The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[David Mantell]

Jim Cornette talks about overseas TV sales 

 

 

[David Mantell]

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

Quote

 

British and French TV both sold kinescopes of their wrestling to dozens of overseas markets. World Of Sport matches were repackaged by ITC as Wrestling From Great Britain and sold to 30 countries. French Catch was also sold particularly to former French colonies. Many print of classic French Catch held in France's INA Archive have Arabic captions at the start.

 

[David Mantell]

Surprised this has never been reviewed on here given the high esteem Terry Rudge is held in. This isn't quite a clean match but the referee stays in control and it most remains technical.  

Round 1:  Rudge breaks opens a headlock into a top wristlock.but Steele regains. Rudge withstands a bodycheck attempt. Steele gets a side chancery and takes Terry down but he comes all the way back up to the top wristlock.  Steele gets a side chancery (as discussed in the Ian McGregor bout this is his go to hold) but Rudge straightens it to a wristlever and then front chancery. Each man forces the other into the ropes for a break. Bell goes.Kent hint that Rudge might go heel later.

Cut to Round 3: Steele gets front chancery, Rudge counters with toehold takedown. Steele tries to kick Rudge on the head but does not break the hold. Rudge goes up, gets a snapmare the slingshot. Steele gets cross buttock press for 2. Rudge goes from front to side chancery, Steele resist the throw. Steele gets single leg takedown into front open grovit into sleeper . Bell just as Rudge reverses to front chancery. They part exchangeing suspicious glances. Kent runs down Rudge 's International record including Greece and the draw with Inoki.  

Round 4: Steele wins finger Interlock but can only get the odd 2 with pins.  Rudge fight back Hogan/Warrior style.  Advantage goes back and forth.Rudge gets a butt to Steele's chest.  A break in the corner gets rather needley. Rudge gets standing double wristlock. Ray Steele tries for a bodyslam but to no avail. Bell ends it, Rudge provocatively wipes his forehead on Steele's shoulder.

Round 5. Steele gets standing full nelson. Rudge gropes for snapmare counter then tries powering out, eventually breaks it into front then side chancery, then forearm uppercuts. Kent worries it will degenerate in to brawl but luckily it Rudge gets a butt to the stomach then a flying tackle for 2. Steele gets semi Japanese stranglehold into wrist lever, straight arm weakener and hammerlock. Adds a grapevine the switches to rear standing armlock. Rudge gets drop toehold takedown, vaguely tries for a pin, eventually gets chinlock then up for forearm smash exchange with Steele firing back. They are locked in the ropes when the bell goes, Steele gets in a last slap, Rudge is unhappy and sells it long after. 

Round 6: Rudge tries to come out wet and slipper, ref Jeff Kaye wip noSteele gets front chancery, grapevine, arm lever but Rudge trips for a cross press and 2. Another finger interlock test of strength.Forearm smashes, Steele getting the best of it.  Rudge gets a hammerlock takeover and headscissors. Steele tries to snap it open, Judges tries to crank it forward. And then the bell goes. 

Round 7:  Steele gets headlock into side chancery into headlock in the mount from 135 degrees to armlock to cross press pin, Rudges bridges out nicely at 2. Tries to maintain the finger interlock but Rudge gets standing wristlever into rear armlock. Rudge gives a forearm but gets back a flying headbutt. Both up at 8 but Rudge sends Steele back down with a back elbow for another 8. Steele gets a good folding press for two and a front chancery while backed in the corner therefore broken up by the ref. Slap fight briefly breaks out. Happily for Kent (and purists like me, it goes back to science with a Steele headlock, then a Rudge folding press to match Steele's only he Runs Out Of Mat. Less happily, the bell goes again. 

Neither man can now win by two falls or submissions. The options are knockout, DQ (and they'll have to be quick about throwing it away with still  no public warnings) or likeliest of all, a final round opener making it 1-0 at time.

So to the final Round 8. They shake hands, temperamentaly but no one takes advantage. Steele gets an abdominal stretch. Rudge tries to make it a cross buttock throw but Steele stays anchored and gets the arm into wristlever while maintaining the leg grapevine element.  He switches to double arms from behind (the upper part of a surfboard) Rudge tries a backwards headbutt but can't reach. He breaks it and gets two forearm uppercuts held by front chanceries. Exchange of forearms and bodychecks with Rudge getting the better, flooring Steele with a bodycheck for 9.   Ray gets a folding press backslide for 2 in the corner but just Runs Out Of Mat as Rudge's feet curl forward into the ropes. Double bodycheck for eight, Steele flying tackle for 2. A final exchange of forearms but then the bell goes one last time for a 0-0 draw.  Ray Steele looks like he's going to shake Rudge's hand at the end but he video cuts off so we don't see how that played out.

