The Beginner's Guide To British Wrestling

[David Mantell]

On 4/12/2015 at 2:23 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

For me the last great Breaks match was the superb carry of Danny Boy Collins in '84, but I freely admit I hold Breaks to pretty high standards. I don't think he ever got bad per se, as I recently watched an early 90s handheld of him, but I prefer Breaks when he has a serious edge to him as opposed to out and out shtick.

Not sure which specific one you mean - there was the one consolation submission in a 2-1 loss in 1983, then after that Collins had Breaks's number all the way.  with a tournament final upset win, the £500 a fall challenge, the title win (off TVat the Royal Albert Hall) a first return match ending in a no contest and finally this bout where Danny puts Breaks out of title contention 

Accent spotting: Ken Joyce gives instructions in a Northamptonshire accent, Breaks responds in a North Yorkshire accent. We hear none of Collins' Bristol accent.

Imagine WrestleWar 89 with Steamboat getting a third win over Flair. Danny pulling off quite a few clever tricks, not quite the "Young Master Of His Craft" but despite being put through hell, he clearly has Breaks' number, although the Crybaby makes him suffer along the way. Opening rounds are about Breaks softening up Collins' arm for the Breaks special and Collins bridging/rolling out of weakeners. Collins drops to the floor to avoid a posting, an old trick of referee Ken Joyce. Collins survives a Breaks special but has his arm dropped on the rope. Collins is slippery as an eel avoiding the Breaks special and setups.  Breaks tries for a folding press but Collins keeps his back curved and shoulders up. Collins gets the opener by applying a victory roll on the mat then converting it into a folding press with bridge.

Breaks continues the arm weakeners and Collins keeps slipping out of them neatly. Breaks switches tack going for headlocks (and hair pulling.) He gets a public warning for dropping Collins' arm on the rope. He tries a backslide but cannot get Collins' shoulders down. The headlock strategy finally gets Breaks an equalising submission.

Breaks tries for a decider with more headwork.  Breaks is badly bleeding from a Collins back elbow. Final decider is interesting with Danny getting as surprise pin on Breaks while he argues with the referee, like Savage on DiBiase at Survivor Series 88 while DiBiase was busy jeering at Hercules. 

Collins had now established his superiority over Breaks and put him out of contention. His next steps in his push  would be a loss and regain with Steve Grey, then beating Jorg Chenok for the European title. Breaks would also become European champion - at lightweight, until another kid from the South West, Peter Bainbridge, came along and gave him more scares in 1987.

 

[David Mantell]

How the Jones/Finlay feud began. (As mentioned on the German Catch thread.

We join the action in progress. Finlay seems to be the clean one trying for a chicken wing while Rigby goes for hair pulling to Walton's disappointment, but we never saw what might have provoked this, or Rigby attacking Finlay on the ropes. Finlay gets the opener in round 5 with his fireman's carry backdrop. It becomes more of a fight in the next round with forearms and the odd illegal punch. Rigby equalises with a cross press. Finlay tries for a full and then a single leg Boston Crab but Rigby keeps ,oving with him to avoid being turned into the hold. The two nearly go over the top rope together, Finlay gives Rigby the final push earning himself a public warning and no count for Rigby. Rigby gets his own public warning for stamping on his fallen opponent. Finlay tries for another fireman's carry but Rigby converts it into a crucifix and further nelson pin attempt for a two count. Finlay gets the decider. Finlay gets a suplex and cross press for the decider, the win and the title.

Jones starts out making a "my pleasure" speech but changes tack, calls Finlay not a worthy winner and passes the belt to MC Brian Crabtree to do the honours. Finlay retorts with a challenge for Jones's World Mid Heavyweight Championship, something he would go on to achieve.

A brawl with a few good technical moves here and there. More OJ's tipple than mine.

 

[David Mantell]

Heel Vs heel with Zoltan as the sympathetic one, but he seems to be okay with Sid's tactics, even shaking hands a fair bit with Sid. Most of the real needle was with referee Max Ward, whom American fans with be APPALLED to note, was far more physically imposing than either wrestler.  This is the opposite of Didier Gapp being a little Hitler to Taylor, Owen, Wright and StClair, this is Max as the voice of authority over two delinquent schoolboys who just want to have their dirty fight in peace. Ward dishes out a first and then a Second And VERY Final Public Warning to Cooper in rapid succession.

