French catch

[David Mantell]

17 hours ago, SirEdger said:

On more recent news, I see that Aigle Blanc got his first booking overseas as he's booked for a special event in Quebec City on July 14. Really curious to see if all the hype around him is warranted. I think he had a solid match with Mustafa Ali in one of Ali's first indy booking so really excited to see what he can do.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Zai49RAlg/

You can tell where he got his name from.

[David Mantell]

Original 1991 TFM transmission of New Catch episodes when it returned to the channel (British Wrestling equivalent was the Grampian/STV tapings of Relwyskow promotions in Aberdeen 1990, later screened in the Granada region). Only wrestling video on a YouTube channel with a disturbing obsession with the weather forecast!  Cuts out during the Danny Collins & John Harvey Vs Doc Dean and Jimmy Ocean match, so here is a different source for that bout.

 

 

[David Mantell]

Wrestling Stars (formerly the IWSF) has a YouTube channel with stuff for both itself and Bernard Van Damme's Eurostars:

https://www.youtube.com/@wrestlingstars01

[David Mantell]

On 6/19/2024 at 12:51 PM, David Mantell said:

Flesh didn't become a Big Daddy figure until the Noughties or at the earliest the late 90s

He certainly attracted that same kind of kiddy audience in the 21st century as Daddy did in the 80s

Here he is in 2013ish teaming with Prince Zefy (who in later life resembles Rufus R Jones in Mid Atlantic circa 1983- I believe he is still going.)

 

[David Mantell]

On 12/19/2023 at 2:47 PM, David Mantell said:

 

When was the Egyptian footage from?  It looks very modern - like a mishmash of CWA and a Southern US territory, say World Class.  I'd guess mid 80s.  There is a World Of Sport bout from 1980 where Kent Walton says that a wrestler is going on a tour of Egypt and it will be the first wrestling there since the 1930s.

Here's some more Egyptian footage - the great Egyptian National Hero Mamdouh Farag Vs visiting Westerner Klaus Vallas (?):

 

 

[David Mantell]

Was watching a 1994 WWF retrospective on OSW and was struck by Steven Dunn (Steve Doll to the good people of Portland Oregon)'s resemblance to early 90s Flesh Gordon- the build, the long blong hair. Everything. 

Perhaps Steve Doll of the Southern Rockers is not dead but lives on in disguise as a fat bald moustachioed old Frenchman.

[David Mantell]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:59 AM, ohtani's jacket said:

Billy Catanzaro & Gilbert Lemagouroux vs. Albert Sanniez & Bob Remy (aired 3/12/71)

Catanzaro as a comedy heel? I'm guessing most people aren't familiar with this part of his career. This was disappointing for me on a number of levels. IInteres guess if you can accept Catanzaro playing the buffoon you may enjoy it more than I do, but I was really looking forward to see Catanzaro vs. Sanniez, and while they had some fun exchanges together, it was built around Sanniez making Catanzaro looking foolish instead of two great workers squaring off. And Gilbert Lemagouroux (or Le Magouroux, however it's written) wasn't anything like I expected. I had this impression that he would be awesome because he was Catanzaro's partner and because he looked good in pictures. Not the case in this match. Catanzaro was pretty old here, and others may find more value in his comedy routine than I did, but this wasn't the bout I was hoping for at all.

Interestingly, the TV listing for this match screwed the pairings up:

re

 I think I may have made this point already but @ohtani's jacket I'm surprised that an American fan would be put off by 1971 Catanzaro's antics, the swaggering greaseball arrogant heel with a pompadour like the Honky Tonk Man. Waving like a Roman Emperor at his minions.

If anything it's Gilbert L who does the biggest comedy in that match, doing a Brutus Beefcake At WM2 and tripping up on the ring ropes to fail to break up the deciding pinfall.

Billy and Steve "the slow finger" Haggerty  (who also popped up on French TV although as the best examples of his work were on World of Sport I have posted a UK bout below) could have gone to America and cleaned up as a heel tag team with heel psychology like that! They could have given Bockwinkel and Stevens a serious run for their money.

Incidentally @ohtani's jacket that cutting is unclear if that 1971 broadcast was on channel 1 or 2?

It matters because Channel 2 was in colour therefore that print may have potential for colour restoration via Chroma Dot Recovery.  Also it would further my belief that by some point wrestling had entirely migrated to the colour channel 2 (anything on Channel 1 from INA's 1975-1977 off air recordings would be in b/W and there is none.)

[Matt D]

OJ is OJ.

That said, it's funny because when I rewatched Catanzaro vs Cesca for the first time in years at the very end of my project, I was a little disappointed that it was so straight a match. The later Catanzaro was so much more on my mind.

[David Mantell]

2 hours ago, Matt D said:

OJ is OJ

*shrug* Well he posted that so my question is directed at him.