Skill but not much speed.  I found it solid enough but lacking compared to packer lighter weight bouts.  The bell endings started to feel  slightly cop-out-ish, it feels like they often could have got one more clever counter in but instead they just sat around for the last 10?seconds. I enjoyed it though and referee Ken Joyce came off well  for maintaining order. Not a classic but substantial wholefood nonetheless.

 

[David Mantell]

Nice recent match between two youngsters we've already seen on the channel.

Don't worry about the rather American looking ring. It was borrowed as the normal very Trad Brit Rumble rings would not fit a cage and there was a cage tag match on the bill (blame Nagasaki and Rocco for importing cages to these shores in about 1989)

[David Mantell]

First of all ...

On 3/30/2025 at 1:10 PM, David Mantell said:

Don't worry about the rather American looking ring. It was borrowed as the normal very Trad Brit Rumble rings would not fit a cage and there was a cage tag match on the bill (blame Nagasaki and Rocco for importing cages to these shores in about 1989)

... Promise kept! Back to the regular traditional old school ring for Rumble.

Second it's great to see Leland Bryant progressing into the role of the experienced veteran getting surprised by the newcomer and he handles it well. Still a young sportsman but cocky enough to be surprised by a kid from the Class of next year.

Third this is a fine scientific bout with just a few concessions to modernity and proof that the Bernie Wright Vs Young David, Richie Books Vs Ian McGregor and Peter Bainbridge Vs Gary Clwyd genre of TBW Vs TBW match  still has a legitimate place in wrestling in 2025.

Sneer if you must but I'm sure I'm not the only British fan of a certain age and above who will remember those bouts and then watch a match like this and be pleased to see that this is still a thing.

A pleasant surprise to have popped up on my Smart TV while settling down to lunch, I just had to post it.

[David Mantell]

This was the third in the series of the Big Daddy Vs Spoiler (with Doctor Monika) feud.  The first, Daddy and Andy Blair Vs the all masked tag team of The Spoiler and King Kendo saw the Spoiler have his mask pulled off to reveal some tights over his head underneath. The second, of which this is a rematch  saw the Spoiler unmasked and revealed as Drew. Now he risks losing the next layer.  I dealt with the French December 1967 hair match, so here is the other one. It was set up when Drew McDonald came out after Daddy and Marty Jones's win over the Barbarians Karl and Wolf Kramer waving an open pair of scissors about and giving Health and Safety KITTENS at the thought of the bad example to children watching. In a promo before the match not included in the YouTube clip (but that's a screengrab of both promos at the start) Drew McDonald ripped off a line from Jesse Ventura's WM3 commentary when he says "there'll be one of us going home tonight looking like Humpty Dumpty." 

As a devout Glam .Rocker I rather envy Daddy's purple sequin jacket in this - his top hat here matches. He seems to still be suffering the effects of the stroke he had around this time.  Monika has ditched her SS Fraud uniform for a nice sundress and red hat . The villains have El Diablo in their corner in a nice new maroon/silver mask (he usually wore red/blue). He gives away that he's Tony The Brain/Weasel Francis by wearing the exact same white leisure suit he wears as a manager.

Gordon Prior is a very shouty hectoring MC.  You wonder if he's a strict school teacher during the week. He reminds me of Rumble's Steve Barker nowadays. (Steve if you're reading this I'm sure you'll take that as a compliment.). Daddy takes that beautiful jacket off and swings it round and round which can't have done it much good.  The kiddy Daddy fans besiege the ring apron provoking concern from Kent Walton and a cry of "SITTHEBLUDDYMOKEYSBACKONTHEIR SIIIIITS!!!" from Monika. Female heel managers don't mince words.

Daddy clears out the heels and Singh takes over The twice future European Welterweight Champion gets a headscissor throw (not quite a toupee) on Rasputin who takes quite a bump. Mostly the villains just use dirty wrestling.  Daddy gets a public warning for a two on two sequence where receives into the whole pile of wrestlers in the corner. The villains each get a Public Warning (Rasputin for illegal punches, Drew for double teaming) and Kashmir gets a nice opening fall over Drew with a folding press after recovering from a backdrop.

Rev. Michael Brooks is at Ringside. Drew gets a Second And Final Public Warning for  repeated guillotine elbowsmashes on the floored Singh. He gets the equalising submission with a backbreaker and Daddy hits Drew with the plastic bucket. The heels are 1-1 and Daddy and Drew are 2-2:for Public Warnings. Drew thinks he has the winner with another Boston Crab but in fact he has tagged Daddy who gets the win with a splash despite Drew's pleas for mercy. 

