Jim Breaks

[ohtani's jacket]

I got a batch of new Jim Breaks I haven't seen before, much of it original broadcast stuff, so I thought I'd jot down my thoughts here.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Steve Grey (4/24/79, JIP Rd 7)

 

This was a tournament final for the vacant British Welterweight crown that aired on Cup Final Day 1979. About 17 minutes aired, so we got to see around half the match. The usual Breaks/Grey dynamic was on show here with Grey reacting aggressively to Break's punches by using the open hand to strike his nose. Breaks appeared to bleed hardway, but as usual the World of Sport camera guy avoided a close-up and instead Walton tried to sell that the smear of blood you get from a bloodied nose was Breaks bleeding profusely. This was quite a toned down performance from Breaks, though he did receive a public warning. It was mainly a battle between the Breaks Special and Grey's surfboard. Grey got in a couple of nice nearfalls, including one surfboard that seemed like it might be the match winner, but as the match began to peter out (which Walton blamed on perspiration), it became obvious that Joint were going to pull one of their favourite tricks and have the match end in a draw to set-up compulsory rematch, a trick they borrowed from the FA Cup replay presumably. Looking at the results, the replay ended in a replay as well, so they definitely got their mileage out of this tournament. The last couple of rounds were disappointing because of the looming draw, but Breaks vs. Grey is always pretty solid so this wasn't too bad.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Jon Cortez (5/26/76)

 

This aired on The Wrestling Channel and was absolute vintage Breaks in front of a hot Royal Albert Hall crowd. Cortez was one of the best lightweights of the early 80s and I thought this would be a chance to see him when he was a bit younger, but as usual with a bit of research I was dumbfounded to discover that he'd made his debut in the early 60s and was a twenty year vet in those 80s matches I like. It never ceases to amaze me how old these British workers are and how good they remain into their 40s and 50s. I've always thought that luchadores age the best, but I'm inclined to think it's the Euro workers. Breaks was at his best here. He had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Cortez, for his part, added some fun spots, but this was the Jim Breaks show and possibly my favourite Breaks match ever. It wasn't one of his "story" matches such as his bouts against Young David (Davey Boy Smith), and thus when it came time to end it ended somewhat abruptly, but for Breaks comedy, and Breaks comedy that gets killer heat, I'm not sure it can be beat. Probably my favourite part was the way the crowd would react whenever Breaks tried to sneak up on Cortez from behind. A huge wail would break out letting Cortez know what Breaks was up to. Breaks was also in fine form with his one-liners. He managed to crack Walton up on several occasions, though they did lose me on one occasion when Breaks asked a woman "did you miss the bonfire?" and Walton said you could tell Breaks was from Yorkshire from that line. Uh, no Ken, I can't. I know Guy Fawkes was from Yorkshire, but I don't really get it. Easier to understand was the visual comedy, and there was a great spot where Breaks tried to imitate Cortez's roll out of a head mare. Comedy gold. I love the way Walton calls moves as well, "head mare with a spin out." In between all the fun and games there was some classy wrestling, but this was geared more towards entertainment than serious wrestling. Apparently, Cortez hadn't been on TV for two years and Walton kept reiterating that he had thought Cortez may have retired, so this was something of a return match and was highly successful despite Cortez putting Breaks over a bit too easily in the end. Match was a lot of fun, had great heat and Breaks was on form.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Steve Grey (6/27/79)

 

This aired on The Wrestling Channel and was part of the Wembley Arena show headlined by Quinn vs. Big Daddy. After two failed attempts to decide a British Welterweight champion, the stipulation here was a thirty minute time limit and if there was no winner referee Szakacs would determine the winner on points. As a result, there were no rounds here and this was a straight one fall contest. Given it was (probably) the biggest stage they'd ever worked on, they put on their version of an epic title match. Breaks vs. Grey is a bit of a strange one to me. They were obviously two of the most gifted wrestlers of their generation, lightweight or otherwise, but neither of them was the other man's best opponent and despite the fact we have half a dozen or so of their matches on tape they never really hit one out of the park. It's strange because the dynamic between them is quite good. Grey seledom hides his frustration at Breaks' clenched fists and usually gets his tail up, and Breaks is generally entertaining, but for some reason they don't produce the same level of outstanding wrestling as you see them perform against other guys. It's good, but not blowaway good like that 1980 Saint vs. Grey match and Saint is one of my least favourite name workers. In fact, I kind of enjoyed the Breaks/Szakacs interactions more than the match itself, which was a bit of a distraction. But it was a big stage, with lots of people, and the atmosphere was memorable. So was the finish, but not for the right reasons. As the time limit approaches, Breaks is taking a bunch of bumps from Grey's "headmare with spin out" and then inexplicably Grey does a spin out of his own, flinging himself out onto the table in front of the ring. Presumably he was dizzy or something, but it was a shitty, shitty payoff to three matches worth of championship deciding wrestling. I don't know if it was mistimed or what, but it was odd as Breaks was nowhere near Grey and Grey just suddenly span and fell out of the ring like a man possessed. Needless to say, it probably coloured my disappointment in the match.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Steve Grey (4/6/82, JIP Rd 6)

