The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 42

 

Ron Marino vs. Pete LaPaque (6/5/85)

 

This was more like it from LaPaque. Marino was a friend of LaPaque's whom he'd introduced to the business in the early 60s and had been a popular independent wrestler before Max Crabtree signed him up for Joint. He appeared on TV a few times in the late 70s but despite wrestling most nights of the week he preferred to keep his full-time job as a joiner and never had a big TV presence. In fact, he was replacing the billed Chris Bowles here. The two friends put on a decent showing. It was slow paced at times but solid stuff. LaPaque was definitely better in tags at this point as he wasn't the fittest guy around, but he knew all the tricks of the trade and got good heat for a match that wasn't exactly screaming out for it.

 

Blondie Barratt & Bobby Barnes vs. Johnny Kidd & Robbie Brookside (8/30/86)

 

This was another Screensport match from under the big top, which was apparently part of the Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival, an interesting initiative where large areas of derelict land in British industrial areas were "culturally regenerated." And what better way to regenerate them than with wrestling! I had to drown out the commentators after the first one said "the referee will need as many eyes as a centipede has legs" and the other said "this terrible twosome have the formula for fear." I swear only Stan Lee could get away with saying that and even then only in print. So, I stuck on a David Ruffin album from 1980. Ruffin was well past his prime in 1980, but he had such an amazing voice that just about any record of his is worth listening to. It was a pretty good record, I thought, though completely incompatible with wrestling. Good thing I've learnt to multi-task while watching wrestling. The match itself wasn't as good as the Ruffin record, but the heels were entertaining. Barratt is a fun heel and worthy of future exploration. Barnes' best days were behind him, but he still knew how to piss off a crowd. The crowd here knew no boundaries and some woman even shoved her kid in the ring to dispute a pinfall. Barnes was attacked three times on the outside, and they ended the bout with a fun promo. One area where Dixon had it all over Crabtree was heels. Dale Martin really struggled to create strong drawing heels after the majority jumped ship to All-Star whereas heels ruled the roost in Dixon-land.

 

Mick McMichael vs. Battlestar (1/19/83)

 

This was kind of disappointing. Whenever I saw this in listings I always thought it would be some God awful gimmick like Max Moon, but it was just Barry Douglas in a lucha mask.

 

Beau Jack Rowlands vs. Johnny Kincaid (7/31/85)

 

Kincaid was such a beast in his 80s run. I really need to revisit his retirement match with Marty Jones again and see how good it was regardless of his bung hip.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 43

 

Pat Roach vs. Ray Steele (5/4/88)

 

This was the lousiest of all the Roach/Steele matches I've seen. Usually, you can count on some pretty decent heavyweight action from them, but Steele retired hurt with an injury and Roach pleaded in an over emoting way for the decision not to stand. Lame.

 

Jon Cox vs. Peter Stewart (aired 4/25/81)

 

Iron Duke Pete Stewart! Love me some Pete Stewart. This one somehow slipped under my radar, but it was a tough as nails, gritty, no frills contest between the Duke and big Jon Cox. Cox was a bit docile for a man his size, but the great thing about British wrestling is that guys got to have their match (minimum four rounds or whatever it was) regardless of how dynamic they were. Everyone got to use the same canvas, and in many ways the form (as dictated by the Mountevans rules) was more important than personality. Meaning there was room for everyone even the John Coxs of the world, which is a roundabout way of saying I dug this even though Cox was colourless.

 

John Elijah vs. Tony Francis (aired 4/18/81)

 

This was supposed to be Al Kilby vs. Francis but Kilby was out injured. Francis is a guy who worked a lot for Stu Hart in Calgary and his most high profile stuff in England was as fodder for Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, but this was a rare "serious" match and exactly what you'd expect from John Elijah. As sure as the sun will rise, John Elijah will have single pace, solid power wrestling matches. Kilby appeared on crutches at the end with a nurse at his side. Walton claimed he had a burst blood vessel in his leg, but he wanted to shake Elijah's hand. Francis was unspectacular, but I'm always lulled into a type of home comfort when I watch a John Elijah bout.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Rick Wiseman (4/8/87)

 

This was Collins' first British Welterweight title defence after his kidney operation. Nothing fancy. The mulleted look wasn't Collins' best. Walton kept telling porkies about Collins getting a title shot against the Welterweight champion of the world, Mando Ramos from Panama City. The only Mando Ramos I can find any record of was a popular Southern California boxer from the 60s. The last time Walton had mentioned the world champion he was a "Mexican." In any event, the title bout never happened.

