The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[David Mantell]

Brazenly thieving this gorgeous 2016 photo of All Star at Butlins holiday camp in Minehead from Dean Allmark's Facebook wall.

Who said wrestling at Butlins can't be glamorous?

[David Mantell]

On 1/23/2016 at 1:01 PM, Britwresdvds said:

I don't know if anyone has waxed lyrical about it already in this thread, but the Jim Breaks vs. Zoltan Boscik bout from 2/12/1972 is one of my favourites.

 

Even as a wrestler with more than ten years' experience behind me at my first time of watching it, I was marking out hugely and was actually pulling for Boscik to win, unlikely an outcome as it would have been. One of those matches that really draws you in and makes you forget. Absolutely excellent and well worth a look.

Normally Boscik was an uppity heel going back to the early 60s - he liked to brag about how as a Former British champion he deserved respect but against Cry Baby Jim Breaks the crowd were on Zolly's side if only to watch Breaks stew. The former and then-current British Lightweight Champions (current champ is still Nino Bryant) going at it nearly 52 years ago.

Solid scientific bout spiced up with Breaks'usual antics. Zoltan gets a fall lead lead before Breaks class back and equaliser and decider in the final two rounds, the second with the Breaks special.

 

 

[David Mantell]

Ian McGregor was a TBW (who shared his name with the chairman of the National Coal Board at the time, during or just after the 1984-1985 Miners Strike.)  Steve Logan MK2, the clean cut Birmingham one (not the by then retired South London Iron Man) was an ex TBW now in his early twenties and going places.  Never held a Mountevans title (he and Caswell Martin should have), ended up decades later as heel authority figure for his own K Star promotion and owner of a sister chain of Muay Thai/martial arts gyms in the Midlands.

First semifinal of the Grand Prix Belt, Joint Promotions' answer to the IWGP title which was also won in an annual tournament rather than being held and defended. One of two big annual televised trophy tournaments in the mid/late 80s along with the Golden Grappler trophy.  Logan is the more experienced of the two and it shows in the work as well as the kayfabe with Steve coming out with the better moves. McGregor does execute a nifty counter to headscissors, rolling out towards into a side headlock and does a SPLENDID Folding press held with Bridge for his consolation fall. Logan's falls are a sunset flip into a double leg nelson and a deft Powerslam as a counter to as flying tackle attempt as they criss cross off the ropes.

Not as good a McGregor performance than as against Nipper Riley in 1984 (see earlier in thread) but a fine technical clean bout that's right up my street even if not up OJs. You won't find a more sports based presentation of pro wrestling than this sort of bout and that's how us purists like it!   McGregor about a year later would start flirting with heel tactics. By 1993 he and Drew McDonald would be the Wild Jocks and feuding with Big Daddy in the final months of his career. Logan MK2, as I say. never got a title but not for want of chances. He faced World Mid Heavyweight champion Fit Finlay for his title with ex and future champ Marty Jones at ringside, "FINLAY IS A FAKE" sign in hand. He made it to a couple of vacant British tournament finals. Sadly he was no more successful with the 1986 Grand Prix Belt final, losing to Marvelous Mike Bennett, the breakout lighter heel of 1986 in a red hot feud with Danny Collins over the British Welterweight title.

 

 

[David Mantell]

Quote

From the German Catch thread:

I've turned up a Reslo match of Stax Vs StClair which I shall post to the British Thread.

 

On 6/2/2015 at 6:01 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Giant Haystacks vs. Tony St Clair (Caernarfon, taped 3/14/89)

 

So, it was Tony St. Clair's turn to take on Haystacks, and I guess it was a credit to his standing in the business that it was far from inglorious. He got to put up a fight before his night was over. The Welsh kids loved Haystacks. They were throwing all sorts of shit at him and hurling obscenities then he feigned charging at them and they ran a mile. Talk about getting your money's worth. Stax had the occasional good match over the years. This wasn't the best I've seen, but it was above average.