I like a good straight match if the technical skill is there. Even if it's a strength based bout like the 1977 John Elijah Vs Big Daddy showing what he could do if allowed, it can be interesting.

Nice to see Tele Guide was as comprehensive as TVTimes. It raises my hopes that somewhere out there is a French @JNLister who could revolutionise our knowledge of the broadcast history, especially during the 1985-1987  FR3 years when many broadcasts may he been unsyndicated, partly syndicated or bicycled around the network.

[David Mantell]

On 6/19/2024 at 11:03 PM, David Mantell said:

The vlogger El P posted some time back got his claws in to the 1987 TF1 run

Just found out - that's the same Sturry who was quoted in that column I answered back to a few weeks ago.

Maybe we should invite him on here.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'm not American! And I like a lot of comedy wrestling. I just don't want to see a guy in the gateway Catch match doing comedy shtick in the other matches we have of him. Other people appear to enjoy it, so I'll forgive that sacrilegious comment from Matt about the Cesca match. I also reserve the right to watch those 70s match in 20 years time and have an entirely different take. 

[David Mantell]

13 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

I'm not American! And I like a lot of comedy wrestling. I just don't want to see a guy in the gateway Catch match doing comedy shtick in the other matches we have of him. Other people appear to enjoy it, so I'll forgive that sacrilegious comment from Matt about the Cesca match. I also reserve the right to watch those 70s match in 20 years time and have an entirely different take. 

I didn't think he was doing comedy in that tag, I just thought he was being a good heel. 

He reminded me a bit of the original Steve Logan (the South London Iron Man, not the Birmingham Nice Kid later on who now runs the K-Star gym chain). There's something of the heel Colin Joynson in him too.

Like I said, Steve Haggerty also wrestled in France during that period:

Maybe Billy Catanzaro could have been the third Dangerman.

 

[David Mantell]

Interesting how the commentator keeps calling "Steve Hagg" "un Britannique". For once an honest mistake I think.

Peruvians, Hispanics, Gypsies and anyone in stripey colourful gear was usually a heel in France. Bob Plantin got very upset with me when I pointed this out recently.

Charley Bollet, brother of Andre Bollet, was still refereeing in the early 90s on New Catch.

No indication what channel it was on so far but hopefully the slight smudginess means chroma dots on the print. In which case, channel 2.

[Matt D]

I know you're posting away happily, but I do think a lot of the disconnect in this thread is that you're so focused on the 80s-90s, when most of us feel like there still hasn't been enough examination of the golden age (whether or not you stretch that to the 70s, and I think there's still a lot to see in that decade). We're still in a period where it feels like only a handful of people have gone through the 50s-70s footage which is why @SAMS doing so chronologically is so valuable.

It would be like if we suddenly got a ton of 60s-70s Kansas City and someone came along and really wanted to focus on the last few years of Central States instead. 80s Flesh Gordon is probably a little better than 80s Bob Brown, but it's still maddening in the same way.

[David Mantell]

2 hours ago, Matt D said:

I know you're posting away happily, but I do think a lot of the disconnect in this thread is that you're so focused on the 80s-90s, when most of us feel like there still hasn't been enough examination of the golden age (whether or not you stretch that to the 70s, and I think there's still a lot to see in that decade). We're still in a period where it feels like only a handful of people have gone through the 50s-70s footage which is why @SAMS doing so chronologically is so valuable.

It would be like if we suddenly got a ton of 60s-70s Kansas City and someone came along and really wanted to focus on the last few years of Central States instead. 80s Flesh Gordon is probably a little better than 80s Bob Brown, but it's still maddening in the same way.

Actually I see all three surviving Euro wrestling territories - UK, France and  Germany/Austria - as each being a single continuity from the 1930s to the 2020s and hopefully beyond.

The same goes for the three defunct territories Italy (died 1965, the corpse periodically revived thereafter by two brothers from somewhere beginning with P) Spain (died 1975, the corpse thereafter fought over by France and Germany for 15 years before the WWF gobbled it up and Italy too) and Greece (finally passed away 1991 after a long illness dating back to the end of the Athens International Kats Festival in 1980, corpse totally ignored by the WWF.)

AFTERTHOUGHT 1: Is territory the correct word in this context?

AFTERTHOUGHT 2: I do NOT consider Americanised/New School promotions in any of these six territories to count, they are just an extension of US indie wrestling. All Star, Rumble, Premier, FFCP, Wrestling Stars and the CWP (formerly EWP) are the six relevant living companies in 2024.  Add ABCA in Beauvais if it is still going- I'm not clear.

[David Mantell]

Although to be honest, my last couple of posts have been about a 1971 bout and a 1969 bout so I'm not quite sure what the problem is.

