French catch

[Pulici76]

Thanks to everybody, all very useful tips.

@ohtani's jacket I read a review you posted about a match featuring Pasquale Giusto, is that link still available by any chance?

Cheers!

[ohtani's jacket]

Segunda Caida reviews and releases the matches on a weekly basis. I don't think they're up to the Giusto match yet. They should get there soon as they're up to 1965 and I think the match you're asking about is from 1966. 

[Pulici76]

Ok, thanks a lot, really looking forward to it. , thanks a lot, really looking forward to it. Most of the italian guys where emigrants with little connection with their homeland, but Angelo Giusto actually lived in Rome, if I'm not mistaken. He worked in some movies (he laid out and officiated an in-movie comedy match) and even helped martial artist Agostino Moroni in his attempt to bring Italian wrestling back to life in the early eighties, something I've discovered only a few weeks ago   

[ohtani's jacket]

Jimmy Dula/Jean Martin vs. Monsieur Montreal/Leon Minisini (aired 11/16/62)

I was kind of dreading this when I saw it was 46 minutes long, but it ended up being one of the better tags in the Archive. Jean Martin was a revelation. He was fun in that Bernieres match we caught the end of, but he looked like a Wrestling God here. Look at what he had to work with here -- Jimmy Dula being goofy and weird and a couple of wise guy babyfaces. Martin was brilliant and carried the match with his unparalleled showmanship and phenomenal brawling. Martin and Montreal had one of the all-time great brawl exchanges in this match. Probably the best manchette contest we've seen so far. Sleeper match this. I can't think of a tag I liked better than this. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Bob Elandon & Albert Falaux vs. Rene Caballec & Gilbert Puydebat (aired 2/23/63)

This was an old Bob ALPRA upload, but it's worth watching Bob's uploads in context. I'm assuming this was before Elandon started doing the N'Boa the Snakeman gimmick. He was a strange looking dude but a great heel. His partner, Falaux, grew on me throughout the bout as a nifty heel technician. I'm pretty sure Falaux appears later on in the footage. I know Caballec does. If you can concentrate on the bout, there are a lot of great exchanges. However, as with most catch tags, the rhythm is strange. The match goes two out of three falls to a finish, but that's all it does. If you don't care about that sort of thing then there a plenty of neat moments. I enjoyed it a lot after two months of not watching any Catch. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Le Grand Vladimir vs. Bernard Vignal (aired 5/16/64)

Vlad was younger and fitter here. His gimmick has been done better by other wrestlers, but I feel on the right night against the right opponent he could have produced something heated and fun.

Les Copains (Dan Aubriot/Bob Plantin) vs. Blousons Noirs (Manuel Manneveau/Claude Gessat) (aired 5/16/64)

Manneveau has one of the best moustaches in wrestling history. Just throwing that out there. He's a tremendous showman and deserving of a prominent place in the French Rogues Gallery. What I like about the Blousons Noirs is that the quiet one, Claude Gessat, is also the most vicious and nasty. Nice to see our friend, Bob Plantin. This wasn't new, but it still holds up well as one of the better matches in the blur of 60s tag matches. 

Arabet Said/Abdel Kader vs. Pierre Bernaert/Marcel Manneveau (aired 1/10/65)

Bernaert and Manneveau is an interesting pairing. This had a lot of comic stooging from both guys. There was some decent wrestling here and there, but... the rhythm. I hate to keep harping on about it, but these tag matches had no rhythm whatsoever. It's almost as though you're watching three premiere manch stringed together. You could join this match at any point and think you're in the first fall. And I don't really understand the need to have each fall the same length. This wasn't a bad match, but it could have been a brilliant one if it had been paced differently. I really liked the breakdown in teamwork between Bernaert and Manneaveau late in the match, so I'll end this on a positive note. 

