He continues to do the dirty on Doc Dean including headbutting him in the stomach in the corner as his partner Kendo is wont to do. Doc eventually firsts back with double chops and a kick to the stomach.He pulls Bob's legs in the corner and drops him against th3n padding. He gets a rear snapmare with a kneedrop as part of the same move therefore allowed Bob catches Doc, rakes his face and soon has him back on the top rope, held in by a knee. He slingshots Doc to the mat before stopping for an argument with a female fan who has come up to the mat (there was no crowd security barrier in those days.). Bob posts Doc and kneedrops him using the ropes for extra power. Doc rolls out to r3 over. He tries to get back 8in but Bob blocks and obstructs. Finall6 he shoulderblocks his way in, brawls for a bit and gets a big backdrop. He whips Barrett and gets a flying ellying forearm smash a la Tito Santana. He gets another whip but misses with a dropkick. Barrett slams him and delivers another Jerry Lawler fistdrop which again earns him a (Second And Final) Public Warning. He undoes a corner pad and goes to post Doc in it, but Dean reversed the posting then beats and stomps down on RNRX. The referee allows this for retaliation, quietly warning Dean after the last slug. He wandes round the ring, getting counted and when he does return, Doc slingshots him in and posts him. He gets a snapmare and kneedrop in one move. Barrett gets a concealed illegal kidney punch in and stomps Dean down. He lifts and knocks Doc up and down a few times until it is Doc's turn to wander around the ringside. He drags Barrett by the leg out of the ring and smashes him face first into the time keeper's bell, something ITV would NEVER have allowed on screen - clearly Kendo and Rocco's influence is percolating through the entire show. Still no public warning for Dean, it is put down as retaliation. Chant by the crowd of EASY, EASY even though this is the rival promotion to the one for which Big Daddy wrestled.They both make it back. Barrett still has a foot on the middle rope, which Doc kicks, causing Barrett to fall over. He charges in but a resurgent Barrett boots him down. He drops a first and goes for the cross press but the referee refuses to count it as it was not continuous movement. He goes for a posting but Doc reversed it and goes for a monkey climb (the first good technical move in quite a while) He gets another posting and again follows in with a charg3 and is again booted down. Bob goes to the top rope. But Doc catches and powerslams him, whips him off the ropes and backdrops him, He then ties Barrett in the ropes and hits him with blatantly closed fist which finally gets him a Public Warning of his own. Barrett gets a flying clothesline and a crosspress for a 2 count. Doc dean gets a backslide but Runs Out Of Mat as Bob's feet hit the ropes. Bob chops and side chancery throws Doc and the ties him in the ropes and charges. This could have been a disqualification but Doc dodges and Barrett hooks his foot on the rope as he goes down. Doc posts, atomic drops and reverse atomic drops Bob who rolls out to ringside. He catches and floors Doc as he gets back in, then runs the ropes but Doc catches him with a left handed clothesline and gets a powerslam for the one fall required with less than a minute of time left. In the Afterbirth, Bob smashes Doc with his water bottle -lesding MC John Harris to sarcastically call him "a sporting good loser". Not a great wrestling match, but a great fight as Kent Walton would say. I think @ohtani's jacket might enjoy this one.

Have booked to see All Star at Dudley Town Hall on 28th October. Will give a show report afterwards. Steve Barker has also told me Rumble are having 3 shows filmed this month, hopefully some good old school bouts to post on here.