[Britwresdvds]

Very interesting to read all the comments and reviews on here. Looking forward to seeing more.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 44

 

Kwick-Kick Lee vs. Crusher Brannigan (4/7/82)

 

East meets West in this international heavyweight contest. It's kind of weird watching a World of Sport match that doesn't feature a British or European worker, but it was actually pretty good for what it was. Maeda was over with the Bolton crowd and they reacted well to the all-in style of the two heavyweights. Maeda was actually a fairly decent worker in his pre-UWF days. The stories always say that he hated the wrestling he was exposed to at this time, but you couldn't tell it from his in-ring attitude. Then again it's hard to believe he'd be at the forefront of the shoot style revolution watching him sell for a guy like Brannigan. Brannigan cut a promo afterwards, which is always fun watching the North Americans do.

 

Now it's turn for a big batch of Eurosport, which surprisingly enough isn't as bad as I was expecting.

 

Steve Regal vs. Colonel Brody (Eurosport, circa 1990)

Steve Regal vs. Drew McDonald (Eurosport, circa 1991)

 

A couple of tidy Regal bouts. He looks really smooth here. Nice arm work, fluid bumping and selling. Orig Williams is the commentator here and makes the prophetic comment that Regal will end up working for WCW and the WWF. I have to say I much prefer Williams as a commentator to a wrestler, though he's shocking at times like in the McDonald bout where he won't stop calling Big Daddy the greatest British Heavyweight of all-time (greater than Assirati and Billy Robinson in Orig's words -- yuck.) At other times his duclet tones remind me of Bill McLaren. McDonald looked in pretty good shape in the Regal bout. He still seems like a case of unfulfilled potential to me, but he looked good here. Brody also looked better than usual. Perhaps the common factor was Regal. An astute observation there, huh?

 

Steve Casey vs. Johnny South (Eurosport, circa 1991)

 

I think a lot of these are from the same taping. Some catch promotion called EWF. For some reason, Williams was trying to push South as an Irishman. I guess that explains the name change in Reslo to "Shaun" South. I'm pretty sure he was from Manchester originally. Orig did drop a piece of knowledge on me that Casey was the son of Wild Angus. I either didn't know that or had forgotten it, as Walton never mentioned it on air. South is one of my favourite post-WoS workers when he dials down the shtick a bit and this was a fun bout with some good action.

 

Steve Adonis vs. Herodes (Eurosport, circa 1991)

 

Yes Herodes is that Herodes, and he looks pretty good in a non-lucha setting for a guy who was already past his prime in Mexico. Unfortunately, Orig goes off on this wild tangent about how Adonis is a first year guy and doesn't have the knowledge or know-how to compete with a guy like Herodes. He wouldn't shut up about it despite the fact Adonis had been around for a few years by that point. He name dropped Hogan here claiming that it was Adonis' ambition to reach the same heights as Hogan but he had a long way to go. It was almost bordering on a burial at times. McDonald got involved at ringside, but there was some sort of miscommunication over the finish, and after an amateurish mix-up, Adonis had the sheepish task of reacting on the mic to some outside interference that didn't really happen.

 

The Eurosport matches are short, but they're better than a lot of the later Reslo stuff.

[ButchReedMark]

I'm pretty sure EWF was Flesh Gorden's promotion, that's why Orig ended up on commentary on the English language broadcasts. Probably as payback for Orig letting Flesh be the drizzling shits on Reslo.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

Ep 45

Fit Finlay vs. Kung Fu (Eurosport circa 1989)

I can't think of a more mediocre match-up in all of European wrestling than Finlay vs. Kung Fu. It doesn't matter whether it's in Joint Promotions, All-Star, Reslo or EWF, it's mediocre every time.

Fit Finlay/Skull Murphy vs. Johnny Wilson/Don Eagle (8/27/86)

As down as I am on this period of Finlay's career, it's a testament to his ability as a worker that he was able to make Eagle look this good. I'm sure the promoters saw this and thought there was money in Eagle. Even Walton was getting excited about him. He ended up being a flash in the pan and Walton was beyond disappointed the next time he saw him. Entertaining tag match with Wilson being typically solid and the Riot Squad still the best in the business.