And so commences a shouting match between Monika and Prior, she claiming Drew kicked out , he shouting "YOU KNEW THE RULES! YOUR HAIR COMES OFF NOW!" at Drew over and over again even after he has sat down on a stool and a rather nervous female hairdresser who obviously thinks Monika is going to attack her snips off tiny bits of Drew's split ends with nail scissors.And there we leave them.

As I've said elsewhere, I suspect that after the cameras cut, Drew got up and strode off, leaving the Lucha de apuestas to be redone every night on tour while the REAL head shaving took place in Drew's bathroom at home. He did thereafter appear bald but the special stipulations stopped here after three layers, two mask and one hair. - thankfully no Loser has Scalp Skin Surgically Cut Out match.

Quality? Well the Singh opening folding press is good and so was the headscissor throw a minute or so earlier. The rest is what you get from a Daddy tag.  I'm sure there was something good on the undercard that it subsidised.

 

 

[David Mantell]

Quote

Match 1 

Andy Simmons vs JD Bryant

match 2

British wrestling legend Danny "Boy" Collins vs young David Finlay jnr 

match 3

Thunder vs ASW Superslam champion Dean Allmark

match 4

Justin Star vs former NXT tag champion Oliver Grey (Joel Redman)

match 5

Robbie "The body" Dynamite vs Japanese wrestling legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger

 

All Star Wrestling filmed at Croydon's Fairfield halls 3rd october 2014 ASW UK

A full length All Star show a decade ago at Fairfield Hall Croydon in the main concert hall. Just before shows there got relegated to the smaller Ashcroft Theatre room. Headline attraction is the return to the UK of Fuji Yamada, in against then (and most recent) British Mid Heavyweight champion Robbie Dynamite Berzins. (Posted because I wanted to find a Reslo Finlay/Yamada match but there isn't one.)

Thunder is Darren Walsh, son of Banger Tony Walsh.  In the Warwickshire area he was still Darren. In the rest of the country and in Germany/Austria he was Thunder -EWP World Heavyweight Champion, British Heavyweight Champion and top heel in a Warlord style half metal mask.

Oliver Grey/Joel Redman was later All Star British Heavyweight Champion twice, last losing it to Mickey Long last year.

Fit Finlay's son David Jr, actually David III, in against his dad's old punching back, a now middle aged Danny Collins, out to settle old grudges.

[HowtobeaMark]

Well I had no idea this was on youtube. I was at this show

 

[David Mantell]

2 hours ago, HowtobeaMark said:

Well I had no idea this was on youtube. I was at this show

 

Welcome to the thread.

Dean Allmark filmed quite a lot of All Star bouts (or got friends to do so) and put them on his YouTube channel. They're an invaluable record of All Star in the Noughties and Tenties and nence the Old School British scene during that period.

Were you at this bout Mark?  It's one of my favourites. It would have been nice if Kent Walton could have lived to see it.

We have similar threads on here for French Catch and German Catch, although the French thread could do with some native fans who grew up watching Le Catch Sur la Tele and carried on following the exploits of Flesh Gordon, Monsieur Jacky etc etc like I and presumably you and many others have done in Britain from 1988 to the present.

 

[David Mantell]

1 minute ago, David Mantell said:

We have similar threads on here for French Catch

Have taken the liberty of having a look at your past posts- I see you've already posted on the French Catch thread.

[David Mantell]

Rare video of 3 wrestling matches in Lusaka, Zambia.

0:00 Kid Chocolate (dark trunks) vs Alan Bardoville (yellow trunks)

0:24 John Mwale (green trunks) vs Johnny Kwango (orange trunks)

1:20 Masamboula (spotted trunks) vs Prince Kumali (red trunks)

Source : Reuters archives

Descritption from the source :

"A team of top black international wrestlers came to Lusaka, Zambia's capital, for the first time on Thursday (7 November) night.

Wrestling is a popular sport in the country and the crowd was well pleased with he evening's programme.

The evening opened with a close-fought battle between Kid Chocolate, Jamaica's Lightweight Champion, and the Dominican Republic's Middleweight Champion, Alan Bardoville. The result was a draw.

Next on the programme, a contest between the local Middleweight Champion, John Mwale, and Johnny Kwango of the Central African Republic. Kwango is a leading television personality in Baaing, but he could not match the Zambian's skill and determination and lost after a knock-out.

The high spot of the evening was a bout between Masamboula, the Heavyweight Champion of Gambia, and Prince Kumali, the Guyanan Heavyweight Champion, who is called (with geographic licence) the 'Lion of Africa'. After six hard-fought rounds, Kumali gained the winning pinfall."

The odd thing about this is that "Kid Chocolate" was usually Alan Bardouile's ring name in Britain. Not sure who this one is. Possibly George Burgess aka Jamaica Kid (1970s)/ Jamaica George (1980s)/ Cool Cat Jackson (Reslo early 1990s).

