French catch

[Phil Lions]

3 hours ago, David Mantell said:

I'll take your word for it that this is Modesto Aledo - what is the evidence other than that Aledo played the original Kamikaze a decade earlier?

It's Aledo. He was tubbier in his later years. Plus, and more importantly, Aledo being Dozan is also referenced in the archives of the French catch historian Michel Bezy (who was working for the same promotion as Dozan back then).

[ohtani's jacket]

Guy Mercier vs. Kamikaze (Mitsui Dozan - Modesto Aledo) 10/4/71

This was okay. It was only disappointing if you were expecting it to be Mercier vs. Aledo, which it was never intended to be. You've got to admire Aledo's dedication to the gimmick even if it was borderline racist. I spent most of the match trying to figure out how he got his face to look like that. This wasn't the first time we'd seen Kamikaze unmask. The other time was just as creepy. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Aledo was crazy good in his prime.

 

[Phil Lions]

1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Guy Mercier vs. Kamikaze (Mitsui Dozan - Modesto Aledo) 10/4/71. I spent most of the match trying to figure out how he got his face to look like that.

Same! Could be some sort of a mask. Or some super elaborate face prosthetic. Hard to say.

[David Mantell]

34 minutes ago, Phil Lions said:

Same! Could be some sort of a mask. Or some super elaborate face prosthetic. Hard to say.

Is that him? There were a couple of Old Man Masks in Memphis, one in 1982 who tagged with Kaufman and another in about 1990 in the USWA - called the Bruiser IIRC.

To be fair the Exorcist on World of Sport 1974/1975 is hard to reconcile with the nice Clayton Thompson who fought Tony StClair in 1967.

 

[Phil Lions]

9 hours ago, David Mantell said:

Is that him?

Yes, that's Mitsui "Kamikaze" Dozan (Modesto Aledo).

[ohtani's jacket]

There was one part of the match where he was adjusting something under his chin so I figure it must have been some type of mask, but I don't think it covered his entire head. The lips are cool. 

[David Mantell]

Quote

Walter Bordes/Gerard Bouvet vs. Pierre Payden/Le Samourai

Another quality French tag albeit more about athleticism and rule-bending than cool European holds. Le Samourai was a masked wrestler with a body suit, who was sort of like a French version of the British wrestler Kung Fu, but without the kung fu. He's probably the worst catcheur I've seen from bob ALPRA's videos, but it might just be the gimmick. Without knowing who he was, it's hard to judge his skills as a wrestler. He didn't really do anything special, though, and that's what we're looking for when we watch this stuff. Bordes, Bouvet and Payden were excellent, so that made up for whatever shortcomings the Samurai had. EricR came up with a standard for this matches that I like -- "impossibly cool." This wasn't impossibly cool, but it was a glimpse of three top catcheurs, which helps expand our knowledge of one of wrestling's last frontiers.

There have been two versions uploaded to YouTube ( @Matt D's channel and a version on Bob Plantin's Channel missing IIRC the last ten minutes.

July 1976, the summer of Ali-Inoki in Japan, Bruno-Hansen at Shea Stadium. and McManus &Logan versus Kendo Nagasaki and George Gillette at the Royal Albert Hall.