Battle Royal (11/3/82)

This was a Battle Royal full of small guys. Walton had such a hard time calling it. It came down to Alan Dennison, Black Jack Mulligan and Bobby Barnes, and I thought for all money that Dennison would win. Barnes had him half way over the top and Dennison was using all his strength to stop from going over. "Well, there's the tease," I thought. But hot damn it, Barnes actually won! And he got a laurel wreath and a winner's sash to boot. King of the Ring 1982. Eat your heart out, Owen Hart. Barnes' victory pose was worth the five minutes alone. God I love Bobby Barnes.

Dave Morgan vs. Dave Taylor (Eurosport circa 1989)

This was a decent little match. Taylor was playing heel, which he wasn't very good at, but the in-ring work was solid and it's always a pleasure to see Dave Morgan work. MC John Harris was the commentator for these early Eurosport matches and thinks everything is awfully pleasant.

Flesh Gordon vs. Dick Murdock (Eurosport circa 1989)

I finally got around to the infamous Dick Murdoch match. Murdock looks like the French wrestler Alain Lesage, but I don't know how to confirm that and I'm sure as hell not going to the trouble on Christmas Day. His valet is carrying a rather sedated snake. John Harris complete ignores the fact that Gordon's valets have their tits out. That's almost better than the fact that Gordon's valets have their tits out. Gordon is one of the worst workers you'll ever see but this wasn't exactly terrible. I swear Harris called him "Flash" Gordon the entire time. Definitely something everybody should see.

Giant Haystacks vs. Franz van Buyten (Eurosport circa 1991)

So, the great Franz van Buyten has to work with Haystacks on one of those nights where Haystacks felt sluggish. At least he did what everyone should have done and attacked him with a chair. Orig Williams claimed Haystacks was off to the States to wrestle Hogan. Y'know, there's a part of me that wants to see that. Not a very big part, but I wanna see it. More than I wanna see van Buyten get the shaft like this.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 46

 

Kung Fu vs. Mick McMichael (Denbigh, taped 1988)

 

This wasn't as bad as I feared it would be even at this late stage of McMichael's career. In fact, this late career run of his (before he threw in the towel and was mostly reffing) is in many ways better than the stuff from his pomp since he was a big comedy guy and never one of the funnier ones to me.

 

Otto Wanz vs. some phone books

 

This a clip from the same Denbigh show of Wanz breaking his record for tearing telephone books. Kind of impressive actually.

 

Fit Finlay vs. Mile Zrno (Eurosport circa 1990)

 

This was on YouTube already with German commentary. Some people say it's from the 12/22/89 Bremen show, but I can't really confirm that. What's more important is that it's really good. Easily one of the better Finlay matches of the era. He even does a significant amount of matwork, something he'd shred his act of during the Paula years. Zrno is a tre-mendous worker (you'll get the reference if you listen to Williams' commentary.) I really need to watch all the Zrno I can find. There's not enough pimping of Croatian wrestlers. Germany seems like the ticket back to respectability for Dave Finlay.

 

Neil Sands vs. Big Bill Bromley (8/30/86)

 

I'll say this for Brian Dixon: he was able to take wrestlers who were depressingly brand on their ITV appearances and give them some personality. This was world's better than it would have been on ITV. You don't read me say that often about All-Star. Maybe I was over-enthused because Bromley took some gravel from the outside and used it as a foreign object. The finish was screwy, but Sands played a plucky, English as muck babyface and the bout in general punched above its weight.

 

Tony St. Clair vs. King Kendo (4/12/86)

 

This was a short tournament eliminator (mercifully.) St. Clair was fine, but the most notable thing about the bout was the ref Frank Casey being mic'ed up and reffing the bout with the kind of thick, colloquial accent you'd never hear from a US ref in a million years. Just when you think it can't get any more British.