 

[Phil Lions]

I just posted all 232 show line-ups that I have from Paris in 1959 over on Wrestling Classics. In case anyone wants to take a look, they're here:

Cards: Paris, France (1959)



 

[ohtani's jacket]

Robert Duranton vs. Gilbert Leduc (aired 1/15/65)

This wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The first 10 minutes had some decent grappling. If they had built on that until the tempers flared and they began throwing manchettes, then the match would have been perfectly fine. It was when the valet got involved that it became unnecessarily silly. If Firmin's interference had been memorable in any sort of way, it may have been a different story, but it wasn't executed very well and spoiled the match. It would have made more sense to me if Duranton had unleashed a more vicious attack on Leduc similar to the beatings we've seen Leduc take in the past, or if it had led to a stirring comeback from Leduc. Instead, it was a limp disqualification. But the work itself wasn't that bad. Duranton brought his wrestling boots and clearly didn't want to be shown up by Leduc. Leduc didn't look as good as he did in the 50s, but very few wrestlers from the 50s look good in 60s footage for reasons I have yet to figure out. Forgettable match but nothing that really bugged me. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Abe Ginsberg & John Foley vs. Rene Ben Chemoul & Gilbert Cesca (aired 2/28/65)

This was one of the earliest matches made from the archives. Back then it was a rare gem. Now it's possible to watch it with more of a critical eye. Ginsberg stars in one of my favorite WoS matches of all-time, and he's one of dozens of British guys I'd like to see more from. It's hard to tell Ginsberg and Foley apart at times, and of course Couderc refers to them as Americans, which leads to a funny exchange at the end of the bout where Foley tells Couderc he's going to the American Embassy to complain about the French ref. The match itself is a series of heel double team spots vs. heel face-in-peril spots. They switch between the two like clockwork. There's some entertaining stuff, but apparently no-one in Europe had heard of Southern style tag wrestling with its heat segments, hope spots, and hot tags. They don't even utilize the manchettes very often. It's kind of frustrating in a way because every time Cesca enters the ring, I'm interested in seeing how he matches up one on one with either Foley or Ginsberg, but he does a few spots and tags out to Ben Chemoul, who is a lukewarm tag in this. Likewise, the Black Diamonds never take over for any extended stretch of time, so we don't get to see the depth of their heel work. It's a good match despite all that, but I'm itching for a really hot French tag. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Rene Ben Chemoul/Gilbert Cesca vs.. Inca Peruano/Anton Tejero (aired 3/12/65)

This was another of the original French catch matches. I thought this was far more entertaining than the Black Diamonds match largely because of the Peruvian style lucha that Peruano and Tejero brought to the match. When this first appeared, we were stumped trying to figure out how to spell the Peruvians' names. Now we know that Peruano was a mainstay of late 50s Catch and that Tejero was a regular up until the 1980s. Peruano was brilliant in this match. He made Cesca and Ben Chemoul look sensational. Seriously, this was Ben Chemoul at his very best. This is the Ben Chemoul that Couderc adored and who entertained him so much. And honestly, it was largely because Peruano was such an amazing foil. He didn't show any of his personality from earlier matches. It was straight workrate, but it lit a fire under the babyfaces and elevated them beyond a lot of their other tag match performances. There was more structure to this as well with the Peruvians utilizing more Southern style tag tropes. It wasn't a large match in scale, but it was brisk, energetic and highly entertaining. 

Pat O‘Connor vs. Roger Delaporte (aired 3/14/65)

Grandpa Delaporte vs. Belgian Pat O'Connor was more entertaining than I thought it would be. It didn't really amount to much, but it was funny. Delaporte proved once again that he was a master of the form. 

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Cheri Bibi vs. Mr. Montreal (aired 4/9/65) 

This was perfectly fine. So long as both guys are moving forward and striking each other, Bibi matches are generally fine, and this was no exception.

