The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[Ricky Jackson]

I had no idea Nagasaki's career story was so interesting until I watched the doc.

[Bix]

Having not watched this yet, is Kendo's medium that weirdo who runs his website?

[ohtani's jacket]

Yeah, Atlantis Chronos Goth I think she calls herself.

[Dylan Waco]

I liked the doc a lot for what it was. I don't know why I was surprised it wasn't more general, but for a narrative heavy doc that didn't even really focus on the guys I liked the most/are the most interested in I thought it was extremely enjoyable. The McManus/Pallo footage looked really sharp and I for one loved the Nagasaki stuff. Dave and I cover it (along with all other things Brit wrestling) on the latest episode of Wrestling Culture for those who are interested.

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Regal had more issues than anyone with it seems (read bottom to top):

 

 

 

 

[Dylan Waco]

I was upset about the lack of Breaks and Saint, but what are you gonna do with a character driven doc?

[JerryvonKramer]

Been a really annoying week for me in which I've got to watch nothing wrestling related at all save for the 24/7 roundtable.

 

So I've still not seen this, but did it shed any further light / bring anything new to bare on the old "Big Daddy for the HoF" debate?

[ohtani's jacket]

No, it didn't shed any light on Big Daddy. It was a digest version look at the history of British wrestling not some 18 1/2 hour Ken Burns epic. There was some footage of Rocco, but it was one of those documentaries where they give generalised answers for everything (such as the decline in popularity) and you accept it because it's a doco and not meant to be a thesis on the subject.

[FLIK]

Only minor complaint I had with the doc was they didn't mention the formation/existence of All Star & approached things from the persepctive that Joint was the only game in town from start to finish. Other then that it was great stuff.

[ohtani's jacket]

I think from the documentary makers point of view that would have confused the narrative.

[ohtani's jacket]

Time for some Rocky Moran appreciation.

 

Moran is the Belfast brawler no-one's ever heard of. He was from the same stable of wrestlers as Finlay and made his television debut a few years after Finlay had established himself, quickly becoming one of the more consistently entertaining guys on television after the All Star split. He wasn't as athletic as Finlay, but he had the same core skills. He could work pretty much any style and was equally adept on the mat or at brawling, and with his long mane and his 80s working class moustache (stick a pair of bad jeans on him and a vinyl jacket and he looks like a character out of a Ken Loach film), he made for a quality heel. In fact, he kind of reminds me of the Emilio Charles, Jr of British wrestling.

 

 

He looks like a chippy or a sparky.

 

Steve Logan vs. Rocky Moran (5/10/83)

Alan Kilby vs. Rocky Moran (6/28/83)

Fuji Yamada vs. Rocky Moran (11/25/86)

 

The first match is Moran's television debut. He plays it straight on debut and it's basically a decent technical match with the young "blue eyes" Steve Logan, showing off some of Moran's wrestling skills. The Kilby match is a title match and a really good one. Moran is in heel mode here and Kilby ends up getting well fired up, which much with the likes of a Tito Santana is the best Alan Kilby. The match ended just as it was getting heated (for my money), but the finish is great as they avoid the obvious cop out and go with a different ending. The Yamada match is nothing special. Yamada brings a real juniors feel to it and it's not like European wrestling at all. Moran does a good job putting it over. The work is more state of the art than Sammy Lee, but Sayama was more exciting than Yamada and had more charisma.

[ohtani's jacket]

Another great match from the 70s:

 

Davie Barrie vs. Sid Cooper (11/16/72)

 

Shit, what a match! Cooper I knew was one of the best heels in the business, but Barrie I'd never head of. He was billed as Les Kellet's protege but it turns out he was actually his son, and the apple didn't fall very far from the tree when it came to wrestling ability. The match is mostly Barrie trying to fight through a barrage of forearms from Cooper, but the crowd is rabid. Probably the loudest WoS crowd I've ever heard. They keep stomping their feet and shouting and screaming. There's two really great moments in the match. The first is at the bell. Cooper is on Barrie's shoulders and Barrie lays him on the turnbuckle then suddenly attacks him. The ref steps in and Barrie spends the interval jawing with him, something you rarely see from faces in WoS. He's hugely fired up and so is Walton who is practically marking out. The second is when Cooper has Barrie in a Boston crab at the money end and breaks the hold to kick him in the back. The crowd go nuts and this woman springs to her feet and slams her fist on the apron. The finish is absolutely fantasitc as well and people are on their feet afterwards, which again is special for WoS. Great match.

[ohtani's jacket]

Just noticed I've listed three matches from the 11/16/72 card, all of which were on the same episode. I guess that makes it my favourite episode of WoS.

