French catch

[ohtani's jacket]

A man after my own heart. 

[ohtani's jacket]

Les Blousons Noirs (Marcel Manneveau/Claude Gessat) vs Remy Bayle/Dan Aubriot (1/2/66)

The only notable thing about this was when they wound in in the first few rows. By far the weakest of the studio matches. Not even Manneveau did anything interesting. Couderc got on my nerves with his singing. 

[David Mantell]

8 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

A man after my own heart. 

I wouldn't argue with the Barnum part. It's the Heavy Metal reference that stumps me. Maybe he had Cybernic Machine in mind.

[David Mantell]

Also I think that for something to die off you need a cut out period when it stops and there was none for French Catch. The old just bled DEEP into the new - even the likes of Michel Falempin, Tony LaMotta, Angelito and Franz Van Buyten showing up on Eurosport New Catch, greyed but still going.

[ohtani's jacket]

33 minutes ago, David Mantell said:

I wouldn't argue with the Barnum part. It's the Heavy Metal reference that stumps me. Maybe he had Cybernic Machine in mind.

Perhaps he was referring to some of the S&M gear the wrestlers wore in the 80s. 

[David Mantell]

24 minutes ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Perhaps he was referring to some of the S&M gear the wrestlers wore in the 80s. 

In France?

(apart from Demolition on that 1988 Bercy Stadium show against the Bulldogs.)

[David Mantell]

Anyway, I need a replacement bout to review:

On 7/5/2020 at 2:11 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Gilbert Leduc & Jacky Corn vs. Der Henker & Daniel Schmid (aired 3/30/74)

This is the last Der Henker match we have. What can we say about him? Not the greatest masked worker of all time, but certainly not the least. I thought he would be a questionable worker like L'Homme Masque, but he ended up being a lot better. I would put him on the level of a guy like Villano V. This was a wildly entertaining bout and easily the best of Der Henker's tags. The reason for that was Daniel Schmid. Schmid is awesome. He really should be everyone's new wrestling hero. He's this chubby blonde kid who bumps and sells like a European Buddy Rose. I really need to devour everything we have from him. This was the first tag where Leduc and Corn felt like they were anything special. Together, that is. And to make things better, Pat Roach showed up between falls and challenged Der Henker to a match. It's too bad we don't have any of that, but it was nice to see Pat. 

I've talked about this bout, mainly Pat popping up between falls, in the past but never really reviewed it.  Screened nine days after I was born. 

Premier Manche:  Matt's clip starts in action with Leduc and Henker locking up. Henker takes control, diving Leduc into the mat (Reguliere) and into the ropes (Irreguliere) and landing a chop for good measure. About 30 seconds in, the commentator has finished parking his car and gets down to work.  Hooded Remy continues the treatment with a side chancery throw into rear seated chinlock, puling up and chopping down his man before tagging Schmidt who follows suit but using manchettes instead of chops. He gets a neck crank and a knee in the back of the neck for added nastiness but soon gets bored and stands up to deliver more manchettes. Leduc fires on back and tags Corne. Jacky gets two Manchettes of his own and he and Gilbert pull a double team on Daniel that has L'Arbitre Jacques Rouxel complaining. Corne folds his man into a folding press double leg nelson but Daniel makes it a stalemate Bascule. Corne headscissor throws him (not on his head so not a toupie).  Schmidt gives the good guy two Manchettes and tags Henker. He gets a top double wristlock on Corne  who counters with a front face lock which Henker counters with a slam., all the while maintaining the arm.  Corne start untying knows in Bayle's Cagoule then tries to take him down with a classic French style headscissor counter (still undoing knots while up in the air!) but Henker does what British wrestlers did in that situation and throws him off. And yes he's still got that arm.  Rouxel does up the knots again and the fans are FURIOUS, giving him the bird like a particularly annoying car alarm. So Jacky pulls himself up and undoes the knots as Schmidt complains.  He tries to pull it off in the course of a a side chancery throw but Henker lands over by Daniel who tags in looking angry but promptly ends up eating Manchettes.  He fires back but Corne is ahead on points then tags Gilbert to continue the treatment until Schmidt tags Henker who gets a butt to the chest and a sunset flip double leg nelson with Daniel making the save at 2.  Henker gets pressure points, absorbs a manchette, gets a standing full nelson, neutralises a drop and roll escape.  takes a rear out and gets a cross buttock throw. Cornebridges up and rear snapmares his man.  They enhance snapmares and Jacky misses something off the ropes (Botch?). He gets another Manchette but screws up again on whatever comes next and tags Gilbert in legit disgust.  Henker tags Daniel and it becomes a Manchette contest. Corne tags in an teases a superkick but it stays quite slug and punch until Schmidt gets a side chancery throw into headlock.  Henker tags and continues the Manchettes.  He tries for a cross buttock but Corne turns it into a backslide for the opening tombee. A fan jumps up on the apron to congratulate Les Bons, Corne gives him a handshake before he is dragged off. Other more restrained patrons reach up for a handshake.  Corne's dad Robert Legeat is at ringside and says he is impressed with Der Henker's power. 

