The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[David Mantell]

There was one more Breaks Vs Faulkner TV match in 1977, a tag match from Skegness filmed August and screened October, pitting Breaks and Alan Dennison against the Royal Brothers. Bert and Vic won 2-2. Dennison was a blue eye by this point so I don't know how that heel team worked out

[dawho5]

Oh, I appreciate Faulkner both for the humor and the great technique.  He's an incredible worker in that he can mix both without skipping a beat, plus go completely red-faced and believably go off and throw a punch at a guy.  Being able to have all three of those is not something the majority of workers in the history of the business can claim.

[David Mantell]

He wasn't a comedy wrestler like Les Kellet, Catweazle or Kevin Coneelly.   Any humour was just him being himself.

Throwing punches was a serious foul in British Wrestling. Heels got heat - and public warnings - for it and would go to great trouble to conceal it from the referee. Blue eyes only ever did it once in a blue moon in dire emergencies and would have fits of guilty conscience over it. That punch Faulkner threw that cost him the British Welterweight Championship was probably the only one of his career.

[dawho5]

I always enjoyed that aspect of British wrestling.  Just the idea that the punch was a HUGE weapon makes so much sense and the heels absolutely should have to hide it when they do it.  It goes back to that thing I heard Al Snow talk about when he was instructing young wrestlers.  "What is one of the few things you do those people know anything about?"  It just makes sense that if a big dude punches somebody at the bar and can knock him out, how are these guys taking so many?

As far as Faulkner goes, I think it's kinda cool that he was as good at comedy as he was despite being a serious technician is what I'm trying to say.  He could have easily been a comedy wrestler with his skill, but was able to be a triple threat at any point in a match.  I also think the idea of the "super serious technician" gimmick kind of ruined the idea that wrestlers are people.  Yes, there are some super-serious wrestlers who were technicians.  Not everyone has to fit into that box though.  I want to think that at some point people decided technical wrestling was boring and that somehow played into the way that whole thing worked out and killed the idea that you could have a guy who was a serious technician, but liked to have fun with it and hated the idea of the heel cheating excessively all at the same time.  Would have made the dean Malenkos of the world a lot more fun as a wrestling character and allowed them more freedom.

[ohtani's jacket]

Faulkner was a smart arse and annoying, and I don't find him funny at all, but he was an excellent worker and a highly-skilled wrestler. The fans loved his cheeky behavior. Personally I like it when he gets upset.

[David Mantell]

A punch was a foul, not a "weapon".  It got heat. It was a foul like "handball" is a foul in Association Football (and I suppose "football" was a foul in Field Handball.)

I like Vic best in clean matches where he is clearly enjoying playing the sport at which he excels. Vic versus Johnny Saint both times but especially the 1-1 draw in Oldham 1981, Vic and brother Bert Royal versus brothers Roy and Tony StClair in 1971, Vic's various bouts with Mick McMichael where their banter was used to express their friendship while playing each other at sport but (except for the 1983 bout cut short in round 2) never got in the way of them putting on a technical clinic.

[David Mantell]

On 7/2/2024 at 7:54 PM, David Mantell said:

Found some more Greek footage. Really the territory needs its own separate thread.

The last clip seems to be the same "ATV" footage as included in the previous Tromaras highlights video, but I think it may be a setting on someone's video recorder, not a station ident. It turns out to be in colour after all and rather less grand than the previous snippet indicated - a nice sports hall but nearly empty with just a few fans in the high seats and only officials down on the stadium floor.

The first clip the ring looks every bit as shabby as the 1987 footage but it sounds like there was quite a big audience.  A fan comment on the video indicates it was 1980.  Perhaps the final Kats festival?

There was another clip about 9 minutes long which appeared to be an outdoor show from the thumbnail but it's vanished now.  I'll add it if it reappears.

