The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[David Mantell]

What we really could have done with in the Noughties was a pan-European version of Kayfabe Memories to fully piece together the history of the different Old School scenes in Europe.  I did suggest the idea on there at the time.  Of course the multiple language barriers would have been a big issue and simply running a British Wrestling forum at the time meant being under siege from FWA New School fans who were programmed by Fin Martin of PowerSlam to hate all things Trad Brit - I have "happy" memories of all the trolls on 1stopwrestling.co.uk forum  ...

[David Mantell]

Even the venue for that VDB venue looks like the same sort of place ITV would pick for a TV taping 10-15 years earlier.  There was still plenty of technical wrestling in Britain on All Star shows even if the UK Undertaker and Big Red Machine were hogging the main event.*

*(disclaimer - yes I know that kept people in work and kept things ticking over until the new generation of Dean Allmark, Robbie "Dynamite" Berzins, Mikey "Whiplash" Gilbert, Kid Cool, Playboy Johnny Midnight etc came through.)

[David Mantell]

Have discovered that my two young favourites Jordan Breaks and British Lightweight champion Nino Bryant have had a match a few months ago, albeit for a New School promotion (Purpose Wrestling) and therefore under American rules and containing some very un Trad Brit material such as closed fist punches treated as clean,  a lot of atacking a grounded opponent and an extended brawl outside the ring at about the 18 minute mark.  Ah well, would like to see them get it on for Rumble or Premier or All Star under full Mountevans Rules - in the meantime there's several good minutes of what these guys could do together in here.

 

[David Mantell]

Pretty good piece here (except for making a pig's ear of their British commercial television history - ITV was the entire network, ABC merged with Redifusion to become Thames TV in 1968.  ATV continued as Midlands TV region until being replaced by Central TV at the start of 1982.)   It does acknowledge the rise of All Star and its survival to this day (a refreshing change from these usual "Oh it died in 1988 when it came off TV and that was the end of it" lies.)

[David Mantell]

On 8/28/2023 at 12:32 PM, David Mantell said:

John Freemantle's Premier Promotions adheres stricly to full blown Mountevans Rules.  Naturally they have plenty of clean matches such as this from 2017:

 

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Here he is in action from just before the pandemic, from that most thoroughly old school of old school promotions Premier

 

In case I'm giving the impression that Premier are clean matches all the way, here are a couple of their takes on the heat fueled blue-eyes Vs villains 2KO tag match. Both from 2012, both featuring old fashioned South Coast veteran good guy Barry Cooper (no relation to Sid AFAIK). The first is in ITV-grade Redhill Assembly Hall, the second in the garden of a hotel in nearby Lancing:

Also for good measure, here's a battle royal from 2017.  Okay they call it a Rumble but (a) there's a promotion called that (b) at least they didn't call it a ROYAl Rumble after the WWF PPV or have that event's gradual entry:

 

[David Mantell]

Anyway, talking of clean matches I saw this masterpiece one fall match from 1976 John Naylor Vs Bobby Ryan. Some good defensive use of the stepover toehold position to curl up and roll out of holds. Also a nice back and forth sequence of both escaping each others' folding press attempts by getting moving before being fully ensnared.

Ryan was double-crown British/European Lightweight Champion here - he would soon lose the British title back to previous champion Jim Breaks. Dynamite Kid made his TV debut on this bill- he would soon beat both Breaks and Ryan to become double-crown champion himself then do the same at Welterweight beating Breaks again and Jean Corne.

 

[David Mantell]

Some more Premier Promotions from 2006- don't worry it's not 91 minutes solid of Steve Grey Vs Ian Logan(no relation AFAIK to either Steve Logan), it's a four bout bill from Worthing although Grey Vs Logan does get repeated at the end for some reason. Also featuring Johnny Kidd, Doug Williams and Aviv Masyan.

The MC (promoter John Freemantle) does mention a DVD on sale at the Merch stand so I think this may have been filmed as a follow up (YouTube having been in it's infancy back in 2006 and certainly not yet monetised so that promoters could earn income from "TV shows" on YT like they can today.) 

I've got a DVD of some New School promotion's supershow from this time that I bought from the Merch stand of an All Star show in IIRC Leamington Spa and there's a bonus feature on the disc, another Premier match from Worthing 2006 possibly filmed by the same crew as this, pitting Nigel McGuiness Vs Johnny Kidd and quite frankly the Premier bout wipes the floor with the main feature (despite some crap commentary from the dreaded Alex Shane.)

[David Mantell]

P.s.  Yes I've found the DVD and it's an IPW:UK/FWA/ROH co promotion Frontiers Of Honour 2 and with al the respect in the world to Robbie Brookside, Bray. Danielson and one or two others on the bill, that Premier Promotions bonus feature match WIPES THE FLOOR with anything on the actual FOH2 show, (especially if you turn down the volume so you don't hear Alex Shane withering on like a two bit Ben Elton).