Okay, I've decided to farm the New Caledonia stuff off onto its own thread - any more comments about it, please go there... ...and am reviewing a replacement bout. Andre still looks a lot slimmer than the mid 70s. Under other circumstances Valois would be a fairly burly Heavyweight. Andre has him cornered at the start. He uses power rather than technique to get out of a top wristlock and a side headlock and bodychecks Valois down like Big Daddy (Andre could very well have seen Georg "Schurli" Blemenschutz by this point, maybe even fought him at the Heumarkt. Andre maintains an armbar during an armdrag thrice when Valois cross buttock or rope assisted throws him. Valois is a Canadian so he wrestled a North American style, little or no escapes or chain sequences. He soon breaks out the Manchettes and regrets it as Andre no sells. He blatantly punches Andre and it has no effect but would surely have been worth un Avertisement had it had any impact. The same ref tells Andre off for menacing Valois with a windmlliing arm. Things pause while Andre and L'Arbitre sort it out. Andre gets a bearhug, pushes Valois to the ropes, threatens to punch him, remembers himself and Valois uses the distraction to get a legdive into toe/ankle plus legspread. Andre boots him into the ropes and flips him with his feet, not a Planchette Japonaise/Monkey Climb as Valois would have collapsed under the weight! Valois gets an armlever out of a full finger Interlock and uses a hairpull to drag the Giant down into the Guard. Andre gets up and takes over, making a Japanese Stranglehold of it. He marches Valois across the ring and pushes him into the ropes. He releases and pats Valois who, angry and patronised, turns and threatens Andre with a back elbow, Andre tells him off. Andre gets a headlock but Valois gets the advantage with a jabbing thumb to the throat. He chops and Manchettes the Giant around., grovits him and turns him away from L'Arbitre so he can get in a concealed illegal punch the bigger man in the head. The crowd bay for an Avertisement and he eventually gets one. Andre gets a chinlock of his own and uses it to position Valois just right for a slug over the head. (I'm noticing this trope a lot in heavier weight European wrestling, using a hold to position an opponent just right for a clean strike.). He gets a side headlock but Valois overpowers him, ties onecsrm in the ropes and gives him a slap like Zsa Zsa Gabor. Andre pulls himself up, gets the windmilling going and gets Valois crying off and the ref reprimanding him. Andre complains that Valois pulled his hair just as Valois creeps up behind to do just that. Andre turns in time so Valois chokes and slaps him again. Andre decides to sort things out and Valois looks frightened as Andre corners him and slaps back. Not sure if he gets un Avertisement back. Valois gets Andre in a full nelson. Andre pulls the arms down easily. Valois gets a bearhug, Andre easily undresses it, pulls Valois in for a bodycheck into the ropes and ties him up The referee talks Andre out of following up and unties Valois. Andre gets a waistlock (not a squeezing bearhug) but Valois fish hooks his mouth and ties Andre in the ropes just like at WM6. He chokes and pounds the Giant until the ref pulls him off. Valois gets back in an pushes the still tied up Andres nose, picking him off the mat and carrying on the treatment. Andre recovers and lands four Manchettes, the last of which floors le Méchant. Andre gets a legdive and toe/ankle hold, Valois grabs the ropes so Andre does the old pull off and drop trick on him. Andre gets Valois by the back of the neck (the fingers in the right place could be a blood-choke) and smacks his head into the corner. He gets a rear waistlock, drops him and catches him in a rear seated bodyscissors and bashes his spine into the mat as the crowd chant" AH ...OUAIS!". Valois tries unlocking the feet but hasn't the strength and slaps them in frustration. The crowd are having great fun as they always did with this spot (there is film of it from the 1940s. Seriously.). Valois painfully turns himself into the front facing position and tries for a pin attempt - he is lucky IMHO to get that 1 count. He slugs Andre who pushes him off and threatens him with a fist. But Valois goes for the neck, possibly a similar blood choke as earlier as Andre's legs loosen and Valois walks free. Andre recovers and is up but Valois gets a side headlock on. Andre atomic drops him on one knee, lifts him up and drops him into the rear seated body scissors for some more AH OUAIS treatment. Valois eventually makes it to the ropes. Andre corners and nearly punches Valois until warned off by L'Arbitre. Valois gets a rear double wristlock. But Andre still has his other arm and he gets a crotch hold and bodyslam. Valois is up and getting a headlock, positioning himself to avoid a waistlock. He throws Valois to the ropes and gives him a big backdrop on the rebound. Valois spends too much time hanging on to the ropes and Andre complains to the ref who, for once, agrees and gives Valois his Deuxième Et Dernière Avertisement. Andre gets a rear chinlock but Valois backs him into the ropes. (The commentator mentions how the Elysée Montmartre is all nice and modern and refurbished these days.) Andre releases but such is his arm length he can legally grab Valois back in the sideways chinlock before he has gone too far. Valois again goes for the ropes and slips on a bodyscissors as he does. Andre blasts him off with a double axehandle. A brief slug and punch ends with Valois pushing Andre into the ropes - then gets a good posting on him, with Andre selling his back and a loud crack coming from the ring framework! Andre gives Valois a posting of his own. He is ready to pound him into the corner but L'Arbitre objects, Andre is ready to argue it with him but Valois gets him in the back first. Andre is determined to get some revenge and gets a side headlock and a concealed illegal punch worthy of the true Méchant he would not become (outside Japan) for another 17 years. He then tells the ref he slapped Valois's scalp like villains do. The crowd roars approval of this, the big boys is sussed to all the tricks. Valois gets his head free (but annoyingly there is a crowd shot so we don't see how he does it.) Andre gets some Manchettes and a might backhand chop like Billy Two Rivers. He gives one more blast before slamming and cross pressing Valois for the win. Despite everything, Andre still shakes Valois's hand and he accepts (it would be more than Valois's life was worth to refuse!) Another wrestler gets in the ring for his match and Andre tries to shake his hand but he angily refuses and backs off until Andre is gone. Buttonholed for a ringside promo, Andre says Valid was tough because of all his dirty wrestling tricks, before fans mob him. He mentions he has two brothers and two sisters and gives all their heights (in metric). and what he has for breakfast ! Slow and deliberate, although the brawling only gradually builds up over the course and there is the odd intelligent nugget. It says something that Andre The Bleedin' Giant was the superior technical wrestler here (student of Roy and Tony StClair) although Valois, as a North American, had a far more advanced grasp of ring psychology. Against a better technical wrestler, as OJ noted, you get better results. He still takes a lot of bumps that both Vince McMahons would be APPALLED by but stuff their "working strong" garbage anyway, I say.