Some links:

https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Γιώργος_Τρομάρας

Greek Wikipedia article on Tromaras

https://greekreporter.com/2022/01/24/tromaras-modern-day-hercules/

English language Greek news website obituary for Tromaras

Apparently he visited Saudi Arabia in 1990, I have added this to the English Wikipedia "WWE in Saudi Arabia" article 

[David Mantell]

Surprised @ohtani's jacket hasn't already reviewed this one, but I see you like Martinelli, OJ, so you should like this one. Fantastic scientific match, too much to pick out any specific details. This was before Saint won the belt, Kent says Saint would like a shot at George Kidd. Well in 1976 he got the belt but not the champion - shades of Lex Luger in 1991 and We Want Flair and all that. Keith gets the opener in penultimate round 5 but Saint takes mere seconds into the sixth and final round to get a reverse bridge folding press and make it a final round equaliser ana a 1-1 Broadway.

[David Mantell]

@JNLister Have been to Birmingham Library yesterday and looked through 1985 TVTimes and researched the move of the timeslot from 4pm to lunchtime. It started in April just before the FA CUP, they moved wrestling to 14h-15h one week then moved at further back to lunchtime, then moved back to teatime..  The FA Cup was done at its usual times, lunchtime for Danny Collins' title win and 1410h for the Daddy tag.  Then a couple of weeks later in late May they again moved in two stages to 1455h then 1230h and it stayed that way most of the summer, occasionally going back to 1550h, but by August it was firmly relocated to lunchtime. 

When World of Sport finished in September 1985 and the standalone show commenced, it was pretty much anchored to various lunchtime slots until the end in December 1988. When WCW moved to Sat daytime in summer 1992 it started at lunchtime but quickly moved to teatime, the first regular Sat teatime ITV slot in 7.5 years.

[David Mantell]

On 12/2/2014 at 4:45 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Jim Moser vs. Steve McHoy (Unknown location, taped 1983)

This didn't reach any great heights as Moser was a modest worker who didn't crave the limelight with his matches, but it was another chance for McHoy to show his wares. I've been impressed with McHoy thus far. Watching him you know he doesn't stand a chance with the business turning to shit, but he was part of a group of young heavyweight talent who could have been the next generation of St. Clair's and Veidor's if times hadn't changed. The talent was there but not the stage. Interestingly, it seems to me that there were much better heavyweight prospects in wrestling at this time than lightweights. That may be my bias against the "boy apprentices," or the fact that a Steve McHoy was closer to being a Tony St. Clair than anybody ever could to being a Steve Grey or a Jim Breaks, but guys like Steve McHoy and Tom Tyrone were solid newcomers in this era.

 

McHoy was the son of Wild Angus (that's Black Angus Campbell to all you old time Los Angeles fans.). We join just at the end of Round 2.  McHoy was (still is) a big man like his dad so not really TBW material. He worked live the heavyweight he was (see also Steve Regal).  Moser was more the action man. Uncorking a headbutt, dropkick and flying bodytackle for the round 3 opener.  Moser spends most of round 4 knocking down McHoy for 7 or 8 counts but he does get a couple of near straight second falls, one with a further nelson, the other with a mid ring sunset flip.  McHoy fights back with a near pin of his own with a flying bodypress (I love the quick ascent he does of the turnbuckles, none of this climb up to the top malarkey, just one quick motion.) then gets a fireman's carry backdrop (Fit Finlay 's speciality) for a 10 count Knockout.  For some reason Welsh commentator Bryn Fon gets the giggles over this.

Steve was fed to Haystacks around this time as a set up for more Big Daddy feud before going off to Stampede for a while. When he got back to Britain in the late 80s he worked as Steve Casey for All Star.  

Not a mind blower but some good little moments for its ten minutes.

