The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[Graham Crackers]

All of the WOS stuff I've seen so far is stuff that I saw was on your recommended list at WKO. I've decided to dive into watching that stuff again and I'm thankful I did. That Sid Cooper vs Dave Barrie match was spectacular and now I really need to see more Sid Cooper.

[ohtani's jacket]

Getting closer to knocking off 1980 forever and all time.

 

Bobby Barnes vs. Bob Anthony (5/22/80)

Barnes had cut his hair short here but was still a blonde. I guess that means his image change was a slow metamorphosis and not a sudden change. This was a pretty good match actually, especially in the middle rounds where Anthony was staking a claim for a successful return to television. It petered out a bit when Barnes took over in the later rounds and the finish was naff, but Anthony again proved himself capable.

Alan Dennison vs. Bob Anthony (2/13/80)

This seems to have been Anthony's official return to television. Dennison was less dickish than usual but still didn't give Anthony much. Walton spent the whole time waxing poetically about Anthony's father Bob Archer O'Brien, an older Southern area welterweight star.

Ray Steele vs. Peter Stewart (9/3/80)

For some reason, Peter Stewart hadn't appeared on television since 1976. Back then he'd been a tall, skinny heavyweight struggling like most to make it into the top flight. Four years later, he had filled out, grown a Charles Bronson like moustache and was wearing a badass black protective glove on his right hand. He even had a badass nickname, The Iron Duke. This was a cool match, though very much for the connoisseur of the more minimalist heavyweight style. Stewart showed he was a good addition to the club who worked that style well and it's a shame he got lost in the shuffle like so many others.

Pat Roach vs. Pete Stewart (11/5/80)

Here's a bit of useless trivia for you in case anyone ever asks you what Jeff Kaye's first televised match as a referee was. Man Roach was huge. Stewart was a big guy, but Roach was simply bigger. Only Quinn comes close to giving the same impression. This was also cool in the same vein that the Steele bout was. Things got pretty testy between the two, but the promoters were continuing to turn Roach face so nothing much came of it. There was an awkward spot where Kaye counted a pinfall where Stewart had gotten his shoulder up. Roach refused the fall, which made sense in terms of putting over his new found sportsmanship, but it made Kaye look pretty weak in his first appearance as ref.

Chris Adams vs. King Ben (11/8/80)

For the heats of a knockout trophy tournament this was an excellent bout. It went to a draw so it didn't quite hold its shape the entire way, but for two guys I'm hardly fond of they impressed me with their working chemistry. Ben seems like a better wrestler in the early 80s then I would have given him credit for. He had a lot of natural charisma and some neat comedy spots. His selling of the enzuigiri (which Walton had some weird name for) would mortify some people, but forgivable considering it was England in the 1980s and not Japan.

Bobby Bold Eagle vs. Rollerball Rocco (9/3/80)

This was Bobby Bold Eagle's television debut for Joint Promotions. He mostly stuck to Native American shtick while Rocco cheated his arse off. Walton of course went on about Billy Two Rivers, who had been a huge success in Joint rings in the 60s. The bout was a Rocco special, but it was sullied somewhat by the blatant spot calling and an incredibly unsubtle reach for a blade by Rocco. It was cool that he bleed from BBE's tomahawk chops and pretty outrageous considering blood wasn't allowed on television, but for a guy who was supposed to be the pro's pro, this was one of the more business exposing bouts I've seen from a British grappler.

Wayne Bridges vs. John Quinn (4/21/80)

The spectacle for this was amazing. It was taped at Wembley, which was one of the more raucous crowds around, and aired on Cup Final Day. Proof positive that Joint could build to a big match and deliver, the MC starts by telling the crowd how impatient they are. Then Manfred Mann hits and Quinn makes the best World Heavyweight title match entrance a rudo could possibly make in a town hall in 1980s London. Bridges came out to Entry of the Gladiators with flags and fanfare, and they even did this BS thing where they passed Yasa Fuji off as the heavyweight champion of Japan waiting to be the first man to challenge the winner. The bout was pure theatre with the crowd ready to come unglued at a moment's notice. They were a smart crowd too as they noticed every indiscretion Quinn made even the slightest hair pull. Ward milked the public warnings beautifully and the building shook whenever Bridges would fight back. The ring was surrounded by twice as many attendants as usual due to how worked up the crowd were. When Bridges took the first fall, this guy leapt into shot looking like he was going to attack Bridges when in fact he was so fired up over Bridges taking a fall that he just lost his shit completely. The finish was ballsy given the crowd reaction as Bridges was busted open and unable to continue the fight handing the title to Quinn, who had naturally cheated the entire match with his all-in American rule breaking. Since it aired live on Cup Final Day, the editor chased Bridges around with a grey spot to cover up his cut and there were cutaways to ladies in the crowd as Fuji jumped into the ring to celebrate with The Mighty Quinn. This was a great run from Quinn, who really upset the locals with his comments about England. Of course Daddy showed up to set up a tag match and steal the heat, but wow, as a spectacle that left me breathless.

King Ben vs. Honey Boy Zimba (9/3/80)

Only the scoring falls were really shown. Didn't realise Zimba had a Herculean gut by 1980.

Mike Marino vs. King Kong Kirk (9/3/80)

 

Jesus, Marino was older than Moses in '80. Mal Kirk is the type of wrestler who's easy to write off as he was almost the George 'the Animal' Steele of British wrestling, but he was committed to his role, got plenty of heat and never really stank it up in the ring. This wasn't much of anything since Marino was older than dirt, but Kirk's facials were a lot of fun. You'd swear Kirk Douglas was his name sake watching the way he scowls. He's really like a cartoon character come to life.

[ohtani's jacket]

Wayne Bridges vs. Butts Giraud (5/28/80)

At first this struck me as pretty odd as Bridges was wrestling this portly, balding Canadian wrestler dressed in gridiron gear. Then I read up on Butts and he turned out to be a pretty interesting dude. It was Giraud and not Quinn who first came over from Canada and started getting on house mics and doing the whole anti-British spiel. A former All-American, he'd wear the helmet and football gear to further antagonise the crowds. You learn something new every day. Quinn was on the same tours and borrowed the act. The angle here was that he'd sent Butts a telegram telling him to finish Bridges off. The match itself wasn't very memorable, but another piece of the puzzle fell together.

Tony St Clair vs. Rex Strong (4/10/80)

I'm sure I've seen Strong before but I don't remember him looking the way he did. He was kind of like a British Mike Shaw. The crowd loved St. Clair and gave him tremendous support, but he flailed away against Strong with some pretty tame looking strikes. The crowd enjoyed it mind you.

Pat Patton vs. Steve Peacock (8/6/80)

Peacock got great heat here. The type of Sid Cooper/Jim Breaks heat that performers of his ilk must have been always hoping for. Patton continued to be a fine Kung Fu knock-off. The finish was tremendous as it looked for all money that Peacock had won, but Patton got one of the neater pinning reversals I've seen in a British ring. Definitely the first Peacock match where I've seen the things in him that Regal talks about.

Tiger Dalibar Singh vs. King Kong Kirk (8/6/80)

Singh had tremendous sideburns here and Kirk's gut looked tremendous with his tights raised up around his waist. The pair clobbered each other for a round or so before Singh got a pinfall and Kirk reacted after the bell by punching him in the back then dropping the elbow on him. That was an automatic DQ and another lost purse for Kirk no doubt. I love the punch to the back spot. It's such a heinous cheap shot as it looks like it could do real damage.

Wayne Bridges vs. John Cox (1/3/80)

Bit of a sleepy New Year's match. Cox was making his return to television after being off the air for some time and was never going to be much of a match for the world champ. Walton was pushing the 90 day rematch clause with Spiros Arion. They had a match in Digbeth on 1/24 that was possibly a world title match, but it wasn't a television taping. This match had some decent moments, but for a guy who was supposed to be the cream of the crop of British heavyweights Bridges sure had plenty of lacklustre matches.