General observations. They say the ring is an ex boxing ring. I thought it was a European ring but there is a gap between the top and middle ropes where a fourth rope once was. I like the white/turquoise colour scheme, it reminded me of Reslo .(or news footage of Orig Williams' BWF on tour in Ireland. The one thing that is very French Catch about this is the commentary. The commentator uses plenty of French terms like Manchette, Cagoule and Bons/Méchants. Despite it being a decent size venue, there was very sparse amounts of seating and much of that, even at ringside, was empty. I don't think this show did very well at the box office.

Each team is led to the ring by a lady in a leopardskin party frock. The babyface one looks like Olivia Newton John. I take it the older burlier looking guys will be the heels. One of them wears black and red like the pre-pink Hart Foundation. The other has an Aussie flag on his trunks with the Union Jack taking up the front. Together they look like Bulldogs Vs Harts circa 1986. Everyone in this match and on the show is very much a Heavyweight - another clear American influence. It's a very slow tag match, holds really are being used as rest holds rather than setups for a clever escape. The "ninja" if that's what he was meant to be, looks like a middle aged ring announcer in a mask and suit. He gets in the ring, gets hit by one of the heels and toddles out. As mentioned, the ring falls to bits and it ends up a mess.

Another wrestler called Scott. He came to the ring to Simply Irresistible which Jeff Jarrett was using as his music in Memphis at this time. He looks more like Blade Runner Rock than the Ultimate Warrior. He cowers outside the ring, uses the ropes as the first option to break a hold and uses the deceptive handshake trick. He's the younger and lighter man which makes it a bit counter intuitive that he's the heel. These wrestlers mostly work an American style, doing nothing to untwist armbars etc on themselves. In fact there is very little counter wrestling (other than the odd foul when in trouble by Scott.). I guess this is the lasting cultural impact of 14 years of Americanisation under Jim Barnett. It's a specifically North East US style too, without the amateur freestyle grappling sequences of Southern US wrestling and quite a lot of the space and gaps in contact of late 80s WWF. Marcello gets thrown out the ring and spends a long time wandering about outside before com8ng back to score a pin for the 2-1 win. The referee is a lot tougher than most American non-special referees, he is more like Max Ward, Roger Delaporte or Gorilla Monsoon in the 70s as special ref, roughing up and out of line heel. His name is Ian St John which was also the name of a former Scottish football (soccer) player turned TV sports pundit who had a show"Saint and Greavsie" with another ex-footballer Jimmy Greaves which was on ITV just before the wrestling on Saturday lunchtime in the mid/late 80s.

