The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[ohtani's jacket]

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Baghdad, 1960s)

I think this is from either 1968 or '69, but I can't be sure. Ian Campbell was a giant 20 stone Scotsman who like most British big men had impeccable mat technique for a man his size. It never ceases to amaze me how skilled the British big men were. Apparently, he was a fiery rule breaker in his pomp. but he was wrestling here in front of a huge Iraqi crowd and had to play it nice. In fact, he copped a fair bit from Al-Kaissie but didn't really dish any back. There were moments where they would have slid into a forearm smash contest in the UK, but I guess Campbell thought discretion was the better part of valour in front of the Minster of Defence and what looked like a hundred thousand Iraqi fans. Pretty long broadway where the psychology was more about trying different strategies to win a fall than targeting a particular body part. There was a lot of tough, no frills matwork and a few holds that went nowhere, but for the most part it was an old-school chess like contest. Al-Kaissie again won a fall with that body slam of his. That was all right I suppose, but later on when Campbell body slammed him, Al-Kaissie kicked out at one. When in Iraq, I guess. The finish saw Campbell not able to recover from a leg submission Al-Kaissie had used and Al-Kaissie kicking the shit out of his leg and dumping him over the ropes a couple of times. Each time Campbell got up bruised and battered, covered in dust and a little weaker than before. I thought he could have shown a bit more fire as he was allegedly a pretty fiery rule breaker in his pomp, but he was there to do the job to Al-Kaissie and did so tidily. Some moments of skill, but a big investment of your time so be warned. Campbell seemed like a fun worker, though. Apparently, he once wrestled on Coronation Street and he was in the cult film Wicker Man, so that's cool.

[ohtani's jacket]

Ian Campbell vs. Adnan Al-Kaissie (Karbala, 1960s)

At first I thought this was the Baghdad match shot from a different angle until I put two and two together and realised it was a different match. Again there was a lot of tough, no frills matwork in this, and again I thought Campbell took too much needle without striking back, but I guess he was brought in to make the national hero look good and that's what he did. Al-Kaissie liked to clobber the back of his opponent's head and neck and there were a few holds where he looked like he was trying to twist Campbell's head off. You'd think that would be like poking a bear, but the most Campbell retaliated was with some thumping side headlock takedowns. He did kick out of the Al-Kaissie body slam, which was a small triumph, but then there was a huge cut to both men sitting in the corners being toweled down without any indication of what had happened, whether they'd been a fall, and who'd won. In the same vein, the finish wasn't shown. I think we can presume that Al-Kaissie won, though it would be amusing if state censorship had erased any documentation of a Campbell win. I liked when they'd intercut a shot of the nervous dignitary watching on as Al-Kaissie basically dominated the physical contest. Still, this is an important historical record of wrestling in the Middle East and I'm glad I took the time to watch all three matches.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 20

 

Dave Finlay vs. Tony St Clair (Germany, taped 1992)

 

This was from Hannover, I think, but aired on Reslo. No Paula, but still boring as piss. Finlay's European work, I wanna say from 1986 onward, is such a drag. It's not so much that he didn't work the Dave Taylor/Steve Regal style, but that for someone who was supposed to be an asskicker he didn't kick ass. He'd wear a guy down, but in the most tedious way possible, and if there's one thing I'm weary of lately it's boring beat downs.

 

Dave Taylor vs. Drew McDonald (Llantrissant, taped 2/6/91)

 

Drew McDonald, clean shaven with a full head of hair, is unrecognisable until he starts wrestling. He's another guy who suffers from boring beat down disease. Who thought Dancin' Dave Taylor was a good idea? Jesus.

 

King Kendo & Barcud Du vs. Orig Williams & Kung Fu (Unknown location, taped 1985)

 

Orig's big moment... and it's a boring beat down... that was to be expected with King Kendo and Johnny South doing a masked heel gimmick, but it's sapping my will to watch this channel.

 

Barry Johns vs. Tony Prince (Llandudno, taped 1982)

 

Is there a more Welsh sounding name than Barry Johns? Probably Evans, Jones, Williams, Davies or Thomas, but I immediately thought of the great Welsh flyhalf, Barry John, when this popped up. Fairly standard Euro wrestling from a pair of average practitioners. Not the best hour I've spent on this channel. Better luck next time.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 21

 

Steve Grey vs. Ritchie Brooks (7/3/86)

 

Excellent bout, and refreshing too after watching so much shoddy wrestling of late. I have no idea whether I've seen this before as Brooks is the kind of guy I would have turned my nose up at in the past. Reminds me of the Sanders/Grey feud I overlooked in the past because of my prejudices. I'll have to take a look at the other Brooks matches, and the series with Danny Boy Collins as well, as Grey clearly wasn't as washed up as I thought in '86. It was weird seeing the beefed up, mulleted Brooks as a lightweight. He acquitted himself well, I thought. It was a title match, which naturally brought out the best in Grey, but Brooks showed more talent than I've given him credit for in the past. Egg on my face? A pleasant surprise? I won't mind being wrong if the other Grey matches are this good. Steve Grey is incredible. He really is. Every time you watch him it's the same thing yet every time it's awesome. How does that work? Such a class act.