Roger Delaporte vs. Warnia de Zarzecki (aired 4/9/65)

This was solid. Delaporte did his grandpa shtick at the beginning, but when de Zarzecki pulled some whiskers from Roger's moustache, Roger fired back with a vicious beatdown. It was cool seeing that side of Delaporte again. He got de Zarzecki so riled up that he attacked Roger and the ref after the bout. Delaporte's singles matches are much more entertaining than Bollet's, and Delaporte was great with other tag partners as well, so I think he should have gone in as a solo representative on the WON HOF ballot.

[ohtani's jacket]

Rene Ben Chemoul/Gilbert Cesca vs. Teddy Boys (Adolphe Sevre/Robert Le Boulch) (aired 5/9/65)

This was part of the original Bob ALPRA collection, and I have to say it's aged pretty well. I'm not sure I buy Robert Le Boulch as a "Teddy Boy," but he's wildly entertaining as a bumping, stooging heel. Teddy Sevre is at least a younger looking man, and more vicious in his approach. There was a nice rhythm to this match, and I enjoyed the ebb and flow. I'm not a huge fan of Rene Ben Chemoul's showboating style, but he provided a nice contrast to the workmanlike style of Gilbert Cesca. Cesca is solid, but it's pretty clear that he wasn't a great worker. Certainly not based on the expectations we had from the original Cesca/Catanzaro match. He tends to be invisible in some of these tags, but I kept an eye on him in this one and he was a capable hand throughout. I thought they might go off the air without a finish here, but it wasn't the case. I still don't really understanding the pacing of French tags. The first fall was incredibly long, and the second two were tacked on in rapid succession, but I don't think it hurt the match here. Good match.

[ohtani's jacket]

Gilbert Leduc/Claude Montourcy vs. Karl von Kramer/Robert Gastel  (aired 5/26/65)

This was a little run-of-the-mill to start with but turned into quite the spectacle. The first half mostly involved the faces embarrassing the heels to the delight of the crowd. Naturally, there's only so much embarrassment that heels will tolerate. That's when things to start to escalate, and where they can get out of control. And that's what happened here. Suddenly, this violent brawl erupted. Von Kramer was knocked out, and Gastel was forced to continue the match on his own. Rather than submit meekly to his opponents, Gastel fought and headbutted his way back into the match. He bust Montourcy open in a rare display of blood on French TV, and kept fighting like a wounded animal against Leduc. One of the more exciting finishes to a French match. It turned the bout on its head and totally changed the dynamic, and the tone, of what they had been doing. Early on, von Kramer excelled in the early action, but the final two falls were a reminder that this man Gastel could brawl. Memorable bout, for sure. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Armand Zarpa/ Luc Straub vs. Marcel Manneveau/Pierre Bernaert (aired 7/2/65)

Nothing flashy about this one. In fact, it felt closer to straight pro-wrestling than French Catch. The work was solid, and you could tell that everyone involved was a decent worker, but Zarpa and Straub weren't the most charismatic of babyfaces, and for some reason this was the least showy that Manneveau has been. Bernaert also stayed inside his shell. Which isn't to say the match was boring. It just didn't have the heat, or the wild and flashy moments, you expect from Catch. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Iska Khan vs. Jean Gasparini (aired 7/11/65)

This reminded me of those World of Sport bouts between a good worker and a showcase star. In this case, Khan was the showcase star. His style of working didn't really mesh with French Catch, but there was already guys doing judoka gimmicks and he was exotic enough that the crowd could accept a different style of wrestling .I guess the fact that he was a babyface was different from the norm in terms of Asian representation in this era. There's nothing about the match that doesn't scream "prelim bout," but I guess Khan is treated better than the Asian heels of the day. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Luc Straub vs. Giacomo Guglielmetti (aired 7/11/65)

This was mostly two guys wearing each other down with holds. I have a higher tolerance for that than most since I'm more in the "wrestling as sport" camp than "wrestling as narrative," but even I have to admit that the match could have done with a bit more urgency. It was a gentleman's contest, so I guess they were reluctant to throw too many forearms, but I don't agree with the psychology of waiting until the final minute to pick up the pace. Guglielmetti was tall and lanky, and you got the feeling that he could tie a guy in knots. If Straub had been more charisma, the bout may have been better. Even when Straub fired shots, it didn't seem like he was fired up enough. That's a lot of nitpicking for a decent bout, but that's my take on it. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Rene Ben Chemoul & Gilbert Cesca vs. Anton Tejero & Pancho Zapata (aired 7/18/65)