Romany Riley vs. Lenny Hurst (2/13/80)

This was an entertaining bout between two solid pros. They deserve a ton of credit for making it memorable as they could have easily gone out there and had a regular sort of a match, but they sensed something in the crowd I supposed and worked a chaotic bout instead. Riley was working as a heel at this stage and I still find it hard to recognise him in the early 80s since he looked almost like a counter culture Bill Walton type in the 70s. He kept attacking Hurst before he'd had an opportunity to get up (a big no no under Lord Mountevans rules.) Well, you don't fuck with Lenny Hurst. He may appear quiet and unassuming, but he stomped the shit out of Riley between rounds and started throwing punches for good measure. Riley responded in kind and referee Joe D'Orazio lost all control of the bout. It was a pretty shocking refereeing performance from him actually from a kayfabe perspective. They pounded away on each other with both men taking a lot of damage, It went on longer than it needed to, but they certainly left an impression.

[ohtani's jacket]

And now a couple of tags to finish off 1980.

 

Giant Haystacks/John Quinn vs. Honey Boy Zimba/Dave Bond (1/9/80)

 

This was Quinn's return to UK television after being humiliated by Daddy the summer before. Forget what I said about Quinn being big, he looks like a midget next to Haystacks. Jesus what a giant of a man. He reminds me of Volstagg from the Warriors Three or that Rubeus Hagrid dude from Harry Potter. Brian Crabtree has one of those 1980 moments when he describes Honey Boy Zimba and Dave Bond as representing the "negro team." Zimba bust his ass here as he seemed to do whenever he was put in this spot. I'm not sure why as I can't imagine the payoffs were any better. The Quinn vs. Zimba portions were easily the best thing about this, though Quinn and Bond also had a nice strike exchange. Bond threw himself in the way of a posting by leaping over the top rope and clinging to the turnbuckle. I don't remember seeing that before, though surely it was something he picked up from the Royals or some other tag team. Walton had trouble describing it so I guess it surprised him as well. Quinn seemed to misread the finish as Zimba was knocked into next week by Haystacks' splash and got on the house mic as though the bout was over. Technically it was supposed to continue and there was an awkward restart before the ref called things off. I'm pretty sure Quinn was meant to wait until the bout had ended to launch into his tirade. Zimba's selling was excellent, though.

 

Big Daddy/Kid Chocolate vs. Mark Rocco/Tony Walsh (2/5/80)

 

Banger Walsh and Mark Rocco, what a dream team. They worked together really well here. If tag wrestling had been more important in the 80s they could have been the Black Diamonds to Finlay and Murphy's Les blousons noirs. Daddy came to ringside pushing a kid in a wheelchair and stopped to have a photo opportunity with the local mayor. Slimier than the slimiest politician. Kid Chocolate was dressed like Carl Anderson in the Jesus Christ Superstar movie. I had this notion of him busting out the Big Daddy version of (Too Much) Heaven on their Minds. Rocco and Walsh started the bout by trying to take Daddy off his feet as though they were cleaning him out of a rugby ruck. They even tried the battering ram spot. Man did they bump for Daddy. They made him look like a million bucks or should I say pounds sterling. At one point Rocco jumped on his back to try a sleeper and Daddy tossed him off for a flat back bump from a considerable height. Walsh bumped like a mofo too. I hope these guys got a better than average payoff as this was a lot better than your average Daddy tag. Chocolate took a beating before making the hot tag and the heels worked him over nicely. It's a shame it didn't last for longer, but one of the more amusing Waltonisms is the way he'd always mention how much time there was left in a Daddy tag as though it could possibly go the time limit. Daddy was so god damn lame though. HOF'er he may be if you can convince yourself of his credentials, but the guy was not only a colossal prick, he was also incredibly lame. The injured Chocolate was in his corner and Daddy tried to rev him up by getting him to chant "easy" with him. So lame. Rocco and Walsh walked out on the contest, which was a dignified response.

 

So that's it for 1980. There's about 85 matches that survive. I must have seen more than 80 of them. There's a couple of bouts involving Daddy or other workers that I couldn't justify spending a penny on, but I've now seen close to the entire season of 1980 WoS as we know it. There's one more Veidor tag I might pick up that I think is the last Veidor footage we have on tape, but otherwise it's done.

[ohtani's jacket]

I forgot to mention that the coolest thing about the Daddy tag is that if you type "Big Daddy Kid Chocolate" in YouTube you get all these hits for Big Daddy Kane from his Taste of Chocolate album.

[ohtani's jacket]

Time to polish off 1981:

 

Rollerball Rocco vs. Joel De Fremery (8/26/81)

 

Sound issues made this difficult to follow, but perhaps the least remarkable World Title bout from any promotion in the 80s. The French worker De Fremery didn't show me anything and Rocco didn't even put on the "Rocco Show." Joint Promotions would often bring over a guy from a continent for vacant World Title bouts, presumably to add some legitimacy to their global pretensions, but this would have been so much better if the top two heavy-middleweights had met.

 

Mick McMichael vs. Steve Peacock (2/2/81)

 

Peacock looked good here. Not Jim Breaks good or anything, but Johnny England good. I wouldn't mind seeing a long six rounder if he has one, but he's a guy who slipped through The Wrestling Channel cracks. McMichael remains an enigma. So many matches, so many years on television, and no connection at all.

 

Tom Tyrone vs. Peter Stewart (2/24/81)

This had funky sound issues that sounded like a Pink Floyd recording at first but soon got on my nerves. So I put on a New Wave of British Heavy Metal record to accompany this; one of my more recent booms inspired by Regal's appearance on Austin's podcast, Triple H's entrance at Wrestlemania 22, and a German guy I met outside an alcohol vending machine. I figure a lot of the wrestlers were into this shit at the time, so why not? Tyrone was young and babyfaced, but put up a decent fight against the Iron Duke. Stewart cleaned his clock in the end, but Tyrone moved another rung up the hierarchy.

Peter Stewart vs. Johnny South (12/30/80)

I may be the only person on the planet who gets excited over Peter Stewart vs. Johnny South. This was an adrenaline kick. Most people's idea of World of Sport is Johnny Saint rolling himself into a ball or some shit, but this is my kind of fix. Stewart had South in the Japanese stranglehold and you could see South had a mouthful of blood. Later on it seemed like South gave him a receipt but all in the spirit of tough as guts professional wrestling. These guys could have easily been card carrying members in the Rudge/Singh/Roach/Steele club. The finish was great as Stewart knocked South the fuck out while selling as though he'd fractured his forearm. Bad ass.

Le Grand Vladimir vs. John Cox (12/30/80)

The Burnley crowd were well up for this and gave Cox probably the most support he ever received. Naturally, he was the sacrificial lamb, but not before a decent clubbing at the hands of Vladimir. Walton made a right hash out of explaining Vladimir's background: Russian but born to French and Polish parents and residing most of his life in Paris. In the end he fobbed him off as Prussian and span some bullshit about how he'd won countless German tournaments. Vladimir was never a great worker, but he knew how to get heat and could have had a better run in the UK if the money had been better. Instead, they brought him in for the World Heavyweight Title Eliminator series they ran at the Royal Albert Hall, which was this sort of gauntlet thing that Wayne Bridges was involved in on the monthly shows and jobbed him to Daddy on TV.

Wayne Bridges vs. Lee Bronson (4/29/81)

I was ready to spit venom at this when Bronson dropped the first fall in the opening round, but it turned into a pretty decent bout. For once we got to see Bridges show some of his technical ability instead of working whatever lump they put in front of him. I'm still not convinced he had the prowess of the heavyweights who were always in and out of the country and off TV for months at a time, but this was better than the usual Bridges fare. Somewhat on the short side, but I managed to get my teeth sunk in. I can kind of understand why they stopped pushing Bronson as the new young hope with that hair loss.