 

Dave Finlay vs. Steve Logan (2/29/84)

 

This was during Finlay's metamorphosis into his "Superman" Fit Finlay gimmick. He was growing out his skinhead and had grown the beard that would eventually be trimmed into the goatee. He'd also begun wearing the green and white tights with the shamrock, and Paula was in his corner. The difference was that he was still a wrestler and not a brawler. This was also a title match. Marty Jones was at ringside at the beginning and end wearing those horrendous bifocals of his that made him look like a certifiable psycho and carrying a cheaply made "Finlay is a fake" placard. He looked like a school teacher on a rampage. Think Olivier Gourmet in that Dardenne brothers' film The Son. This was a good match with Finlay looking sharp. Travesty is too strong a word, but it's a damn shame that he moved away from this style of wrestling. There was some conjecture over whether Walton accidentally gave away the finish. The first I time I watched it I thought it was the sort of mistake he occasionally made, but this time it sounded like he completely let it slip. He also kept mentioning that Logan had put on two stones while he was in Canada and how they like to build up bodies over there. Suspicious!

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 22

 

Giant Haystacks & Drew McDonald vs. Pat Roach & Robbie Brookside (Machynlleth, taped 2/5/91)

 

This was the best Drew McDonald has looked on the Arthur Psycho Hour. The McDonald/Brookside exchanges were fantastic w/ Brookside being a guy who clearly brought out the best in McDonald. Haystacks squashed Brookside like a bug, which is no surprise given the size difference between the two, and Brookside was forced to leave the ring. That left a grizzled Pat Roach to take on Haystacks and McDonald by himself. He swatted away McDonald and for some reason the ref treated it like an elimination match. I have no idea why McDonald was sent to the back, but he stuck around at ringside and just as we were about to get a Clash of the Titans moment in Roach v. Haystacks, he tripped the Birmingham big man and got his team disqualified. A really great tag match up until that point, but if it ain't BS, it ain't Haystacks. Roach got on the mic and told Haystacks he wasn't worthy of a World title shot, though I'm not sure what belt he was talking about at this point.

 

Johnny Saint vs. Kung Fu (Porthmadog, taped 1988)

 

Another decent, pared-down Johnny Saint match. Paring back his style may take some of the charm away from Saint, but it's allowed me to focus on how good he was mechanically. I do think Saint vs. Kung Fu in their primes would have been interesting. I don't know if it would have necessarily been good, but it would have been interesting.

 

Owen Hart vs. Steve Logan (12/7/83)

 

Owen was about 18 years old here. Walton kept talking about how Logan was more experienced and Owen had a bit to learn yet it went to a draw. Go figure.

 

Clive Myers vs. Lucky Gordon (2/2/81)

 

This was better than I expected. Myers was one of the flashier, more dynamic workers around while Gordon was arguably the most limited of the heels Joint employed yet the dynamic totally worked and it proved a worthy showcase for Iron Fist. As far as crappy one episode tournaments go, this was as good as it gets under those pretenses.

 

Mick McMichael vs. Mike Jordan (3/4/86)

 

Another committed McMichael effort. More comedy than in the Valentine bout, but McMichael was still hellbent on proving he belonged in this Golden Grappler trophy tournament. For some reason, Jordan couldn't eat a proper pinfall or submission, so they went for the usual outside the ring injury finish, but don't let that detract too much from a more focused McMichael run than he'd put on in years.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 23

 

Kevin Conneely vs. Carl Jason (Aberystwyth, taped 1983)

 

One of the strangest things about this Reslo footage is seeing Irish comedy worker Kevin Conneely appear on TV a good six or seven years after he was last on World of Sport. Apparently, he jumped to All-Star at some point; and since most of Dixon's guys worked for Reslo at some point or another, here he is. He was more or less the Irish version of Les Kellett and cracked jokes the entire bout long. Allegedly, he was tough as nails and a legit shooter, but you'd never know it watching his bouts as he didn't have that hard edge that Kellett possessed. I don't think the Welsh crowd got his humour as much as the English halls did, or perhaps they didn't enjoy it as much. I can't imagine it came across that well on commentary either, as Walton was always on hand to explain some banter Conneely was having with the audience whereas the Reslo commentary was in Welsh. Anyway, Conneely's bouts were rarely as good as Kellett's; and while I enjoyed Carl Jason in his bout with Jackie Robinson, he was the butt of Conneely's jokes here and it's difficult to shine in that sort of role.

 

Giant Haystacks vs. Rory Campbell (11/25/87)

Giant Haystacks vs. Rory Campbell (10/20/90)

 

A pair of Haystacks matches. Rory Campbell was 6'4 and 16 or 17 stone but looked about half the size of Haystacks, who was being billed as 45 stone at this point. The first match was Campbell's television and the crowd had no idea who he was. Haystacks threw him about for a bit in a heatless bout before getting on the mic and screaming; "I told you, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" I didn't realise he'd been playing nice. The second bout was filmed in Aberdeen, Scotland after wrestling had gone off the air, and featured dubbed in Walton commentary that Arthur Psycho quipped sounded like he was covering snooker. All the crowd wanted was for Scotsman Rory Campbell to knock Haystacks on his arse, but the fucker wouldn't go down for anything, not even in Aberdeen. That was bullshit, I thought.