Pretty much the same story as the German fights.  Haystacks dominates, StClair fights back (this time a round bell stops Stax going over the rope) but gets too confident when he tries a flying tackle - Stacks catches, slams an guillotine elbowsmashes Tony for a Knockout win. As a lap of honour he boots StClair out of the ring which Tony sells masterfully, rolling out like a football kicked in a playground.

[David Mantell]

One more bite of Stax Vs StClair. This is from 1978 not the 80s despite the video title.

Stax and Elrington were coming off a run of success against Daddy and StClair. The duo had bean Daddy and Gary Wensor 2-1 in Daddy's last ever TV loss before Max Crabtree banned such things and Stax (rumoured to have been a replacement for the abruptly retired Kendo Nagasaki) had taken StClair's British Heavyweight title at the Royal Albert Hall by TKO after splashing him in the legs.

You all know the score with a Big Daddy tag (although Tony and Bruno do have a couple of nice technical bits) so I'll keep the focus on Tony and the Giant. Stax uses the same splash to the legs as at the RAH to soften him for a single leg Boston Crab equaliser submission. He then dominated until Daddy interferes twice to help Tony get the deciding fall (the first time is spotted and disallowed, the second not.). Tony would soon regain the title by DQ then clear off to Orig and Brian Dixon with his title which lives on today as zAll Star's Supslam title, currently held by Joel Redman aka Oliver Grey.

 

[David Mantell]

On 9/2/2024 at 7:24 PM, David Mantell said:

(Kent Walton gives) a long spiel about the lawlessness and brutality of American Wrestling which he labels as All In, a separate sport banned in Britain in the 30s (and replaced by Modern Freestyle) but still running rampant stateside .... What it really was was that in the late Thirties, SlamBang Western was OK for small town Britain but just too much for England.  So we got our own more civilised upscale form of the game.

As an example of how far the Gospel According to Kent Walton and Joint Promotions had spread in mainstream British society, I below present that paragon of solid British middle class education The Modern Encyclopedia For Children, Odhams Books (imprint of Hamlyn Publishing, published 1966 revised 1969, copy bought by my grandma at a 1980s jumble sale:

I refer you particularly to subsection IV of the encyclopedia entry.

[David Mantell]

TBWs are still 'a thing' in 2024. I'm not sure if feeding young Raymond to aggressive arrogant villain Hakan (in the same lineage as Tally Ho Kaye and the heel Alan Dennison but with added dirty wrestling tactics beyond even those two).  There's some good technical wrestling at the start and young Ray gets in some good two counts midway through (although he slightly botches a further nelson/crucifix takedown and a forwards folding press) before going down.  I'd like to see the kid in with one of the two younger Bryant brothers or even with a veteran like Nino himself or Jordan Breaks.

 

[David Mantell]

On 8/15/2024 at 12:59 PM, David Mantell said:

 

 

From Xmas 1993, while Big Daddy was busy finishing up his career in Margate, All Star were also unseasonably at the seaside at the other end of the country. Semifinal and final of a four team knockout trophy tournament.

Leeds Boys are two former nice kids gone sour, Richie Brooks and Tarzan Boy Darren Ward. Both teams get polite cheers from the Blackpool audience. The Leeds Boys finally kick the heeling in gear about 30 secs  in,  Brooks telling the audience to Shut Your Face, refusing some kid's autograph and begging for mercy from Duran then double teaming him. This sets up Dyno and Animal Legend as blue eyes. LOD does all the selling with Dynamite striking the hot tag at the end. The good guys beat up Ward at ringside in a very un blue-eye like manner before Dynamite gets the winner with his snap suplex.

In the final the Liverpool Lads are announced as British tag team champions although the Superflies are on record as having the title at this point. Dynamite gets a polite cheer, "Animal Legend Of Doom" some distrustful heat, odd considering Hawk Legend Of Doom (Johnny South) soon became the most popular UK blue eye of the mid to late decade. Perhaps fans remembered him in the UK Road Warriors with Jimmy Monroe only too well or perhaps they'd seen him team with Nagasaki recently.  Good clean match other than some kicks by Dynamite to his floored opponent for which he gets a private warning.  Polite handshakes all round afterwards.  Match ends after about 10 min and the rest of the clip is a menu for a Dynamite Kid DVD

Some more early 90s Dynamite Kid, this time headlining for All Star against Skull Murphy.