Incidentally, not only was the crowd from the Premier Promotions easter egg match bigger than the main programme Frontiers Of Honour 2 crowd, but also so is a typical crowd at present day Rumble Promotions shows in similar sports hall rooms even if held in the daytime. In fact Rumble these days visibly gets about 3 or 4 times what FOH2 got. Clearly in Britain, then in 2006 and now in 2023, there is more demand for Traditional British wrestling - whether in distilled form or diluted a bit with family entertainment - than there ever was for bad US-style indie wrestling anywhere on the planet.

[David Mantell]

RIP Jim Breaks

 

Yes I know this bout has been posted before but worth watching again in tribute to both men we have lost recently.

 

 

[David Mantell]

I posted a couple of bouts from this on the "Why is America always assumed to be the centre of the wrestling universe?" thread (in answer to a query about home video) but here is the complete show; Jackie Pallo Promotions 1981.  Ostensibly a home video release, in practice also a pilot for Pallo's failed bid to get a slice of ITV coverage (Joint got an exclusive renewal for the five years Jan '82- Dec '86)  Featuring the last footage this side of the Atlantic of Adrian Street (the beard was later cropped into the muttonchops he wore in 1980s America), the second appearance on camera of Fit Finlay after his 1980 French TV match and before his 1982 ITV debut) and Princess Paula and Miss Linda (Blackfoot Sue) as a blue-eye ladies tag team.  Filmed at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome, the site six years later of King Kong Kirk's death in the ring.

Pallo was one of three opposition promoters vying for a piece of the ITV action.  When Joint got the renewal, Brian Dixon went to war with Joint on the live circuit, Orig Williams went off and got his own little TV niche on the new Welsh language channel S4C.  Pallo?  He totally threw his toys out of the pram and wrote an exposé book on the business.

 

[David Mantell]

A slightly different take on the No contest/Refused TKO Win finish - in this case, the referee calls it a 1-1 draw (that much each having been scored) rather than a no contest

 

[David Mantell]

On 10/29/2023 at 12:54 AM, David Mantell said:

Went to Dudley Town Hall this evening for my first All Star show since the death of Brian Dixon earlier this year. No clean matches tonight but some good technical wrestling between Dylan Roberts and Ringo Ryan, the latter returned to the UK after several years in Australia and whom I recall as a promising bratty young heel in the early/mid 2010s. Also former NXT man Jack Starz pulled off a neat Johnny Saint "lady of the lake" sequence in his losing effort to Welsh strongman heel Caden Lay.

The big news as printed in the full colour All Star programme is that Tony Spitfire whom I posted a video of having a  classic British clean match with Dean Allmark in 2013 is now a heel, rebranded as the Loudmouth and taking verbal shots at audience members. Not that there was much evidence of this tonight as he was working as MC, doing the introductions in a blokily polite Johnny Vaughan sort of way

Superheavyweight tag team The Henchmen were on the bill (accompanied by a partner who was called Cannonball Grisly but clearly was not Paul Neu.) Forty years ago the Henchies would have been obvious cannon fodder for Big Daddy, nowadays they remind me of 1970s opposition heel team The Klonkykes (Jake made it onto ITV against Count Bartelli in 1976 and Bill made it onto French TV Vs Dave "Batman " Larsen in 1973.  Together,  they were the subject of a docu on BBC2 on the brothers, footage from which appeared in legendary sitcom Til Death Us Do Part on Alf Garnett's TV screen, saving the Beeb from having to pay ITV for footage.)

 

On 10/30/2023 at 10:22 AM, David Mantell said:

This was All Star's previous show from Dudley in February.  I'm probably somewhere in the crowd but haven't spotted myself yet.  Last time I met Brian Dixon before his death, as you can see he was in a wheelchair but still pretty cheerful.

 

Have bought a ticket to All Star's  next Dudley Town Hall show Thursday February 15th.

[David Mantell]

Marty Jones vs Danny Collins two years apart.  The first time as a clean match on Grampian/STV:

... and the second with heel Jones vs Blue eye Collins (although he became a heel himself not long afterwards)

 

[David Mantell]

Getting up to date, a Rumble Promotions European (non Mountevans) title match from circa Xmas Week just past, It's heel versus blue eye but the blue eye is Jordan Breaks so to put his technical skill to the best possible use, the match is under full Mountevans Rules complete with Rounds:

 

[David Mantell]

RIP Bully Boy/Bruiser Ian Muir:

 

[David Mantell]

Then and Now - How To Push A Skinny Teenage Kid In Wrestling:

How NOT To Push A Skinny Teenage Kid In Wrestling:

[David Mantell]

 

Another good match from Jordan Breaks, using his namesake's arm submission in combination with a bodyscissors to get the win.

Am going to All Star in Dudley on Thursday, will update you all with the action afterwards.

[David Mantell]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:11 AM, David Mantell said:

Am going to All Star in Dudley on Thursday, will update you all with the action afterwards

Four bouts rather than the usual five due to a main event Rumble won by Joel Redman aka Oliver Grey. Nice clean match between two younger wrestlers IIRC Karol Andrews (that's him in the stripey trunks in the first photo) and Ricky Marsh - Andrews won. Otherwise there was a tag match match and a singles bout, both involving larger heels. Nice to see 1990s/2000s veteran heel  Phil Powers in the tag match and Rumble. 

