French catch

[David Mantell]

Following on from two weeks ago (in fact I did consider doing this first and doing Buffalo Vs Tony this week), here are Trujillo and Vircocha again a year earlier only in regular Catch Á Quatre, not Six, and without the benefit of a surly Saulnier helping them out due to a grudge with Les Bons.   (Saulnier was still just finishing up from being active in the ring and the very model of a Lightweight championship clean wrestler as well see in bouts from the 60s and early 70s.

Their opponents are both playing away from home - Gsss and Walter may make an Electric tag team but both of them have regular partners.  Walter at this point was paired with Claude Rocas (earlier it was a senior Rene Ben Chemouel, later it would be a young Flesh Gordon.) while Doukhan paired with George Cohen as Les Israliens (George I believe we Algerian Sephardi Jewish, not sure about Gass.)

We get quite a bit of spare footage of Roger Delaporte, his assistant and some other TV guy in a headset sitting around waiting for their cue, smoking their cigarettes. (No idea whether this was broadcast or if this is a transmission tape sent to INA after broadcast.  There's no speaking clock so my guess is the latter.) The MC is announcing whom is on the bill n3 t time and it's a good lineup  including Gilbert Le Duc. Bored crowd members are blowing airborne and harmonicas and chanting Pappa Doux Mais Mais to jumpstart Bordes's ring entry.

Finally everyone climbs in the ring, along with a suited Jacky Corne who cordially shakes everyone's hand. even Les Méchants.  Inca is again wearing his stripey coloured gown designed to get xenophobic heat from the French fans but he is outshone by Bordes in his gorgeous gold lamé gown with a red sash.  Trujillo doesn't yet ear the stripey gear, preferring a grey sheepskin top, while Gass has his usual light blue jacket suitable for guest cast in Blake's 7.  A young curly haired second is in Les Bons' corner - possibly a pre career  Marc Mercier?