Notice they all very much work a British style here. Clearly Zambian TV was screening "Wrestling From Great Britain" (repackaged World Of Sport footage sold overseas by ITC). See especially the line "Kwango is a leading television personality in Baaing" The four corner pads are all white but red and blue corners are indicated by the metal ring posts.

 

[David Mantell]

Some sad news this Easter Sunday morning - RIP Scott Conway, boss of the TWA - The Wrestling Alliance UK an Old School British promotion that ran 1989-2003.  After the closure of Ring Wrestling Stars, the former Joint Promotions in 1995, TWA became All Star's biggest rival, expanding to become a national promotion. 

For most of the late 90s the two promotions got along nicely but in the early Noughties, fed up with various issues including the appearance of tribute show characters like the UK Undertaker and the Big Red Machine, Conway declared a promotional war, presenting the TWA as the more serious grown up alternative featuring feuds such as Superstar Mal Sanders Vs James Mason for the British Middleweight title and Robbie Brookside Vs Drew McDonald. He also reactivated the British Welterweight title for matches between Johnny Storm and Jodie Fleisch and ran a splinter branch of the British Heavyweight Championship around the Millennium, details of which are listed on the title's Wikipedia page.

This is turn prompted All Star to up its game, dumping the tribute acts, focussing on pushing its young talent especially the crowd from Stoke On Trent that included Dean Allmark, Robbie The Body Dynamite (Berzins) Mikey Whiplash (Gilbert), Kid Cool, Playboy Johnny Midnight and others, as well as arranging a 2003 tournament for Rollerball Rocco's old World Heavy Middleweight Championship (whose last holder Frank Chic Cullen had retired in 2002, ten years into a second run with the belt) which was won by Bryan Danielson under his masked American Dragon persona.

In 2003, Conway relocated to Thailand. He had plans to transplant the company to his new home as the Thai Wrestling Alliance but this never came off. (French Catch fans please note, Le Petit Prince was also living there until his untimely death in 2005 but Scott told me they never crossed paths.). Eighteen years later in 2021 he returned to Britain planning to revive the TWA just as his friend Steve Barker was reviving Rumble at the time after a gap since 2001.

I guess the TWA comeback is off permanently now. Never mind - that war with All Star Wrestling U.K  in 2002 saved All Star in the end.

Some TWA resources.

TWA Facebook page  for the comeback that never was:

https://www.facebook.com/twawrestlinguk

Interview with Scott Conway at the height of his promotional powers

Part 1:
https://web.archive.org/web/20031211105514/http://www.wrestle-zone.co.uk/interviews/scott_conway.htm

Part 2:

https://web.archive.org/web/20031127031249/http://www.wrestle-zone.co.uk/interviews/scott_conway2.htm

RIP SCOTT CONWAY

[David Mantell]

On 4/20/2025 at 11:02 AM, David Mantell said:

TWA Facebook page  for the comeback that never was:

https://www.facebook.com/twawrestlinguk

Check out the Photos section for some great action pics, publicity shots, bills  and  program articles from the late 90s/ early 00s

[David Mantell]

(Transplanted from the German thread to which it was posted in error.)

Keeping with the Giant Haystacks theme in the French and German reviews:

Here is a younger, late twenty something Stax against a thirty something Naggers. The Giant is a lot more mobile here. Unusually he appears as the blue eye against Kendo, less hated of two heels and still the tag partner of a heel Big Daddy.

George leads Kendo out throwing balloons around and reading a speech off a flyer before throwing copies around, Lanny Poffo frisbee style, looking a lot like Marc Bolan circa T.Rex. Round 1 goes to time, Stax gives Kendo his usual bludgeoning but Naggers bears him out and eventually having the big man trapped in the corner, flat on his back on the mat from a grovit and all sorts of other trouble. Kendo even gets a public warning from referee Brian Crabtree who seems to think he was a lion tamer. George is also doing impersonation - of a legit sports coach between rounds advising and pumping up the masked man.

Round 2 and after two audience members invade the ring and are ejected, Stax carries on the same. Mainly with bludgeoning overhead forearms. He manages to rip the mask open at the top and get Kendo to submit to a hangman for the opener, George and Kendo are furious over the submission. Kendo makes a dash in round 3 gunning for a TKO for cuts. Kendo works on Stax's forehead. By about a minute in he has achieved this and opens up a BIG cut on Stax's forehead. Brian Crabtree just needs to have a proper look at it to call the match, but the way he does this gets Kendo few fans outside his hardcore following as Brian only gets in after Stax floors Kendo with an over the head forearm. To have George brag about Kendo's superiority when he was floored with what would have won the Giant victory in a plain streetfight is too much for the other audience members to take.