This was a nice blend of cocky babyface moves and retaliatory heel work. Couderc certainly enjoyed it as he kept laughing and singing random songs. It was hard to get a gauge on how good Zapata was, as he was mostly stooging for the babyfaces, but he was entertaining in that role and sold beautifully. I liked the part where he threw Cesca back into his corner after the heels won the first fall. Later on, he had took a big bump off a missed dive, and sold the babyfaces' punches like he was Terry Funk. The rest of the performances weren't eye-opening, but one thing I liked about the bout is that they worked a normal three-fall progression. It wasn't a great match, but it had a definite three act structure unlike something of these Catch matches where the falls are uneven lengths and the rhythm feels off. Zapata was the highlight. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Juan Botana vs. Yanek Fryziuk (aired 7/25/65)

At some point in the mid-60s, Jean Fryziuk started going by the name of Yanek Fryziuk (possibly meant to be Janek Fryziuk), but he was still recognizable by those amazing punches. And boy did Botana make for a fantastic punching bag. This looked like a barrel of fun. Fryziuk is great. 

[strobogo]

I'm convinced 80% of moves used today were invented in French catch in the 50s/60s. I've seen Asai DDTs, Roll of the Dice/CrossRhodes, ganso bombs, missile dropkicks, Hiromu's DVD stampede, multiple powerbomb variations, multiple ranas and frankensteiners, saw a bulldog driver and snapmare driver, superkicks

[Matt D]

2 minutes ago, strobogo said:

I'm convinced 80% of moves used today were invented in French catch in the 50s/60s. I've seen Asai DDTs, Roll of the Dice/CrossRhodes, ganso bombs, missile dropkicks, Hiromu's DVD stampede, multiple powerbomb variations, multiple ranas and frankensteiners, saw a bulldog driver and snapmare driver, superkicks

What have been some of your favorite wrestlers, matches, teams, etc?

[strobogo]

21 minutes ago, Matt D said:

What have been some of your favorite wrestlers, matches, teams, etc?

Since I don't know any of the names I really haven't been paying attention to much beyond the creativity in moves and how modern it all feels. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Rene Ben Chemoul & Gilbert Cesca vs. Pierre Lagache & M'Boaba (aired 10/3/65)

Bob Elandon was good enough that he didn't have to do the M'Boaba gimmick, but I guess someone thought there was money in it, or thought there was money in other guys doing similar gimmicks like The Wildman of Borneo and Masambula. To me, the worst part of the gimmick, aside from the fact that it was clearly racist, is that it reduced Elandon to being a generic heel brawler devoid of any of the flair of French catch. I didn't have a problem with the crowd getting behind the babyfaces. I'm sure there was a racial element to it, but the heels did cheat and they did give Ben Chemoul an illegal working over. We've see French crowds get triggered by heel performance before, so I don't think there was anything untoward about the Cirque d'Hiver getting so animated (especially when they kept cutting to the same couple of fans.) The commentary was bad, for sure, but the in-ring stuff wasn't outrageous. I would have been more disturbed if Ben Chemoul had spent the entire bout being a smartarsed babyface and making M'Boaba look like a dumb savage. The most intriguing thing about the bout was how Lagache kept plugging away and doing his thing. He ended up getting some decent heel heat, as well, which is another thing that suggests that this wasn't entirely racial. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Roger Delaporte & Andre Bollet vs. Warnia de Zarzecki & Mr. Montreal (aired 12/12/65)

Boring match. The Delaporte/Bollet magic just wasn't there anymore. Worst of all, they kept it going for 40 minutes. I kept waiting for a flurry of excitement but it never came. The babyfaces were as much to blame in that regard, but honestly, this was the least entertaining that Delaporte has been thus far. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Pancho Zapata/Vicente Castilla vs. Dan Aubriot/Remy Bayle (aired 11/28/65)