At one point Cooper backdrops Zolly over the top of a bending Ward who straightens up and ends up doing the backdrop himself. Cooper annoys Mister Ward by cheekily calling him Max despite being no friend. It gets down to a brawl, but a bloody nosed Zolly eventually gets the one fall required with a cross press.

Sid and Zolly stayed mates and brother heels however, even triple tag teaming with a recently turned Superstar Mal Sanders in 1988 on TV.

[David Mantell]

 

Part of a bout from  Bath Pavillion, late 90s, either All Star or Scot Conway's TWA. Kate , former British Ladies champion in the role of an evil Big Daddy, teaming with 90s heel and former British Tag Team Champion Vic Powers. Opponent is someone called Tommy plus John Harvey the fire eating conjurer bloke who tagged with Danny Colin's in early 90s New Catch (see France thread.) Kate does the dirty with the ring rope on Harvey. Powers attacks Harvey on the floor. Good guys double team Vic, use Kate as á battering ram.  Harvey gets into flying tackle with Powers and Tommy dropkicks Harvey down for a pin. After more shenanigans with Kate's weight used as a weapon by both sides, she splashed Tommy for the equaliser - and there it cuts out.

Fun in a Daddy tag sort of way, not a scientific classic, Kate showing she can hang with the boys. Would like to see the decider and find out how it ends, but there you go.

[David Mantell]

On 10/12/2014 at 10:49 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Bobby Barnes vs. Bob Anthony (5/22/80)

 

Barnes had cut his hair short here but was still a blonde. I guess that means his image change was a slow metamorphosis and not a sudden change. This was a pretty good match actually, especially in the middle rounds where Anthony was staking a claim for a successful return to television. It petered out a bit when Barnes took over in the later rounds and the finish was naff, but Anthony again proved himself capable.

 

Anthony, the son of 1950s star Bob Archer O'Brien gets a surprise opening fall with a bridged folding press in round 2 and spends the next several rounds coming close to two straight falls before getting the rug pulled under him with a missed dropkick Knockout. Good scientific contest, but I'm not surprised OJ din't like the ending! Crowd are unhappy with Barnes accepting the win but he's a heel so it's to be expected.

[David Mantell]

On 9/11/2024 at 9:48 PM, David Mantell said:

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

Pretty good show. Highlight for me was the clean match, in its traditional Bout 4 slot, between Ethan Stone whom we've seen at Dudley before and Mo Talal, a newcomer who looked like World Class era Al Perez and seemed to have a fair chunk of his family at the event in the same section as me. main event was a ten man Royal Rumble, first three bouts before the interval were all blue-eye versus heel, two singles and a tag.  Johnny Storm and Frankie Sloane were on the bill looking a lot older (a tubby middle aged Johnny Storm is quite a sight.) Brody Steele was over from America and there was another good heel Sheik El Shabwho had a fantastic costume.  Hope to find some pics and even video online to share. 

Crowd was about 250. Tony Spitfire was MC, Joe Allmark, introduced as Joseph Dixon, was the referee. The ring has some rather nice new Star Wars style ring aprons, depicting flying through space, stars rushing past. All Star are due back at the venue February 2025, LDN have also been running shows there.

[David Mantell]

9 hours ago, David Mantell said:

The ring has some rather nice new Star Wars style ring aprons, depicting flying through space, stars rushing past.

This isn't last night in Dudley. But it's the new ring apron as mentioned above:

[David Mantell]

An American dirtsheet writer in 1990 singing the praises of British Wrestling of the immediate post TvV era.  A couple of your favourite TBWs like Danny Collins, Kid McCoy and Tony Stewart (Billy Reid) get singled out for particular high praise.

So who was this Tom Burke guy?  A rival for Melzer?

[David Mantell]

Talking of TBWs, here's a nice piece on Gary Welsh aka Gary Clwyd, at the time of his Reslo peak and a TV Star in Wales (and southern/eastern Ireland.)