Tolios looks a lot like Roland Bock circa 1988. He was Greek, at a time when Kats Eleniki had less than two years to live. Black Scot looks like Darth Vader's kid nephew. The commentator said he was a former Scottish policeman LOL!!! I have visions of him with a British police helmet over his mask! Quite a lot of strength moves and paused for working the crowd like WWF action of the time. Tolios in a headlock complains of a hairpull. A bit of rope running, Tolios injured his shoulder on a fall outside the ring and BS starts doing the Bushwhacker March.

(goes and looks up New Caledonia on Wikipedia). Part of Oceania. Makes sense that a bunch of Aussies and New Zealanders were on the bill then. Curioser and Curioser. So even less French Catch than the WWF's French tours -in fact about as French Catch as Montreal Grand Prix wrestling -less even as some Catcheurs, most obviously Jean Ferre, used Montreal instead os Stampede as their foot in the door of North America. What was the INA doing holding a copy of this if it's not actual France? (EDIT: Apparently NC is constitutionally a part of France like Algeria once was, so that could be why. New Caledonia was a French territory, and the channel in question was created and owned by ORTF. Since this is a bit of a category error I've decided to give it its own thread rather than write about it on the French Catch thread. Reviews of individual bouts to follow.

Anyway, talking of Switzerland I just recalled that THIS took place there in the mid 90s:

(goes and looks up New Caledonia on Wikipedia). Part of Oceania. Makes sense that a bunch of Aussies and New Zealanders were on the bill then. Curioser and Curioser. So even less French Catch than the WWF's French tours -in fact about as French Catch as Montreal Grand Prix wrestling -less even as some Catcheurs, most obviously Jean Ferre, used Montreal instead os Stampede as their foot in the door of North America. What was the INA doing holding a copy of this if it's not actual France? (EDIT: Apparently NC is constitutionally a part of France like Algeria once was, so that could be why.)

Apparently this wasn't French Wrestling per se, but rather an Australian promotion on tour in France, therefore about as French as the WWF Tour De France two months earlier, with Hogan vs Savage headlining. Ring looks to be European.. @Dav'oh any of these guys familiar to you? This is a decade-plus after Jim Barnett pulled out. What station was this on? December 1989 sounds like an odd date- actual French Catch had moved to Eurosport by that point. I'd be interested to know the fuller story behind this getting on TV.

Just been rewatching this and noticed there is some footage of Jackie Pallo versus Johnny Kwango on the end. It's a pity it's silent as Pallo was one of the great talkers (in a territory not noted for this) brilliant at riling up an audience.

@Jetlag - Any idea what "Der sportliche Held" was?

Definitely not the REAL Captain Redneck (although he did show up in Germany against Otto Wanz in 1986- already posted to the German thread) but Ron Clarke did use the name so I previously thought it was him. But apparently it's Lesage. Any info on him pre-1988?

From the Heumarkt in 1987. Various short snippets. Indio takes his time to start a d gets caught in a Hammerlock when he does start and goes straight for a rope break. Cut to Roll giving Guajaro a high whip but Indio making a feet first landing. The two have a top wristlock battle. A round end sees Brasil sent back to his corner. Guajaro attacks him from behind but the referee misses this and turns to see Brasil forearm smashing Guajaro all around the ring and gives Rolo a yellow card. Guajaro does knock Rolo down in the next round. On a more positive note we see some good arm drags and a monkey climb. Indio gets tied in the ropes and the top of a corner but he overpowers Rolo's flying tackle attempt to get the pin. Hard to follow as it's a patchwork of little clips. Some of which look promising.