King Kong Kirk vs. Tom Tyrone (6/24/81)

This went longer than it needed to, but Kirk gave Tyrone plenty of the bout while still using him to set up a bout with the visiting Rick Hunter, who I believe was splitting his time between the AWA and the Pacific Northwest at the time (Joint billed him as being from Portland.) The grotesque nature of Kirk continues to captivate me. He had this blotch on the side of his head that I couldn't decide was a birth mark, a patch of hair or a birth mark with something growing out of it. And he had this shit on his face that was either parts he hadn't shaved or pieces of toilet paper. Fucking weird.

[ohtani's jacket]

Dave Bond vs. Tom Tyrone (3/31/81)

A match I can hear the commentary on tells me that Tyrone's television debut was the bout against Pete Stewart, so '81 is really his rookie year as far as we're concerned out in television land. He was a good young worker with some nice arm throws, but clearly a third or fourth year man. Walton complained that this wasn't exciting enough, but it suited me fine. I'm not sure the face turn was the best move for Bond though, who was better suited to heeldom.

John Naylor vs. Kenny Hogan (2/11/81)

Just a few minutes of this. Didn't leave much of an impression outside of Hogan's sneer.

Tiger Dalibar Singh vs. Abe Arbuckle (5/12/81)

Arbuckle was a big strong weightlifter type. Really big man. Singh worked a couple of decent holds with him, but as usual was devoid of personality, and Arbuckle was never seen on TV again.

John Wilkie vs. Bobby Ryan (9/9/81)

Only the scoring action. Everything I've seen from Ryan's "comeback" has shown he didn't really have it anymore. Great worker in the 70s mind.

Bert Royal & Vic Faulkner vs. Bobby Barnes & Sid Cooper (6/18/81)

There hasn't really been any additional footage from '81 worth watching, but this was a fun tag. If you've seen The Royals before it's nothing new, but the Wembley Arena crowd were hot and Barnes and Cooper were outstanding as the bumping and stooging foils to The Royals' smart arse shit. Cooper took a bump to the floor and began jawing with this woman who was dancing in a circle and pointing to the sky. She must have been disabled or something, but Cooper slagged her off. Barnes was awesome here, which you can't always say about Barnes in the 80s. Faulkner kept making fun of his snazzy trunks and Barnes ended up taking it out on Faulkner's arm, fucking it up completely with the nastiest looking arm submission I've seen in some time. Of course, the Royals being structurally impaired, after that big FIP segment, Vic made the tag for Bert to clean house... and he moved some stuff and tagged Faulkner in after like 10 seconds... Faulkner was apparently fresh as a daisy and scored the winning fall. Forget the comedy, imagine if the Royals were actually good at this tag wrestling stuff.

[GSR]

The main thing that stood out about that Royals vs Black Knights tag I watched was that it was structurally all over the place. Seems like it's a common theme for them!

[ohtani's jacket]

That's the Royals for you. I hold them more or less responsible for British tag wrestling being the shambles that it was.

[ohtani's jacket]

Tally Ho Kaye vs. Kid Chocolate (3/17/81)

 

Only a few minutes of this aired on ITV, but what was shown looked like good fun. Peter Kaye has gone up in my estimation lately, not necessarily in terms of his wrestling skills but in how consistently fun his segments were. I've seen Kid Chocolate against a bunch of guys and his main problem was always his lack of assertiveness. Here he was dishing out the headbutts to Kaye and generally getting over well. Kaye was a really good pro.

 

Bobby Barnes vs. Pat Patton (1/13/81)

 

This was fantastic. Barnes was a fucking master when he wanted to be. Patton was the hometown favourite in Wolverhampton and the heat the pair got was sensational. Barnes put on a masterclass in how to switch between shitty little heel tactics and the nastiest looking submissions imaginable. He got the crowd so worked up that a woman came up to his corner and had a real go at him. The crowd were hanging on Patton's every nearfall, but Barnes kept him at bay, which I thought didn't make much sense as the place would have erupted if Patton scored the winning fall. Still, the crowd got their night's entertainment and then some.

Ray Steele vs. King Kong Mal Kirk (5/12/81)

 

Huh, Steele jobbed in straight falls. What the hell is this? Bit of a flat bout.

[ohtani's jacket]

Blackjack Mulligan vs. Kid Chocolate (9/29/81)

Mal Sanders vs. John Naylor (9/29/81)

Jan Curtis vs. Sid Cooper (9/29/81)

John England vs. Pat Patton (9/29/81)

Sid Cooper vs. Kid Chocolate (9/29/81)

Mal Sanders vs. Pat Patton (9/29/81)

Here we have the heats and semi-finals of the knockout tournament for the Mike Marino memorial shield; five minute one fall bouts, which in WoS parlance were commonly refereed to as "eliminators." In the case of a draw, the referee decided the winner based on skill and aggression. You may remember from the thread I made about him in The Microscope that Sanders, whom Marino brought into the business and was with him when he died, won the shield after defeating Cooper in the final. Marino's death was referred to rather nonchalantly by today's standards with Walton basically saying "in case you haven't heard, I hate to say it but Mike Marino died a few weeks ago." Walton's commentary seemed a bit off throughout to be honest. They were action packed five minute bouts because of the time limit and the skill and aggression factor, but Walton spent a lot of time questioning the wrestler's tactics instead of calling the action. At one point, he said Cooper wouldn't get anywhere with weakeners on Kid Chocolate and then he scored an immediate submission. None of the bouts were outstanding, but they were all enjoyable and the booking mixed things up with a few points decision, an injury finish, a flash pin and a submission victory. The only new guy for me was Jan Curtis, who was a former amateur wrestler wearing an amateur style singlet. Five minutes isn't a long time to judge someone, but he looked okay. Not a machine like Haward or Kurt Angle, but seeing him in a proper match would be interesting.

[ohtani's jacket]

As with 1980 we close out 1981 with some quality Big Daddy...

 

Big Daddy/Sammy Lee vs. Le Grande Vladimir/Mel Stuart (1/13/81)

 

This was the same Wolverhampton crowd that went mental for the Pat Patton/Bobby Barnes fight so this was going to be loud if nothing else. The Russian/Dutch/French/Hungarian Vladimir came out to Boney M's Rasputin. Daddy came out to a mash up of the Seekers and the local boys marching squad. This woman with an enormous bosom and no front teeth kept pulling the finger to the beat of We Shall Not Be Moved.

Sayama was rocking his Game of Death body suit. I wonder what he made of all this. He rather amusing blew a ton of shit in this bout, but the women at ringside didn't care as they were out for blood. Another worthless tag and another heel buried. Stick a stake in him, Vlad is done.

[JNLister]

Always fascinates me that had Sayama not pulled out for whatever reason, the 1981 Wembley show would have had Rocco-Sayama on the same card as Daddy-Haystacks. Truly something for everyone.

[ohtani's jacket]

I think Sayama's last bout in England was Hanley on 4/18/81. He debut as Tiger Mask on 4/23/81. For some reason he was billed through to September on Joint Promotion cards. Perhaps they expected him to come back.

[ohtani's jacket]

I got a comp made of Tarzan Johnny Wilson matches, but since I'm probably the only guy who cares about Wilson I thought I'd stick my thoughts here rather than in the Microscope.

 

Johnny Wilson vs. John Elijah (7/11/84)

These are two of my guys, but even I have to admit that watching a 35 minute 8 round bout is tough going. It was everything I'd want out of John Elijah vs. Johnny Wilson in terms of strength holds and powering out of moves, but very much a one pace bout. And it went to a draw, which ain't much of a return on your investment.