 

Steve Taylor vs. Beau Jack Rowlands (Merthyr, taped 1983)

 

Steve Taylor was the brother of Dave Taylor, but very much the Ross Hart of the family. Okay, maybe not that bad, but this went a good 15 minutes and I can't remember him doing anything special. There wasn't a single hold or move that looked snug or was especially well executed, and Reslo didn't shy away from using injury finishes either, which made this seem like an even bigger waste of time. You really want the brother of Dave Taylor to be some lost great worker, but it ain't happening folks.

[Jimmy Redman]

Quick question for you OJ, is the Marty Jones vs Mark Rocco title unification match from I think September '78 online anywhere?

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't think so. There were three Jones vs. Rocco matches that aired on The Wrestling Channel. One from '76 and two from '78. Two were available online and the third I had to custom order. I can rip the third one for you if you like.

[Jimmy Redman]

That would be amazing, cheers mate.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 24

 

Can't believe I've watched 24 hours of this stuff.

 

Kung Fu vs. Johnny Palance (Unknown location, taped 1985)

 

It's everyone's favourite Jack Palance look-alike. He wrestled a smart match from his point of view, looking to keep Kung Fu grounded and prevent him from running the ropes too much. But it wasn't very exciting for the audience, most of whom wanted to see Kung Fu fly about. Kung Fu never really cut loose, and the match never went anywhere as a result.

 

John Quinn vs. Steve Taylor (Unknown location, taped 1983)

 

John Quinn was a smart worker. He knew exactly how a big man should work both on offence and when selling, and was able to blur the lines between all-in wrestling and freestyle rules thanks to his extensive experience in UK rings. Probably the last of the great visiting wrestlers. He was hurt a bit by being off TV as he had such a great television gimmick, but pacing Steve Taylor through a decent contest showed his ring work had gotten even better in All-Star.

 

Mal Sanders, Lucky Gordon & Steve Peacock vs. Clive Myers, Mick McMichael & Young David (2/2/81)

 

British workers were hopeless at six-man tags, but this is one of the better ones I've seen. That surprised me as it didn't look that good on paper. McMichael played the veteran ring general and threw his weight around a lot; Gordon and Peacock did an excellent job stooging for the athleticism of Myers and Young David; and blue-eye Sanders not wanting to be on the same team as the heels made for an interesting wrinkle. At just over 10 minutes it didn't outstay its welcome and was a lot snappier than these Davis Cup-like six-mans usually are. Thumbs up all round.

 

Shaun South vs. Patrick Lopez (Merthyr, taped 2/4/92)

 

South gave rugby man Lopez the "up yours" to start with. Plenty of stalling again, but South was having none of that and spent most of the bout beating the snot out of Lopez. For some reason there was a chain and handcuffs hanging over the turnbuckle since that's a good place to leave them, and after a brief comeback from Lopez, South thought "stuff the purse" and got himself DQ'd for using the chain then bodyslamming Lopez on it. Needless to say, not much of a match.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 25

 

Mike Jordan vs. Spider-Man Ray Crawley (7/15/86)

 

So, we've seen Dave Larsen wrestling as Batman in 60s French catch and now we have Ray Crawley doing a Spider-Man gimmick. As you can imagine, it's a homemade outfit with a spider drawn on it. I love the trunks as they're clearly wrestling trunks and have three white stripes on them. For some reason he's not wearing his mask this time, and yes he did wrestle one time on TV with a Spidey mask on. The cape makes him look like Superman, but other than that he wouldn't look amiss at Pavillón Azteca alongside Batman and Robin and all the other kids gimmicks. The gimmick was short-lived, at least on television, but the match itself wasn't half bad. They wrestled it as a straight up light heavyweight contest w/ Crawley wrestling like any other wrestler. Jordan looked sharp here and a lot of the stuff they did as fluid. After halfway through, it looked like there might be an injury finish when Crawley mistimed a move and landed on his shoulder (real or worked, I couldn't tell), but he kept wrestling and they finished the bout. Fans of the more kitsch side of wrestling may be disappointed that the gimmick didn't come into play more, but on the other hand it was fun watching a guy work the WoS style seriously in a Spider-Man getup.

 

Scrubber Daly vs. Steve Logan (7/3/86)

 

This went for longer than I was expecting and Daly brought I suppose what could be considered his "working boots." He was better than he looked in Daddy tags, but then Daddy tags have a way of dragging down everyone in them. Like many a brain-dead heel, he got himself stupidly disqualified in the finish, but this was surprisingly okay for a bout that could have been like pulling teeth.

 

Bearcat Wright vs. Pete Collins (7/3/86)

 

Pete Collins was another in a long line of useless brothers. I shouldn't be so mean, but there were a lot of average brothers in British wrestling. Walton was trying to pass Bernie Wright off as Canadian, but at least his Mad Max like beard and shaven head made him look completely unrecognisable from his former self. I think they were desperate for television heels as this point having lost many of their best ones to All-Star. It's too bad that Bernie Wright belonged to the useless brother category himself. "Bearcat" was a cool look, but not really a gimmick and he didn't have a character to speak of, and it was a waste of time pushing him on TV without those two things

.