[ohtani's jacket]

Fuck me, Big Daddy grappled in this match and it was actually pretty good. This is the most surprising thing I've seen in ages:

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Kent Walton didn't get a lot of face time on WoS, so I thought this was kind of fun --

[ohtani's jacket]

Here's some film of Adrian Street/Bobby Barnes vs. Alan Dennison/Sid Cooper from the 60s, plus a tiny bit of Jackie Pallo vs. Johnny Kwango.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

This 1/28/80 card was a great show:

 

Jeff Kaye vs. Tony "Banger" Walsh (1/28/80)

 

Jeff Kaye is pretty much familiar as being one of the refs later on. He was in the twilight of his wrestling career here and giving away quite a bit of weight to Walsh in this catchweight contest. Walsh is a heel who've been slow to join the party on, but he was one of the guys the crowds loved to hate. This match was cleverly laid out, with Kaye twice foiling what looked llike sure fire falls to Walsh, making it seem like he had all the momentum for an upset. He was also brilliant at retaliating to all of Walsh's inside moves and illegal follow ups, which I found amusing since he'd have to ref that sort of stuff a few years later. Walsh and referee Peter Szakacs had awesome chemistry in this match, butting heads between rounds, and there was a stray granny at ringside as well. But what really set this apart for me was the awesome finish, as Walsh pinched Nagasaki's finisher and broke Jeff Kaye in two. Kaye sold it as well as I've ever seen someone sell on WoS and the threat of an upset was squashed.

[NintendoLogic]

So I rewatched Breaks/Saint from 5/73. I think I might have been selling Breaks short, because he comes across here as the best possible Ric Flair. For most of the match, he stooges his ass off, bumps like a madman, runs his mouth at Saint and the audience, even bleeds. But when he senses that his title is in serious danger, he goes into full-on asskicker mode and wipes Saint out.

[ohtani's jacket]

I stumbled upon this old Kendo Nagasaki article again -- http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,562562,00.html

 

I don't think Kendo gets mentioned enough when it comes to Inoki types in wrestling.

[ohtani's jacket]

German wrestling:

 

Franz van Buyten vs. Rene Lasartesse (9/27/87)

 

Now here's a match which totally grabbed my attention.

 

Lasartesse was this older than dirt Swiss wrestler, who was evidently one of the most hated wrestlers in Germany in the Berlin and Hamburg tournaments, while van Buyten was a Belgian wrestler of considerable skill. Most of the Belgians I've seen so far have been pretty awesome, it's like an undiscovered hot bed of wrestling greatness. This was worked differently from a lot of Euro stuff in the sense that Lasartesse basically worked van Buyten over in an almost American style until the awesome final round which was worked like a tiebreaker in tennis with knockdowns counting as points. Loved that stip. It made for some awesome visuals and was chocker full of the kind of touches we love in matches, such as jabs to the throat and Lasartesse selling inner ear damage from van Buyten's forearm smashes. Crowd was into it, including a big woman who looked like she might give Lasartesse a run for his money. The finish was really cool and a great pro-wrestling visual as van Buyten needed one more point to win and Lasartesse struggled with his equilibrium from all the blows to his ear. I'm stoked that there appears to be a series between these two.

 

Indio Guajaro vs. Bernie Wright (late 80s)

 

Indio Guajaro was a Columbian wrestler who did a witch doctor gimmick similar to Masambula in the UK. He had quite the afro and carried himself in the ring like Mocho Cota but without the mat skills. This was very similar to the van Buyten/Lasartesse match only Bernie Wright wasn't as good at selling as van Buyten and his babyface comebacks lacked the spark of the Belgian's. Guajaro was charismatic and worth seeing once in your life, but this didn't blow me away.

 

Franz van Buyten vs. Dave Taylor (Pirate Fight, Hamburg 10/5/86)

 

This on the other hand was incredible. A Pirate Fight is basically a chain match with a flag on a pole and not only was this easily the best Dave Taylor match I've seen, it was probably the best chain/strap/bullrope gimmick match ever. In part, the Black Terry Jr-esque camera work is a bit part of why the match is so great, but they also use the chain in more inventive ways than I can remember seeing from any two workers. It's quite a lengthy match, which could have been it's downfall, but it never fails to be engrossing and for a match of this sort without any blood the selling really makes it compelling. The tugging on the chain to stop each other from claiming the flag is epic and it's just another great van Buyten gimmick match. It actually has a chance at being No.1 on my Euro ballot when we get to that stage, I found it so captivating.

[Indikator]

Lasartesse was Ludwig von Krupp in NYC in the late 50s and +55 back then, but he managed to be the center of the tournaments he participated in so he is somewhat what Nick Bockwinkle might have ended up if he was a European. AFAIK Guajaro was more of a comedy worker. Bernie Wright is Steve Wrights brother.

[ohtani's jacket]

Belgian wrestling from 1984.