 

[JNLister]

On 9/24/2024 at 10:59 AM, David Mantell said:

@JNLister Have been to Birmingham Library yesterday and looked through 1985 TVTimes and researched the move of the timeslot from 4pm to lunchtime. It started in April just before the FA CUP, they moved wrestling to 14h-15h one week then moved at further back to lunchtime, then moved back to teatime..  The FA Cup was done at its usual times, lunchtime for Danny Collins' title win and 1410h for the Daddy tag.  Then a couple of weeks later in late May they again moved in two stages to 1455h then 1230h and it stayed that way most of the summer, occasionally going back to 1550h, but by August it was firmly relocated to lunchtime. 

When World of Sport finished in September 1985 and the standalone show commenced, it was pretty much anchored to various lunchtime slots until the end in December 1988. When WCW moved to Sat daytime in summer 1992 it started at lunchtime but quickly moved to teatime, the first regular Sat teatime ITV slot in 7.5 years.

Thanks - have updated the 1985 listings page and the schedule overview page appropriately.

[David Mantell]

6 hours ago, JNLister said:

Thanks - have updated the 1985 listings page and the schedule overview page appropriately.

You're welcome.

There seems to be a myth that the move from teatime to lunchtime coincided with the end of World of Sport.  In fact they were already experimenting with the earlier timeslots during those final five months or so of WOS.

[David Mantell]

From the Pallos '1981 video at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome. Joined in the third, a fall apiece in rounds 4 and 5, time runs out in round 6.  Pallo Senior oddly says that heavyweights might look slow on TV but not live! Two guys with pasts on the heel side behaving themselves. Kincaid doing a lot of brawly leg weakeners before switching to legholds Kowalski spins out and Kincaid takes quite a bump but carries on with the leg. Kowalski limps back to his corner for the round break. Fights back with elbows and throws. Kincaid does a great French style flying headscissors takedown from a wrist lever. Unexpectedly Kowalski scores the opener with a cross buttock/cross press. Pallo comes up with old fashioned remark about "coloured boys" having hard heads. Kincaid finally capitalises on all that legwork by diving in forca trip and folding press equaliser. Cut to some way into the sixth. Kincaid has Kowalski in a crossface when the final bell goes.

Solid but not spectacular clean match. 

 

[David Mantell]

Poor old Rex Strong. At one time a fine heavyweight, by the mid 80s he was ill, overweight and able to do little more than stand around and wobble menacingly in a mask. Sort of like Terry Gordy's stint as the Executioner. He's in with one of OJ's faves Tom Tyrone, who to his credit makes the most of it putting on a great display of rolling escapes. Samurai puts on the big power holds and Tyrone neatly reverses/counters them..

Round 2 seems to be missing. In Round 3 Samurai adopts a game plan of strangles. crossfaces and an illegal smother. After round 4 is cut short by Tyrone getting the opener with a flying tackle, the attacks on the breathing continue into the fifth round with a sleeper.  Tyrone is unconscious and referee Peter Szackacs (bother of Tibor) stops the contest and disqualifies the masked man (who affects not to understand.)

Good use of the DQ finish, it doesn't so much "protect" Samurai as establish him as an utterly disreputable stain on the sport who needs to be taught a lesson - and we all know just the man for the job ..

[David Mantell]

And yea verily ...

 

Marty Jones makes an unusual tag partner for Daddy - he usually chose a particularly vulnerable TBW (such as Jones had himself been back in 1972 in the Hornets) to be the sacrificial lamb. He does get the opening fall with a fantastic missile dropkick before being double teamed and equalised on with Kirk's guillotine elbowdrop. Jones fights free from a backbreaker, rolls to tag Daddy and the rest is just the usual office hold.

Kirk is quite the scary sinister heel. Like a giant version of George Steele before the babyface turn. Tony Francis has now settled in as replacement for Charlie McGee as arch mastermind heel manager behind the forces of anti-Daddy, like Mesmeron in the PAC Man cartoons or Blofield in early Bond films. The evil criminal mastermind with his pet cat.