[PeteF3]

Burke was a results-compiler and I think a photographer, who wrote for the non-Apter/Weston magazines of the late '70s and early '80s. He was a guest several times on Brian Last's old 6:05 Superpodcast. Yes, he did write about the international scene quite a bit, more than just about any other magazine writer, which was an impressive feat with no video tape. I have one magazine around where he has a big write-up on Bert Mychel, of all people.

[David Mantell]

8 hours ago, PeteF3 said:

Brian Last's old 6:05 Superpodcast.

THHEEEE MOTHERSHIP?

Jim Cornette's sidekick, I presume.

[David Mantell]

 

 

From 2003 at the Victoria Hall in Hanley. Mike Gilbert aka Mikey Whiplash Vs Dean Allmark - future World Heavy Middleweight Champion versus future British champion in all three top weight divisions (Heavyweight, Mid Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight).  Two of the then new generation of All Star talent rescued from the wreckage of Staffordshire garbage promotion GBH (shut down by the local council in 2000) and retrained as old school British wrestlers alongside Robbie Dynamite (Berzins), Kid Cool and Playboy Johnny Midnight.  Deano is also the dad of current All Star proprietor Joseph Dixon (grandson of Brian) .  This is also some of the earliest footage available of Allmark's then wife Laetitia (daughter of Brian and Mitzi Mueller, child star of various TV news items on Mitzi, see earlier in thread) as an MC. Whiplash has a crewcut and is not yet doing his Chippendale gimmick.

Bout starts off technical, both men reversing each others armbars, Whiplash using a cartwheel for one escape and eventually a nifty suplex to take things to the mat. Deano as blue eye works the crowd like James Mason before him and Robbie Brookside & Doc Dean even before that. Round ends with Whiplash working and ankle lock. Round 2, Allmark works over Whiplash's arm, whiplash gets to ankle lock from round 1 but Allmark spins him off.

Round 3 and Allmark fires off some kickboxing kicks and a monkey climb. Whiplash gets some 2 counts with a fireman's carry takedown  Whiplash uses the ropes to pin Allmark but the referee spots it so he fall is disallowed and Whiplash gets a public warning.  Round 4 Whiplash tries a powerbomb but Allmark converts it into a reverse victory roll and folding press opening pin! He nearly gets a second straight with a roll up from behind as Whiplash is arguing with fans. Dean tries a sunset flip but Whiplash puts his knees down and holds the ropes for a second dodgy pinfall, but again the ref sees him and he now has two public warnings instead of two pinfalls. Round 6 Whiplash gets a leg caught in the ropes and Allmark bounces him on the rope. Allmark gets a reverse top rope splash but only a 2 count.

Same again with an inverted flying bodypress.   The two clash heads, Deano stays down, Mikey struggles but fails to get up, bout is declared a Double Knockout. The referee declared Dean winner 2-1 on account of his earlier fall in Round 4. Whiplash protests but the ref, Laetitia and the crowd are emphatic. Allmark offers Whiplash one more round for a £50 side stake. Whiplash goes to get some cash, but doesn't return so Allmark's music plays and he steps out onto the stage.  Whiplash turns up with the money just as Deano is at the back of the stage, the bell rings and Deano scores a running dive across the stage and over the ropes to pin a furious Whiplash and take the cash.

Good blue-eye versus heel action bout from a time when rounds were just about hanging on in there. A war with rival Scot Conway's TWA had forced Brian Dixon to regenerate his product from the dark days of 1997-2001 with the UK Undertaker and Big Red Machine into a hot new home for new stars.

 

 

 

 

[David Mantell]

On 1/1/2016 at 12:27 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

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.

 

From the same venue 17 years earlier before Health And Safety banned fans from sitting on the stage leaving it free for the promoter to project nice swirly lighting patterns on it.