[David Mantell]

Regional News story on Mitzi Mueller's upcoming retirement match at the Royal Albert Hall 38 years ago today. Featuring her putting holds on Fuji Yamada and she and Klondyke Kate trash talking each other.

This was the last Old school British wrestling show at the RAH and the only time All Star ran a show there, although the WWF and WCW would both do shows there in the 90s. Joint Promotions had last run there in 1984 (headlined hy Otto Wanz defending the CWA title against Ray Steele.) The Royal Albert Hall has the rare distinction of having hosted WWF, WCW, Joint and All Star - Wembley Arena just needs an All Star show some day to complete the set.

The 1930s London County Council an on women's wrestling was sidestepped rather than banned on this occasion - RAH was/is a privately owned venue. Since then, the only female wrestling AFAIK to have followed the lead was a couple of Alundra Blayze title defences on WWF Wembley Arena shows in the mid/late 90s.

Also some archive footage (not the BBC Nationwide piece I posted previously)  of Mitzi in the ring with Lolita Loren.

[David Mantell]

Continuing the theme of Women's wrestling. We've talked a lot about Teenage Boy Wrestlers (TBW). Sarah Rockin' Robbins. daughter of Bobby Barron (who ran the world's last Beat The Shooter challenge booth at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Horseshoe Bar) and his wife, wrestler Apache Princess, was a Teenage Girl Wrestler (TGW ) although it was never billed as "Girl Wrestling" like it rather cloyingly was in America.  Actually Robbins started out as pre-teen, making her debut aged just 12. By 1992 she was in her mid teens and a regular blue eye female on shows. This match was filmed in her native Blackpool in 1992.

Rodgers is established as heel early on, refusing a handshake. The match hits the ropes quite a few times early on. Robbins takes untwisting an armbar in two stages, taking the bump and then kipping out. She also has a neat kip up escape from headscissors. They do shake hands at the end of the round but things don't stay clean for long.

Robbins does a splendid roll from a throw by Rodgers, the Cowgirl does not roll up from throws quite as well, as befits the heel.  Rodgers while putting on an armbar bites Robbins's fingers and is reprimanded by the referee, when she tries it again during an armhank,  Robbins retaliates by nipping Rodgers on the bottom. Robbins does a neat between the legs takedown but it only gets a 1.

Robins ties Rodgers in the corner and then uses the referee to do a Bushwhackers battering ram on her, she gets a public warning for this bit it is reversed after she gives the referee a kiss.  Moments later the referee catches Rodgers doing the second of two concealed illegal closed fist punches and gives her a public warning; she tries the same trick as her opponent but gets a second and final public warning for attempted bribery! 

Shortly after, Robbins double legdives and gets a Boston Crab for the first submission in Round 3.   Robbins has some great cross buttock takedowns into side headlock. Rodgers uses the hair to snapmares Robbins into a cross press for the equalising pin in Round 4.  Robbins gets the decider with a folding press pin.

Not a technical masterpiece (room having to be made for Rodgers' heel act) but some good interesting moves from young Robbins.

 

[David Mantell]

From the early Noughties (00s). October 2001 to be precise in Dagenham, East London. I believe this is an All Star show but it might just possibly be the recently late Scot Conway's TWA promotion - Justin Starr worked for them a lot and was TWA splinter British Heavyweight Champion four times.  14 years on from fighting Mitzi Mueller at the Royal Albert Hall and 11 years on from managing opponents for Big Daddy at the 1990 TV taping in Aberdeen, Kate takes on a legend and recent inductee into the WWE Hall Of Fame. This is one of many occasions she was booked as an honorary male. (In case you're wondering, the GLC was abolished a year or so after Mitzi retired and by 2001 most individual London borough authorities were not enforcing old prohibitions).  

When I first saw Phil Flash Barker in 1992 in Croydon he had a blond Sting haircut (hence the Flash name) and was a blue eye. He and Kate come to the ring to the Sweet's Blockbuster while bizarrely Earthquake's music is Wham's I'm You Man

Flash has a good competitive time with Quake, giving as good as he gets (which includes an over the shoulder backbreaker) Kate tries to interfere but chickens out.  Things pick up when Justin tags in. Kate can quite happily take it and dish it out with Starr, slinging him out the ring, dodging a sunset flip attempt - she even gets a public warning for smacking his head into (his own) corner. Quake also gets a public warning for trying to rescue Justin. It's Barker in the end who takes the Earthquake splash (I thought Kate would get it.) for the one required fall.

Quake was one of a handful of legit ageing WWF Golden Era stars regularly touring the UK's Old School circuit including the Bushwhackers (in triple tag matches with "British Bushwhacker" Frank Casey, see earlier in the thread) and Jake Roberts until he had to flee Britain after starving a python to death.)