King Ben vs. Ian McGregor (11/13/86)

 

It's a bit weird seeing King Ben wrestle teenage wrestlers when they kept pushing that his own son was a teenage wrestler. Then again they had him wrestle his boy, which was even weirder. This was one of those bonus matches they tacked on at the end when there was time to fill. Utterly skippable.

 

Keith Martinelli vs. Boston Blackie (Denbigh, taped 1988)

 

Keith Martinelli was a great worker at one stage, but he'd faded by '88. Kind of sad to watch.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 26

 

Clive Myers & Chris Bowles vs. Pete LaPaque & Tommy Lorne (1/3/85)

 

If there was ever a British version of a Southern heel team then it had to have been The Rockers, Pete LaPaque and Tommy Lorne. Lorne, in particular, was made for the Southern style. Love the leather jackets with "Rockers" emblazoned on the back. Bowles was a multiple time British judo welterweight champion who turned pro after the 1980 Olympics. He looked pretty green despite five years in the biz and even the Southern styled Rockers couldn't do much with him. Myers provided his usual flashes of brilliance, and both LaPaque and Lorne had some fun exchanges with him, but it wasn't enough to give the bout much shape.

Rollerball Rocco vs. Ian Wilson (Porthmadog, taped 1982)

 

Rocco beat up some vet from the indy circuit. A couple of fun potato shots but that's all.

 

Pete Ross vs. Elvis Jerome (11/2/83)

 

Early on, a rugby result popped up on the screen saying England had beaten New Zealand 15-9. I immediately knew this was from 1983 since England beating NZ only happens once a decade. Farmer's Boy Pete Ross was channeling Pete Roberts here. A pretty good effort from a guy who's not a regular standout. Jerome was a lightweight making his television debut. He had a tremendous physique and was apparently an Elvis fanatic. A solid enough bout for what the promoters were looking to achieve, namely putting a new guy on TV. He only appeared one more time and that was it. I often wonder what happened to guys like him. Did they work the indies? Were they only in it part-time? Did the promoters see nothing in them? In this case, Wrestling Heritage says he worked the indies under his real name, Dave Cameron. Amusing that he'd go on TV and call himself Elvis.

 

Rollerball Rocco & Dave Larsen vs. Chic Cullen & Orig Williams (Unknown location, taped 1983)

 

The only reason I bothered to watch this was for the Rocco/Cullen exchanges, but it quickly turned into the best Orig Williams match I've seen. Rocco was a brilliant foil for Williams, who spent the entire bout shaking his fist at Rollerball and telling him he could have some if he wanted it. It was similar to the way Rocco's presence lifted Big Daddy tags whenever he was featured in them and another feather in his cap. Williams isn't quite as bad as Daddy but his matches are just as rubbish and for this to be as entertaining as it was is a testament to Rocco. It was actually Cullen who did all the hard work by taking a beating, but the dynamic worked great and Rocco flying out of the ring at the end was wild. He took Orig out with a tope and began brawling with him on the outside. I was itching for a Rocco/Bandito singles match after this. I don't think we got it (at least not on tape), but anything that makes me want to see more Orig Williams is a total success. Dave Larsen may or may not have been the 1960s Paul Lincoln wrestler who wrestled as Batman in France.

 

Dave Finlay vs. Kung Fu (Caenarfon, taped 1988)

 

This had more back and forth action than the usual Finlay snoozefest. They didn't really do anything to convey that Finlay taking on Kung Fu was special in any way, but given that Kung Fu was past his best at this stage and his gimmick a little tired, it wasn't too bad.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 27

 

Orig Williams & Tony St Clair vs. Dave Larsen & Judd Harris (Rhyl, taped 7/12/83)

 

This wasn't as good as the Rocco tag for the sheer reason that it was missing Rocco, but St. Clair did his best to carry the load. The surprising thing about Williams tags is that he doesn't know when to pick his moments. Usually, charismatic main eventers who are low on skill at least know how to pick their moments, but Williams ambles about like nobody's clued him in on the booking. You'd think he'd make himself look better.

 

Mike Bennett vs. Steve Logan (6/26/85)

 

This was impressive. Let me throw this out there right now -- Mike Bennett was the last of the great television heels and the lost WoS super worker that I've overlooked all these years. He has a really simple gimmick -- dyed hair and the word "marvelous" hand written on his tights and towel -- but what a worker. His offence is snug and crisp looking and his bumping and selling is exemplary. He gets heat for the same reasons every TV staple did, but it's his ring work that backs up the gimmickry. Logan is one of the more generic guys around, but Bennett made this into a showcase spectacle the way that Breaks would. That ability to make each TV match seem special is the sign of a great WoS worker. Bennett came along late in the peace after a lot of guys had jumped ship, but watching this I wish he had been a mainstay through the late 70s and early 80s. Watch the commitment as he takes the classic WoS bump over the ropes. I can't remember seeing a guy take that bump harder or faster. Myers was off the chain when he took the bump into the crowd, but Bennett is just non-stop in this and I wrote to my man looking to get a comp of all his matches after this performance.