Some background - in early '86 Wayne Bridges had a real life disagreement with Brian Dixon and walked from All Star, taking his ball - or rather his red/white/blue World Heavyweight title belt he beat Jim Harris to win at Wembley '81- with him. All Star still had the original black belt first claimed by Spiros Arion in 1979 so held a tournament on All Star's TV show on Screensport (their audition forca share of ITV coverage.). StClair beat notorious Kendo Nagasaki impersonator Bill King Kendo Clarke, Quinn beat Johnny South and we were left with this final.

We join in progress.  Quinn doesn't particularly work the British style, he is soon getting a public warning from referee Frank Casey (recently kayfabe-suspended due to complaints from viewers about him being too lenient on villains.). StClair gets a 2 count with a missile dropkick.  Quinn throws him out but rather than try taking to KO win, follows him out and hits him with a (rather comfy-looking plush) chair. A heavily juiced StClair stumbles back into the ring but Quinn works on him with closed fist punches. What with that and the chairshot, I'm beginning to think the anti Frank Casey letter writers had a point. StClair fights back a bit but Quinn nails him with a Duthty bionic elbow and undoes a corner pad and bangs StClair into it. Chuckle Brothers on commentary are going crazy and so is the crowd. StClair still fights back, brother Roy is in his corner and he slams and cross presses Quinn for two. Quinn kicks StClair down, Casey inspects the cut and awards the bout and the belt to Quinn on a TKO. Quinn and StClair continue to have potshots at each other as Roy and a second (in green) tend to Tony. The ring is under siege from fans as Quinn puts the belt on. Chuckle Brother #1 Max Beezely, later an MC on ITV's All Star bouts gets in the ring for a French Catch style post match interview which cuts off before it starts.

Apparently this was the kind of envelope pushing stuff supporters of the Indies loved but the IBA would have blown a fuse over.  Quinn and StClair did have their wild brawl on ITV a year later when they were both DDQ'd and left Kendo Nagasaki and Neil Sands to finish a tag bout as a solo contest, but at least that time, the referee was able to assert control. Clearly Brian Dixon needed a good filter if he was going to stay on ITV once he got a slice of it.

 

[David Mantell]

Congrats to new All Star Superslam- and therefore Mountevans British Heavyweight - Champion Mickey Long who beat Oliver Grey for the title at The Woodville in Gravesend on Monday night Oct 28th (just two days after I saw him wrestle in Dudley.)

[David Mantell]

I sang the praises of McGregor and Riley's classic clean bout from 1984 and I believe they had another just as good in about 1987. Here they tag up as sacrificial lambs to @ohtani's jacket's favourite UK heel team, The Rockers, doing a British version of Les Blousons Noirs with Charlie McGee dressed as a fat Hells Angel (in the tradition of his inspiration Captain Lou Albano dressing up a a Samoan/Moondogs/Japanese etc).

The Rockers were being prepped at the time for a big FA Cup Final downfall against Big Daddy (partnered by Mick McMichael) so Nipper and the TBW with the same name as the chairman of the National Coal Board during the Miners Strike at this time were cast as jobbers to the stars.  Even so, they put up a great fight, get an opening fall lead until the bad guys start dropping their weight on McGregor's knee a lot to earn themselves an equalising submission (single leg Boston Crab), some public warnings and work in progress on a deciding fall.  McGregor fights back with a double monkey climb, but the villains double slam him, leaving them both on second and final public warning. Riley shouts out for McGregor to tag but another leg submission finishes him. Crowd are furious, singing "what a load of rubbish" (another one from the football stands). McGee barks out a challenge to Daddy and McMichael - the clip cuts out but I believe they did come to ringside. A week later Daddy got his win although Danny Collins' European title win over Jorg Chenok was the real story that day.

Sadly not long after, the Rockers were returning from a bout when they had a car crash in which Tommy Lorne died.  LaPaque would later form a New Rockers with Hit Man Hobbs who were still together in the early 90s - I saw them on All Star shows in Croydon at the time.

 

[David Mantell]

On 8/24/2015 at 1:01 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Johnny Saint vs. Kung Fu (Porthmadog, taped 1988)

 

Another decent, pared-down Johnny Saint match. Paring back his style may take some of the charm away from Saint, but it's allowed me to focus on how good he was mechanically. I do think Saint vs. Kung Fu in their primes would have been interesting. I don't know if it would have necessarily been good, but it would have been interesting.