[PeteF3]

@Matt Dand I were in a Discord the other day discussing this and I thought I'd bring it here. It was just a general discussion of move names with some other folks and Matt said this:

"It boggled my mind a couple of weeks ago when I realized Kox was doing the brainbuster in the 60s (70s, sure, but not the 60s). One of the biggest quirks of the French footage was that you'd see every move under the sun (1950s ranas and power bombs like they were nothing) but even into the 80s I didn't see a standing vertical suplex, not once in hundreds of matches. I'm sure I came across this at some point but Kox had runs in Japan in 66. Could it just be that he did the brainbuster there before almost anyone else was regularly doing standing vertical suplexes?"

There was some other stuff about what came first--the brain buster or the big, theatrical, standing overhead suplex, which seemed to mostly came out of the old rolling-front-chancery that you saw guys do in the '50s up through the '70s as well as the "winglock suplex" popularized/invented by Ed Virag and Sandor Szabo going way back.

By the '80s, the modern vertical suplex had made its way to the UK and it's not unusual to see in the '80s WoS footage, though it was still more of a fall-ender and you didn't see it as often as it was seen in the US at the same time. Even wiry little Johnny Saint busts one out a time or two. But I've noticed that you never, ever see the back suplex in England. The double-arm? Yes, you saw that well before the vertical suplex by a lot of different folks. Gut wrench? Not as often, but it was done, sometimes closer to a tilt-a-whirl-type than the more standard kind. But the one and only back suplex I've ever seen in a World of Sport match was by Billy Robinson in his one-off TV return against Lee Bronson in 1978. The previously-subdued crowd reacts with a comparatively huge "OOOOH!" clearly having never seen it before and thinking that Bronson may as well have had his neck broken. And as Matt pointed out, neither the back nor vertical ever seemed to make its way to France.

I don't know if Robinson got the move from Japan or not, but if so it's not like he was the only European working over there and bringing things back from the Far East. Power bombs are not an unusual sight in either France or England even in the 1950s--sometimes a pure modern-style bomb and sometimes more of a rollup/folding press. But that doesn't really become a thing elsewhere with myriad setups and variations until the late '80s. It's interesting to see what moves crossed over to where...and which ones didn't.

[David Mantell]

On 7/4/2024 at 7:30 PM, PeteF3 said:

There was some other stuff about what came first--the brain buster or the big, theatrical, standing overhead suplex, which seemed to mostly came out of the old rolling-front-chancery that you saw guys do in the '50s up through the '70s as well as the "winglock suplex" popularized/invented by Ed Virag and Sandor Szabo going way back.

Two moves in particular - pulling yourself up into a flying head scissors from a top wristlock and getting a behind the back chancery into reverse overhead flip as a counter to a standing headlock- are as crucial to French Catch as rolling on the mat to untwist a wrist lever is to British Wrestling. (Both do exist in the British style - in one 1980 British Welterweight Championship match, challenger Young David aka Davey Boy Smith attempts to use thie overhead flip counter to Hammerlock on champion Jim Breaks, only for Breaks to arrest the momentum and drop Young David on his behind rather like an Arn Anderson spine buster.)

1960s French Lightweights like Le Petit Prince and Michel Saulnier would backwards somersault from a top wristlock British wrestlers would leap into a somersault if their arm was suddenly wrenched upwards doing a wrist lever. I have even seen the odd American do this, such as Barry Darsow during Demolition vs the British Bulldogs .  The aim was to force a bad landing but some wrestlers such as Pete Roberts could actually make a feet first landing.

[Phil Lions]

I just finished reading Jean Corne’s “La vérité sur le catch” (The truth about catch) book from 1974 and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. The book doesn't break kayfabe and its goal is to pretty much explain pro wrestling to the reader and make the reader respect it. It is written in such a way where it touches on most aspects of the pro wrestling business so you get these little useful nuggets of information here and there, and there are also lots of different stories about various wrestling personalities. I don’t know that I believe everything Corne wrote, but I very much enjoyed what he wrote. Below I will post some stuff from the book as written by Corne - some I will quote directly while others I’ll summarize.

The weight classes for pro wrestling in France:
- Lightweights (poids légers): below 65 kg
- Welterweights (poids mi-moyens): 65 to 72 kg
- Middleweights (poids moyens): 72 to 79 kg
- Light heavyweights (poids mi-lourds): 79 to 87,5 kg
- Cruiserweights (poids lourds-légers): 87,5 to 100 kg
- Heavyweights (poids lourds): above 100 kg

These were originally established in the 1930s and back then there was no cruiserweight class. In the 1930s everyone above 87,5 kg was considered a heavyweight and then after WWII the cruiserweight class was introduced.