This bout was shortly before Mal Kirk's death and clips from it were used in news coverage of the tragedy. It has other bad karma to it in that the original transmission had to be postponed due to emergency news coverage of car ferry Herald Of Free Enterprise capsising and sinking in the North Sea after setting sail from Zeebrugge with much loss of life. (A rescheduled screening was replaced in the London area with a Giant Haystacks match so I never got to see this one at the time.

Kirk and Strong, as I think I've mentioned, have an interesting connection in that both were formerly the fourth man partnering  Kendo Nagasaki in 1976 bouts versus Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks - indeed the Strong version of this matchup appeared on ITV in 1975 so it is ironic to see Strong playing a Samurai here.

 

 

[David Mantell]

James Mason and Johnny Kidd splitting a pair of old school matches on new school promotions in 2022 and 2023.  They've recently had another one for the Jim Breaks memorial cup (surely a heel  like Breaks should win that!) which I was looking for when I found these two.

 

 

 

[David Mantell]

A TV play from Greece 1987 involving some wrestling. Three bouts.  Starts with guy in red versus masked man in appalling leopardskin mask with fabric running down his shoulders, the costume makers had obviously not researched what a wrestling mask looks like. Masked man wins, guyin red gets ear bending from his trainer. Fast forward to 40min in, guy in red goes to draw with old grey haired bearded guy.  Final five mins, guy in red and masked guy have rematch, guy in red's daughter shows up unexpected in his corner, guy in red gets his win back by submission with a Boston crab, big family reunion afterwards.

Apparently set in a big theatre but the limitations of a TV studio plus the decision to decorate the set with flags hanging down by the short end make it all look like an episode from the time of WTBS World Championship Wrestling at Techwood Drive in Atlanta GA (which would have been at its peak right then). Ring has badly loose ropes and no turnbuckle covers or post pads, canvas looks suspiciously similar to the one from the actual Tromaras match I posted previously. Knockout counts are in force, prohibitions on attacks on the mat are not.  The middle match appears to be on TV (a Bell from No Holds Barred style baddie is watching in his office). which as far as we know was not done in Greece except for the unexplained professional shooting of the said Tromaras match.

[David Mantell]

Uneventful. Cyanide Syd Cooper was a "carpenter" noted for making blue eyes look good. (For this he was rewarded with a few months, unacknowledged on TV, taking care of the British Welterweight title while Danny Collins went off on tour defending his newly won Euro title in France and Northern Spain on FFCP shows for Delaporte, the first of several such summer tours.). Unfortunately his opponent here Colin Bennett is quite old and doesn't have that much in the way of clever escapes (about one cartwheel notwithstanding) and it goes against Cooper's legit nature to upstage Bennett so what we are left with is a lot of static holds, enough fouls by Cooper to clock up two public warnings and finally a basically clean submission.  Cooper should just have accepted that this was his night to be the star and at least made himself look good.

[David Mantell]

On 5/11/2015 at 6:45 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Tony St. Clair vs. Steve Regal (Caernarfon, taped 1988)

I'd seen this before, but it was worth revisiting. It's kind of an interesting match-up as St. Clair was in no way the type of heavyweight Regal aspired to be. He was always flashy and athletic and a lot looser than your standard Regal influences; but he was a wily vet at this stage, and a guy who kept ploughing along long after the UK scene turned to shit. Not a great match as Regal didn't really lay his shit in, but an interesting look at where Regal was at in '88.

I liked this one enough to run upstairs, take the tablet off charge and post a review (luckily OJ seems to have liked it too.). For me this represents Regal coming of age, able to work with a veteran to put on a decent scientific match. Both guys fitted the "heavyweights who can move like lightweights" category and Regal had a pretty decent repertoire of counters, none of them earth shattering but overall respectable.  He and Brookside had an ITV clean tag match with Danny and Pete Collins around this time where Kent Walton said he hadn't previously been impressed by Regal but was finally warming to him. I wish this match could have been on ITV for Kent to comment on as it was a really good resume of what Regal had learned of technical wrestling by this point (okay there are the usual few forearms and Regal's "Look at me mum I'm Hulk Hogan" legdrop but never mind them.)