Johnny Wilson vs. Barry Douglas (9/11/84)

This close to the end of my World of Sport viewing and I'm still getting suckered into watching Barry Douglas bouts. I'm sure it's because the Heritage guys compared him to Terry Rudge, but they clearly don't share the same opinion of Rudge that we do around here. This wasn't that bad actually, but I'm not sure if Douglas could have been any more bland. He came from the family of one of the Joint Promotions promoters, but even that didn't help him rise above his station. I guess he deserves respect as a long time pro, though.

Professor Adi Wasser vs. Johnny Wilson (5/12/81)

Professor Adi Wasser was a masked French star who worked on British cards in the 60s and 70s and was evidently having another run here. I couldn't find any information about him other than the fact he was billed as a jiu jitsu expert. His gimmick was that he had a devastating sleeper hold ala Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie during his run in England. No prizes for guessing what Johnny's role was on this particular night, but I liked the way they treated the sleeper like death.

Tom Tyrone vs. Johnny Wilson (9/3/85)

Wilson wrestled this defensively and didn't attack as much as he usually did, and Walton would not stop going on about how there was something wrong with him and how he was terribly out of form. Personally, I was enjoying some of the defensive work but Walton wouldn't stop harping on about it. He could be really annoying when he got his bee in a bonnet over something.

Johnny Wilson vs. Lee Sharron (7/27/81)

Sharron was this ancient rule-bending heel. He may have been good in his prime, but he looked so washed up here he was a castaway.

Johnny Wilson vs. Bully Boy Muir (5/11/82)

Bully Boy Ian Muir was another fun 20-stoner in the vein of King Kong Mal Kirk. He was a rampant cheater and you could see the inevitable DQ coming a mile off, but there was some fun big man vs, smaller man psychology along the way and Wilson got to show off his strength by lifting a guy who was 21 and a half stone.

Skull Murphy vs. Johnny Wilson (12/19/84)

This was the final of the 1984 Grand Prix Belt tournament. Not quite as good or as heated as it could have been as Murphy wrestled a mostly clean bout (with Walton even trying to get sympathy for him over the recent death of his father Roy Bull Davis.) Murphy's bruising style really lent itself to rule-bending so this was a bit dry at times, but the psychology was excellent with Wilson's neck gradually being weakened in anticipation for Murphy's gator submission. Because this aired on the final WoS show of 1984 a winner had to be decided so they worked a sudden death overtime session and Murphy got the win with an awesome looking clothesline by British wrestling standards. Kind of a strange guy to put over in these circumstances, but I'm happy to say that Murphy has cemented himself in my thoughts as a key player from the 80s when I had initially bagged him.

Dave Finlay vs. Johnny Wilson (8/21/84)

What I saw of this was deliciously enticing, but the first three rounds were missing. They got up in each other's grills just as you'd hope and there were plenty of forearms traded. The fact that Dave got the win decisively over a heavier bigger man kind of tells you Tarzan Johnny Wilson's lot in the grand scheme of things, but he kept getting a cheque through to the end of the ITV run so they obviously saw some value in him.

Tom Tyrone vs. Johnny Wilson (12/17/86)

This aired in '87 as part of the 1987 Grand Prix tournament, which was opened to heavyweights, Knockout tournaments aren't my favourite aspect of the television, but this tournament was some of the better TV from 1987. Tyrone was clearly higher on the totem pole than Wilson for whatever reason, but Johnny was a pro and they worked a decent bout.

Johnny Wilson vs. Bruno Elrington (1/31/79)

This was a fun bout. Elrington was a limited big man, but he had a strong grasp of psychology and it's possible that his execution was better in his heyday. I enjoyed watching the strategies that Wilson implemented here and he got to show a lot of raw strength with these unique throws/takedowns he'd do where Elrington was literally held in a vertical position before being taken over. Elrington basically looked like a giant from the Highlands, and while he tried to remain a sportsman he would lose his cool at the drop of a hat and fire up by slamming his hands on the mat, letting out a primitive growl, eye gouging his opponent, or threatening to box the ref. It was entertaining stuff. They went with a typical booking pattern here of having the younger guy up a fall before succumbing to injury (in this case Wilson's knee buckling as he tried to lift the 20 stone Elrington.) The St. John's men came out and Wilson did a full stretcher job. Pretty good selling, I thought.

John Elijah & Dave Bond vs. Peter & Johnny Wilson (6/28/83)

This was a very good tag in the John Elijah/Johnny Wilson heavyweight style. By far and away the best Peter Wilson match I've seen. I had no idea how big he was until I saw him work comparatively shorter heavyweights in Bond and Elijah. One thing I'll say for the 80s is that the tag matches were generally better than they were in the 70s. The Bond vs. Wilson sections here were awesome and amongst the best stuff on the entire comp.

Ray Steele vs. Johnny Wilson (5/4/88)

This was part of a knockout tournament for some Community Shield. The shield had this blue ribbon on it that someone had marked "1st" with a black marker pen. No expense spared by the Crabtrees. I actually think the heavyweight work holds up the best of the late 80s work, a bit like how the tortoise won the race. If we had this in full instead of the three rounds they generally aired there might be more late 80s stuff worth pimping. Walton still told the same story about Steele's third professional fight that he was talking about in 1970. I don't know how many gin and tonics he was having to get through these broadcasts but he sounds almost depressed at times.

[ohtani's jacket]

Well, I've got a final big stack of British pro-wrestling to wade through and then my enjoyment will come from watching other folks get into this stuff.

 

Johnny Kwango vs. Kevin Conneely (4/4/73)

Conneely's not really my cup of tea, but there's no denying the crowd found him hilarious. The crowd here at Southend were in stitches with one guy howling the entire way through. I do think his humour may have played better live as there are times where you can't hear what he's said, or he makes a joke about something off-screen, and if Walton doesn't explain what's going on it's difficult to follow what's happening. If you liked Father Ted and you want to see an Irish comedian wrestling you might enjoy him. Personally, I prefer Kellett as he also brought some hard-nosed grappling.

Johnny Kwango vs. Bobby Barnes (7/29/77)

Barnes hadn't been on television for 18 months when this aired, which I can only assume was because he was working elsewhere. Walton makes a very odd reference to Adrian Street in this bout claiming that he'd given up the game. I'm fairly certain that Street was working all over the indy circuit at this point. It's odd for Walton to make a comment like that. Barnes looked good here but this was all over in a meager two rounds which left me feeling short changed.

Clive Myers & Chris Adams vs. Johnny Kwango & Bully Boy Muir (4/23/79)

Now here's something I've never seen in a WoS bout. Kwango replaced the billed Bronco Wells so his team with Muir became a type of parejas increibles. Of course, this being British wrestling they didn't exactly milk it for all it was worth. Instead, it was incredibly awkward with Kwango refusing to tag Muir in despite taking a battering from Myers. When Muir did finally tag in he preceded with his rule-bending, but Kwango stayed on the apron instead of doing anything about it. There were VQ issues and the match skipped to the end with Kwango raising Myers' hand. Who knows if there was any payoff.

Kevin Conneely vs. Johnny Kwango (5/8/74)

I wasn't sure which Conneely vs. Kwango bout I'd seen so I ordered them both. This was the better of the two. I actually found it reasonably amusing and got a few chuckles out of it. It always impresses me how Walton can handle the comedy stuff without it seeming like a complete breech of kayfabe. Perhaps it's the way he laughs along with the crowd or explains the joke that allows you to take it at face value. It's interesting whatever the case.

Bobby Graham vs. Billy Torontos (5/21/75)

Bobby Graham was a Sheffield local but the crowd boo'ed him anyway. This actually answered a question I had about the banned moves in Sheffield and whether the heels ever used them to get heat as Graham receives a public warning for using a banned move whereas Torontos is allowed to retaliate with the headbutt. At first, Graham controlled this so much that I thought Torontos worked like a regular human being at this stage of his career. Then the Torontos we all know began running about waving his arms in the air. The crowd were right behind him and didn't like the result, but Graham punched Torontos after the bout and the ref reversed the decision for a nice pop.