 

This was from the original broadcast. I've noticed that they usually showed about half of a twelve round match like this one and pretty much the entirety of anything that went six rounds or less. This was a seemingly rare occasion where Breaks didn't have a belt so this had the usual competitive edge between the two. I can see people preferring the more serious, athletic side of Breaks, but I think I prefer a stronger dose of comedy. Nevertheless, this was one of their better matches and the Wolverhampton crowd was right into it. Plenty of paying customers made their presence felt at ringside, that's for sure. The best thing about it, however, was that amid the endless mar of shitty finishes this had a clean pinfall. As much as I love British wrestling, I don't agree with the Dusty philosophy of give 'em crappy finishes so the clean ones stand out. I can live with it, but it takes some getting used to and I know Childs had a hard time with it. This had a really fantastic penultimate round and while they didn't milk the actual pin for as much as they could have in terms of nearfall and excitement, instead springing it as you might see in a legitimate sporting contest, it was a neat surprise.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner (11/3/82, JIP Rd 3)

 

The first Jim Breaks match I ever saw was his 1977 match against Vic Faulkner, which was the perfect introduction to Breaks as these two had the sort of chemistry that brings out the best in Jimmy Breaks. Faulkner came across as a bit of a smart arse at times, but he was very good at switching from all smiles and laughs to pissed and ready to take matters into his own hands. This was a bit of a childish bout and only really consisted of Breaks and Faulkner antagonising each other, but there were some entertaining scuffles and a few funny moments.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Steve Grey (4/7/83, JIP Rd 2)

 

I really liked this one. If I were awarding points for originality, it wouldn't fare too well as it was extremely similar to their title switch from a year before, but one of the standout features here was the Colne crowd. Grey had this cheerleading section in the front row who were, to put it politely, mental. Think Misawa fan, only as a bunch of older parents in a tiny hall in Lancashire, England. Breaks spent a lot of the match working over Grey's arm both legally and illegally and receiving his usual public warnings. At point, the ringleader of the Grey group appeared to attack Breaks with his coat leading to a bit of a skirmish between rounds. The finish here was almost identical to the Wolverhampton match from '82, but all of the heat and tension and animosity, along with the smattering of great wrestling, made this one of their more memorable bouts for mine.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Steve Grey (aired 5/28/83, JIP Rd 3)

 

How good a heel was Jimmy Breaks? Even in his hometown of Bradford the crowd were against him. This rematch from a few weeks after the Colne match features more of the same tension between the workers, which was pushed as North vs. South by Walton and presumably the promoters. Grey being a Londoner doesn't really matter, however, as he was such a fantastic babyface that everyone pulled for him wherever he went. The rematch continues the theme of Breaks working over Grey's arm, which Grey sells extremely well, and in a neat piece of booking Breaks is down a fall and has used up his two public warnings but it's unclear whether Grey will be able to continue. The finish is screwy, but it's a neat bit of selling by Breaks who reacts by trashing the flower bouquet given to Grey. Walton cracks me up claiming Breaks has ruined a beautiful flower bouquet and that Grey could have given it to his wife. Unfortunately, this is the end of the Breaks/Grey footage and the only major Breaks feud we have documented from here on out is the feud against Danny Collins, who I loathe and despise, but this was a fun way to go out.

[ohtani's jacket]

Actually, I think that Bradford match may be the last time that Breaks and Grey wrestled on television. I believe we have seven of their matches; three that aired on The Wrestling Channel and four from the original broadcasts. That makes Grey/Breaks easily the most documented Breaks feud. The one feud I think it's a pity we don't have more from is the Breaks/Ryan rivalry as a lot of older British fans seem to recall it fondly.

[ohtani's jacket]

This is the last bit of Breaks I have for the time being:

 

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner (7/25/84)

 