 

Marty Jones vs. Danny Boy Collins (10/20/90)

 

This was really good, especially upon a second watch. I'm not a huge fan of Marty Jones' later TV work and his string of Mid-Heavyweight title defences for the the simple reason that they're usually clipped to shit, Jones is slower and not the supreme athlete that he was in the past. He was transitioning into Marty Jones, the vet, but still promoted as Britain's No.1. It was a weird transition period for Jones. Collins looked much better here than in his teenage years. I guess that makes sense as you'd expect a guy in his early 20s to be better than a teenager. His bad habits were nowhere to be seen here, and each fall came from a badass move such as Jones' missile dropkick. Not much in the way of mat work, but the action was good. It comes from the post-ITV Scotland tapings, which I suppose technically makes it one of the better British matches of the 90s. Good late period Jones match.

 

Rick Wiseman vs. Pete LaPaque (2/2/84)

 

Tournament match with a five minute time limit. Referee Brian Crabtree decided the winner on points. Perfectly fun for what it was. I always have time for Pete LaPaque.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 28

 

Orig Williams & Boston Blackie vs. Terry Rudge & Johnny South (Caernarfon, taped 1988)

 

Rudge and South were doing their best imitation of a US heel team here. They almost felt like a proto version of the Enforcers, Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko. It felt like a bit of pastiche, though. Rudge as Arn Anderson doesn't work for me as much as Rudge the bad ass kicker. For some reason Rudge never got to show his wares in Reslo despite still kicking ass in Germany each tournament. And South seemed to get wackier and wackier the longer he stayed around Orig's promotion. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently he ends up doing a Legion of Doom gimmick, which is odd to say the least. Another case of "what if?" this, as in what if the heels were allowed to show how good they really were?

 

Boston Blackie vs. Bearcat Brody (Amlwch, taped 2/5/87)

 

Bearcat Brody was a big guy who appeared on ITV a few times as Bull Pratt and worked a couple of matches against Daddy, which I'm sure was compelling viewing. He must have liked Bearcat Wright's gimmick because he pinched it for himself, or vice versa. A bit of a plodder, but by no means a bad big man. Blackie is an odd one. He looks great when he's grappling and ungainly when moving about the ring. Haven't quite made up my mind about him yet.

 

Skull Murphy vs. John Elijah (4/6/88)

 

This was the Brit equivalent of two hosses going at it, though nowhere near as effective as the US version and clipped to shit like most late period TV. The highlight of the match was Elijah powering out of a gator attempt and giving Murphy the most bad ass bearhug ever. I swear all bearhugs should be executed the way Elijah's was here, as an instant eff you submission.

 

John Quinn vs. Jamaica George (Porthmadog, taped 1982)

 

This was a below par performance from Quinn. Pretty much an extended squash with poor old George being every bit the whipping boy that Kid Chocolate was. Tony St. Clair took objection to Quinn's shabby treatment of George after the bell and stripped off his warm-up clothes to reveal that skinny physique of his. I'd almost forgotten how lean St. Clair was in his younger days. He was incredibly skinny for a heavyweight. Somewhere along the way he bulked up (rather dubiously it has to be said), but here he *almost* looked like the kid at the beach who gets sand kicked in his face. At least that's the way it looked like he confronted Quinn.

 

King Kong Kirk vs. John Cox (2/24/83)

 

Just a few minutes of wrestling action. Cox didn't last past round two.

[JNLister]

I talked about this with St Clair recently. He was pretty much a middleweight right up to when he got the British title. He'd been away in South Africa, came back to Joint and said he wanted to be in main events and possibly in a title programme. He then got invited to a Joint Promotions board meeting where he made his case and was surprised when Max Crabtree said he'd be a great fit for the heavyweight title because he could get crowd sympathy by being outsized.

 

They then had him do a program with McManus, including the first clean win over him on TV which aired only a few weeks before he "stepped up" to heavyweight and won the title.

[ohtani's jacket]

It's funny you mention that match with McManus, John, as I just got a copy of it the other day. (Or rather what exists of it. Apparently, the master tape was damaged somehow.) The footage I have is basically a bunch of retaliation by St. Clair followed by two quick falls; the second being a flash pin where he takes McManus by surprise, but the crowd reaction is one of the more memorable WoS moments, Folks swarm around St. Clair at ringside like he's just won a major title and two girls give him a kiss. Walton puts the whole thing over tremendously and it's a pretty cool piece of footage, but the interesting thing is that compared to McManus St.Clair looks big. Mick was a small guy. He used to hate people pointing that out to him as you probably well know. But Tony had quite a few stones on him, and since McManus was a legit middleweight, I'm guessing Quin was simply a big man. The kind of guy who must have looked huge in person.

[JNLister]

Yeah, just came across a Quinn-Haystacks match from Europe and Quinn is only a couple of inches shorter. Given Haystacks was maybe an inch or two shorter than peak-height Andre (http://www.freewebs.com/giant-haystacks/andre.JPEG), Quinn must have been a legit 6'5"/6'6" ish.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 29

 

Andy Robin vs. The Red Phantom (10/20/90)

 

However good Robin may have been as a wrestler (and we have nothing of him in his prime), he's more famous for his bear now than his ringwork:

 

 

Not sure who the Phantom was even when Robin unmasked him at the end, but it hardly mattered since this was pretty rubbish.

 

Giant Haystacks vs. Jamaica George (10/19/90)

 

If Joint Promotions wanted to get back on TV through different means, I'm not sure Haystacks flipping everybody the bird was the way to do it. Maybe seven or eight years later. This was the same old Haystacks -- "no more Mr. Nice Guy," et cetera, etc etera. I'm not sure why I feel the need to watch his matches save for the nagging feeling that they might surprise.