Possibly it was actually THIS one that OJ saw - this actually was Andy's TV debut and Kent says so. Joined in progress in round one - Gordon tries a high whip but Blair rolls through sharpish. Blair armbars and posts Gordon but the impact is so slow that Gordon no-sells and stands contemptuously, hands on hips. He gets a side chancery and, after a measured delay, the throw. Another posting and side chancery from the Lucky one. A follow up throw is resisted by Blair who rebounds thecropes with a dropkick. A legdive into legspread follow, then a leg weakener. Gordon regains his heat with a triangle sleeper (Million Dollar Dream). He lets go and tries to reapply but referee Jeff Kaye will have none of it. Blair gets a headlock into side chancery throw into H&S. Gordon pulls an armbar out of it, converts to a hammerlock and jumps on it once. Blair gets an arm and goes for a high Irish Whip but Gordon goes for the ropes and gets considerable coward's heat. He gets a headlock but the bell goes so Gordon gets a closed fist punch for good measure and Kaye admonishes him. Lucky Gordon is very lucky not to get a Public Warning. Round 2. Gordon offers Blair a handshake and, like a true heel, pulls him in for a bodycheck. He gets a posting, two bodyslams, side chancery and a stomp. He gets away with a closed first punch in a headlock but a headbutt on the downed Blair gets him that first public warning. He sneaks in another while the ref is notifying the MC. Blair gets a side headlock, Gordon tries a legdive counter but Blair uses the extra lift to get a sunset flip and a double leg nelson for the opening fall. It gets a big pop- the crowd delighted to see the horrid little man suffer humiliation. Round 3 and Gordon wants revenge. He headlocks Blair and drives his neck into the ropes twice. He continues to pound on Blair and gets a Second And Final Public Warning. He posts , slams and stomps Blair who Hulks Up (Blairs Up?) and gives Gordon a long distance slam., a throw that leaves Lucky on his knees, a posting and dropkick. Gordon resists another posting and when he does go, he parries the impact and gets a headlock and concealed punch. Kaye is tempted to go for DQ., he and Gordon argue heartedly. Gordon gets a single side interlock into legdive into toe and ankle hold plus legspread but Blair spins him off for a somersault and bump. He breaks open a front chancery into an armbar and forces a high whip and another somersault bump. He hangs in to the ropes before launching off them to get a legdive but Kaye doesn't like the repeated jerking weakeners and orders a break. Gordon still tries for dropping weakeners and is warned by Kaye. Gordon snapmares and slams him but follows down illegally for a grovit and again Kaye pulls him off. Gordon is CRUISING for a DQ. it seems. He gets a legdive into single leg Boston Crab into Gotch toehold but Blair gets the ropes. The Irishman gets a side chancery and chops to Blair He advances a hammerlock into a figure four armlock (back double wristlock.) in the mount. He drops knees and wrenches the hold. He throws Blair and forces a hard bump but follows down too early. The bell saves Andy and the MC gives Gordon a ticking off, reminding him he already has two public warnings. Round 4 and Gordon gets another hammerlock but Blair counters with a backdrop. He goes for the kneeling Gordon's ears but is quietly warned off by Kaye. Gordon bodychecks Blair on the rebound from the ropes. He gets a posting and bodyslam and reverse waistlock into tombstone piledriver for another KNOCKOUT and the crowd are FURIOUS. Gordon was a nasty little man of a heel and the crowd wanted to see Andy show him a thing or two. Perhaps he did but the crowd did not get satisfaction and wanted more. There would be other chances for Blair to avenge himself.

... And this was it. In the promo at the start, Flesh mentions he is averaging an injured friend, referring to the Zèfy match the previous week. I think that's all pretty unfair. Murdoch, we already know, is Dick Harrison aka Ron Clarke of UK opposition promotion tag team the Lincolnshire Poachers. Flesh's look, we now know, basically comes from his Lucha Libre background. This is him in an intermediate stage, no longer the high flying missile dropkicking tag partner of Walter Bordes but not yet the tubby bald aging moustachioed figure of the early C21st. It's the early Maxi Cuisine mat so presumably originally screened on TF1 In 1988. English language commentary is by British MC John Harris who also refereed the Johnny South Vs Johnny Palance bout I just posted to the British thread. Referee here is Charley Bollet (brother of Andre Bollet, Roger Delaporte's old tag partn Flesh gets a side headlock on but Murdoch resists cross buttock attempts. He gets a single leg coming off the ropes but Murdoch pounds him down, getting some stomps in., getting a 2 count on a pin attempt .Flesh fights back with two well executed flying cross buttocks and a dropkick. A snapmares gets Murdoch down for a 2 count. Flesh dumps Murdoch to ringside, gets in three elbowsm throws him back in, gets another over the shoulder snapmare, then a third flying cross buttock gets the win. Short but sweet and undeserving of the hatchet job @pantherwagner gave it.