This was another fun match between these two. I liked it a bit more than the match from '82 because instead of a full on tantrum from Breaks he targeted Faulkner aggressively. The entire match aired on the original broadcast as it was a little on the short side and these guys bouts never resolved anything anyway, so it wasn't much more than you standard Breaks fare, but what probably wasn't known at the time was that it would be the last time that Breaks regularly featured on British TV. He appeared a couple of more times on ITV in '86 and '88 as part of the All-Star slot and he had a couple of matches on Screen Sport, but he was never again a Saturday afternoon fixture as he had been for so many years. The frustrating thing about that for Breaks fans is that even though he was 44 in 1984 and a thirty year vet, he showed no signs of slowing down nor was his act tired. Feels like we were robbed of extra footage. The other thing I thought about while watching this was how the key to Joint Promotions' success, IMO, was that guys like Faulkner and Breaks looked like guys you could meet down at your local pub, who instead of being good at say darts, football or pool just happened to be professional wrestlers. And the reality was that it wasn't far from the truth, as most guys had day jobs and probably enjoyed a pint or two. Breaks was the landlord of an inn and Faulkner started working for a brewery around this time. That accessibility strikes me as a stark contrast to say the WWF were guys were like superheroes come to live, Mexico where workers hide their identities or Japan where they're presented as elite athletes. Of course, as a fan I tend to ignore a lot of the gimmick stuff like Nagasaki and so on, but watching this Breaks and Faulkner really did stand out as two regular blokes.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Kid Chocolate (9/26/78)

 

Match is joined with a Breaks fall being overturned and a public warning being issued instead. Quite a frenetic bout for the time that it lasts as Johnny Saint is at ringside in a sling and Breaks goes for the kill while taunting Saint the entire time. Kid Chocolate has to play JTTS, but it's a neat bit of TV with the Digbeth crowd getting on Breaks' case with "easy" chants and Saint entering the ring at the end to slap Breaks around with his good arm, which was probably the coolest thing Saint has ever done. This was fun while it lasted.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (12/19/79)

 

This is the third in a trilogy of Jim Breaks vs. Young David matches available, two of which aired on TWC and one that was taped from the original broadcast. This is the original broadcast match and completes the picture of Breaks vs. Young David being the best example of how good a worker Breaks was. There's obviously better grappling in his matches against Saint and Grey, but there's a real magic to the dynamic between Breaks the veteran, who is second only to McManus as the man they love to hate, and this scrawny kid who can't even shave yet. Add Alan Dennison to the kid's corner, all pumped up and urging the kid on, and you have another fantastic bout between the two. The matches which aired in full are more epic, but this fits nicely between the two and has an absolutely wonderful finish, as for a brief moment Young David wins the belt and gets a tremendous ovation and post-match celebration. Moments like that were pretty rare in World of Sport, which made it all the more special. Unfortunately, Breaks disputed the pinfall and the belt was held-up, which led to a Breaks vs. Dennison program I believe, but it doesn't happen on tape so you can just enjoy one of the feel good moments of the era instead.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Alan Dennison (5/28/80)

 

After Breaks finished feuding with Young David, he began a program with Alan Dennison that became his big feud of 1980. Dennison had been in Davey Boy's corner when they did the Dusty finish that saw the kid win the British Welterweight title. When Breaks complained about the finish, the title was held-up and a rematch was signed for the vacant belt. Breaks won the rematch and Dennison stepped in immediately as the first challenger, despite being on the upper limit of the Welterweight bracket, which meant that kayfabe-wise he had to train down to face Breaks. I never really cared for Dennison's wrestling or his strongman gimmick, but when I was going through the dregs of the World of Sport footage I softened on him a bit, and this is Breaks in a major feud, so I picked up all the footage there is of these two guys and man am I glad I did. Partly, I'm excited to see Jim Breaks again, but this Solihull match is a great piece of TV. It's joined in progress and really gets going when Dennison puts a hold on Breaks' pectoralis muscle and keeps telling him he's nothing. Apparently, these two were best mates in real life and the chemistry between them is off the charts. I had never seen such an intense performance from Dennison. Breaks threw him to the outside between rounds, which injured Dennison's arm and the ref and medics wanted to stop the bout, but Dennison pleaded with Brian Crabtree and the ref to allow the match to continue while Breaks was gloating in the background. The match continued with Dennison fighting with one arm and Breaks getting all cocky and slapping him in the face. Breaks got the Breaks Special on a couple of times, but Dennison was able to power his way out of it with his good arm, and just when it seemed like Dennison would succumb to his injury, he reversed the Breaks Special into a submission of his own for the upset victory. Cracking TV.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Alan Dennison (8/6/80)

 

Surprisingly, Dennison won the British Welterweight title in a non-television match yet the rematches aired. This was a non-title bout with Breaks searching for a win to force a title shot. Again, the intensity from Dennison was palpable. These two matched up extremely well. This was original broadcast footage, but joined from the beginning and complete. It was an excellent match with Dennison's strongman schtick looking fantastic against the weaselly Breaks. Apparently, Dennison used to have quite heated bouts with McManus and Pallo, which must have been something to watch. Match was building up to be one of the best of 1980 when they did a finish that was a neat idea in theory but disappointing for a one fall catchweight contest (Dennison was over the weight limit here.) Breaks injured his knee and Dennison went over to help stretch it out and Breaks took Dennison's outstretched hand and folded him up for a pin. Dennison was outraged at the poor sportsmanship, but I would have liked a better finish. Still, this was vintage Breaks.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Alan Dennison (11/30/81)

 

This was JIP and had sound issues and was a knockout tournament bout to begin with so it wasn't very long. Kind of outside of their feud anyway so it didn't really matter.