Deuxieme Manche. Henker slugs Cornebwho tags Gilbert.  Back to the interview with old Robert.  Back to the ring, Gilbert has a top wristlock on the masked man who throws him off like Big Daddy would do.  They finger Interlock then Gilbert let's go one side and backrolls to win up a Henker arm.  Henker forces ha whip, somersault and bump and slaps an arm hank on top.  Gilbert tries to handstand for his trademark toupie but Henker keeps kicking him over. The last time he tries, Henker just releases and tags Schmidt leaving Gilbert to topple over.  Daniel twirls his finger mocking the toupie. They double finger Interlock and Gilbert drops backward, gets the crossed headscissor on an toupie throws Daniel from there, landing with the cross scissor still on. Schmidt turns Leduc into the guard and bars down the legs., but Leduc gets up on his cranium and does another toupie takedown.  Schmidt tries standing again but Gilbert hammers his knee to boot Daniel in the head and tags Corne.  Schmidt gets a waistlock then breaks out the manchettes:   Les Mechants tie up Corne in the ropes. Schmidt pummels him until ordered off by Rouxel. Corne slams him and stomps him a few times as retaliation.  Henker ties Corne up again, Gilbert comes over to intervene but gets thc same so now both Bons are hogtied.  Schmidt lands a couple more blows then cannons off the ropes but Les Bons get free and Henker gets potted to ringside like a billiard ball, while Schmitt is down taking the count. Henker saunters back into the ring and takes over.  He manchettes Corne down and follows with an axehandle.  Corne is down at eight but Henker pulls him up and slaps him around and down, then dives in to get pressure points on him.  Corne starts to rise so Henker uppercuts and axehandles him some more then tags Daniel who drags Corne up for more. Schmidt tries to side chancery throw Corne who resists so Daniel corns and pummels him and chokes him with the tag rope.  Gilbert objects so Henker sneaks in fists being Rouxel's back. Henker tags in with more blows. Then Schmidt. The heels get an Avertisement but continue regardless.  Henker then Schmidt are in, battering Gilbert until the announcer pronounces him Completment Groggy.  Daniel snapmares him and tags Henker who finishes Corne with a face first piledriver for the equalising fall.  "The English Giant" Pat Roach arrives in the ring to protest the heels tactics and challenges all French wrestlers while he's about it. Crowd started an Aux Chiottes L'Arbitre chant while THEY'RE about it.

La Belle: Pat clears off.  Henker gets stuck in with a snapmare and chops.  Schmidt gets the odd one in from the apron. Corne fights back with Manchettes of his own, chops both Mechants and rolls off to tag Gilbert.  It's a hot but not very scientific tag, Gilbert just carries on the Manchettes like everyone else.  He throws Schmidt to ringside and dropkicks He Ker out to join him.  Schmidt gets in and Henker on the apron but Leduc just brawls on.  He tries it with an incoming Henker who floors and axehandles him then Schmidt carries it on.  Rouxel is not happy, not are La Publique.   Gilbert fights back with a headbutt to make Johnny Kwango proud and pummels his man in a half chinlock.  Corne takes over on Schmidt but it's all still just Manchettes.  Gilbert knocks Henker down to ringside and gets a double leg slingshot on Schmidt first into the ropes then back into his waiting knees.  Henker barely gets back when Gilbert tags in and chops him all the way into the front row's laps as Schmidt continues the brawling in the ring.  Gilbert meanwhile gets are cross buttock throw and press on Schmidt for the decider.  As they cut back to the studio we last see Daniel being helped up by Les Bons, nomidea if this triggered an Afterbirth or not.

Action packed brawl. What science there was too place early on.  Good to see Pat on French TV, sadly he had no actual bout on the small screen over there.

 

[David Mantell]

On 9/29/2023 at 12:14 PM, David Mantell said:

Two more matches from the same small venue circa 2006

 

On 9/29/2023 at 12:05 PM, David Mantell said:

Good clean match in a rather tiny venue circa 2006, possibly the revived FFCP:

 

Another clip from the same time period Five minutes of match. JIP and left without ending but good solid stuff regardless:

No idea who these two guys are. I'll just call the Young and Old.

TBC