Joined in progress, so perhaps Saint did more of his trademarks earlier on. However we quickly get a decent Johnny Saint ball with an arm offered that turns into a cross buttock throw and a feet first landing from a throw of Fu's.  

Hamill does a great side headlock bounce of the ropes into a sunset flip for a 2 count,  Saint rolls out backwards and goes for a folding press but Kung F double ankles him and Saint cartwheels back upright.

It ends when Saint is thrown and rolls back in a folding press predicament. Hamill takes the bait and grabs his legs but it turns out to be a trap for Saint to score the folding press with bridge pinfall of his own. 

[David Mantell]

Again from Victoria Hall, Hanley 16th June 2000. Three years before Dean Allmark Vs Mikey Whiplash and 14 years after Mighty John Quinn Vs Tony StClair.  Kendo Nagasaki's "Millennium Comeback" was one of the bright spots of All Star's 1997-2001 dip period when Brian Dixon was supplementing his income with a sideline in male stripshows (the behaviour of female punters at which he later described as "the biggest education [he] ever had in [his] life.") and the shows were mostly headlined by the UK Undertaker and the Big Red Machine. A dead giveaway about the historical context is the signs saying "JABRONI" and "SUCK IT!" betraying that, somewhere else in the world, the WWF Attitude Era is in full throttle mode.

A month earlier, longtime traditional British wrestling phoneline Wrestlecall held a poll for Wrestler Of The Millennium which Naggers duly won. A trophy ceremony took place at the same Victoria Hall Hanley. For starters, Kendo was late according to manager Lloyd Ryan, then Tony Walsh's son Darren turned up with a note from former World Mid Heavyweight Champion Marty Jones protesting Kendo's poll win. This ended in an argument between Walsh and Ryan and eventual fisticuffs , at which point Kendo finally turned up, salt-bombed and Kamikaze Crashed Walsh and then finally got presented with his trophy.

Fast forward to this evening. There was originally a whole long bit at the start (which I've got on VHS)  where Lloyd Ryan was supposed to be the Tag Partner but his arm was supposedly broken so MC Gordon Prior had to go back to the dressing room to find another tag partner. Vic Powers got the gig. Cue the start of this video.

The first fall goes by without Kendo tagging in - Powers (whose brother Phil I saw live in Dudley back in the spring) has an even time with Walsh but is completely dominated by Jones. The crowd have completely forgiven Jones for his past eight years since 1992  as a heel (road tested in Germany 1990 as we have seen on the German Catch thread.). Jones taunts Naggers to tag in to no avail. Eventually Walsh gets the opening pin on Powers. Lloyd Ryan is furious claiming that there has been an illegal tag but the referee has none of it. A brief ringside brawl starts and the heels retreat to the dressing room but are coaxed back. Kendo gets a public warning for a weapon used in the brawl.

Walsh misses an aerial spot and after stomping him on the mat. Powers finally tags in Naggers. Kendo kicks Walsh around on the mat.flings him to ringside, VICIOUSLY whacks him with a chair and coffee table and whips him with a tag rope. The referee, for reasons out of camera shot, gives Jones a public warning.  Walsh is dragged back in the ring and double teamed. Even Lloyd joins in with his cast. Kendo finishes off Walsh for the equaliser with an old time combination of his, a backdrop and splash cross press pin.  Jones finally has enough, knocking out the ref (he's still a heel at heart.) attacks Kendo from behind, gets him on the floor and has a go at the mask. He pitches Powers out of the ring and beats down on an interfering Lloyd Ryan. While he is outside doing this. Kendo revives the referee then locks up with Walsh, at which point the ring collapses!  Kendo does a sort of belly to belly suplex and a slam on Walsh for the decider.

Needless to say Jones is unhappy, he and Kendo throw furniture at each other before Kendo leaves, chased away by Jones with a corner pad. Jones, aggrieved, demands a singles bout with Kendo  where if he doesn't beat and unask Kendo, hecwill burn his boots and retire.  No idea what happened next, but the Millennium Comeback continued another 18 months until December 2001 and Kendo's third retirement and only formal retirement match.