 

Gypsy John Kenny vs. Johnny Palance (Unknown location, taped 1985)

 

With a name like Gypsy John Kenny you hope you've stumbled onto some lost great European worker. Unfortunately, he wasn't *quite* that good, but he wasn't bad either, and this was a fun bout. It was probably more of a Palance showcase than a Gypsy one since Palance led from the top, but I enjoyed this a lot.

 

Pat Patton vs. Studs Lannigan (7/3/86)

 

Studs is my boy, and I'm a fan of Patton as well, but one thing I'll say about Pat is that he never managed to make himself seem as special as Myers or Kung Fu. Even when Myers and Kung Fu wrestled rubbish bouts, they still dazzled the crowd as showmen, but Patton was a bit quieter and a bit more reserved. This was a bit late in the piece to judge him too much, but I think both Myers and Kung Fu would have tried to make more of an impression than Patton did here.

 

Giant Haystacks vs. Skull Murphy (2/3/88)

 

This was supposed to be heel vs. heel, but instead of doing something cool with it, Murphy turned into the same old fodder for Haystacks. It's a wonder sometimes if anyone was steering the Joint ship.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 30

 

Tony St. Clair vs. Dave Taylor (Unknown location, taped 1983)

 

The beginning of this bout showed how confusing the World title picture was at this point. As best as I can tell this is how the situation became so muddled: when Spiros Arion toured England in 1979 he was billed as the NWA World Heavyweight champion. Joint Promotions and Dale Martin were keen to crown a British version of the World Heavyweight champion, but Arion balked at dropping the title to Daddy and agreed to lose to Bridges instead. Bridges won the title in a non-televised bout and then feuded with The Mighty John Quinn, who defeated him in a hugely entertaining Cup Final Day spectacle that ended on a blood stoppage. Quinn then jumped to All-Star as the champion, and Joint Promotions came up with an on air explanation for Quinn's departure citing that he hadn't returned to England to fulfill the mandatory 90 day return match clause. Quinn was in effect stripped of the "NWA" World Heavyweight title and Bridges won a series of eliminators to be crowned the new champion. In the meantime the British Heavyweight champion, St. Clair, jumped to All-Star and defeated Quinn for Arion's title in August of '82. At this point, you had Joint Promotions/Dale Martin promoting Bridges as the World Heavyweight Champion and All-Star promoting St. Clair as the British and World Heavyweight Champion. When Bridges followed suit and jumped to All-Star, he took his world title with him as Quinn had done and started proclaiming himself as the real World Champion ala Flair in '91. To complicate matters further, as the wrestlers were being introduced for this bout, Bridges came to ringside and claimed that while he recogised St. Clair as the British Heavyweight champion, his was the only real World title. Somehow Orig Williams became involved and claimed that both titles were legitimate. Bridges was allegedly the WWA champion and St. Clair was the WWF champion. That's right, St. Clair was billed as the World Wrestling Federation champion. I believe the titles were unified in the end, but the word clusterfuck springs to mind.

 

As for the match, St. Clair and Taylor had a ton of natural chemistry. Their later matches were stiffer, but this was pure WoS-style heavyweight grappling. Entertaining for the seasoned viewer, but perhaps less so for the casual observer. I enjoyed it a lot.

 

Dave Finlay vs. Danny Boy Collins (3/16/88)

 

Usual half-arsed Finlay bout from this era. One thing I was wrong about was that Collins' kidney operation wasn't acknowledged on ITV.

Bret Hart vs. Marty Jones (11/30/81)

 

Instead of squashing Bret like he might have, Jones went full on epic turning this this into an eight round contest. Bret in 1981 didn't really deserve such treatment, but perhaps that's what his dad wanted. Bret played a not-so-subtle heel here while Jones was more subdued than usual. Hard to tell how good it was given WoS joined it late and the VQ isn't great, but notable that Bret survived so long.

 

Tally Ho Kaye vs. Johnny Kidd (3/18/86)

 

This was surprisingly good for a bout from 1986 and another strong bout from the Golden Grappler tournament that year. Kidd wasn't given much of a chance by Walton, which was perhaps a weakness in his commentary depending on your point of view, but for me the most surprising thing was how spritely Kaye was looking in 1986. He applied some great submissions to Kidd for the win, and I was impressed by how painful looking they were the whole bout long. Here's to "ouchy" looking submissions.

[ohtani's jacket]

Wayne Bridges vs. Terry Rudge (3/31/81)

 

I kind of knew that this would be weak, but I couldn't resist asking for it because it was 1981 Terry Rudge. Terry Rudge in 1981 was miles away from where Bridges was in terms of heavyweight booking and therefore he wasn't given much respect in this bout .Whatever we might think of Rudge, and I think a few people agree with me that he was the natural precursor to a lot of guys like Finlay, Regal and Taylor, the promoters never saw him that way and even the Heritage guys considered him comparable to Barry Douglas. As a bout this was all right, but Bridges did nothing to make it seem special.