This was an old Bob ALPRA upload. Zapata was supposedly Joachim La Barba and Castilla was Quasimodo. Why they didn't wrestle as Barba and Quasimodo in mid-60s France is anybody's guess. It's one of those great Catch mysteries like whatever happened to that Martian at ringside. One upside of them wrestling as a Mexican and a Spaniard, and wrestling lesser names like Aubroit and Bayle, as opposed to a showboater like Ben Chemoul, is that we got to see them work a lot more holds. Unfortunately, the beat down of the faces dragged on forever, and the match had the usual problems with rhythm and pacing. It didn't seem to bother the crowd, but it didn't do much to spark my imagination. Maybe it needed Ben Chemoul in there after all. 

[Phil Lions]

I was doing some new research these past few days and I thought I'd share some of it here, because it sheds a little bit of light on the foundations of the French catch scene and how it came to be the way it was. The later years are hard to research so some of it is speculation on my part.

November 16, 1922: La Fédération Française de Lutte Professionnelle (French Professional Wrestling Federation), or FFLP for short, was formed. This FFLP wasn't a wrestling promotion - it was a governing body, which is unique in itself, because historically pro wrestling hasn't had many governing bodies on a country-level. Over time it became so that in order for someone to wrestle professionally in France they needed a license through FFLP. FFLP also sanctioned all the championships in France, which is why for a long time in France all promoters recognized the same champions, even if said champions weren't working for them per se, and that's also why there weren't multiple title claimants at the same time like there were in other places. For a long time in France there was just one European Heavyweight champion, one French Heavyweight champion, one European Light Heavyweight champion, etc. The rules of the matches in France were also based on the FFLP guidelines. If you look at any poster for a Raoul Paoli show in France in the 1930s you'll see that the shows were always billed as "Organized by Raoul Paoli and under the regulations of the FFLP". At the time there were no official promotion names. Promotional names were introduced later on - I think the late 1940s or very early 1950s is when the French promoters started giving their promotions official names. FFLP was still around in the late 1950s, which probably explains why the championships were still recognized by all promotions (as in you didn't have a European Heavyweight title claimant in one promotion and a different European Heavyweight title claimant in another promotion, for example). It could also explain the television situation. As we already know, all four Paris promotions had matches of theirs aired on TV and no single promotion controlled the TV. If the agreement to air wrestling on national television was facilitated through FFLP this could explain why the television coverage was spread even like that, especially if the Association, which I'll talk about in the next paragraph, was still around to lobby for equality. I'm not sure when FFLP stopped having influence / stopped being a thing altogether.

August 1928: Syndicat des Lutteurs Professionnels Français (Syndicate of French Professional Wrestlers) was formed. In November 1930 it was renamed Association des Lutteurs Professionnels Français (Association of French Professional Wrestlers). This was essentially a professional wrestlers union, formed to defend the interests of its pro wrestler members. Again, I don't know when it stopped existing. 

 

I'm not sure exactly when this happened (either late 1910s or very early 1920s), but at one point the French government imposed a 35% tax on pro wrestling, which almost killed pro wrestling in France. Most promoters simply couldn't afford to run shows because of this high tax. The tax was in place throughout the 1920s and that's why there was very little pro wrestling in France in the 1920s. FFLP and the Syndicate/Association played an important role in lobbying to get the tax reduced. I'm not sure exactly when they succeeded in doing so (it was still there as of late 1928), but they did succeed, which allowed pro wrestling to blossom in France again. Had this big tax still been around in the 1930s I just can't see Raoul Paoli being able to promote wrestling in France as successfully as he did, if at all. And without Raoul Paoli's promotion making catch popular in France in the 1930s, and then reviving it again in the mid to late 1940s, French catch would have probably never made it to television in France and we wouldn't be talking about it today.