The main matchmakers (bookers/booking agents):
The matchmakers, as Corne called them, were the ones running things behind the scenes and putting the cards together. Each matchmaker had a stable of wrestlers. The matchmakers would contact local organizers [promoters] and sell them wrestling events. The local promoters would pay a fixed rate for the card to the matchmakers, and the rate would depend on how many wrestlers were on the card and the caliber of the wrestlers on the card. The main matchmakers in France “currently” were Maurice Durand, Etienne Siry, Alex Goldstein, Robert Lageat, Roger Delaporte, etc. Sometimes the matchmakers would enlist certain wrestlers from their stable to help them run things and deal with the local promoters. When there were important matches, at bigger venues, the wrestlers could sometimes get a piece of the profits, but often negotiating with the local promoters was tough because they naturally wanted to pay as little as possible but get the best talent possible. Corne joked that often negotiations happened while drinking so if one wanted to be good at negotiating with local promoters one needed to have a strong liver and heart.

Corne described the wrestler/matchmaker relationship as follows: “The wrestler rents his services to the matchmaker of his choice. In the contract that binds them, the matchmaker generally provides a fixed guarantee to the wrestler which is insurance against the hazards of a bad season. This is how I proceed with my own matchmaker, and as far as I know, the same goes for the others.”

“Currently, the matchmakers are independent of each other and there is no overall organization bringing together all the wrestlers, but it was not always this way. About ten years ago, there were four wrestling federations in France and their rivalry gave rise to heroic-comic incidents that we jokingly call ‘the wrestling war!’ between the leaders of these associations and for which the wrestlers most often paid the price.” Corne then went on to list these four federations:
- Fédération Française de Lutte Professionnelle (FFLP), run by Maurice Durand
- Fédération Internationale de Lutte et de Combat (FILC), run by Alex Goldstein, Albert Ben Chemoul and Rene Ben Chemoul
- Fédération Française de Catch Professionnel (FFCP), run by Robert Lageat and Etienne Siry
- Fédération Française des Lutteurs Indépendants (FFLI), run by Roger Delaporte

Corne noted that “today” whenever a show was announced as a TV broadcast this would almost always be a great draw, but that wasn’t always the case. He told a story, told to him by Maurice Durand, how one time back in the 1950s Durand realized that the building for one of his TV shows at Salle Wagram was more than half empty so he pulled a trick. “One side of the arena was made very uncomfortable by flowing water, the spectators therefore crowded together under cover and all that remained was for the cameras to film that part of the arena to demonstrate ‘the enormous success’ of the show!”

The European Alliance, them going after Maurice Durand and the debut of Bourreau de Bethune:
Back in February 1959, when Corne first joined Maurice Durand’s stable, Alliance Européenne de Lutte et de Combat was created. It was an attempt at bringing together matchmakers, managers and promoters from France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and Belgium. “Following commercial concerns, this organization decided to boycott Durand and wipe him off the wrestling map. I was, for my part, quite worried. Attracted by my boss's dynamism, I trusted him, but I did not underestimate the danger. Indeed, the European Alliance had gone so far as to send promoters threatening letters ordering them to reject all the planned contracts with Durand, of whom it was gently said that he was to ‘die’ within three weeks. On the other hand, Maurice Durand had with him five wrestlers and three referees. However, to have a wrestling show, you need ten wrestlers. Theoretically, the affair was off to a bad start. To add insult to injury, Robert Gastel, who was supposed to wrestle a match, broke his shoulder during the filming of a Jean Richard film. Durand then decided to call on Jacques Ducrez, a former French weightlifting champion. At that time Ducrez was already over forty years old.” Corne then went on to say how Ducrez, who supposedly had high fever and tonsillitis that day, had a very bad performance and the crowd was booing him and calling him all sorts of names. “Three weeks later, the same audience applauded him wildly under the mask of Bourreau de Bethune”. Apparently, it was at this show [February 5, 1959] where Durand used the “water trick” described above to make it seem like he had a packed house when it was far from that. “With the cameras well directed, Leon Zitrone, the television commentator was able to assert, without lying too much, and with visual evidence to support it, that the ‘room was stuffed like an egg’. It is true that the match was extraordinary. Bourreau put Leduc ‘in flight’. A rumor spread that Leduc had suffered a bursting of the liver. More than two hundred phone calls were made to the network and just as many to Salle Wagram, coming from indignant spectators who shouted: ‘Stop this assassin! Death to the butcher!’ Le Bourreau de Bethune was born”. Overall Corne gave a lot of credit to Ducrez/Bourreau de Bethune for helping save Durand’s promotion during a difficult time for Durand.