 

[NotJayTabb]

On 4/9/2025 at 1:23 AM, David Mantell said:

A full length All Star show a decade ago at Fairfield Hall Croydon in the main concert hall. Just before shows there got relegated to the smaller Ashcroft Theatre room. Headline attraction is the return to the UK of Fuji Yamada, in against then (and most recent) British Mid Heavyweight champion Robbie Dynamite Berzins. (Posted because I wanted to find a Reslo Finlay/Yamada match but there isn't one.)

Thunder is Darren Walsh, son of Banger Tony Walsh.  In the Warwickshire area he was still Darren. In the rest of the country and in Germany/Austria he was Thunder -EWP World Heavyweight Champion, British Heavyweight Champion and top heel in a Warlord style half metal mask.

Oliver Grey/Joel Redman was later All Star British Heavyweight Champion twice, last losing it to Mickey Long last year.

Fit Finlay's son David Jr, actually David III, in against his dad's old punching back, a now middle aged Danny Collins, out to settle old grudges.

I remember watching this show when it first appeared online and really enjoying it. Along with the names mentioned above, JD Bryant is now better known as James Drake from the Grizzled Young Veterans.

When I met Banger Walsh at FWA Uprising in Cov, where Paul Burchill had his farewell match after signing with WWE, he told me that Darren had also been signed and would be heading over as well. I've never seen any inkling that this was true, and Tony was pretty drunk at the time, but I've always wondered why he said that.

[David Mantell]

20 hours ago, NotJayTabb said:

I remember watching this show when it first appeared online and really enjoying it. Along with the names mentioned above, JD Bryant is now better known as James Drake from the Grizzled Young Veterans.

When I met Banger Walsh at FWA Uprising in Cov, where Paul Burchill had his farewell match after signing with WWE, he told me that Darren had also been signed and would be heading over as well. I've never seen any inkling that this was true, and Tony was pretty drunk at the time, but I've always wondered why he said that.

WWE may have expressed an interest in Darren. Unless he chooses to talk about it, we shall never know. 

I've met both Tony (RIP) and Darren at various shows and found them both good company and a credit to the biz. I met Darren as early as a 1992 Croydon show. (I was 18 and still living with my mum and dad in South London - until they went abroad 3 years ago I frequently used their house as a stopover for events in London). I last saw Tony at some late 2010s All Star shows in Royal Leamington Spa.

I attended FWA Uprising as I live in Coventry within walking distance of the SkyDome. It was a funny day for Banger as apparently Sanjay Bagga slagged off Darren in front of Tony and got deservedly manhandled for it by Walsh Sr.  Afterwards on the coach back down to London Kings Cross (I took the return leg only as I was attending a Fairfield Hall Croydon show the next afternoon- yup I used official FWA transport to get to an All Star show!) Bagga, egged on by his FWA loyalists, was constantly bragging on the microphone about what he might do to Walsh Junior in a return match. He was behaving a lot like his kayfabe self in the recent LDN angle with Kendo Nagasaki. I kept my trap shut as I didn't want to be dumped on the motorway but the whole thing seemed to be pretty disrespectful to the Walshes.  

[NotJayTabb]

I only spoke to Tony for 5 minutes, but he was very friendly, was very proud of his career. I would absolutely not mess with him - he put me in a friendly headlock for a photo and I remember thinking "He could easily crush my head if he wanted", still a very strong man.

[David Mantell]

On 1/4/2015 at 1:59 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Chic Cullen vs. Dave Duran (Unknown location, taped 1985)

Dave Duran is so great. I haven't had this much fun watching a jobber to the stars since Studs Lannigan. He had this really great look -- thick stocky guy, hair cut neat, prick-like moustache and a grubby wrestling style. Max Crabtree didn't know what to do with guys like this. He gave Cullen an absolute bruising and even bust out a legit looking choke submission. Awesome stuff. The front row was full of these mischievous looking kids so of course Duran took a bump into the crowd. Neat souvenir. Cullen looked awesome again.

Dave Duran, real name John Palin, future UK Road Warrior, future Animal Legend of Doom, son of 60s deaf wrestler Harry Palin. At about this time he was giving regular "dues paying" kickings to rookie Steve Regal, offering to desist if Regal pays up some of his wage packet. In this case he's bitten off a tougher piece of meat in Cullen, then the British Heavy Middleweight Championand around this time briefly the World Champion for the first time before his epic 1992-2002 second reign. We join the action in round 2, cutting from the studio where Orig is dressed as Tugboat.