Kung Fu vs. Peter Preston (5/21/75)

This is the one and only Peter Preston match on tape. Preston was part of one of the most famous matches in British wrestling history when as a relative unknown he defeated Mick McManus two falls to nil at a London television taping in 1967. For years speculation was rife that McManus had been scheduled to win the bout by knockout but that Preston and promoter Norman Morrell had orchestrated a double cross. In any event, McManus got himself disqualified and Preson became an overnight star in the North. By 1975 he was on the wane and diabetes had slowed him down, but he came across as a great heel worker and someone I'd love to see more of. He was awesome at reacting to Kung Fu's kicks and did some awesome feinting before getting his clock cleaned. Quite a fun Kung Fu bout this.

[ohtani's jacket]

Bert Royal vs. Steve Taylor (10/22/75)

Steve Taylor is the older brother of Dave Taylor and the oldest son of legendary Heavy Middleweight Eric Taylor. This is the only footage we have of him from his prime. There are a few more matches from Reslo in the early 80s and a couple of tag matches from the late 80s, but that’s it. He was a capable grappler as you can imagine from his lineage, but this was a four round Bert Royal exhibition similar to the Tibor Szacaks and Mike Marino bouts I’m always talking about. It’s easy to forget how long Royal had been around. He was already in his mid-40s here and had been wrestling on television for twenty years. Perhaps that’s why Dale Martin was struggling so badly in the early 70s. As much as I love this 70s stuff, and as decent a bout as this was, there were guys on top who appeared in the first television broadcast in 1955. That’s an extraordinarily long time to push the same wrestlers. Forgetting all that, there was some neat grappling in this, Taylor looked good, and Royal was rocking his mid-70s moustache.

John Naylor vs. Bill Ross (2/25/76)

This was a neat opportunity to see one of the top Scottish lightweights of the day, Bill Ross. The Northern guys didn’t appear on television all that often since most of the tapings were from areas where Dale Martin promoted, and a lot of the Northerners had business interests which kept them from venturing too far from Scotland and the North of England, hence why people only ever read about George Kidd’s World Lightweight Title defences instead of getting to see them, so this was a neat chance to see a guy who along with Kidd and Jim McKenzie was considered one of the best of the Northern guys. Naylor was his usual mixed bag, but Ross was a lot of fun and it was cool seeing his specialties. It’s always good to put a match to a face, so all in all we’re lucky to have this on tape.

Kendo Nagasaki vs. Roy St Clair (5/25/76)

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about British historians it’s that they tend to have an over-inflated opinion of Kendo Nagasaki’s working ability. Maybe it’s nostalgia or looking at things through rose coloured glasses, or perhaps he was better in the 60s when he was working the halls and kept off television, but at any rate there’s nothing on tape to support the idea that he was an elite worker. Mind you, neither was McManus so I suppose it doesn’t really matter. This was a competitive squash with a lot of public warnings and crowd heat and even a bit of blood from Roy St. Clair’s lip. If there’s one thing I like about Nagasaki it’s his finisher. Along with Roach’s finisher it was one of the nastier moves of the era and looked like a knockout blow every time.

Romany Riley vs. Rex Strong (4/6/76)

Strong was brought into the business by the legendary Prince of Darkness, Dirty Dominic Pye, in the Blackpool area, and was more than proficient in the dark arts of rule-bending. He also spent time in Bill Riley’s gym, not that you’d be able to guess judging by his technical ability. If you want to see a big, bad, bald heavyweight who looks like he could be a henchman in every B-film ever made then Strong is the guy for you. He cheats the entire bout long and the grannies get pissed. Bread and butter stuff, but everyone gets their money’s worth.

Mick McManus vs. Catweazle (5/5/82)

This was McManus’ final ever bout. I’m not sure why Catzweale was chosen as his opponent, but both men but in a considerably earnest attempt at wrestling a good match. McManus fights the clock at the end to force a result, but can’t quite make it and the bell goes to draw time on his career. A ten bell salute follows and a backstage interview with some World of Sport guy where they drink beer together and toast McManus’ career. Unfortunately, the sound quality is terrible and it’s difficult to make out what McManus is saying, but he seems to take a sort of retrospective and philosophical look back on his career even the cheating. The beer is a nice touch.

[JNLister]

 

Bert Royal vs. Steve Taylor (10/22/75)

It’s easy to forget how long Royal had been around. He was already in his mid-40s here and had been wrestling on television for twenty years. Perhaps that’s why Dale Martin was struggling so badly in the early 70s. As much as I love this 70s stuff, and as decent a bout as this was, there were guys on top who appeared in the first television broadcast in 1955. That’s an extraordinarily long time to push the same wrestlers.

 

 

Funnily enough, the TV Times (think TV Guide) made exactly that point in a piece published that year:

 

 

 

For 20 years, wrestling has held an unrivalled place on television. With a hallowed 50 minute slot at the climax of Saturday's World Of Sport, and often a late night slot during the week, it has been one of ITV's hardy perennials, as durable and popular as Coronation Street. But the grapplers' grip on the big audience has slackened lately. Statistics show that, on average, 8,500,000 people watched the Saturday afternoon wrestling in November 1970, but only 7,500,000 tuned in last November. What happened to the missing million? This viewing figure is still high and healthy, but there is no doubt, especially as figures for the rest of World Of Sport have been steadily rising, that wrestling has lost a considerable number of TV fans. And, although most non-televised wrestling events are well attended, the public are getting choosy about the live wrestling bouts they go to see. At Waltham Town Hall in East London, for instance, the popular once-a-fortnight wrestling bill has now been dropped to make way for occasional big-name specials to sharpen the public's appetite for the sport. Figures like these are bound to be pounced upon by the critics who have always been eager to force wrestling into submission. Max Crabtree, managing director of Joint Promotions, who put on TV wrestling, says: "We've always been the whipping boy; people love to knock us. All I can say is that houses have been excellent at seaside promotions during the summer and we're confident the winter is going to be as good. Wrestling has grass roots support from working people - and it's going to survive, like bingo." Bearing out what Crabtree says, wrestling in the halls around the country is far from going under. There are between 60 and 80 promotions during the week, from the North of Scotland to the South Coast, each with a minimum of four matches, and costing fans from £1 for a ringside seat to 50p standing. At some of the most popular venues, especially in the Midlands and North, there is still standing room only.

 

But nobody will contest that this number of promotions is down on the boom days of the Sixties, although it's still enough to keep the wrestlers busy. Of the 50 professional grapplers in the business, many wrestled three or four times a week.

People who only watch wrestling on television may be surprised to learn that there are so many contests every week, because many of the televised bouts look as is there is only a handful of spectators packed around the ring. Joint Promotions' reply to this is that they put on special evenings for the TV companies which aren't always convenient nights for fans.

On screen, these meetings come across with a lack of guts; there is a distinct feeling, not that a crows has gathered to watch two men fight, but that two men have gathered for the benefit of TV.

Another reason for the dropping viewing figures, however, could be that with a greater choice of leisure activity available, large numbers of spectators are now taking part in sport themselves instead of watching. A detailed look at the wrestling viewing figures backs this up. Over the past five years, the proportion of men in an audience watching wrestling has from 47 to 42 per cent, with the figures for women and children rising slightly.

But the most likely reason for the general fall in viewers lies with the wrestling game itself. With the same squad of big names cropping up week after week, wrestling may have become too repetitious and predictable, lacking in that all-important element of surprise. Names like McManus, Pallo, Logan, Kellett and Kwango, great wrestlers who have provided hours of thrills, amy have been around just a little too long.

McManus and Co. were unknown in the early Fifties, except to the small audiences who followed professional wrestling then. But when television moved in with a promotion at West Ham Baths in November, 1955 - with a young and sprightly Bert Royal on the bill - a massive viewing audience latched on to the developing stars.