Best bit is the folding press where Regal role his legs forward but instead of getting them hooked a la Bret/Davey/SS92 Regal actually uses his legs to break up the folder. Nice climactic finish too with Regal going for a cross buttock and press but StClair reversing it for the pin.

 

[David Mantell]

On 1/4/2014 at 3:26 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Mick McMichael vs. Bobby Barnes (aired 3/25/72)

This is really early WoS footage in terms of what we had. Everyone looked so young and in Bobby's case so beautiful. Walton called McMichael one of the most underrated wrestlers around, which is a nice way of saying he was dull. This was par for the course from Barnes, but it was fun to watch him when he was so young.

 

I think "underrated" was Kent's way of saying he thought McMichael deserved a push! Worth noting that there is nothing remotely comic about McMichael in this bout - he only acted the grumbling Les Dawson type when in against his chirpy mate Vic Faulkner (or when refereeing similar soul Owen Hart) as their way of expressing their friendship to crowds. No kilt either. He's completely the straight man heel.

Game of two halves, the first half scientific for me, the second half brawling for OJ.  McMichael almost catches out Barnes with a legdive during his jumping routine.  The rollouts from arm levers from both men near the start especially Barnes are gorgeously executed. McMichael rolls backwards risking a folding press but uses his legs to tempt Barnes which causes Barnes to release a hold and allow Mick to escape.

Quote

That was a common finish across Europe.  A babyface/blue-eye wrestler valiantly battles back from near knockout only to be picked off by the heel for the deciding or only required fall or submission the moment they are fully off the canvas/in the ring. 

@PeteF3 This is a good example of what I was talking about. Barnes avoids a McMichael sunset flip attempt, gets a 6 count then picks off McMichael with a slam and double knees pin.

[David Mantell]

On 7/12/2013 at 3:14 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Tibor Szakacs vs. Pete Stewart (aired 3/25/72)

 

This aired on TWC, but I hadn't seen it before so I thought I would jot down a couple of notes. Stewart was a young, lanky light heavyweight of solid enough ability playing the youngster to Szakacs' veteran role. They gave him a bit of a rub by having him take a late one fall lead over Szakacs in the fourth round, meaning that Tibor would have to score either a pinfall or submission in both of the remaining rounds, not that it appeared to fluster Tibor much. This was another of those sort of "walk in the park" bouts that the older greats like Marino did a lot of in the 70s and this time Tibor didn't ratchet it up a notch as in his better matches.

Good scientific bout from the same 1972 taping., veteran versus youngster, rather like Clay Thompson versus Tony StClair 1967 (and we saw Tony on Reslo 1988 Vs Steve Regal with the shoe in the other foot.) Good to see what the fuss was about with Tibor, just the one token chop but otherwise great moves, getting his head out of a crossed scissor then folding it into a Frank Gotch toehold was a neat touch. Equally liked Stewart countering a hammerlock by rolling on to Tibor's kness on his back to go for the chin and even a grounded hiptoss.  Tibor's pins are both great, a bridging folding press as counter to sunset flip and then a blockbuster suplex in the final two rounds.

 

[David Mantell]

My grandad and I once had a wrestling conversation that borderlined on being smartened up where we discussed how Big Daddy was a good guy who always won and Mighty John Quinn and Rollerball Rocco were bad guys that always lost (which made it all the more ironic when both became World champions on TV - Quinn at Heavyweight May 1980, Rocco at Heavy Middleweight December 1981). We agreed also that Lee Bronson was an example of a good guy who always lost ...