Premiére Manche.  Gass comes off the ropes through Trujilllo's legs.  He comes back, gets a double legs takedown but Tomas spins him off before he can do worse.  Doukhan cartwheels out of trouble and, carrying on rotating , gets a cross buttock throw on Trujilllo in the same motion, then a second one.  He gets a side chancery throw, bodycheck and lands nicely from a backdrop attempt to come back with a dropkick, before tagging Walter and triggering fresh chants of PDMM.  Inca also tags in and gets a nice side headlock takedown only for Walter to counter with the same Wedging Out escape that Salvatore Bellomo used on Klaus Kauroff on the German thread yesterday and that Johnny Saint frequently used on ITV etc.  He used the same escape to get out of a side chancery throw into long press in the guard.   Inca next instead tries a standing headlock but Walter uncorks himself much like Mike Marino would do at this time but with a certain agile skip as he yanks his head free.  Inca does the same again with the same Water counter. Walter then dives through Inca's legs and gets two hiptosses.    Inca is no slouch for agility either, he gets a side headlock takedown with a leap up almost like a sideways Planchette Japonaise only for Bordes to yet again wedge out.  Inca gets another headlock takedown which Bordes breaks open to form a ground top wristlock which Vircocha himself counters with a headscissors. Walter forsakes the wristlock to wedge out and snap open th3 headscissors and kip up.  Water tags Trujilllo  demands L'Arbitre keep Bordes back until he is fully in the ring.  Walter gets a standing full nelson, Tomas breaks a side and goes behind to reverse.  Walter slips downwards and backrolls but Tomas catches him again with the Double Nelson as he gets up.  He doesn't get a firm grip in time and Walter now goes behind then falls backwards, boots Tomas from behind into the ropes and catches him with a leg flip on the rebound.  Tomas gets a shoulder but next Walte4 leapfrogs him then catches him with a pair of Scisseaux Volees on the run and a dropkick out of the ring!    Doukhan tags back in and double interlocks Trujillo, picks off one side with a foot, gets behind in a loose standing hammerlock position, slips forward through Trujilllo's legs then catches him with a ground position dropkick.  Again Les Méchants tag, looking and waiting for that heat moment.  Viracocha seems to have it with a double Interlock into high whip and a decent if not earth shattering bump.  But Gass gets a side chancery takedown and neck stretch in one motion to regain the Bon advantage for now. Gass gets a full nelson into a rear snapmare with quit3 a thump then tag Walter.  But perhaps the tide is turning - Tomas gets an armlock in the guard position and sees off a couple of kicks and headscissor attempts before Bordes bicycle kips up, only to be pulled  down again by the heel in black using the hair.  Again Bordes tries bicycle kipping upright, steps over Tomas's head and snapmares him.  Tomas ducks under the first rope run and drop toeholds Bordes's second rebound, blocks him into quite a strong Powerbomb like bump and then gets a sunset flip for the first pin attempt of the bout, only for Walter to double ankle smash even before one,.  Walter gets a running leapfrog and again dropkicks Trujillo out of the ring into Couderc's area of seating - "sur moi" quips Roger.  Trujillo clambers back, dodging pestilent ringsiders and tags Vircocha who gets a double interlock before releasing one side to get a high wristlever and reverse armhank takeover down into armscissor in the guard, switching to headscissor with the wrist still held.   Doukhan reaches to prise open the scissor but instead opts to kip upright, still in the hold and go for the folding press, getting the first actual pin count so far and then only a 1 before Viracocha spins him off with the scissors.  He keeps holding but Gass's legs hit the ropes.  Vircocha has Run Out Of Mat.  They start over and look to be headed for a double Interlock but Gass gets a spinning single legdive takedown.  Mindful of his opponent's recent error, he drags Inca by the foot to the centre of the ring and gets a ferocious straightening leg weakened on the villain. Inca's legs are still in good Nick, he gets a fantastic drop toehold into Frank Gotch toehold.  Gass curls himself up into the George Kidd ball (across the Channel Kidd was just retiring at this time.) tempting Inca with various limbs offered then hastily withdrawn.  Gass eventually gets an arm in the confusion and armdrags his man into the guard.  Inca makes it up only for Gass to high whip him back down (to no5 much of a bump- Inca absorbs it well, it must be said.).   Both sides tag prompting some total Cul in the crowd to play Papa Doux on the air horn. La Publique don't pick up on it much, serves the idiot right.  Walter meanwhile gets a wristlever as a set up for a chop to the chest.  Mercifully the bout stays technical for now as another lock up results in Tomas getting a Full Japanese Stranglehold on the kneeling Bordes.  He drops to his own knees - perhaps looking for a surfboard?  Walter stands up and tries to throw his way out but Tomas goes with the momentum and reapplied the full Japanese Stranglehold.  Water tries again, rolling round in the momentum until, on the mat, he can get a foot in for a singl3 leg flip.  But Tomas is not down long enough for a count so they start over.  Walter gets a spinning armlock takedown into crosspress (and quite a Beauty it is!) but L'Arbitre is slow to count and Bordes slaps the mat in frustration.  Th3cref runs round and gets a couple of 1 and 2 counts before Tomas turns things over and gets his own cross press for one. Walter turns things his way up again but Runs Out Of Mat for the second time this bout.  The heels tag a d Inca walks straight into trouble, Walter stepping over his arms to get into a spinning kick worthy of Sammy Lee 4 years later.  Gass tags in, finger Interlocks Inca to the mat and stamps on his hands. He follows up with a spinning kick on the downed Inca but a gentle cheeky effort such that L'Arbitre lets it go.  Another interlock and Vircocha gets a back hammerlock from a front facing position from which he lands blows to the back and front, felling Le Bon.  Is this the end of the technical portion of the match?  Not entirely, as Inca picks up Gass for a snapmare but upon getting it drops a knee.  Not yet a brawl but moving into deeper heat.  Inca kicks Bordes as he tries to tag in and kneelifts a recovering Gass just as he breaks contact with the mat with any body part bar the sole of the boot but is still not upright (the bare minimum for legality but still a long way from sportsmanship.).  He gets another kne3 but knocks Doukhan into tagging range and in comes Bordes in brawling mood mnchettingbIn a into the heel corner and leading the jeers as neither villain wants to come forward.  Trujilllo eventually comes forward and after a brief battle for arm supremacy-gets a fantastic rope assisted arm drag - shades of Mark "Kid McCoy" Boothman a decade plus later!   Trujillo gets another one from the opposite corner.  Tomas is still Un Méchant however and he pulls the hair to get Bordes in a reverse DDT and single permitted stomp before L'Arbitre moves in.  He gets the hair again but Bordes gets that most classically French of escapes, the Reverse Snapmare - to park himself on the r8ng apron with Trujillo in the reverse front chancery with his neck on the ropes.   He could get a nasty neckbreaker on that top rope but the ref earns him off . So Papa Doux releases and Trujillo missed with a chop, is knocked down and slingshot splashed á la Rick Martel but gets out the way resulting in a bump for the bon.  Tomas goes for a Legdrop Of Doom but misses.  Both sides tag and start over.  Viracocha starts things off with a neat side chancery throw and comes back off the ropes with a bodycheck.  Gass gets one back but Trujillo gets a decent swift backdrop in return. Gas ducks down under the next charge and comes up with a shoulderblock which fells the villain.  He gets the same rear snapmare and forward neck weakener as earlier then tags Bordes.  The roads chants Papa Doux Mais Mais as he side headlocks Inca .  He comes off the ropes first with a bodycheck then with a flying bulldog side headlock takeover into a side headlock on the mat in the Mount, but yet again Runs Out Of Mat as the heel's legs tangle with the ropes.  He keeps the headlock and goes for the same sequence, this time getting Inca down right in the middle of the ring. Vircocha gets up (with help from the ropes ) and tries a rear legdive but Walter rolls all the way back to his corner and tags Doukhan.  Trujillo who was knocked off the ring apron during that last exchange ruefully tags in also as Gass watches on in some amusement.  He baits Tomas and gets behind for a rear waistlock into atomic drop. Tomas comes back with a legdive, fells his man and turns into a leglock but Doukhan boots him in the backside into the corner where he takes the posting badly on his shoulder.  Inca tags in and gets a mild bodycheck and a single shot to the shoulders before Walter tags in.  Halfway through, the heels have had a strong Heat period but the bout is still mostly scientific. Inca keeps his distance nicely from a sliding leg attack by Walter, possibly even a drop toehold attempt, and gets a high whip that sends Bordes flying for quite a vicious bump.  It's an emotional low point for the fans, one guy pointedly shouts "papa DOUX!" to perk things up.  But Bordes has a painful expression. He gets an excellent back roll out of a wristlever but then falls victim to the same high whip and bump as earlier. Inca in the corner thinks this deserves more respect and tries to get the crowd to clap!  Trujillo meanwhile has spotted that Bordes's arm took the worst of those high whips - perhaps he even bumped bicep first - and posts him so that he lands, bicep first also, in the corner.  Still selling the arm, he is up at 7.  Inca tries t9 post him but he uses his good arm to hang on to the corner.    The referee , on appeal from Inca exercises his option to reject the rope break (something that would become critical in years to come when Saulnier turned heel) and kicks the arm away,  springing the posting on Bordes who tags Gass.  Gass charges straight in - and is caught and double teamed by Les Méchants until stopped by L'Arbitre.  Tomas gets rough, doling out the Manchettes and stomps with the odd interjection by Inca.  (If this is the official end of the science and the full takeover of brawling then that's something of a record for a Les Bons Vs Les Méchants bout, some 60%+ of the way through the video.).   One irate fan calls Trujillo "un Connard". (look it up if you don't know) and demands he be given Un Avertisement.  Yup, it the Paris version of the South London "GIVE 'IM A  PUBLIC WAWNIN', REF!!!" guy!. Trujillo gets a couple of postings, the second into a fist loaded corner and a full nelson while L'Arbitre guides Bordes out of the ring allowing Inca to get blows in. Inca swats Bordes casually off the apron and continues the heat.  (Bordes land in the lap of Une Spectatrice Charmane - so that's him Ratted Up for the night post match then!  We forget how helpful wrestlers were to each other back in the day) and slingshots Gass Doukhan into the heel corner.   Both Bons pull themselves up but Gass once again is double legged and slingshot into the corner.  He falls down and Inca gets a cross press low splash for th3 three count and the opening Tombée. The villains celebrate and get a shove in on Gass as he gets back to his corner.