[ohtani's jacket]

Alan Dennison vs. Jim Breaks (8/23/83)

 

This was the finals of a knockout tournament to present some sort of charity shield. Joint Promotions used to run tournaments like these several times a year and usually had the town mayor or some other dignitary present the trophy to the winner. I suppose it was done to book something different on TV every once in a while. Since it was a tournament final, the match was a special no-rounds 15 minute bout. Breaks and Dennison showed their usual working chemistry, but the most entertaining thing about this was the Swadlincote crowd. They were really hot and kept chanting "mardy" at Breaks, which Walton was told by his crew at ringside meant "yella" in the local dialect but wikipedia says it means soft or crybaby. Someone threw a dummy (pacifier) at Breaks as well, which the crowds used to do to rile Breaks up. The bout itself was pretty good, though the fall that breaks won was confusing as the bell rang without anybody really knowing what had happened. After that, the match went to a draw and the ref declared Dennison the winner since he'd received less public warnings. Breaks threw a tantrum and the Swadlincote crowd got their night's entertainment.

 

Jim Breaks vs. Little Prince (11/8/80)

 

This was fun while it lasted. It was nothing outstanding, but I didn't really expect it to be being the heats of yet another tournament. The Prince was sans moustache and looked much different. Some fun exchanges mostly in the final fall.

 

Jackie Turpin vs. Jim Breaks (6/15/82)

 

This was really good. According to Walton, the winner became the number one contender to take on Steve Grey for his British Lightweight title. Turpin came from a famous boxing family and had been a boxer himself from the late 60s through to mid-70s. His uncle Randolph Turpin was famous for defeating Sugar Ray Robinson for his World Middleweight title in 1951 (a victory that later had tragic consequences for his uncle who committed suicide some years later.) For a guy who wasn't a natural wrestler, he was pretty good. He had a bit of a strange physique for the sport, but he made up for whatever shortcomings he may have had with plenty of enthusiasm and this was a nice mix of Breaks' schtick and actual wrestling. Turpin had some nice high spots and the booking was really good. Breaks wound up jobbing for Turpin and when Breaks jobbed it always meant something. Now I really want to see Turpin's match with Steve Grey.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Jackie Turpin (11/30/81)

 

This was another good Turpin/Breaks match. It was the final of the knockout tournament that had poor sound quality for the Dennison/Breaks fight. The sound was also low on this, but the video was watchable. Turpin surprised Breaks with a folding press 13 seconds into the match and the rest of the match was pretty much a non-stop affair with Turpin notching another surprise win over Breaks. Not as exciting as their number one contender bout, but a good match all the same. All right, so I enjoyed the Dennison/Breaks feud more than I thought I would. The challenge now is to see what Breaks could do in his last major feud on British TV and that was against 16 year-old Danny Boy Collins. I don't like the boy apprentices much and I've got no love for Collins, so this is a hell of a tester for Breaks.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (11/2/83)

 

This was Collins television debut. Breaks was actually meant to wrestle John Naylor, but Collins replaced the billed Naylor for whatever reason. Breaks carried Collins to something decent, but it wasn't as exciting as one of his normal bouts. The big talking point for Collins was that he took a fall off Breaks. The promoters must have been impressed, because they carried this over into '84 in a big way.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (2/2/84)

 

The video crapped out a few minutes into this and skipped to the next match, so I assume this was a problem with the original tape.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (2/29/84)

 

The finish to the previous match seemed to be a fall to Collins followed by a DQ win. In this return match, Breaks put up 500 pounds that Collins couldn't take another fall from him. Only three minutes of this exists and the highlight is seeing Collins win the 500 pounds.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (4/4/84)

 

So, in a rather big shock, Danny Boy Collins, who'd only been a pro for less than a year and wasn't even born when Breaks started wrestling, took the British Welterweight Championship from Breaks at the 3/21 Royal Albert Hall Show at the age of 17. Breaks had a 90 day clause to receive a return match and this was it. The action was pretty decent, but the ref bump finish had some pretty comical acting from Peter Szakacs, who was a pretty shitty actor. Collins hit a nice looking dropkick on Breaks, but collided with Szakacs as he was attempting his next move. Breaks got a Boston crab on Collins while Szakacs was stumbling about and thought he'd won his title back, but the ref called it a non contest as Collins was being carried out. Breaks threw a tantrum about Szakacs' decision and his complaining led to a rematch of the rematch.