Is wrestling a sport or a spectacle?
Corne quoted Maurice Durand's son on this question as he felt this was the best response: “Wrestling is a sport for the wrestlers, and a spectacle for the spectators!” Corne then flat out denied that wrestling was predetermined and talked about how there had been newspaper articles and spectators who had claimed that wrestling was predetermined, but it was not. The big rumor in France since the 1930s had been that the Paris match results would get reported to the police in advance of the matches taking place. People would always bring up this rumor when talking about how wrestling was fake. Corne told a fun little story of how when Gilbert Leduc used to manage a bar restaurant, where he had put photos of wrestlers on the walls, there was a customer who was being loud, calling wrestling fake and was swearing by the aforementioned rumor. Leduc approached the customer and offered a bet: 200 French francs and a meal on the house if the guy could bring proof that the police knew the match results in advance. The guy wandered the police corridors all afternoon, but couldn’t get any proof so he returned to Leduc embarrassed, exhausted and hungry. According to Corne, back in 1960 Robert Lageat had publicly offered a million francs to whoever could prove that same rumor, but no one could.

Maurice Durand vs. writer Jean Bruce:
At one point there was a wrestler in the Durand troupe who went by the name OSS 117. Durand took the name from writer Jean Bruce’s famous novels about the secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath (codename OSS 117). Bruce was not happy about it so he filed a complaint and did a magazine interview blasting Durand for using the name without his permission. Corne had this amusing quote from a Durand interview where Durand sarcastically explained why he was using the name: “I thought that the author was a contemporary of Conan Doyle or at least an old man with a beard, a sort of fossil. And I thought the names Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath and OSS 117 had fallen into the public domain!”

Corne on Albert Ben Chemoul:
“One of the best trainers there has been in France, Albert Ben Chemoul, apparently estimates that there are around fifteen hundred different holds.”

Corne on the very first thing a pro wrestler should learn:
“The ABCs of wrestling consist first of all in the practice of falling well. If you fall on your back, your shoulders should hit the ground first. Never the feet, otherwise beware of broken ankles or hurt heels. If the fall occurs from the front or side, you must maintain perfect alignment so that the entire body touches the ring mat at the same time. The higher you fall, the more likely you are not to hurt yourself, because you have time to correct your position to land correctly. This is why, when a wrestler is lifted from the ground, for a throw, by his opponent, he helps him to propel himself as high as possible. Anyone who does not force themselves to perform these apparently unspectacular exercises will not survive long. Tedious and exhausting, these falls must nevertheless be repeated at length during training.”

Corne on Vassilios Montopoulos:
“The great specialist in the ‘scissors on the fly’ was Jetti Coster. But, the one who did the most damage with this hold is undoubtedly Vassilios Montopoulos, who executes it by blocking his opponent's neck between his ankles. All those who suffered it came out with their ears damaged by the laces of Montopoulos' shoes.”

Corne on Rene Ben Chemoul’s injuries:
“Rene Ben Chemoul, for example, who has been practicing this profession for around twenty years, has had thirteen serious fractures and more than four hundred sprains, strains and torn ligaments, not counting the broken nose three times, broken teeth and injuries to the chin or eyebrows. In what sport can one display such a track record of risks?”

Corne’s most serious injury:
It happened in a match with Antonio Morlans in August 1968. Morlans backdropped him from the ring to the floor, but Corne failed to grab the rope and fell directly on his buttocks. He then couldn’t get up and couldn’t feel his limbs. The match was stopped and he was taken to the local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a cracked coccyx and displacement of the lumbar vertebrae. He was able to regain the use of his limbs but he had to walk with canes for three months before he was able to resume training.

Corne on Gilbert Leduc:
“It is difficult to rank and distribute places. However, I think we can all agree that Gilbert Leduc was the best pro wrestler France has ever known. He became a professional at the age of eighteen, around 1945, after having a dazzling career as an amateur. He was an athlete of rare tenacity. As many others, he started with freestyle wrestling and was champion of Paris. He remained famous among wrestlers for having been the only one to practice the ‘spinning top’, an exercise that requires enormous willpower supported by an unusual constitution of the neck muscles. His successes were innumerable both for the quality of his style and for the sympathy he could draw from the spectators. Many people tend to see us as big brutes who are just good at dishing out and receiving blows. Gilbert Leduc rightly earned the nickname ‘gentleman of the ring’. He is a cultured man, interested in a thousand things outside of wrestling, a remarkable polyglot and a formidable bridge champion. He also found the time to learn to fly planes and put all the effort he could into it.”

Corne on Rene Ben Chemoul:
“How can we talk about wrestling, without mentioning Rene Ben Chemoul? At the beginning, however, there was nothing to suggest that he could have been so successful. As an amateur, he wrestled honestly, but without brilliance and had average results. However, after becoming a professional, he was, from 1967, the most popular wrestler in France. He was the World Welterweight champion for a long time and really deserved his title. The reason for his popular success is perhaps to be found in his very particular style, made of pirouettes, genuflections, and unbridled movements. It offered the public a whole range of spectacular emotions. He has had many imitators, but they all collapsed because the ‘Ben Chemoulien’ style resulting from the conjunction of certain qualities which are cunning, combat intelligence and a keen sense of the public, were rarely found pushed to such a degree. With the dynamic Walter Bordes, a young and excellent stylist with an advantageous physique, Rene Ben Chemoul formed a formidable and spectacular team for four-man wrestling. And, thanks to television, all of France now knows their song ‘Mamadou Mémé’ accompanied by the traditional little dance step that they perform at the beginning and end of each match.”