Deuxième Manche - Les Méchants are now in the lead and feel like taking greater risks with L'Irregularité. Inca gets a Double Nelson and hold him for Tomas who lands a headbutt. Inca gets two Manchettes then the same Double Nelson for Tomas' headbutt. Walter dives through and gets a full nelson of his own on Trujillo who tries a rear through the legs single leg takedown but is booted in to backside. This however ends in the very repeat of the headbutt to torso the heels were trying for anyway.  Not a smart move for Les Bons although Inca gets it badly too.  Both sides tag and start over, a cold start to the Hot Babyface Tag.  Now it's Les Bons turn to play the brawling game as Bordes gets two Manchettes on Trujillo and another on Inca in the corner.  Soon he is whacking away both villains alternately before he slings them both to ringside to try their luck with La Spectatrice ( was she the blonde lady in the stripey top.). Inca makes it back first and is snapmared in And bionic elbowed by Gass who also has un Manchette for Tomas on the apron.    He throws and dropkicks Tomas out and ties Inca in the ropes and dive-bombs him. When Inca tries to intervene, Gass double legdives and  catapults him into Trujillo.  Inca is in and gets a cross handed grovit on Bordes and Les Méchants double cream him but Les Bons reverse the tactics and soon have Tomas stomach butting Inca. Gass is still officially in and snapmares and elbowsmashes Tomas repeatedly. Tomas gets a side chancery throw back in return but Gass ducks down, leapfrogs and crosspresses for the equalising fall .  Les Bons celebrate in the ring, looking like Strike Force in their matching white pencil trunks.  