 

Orig Williams vs. Gypsy John Kenny (Amlwch, taped 2/5/87)

 

Somewhere along the way, Gypsy John Kenny had undergone a heel turn. Here he was wearing a black wrestling singlet and a cape (love it!) This was a fun bout. Kenny did an awesome job bumping for Orig's shit. All Orig can really do is mow down an opponent with forearms and strikes, but when it's a guy as skilled as Kenny on the receiving end it's a truckload of fun. Gotta see more Kenny.

[GOTNW]

 

There's not enough pimping of Croatian wrestlers.

I'm pretty sure Zrno is the only one that was actually great at it unless you're super high on Nikolai Volkoff, Paul Diamond and The Great Antonio. I'm not much in terms of euro wrestling knowledge but I figure I'd have at least recognized a name or a surname by now if there was more.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 47

 

Hellraiser (Steve Regal) vs. Serge Ventura (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

Regal looks extremely uncomfortable trying to work a masked heel gimmick. Orig keeps pushing him as being from Hell's Kitchen, New York, and then the onscreen graphic lists him as British. Ventura is supposedly Italian, but this same show listed Johnny South as Irish and Haystacks as American so he may have been from Stoke-on-Trent in the Potteries for all I know. Has Regal ever talked about this? Even with a mask on he looked glad it was over.

 

Legend of Doom vs. Raging Bull (Caernarfon, taped 2/27/95)

 

"Legend of Doom" was Johnny South's Road Warriors tribute act that he used to roll out on shows where they'd have fake Undertakers and shtick like that. He was a pretty decent looking Hawk actually, though the similarities ended there as he didn't wrestle anything like an LOD member. Raging Bull was PN News seeking a new lease on life in the UK. It's funny because a guy like PN News would have had a more respectable career in the UK than he did in the States; he just would have been paid a hell of a lot less. Anyway, PN News vs. a Road Warriors rip-off. This went on for way too long.

 

Tony St. Clair vs. Masa Chono (Bremen, taped 12/17/94)

 

I'm not a huge fan of Chono, but this was all right. There as nothing "European" about it, which kind of bored me, but St. Clair continues to impress me with his work even into the 90s.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Johnny South (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

This had the potential to be pretty good, but no amount of hype from Williams about either man could mask the fact that it was fairly disappointing. South was trying to lay on his heel shtick a bit thick, and when he does that his matches tend to go south, to crack one hell of a pun.

 

Doc Dean vs. Danny Boy Collins (Caernarfon, taped 2/27/95)

 

What was with Orig Williams and dancing gimmicks? First it was Dave Taylor then Drew McDonald and now Doc Dean. At least he got a pair of dancing girls, but a disco gimmick in 1995? Maybe they still had discos in Wales. Pretty good bout. Dean was a good worker. By this stage, the UK style had become homogeneous with wrestling from the US and Japan and lacked the idiosyncrasies that I find so appealing about it, but these guys could work.

 

Owen Hart vs. Colonel Brody (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

Classic Owen promo in front of all his French fans. God, Williams makes some howlers on this. First he tries to tell us that referee Mick McMichael is one of the six best wrestlers in the world then he talks about how the enzuigiri is a dirty trick and that Stu Hart would have taught babyface Owen all the dirty tricks in the game. He even talks about Owen taking a "bump." Weird. I love how neither Williams or Walton make any secret of the fact that Brody isn't actually South African. Way to put over the gimmick. Maybe the apartheid aspect was too much. I'm not a fan of Owen's early work and this is no exception. All sizzle no steak. Interesting that Orig mentions Hart is off to the States to form the New Foundation with Jim Neidhart. Walton never had a clue what was going on in American wrestling and would spin any old bullshit about wrestlers selling out Madison Square Garden. He could never pronounce McMahon properly either. Owen was a million times better as "The Rocket" Owen Hart than he was during his world touring days no matter what the sheets might have told you.

[ButchReedMark]

You liked the McMichael vs Kung Fu "Footjob match"? Never moan about King Orig again.

 

On PN News, you'd be right about him having a better career in the UK, and he indeed has. He's been a full timer over here for years and years as Cannonball Grizzly working for All-Star.

[ohtani's jacket]

I didn't realise he was still over there. Good for him.

 

That Fung Fu spot is an old comedy bit from way back. You can imagine the faces Les Kellett would make if some barefoot wrestler went fiddling near his nuts.

[ButchReedMark]

.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 48

 

48 hours of the dregs of professional wrestling and boy do we have some dregs for you today.