Dave is dressed in the traditional black single leotard of many a heel from Andre and Bobby Heenan to Syd Cooper to Billy Cantazaro. He powers down Cullen with a bodycheck and throw over the ropes and partying a shoulderblock before nearly falling foul of a sunset.flip. Cullen takes him down with a hammerlock and tries a cross press. Duran gets a Japanese stranglehold into chinlock., Cullen resists with a bridge before taking a wrist, pivoting into a standing wristlever and sharply whipping. Too bulky to go with the whip, Duran just has tomtake the weakener.End of round.

Round 3. Cullen gets a rear waistlock into standing full nelson.  Duran powers out But Cullen regains before switching to a posting. Cullen gets a side slam and forearm, Duran two inner arms (clothesline) and back elbow and guillotine elbowsmash. He gets a swinging crossface which gets him the opening submission but won't let go so gets a public warning.

Round 4, Duran kicks Cullen about which makes the referee no happier.Cullen brawls back and nearly gets a public warning of his own through excessive knee drops.  Duran side chancery throws Cullen and bodychecks him.  Cullen throws him into the stage right at the get of a bunch of little kids. Some make their escape. Others take advantage to get a kick or two into the big baddy. Cullen brings him in an nearly gets an equaliser with a flying tackle. He takes him down with a flying headscissors and armbars. Duran gets back the arm, turns the scissors upright and forces it loose. Cullen tries to put the head back in but Duran shoved him off and again in response to a bearhug. The situation down shoving match goes on for some time with Cullen getting a pop for grabbing Duran's ears and landing a headbutt. American smart marks of 1985 would be shouting abuse at the match by now but this audience is hooked. Bell finally forces the break but heelish Duran just has to stomp Cullen's fingers one mo4e time.

Round 5, Duran gets a Japanese stranglehold into bodycheck. He gets a Second And Final Public Warning for posting Cullen into a corner he unpadded. He tries to repeat but Cullen reverses it, backdrops Duran and sends him out the ring on a missile dropkick for a KNOCKOUT!!!  There, OJ, proof positive that a KO can be a definitive win.

Duran was a lot more advanced than the Steve Lanegan of 1983, he got his consolation submission, he was just paying Regal's dues up to the next rung on the ladder.  He'd go onto bigger things, would face Regal on ITV (UK Roadies Vs Golden Boys Bedworth 1988) and still can be seen skulking around on Facebook talking about old times to his buddies.

[David Mantell]

Kate gets to fight with the boys again, unknown location, date in the late 90s. Probably All Star but might just be the TWA. Tommy was some mate of the YouTube channel owner, Vic Powers was a regular late Nineties/early Noughties All Star heel - we last saw him on here teaming with a returning Kendo Nagasaki in Hanley June 2000 to beat Marty Jones and that man again Darren Walsh. (You may also recall I saw Vic's brother Phil in Dudley last year.) John Harvey you'll probably best know from tagging with Danny Collins on Eurosport New Catch in about 1991 against Jimmy Ocean and a heel Doc Dean. 

Kate is choking a blue eye (Tommy I think)with the tag rope while Powers gets some kicks in. She gives the poor lamb illegal kidney punches, legal elbowsmashes and Shoulder blocks.  Powers gets in a snapmares and the odd kick and a clothesline, slam. More stomps and a kneelift. Kate kicks the victim from the apron.  Powers gets a Rude Awakening neck breaker and puts a foot on his opponent to pose. But the good guys have tagged and double clothesline Powers repeatedly. They then tie him in the corner and sling Kate into him then slam both heels ' heads together. I guess that's Harvey in he yellow/purple.  He's older than on Eurosport.  They heels try the sling together trick but the blueceyes trick them into crashing into each other twice. The ref sends Kate and Harvey to their corners as Powers regains the advantage. However Harvey helps Tommy get a flying tackle pin on Powers. The heels are FUMING and Kate is soon taking it out on Tommy along the ring ropes.   The good guys use Powers to batter a cornered Kate (that trope agaiñ Powers has Harvey floored and drags him crotch first into the corner post. A fan launches themself at Powers who has to be rescued by the MC (possibly Gordon Prior.) Kate stomps the blue eye as Powers gets a public warning.  The villains beat up on their opponent until Kate scores an equalising pin.

Sadly the clip ends without us seeing the decider but it's Kate as honorary male wrestler and enjoying herself brutalising a TBW.

 

[David Mantell]

https://www.facebook.com/sunsportdesk/videos/1052651983592486

Daniel Bryan (or as we knew him, The American Dragon) on happy memories of working All Stars shows at Butlins Holiday Camps circa 2003 Further information is in his YES book.

[David Mantell]

The Riot Squad take on an odd combination during their Reslo revival. South partnered Murphy on the heels side of All Star's final ITV bout and is still a few years from becoming a mega blue eye as The Legend of Doom (which Reslo survived long enough to catch on professional camera) and Collins is just two months short of beating Finlay for the British Heavy Middleweight title. Danny FIPs it up for the Riot Squad before the two bald ex partners go at it in a forearm smash contest that ends with Murphy getting the opener with a side slam on Johnny South.