[ohtani's jacket]

Masambula vs. Leon Arras (8/19/70)

 

Masambula was one of the leading television stars of the 1960s. A UK-born black wrestler who took a fairly racist African witch doctor gimmick and hammed it up to such a degree that he became beloved by young and old alike. The King of Charisma, he was considered by many to be the best of the comedy workers due to the unpredictable nature of his act. Sadly for us, he suffered a career-ending injury in the early 70s, making his matches rarer than hen's teeth. Even a run-of-the-mill TV appearance like this is a huge find. It was actually more of an Arras showcase than a "Masambula bout" with Arras being quite the character himself. Arrras, better known as actor Brian Glover, was a big time talker and had no qualms about chewing the scenery when it came to pro-wrestling. Masambula spent most of the bout reacting to Arras, and playing off Glover's gags, rather than showcasing himself, but it was a fun bout, and like I said, rarer than hen's teeth.

 

Bobby Barnes vs. Les Kellett (8/21/75)

 

The best thing about footage from the ITV vaults is that you get to see Walton puffing on a cigarette as the MC stands leaning against the ropes waiting for the wrestlers to make their way to the ring, and you can hear the cat calls from the crowd when a guy like Barnes makes his entrance. The matchmakers paired these guys up a few times on television as it was such a natural match-up. On the surface, Kellett had fantastic reactions to Barne's effeminate behaviour, but you just know that below that jovial veneer is a homophobe, and sure enough when the two began scuffling after the bout, Kellett got on the mic and said in plain "Yorkshire" that he would beat the "poof" twice in one night. He then stole Barnes' over-sized comb and used it on his underarm hair and balding head while mocking Barnes' gait. It was all a bit racy for TV, and I wonder how much of it aired. Barnes was, of course, brilliant. If not for his sublime reactions to Kellett's goading, Les would have come across as a real shithead. One of the great WoS submission wrestlers, he was more of a cross between Adrian Street and Ricki Starr at this point, but superb at what he did. Adrian Street was prettier, but Barnes was a terrific worker. Highly enjoyable bout with the usual mix of comedy and stiffness from Kellett. Barnes talked a lot more than he usually did in the 70s as Kellett was getting under his skin all bout long. and when he'd had enough of Kellett messing with his hair, he snapped and the bout got nasty. Les was such a bastard and no doubt preferred it that way.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 31

 

Dave Taylor vs. Steve Casey (Merthyr, taped 2/4/92)

 

Taylor was wearing the tassels here and looked to still be doing his booty shaking gimmick, though they'd gone back to calling him Dave "Rocky" Taylor instead of Dancin' Dave Taylor. I swear using other wrestler's nicknames like "Rocky" or "Destroyer" is one of the reasons why Taylor's career stuttered so much. Speaking of the name changing bug, Steve Casey was the wrestler formerly known as Steve McHoy. Folks who've been following these threads will know that I was high on McHoy as an emerging heavyweight prospect during the 1980s, but I'm sorry to say he looked washed up by '92. It didn't help that the Merthyr crowd weren't really sure who he was and that the match had very little heat, or that Taylor put in a flat performance, but I was disappointed by this.

 

Giant Haystacks vs. Skull Murphy (Merthyr, taped 2/4/92)

 

This was no better in Reslo than it was on ITV, but at least Murphy had the big man back to canvas if ever so briefly. I'm done with Haystacks matches unless something enticing pops up.

 

Ricky Knight & Jimmy Ocean vs. Gary Clywd & Flesh Gordon (Newcastle Emlyn, taped 2/5/92)

 

I find the Superflies a bit amateurish for my liking, but I can see them being endearing for some. Jimmy Ocean is a fun undersized comedy worker and Knight reminds me of a Brazo at times. I think Knight and their manager, Sweet Saraya, are the parents of WWE worker, Paige. That may interest some of you to see what mom and pop did on the British indy circuit. This was my first time seeing Gordon and he was as big a douche as promised. Awesome.

 

Superstar Mal Sanders vs. Clive Myers (7/27/88)

 

This was wildly entertaining. It was more cartoonish than classic WoS, but Sanders did a fabulous job of playing a loud mouth heel. One of the things about the wrestlers cutting promos before the bouts was that you got to hear what they sounded like, and I'm afraid Myers didn't sound anything like I expected. I always thought he'd have an awesome West Indian accent, but there was nothing calypso about it. The wildest thing about this is that Sanders took a bump to the outside then had a go at Walton. I can't remember a wrestler ever grabbing Walton. Occasionally, the action would spill onto the commentary table and Walton would fret about the monitors, but his reaction here was Bobby Heenan-esque. You can watch it yourself, but it didn't look planned to me:

(Happens around the 10:20 mark.)