 

Kid Chocolate vs. Grasshopper Phil Johnson (8/23/83)

 

This was amusing as apparently there was too much going on in football for Dickie Davies to show us anything more than the scoring rounds. It's actually the first time I've seen World of Sport skip the finish like that. For what it's worth, Johnson was a lot more serious in this bout and looked like a decent talent who turned to comedy to get over.

 

Mal Sanders vs. Carl Jason (2/8/86)

 

This started off fairly promising even if Jason going up a weight to challenge for Sanders' middleweight title never would have flown on ITV. But after one round of technical wrestling it turned into a bullshit brawl where it was no longer clear whom the heel was. At one stage, Jason grabbed Sanders by the nuts and the commentators were in stitches about it. Awful bout.

 

Jamaica George vs. Giant Haystacks (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

Haystacks defeated George on television for the 1000th time and decided to hurt him a bit afterwards. Tony St. Clair had finally had enough of it and decided to sort Stax out. Now Tony, I love ya, but probably not a good idea to do that in hot pink. Couldn't believe that Williams called George a negro in this. Twice as a matter of fact. Yikes.

 

"The Undertaker" Shane Stevens vs. Flesh Gordon (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

Yip, Shane Stevens was doing a fake Undertaker gimmick. Man did Gordon get a lot of mileage out of the fact he could a flying head mare and a front dropkick. The thumbnail for the vid captures the goofiness of Gordon perfectly:

 

 

Afterwards, Gordon lifts some kid up on his shoulder and Williams says he'll be able to tell his grandchildren he was there the night Flesh Gordon beat the Undertaker. It takes audacity to deliver a line like that. Stevens cuts a promo afterward with a shrill ghostly voice and stupid Williams blabbers over the top of it.

 

Tony St. Clair vs. John Quinn (4/12/86)

 

This is joined in progress. I'm not sure how much is missing, but it's basically an angle as Quinn undoes the corner pad and turns St. Clair into a bloody mess. That was an uncommon sight in British wrestling and something that was never done on television, so you can imagine the kind of heat Quinn got for it. People are standing around the ring legitimately worried for St. Clair's safety and demanding that Frank Casey disqualify Quinn but the decision stands and Quinn claims the vacant heavyweight title. He had a great run in the UK employing the basics of North American wrestling on an audience that been reared to be disdainful of yanks and their all-in style. He wasn't the first as Butts Giraud did the same gimmick before him, but nobody milked it as well as Quinn and it's a shame so much of it was off the air in All-Star.

[Matt D]

I usually watch these on the elliptical so there's no notetaking and I get into a situation like this:

 

Jim Breaks vs Johnny Saint, 6 Rounds, Non-Title from 73

 

I needed to see more Saint. I've seen a ton of Breaks and very little Saint. This was as good as you'd think though. Breaks complained about his mouth early. Saint used his height advantage to keep on top for the most part with Breaks masterfully cheating to get any little bit he could. In the 4th, Saint took a beautiful, beautiful pinfall. Breaks came back in the 5th aggressively, just mauling the face over and over and over. His timing in taking advantage at the very first second is so good and believable. It all came to naught though as Saint fought back and started working over Breaks' nose just as brutally. Here came the blood which paid off the early match crying in the best way. Breaks came into the 6th aggressively, but Saint took it with an arm lift submission to win things 2-0. The crowd (and Walton) popped huge for that since everyone knew it meant that Saint was in line for a title shot. Saint was a great Breaks opponent, not giving him an inch more than he ought to and bringing that aggression in his revenge.

---

See, a write up like that doesn't really add much to the world. It helps me for gauging GWE later I guess but it's Saint vs Breaks from 73. People should watch it. You don't need me to tell you that.

[ohtani's jacket]

The more people talk about these matches the better. One guy beating the drum all the time's not going to go far. Besides, I don't have matches like Breaks vs.Saint to watch anymore so it's fun to see other folks discovering them. Keep sharing your thoughts.

[Matt D]

So that was the March Breaks vs Saint match. The May match is online as well, thankfully.