Corne on Le Petit Prince:
“Rene Ben Chemoul is far from being an isolated case. I think of another idol, Alberic d'Ericourt, well known under the name ‘Le Petit Prince’. We see him twirl with ease, and it is not for nothing that he has been nicknamed ‘the king of acrobats’. We can say that he was one of the discoveries of television since it was in 1966 that Roger Couderc, struck by his natural elegance, gave him the name that remains attached to him. But who, seeing him like this, would suspect that his jaw was completely fractured, his arms and legs broken multiple times, that finally, a bad blow broke his eye cage leaving him practically blind in his right eye? This is the price that had to be paid to the divinities of wrestling. He doesn't regret it though. From a very young age he had a taste for the ring given to him by a boxer uncle and began his training at fourteen. He reached the French gymnastics championship in the cadet category and continued to train intensively in amateur wrestling, until his military service which he completed in the air force without having been more favored than me for sport. Then, he made his first appearances in front of an audience, in Doubs, during a preliminary professional match for the regional title. He immediately learned a lesson from it. You are not professional without intensive training. You have to push it seriously and to the limit. 'Around the age of 14 or 15', he told me, 'my brother and I had real rag-tag fights, but if this practice does no harm, it leads to nothing when it is not accompanied by a rational and courageous training, because wrestling hurts and I had not been in the wrestling job for two months and I already had a cauliflower ear!' In any case, he was able to develop a very personal and also very spectacular technique. Thus, the classic defense to an arm reversal consists of doing a roll, but ‘Le Petit Prince’ likes to get away with a somersault. This high-class wrestler, however, is not very optimistic about the future of wrestling. He thinks, in particular, that there is a revival of systematic violence. The wrestlers voluntarily seek out at all costs, whatever the injury inflicted on the opponent, sometimes with illegal means. He is no less severe for those he calls Sunday wrestlers. He accuses them of corrupting wrestling: ‘These are wrestlers, often provincial, who do wrestling to be able to call themselves wrestlers and attract the attention of girls. The result is a drop in quality, so much so that we could happily count on the fingers of one hand the true professionals aged under thirty’.”

Corne on Roger Delaporte:
“Among the ‘bad guys’ of the ring, one of the most famous is, without a doubt, Roger Delaporte. For years, this Norman from Petit-Quevilly has drained all the hatred and all the nonsense behind him. An excellent technician, he had the art and the way of arousing the anger of the public. With his gaze shifting beneath a stubborn forehead, walking with small steps around his adversaries, muttering insults into his drooping mustache, Roger Delaporte skillfully represented the traitor straight out of a pantomime of Boulevard du Crime. It was necessary to see the way he kneeled as if to ask for forgiveness when, after having given an unfair blow, he suffered the just punishment of his victim. Despite this sometimes ridiculous image of his character, Roger Delaporte was one of the great wrestlers of our time. Four times Normandy champion in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman, the only time he competed for the national title in these two disciplines, he managed to place second. A strong athlete, he also practiced boxing and rugby. And, for four consecutive years, he was second row of the Rouen Rugby Club, then pillar of the Celtic reserve team. But, as he says with humor: I was still better at wrestling... and at fishing. This is true in both cases. Roger, a great fisherman before the Lord, is indeed a real terror for pike. Outside of the ring Delaporte has always been a loyal and honest being. And continues to be so since he crossed the barrier by taking charge of the management of the Elysee Montmartre hall and by organizing events in the provinces.”

Corne on the end of Andre Bollet's career:
“Sadly, I fear we will never see Andre Bollet in a ring again. Two years ago, as he was getting out of his car, he was hit by another vehicle and this accident would have been fatal for anyone other than him. Thanks to his intensive training, Andre Bollet limited the damage. With an admirable presence of mind and a lightning reflex, he managed to jump on the hood of the driver. However, he was very seriously injured in the leg and the after-effects of this accident are such that this magnificent wrestling beast is very handicapped today.”