 

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (4/26/84)

 

A masterpiece. This was one of the most brilliant performances I've seen from Breaks and one of his very best matches. It's also his last great match before leaving Joint Promotions and shows he was still at the top of his game in '84. It started off slowly and began to warm up when Breaks started stretching Collins. The crowd were really behind the young welterweight champion and in a hostile mood towards Breaks. One guy gave him the fingers while another tried to pick a fight with him from something like the third row back. What's more, Walton got angry at Breaks saying "I'm tired of that man's yapping all the time" then defending himself for not being impartial. Even the ref, Ken Joyce, seemed against Breaks as he kept trying to find ways to avoid counting Collins on pin attempts. It was almost as though there was this perfect storm brewing. Breaks then went after Collins' face and kept raking at his forehead until Collins bled hardway. He was relentless and kept going until he got a submission. The crowd were fuming by this point and there was a hilarious moment where a woman threw in this pink balloon dummy that she'd made and Breaks kicked it which immediately made it pop. The thing looked more like a sex toy than a pacifier. The way Breaks kept working on the kid almost seemed like he was brutalising the poor boy and even I was starting to pull for him. To be fair, Collins' selling was picture perfect. I won't give away the finish, instead I'll just reconfirm that Jim Breaks was a master.

[ohtani's jacket]

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (2/2/84)

 

The video crapped out a few minutes into this and skipped to the next match, so I assume this was a problem with the original tape.

 

 

I got a replacement copy of this, but it's really a nothing match to set-up the 500 pound challenge.

[GSR]

Jim Breaks vs Peter Bainbridge (06.08.88)

Breaks is only wrestling part time at this point spending most of the time running his pub in Batley, whilst Bainbridge is just 16 and resembles Danny Collins with acne. This is a crafty veteran versus rookie bout with Breaks controlling the majority of the match. There seemed more of Breaks' schtick than usual in this one with plenty of interaction with the crowd (telling some lady that 'I'm paying your pension!'), the referee (a closed fist to the face of Bainbridge, sees the youngster retaliate with one of his own, Breaks isn't happy 'you ought to give somebody a public warning!', 'do you know how to give public warnings?', the ref gives one to Breaks) and even the MC. Bainbridge gets a flash first fall, schoolboy tripping Breaks as he comes off the ropes and rolling him up in what was a rather sloppily executed exchange. Breaks is arguing with the MC when Bainbridge rolls him up again for a near fall, before getting the Breaks special in just 42 seconds of the fourth round. Breaks is again looking for the arm in the fifth with Bainbridge doing all he can to keep it out of his reach. Eventually he grabs the arm and gets the winning submission with a variation of his special in just one minute of the round.

 

This was Breaks final appearance on TV with wrestling cancelled by the end of the year. He deserved better that this and I'd rate it even below the Kamakazi match. The second round isn't shown on the broadcast, but this is one to miss.

[Matt D]

Danny Boy Collins vs. Jim Breaks (4/4/84)

 

So, in a rather big shock, Danny Boy Collins, who'd only been a pro for less than a year and wasn't even born when Breaks started wrestling, took the British Welterweight Championship from Breaks at the 3/21 Royal Albert Hall Show at the age of 17. Breaks had a 90 day clause to receive a return match and this was it. The action was pretty decent, but the ref bump finish had some pretty comical acting from Peter Szakacs, who was a pretty shitty actor. Collins hit a nice looking dropkick on Breaks, but collided with Szakacs as he was attempting his next move. Breaks got a Boston crab on Collins while Szakacs was stumbling about and thought he'd won his title back, but the ref called it a non contest as Collins was being carried out. Breaks threw a tantrum about Szakacs' decision and his complaining led to a rematch of the rematch.

 

 

OJ, I sort of dipped my foot in the Joint Promotions waters with this match. I thought a lot of the action was quite good, though, especially for something seemingly so throwaway in your examination of UK wrestling. How much of it do you think was Breaks leading the 17 year old through holds and exchanges?

[ohtani's jacket]

Breaks and Collins had one blockbuster match and the rest were average to middling. Breaks was generally good at working with the teenagers. He has an impressive trilogy of matches with Young David (Davey Boy Smith) and the aforementioned Collins match. His match with Dynamite Kid is a short one fall catchweight bout and nothing special, but as for Collins I'm not really interested in watching him against anyone else for the rest of the television run, so for me there series was a definite carry job from Breaks. It was pretty much the last thing he did of note on ITV. Aside from their one great match, it just doesn't really compare with the best of Jim Breaks, that's all. But if you liked it then that's promising.