Murphy rope a dopes an elbowsmash into South to restart the brawl. Danny eventually scores the hot tag and nearly gets the equaliser with a superplex and a couple of missile dropkicks. He finally gets it with a roll up after Finlay accidentally hits Murphy during a double team,

They heels get a good double teaming starts of Danny but South helps him clear the ring.  The villains soon regain control however and after a couple of backbreaker/elbow double teams, Finlay gets the winning submission on Danny with a reverse neck crank.

Still some way for Danny to go until the big title change in July.  Lively crowd enjoyed the bout, mostly young kids.

 

 

 

[David Mantell]

On 10/30/2015 at 2:45 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Dave Finlay vs. Franz Schumann (Merthyr, taped 2/4/92)

It's possible that Dave Finlay's post-Paula era is worse than his Princess Paula era. Franz Schumann was kind of like a poor man's Austrian version of Chris Benoit, at least on offence, but boy was he disinterested in selling. This had some hard hitting moments, but everything in between was a bore. Finlay was an awful worker at this point. Possibly the most glossed over awful period of all-time. Has there ever been a more noted worker who had a period this bad?

One consequence of the Reslo/New Catch/CWA axis was that it brought as much French and German talent here as it brought our stars to the continent.  Around this same time Simon Garfield saw young Schumann on an All Star show in Tunbridge Wells getting mashed badly by Haystacks.

He is in for a similar time here. Finlay no longer has Paula with him but is still The Bully, starting off with an inner arm blow, kicking him around, landing a flying forearm and brawling onwards until getting cornered for a series of knees.  Finlay takes it in his stride, waistlocking his man to the centre of the ring and going for a suplex but Franz lands feet first and sends his man out with a dropkick.  Returning, Finlay twists a finger interlock into a Japanese stranglehold but Franz has it loosened to the wrists. So Finlay elbowsmashes Franz on the jaw and the two brawl on until Schumann gets a posting into rear chinlock, witching to lower armbar into standing armbar. Finlay forearms out almost so Franz gives the wrist an extra twist but Finlay fouls with an eye pokeand follows in with a head drop. Finlay pulls Franz into a short clothesline.  with a headbutt. Franz fireman's carries Dave down to an armlock on the mat.  Finlay's legs are on the ropes so Franz drags him in, lands a forearm and dropkicks Finlay to ringside again.  Franz gets double legs but Finlay gets the ropes so Franz yanks him off for a bump. Finlay gets a posting and headbutt to the torso, slam and feet first corner splash for 2.  Finlay throws Schumann out and follows with a flying forearm off the apron. As he gets back in, Franz on the apron tosses him in with his feet and drops a leg.  He nearly takes down Finlay with a sunset flip. Finlay gets 2 with a cross press and slams Franz's head in the ring apron with a forearm on top.  A plastic mil crate gets introduced into proceedings which earns Finlay a public warning.  Undeterred he slams in Franz's head and Franz returns the favour, adding a plastic crowd barrier into the mix. Definitely NOT an okay bout for ITV but this is Wales so the IBA probably never noticed.  Franz refuses a handshake but goes for a chop to the throat instead.  Finlay successfully conceals an illegal punch  and gets a forearm, posting and flying headbutt. And more such punishment until Schumann boots him out the ring and follows with a sliding dropkick and (somewhat botched) tope splash.  Finlay wallops Franz with another plastic crowd barrier, getting quite a whack on one blow, then grabs a cone which finally forces the referee to come out.  A fan grabs a crowd barrier and Schumann gets Finlay with the cone.  Schumann has found the plastic crate from earlier and throws it in the ring but Finlay intercepts and uses it, earning himself a Second And Final Public Warning.  Schumann is still in a bad way outside and being tended to by a group of little kids. Finlay joins them to beat on Franz and slam his head in the steps.  Schumann comes back in with a vaulting dropkick, suplex and crosspress for 2. A clothesline off the ropes gets two too. They brawl on and Schumann slams Finlay's head in the corner, pitches him out but is caught in mid flight by Finlay and his knees.  Schumann reverses a tombstone piledriver and gets a perfect flying elbow.  But Finlay catches Schumann on the top turnbuckle and gets the winner with a superplex that would have made Barry Windham proud. After the match Finlay claimed both on the mic and in a ringside promo to be World champion. What world title did he have in 1992?  Finlay gives one last growl to camera and saucers off, presenter Bryn Fon gives a cheeky wave behind his back.

Too violent for the IBA or Kent Walton, very little science except the ending and one or two other bits and bobs.  sSomeone had obviously been watching Memphis tapes. Still if that's your bag, enjoy.