The ending was sublime as well with Sanders insisting over and over again that he never touched the ropes despite video replays to the contrary. God, I love that sort of heel.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Mark Rocco (10/12/76)

 

This is another Rocco vs. Jones bout from the 70s, which, in addition to the trilogy that aired on The Wrestling Channel, make it a quartet of bouts now. They met here for the British Light-Heavyweight title, which was left vacant by Billy Joyce when he retired, and we're fortunate that a print of it survives as title matches tend to be the real deal when it comes to a serious grappling contest on World of Sport. These two were so evenly matched. Jones got the better of the results, but there was nothing in it whenever they fought. For my money, it's one of the greatest in-ring rivalries of all-time for sheer skill and athleticism. Rocco worked this as a blue-eye, and while it got testy at times, he never fouled Jones once. I was half-expecting him to pull off some full blown heel move throughout, but he displayed sportsmanship throughout. It was an interesting glimpse into what a face Rocco might have been like, and showed how much of his all-action style was a deliberate choice to push the tempo beyond what audiences were accustomed to when in fact he was a technically skilled as any other wrestler in the country and could have worked the old-school style with ease. And Marty Jones, what can you say about Britain's No.1? One of the greatest of all-time yet virtually unheralded. People are missing the boat Jones big time as he's the kind of guy most would lap up. This was a tough, physical contest full of great action and moments that signaled that a new generation of workers had arrived on the scene as it was hard to imagine Joyce working at this speed and taking the kind of bumps that Rocco did. Great intensity and controlled aggression. The story always goes that they didn't get along behind the scenes, but instead of that ruining their bouts ala Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, it seemed to provide the fireworks for a massively competitive feud that was probably Jones' best, surpassing even his rivalry with Dave Finlay from the mid-80s. Rocco went onto great heights character-wise and ruled the late 70s as arguably the most dynamic star on television, but while he gave us many spectacles as Rollerball Rocco, his wrestling was never quite this good again. One of the high-water marks in British wrestling and you can probably extend that worldwide to 70s wrestling as well.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair (9/26/78)

 

This was previously available as a VHS recording of the original broadcast, but a mate of mine acquired a full length version from the ITV vaults. Marty Jones was the reigning British Light-Heavyweight champion at this point and had just defeated Mark Rocco for the British Heavy-Middleweight title, which he immediately vacated, signalling his intention to step up a weight and challenge for Tony St. Clair's heavyweight champion of Great Britain. The way Dale Martin and Joint Promotions traditionally booked was that the challenger would have to beat the champion in a non-title match to prove to the promoters they were deserving of a title shot, and often they had to win a second rematch before getting their shot. Seasoned WoS viewers will know that catchweight contests often made for the best bouts. This had the added appeal of being champion vs. champion, as well as providing Marty with the opportunity to compete for what had traditionally been every wrestler's ambition, the British Heavyweight Championship. Tremendous action in this bout. St. Clair was so amazingly quick for a heavyweight that you'd swear you were watching two men in the same weight class. I don't think I've ever seen him look quite this skillful, though, which is a testament to how great a worker Jones was. My opinion of St. Clair has skyrocketed over the years from thinking he was a loose, lanky heavyweight who was at best a fun foil for heels like McManus and the Caribbean Sunshine Boys to viewing him as a world class heavyweight. I'm probably the only one in PWO-related circles who has a glowing opinion of Tony St. Clair since most people have probably only seen him a few times in Japan or Germany. For the record, he's fairly boring in Japan and not unlike Pete Roberts in that regard. This was a super bout. They teased an injury finish and a double knockout, but came through with a clean finish and were showered with praise from Walton, who would make it plain as day when he hated a bout and lean forward on the edge of his seat when into a bout. I mentioned Jones vs. Rocco being one of the great in-ring rivalries the other day, but another feather in their GWE caps were their performances in separate catchweight contests from '77 through to '80. Just brilliant.

[ohtani's jacket]

Billy Howes vs. Jacques Lageat (5/5/62)

 

This is the famous European Mid-Heavyweight bout that captivated audiences on the undercard of the 1962 Mick McManus vs. Jackie Pallo Cup Final Day special. Watched by one of Britain's biggest-ever audiences for televised wrestling, the bout is an absolute classic. It's incorrectly billed on most title histories as being a bout for the vacant title, but Lageat was billed, at least for the purposes of the bout, as the reigning European champion, with Howes defeating a number of leading contenders to earn the right to challenge. Walton is joined on commentary by the big Scotsman Ian Campbell, who lends his expert opinion between rounds, and the bout goes a shade under 40 minutes. The action is superb, but it's really the narrative of whether Howes can win it for Britain that seals it as an all-time classic. It's brilliantly handled with even Walton struggling to remain impartial. When Lageat takes the opening fall there's a growing apprehension over whether Howe can equalise. Then when he draws level, the question becomes can he actual do it? This is likely the only time I'll ever see a Howes match, but the Bristol man looked like a typically tough, uncompromising worker. He had a reputation for being hot tempered and unpredictable, but was playing the role of national hero and riding the wave of a comeback that everyone on the edge of their seats. When he won, Walton roared on commentary "he's done it!" and Walton himself got invited into the ring afterwards to present Howes with his belt. Amusing to see Walton as a dashing youth. He was clearly a man who paid a lot of attention to his hair. It's interesting listening to Walton commentate 60s bouts as he was less assured and tended to talk too much. On the other hand, it was slightly fresher than the same old anecdotes. The ref, Lou Marco, had a distinct, nasally voice and they were big on the count back in the 60s, so all match long you heard "OOOOONE, TWOOOOOO, THREEEEEEEE" as Lageat was up on nine for most of the bout, including one spectacular nearfall where there was a question of whether Marco had been lenient due to the language barrier, though Walton missed that Marco was using French whenever he thought Lageat might be close to a knockout. Anyway, just a tremendous bout. Haven't seen anything better than this from the 60s.