Corne on L’Ange Blanc:
“A word, now, about a character who was, on a social level, a case in the annals of wrestling: Francisco Pino-Farina, "L’Ange Blanc". His appearance in the ring unleashed passions. Especially among female spectators. This gave rise to incredible scenes of collective hysteria. On several occasions, we even saw women kissing the ground as he passed. Thanks to him, the wrestlers' locker rooms were decorated with flowers like a star's dressing room on a premiere night. With very well-conducted advertising, the “L’Ange Blanc, purifier of the rings” campaign was especially fruitful for the promoters’ coffers. During his first match against L’Homme Masque, this American colossus who brought the use of the mask to our country, L’Ange Blanc broke all revenue records in the former Palais des Sports arena in Grenelle. It must be admitted that from a commercial perspective, the arrival of L’Ange Blanc gave a new boost to wrestling. But this golden vein has been overexploited. And like L’Ange Blanc did not have the gift of ubiquity to satisfy all requests, the miracle of satisfaction took place thanks to subterfuge: One..., then two..., then four and finally seven L’Ange Blancs appeared. Disgusted by such procedures, Francisco Pino-Farina then took off his white hood to honestly pursue this profession that he loves so much. And this gesture is not surprising when we know Francisco's uprightness and fair play.”

Corne on wrestling vs. boxing:
“Despite all the scandals revealed by the mainstream press, the wide distribution of certain films denouncing dishonest schemes and the influence of gangsters on pugilistic circles, professional boxing remains for some, a serious sport while wrestling would only be a sports parody. To enlighten those who still have this opinion, I would like to put together some figures. The ticket price to attend a wrestling card is a maximum of ten to fifteen francs. On some cards it could be even five francs. For the same places, boxing fans must pay one hundred francs. Not to mention the big matches where the ring seats fetch seven to eight hundred francs on the black market. The average purse of a top wrestler varies between two hundred and four hundred francs. While a boxing champion can require a real fortune to fight. A popular sport, wrestling has an audience of people of modest means: workers, peasants, small employees. While also attracting the popular, boxing attracts a large number of middle-class people and wealthy executives. Wrestling matches, even the most important ones, are organized throughout France and most take place in the provinces, while with rare exceptions the major boxing matches take place in the capital in order to see the snobs flock there. This social difference means that young people are currently not tempted by wrestling, in a hurry to immediately receive big purses. And, as moreover, to earn a living, active wrestlers are obliged to do a lot of matches, they do not have the time to spend hours giving lessons to apprentices. Like boxers, wrestlers mostly come from underprivileged backgrounds. For them, sport is a way to increase their standard of living. Many wrestlers have a second job in order to keep the pot boiling. There are barely any left in France, perhaps around twenty professionals in their own right... Incidentally, it wasn't long ago that my teammate Michel Falempin let go of his building painting brushes! However, to my knowledge, there are no former wrestlers who have become tramps. I don't want to name anyone, but few people had a miserable end. The reason is undoubtedly that having never received large purses, the wrestler is not intoxicated by money, and does not squander it considerably. And then, it must be said that the career of a wrestler is much longer than that of a boxer. In wrestling, a wrestler who knows how to stay in good physical condition can easily last for a good twenty years. Andre Drapp, our dean, who still wrestles remarkably, is fifty-two years old. A boxer therefore ‘wears out’ more quickly. And yet, for those who practice this sport, only the head is damaged by the blows whereas in wrestling it is the whole body (and particularly the kidneys) which is the victim of serious trauma.”

Gastel shooting on Charron:
Corne told a story about how Robert Charron, a popular pro boxer turned pro wrestler, was going around and calling wrestling bullshit so Robert Gastel shot on him during a match and broke his arm. When Charron healed up and resumed his wrestling career he wasn’t saying that anymore and easily lost a match to Ducrez.

Corne on being "Brigitte Bardot’s bodyguard" and his UK tour:
“During the summer season of 1959, I was on tour in the French Riviera. On the beach in Cannes, I met a young girl who was a dead ringer for Brigitte Bardot. As a joke, my fellow wrestlers called her Brigitte or B.B. However, in our group, there was an Englishman named Ken Joyce, who spoke our language very poorly. So he was convinced that he was in the presence of our great screen star. The following year, Ken Joyce, who had become a matchmaker in his country, asked me to come and do a series of matches for him. The contract was not extraordinary but I accepted straight away. At the time I was single and I really wanted to know the atmosphere of the halls across the Channel, where wrestling is king. To give you an idea of its popularity, know that in London for example, there is no less than one hall per neighborhood which presents two or three wrestling cards per week. My first match was to be at Dover. Much to my surprise when I disembarked from the ferry boat I saw a huge blue-white-red poster on which my name was written in bold capitals with the following words: ‘The Bardot! Former bodyguard of Brigitte’. My friend Ken Joyce, convinced that I had had an affair with B.B., had modestly given me the title of her former bodyguard. In the evening, the hall was packed, because all the residents of Dover wanted to see B.B.'s bodyguard! Throughout the tour (sixty matches) I experienced the same curiosity success, thereby saving my employers many pounds sterling. The final bouquet was given to me in London by Paul Lincoln, the promoter of the Metropolitan, who had it displayed throughout the capital: ‘Come and see Brigitte Bardot's bodyguard wrestle!’... but it took a good sight or glasses to read my name below! In conclusion, this involuntary deception did not enrich me because a contract is a contract, and despite the success of the operation I did not receive a ‘cent’ more. In fact, the only thing I gained from this tour was a great lesson in humility because, without the sponsorship of Brigitte Bardot, I would probably never would have had such success with the ladies! When I returned to France, my friend Isha Israel told me: ‘You should go see B.B. I'm sure your adventure will amuse her. It's even possible that she would enjoy playing along. It would be great publicity for you!’ Maybe he was right, but I never dared to ring Brigitte Bardot's doorbell.”