It's not very scientific but if @ohtani's jacket likes a good brawl, he'll love this one.  Very cod ECW hardcore of its time (Kendo was a fan).

 

[David Mantell]

On 8/31/2024 at 11:00 PM, David Mantell said:

Quote

On 5/26/2015 at 5:35 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Dave Finlay & Skull Murphy vs. Boston Blackie & Gary Clwyd (Caernarfon, taped 4/6/90)

 

Really fun bout. Finlay was back to his early 80s best for this Riot Squad tag bumping and stooging his ass off. Murphy wasn't quite as good as he had been in the 80s, but the magic was still there in terms of the Riot Squad. Such an underrated tag team. The fact that people are oblivious to this facet of Finlay's career is something that ought to be rectified as he ought to have a better reputation as a tag wrestler than he does (which is presuming that he doesn't have any reputation as a tag wrestler, unless people thought he was good in TV tags in the WWE). Even Regal kind of has a rep with the Blue Bloods and he Riot Squad fucking annihilate the Blue Bloods; I mean, who are Boston Blackie and Gary Clwyd? I saw Clwyd the other day in a boy's bout, but here they looked like a badass babyface tag team. Do you know how hard that is to do in British wrestling -- to look badass as babyface tag team? The Riot Squad deserve more attention.

In Britain, Finlay and Murphy were certainly NOT under-rated, they were a respected heel team and this whole reunion run was a big deal. ( Regarding the Blue Bloods, I think you're confusing having a rep with having had an American career.)

Finlay took Tony StClair's British Heavyweight title around this time and Blackie was being touted as a hot challenger. Clwyd as we've discussed got an extended push as a promising young Welsh lad and TV star in Wales and Southern ROI through Reslo. He clocked up some 14 Reslo appearances, often as a lighter partner in peril to the stars - Blackie here, Orig The Promoter, Flesh Gordon, possibly even Pat Roach. Had Big Daddy done more than the one Reslo bout (and not brought his own in house tag partner Scot Valentine and in house heels Dr Death and Count Von Zuppi).

The Squad get the 2-1 win here. I'm reminded how Kent Walton said tag matches could be either a great technical match or a great fight.  This was one of the latter.  Murphy gets a gator hold for a submission but otherwise it's the villains beating down on Clwyd and occasionally get hit back by Blackie. One of the lightweight plastic crowd barriers becomes a weapon of retaliation by Blackie and I don't blame the referee for not responding, it ranks alongside Big Daddy wielding a plastic bucket for an ineffective comedy weapon and the bucket was light relief.

I believe Finlay and Murphy went on to have a heel Vs heel match with Kendo Nagasaki and Blondie Barrett which sounds fun.

 

Not long either side, the Riot Squad get another big Reslo bout -with Paula as part of the package. In this case against the promoter and the guy who everyone in America thinks is the greatest legend of British Wrestling ever. Mainly because they've heard of him.  Given this fuss over Lord Steven Vs the Belfast Bruiser in the 90s, this bout is important as it's the only professionally shot footage of Fit Finlay and Steve Regal facing off in an Old School British ring.

The good guys come to the ring to a pub knees-up version of a patriotic Welsh anthem.  Regal is announced as Steve Jones (not the Sex Pistol.)  Despite his notorious ego, Orig takes a backseat and lets Regal shine here. The Welsh Big Daddy, El Bandito sells extensively for Finlay before tagging in Regal who handles the opponents nicely until they start double teaming. He fights back, tags Orig who copes nicely until being caught in a Murphy Boston Crab with Finlay providing extra leverage. The patriotic Welsh hero submits on his own Welsh wrestling TV show! El Bandito's woes continue in the second fall until he resorts to brawling his way out of trouble with a plastic roadworks crowd safety barrier. This does allow Regal to come in and take over with a backdrop and flying body press on Finlay for the equaliser, causing Colonel Brody - in drum majorette getup- to storm to ringside to protest the antics of the kid he bashed in but failed to kill in Blackpool all those years before. Regal continues to dominate Finlay until Brody gets him in the back with his baton.  This doesn't injure Regal but it distracts him enough for Finlay to get him from behind with a Tombstone piledriver for the winner. Orig protests loudly in Welsh and he and Regal are joined by Boston Blackie, Doc Dean and Tracey Kemp to confront  Finlay, Murphy, Brody and Paula with the blue eyes having a one man advantage.