For a man with a reputation for getting himself regularly banned from TV, Rocco is playing it reasonably safe in this one - the first three rounds are absolutely my cup of tea as a technical purist.  Plenty of excellent reversals from both men, especially Rocco although the crowd are begrudging in clapping his good moves - a point he himself picks up on. Rocco takes quite a bump out of the ring from a Bronson bodycheck and Kent Walton catches him looking pleased at having taken the bump and explains it to viewers as Rocco having been caught surprised and even he being almost amused at it.

Rocco gets the lead with a neck submission off the back of a near knockout - @PeteF3 there's another one for you, albeit an opener. Normally a heel starts the brawling after going a fall down, in this case it's Bronson the blue eye who, after Rocco sneaked in one extra dropped blow on the mat, goes wild with the same flurry of forearms that got him into REAL trouble with Billy Robinson on TV in 1978. Round 4 is more OJs sort of a round, the only public warning is to Rocco for dissent of all things. Things calm down after that, Bronson gets an equaliser with a bodyslam in round 5. By round 6 it has simmered down to a scientific bout once again, which goes to time. 1-1 Broadway.  Well, Bronson didn't lose, for once - and neither did Rocco.

If you like Round 1 of the 1981 Rocco-Dynamite World title match, you'll like this one too.

[PeteF3]

Still waiting for another villain to do this "avoid the knockout and get pinned anyway" spot.

[David Mantell]

Another Rocco bout that has never been reviewed on here. Rather a lot of blue on the screen, both men in blue outfits plus the ropes, mat and referee's shirt - all colour coordinated! Roberts' superhero tight and vest with an Aladdin Sane thundebolt remind me partly if a masked wrestler who has just lost his mask and partly of France's  Flesh Gordon, who at this time was still learning his craft in Mexico, home of masked superheroes.

Kent Walton hits the nail on the head when he calls Rocco an all action man who hates to be held down on the mat.   This time the brawling breaks out in round 2 with a flurry of forearms and the heavier Roberts getting the jump on Rocco with the dirty tactics, twice pulling him up off the mat by the hair. Rocco escape a headscissor using a mixture of dirty (biting) and clean (turning it into a small package pin attempt).  He could have got out by taking advantage of Roberts opening and shutting the scissors which was just plain dumb of him but seemed to work.  Rocco gets a knee in after the bell on round 2.  In round 3 he gets quite a bit of fouling and illegal followdowns in with a public warning to prove it.  He gets a second in round 4 for a flying move off th top turnbuckle on a prone Roberts which also violates No Followdowns. All the while he is getting leg weakeners on Roberts for a single leg Boston crab submission.  

Rocco spends Round 5; flirting with disqualification over follow up attacks to the point where Walton muses that it seems to be compulsive with him, despite the risks.  Roberts comes close to an equaliser twice, first with a suplex and second with a cross press but still trails 0-1 by the start of the final round. 

Instead of giving Rocco the disqualification, the referee simply abandons the no follow down rule entirely for the final round, even for another top rope move which backfires anyway - letting Roberts get away with a whole lot of stuff until he scores the equaliser with an elbow and cross press- all very spaced out - for the equaliser. Another 1-1 Broadway. As we cut away, an argument seems to be breaking out, Rocco pointing his finger and complaining. I don't know what about, but I bet it's about Roberts following down. Haha.

Postscript - after all Rocco's fouling, next up on my smart TV was a late 87 WWF Superstars starting with Demolition Vs jobbers Scott Casey and Steve Douglas. Smash got Casey with EXACTLY the kind of sneaky closed fist punch to the kidneys that had the Solihull crowd baying for Rocco's blood or at least his disqualification.  The WWF referee didn't bat an eyelid at it and neither did the crowd. Talk about culture shock ...

 

[David Mantell]

21 hours ago, PeteF3 said:

Still waiting for another villain to do this "avoid the knockout and get pinned anyway" spot.

Like I said, it's more of a hero thing. Struggle back from the mat or the ringside only to be picked off for the deciding fall.