But wrestlers, unlike any others involved in a physical contact sport, have a long lifespan in the ring. They can wrestle, like Mick McManus, for more than 25 years, even if their style becomes less obviously energetic as the years go by.

The trouble is, they've all grown old together, and, unless some star names begin to emerge shortly, wrestling is going to be desperately short of the very commodity which keeps the sport alive - the men in the ring who deliver the goods, combining their fighting skills with colour and character.

"It takes a long time for a wrestler to develop," points out Mick McManus. "In boxing, you can knock a bloke out and you're in the headlines. Wrestlers have to win bouts and win the public consistently. There are a number of very capable blokes coming along now, but we'll have to be patient, let them develop properly."

McManus, like most of the elder statesmen of wrestling, won't say just how old he is, but the record books say that he, like Pallo, is getting on for 50, and Logan, Kwango, Kellett and Royal aren't far behind. McManus, with whom the wrestling public has had a fierce love-hate relationship for a quarter of a century, admits that his days are numbered.

"Inevitably, I've got to pack up sometime," he says. "It could be next year or the year after, but as long as I'm feeling fit and giving a good account of myself, I'll keep wrestling."

Apart from finding new stars to replace McManus and Co., how else can wrestling help itself. Kent Walton, a name synonymous with the sport, who has commentated at ringside ever since the first transmission in 1955, thinks the wrestling public have become tired of the endless gimmicks.

"In a sense it's TV's fault," says Walton. We used to screen two good freestyle bouts with a bit of gimmickry. Now it's the other way round: one freestyle bout and two full of comedy and tricks. Whenever the fans talk to me about they enjoyed, they always remember a pure wrestling bout, one full of skill, not laughs. I think they've had enough of masked men and wrestlers wearing crowns."

Walton recalls the days, a few years ago, when shops, particularly in the North, used to complain that at 10 to four on Saturdays, everybody would desert the city centres and go home to watch the wrestling. Those were the days of great wrestlers for whom the occasional wearing of a leotard was the nearest they'd get to a gimmick. Wrestlers like Jumping Jim Hussey, Roy "Bull" Davis, George Kidd, Tony Mancelli and Billy Robinson.

"Today," says Walton, "I believe some of the real wrestling fans are getting bored by all these gimmicks and are saying, well, let's go shopping, or let's go for a walk, A return to the true, fast, skilled wrestling would bring those fringe people back."

There are gimmicks and gimmicks, of course, and some new ideas have been of benefit to the sport. Ricki Starr, the ballet dancing wrestler, was a brilliant wrestler whose dainty act was a complement to his skill. And tag wrestling, an idea imported from America, gave the game another dimension when it was first screened in September, 1963, with a match between the famous Royal Brothers and Ivan Penzecoff partnering Alan Colbeck. Ironically, tag wrestling may have been the thin end of the gimmick wedge, because, in the past few years, the sport has become top heavy with "characters" and rather light on true fighters.

What wrestling needs is young, skilful men whose ability in the ring - like Muhammed Ali in boxing - is itself entertainment. These wrestlers are around..

[ohtani's jacket]

Mick McManus vs. Alan Dennison (10/7/81)

These two had met on television numerous times over the years, though Walton did nothing to play up their history. Quite a clash of the egos with no quarter given in that respect. In 1981 this was never going to be a great match, but Walton could have done more to put it over as two perennial television powerhouses squaring off. The fact that he didn't is a sign that *someone* thought this sort of match-up should be put out to pasture. Two things stick out about McManus in the early 80s, one being how weak his tricks look compared to the mid-70s (which wasn't even his pomp) and the other being how bad his hair looked. The whole McManus image wasn't really there anymore.

Johnny Saint vs. Jan Curtis (2/17/82)

This was horrendous. Who booked this for the Albert Hall? It lasted one round, saw Curtis take a fall to the outside twice, and ended with Curtis unable to continue. He looked pensive throughout and nothing like the worker I saw take on Cooper. This was an absolute dud and by default the worst Johnny Saint match on tape.

Sid Cooper & Bobby Barnes vs. Pat Patton & Steve Logan (5/11/82)

Barnes and Cooper make for a great tag team. This was another decent tag match. It seems that British tag wrestling improved immensely in the early 80s. This even had a FIP feel to it with the heels working over both Patton and Logan. Of course they don't go all the way with it like a Southern tag would, but it was nice to have some structure to a WoS tag and Barnes vs. Patton is one of the more under-the-radar match-ups. After praising the structure, the finish was unnatural to me as a long time wrestling fan as Logan stood on the apron doing nothing while Barnes scored the winning fall. It's just weird not seeing a save in that situation. I think it was this match where all the kids ran to ringside at the end and gave the heels the fingers. You could hear them shouting "ya fuckin' wankers!" as Walton signed off. A night out for the entire family.

John Naylor vs. King Ben (11/3/82)

Only a few minutes of this aired, which I'm guess was the way it was edited for television as it seems to happen an awful lot with Naylor footage. What was shown was excellent. Along with the Kilby bout, this was another example of Ben looking good, which not surprisingly coincides with him taking his wrestling seriously instead of all the tomfoolery. It may have also been another example of a wrestler whom Ben didn't get along with as it a bit frosty at times, but that frostiness added another layer of tension to the bout and gave it an edge that the lighter weight matches seldom have.

Sid Cooper vs. Pat Patton (8/11/82)

Disappointing. The TV lights went off at the start and they wrestled the match with partial lighting until the technicians were able to get the lights back on. That seemed to put them off (naturally), but when the lights came back on and everyone in the hall could see again, they quickly went to the injury finish instead of giving folks something to cheer about. I was hoping for much more from this.

Ray Steele vs. Kwik Kick Lee (8/11/82)

This was okay. Maeda was obviously a whole lot better at working Japanese style holds than he was Lord Mountevans rules, but he gave it a go. He was quite a bit heavier than Steele and sweated heavily under the television lights so it wasn't the smoothest match you'll see between heavyweights, but the stand-up parts were good. Walton was frustrated that there wasn't enough action, but this was all right despite its awkwardness.

Jim Breaks vs. Tom Thumb (8/11/82)

You can probably guess why Neil Evans was called "Tom Thumb." He was billed at 5′ 0″ and 9 st, but was a tough little blighter. This was his television debut and he was lucky enough to be up against Jim Breaks, who almost always put over new talent. This wasn't exactly a Breaks classic, but his facial expressions were fantastic and it was a fun bout while it lasted. Breaks was one of the smallest guys around, but Thumb looked tiny even in comparison to Jimmy. He was constantly on the move though, trying to gain an advantage with his speed and quickness. Very fun gimmick. He couldn't escape the Jim Breaks Special though. No siree.

Vic Faulkner vs. Mick McMichael (10/11/82)

This was pure comedy with Faulkner and McMichael pulling out a gag on each and every hold. For the life of me, I can't remember Mick McMichael ever doing comedy to quite this extent. Maybe he should have worked this way all the time as it was a step up from his usual nondescript bouts. Another thing they did here was mic the ring so you could clearly hear every word the wrestlers and the ref were saying. That made a big difference compared to say those Conneely matches. After a boatload of comedy the bout ended on a serious note as McMichael gravely injured his larynx. Faulkner didn't want to take the decision and all I could think was "no-one gives a shit whether you take the decision Faulkner." Not my favourite workers these two.

[ohtani's jacket]

Barry Douglas vs. Steve McHoy (10/11/82)

Well now, this was a solid shift from Barry Douglas, carrying the latest young heavyweight heart throb to a very watchable match. Workmanlike stuff from Douglas, probably one of his best matches on tape. Who says an old dog can't surprise you every once in a while? McHoy also looked good here and looks to be another of those poor sods who came along too late.