Samurai is not Kendo Nagasaki (nor Rex Strong) he is just a generic masked man with a vaguely Japanese gimmick. The crowd get a chant of Mama Doux Mais Mais going early and Bordes and Bouvet ear dance to it.  Samurai can take throws really well "Il est souple, ce Samurai" notes the commentator. After falling victim to a snapmare and headbutt to the chest, Samurai tags in Payen to face Bouvet who soon tags Bouvet who has even better escapes than Samurai, cartwheeling and handspringing his way out of hard bump situations.  He hiptosses Payen and ducks a charge to leave him flying out of the ring. Bouvet tries for a folding press but it ends up in Bascule stalemate.  Perhaps this Samurai is a normal Bon moonlighting as a Mechant. Bordes goes arm to arm to side headlock then up for a hiptoss.  He keeps the headlock during rope runs and an atomic drop attempt by Samurai. Some fans are already calling for "LA CAGOULE!" to be pulled off. Samurai gets a rear snapmare into headlock but Bouvet slips out to leave a hammerlock. Payen tags. side chancery throws and misses a kneedrop. Bouvet and Payen have a great sequence of reversing each others throws, suplexes and backdrops.  Bouvet in can transition from a standing armbar to low flying headscissors takedown on a forward bowing Payen. Samurai has a cross handed grovit he uses on Bordes. When Bordes fires him away using the ropes., he rolls away smoothly and comes back up with a chop.  Samurai misses a charge and tags Payen.  He and Bordes have some fine back and forth sequences. Payen throws Bouvet over the top rope but Bouvet hangs on the ropes , pulls himself back and flying sciccor throws Payen out. Payen takes his time coming back, Bouvet gets a rolling legdive into standing toehold.  Bordes tags in, he can do the handsprings and cartwheels as well as his partner. And the Scisseaux Volees and Says Chasses. Samurai gets dumped to ringside where he gets into a shoving match with Coudec at ringside.  When he gets slung out again, he bows and shakes hands with Couderc but Couderc then shoves him in the back.  Bouvet goes down in a finger Interlock test of strength but then swivels round to turn it into a great Japanese Stranglehold on Payen.  Payen tries to throw him and ends up with the hold running between Bouvet's legs and makes him flip out then applies the hold to him. Bouvet more simply undresses the hold and steps out of it like Johnny Saint might do. Bordes also gets the Japanese Stranglehold and briefly gets a surfboard but it all topples sideways.  Payen uses a hairpull to flip out of the stranglehold but Bordes catches him with double ankles to the head.  It gets a bit more chops kicks and dirties from now on.  Samurai ha a front neck crank, Bouvet knees him in the head.  The villains best Bouvet in a corner and double team him in their corner. Bordes has a Toe hold/grapevine on Payen, Samurai pulls him over.    Payen now dominates the hold.  Les Bons start to disregard tagging rules although still performing great dropkicks and side chancery throws.  Bouvet ejects both Mechants. He cartwheels over the top of Payen's back and gets the opening fall with a fisherman's suplex.

Bouvet looks like he's going for a toupie but makes it a kick at the last second.  Bordes gets knockedout the ring a couple of times, the second time landing DEEP among the spectators.  Bouvet rolls his partner back in.  The heels continue to work on Bordes.   He tags Bouvet but the ref doesn't see the spot. Bouvet tags in and goes for the mask. The ref pulls him off and Payen tags.  It's more of a brawl at this point. The heels regain control and double team with Manchettes and chops.  Payen gets the cross buttock and pin on Bouvet for the equaliser, Bouvet bridging up just too late or so the referee reckons.  Bordes disagrees but to no avail.  Samurai waves to the crowd like he's the Pope.

Belle goes for la Belle. (I love silly cross-lingual puns, don't you?). Payen gets cross hand grovit into full nelson. Bouvet is in a bad way until he tags Bordes who dropkicks both Mechants out the ring and Manchettes them soundly. Samurai tags but is reluctant to get in. He tries a blindside but Bordes and ars and Manchettes him, side chancery throws him then has another go at the mask.  The laces are hanging loose. Both heels are tied in the ropes and Bouvet starts dropkicking them. The ref tries to stop things and Bouvet threatens to punch him but thinks better of it and tags Bordes. Heels are still hogtied. Payen gets free but Bordes slingshots him into Samurai. Samurai too gets free and tags in but takes Payen's diet of Manchettes etc. samurai nearly gets a crafty folding press but Bouvet chops him and rolls out of harm's way. From the corner, Bouvet gets body scissors, single heel smash and kick on Samurai.  Samurai gets Bouvet in cross handed grovit in the corner. Bouvet claims upwards to escape and fires a missile dropkick. Both sides tag.  Payen gets beaten until he rolls to ringside.  He bulldogs/flying headscisssors his opponents, initially botching the scissors on Samurai before he gets the hold. He posts Samurai who posts back but Bouvet leaps up on the top turnbuckle with a flying bodypress for the deciding fall.

Much better than the Mercier/ Kamikaze bout, fast as Corne Vs Bayle but less repetitive and with good intelligent reversals and transitions. Samurai and Payen knew their technical wrestling as well as Les Bons did and held their end up well.