[GSR]

Jim Breaks vs 'Grasshopper' Phil Johnson (02.23.83)

This is a first round contest from a knockout tournament with the winner meeting Mick McMichael later on in the evening. Grasshopper is a bit of an odd looking chap, wearing green cycling shorts with a yellow strip down the side, barefoot with a shaven head and little in the way of a physique. He's a Judo black belt who was supposedly brought into the pro wrestling game by Chris Adams. Johnson opens up with a few headmares, then when Breaks tries one of his own it's blocked. The crowd start laughing, cheering and clapping at his inability to execute the move and the guy really is a master of having them eating out of his hand. An early sunset flip by Johnson and Breaks lifts his shoulder informing the referee 'I'm up!'. He offers the hand to Johnson who accepts, but is pulled in and met with a closed fist to the face. Grasshopper fires back with one of his own which drops Breaks and he looks on in disbelief that the referee hasn't warned him at all. With one minute left in the first Breaks turns his attention to the left arm looking for his patented submission. Johnson reverses it trying to put the special on the man himself, but Breaks halts the attempt with a punch to the stomach in full view of the official for his first public warning. In the second round Johnson again tries to use Breaks' own hold against him before badly botching a folding press. Toe and ankle as he looks to weaken Breaks, before Breaks turns the table and starts bending and manipulating Johnson's ankle. On to the third and yet again Johnson tries for the special. This time Breaks pushes him backwards and then traps Johnson's arm in the ropes. Breaks pretends to try and release Johnson whilst in reality tightening the ropes, softening the arm even more. He offers Johnson his hand as a way of an apology (you'd think that he'd have learned) but Breaks immediately grabs him and applies his special for the submission.

 

They do seem to pair Breaks up with a lot of the greener or younger talent and it depends really on how adept that they are on the quality of the match and what Breaks can get out of them. Johnson is not very good and as a result this is towards the bottom of the ladder for him.

[ohtani's jacket]

They do seem to pair Breaks up with a lot of the greener or younger talent and it depends really on how adept that they are on the quality of the match and what Breaks can get out of them. Johnson is not very good and as a result this is towards the bottom of the ladder for him.

 

They did pair Breaks up with a lot of the newer talent (along with Sid Cooper), but it's accentuated by the footage TWC aired. Breaks had lengthy television feuds with Steve Grey then Young David, Alan Dennison and Danny Boy Collins in the period you've been covering.

[Matt D]

I watched the Breaks vs Bobby Ryan match with Ryan as part of the TV All Stars (he had a 6 on his back). My second Breaks match and my first Ryan one and probably a bad choice to start with but I really liked it. It was sort of a textbook case of how to work a hold and work a hold and work a hold and then have that hold payoff only to lead into a great finish that you can only get in a match with multiple falls. I love how Breaks moves around the ring and how he bumps. He just flings himself, but he's so consistent about it and the setting is so foreign to me that it really works.

[GSR]

The following two matches are from Satellite Wrestling on the short lived Screensport program

 

Jim Breaks vs Johnny Saint (03.01.86)

The Screensport shows were completely different to the traditional WOS ones and had more of an American feel to them; there were interviews, angles which would develop from show to show, backstage bits and you'd even get an added bout or two from the US airing which were supposedly nominated by a 'viewer'. Both wrestlers cut promos before the match and neither were very good (not surprisingly as they've never had any need for it in the past) with Saint being worse than Breaks. With this being on the Screensport channel, it means there is sadly no Kent Walton and commentary is provided by Maxton G. Beesley and Vince Miller, who to put it bluntly are diabolical. For two who say so much they are completely clueless when it comes to calling the moves, they would often talk over each other to the point you couldn't understand what they were saying , and even worse in my eyes, they'd proceed to talk over Breaks when he's doing his schtick with the crowd. If that isn't bad enough, you'd get adverts pop up over the action advising you of addresses to contact if you want to train to be a wrestler or purchase some even programs.

 

This was standard Breaks fare (pleased with himself for rolling through when Saint tries to ram his head into the canvas only to then get caught the next time, bad mouthing the referee when Saint gets given a public warning only to see the ref reverse the warning and give it to Breaks), whilst he did get some great heat from the crowd. With better camera work and these two idiots on commentary keeping it to a minimum (in fact, someone else altogether calling it), this would have come across better. First fall saw Saint have a double arm stretch on Breaks, then Breaks starts waving and crossing his legs as if he is going for some wacky Saintesque escape, only for Saint to trap them and get the reverse folding press. Breaks equalizes with the Special after tying Saint's arm up in the ropes, and Saint gets the decisive fall rolling Breaks up much to the approval of the crowd who come to ringside and all want to shake his hand.