 

Franz van Buyten vs. Frank Merckx (Pirate Fight, 1984)

 

Who would have thought that Europe would have the best chain matches? I would've thought Mexico, Puerto Rico or one of the Southern territories, but nowhere have I seen such a singular focus on the chain as weapon as in these pirate fights. I love how they'll do regular holds and have the chain pulling across the forehead, in the eyes, even in the other guy's mouth. This wasn't as epic as the Taylor/van Buyten match, but it was still pretty fucking good. The match was clipped, but there was enough shown that it felt whole. Frank Merckx was an ugly looking bugger. He had the kind of face that was made for pro-wrestling, similar to Sid Cooper in the UK. Van Buyten was hardly Rudolph Valentino, but the crowd loved him and he was a great babyface with fantastic selling. He's been a revelation the past few days. I feel pretty confident in stating he was one of the best workers in Europe during the 1980s.

 

Franz van Buyten vs. Le Grand Vladimir (1984)

 

Le Grand Vladimir was a slow guy who couldn't move very well, but he had these hands like a surgeon that seemed to have a vice like gripe whenever he hooked van Buyten. His holds were not only clinical, they looked as if they were excruciatingly painful to break, and van Buyten was a guy who sold excruciatingly painful well. This was also clipped, but enough was shown that you could get the gist of it. van Buyten's forearm smash comeback was so awesome as he clutched his wrist afterwards to put over the impact. Le Grand Vladimir's selling was fun as well, as his gimmick seemed to be the French based Hungarian version of Erich von Stroheim's character in La Grande Illusion and he bumped accordingly. van Buyten ended up disliking the beating he was taking from Vladimir and got DQ'ed by a dodgy ref, which lead to a bunch of protesting at ringside by the Belgian fans and a cool post-match interview where van Buyten made some point about Vladimir having busted open his eye, while young Belgian teenagers loitered around him asking questions in French. One of them looked like a young Francois Truffaut and seemed to be asking van Buyten some sort of philosopical question as the tape run out.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jon Cortez vs. Keith Haward (11/5/80, JIP Rd 1)

 

These two were just so far beyond what everybody else was capable of. This was a 25 minute match that resembled shoot style more than it did the Euro style. The Lincoln crowd found it a bit hard going at times, but they did give a hearty round of applause at the end. Cortez got on the mic and praised Haward for being unbelievable for a guy with little over a year's experience as a pro, and you could tell he enjoyed wrestling him. Television was a personality contest and Haward never had much of one, but with his amateur background he was arguably the finest wrestler to ever grace the British small screen and this was phenomenonal at times. If you like your holds and your grappling you're in for a treat.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm filing this in the "Walton pisses me off category:"

 

Steve Grey vs. Eddie Capelli (aired 3/25/72)

 

It was weird hearing Walton talk about Grey as a comparative newcomer who had only made his debut on TV the year before. Little did Walton know what a mainstay Grey would become. This had some awesome matwork that the Bedford crowd shat all over. Walton had some weaknesses as a commentator that I've begun to pick up on over time and one of them was how he pandered to a bad crowd like this one by criticising the workers. If they don't like the awesome matwork on show, fuck 'em, the ingrates. That was certainly Capeli's attitude, as he stuck to his guns while Walton was busy making excuses. Match was too short to consider great and Grey was treated like a freshman rather than the worker we know he is, but it had a lot of neat wrestling.

[ohtani's jacket]

Two more matches added to the list:

 

Masambula vs. Tony Charles (aired 2/9/72)

 

This is the only Masambula singles match with have on tape, which is pretty much the reason I'm listing it because Masambula was every bit the TV star that McManus, Pallo, Kellett and Steve Logan were and everyone should see his schtick at least once. It's basically the same blend of comedy and great wrestling that Kellet and Co. were famous for, but he had his own unique spots that were highly entertaining, from his wheelbarrow escape from a hold to his corner post headstand to celebrate a fall. The headstand is amazing the first time you see it and like nothing I've seen before in the world of wrestling. He really hammed up his witch doctor gimmick and voodoo schtick and had a lot of fun with it. Just a tremendously entertaining performer by the looks of it. Sadly he had a really awful end to his career where he ended up crippled. This went to a draw and kind of petered out instead of both guys pushing each other all the way, but it was the best Tony Charles match I've seen for what it's worth.

 

Les Kellett vs. Bobby Barnes (aired 9/25/73)

 

This was from the same show as Adrian Street vs. Kellet's son Barrie and followed along similar lines only that Kellett was far superior to his son at this type of showmanship. I haven't seen Kellett for a while so his act was a novelty again after getting sick of it the last time I watched his matches. The reason I'm listing it is I thought Barnes added a lot to this bout. It's easy for Kellett to work a bunch of schtick around the fact that Barnes is a "poof" (in his words), but Barnes should his anger at Kellett's BS extremely well. I loved the end where Barnes was furious with the decision and had to be held back. You rarely see a British worker launch into a post-match tirade like that and he actually went after Kellett beating the crap out of him (and Les was big on doing shit that actually hurt.) Little things usually tip a match on or off my list and Barnes' post-match antics were the icing on the cake here.