MC for the second half was Tony Spitfire again - check back earlier in the thread for his great match with Dean Allmark from 2013.  Referee is All Star's new young proprietor Joe Allmark, grandson of the late Brian Dixon.  MC from the first half was Mike Angus from whose FB these pics are filched.  That's him with a streetclothes clad (and very dapper looking) Oliver Grey.  Kept an eye out for the kid who posted that video from a year ago but no sign of him.

[David Mantell]

On 2/10/2024 at 9:47 PM, David Mantell said:

Then and Now - How To Push A Skinny Teenage Kid In Wrestling:

On the same theme, had to share this great match from the late 80s.  Ohtani won't like the finish but what the heck....

 

[David Mantell]

On 8/10/2023 at 9:13 AM, David Mantell said:

About the best Barry Douglas match is on Reslo against a much lighter Johnny Saint who wins a one fall match where Douglas despite being booed at the start as the larger more menacing looking wrestler actually gets to show some good moves in fending off the smaller vastly more skilled Saint, atabout 1:15 breaking up a sideheadlock into a top wrist lever and then going under Saint's arm to get a throw out of it, rolling out of Saint's hammerlock attempt back to a standing start a 1:35, falling from a trip attempt neatly into an arm extention position etc etc.  This is not the lumbering brute he looks like nor the Jobber To The Stars he was against new mega heel Red Ivan in 1987 but a true member of the Relwyskow dynasty using skill rather than his strength advantage to reverse and counter Saint's also impecable moves.

 

RIP Barry Douglas.  Give the match in that post a re-watch in his honour.

Last surviving wrestlng-related member of the Relwyskow family - George Sr, George Jr, Doug and Ann are already all gone.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_de_Relwyskow#Biography

[David Mantell]

Impressed by the heel in this Benjamin Stone, good 60s70s style bruiser like Jim Hussey or Roy Bull Davies or even Colin Joynson in heel mode as the boot droog half of The Dangermen with smug Steve Haggerty in '72 (I think their bout Vs "Hornets" Dane Curtis and a teenage Marty Jones has already been posted on here).  Nice to see KM Lane relying more on escaping/technical skill and less on high flying high spots.

 

For those of you wondering about ASW South, it's an OVW-style training school/developmental territory that Oliver Grey (Joel Redman) has been running in the West Country (southwest England) for Joe Allmark and his grandad the late Brian Dixon these last couple of years. Occasionally LEGENDS like James Mason turn up to their trainee shows.

(and yes, that's the same Ben Stone refereeing that second bout)

 

[David Mantell]

From the "Why is America always assumed to be the centre of the wrestling universe" thread, replying to Ohtani's Jacket.

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Specifically?

I recall you're not a fan of no contest on a refused TKO (a less time consuming alternative to a 1-1 draw.)

DQ's were not seen as cheap finishes, they were seen as the heel disgracing him/herself by proving he/she couldn't cleanly compete.  Titles were changed on DQs.  MCs would shout " (X)  ... is DISQUALIFIED!" like an angry schoolteacher sentencing a pupil to punishment, and the heel would rant and rave at the injustice and humiliation.

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As for DQs, done the right way it can be very satisfying to see the heel sent packing in disgrace on a third public warning:

 

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Current MC Laetitia Dixon-Allmark is particularly good at this - I have seen her lead All Star audiences in chants of "OUT! OUT! OUT!" at DQ'd and protesting heels.

Rumble MC (and promoter) Steve Barker recently used this tactic when heel Shenwoo was DQd
 

 

[David Mantell]

A couple more good matches from the same Rumble show.  Not so much a scientific match (although there's some) but more a hard-hitting Rocco vs Marty Jones type affair:

Also the two younger Bryant Brothers had quite a good largely scientific tag team match recently:

Sorry it's not letting me embed.  I will see if I can fix it later.  Fixed it now.

 

[David Mantell]

On 3/3/2024 at 9:19 PM, David Mantell said:

Impressed by the heel in this Benjamin Stone, good 60s70s style bruiser like Jim Hussey or Roy Bull Davies or even Colin Joynson in heel mode as the boot droog half of The Dangermen with smug Steve Haggerty in '72 (I think their bout Vs "Hornets" Dane Curtis and a teenage Marty Jones has already been posted on here).  Nice to see KM Lane relying more on escaping/technical skill and less on high flying high spots.

And like Joynson, Ben(jamin) Stone can be a pretty good blue-eye too - he could have a great match, either as heel or blue-eye with Jordan Breaks.  I'm thinking of adding him to my list with Breaks and Nino Bryant of fresh young Trad Btit talent.

Incidentally, the venue for that match is an old ITV venue.  Nowadays it's called The Spotlight, Hoddesdon but back in the late 1980s it was called BRoxbourne Leisure Centre:

[Jetlag]

Came across this article talking about how the entire Granada TV archives would be moved, catalogued and made accesible to the public in 2022:

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/vast-granada-tv-archive-returning-24019217

It seems to be mainly talking about music related stuff as well as the paper archives, but hopefully it's a step towards more old WoS footage becoming available sometime in the future.