 

Jim Breaks vs Max Hunter (06.28.86)

Again Breaks cuts an interview before the match and is sporting a rather dashing yellow Pringle V-neck. This was better than his previous effort, but he spent most of the time knocking Johnny Saint to continue the rivalry between the two of them. The commentary was better too in the fact that at least they didn't talk over each other, though I was still expecting to hear 'whattamaneuvre' at some point. The crowd also were pretty dead for this match which isn't the norm when Breaks is involved. This was the first time I'd seen (or even heard of) Hunter who has a few nice spots (the Nigel McGuinness slingshot off the ropes, a variation on the double arm stretch where he puts one foot on Breaks head and pushes it up to apply pressure to the neck and a cool bridge escape), but despite the odd moment of advantage Breaks pretty much takes the entire match. It really should have gone five minutes less than it did with Breaks eventually winning getting the only fall that is required.

 

Neither are must see and there are far, far better examples of Breaks' work on the WOS discs.

[Tim Cooke]

Got a ton of WOS in recently. Have watched the first two Young David vs. Jim Breaks matches from their trilogy the last two days and Breaks will have a shot at top 10 in my GOAT list just based on those two matches (and I haven't even got to the 12 round match yet). Not to mention the 5/81 STeve Grey and 4/84 Danny Boy Collins classics. I had seen a decent amount of Breaks prior but this stuff is catapulting him. Steve Grey will also surely make my list, at least in the top 30, probably in the top 13-23.

[Tim Cooke]

Third match is just as good as the first two. Easily the best three matches I had never seen that I've watched in 2014. Going to do a more thought out review of all three over the Christmas break.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Zolton Boscik (6/20/73)

 

Jim Breaks with a full head of hair! This was a slow burner to set Boscik up as the next challenger for Breaks' British Lightweight Championship after he'd successfully defended it against Saint on Cup Final Day. The way it was worked was that Boscik took an early fall, which left Breaks chasing on the scoreboard, and in vintage World of Sport fashion he never really got close to an equaliser. The more frustrated Breaks became, the more the crowd started to get his goat. One woman in particular was constantly giving him an earful and Breaks would holler at her to sit down and shut her fat mouth before finally exploding into one of his classic tantrums. Nothing none of us haven't seen a dozen times from Breaks before, but it's a bit like watching afternoon TV and seeing an old episode of Only Fools and Horses or something equally comfortable and inviting. Classic British comedy. Breaks had one fall to tie this up, but Boscik wrestled a beautiful defensive fall to seal his victory (including a fantastic headbutt attack to ice it), and while the bout was only "very good" as opposed to great, I love sports inspired booking where the champ has an off day without any screwjob bullshit. He didn't suffer the indignity of a straight falls loss as he did against Saint in the lead-up to the title match, but he was well beaten on the night, which would have at least gotten Boscik one more match to prove he deserved a title shot. Good stuff.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jim Breaks vs. Jackie Robinson (8/30/72)

 

This was probably the most technical Breaks match I've seen at least during the first few rounds where they spent a large amount of the time on the canvas. After Robinson took the opening fall, Breaks started backing away a bit and adopted a more defensive approach looking to counter his way into the Jim Breaks special. He really was supremely fit in his younger days with a great physique for a lightweight. During this era, he used to go on cruises and would come back with a full body tan. Walton was somewhat fixated by it and mentioned it about five or six times. There was a bit of banter from Breaks and a few of his old tricks like checking his shoe laces to fool his opponent, but for the most part he was serious about beating Robinson. Robinson had only been a pro for a few years at this point (since the spring of '69, I think), but didn't really look like a youngster. Nevertheless, this was closer to a stock Breaks vs. youngster match than Breaks against a leading contender. For that reason it was a tad lopsided once Breaks overcame the early deficit, but prime Breaks is nothing to sneeze out and man do I wish we had his entire 70s catalogue.

[JerryvonKramer]

Jim Breaks vs. Johnny Saint (3/14/73)

 

Saint looks like every 70s Roy of the Rover footballer you've ever seen. Walton claims that Breaks has been training with Bradford City Football Club. Believable, I guess.

 

Breaks might do the fastest "full arm drag and twist" I've ever seen. I never know why it's called that by the way, it's probably more like a "wristlock takeover", but Schiavone and Solie would always call it a "full arm drag and twist". At one point Saint does a kip up from a hammerlock straight into a snapmare, which was a pretty cool counter.

 

This was an excellent bout. After Saint took the first fall, Breaks went "on tilt" as poker players might say and ramped up his aggression using a lot of cheap tactics including face mangling, stomps on the nose and other such nastiness. Saint all of a sudden loses his shit and starts hammering on Breaks seemingly breaking his nose. Breaks looks like he starts bleeding hardway, and the match gets real heated. Saint takes a surprising upset second fall to win 2-0 up -- notably this was non-title, so Breaks is still lightweight champ. Fanastic match and probably the best I've seen in this style. Breaks's character work is off the charts, but he's that rare breed of worker that combines that with being an off-the-charts great workrate guy too. Saint looked very good in this match. I loved how Breaks just made him snap here, it was "no more Mr. Nice Guy". Excellent transitions in this match and the sense of progression and escalation of heat was amazing.