 

And this was a blood stoppage. No one in the history of wrestling has ever liked a blood stoppage. You can put a few choice, select ones up there as near promotion killers. I thought this wasn't so bad in that regard though because it built off of the previous match in that regard. Breaks came out far more aggressively and took much more of the match, expert as always with the desperation finger in the mouth pull. One element I absolutely love about these matches is how moves are earned. Attempts early on rarely work but they may later on, not because of specific limbwork but just because of attrition and damage done. Throws are earned, and even some of Saint's fancy maneuvering needs two or three goes to get the full advantage early on. Add in the rounds system and the real sports feel that comes with it and you can get a distinct sense of desperation as a match goes on.

 

Here, after Breaks lost a fall to a Saint counter, he came back at the face, but almost immediately was opened up again (and Saint had done a few choice knees earlier in the match, playing on the previous one). There was a whole round, almost of this, first working over the face, then getting worked over in revenge to the crowd's delight. And that was well and good in a non-title match, but it'd come to cost Saint here. Breaks came out, cleaned up, in the next round and worked over the forehead immediately, leading to tossing him over the top (which is pretty rare in the matches I've seen), a Saint blade job, and the TKO as the ref calls it. The fact that there was two match build around the blood made the finish palatable. Presumably it made for a touring match around the country after this, even if Saint never won it back?

 

I'm just glad I saw these two in order.

[ohtani's jacket]

Results from '73 are sketchy at best, but I wouldn't put my money on it. There were so many shows run on a daily to weekly basis that there wasn't a ton of continuity when it came to the cards. That was one thing that set Paul Lincoln apart as he booked ongoing storylines and Dixon was much the same when he came along.

[Matt D]

Is there an online source for results?

[ohtani's jacket]

You can find the TV results at itvwrestling.co.uk

 

For house shows you have to stick britishwrestlingarchive.co.uk in the wayback machine.

 

If you're trying to figure out what match you're watching on YouTube, you can use http://www.britishwrestlingdvds.vze.com/ which has all the air dates.

[Matt D]

That's a big help. Thanks.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 49

 

Battle Royal (8/2/78)

 

This was an amusing little battle royal with a six man field of Pete Kaye, Jackie Turpin, Johnny England, Kid Chocolate, Young David and Bernie Wright. Apparently, it was the first time they'd run one of these on TV. Joint had this strange habit of running singles matches first and then lumping everyone in to the battle royal to cap things off, but I guess that's what happens with foreign imports. The match came down to Young David against Tally Ho Kaye and Johnny England. The heels gave Davey Boy Smith the heave-ho and Kaye eliminated England from behind while Johnny was posing. You've got to love heels deceiving each other like that. There's no honour among thieves, Johnny England. No honour among thieves!

 

Rasputin vs. Andy Blair (4/11/84)

 

Rasputin was being billed as Sean Doyle here even though Walton mentioned on commentary that he sometimes went by the name of Rasputin hence why he wore a monk's habit. This was part of a Northern Ireland vs. Scotland special that Northern Ireland whitewashed 3-0. Poor old Scotland. I could never understand why they'd always do whitewashes instead of making it 1-1 and having a decider. I guess they found it more realistic this way and would occasionally throw in a decider. Rasputin was better here than he'd be later on.

 

Grasshopper vs. Black Jack Mulligan (6/16/82)

 

Last few minutes of a nothing bout. Mulligan usually made guys look like a million bucks but not on this occasion.

 

Tony St. Clair vs. The Barbarian (Eurosport circa 1991)

Dave Taylor vs. The Barbarian (Eurosport circa 1991)

 

A couple of matches with Dave Sullivan. Pretty much what you'd expect.

 

Fit Finlay vs. Doink the Clown (Bremen, taped 12/17/94)

 

This is the kind of match where you think "awesome, Finlay vs. Doink in Germany" and then it's not that awesome. I don't think this was Matt Bourne, but I doubt it would have made much difference if it were. Crowd was anti-Doink.

 

Dick Slater vs. Franz Schumann (Bremen, taped 12/17/94)

 

Holy shit, Schumann was ripping Bret Hart off like you wouldn't believe. Might as well have called him Franz "The Hitman" Hart. I guess Bret was pretty big in places like Germany and Austria kind of on a par with David Hasselhoff. If we have fake Undertakers and fake Road Warriors why not a fake Bret? Match was nothing special, but Schumann did go to the effort to blade so I guess that's something.