Short action packed, not especially scientific but I expect both Regal and Finlay included this match in their promotional packages they would send to WWF and WCW every few months in the early 90s, leading to this:

 

 

[David Mantell]

RIP Brian Maxine.

 

[David Mantell]

On 10/30/2024 at 3:04 PM, David Mantell said:

Congrats to new All Star Superslam- and therefore Mountevans British Heavyweight - Champion Mickey Long who beat Oliver Grey for the title at The Woodville in Gravesend on Monday night Oct 28th (just two days after I saw him wrestle in Dudley.)

Poor old Oliver Grey isn't having much luck lately.  While I was in Dudley watching Mickey Long in action. to whom Grey would lose his "Superslam" (Mountevans British Heavyweight) Championship  on Monday Oct 28th, Grey himself that same Sat night, under his alias Joel Redman, also lost the semifinal for a British title for his Salisbury based ASW South training school promotion for All Star to former student gone heel Brandon Lee who apparently wrestles for OVW as EC3. Not a particularly technical bout (something Grey/Redman is good at) but pretty action packed for the eight minutes it lasts.  Ring announcer is old time legend Lee Bamber, the guy in the golden jacket from ITV In 1988.

 

 

[David Mantell]

https://www.facebook.com/bobbyandkeef/videos/1237645530840673 

UPDATE: NOW ON YOUTUBE!!!

From the height of All Star's Kendo-led post TV boom - Wolverhampton 12th February 1991, Kendo Nagasaki and regular partner Blondie Barrett face Giant Haystacks and The Headhunter who I thought was Skull Murphy but turns out to have been future Legend Of Doom Johnny South, nominally still a heel at this point.  Indeed Stax and South earned their place in this bout as heels beating Tony StClair and Steve Regal, while Kendo and Bob beat Steve Adonis and Robbie Brookside in the other semifinal of this four team knockout tournament, possibly by hypnotizing Robbie again. Stax HATED being the blue eye but against Nagasaki he had very little choice.

Stax starts off against Barrett but flicks him out of the ring and advances slowly and menacingly on Kendo on the ring apron.  Kendo gets down to help his partner, Stax taunts them before challenging South.

Blondie and South is a pretty even match but South is in trouble when Naggers tags in and worse when Kendo and Barrett start the double teaming. Haystacks makes several failed attempts to tag in. When he succeeds, Blondie goes out on the apron and he and Kendo look at each other as if to say "Well it's not my go, is it yours?" An infuriated Stax drags in legal man Barrett for a good working over before tagging back South who after a few attempts (mostly broken up by Kendo) pins Barrett for the opener with a long vertical suplex a la Ric Flair.

Nagasaki and Barrett only finally regain the advantage when Kendo attacks South with The Bell on the timekeeper's table. This was about as hardcore as British Wrestling got back then and @ohtani's jacket is an example of what was NOT allowed on TV although Kendo often did this spot on untelevised shows and even on the Mick McManus VHS. It earns the team a second and final public warning (this being a 1KO match, PWs and DQs applied to a whole team.) but softens up South for Kendo to cross press him for the equaliser.

After loads of false starts, Stax gets the tag but then goes on the rampage, hits the referee and blasts Kendo with his own salt to get himself and South DQd and leave Kendo and Barrett the winners. Stax guillotines Barrett and challenges Nagasaki to a singles match as the crowd roar their RAGE that top hel Kendo got away with it again. Months later in Croydon we got Stax and Kendo solo - on TV!

Again OJ, note the DQ finish and how it leaves the fans in ENRAGED heat just like the TKO with Der Henker in 1970. No dissatisfaction with the "cheap" finish, just pure unadulterated HEAT!!! How It Should Be Done.