Interesting. I assumed this was Ron Clarke who used the names "Dick Murdoch" and "Dick the Bruiser" in the UK. Okay then ... This comes from a new YouTube channel who have reuploaded various old odds and sods about 3 months ago, claiming to be a "Collaboration" between different promotions. As far as I can see, the only pre-1988 match on their channel is the 1987 FR3 Flesh Gordon & Prince Zèfy Vs Marquis Richard & Jessy Texas.bout we've already seen (but which so far has not turned up in any INA wash (unless @Matt D knows better ...) From the lack of a Eurosport stamp, I guess this is the original 1988 TF1 transmission on Minuit Sport. Murdoch gets to work with the dirty wrestling, pushing Zefy's neck on the ropes, pounding and illegally kidney punching him to the mat and stomping on him once downed, until L'Arbitre warns him. The damage done, Murdoch sticks to the rules for a bit, slamming the sweet Prince and applying a cross-handed grovit. He pounds Zèfy on the ropes getting another warning. Another slam draws approval from a blond girl at ringside. No accounting for taste. Zefy on the mat gets tired of selling and tries a monkey climb but his legs go either side likeca bodyscissors and Murdoch throws him off. Another slam, Murdoch is allowing the Prince up. Dick tries the cross hander again but Zèfy armdrags him twice, clotheslines and guillotine elbowsmashes him, gets in a crafty jump (earning himself a warning too) and delivering Manchette, a rear snapmare and - in his first flying move of the bout- a ground flying bodypress into cross press that gets 2. He tries this whole sequence again but Dick catches and slams him. So back to stomps, pressure points, thumb tomthroat .....He dominates a Manchette battle with Zèfy, slams his head in the mat, stomps his fingers, chokes, pounds and struts triumphantly. Eventually he gets a side chancery throw into chinlock and rests a bit before resuming the dirty work. With some effort H3 gets another slam. Murdoch goes for a pin but Zèfy bridges and can carry Dick's weight. Until he keeps over sideways. Murdoch gets an armbar and makes a hammerlock but the Prince does on of the three characteristic French counters, the reverse snapmares to land behind Dick, bounce him off the ropes and get hi m up in a Fireman's carry, aeroplane spin and drop, dropkick, Manchette and Planchette Japonaise. As one of the two commentators puts it "Voila Le Zèfy qu'on connais.". A headbutt and missile dropkick follow. Zèfy gets Murdoch in the ropes and splashes him but misses thesecond time and falls to ringside. Murdoch's female fan puts s snake on him - the penny drops, she's Murdoch's valet and we've seen her before. Murdoch pounds the Prince at ringside and finally gets an Avertisement. It continues all around the ring ending in slamming Zèfy's head on the post. Murdoch gets back in the ring just in time to win by KNOCKOUT. Murdoch and Snake woman celebrate as an irate Flesh Gordon comes to ringside to protest but gets arrested. Bit of a disappointing squash for a Prince Zèfy match. There was a follow up the next week...

Thanks for clarifying. I thnk I got confused by Dave still having dark hair at this point- blond Gunther looked more like the grey Morgan I was more familiar with.