Corne on Roger Courderc:
“Technically, he knows nothing about wrestling. He makes us forget this deficiency with a very southern ease. His ‘thing’ is partiality. His ‘Allez France’ becomes ‘Allez le Petit Prince’. And when Couderc takes up the cause of the ‘good guys’ against the ‘bad guys’, we believe it.

Corne on Claude Darget:
“Despite his complete ignorance of our sport, he was, it is certain, favored by some of the viewers. But his acidic, not to say mean, jokes attracted the animosity of all the wrestlers. Darget is our pet peeve. One evening, Michel Falempin having heard one of his derogatory remarks, jumped from the ring and chased him into the locker room. Without the intervention of some of our colleagues, Claude Darget would have had a bad time!”

And that’s where I’ll end it. There is plenty more to the book though including sections on referees, announcers, women’s wrestling, wrestling techniques, an interesting overview of the wrestling scenes in other countries around the world, stories about Corne's tag team with Falempin, stories about other wrestlers, a section on the bons/mechants dynamic, a section where he talks about the different types of fans, a section with “wrestling slang”, and more. He finishes the book by explaining the difficulties pro wrestling was facing at the time in France (aging wrestlers, no new blood coming in due to various reasons, lack of pro wrestling schools, loss of Paris venues, no tax breaks, reduced TV schedule with broadcasts late at night, very little media attention, etc.), and he doesn't sound very optimistic about its future.

[Matt D]

@Phil Lions It's been a crazy couple of weeks on my end and I'm still reading through and processing. I'm sure I'll have specific thoughts, but this is an amazing resource. Thank you for taking the time to go through and translating and selecting material for us.

[David Mantell]

On 7/10/2024 at 12:14 AM, Phil Lions said:

The book doesn't break kayfabe

I rather gathered that from that 1982 Swiss TV documentary.

Probably the nearest British equivalent would be The Sportsviewers' Guide To Wrestling. Or else Mick McManus' Wrestling Book from 1970.

[David Mantell]

On 7/10/2024 at 12:14 AM, Phil Lions said:

He finishes the book by explaining the difficulties pro wrestling was facing at the time in France (aging wrestlers, no new blood coming in due to various reasons, lack of pro wrestling schools, loss of Paris venues, no tax breaks, reduced TV schedule with broadcasts late at night, very little media attention, etc.), and he doesn't sound very optimistic about its future.

British wrestlers had similar complaints in TVTimes articles from the 1970s.  Big Daddy seems to have been the commercial antidote for the business. Daddy in the UK, Flesh Gordon And The Cartoon Characters in France and Otto The TV Strongman And The American Imports in Germany/Austria seem to have served the same purpose in all three territories as the quick fix commercial escapes from an early 1970s pan European dip period in wrestling that caused the deaths of Spanish  and Italian Wrestling and a lingering decline in Greek Wrestling.

[David Mantell]

On 7/10/2024 at 12:14 AM, Phil Lions said:

And like L’Ange Blanc did not have the gift of ubiquity to satisfy all requests, the miracle of satisfaction took place thanks to subterfuge: One..., then two..., then four and finally seven L’Ange Blancs appeared.

A common problem with masked wrestlers. Eddie "Kung Fu" Hamill ditched his hood for this very reason. Kendo Nagasaki had the same problem - one imposter, Bill "King Kendo" Clarke, managed to build a solid if unspectacular career as a journeyman heel.

Ange Blanc and Le Borreau de Bethune obviously inspired their share of ripoffs, most obviously Al "White Angel" Hayes and Paul "Doctor Death" Lincoln (although AB Vs BdB was itself nicked off El Santo Vs Blue Demon in Mexico.

[ohtani's jacket]

Thanks for sharing that. Phil. Fascinating stuff even if Corne never broke kayfabe. 

[David Mantell]

13 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Thanks for sharing that. Phil. Fascinating stuff even if Corne never broke kayfabe. 

It's only a pity his European Welterweight title loss to Dynamite Kid (on WOS March 1978) is not apparently in circulation.