Pete Roberts vs. Skull Murphy (10/11/82)

This was a decent bout, but a bit disappointing compared to what Jones was able to get out of Murphy. I was actually hoping this would be a bit of a sleeper, but it wasn't to be. Walton deserves props for namedropping Hulk Hogan in 1982, although in his over enthusiasm he said Hogan was in the new Sylvester Malone movie. Not quite as impressive as namedropping UWA promoter Francisco Flores in the Curtis/Saint bout, but a fun addition to the list of random names brought up on World of Sport.

Alan Dennison vs. Black Jack Mulligan (11/3/82)

This was really good. Larry Coulton was a straight up jobber, but he wasn't going down without a fight here. This was a delightfully niggly bout with plenty of testy exchanges between the two. Coulton used the closed fist and Dennison threw him about the ring by the beard. Memorable bout. I wish Coulton had gotten to show his talent more often instead of being the designated job guy.

Bobby Barnes vs. Kid Chocolate (11/3/82)

Barnes looked like a clown here. Seriously, he looked like he'd pinched a pair of Doink's tights. The tints in his hair looked a cross between a French poodle and a pensioner. How on earth the great Bobby Barnes descended into this mire is anybody's guess. At least his work wasn't bad. Kid Chocolate as usual took an age to fire, but once he did he headbutted Barnes into oblivion. God, I love Barnes' submission finisher. I think I like it more than the Breaks Special. Chocolate injured his arm in the ropes and Barnes was merciless. If only he didn't look like a clown.

John Elijah vs. Bill Bromley (2/17/82)

I've never seen an opponent make John Elijah look like a midget, but at 6'5" and 19st 2lbs, "Big Bertha" Big Bill Bromley was the man to do it. He absolutely dwarfed Elijah. Elijah was able to wrestle knots around him though, but not before carrying him to something fun and decent. Another neat carry job.

Now we cross to Wales for some Reslo. The interesting thing about 80s Reslo is that you got to see a lot of the wrestlers who were no longer on World of Sport because they were part of Dixon's crew. The ring set-up is pretty much the same as WoS, but the matches aren't as good. They tend to last only four rounds and are always joined in progress after the first. The commentary is in Welsh, so I tend to play an lp while I watch.

Rollerball Rocco vs. Kung Fu (Unknown location, taped 1984)

If you ever want to see a Rocco vs. Kung Fu bout where Rocco does none of his signature bumps or all-action style and Kung Fu does none of his usual spots then this is the bout for you. I'm sure the British public missed seeing Rocco on television, but they weren't missing anything by not seeing this. Strangely subdued match.

Johnny Saint vs. Johnny Palance (Denbigh, taped 1984)

Johnny Palance was a guy whom Joint weren't interested in, but whom Dixon gave a lot of work. He was good value here and bore more than a passing resemblance to the Jack Palance. How cool is that? Saint looked extremely smooth in this. I swear catchweights were his true calling. Every time he wrestles catchweight it's better than his standard lightweight fare.

Mike Jordan vs. Johnny Saint (Unknown location, taped 1984)

This is what I mean by the standard lightweight fare. Admittedly, I've never been much of a fan of Mike Jordan, but this is nowhere near as good as Saint trying to wrestle a bigger man. Too much trickery and tomfoolery.

Robbie Brookside vs. Terry Rudge (Llantrissant 2/6/91)

Robbie Brookside, that hair... It was bigger than he was. I suppose in modern terms Robbie Brookside was like a talented indy guy who can't get signed by the WWE. He was pretty good for a guy who broke into the business so late. Rudge was older than dirt here, but still throwing forearm smashes like a motherfucker. Brookside could only take his shit for so long before retaliating and we got some nice exchanges before the ref ruined all the fun and threw the bout out. Fun to see Terry again.

[ohtani's jacket]

Staying in Wales for a bit:

Caswell Martin vs. Max Regan (Unknown location, taped 1984)

This was scarcely more than an exhibition match for Martin. I can't find a single bit of information about Regan, in fact I'm not even sure if that's his proper name as the Welsh commentator sounded like he was saying 'Reger,' but you know you're enhancement talent when you're knocked out by a dropkick.

Wayne Bridges vs. John Kowalski (Unknown location, taped 1983)

The champ arrives. For some reason, Bridges was doing his heel act here. The same one he did in that three match series against Pete Roberts. Kowalski scored a legitimate pinfall from a backslide and went to shake the champ's hand, and Bridges whipped him pillar to post and attacked him while he was down. There's your champion right there. It was better than the usual generic Bridges match, I guess. The highlight was Kowalski's beer belly sharecropper comeback.

Jim Moser vs. Steve McHoy (Unknown location, taped 1983)

This didn't reach any great heights as Moser was a modest worker who didn't crave the limelight with his matches, but it was another chance for McHoy to show his wares. I've been impressed with McHoy thus far. Watching him you know he doesn't stand a chance with the business turning to shit, but he was part of a group of young heavyweight talent who could have been the next generation of St. Clair's and Veidor's if times hadn't changed. The talent was there but not the stage. Interestingly, it seems to me that there were much better heavyweight prospects in wrestling at this time than lightweights. That may be my bias against the "boy apprentices," or the fact that a Steve McHoy was closer to being a Tony St. Clair than anybody ever could to being a Steve Grey or a Jim Breaks, but guys like Steve McHoy and Tom Tyrone were solid newcomers in this era.

Johnny Saint vs. Chic Cullen (Unknown location, taped 1983)

Now this was a good match. Some of you may remember that I was really into Cullen until a string of disappointing matches. Where had all the good matches gone? Turns out they were in Reslo. Not surprisingly, this is closer to the beginning of the 80s and Cullen's debut than the period from '85 to '86 where things began to stagnate. It's the same pattern as Alan Kilby or King Ben where the earlier the match the more likely it is to be good. This was also an example of the "good" Johnny Saint, again not surprisingly given it's catchweight. He really is a thousand times better when his holds are legit and not simply for show. Cullen looked fantastic here and this reminded me of old times in terms of my viewing.

Rollerball Rocco vs. Tony St Clair (Caernarfon, taped 1982)

This was the first Reslo match that had the kind of heat you'd see in an English hall. There were all manner of people getting upset from grown men to their mothers and the local school kids, and in the thick of it all was Rollerball. He really had a knack for getting under people's skin. There wasn't much to this -- Rocco stomped a hole in St. Clair, Tony used his size and reach to send Rocco flying about, and the pair of them ended up on the outside a half a dozen times -- but these two always had good chemistry together and Rocco had 'em eating out of his palm.

Chic Cullen vs. Keith Haward (Caernarfon, taped 1982)

This was awesome to watch. Cullen and Haward dueling with each other on the mat? Yes, thank you. The only thing that really stopped this from being a recommended bout was how neatly cropped it felt for Reslo's television hour. Still, this was a treat. It wasn't as slick as the Saint bout, but again it was brilliant seeing Cullen in a contest.

[ohtani's jacket]

The next disc is full of 1984 World of Sport.

 

Bully Boy Muir vs. Dave Bond (8/8/84)

Only a few minutes survive. Muir gets himself disqualified as usual. Match didn't look good.

Clive Myers vs. Pat Patton (8/8/84)

Another disappointing Myers fight. Obviously he's not going to get the same heat going with Patton that villains Johnny England and Bobby Barnes managed, but this was another missed opportunity for him to do something special with someone other than Steve Grey. I blame the gimmick at this stage. There's not enough wrestling in his 80s bouts. Too much of his kung fu shtick comes across as sparring, and when you've got two workers doing martial arts gimmicks they almost cancel each other out. Take it to the mat, Clive! You were the coolest motherfucker out in the 70s and you traded it in for a pair of pajamas. It really is a travesty in a way.

Lenny Hurst vs. Mohammed Butt (7/11/84)

Mohammed Butt was a Pakistani weightlifter. Big dude. Didn't look like he was very experienced as Hurst sort of just sparred with him instead of having a proper match. He had a hard time getting back to his feet every time he touched the mat because of his bulk. Wrestlers often talk about how much it hurts working against inexperienced guys like Butt and I imagine that was the proposition Hurst faced here.