[ohtani's jacket]

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Brain Goldbelt Maxine. 86 is a fair old knock, though. 

[David Mantell]

I've sung the praises of Benjamin Stone on here in the past. Here he truly gets put to the test. Nearly three decades ago. James Mason was a nervous young blond TBW when Simon Garfield interviewed him for his book. A year or so later he was World Middleweight champion for Rumble Promotions. Since then he's been a double crown British and European Heavyweight Champion, represented Britain in Michinoku Pro, TNA and WWE from whom he beat MVP in 2008.

Stone comes in with a heel attitude and does at one point do a foul tangling a hammerlock in the ropes. Otherwise it's very much a technical match with some complex reversal sequences involving reversing Japanese strangle holds, including forming a surfboard .

Despite Stone's attitude the two shake hands after the bout despite some needle therein. Very much like 60s/70s French Catch where Les Bons et Les Mechants showed similar interaction, often despite tactics which had just been usedin the ring.

Good modern classic.

[David Mantell]

Me recently on the French thread:

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I seem to recall Mychell was on World Of Sport a couple of years later, I shall have to look it up.

 

Okay. Here it is.  The crowd give Mychell a polite response and a mixture of cheers and jeers to Bruno (whose hair and beard are not yet blond.). Apparently he was previously on ITV  in 1971 but I can't find any record of it on @JNLister's site.  They shake hands. Bert works on escaping Bruno's armlocks including rollouts, a headscissor and a double cross of a test of strength, If anything Mychell is being more provocative, using a forearm to floor Bruno for a headlock.Bruno coverts it neatly to a hammerlock, Mychell tries to scissor but Bruno folds his legs up. However down on the mat, Bert upturns itt into a cross press. Bruno rolls over but it goes to the ropes. Bert has another armbars but Bruno converts it to top wristlock then a wristlever of his own. Bruno forearms Bert into the ropes then tries to hammerlock Jim round a rope, which gets him heat. He gets a headlock into cross buttock throw but Bert uncorks his head in gradual pulls a la Johnny Saint.  Mychell gets Bruno with a foream as the bell rings then starts a wrist lever but ref Tony Mancelli stops it.

Kent tells us Bert wrestled for Belgium at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, coming Fourth, turned pro 1966 and has represented Belgium internationally at Judo and GR. Round 2 and Bert gets a single leg Boston Crab which Bruno powers down to a toehold by Bert. Mychell gets the leg again, drops an elbow, stands back for a count, gets caught in a front chancery but breaks out to get the leg again then the other keg then a sit down splash. Bruno gets up and tries bodychecks. Mychell goes for a dropkick. He goes for the beard but the ref stops him, they shake hands. Bruno uses firearms to get counts. Bert is thrown from the ring. Bruno uses forearms and tries to hold down Bert but the bell goes.

Round 3 starts with forearms and tests of strength.  Bruno uses closed fists on the ropes and gets a public warning. Bert has Bruno in the ropes but Mancelli stops it.   Bruno repeatedly flooring Bert with forearms.  Bert gets a double arm but Bruno goes for the ropes. A Bert armbars takes Bruno over and Bert has an extra twist on just. Bruno gets headscissors, they roll in to the ropes. The bell goes but they brawl on. 

Round 4 -Bert gets a backbreaker and hammerlock on the mat. A snapmares and spinning foot follow up. Ellington gets a backslide for the only required fall. No, they didn't shake hand at the end heedless of all the fouls Elrington did to Mychell. This ain't France.

An old school wrestler deals with a giant with some skill.

 

 

[David Mantell]

On 11/22/2024 at 5:37 AM, David Mantell said:

Apparently he was previously on ITV  in 1971 but I can't find any record of it on @JNLister's site. 

It seems to have actually happened in 1969:

S 22/3/69, Trowell (taped 18/3/69)

Mick McManus (RSF) v Ted Heath

Dory Dixon (W) v Steve Haggetty

Bert Mychel (1) v Barry Douglas (1)

 

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In other news - SCROLL BACK UP to the 1991 Nagasaki and Blondie Barrett Vs Giant Haystacks and Johnny South match - it is now on YouTube!!!