Lucky Gordon, no relation to Flesh. Apparently not a favourite of OJs. He was a reasonable crumb heel who was able to make Andy Blair look good before destroying him. This is one of four warmup singles bouts before an eight man battle royal (won by the Birmingham Steve Logan.) The two men first met in Blair 's actual TV debut in December 1983 when the young Scot shocked the more experienced Gordon with an opening pinfall before being KNOCKED OUT with a tombstone piledriver. They had also been on opposite sides of a tag match recently with Gordon and his old Masked Marauders tag team partner Scrubber Daly (who trained with Blair in a Birmingham training camp) beat Blair and a young blue-eye Drew McDonald. (Ironically Blair, teaming with Big Daddy in 1987, would face Drew's alter ego The Spoiler in another all masked tag team with Bill "King Kendo" Clarke.) Blair had also been KOd by Rasputin so this was actually his fourth match, Round 1: Blair easily rolls up from a Gordon throw then a Gordon high whip. He tries a throw himself and Gordon is not so easily up, finishing on his knees for 4. Andy tries to high whip Gordon but the Irishman reverses the wristlever and whips Blair but he lands nicely again. Four throws - Blair rolled up cleanly from 3, Gordon took a mild bump from the other. So far the young blue-eye made to look stronger. He gets a side headlock and bodychecks Gordon but makes little impact. Gordon gets a a side chancery but Blair successfully resists the throw, chops Gordon to free himself and delivers a chop to Gordon's chest and a side chancery throw of his own. Gordon is looking worried x he gets up. He gets a side chancery throw of his own with only moderately more success than he managed before with Blair on all haunches. Gordon lands a headbutt and starts stomping and gets a public warning for his efforts. Gordon gets a side headlock, Andy breaks it open into a top wrist chinlock so Gordon tries for a rear chinlock but Blair gets his head clear and makes a back hammerlock. He bars the other arm and turns Gordon into the guard for a cross press The Irishman bridges out. and gets a more effective throw on Andy, keeping him down for 5 this time. He may have got a public warning but the fouling served to slow Blair down. Gordon high whips Andy and forces a somersault and a decent bump. Gordon is catching up now. He tries to pick up the fallen Blair but receives a private warning. Blair regroups with a full nelson, snapmare and quick guillotine elbow to Gordon's head all in the same move. He obeys the rules and lets Gordon up but Gordon catches him with a sudden bodycheck that floors him, then flirts with another public warning by getting in a stomp. Gordon gets a long side Chancery throw and goes in for a grovit but referee Max Ward warns him off. The bell goes. Round 2, Gordon meets a charging Blair with a bodycheck. He alternates between postings and forearm smashes. He gets a front chancery and lifts Blair into an over the shoulder backbreaker but Blair unfastens the grip and drops down free. He charges but Gordon sidesteps, collars Blair and pitches him to ringside for a ten count KNOCKOUT!!! (Again!) Oh yes. And that winning throw was probably good practice for that battle royal later. Gordon did a good piece of carpentry early on, showing himself to be the inferior pure wrestler and needing to resort to strength and ultimately foul tactics. Once he did, he took over, got a quick win and a ton of extra heat by being mean to the nice young kid. Next time they met, one could expect crowds to REALLY cheers Andy Blair to get his revenge!

A bit of an odd one here. Steve Regal and Dave Morgan in a TV studio having a sparring session on gym mats. A guy in a green pullover is refereeing. Regal cannot speak German so does no talking, Morgan does speak German with a pronounced South Welsh ascent. This isn't a shoot by the way, it's a pro wrestling exhibition done on a mat. They lock up and Dave armdrags Steve. Regal gets a crotchhold hold and slam on Morgan who is up at 2. Regal forearm smashes, side chancery throws and chinlocks the older man who throws him off, getting a 2 count. Morgan bodychecks Regal who retaliates with another forearm smash. Regal gets a double underhook suplex and cross press on Morgan who kicks out at two. Morgan gets a rear waistlock but Regal throws him off, keeping hold of the wrist as Morgan lands in the guard. Regal gets a top wristlock on the mat but Morgan turns over into a kneeling position, so Regal armdrags him over but he still gets up. Morgan gets a grovit then switches to a side chancery throw, following up with a Legdrop of Doom. Morgan gives Regal an inner arm blow and they slap each other a bit before the referee breaks things up. There is still some needle between them. End of Round 1, I guess. Morgan answers questions in his very accented German. (Don't ask me to translate.) A trainee in a loud mullet Jan Hind is also interviewed as is the referee. I think Morgan mentions places he's tired including India, Japan and South Africa. He also comments in slow motion about Regal's side chancery throw into chinlock. Regal and Morgan lock up for a second round. Morgan gets an armlock but Regal moves in behind with pressure points. Morgan straightens the arm and for a moment it looks like Regal will roll out but instead he opts for a drop toehold. Morgan chops Regal on the back of the neck, gets a crossface and starts to "ride" Regal.He keeps grip of Regal despite his attempts to slip out the crossface and switches to a grovit. Regal suplexes him but Dave moves out the way of Steve's cross press attempt. Morgan gets an armbar despite Regal's attempt to get back the crossface. He superkicks Regal off. Regal kicks and forearm smashes Morgan, flooring the Welshman. They slap each other around. Regal gets a full Nelson then switches to side chancery. End of the second round. Three women in the studio get interviewed. No idea what they say. I think the interview asks if they fancy giving it a go! Nice little clip of a wrestling match in an unusual setting.