Dave Finlay vs. Mick McMichael (7/25/84)

This was the era where Finlay was starting to come to the ring with Princess Paula, which was a bit like coming to the ring with Sensational Sherri if you're looking for a comparison. He got a lot of wins during this era and was one of the more pushed characters on television. I don't personally care for it compared to his early years on television, but it really cemented him as one of the biggest names in the business. McMichael was a bona fide veteran at this stage, so he was treated with a bit more respected than some of Finlay's other roadkill. This had a ridiculous finish where the ref overturned Finlay's submission victory and ordered the bout to continue. Instead of teasing McMichael winning, Finlay merely applied the hold again and it was over. Not sure what the point of that was.

Barry Douglas vs. Mohammed Butt (2/2/84)

Butt's television debut. Pretty nondescript draw. It didn't look like Butt had received much training.

Jim Breaks vs. Eddie Riley (2/2/84)

Fun Breaks bout. It was a tournament bout so there was little chance of it being a Breaks classic, but Riley showed the right sort of attitude and got up in Breaks' grill. Breaks made him suffer for it, mind you.

Skull Murphy vs. Pete Roberts (1/25/84)

This was awesome. Roberts was wrestling in his home town of Worcester and the crowd were behind him like I've never seen a crowd behind Pete Roberts. The camera kept cutting to folks hanging on Roberts' every move. There were people standing with fists clenched fist pumping his every hold. Murphy didn't have to do anything out of the ordinary to be vilified. The more Murphy you watch, the more you realise that people naturally despised his underhandedness. It's hard for me to believe that he's a guy I completely wrote off and only gave a second chance as dregs when I now see him as an integral part of the 80s and possibly a top ten worker for the decade. This had one of the best DQ finishes I've seen in wrestling. Murphy started pointing the finger at Roberts after forcing him to submit in the gator and Roberts took exception to it. The match erupted into an out of control brawl with Jeff Kaye having to pull Roberts off Murphy. The crowd were standing the women naturally urging Roberts to sock Murphy one and the men standing arms crossed trying to make out what the ref's decision was. Crabtree entered the ring to announce the result and was tossed aside by Murphy, and the post match jawing and posturing was as good as it gets in this type of situation. Roberts looked legitimately pissed for a guy who always had the charisma of a pet rock. Really well done. That Murphy. What a shit stirrer.

[ohtani's jacket]

Vic Faulkner vs. Sid Cooper (4/26/84)

This was the final of a knockout tournament for... the Golden Gown 1984... I'm not making this up, they were fighting for a boxing robe. Walton actually had the nerve to comment on how badly Faulkner wanted the gown. Even more amusingly, Joint did their usual trick of not deciding a winner. This might have been a good match in the 70s, but both men were a bit long in the tooth by '84. Every time there was a close-up on Faulkner you got a good look at how old he'd become. At least they aged naturally in British wrestling. I'm fairly certain that '84 was Vic Faulkner's last year on television and possibly the year he retired as he began working for Thwaites Brewery that year and went on to have a successful post-wrestling career. Faulkner was still popular with crowds so this had good heat, but his tricks were a bit outdated. Actually, "crowd" might be generous as there were more empty seats in this bout than I can remember seeing in a WoS bout. They worked an injury story line mid-match, but Faulkner blew it off down the stretch.

Vic Faulkner vs. Sid Cooper (6/13/84)

One of the most pointless replays I've seen from Joint. Cooper wound up getting himself DQ'ed and the Golden Gown was awarded to Faulkner in anticlimactic fashion. Why didn't they just have Faulkner win the April bout? Why did they overuse the replay system? If I were a punter and there was a tournament final billed, I'd save my hard earned for the next time they were in town. Anyway, Faulkner got the gown he so badly wanted, and there were people in the crowd to boot.

Vic Faulkner vs. Kid Chocolate (4/26/84)

Just the finish.

Vic Faulkner vs. Dave Finlay (10/9/84)

This was better than it had a right to be. Faulkner took a swing at Paula early on and later tried to surprise Finlay with a quick dropkick and hit Paula instead. In the confusion, Finlay charged at Faulkner and Vic scored a surprise pinfall. Paula was furious and Finlay a bit stunned. Walton mentioned that Finlay was angry at the ref while Faulkner just stood there with that shit eating grin on his face. Even Walton remarked: "he's quite happy. He's quite happy." Finlay unloaded on Faulkner after that and the remaining few minutes were heated, but as with much of this '84 footage, we only saw a sliver of what was actually a seven round fight.

[JNLister]

Trivia note: Mohammed Butt has worked alongside Johnny Kidd in their day job (car spraying) for 30+ years and it was Kidd who suggested Butt get into wrestling.

[ohtani's jacket]

King Ben vs. Ray Robinson (6/28/84)

This was the most regulation bout ever. There's not much you can say about it really. It just... happened.

Skull Murphy vs. Ray Robinson (10/9/84)

This bout on the other hand... This was the quarterfinals of the 1984 Grand Prix Belt tournament. Murphy could have easily treated this as a walkover given how unlikely it was that Robinson would beat him, but instead he put on the best quarterfinal I've seen from one of these television tournaments. Ray Robinson was a hard nosed type; a former amateur boxer who was a throwback to the less flamboyant wrestlers of the past. He'd made his debut in 1970, but didn't wrestle on television until 1982. Murphy put him over beautifully here. He was at his galling best, and the crowd got right behind a fired up Robinson. I think I questioned why Murphy won the 1984 Grand Prix, but he deserved it for filling the void left by heels like Breaks and Rocco.

Chic Cullen vs. Sid Cooper (9/11/84)

One guy who kept plowing away in '84 was Cooper. It's fair to say he was past his prime at this point, but still handy. There was a relatively short match from a Scotland vs. England episode, but Cullen continued to look good and didn't take any shit from Cooper whatsoever. It's natural to favour the heels in WoS, but as far as blue eyes you can root for go, Cullen was one of the elite few.

Ray Steele vs. Skull Murphy (8/21/84)

Murphy's at it again! Just when I thought I'd seen enough Ray Steele to last a lifetime here's a cracking bout with a fired up Steele trying to get a piece of wrestling's most hated man. Another feather in Murphy's cap.

(Note to John -- this has the wrong taping date on the ITV website.)

John Elijah vs. Lenny Hurst (10/11/83)

One fall contest between two of my favourite unheralded guys that ended with the shittiest of injury finishes. They actually booked a finish where Hurst got injured from a gorilla press. Even Walton could barely muster his enthusiasm. Afterwards Elijah carried Hurst to the back, which was a bit weird. It kind of looked like Tarzan carrying Jane over the threshold. Hurst sadly died recently and I actually had no idea that he so traveled. I believe he worked in North America during the mid 70s.

Pete Roberts vs. Skull Murphy (3/5/84)

This was the rematch from the great bout I talked about in my last post. I was about as amped for this as you can possibly get for a World of Sport bout. Twenty minute time limit, no rounds, two falls to decide the winner, and the match in full, but despite all the promise it was a stalemate for the most part. There were a lot of holds that threatened to erupt into something nastier, but the ref was a bit over zealous. Even Walton seemed off his game here. Murphy took a one fall lead with only minutes remaining. You'd expect Walton to ram home the strife Roberts was in, but he called it as though it was the second round. Roberts was able to equalise, but the match fizzled out like a dead sparkler as time expired. A cruel disappointment, but it doesn't lessen the cracking unruliness of the first bout.

Steve Logan vs. Rocky Moran (6/13/84)

Slightly better than Moran's disappointing work in tags, but devoid of the personality and heel work that made him so exciting against Cullen and Kilby. Not sure where that Moran went to.

John Naylor vs. Rick Wiseman (8/8/84)

This was my first look at Wiseman, but the poor VQ, match length, and general mediocrity of Naylor made him impossible to gauge.