Murphy (Peter Northey) was older than Tommy B and had been wrestling back to the 60s, yet not only did he continue into the Noughties but he had a British Light Heavyweight Championship run ahead of him in 1995. Here is one of their main events:

.Skull attacks Kid  before the bell and gets a lot of early damage in on Dyno.  Tommy fights back and when Skull tries to stop him with a foul, he gets a public warning for his efforts By halfway through it's been more of a brawl than a technical match  with Skull mostly dominating with his Skull duggery. Dynamite gets in a slide dropkick but Skull takes the action outside and ends up getting a Second and Final PW. Skull tries to apply his Gator hold but Dynamite finally rallies, does one of his trademark flying headbutts then a flying tackle off the ropes for the only required fall and the win.

Would have liked to see this match - or Dynamite Vs Finlay- back in 82/83. This bout is slower than the tags but there are still some flashes of the old genius.

 

[David Mantell]

Veteran comedy heel Mansfield isn't really the right opponent for Breaks but he does get his moments including perfectly running through Johnny Saint's "Lady Of The Lake" sequence.

You'll notice the crowd has built up a bit since the earlier Hakan Vs O'Reilly match too. It built up even more on the next few matches.

 

[David Mantell]

Tarzan Johnny Wilson with his muscles and leopardskin trunks was a crowd favourite despite being something of a strength wrestler. He was clearly taller than brutal monster heel Bully Boy Muir and his better physique than flabby Muir offset any wight disadvantage. Muir tended to get DQd a lot and portrayed himself as being in the game more to beat people up than actually win.  This time Wilson really had Muir on the run by the deciding fall and Muir's earning himself a third and final public warning was a face-saving exercise rather than lose by 2-1.

Nearest American equivalent would be Ken Patera Vs King Kong Bundy circa 1987.

 

[David Mantell]

 

A more amenable opponent for Wilson (who carried on into the Noughties) was Satoshi Kojima who worked for All Star in the mid 90s as heel Japan's Mean Machine, occasionally accompanying his hosts on the ferry trip across the North Sea to CWA Land.  Lighter and more agile than Muir, he and Wilson have a far more dynamic bout, more watchable despite the wandering fan cam.  Note Wilson getting the same back submission hold on Kojima a lot more easily than on bulky old Muir.

Referee is Mick McMichael, minus the kilt.

When Kojima met Simon Garfield...

[David Mantell]

 

Some more Kojima in the UK, this time on Reslo February 1995 as a blue-eye in Great Muta style Kabuki paint.  Not much technical work but he does some good acrobatic stuff, including some sharp dropkicks and a fantastic ground launched flying elbowsmash although he comes a cropper when he goes up on the top turnbuckle. Commentators mention judo and taekwondo, presumably martial arts Karimoto/Kojima is good at- Orig also says something about George Kidd.

Referee Jack Flash Davey (he was interviewed in one of the Irish TV clips I posted a couple of pages back) seems not to be bothered by the no follow downs rule and let's both of them throw it out of the window.

Drew trimmed himself down and grew out his hair for the Ultimate Chippendale gimmick in 1992 (you can see him in the title sequence as he was). but is still doing it despite having ballooned quite a bit and looking like early 70s French heel Robert Gastel. No long body shaming speech tho, possibly because he would have had to do it in Welsh. Drew gets the win with a reverse piledriver (the Tombstone if you insist.)

[David Mantell]

Have bought a ticket to All Star's next Dudley Town Hall show on Sat 26th October. Will post a report. If anyone can make it and wishes to join me, here are tickets:

https://www.boroughhalls.co.uk/all-star-superslam-wrestling.html