La Belle:  (Par-Ce Qu'Il Y A EU).  Gass gets Manchettes and a kneelift from Inca and a 10F Prime from a ringsider with too much spare cash and a desire for 5 secs TV fame.  Bordes tags in and for a moment it gets technical again as Inca back hammerlocks him. Walter gets up, tries to slip in the other arm for an armdrag or the foot for a reverse drop toehold but eventually gets a rear snapmare Inca lands well on his feet and gets another hammerlock, pinioning Bordes for an illegal Trujilllo stomach punch from the ring apron.  He takes Bordes down into almost the mount with the hammerlock.  Bordes tries a reverse snapmare but just ends up atomic dropping himself while actually tightens the hold on Le Bon.  Oh dear.  He tries the escape again with the same unsuccessful result.  A third attempt is no better but the referee takes an interest and gives the heels Un Avertisement (shared, so it's a One Knockout Tag.  I'm not sure what the Avertisement was   for but let's hope Shouty Man from the 20-25 mins period was satisfied.  Inca gets an overhead lever into another back hammer, a standing one this time   Bordes gets a side headlock and FINALLY that classic French reverse snapmare to land behind his man, get a double leg takedown, run the length of his opponent laying in the mount and gets a side headlock of his own then headscissor the other heel and throw BOTH  of them!  Gass tags in and that's the end of the scientific wrestling for tonight as he wallops both villains with Manchettes like a classic American Babyface doing a Hot Tag, then gets a hiptoss and dropkick out of the ring in front of La Spectatrice and her equally blond friend, both giggling at it all.  A four man brawl ends with Les Bons back to back.  The both duck down, both heels collide, each face covers a heel, one gets out and rescues the other, Inca posts Brides but he runs the last bit and ends up on the top turnbuckle coming off with a flying bodypress for the decider and winner.

Probably the best example of Old French Catch we've had in a while, mostly technical except for one run of heel heat in the final third of the video.  Less of the comedy aspect of the Catch A Six a year later, more chance to see Vircocha and Trujillo's actual skills.

As with the cleanup of remaining 80s bouts on the German thread, I intend to mop up on any remaining colour INA taped bouts for 1975-1987 then do the same for the remaining stash of monochrome overseas sale kinescope prints for 1970-1974 then ditto 1965-1969.  I do however intend to bung in some New Catch or later (I)WS(F) or revived FFCP  footage some weekends either for relief or because I'm busy or just remind everyone that Le Catch survived coming off TV IN December 1988 just like British Wrestling did.