[Matt D]

Zoltan Boscik vs Robbie Baron 74-05-08

 

I've seen a decent amount of Boscik now, but generally against guys I know fairly well and know to be good (Grey, Breaks, Cortez, etc). I like him as a slight heel more than a slightly clowning face. I think I'm really high on him though. He comes off as the science professor of professional wrestling, like a sort of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy sort of character. Yes, he'll occasionally turtle or do something outright goofy, but he portrays a believable technical competence as well as anyone I've ever seen. What I really needed to do was see him against someone I wasn't as familiar with. Baron felt sort of interchangeable, bigger than some, able to hold his own, able to have fun in there. I liked this a lot as a mostly straightforward contest. Occasionally they'd stray into too much goofiness or collaboration, but then there'd be a yank on an ear or a little shot to the stomach or the knee, or a leverage move, or just a touch of struggle and the ship righted itself, the lapse accepted as part of a greater game.

 

Let me put it this way: they inspire me to make leaps of logic and fill in gaps through what they do. At one point Boscik, who was at a disadvantage all match due to size (which wasn't played overtly but informed every exchange), put on a full nelson, a move that had little hope of being effective against Baron due to the size difference. Baron immediately reversed it into one of his own, and I fully believe that Boscik put his on in the first place just so that'd happen, because he wanted Baron's leg, which he took and used to take him down. It was just a cog in a machine but that there was purpose to it meant something to me. It always does.

[ohtani's jacket]

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR

 

Ep 50

 

Ian McGregor vs. Ray Robinson (8/7/86)

 

This was the final for the Jolly Fisherman trophy. A trophy that looked like something you'd find at a rummage sale or white elephant stall. I like both these guys but this was a dull and listless bout. There was a big fuss made about how it was supposed to be the second semi-final, but Bernie Wright had been DQ'ed in the first semi and the winner, Greg Valentine, withdrew with an injury so it automatically became the final. Then they wrestled to a draw and Walton assumed the ref would decide the winner on points, but the local dignitary presenting the trophy, Leslie Shepherd, the Director of Leisure and Tourism at East Lindsey District Council no less, said they'd make a second trophy for the men to share. I wonder whatever became of the Jolly Fisherman trophy. When wrestling fans from the UK say this stuff is too British at times this has got to be what they mean.

 

Greg Valentine vs. Rex Lane (12/16/87)

Sid Cooper vs. Andy Blair (12/16/87)

Greg Valentine vs. Sid Cooper (12/16/87)

 

Psycho is pretty cynical about this Gala Cup tournament calling it the "Something for Greg Valentine To Win Trophy tournament." Some ex-wrestler in the comments section says that Valentine wasn't very popular with the boys, but I guess there aren't too many promoter's sons who are well liked among the boys. I don't mind him as a worker, but I did notice him over doing it with the victory poses in this. This was all pretty straightforward compared to the Jolly Fisherman malarkey

 

Big Daddy/Ringo Rigby vs. John Quinn/Mark Rocco (4/24/79)

 

This was from Cup Final Day 1979 and one of the better Daddy tags of the era. The Ringo vs. Rocco sections were great and left me hankering for a singles match between them, which I think could have been pretty great in 1979.

[Matt D]

That Lord Alfred vs Steve Veidor match is such a blast. It makes me wish we had dozens and dozens of Hayes matches from the mid 70s. He was so great in heeling it up and getting in brazen cheapshot after cheapshot and keeping the pressure on and ducking out of the ring in the best Memphis fashion anytime Veidor showed any sign of life. Veidor had some good futile fire in the front half, but his broad selling in the back half and then the eventual comeback has me wanting to see more. It's different from almost any other UK performance I've seen from this era, so one-sided but without any real specific sense of control save for "Cheating." I really liked the finish because it gave Veidor a comeback, but made it seem that Hayes was just going to cheapshot his way out of it before those last moments. People should see this if they haven't already.

[GSR]

Hayes vs Veidor was one of the first WOS matches to air on TWC when they started to air the old British stuff (may well have been the first but I can't remember). As someone who had only seen Hayes as a WWF announcer, this match was a complete eye opener for me. A tremendous heel performance from Hayes and the crowd were completely into it. As Matt said, if you haven't seen this match you really need to.