 

****3/4

 

Jim Breaks vs. Johnny Saint (5/5/73)

 

So the inevitable title match. Breaks isn't fucking about anymore here and has come to fight from the get go. Awesome moment at the end of the first round when Breaks has Saint in some sort of standing arm hold, the bell goes and Saint throws a cheeky arm drag. That fires Breaks up. Second round sees things heat up more. Breaks even begs off a bit. The limb work is just phenomenal here from both guys. The way Breaks trash talks members of the crowd out of the side of his mouth while he's sitting in a hold is one of my favourite things. As is him screaming "WATCH THE NOSE SAINT!" Even though this is only the fifth or sixth Breaks match I'm watching, to me he feels like someone who is comparable to a Nick Bockwinkel or Ric Flair as someone right at the very top of his game and at the top of the profession. Master of the craft in every aspect.

 

At one point Saint gives Breaks a stiff as hell elbow in the face, which causes Breaks to bust out the patented "Jim Breaks Special". Saints tries one himself and Breaks goes to the tights sly as anything, then pleads innocence with the ref. Another cool spot I like is Breaks going for a snapmare but Saint landing on his feet. Breaks stooging is really great. At one point he screams "NO!" as Saint counters a headlock into a wristlock, begs off and then immediately grabs the hair to take Saint down. Consummate heel and as good as any heel you'll ever see. Can't help but be blown away by the guy. The way he flits from moments of schtick to genuine brutality and violence is something to see. The stomp on the back of the head spot is sick.

 

Where Saint controlled a lot of the non-title bout, here Breaks is the aggressor more, which makes sense as psychology if you think about it. But then against the run of play, Saint steals the first fall in round 4 to go 1-0 up. Breaks goes on his facial attack now, bending and twisting Saint's nose. Pressing down on the bridge. Trying to pull or twist it off his face. Saint returns with a snapmare and chop's Breaks's nose to cause it to bleed once again. He has blood all over his mouth now. Saint is surprisingly vicious when he's on offense. Round six and Breaks is slamming Saint's face to the mat with real force. Dumps him outside. Really nasty slam onto the mat again. And Saint is busted open to give Breaks a technical knock out. Someone in the crowd throws their drink at Breaks.

 

This was awesome as a pay off to the last match and just as enjoyable and excellent. This was worked as more of a sprint or heated match from the start. I thought it was great and back-to-back some real quality between these two.

 

****3/4

 

Jim Breaks vs. Zoltan Boscik (12/2/72)

 

There is an old woman in the front row with hair I can't take my eyes off. Boscik comes from the Dory Funk Jr school of math supply teachers. He was the lightweight champion before Breaks, and Walton tells us he's just had his naturalisation papers come through to become a British citizen. "Zoltan" is a cool name befitting of a wizard or something like that. I like the fact that a lot of the crowd are wearing suits and ties.

 

Breaks is in a particularly argumentative mood. He's doing a lot of schtick in this match. Playing possum and then going for cheap shots. Begging off and sneaking in with leg sweeps. And so on. There are actually elements of his character that remind me of the comedian Johnny Vegas -- I wonder if Breaks was in any way an influence on Vegas. Maybe some other Brits here might be able to see what I mean. It goes beyond just the accent and "them being Northern", there's something of Breaks's demeanour that Vegas also has, especially for example when he's moaning on Shooting Stars.

 

Funny sequence where the ref picks Breaks up for pulling on Boscik's ear, and Breaks shouts back "I'm not touching his ear!" while clearly pulling the ear. I should note that Boscik does the same land-on-the-feet counter to the snapmare as Saint.

 

They pan over to show a blind girl in the crowd wearing earphones so she can hear Walton's commentary on the match. "Sandra". Super fan.

 

It's so much fun watching Breaks. Boscik is not a particularly interesting opponent, but Breaks is in a permenant state of disgruntlement: irritated by the ref, irritated by the crowd, he's a classic British "moaner". And it feeds through everything he does. He gets a fall to make it 1-1 and even complains to the ring announcer that he didn't call him "Lightweight Champion Jim Breaks". Completely awesome.

 

He goes over fairly quickly in the sixth round with a standing Jim Breaks special. Not quite as good as the Saint matches because I didn't find Boscik nearly as engaging a babyface as Saint, but I think Breaks's superlative character work makes this definitely worth checking out. It was quite long but he kept things entertaining throughout.

 

***3/4

 

Jim Breaks vs. Bobby Ryan (3/23/76)

 

British lightweight champ vs. European lightwieght champ here. Crowd are doing football-style "Bobbbb-y Ryyyyan" chants. He's also wrestling in a "number 6" vest. This is billed as a "TV all stars" match or something -- seems like Ryan is part of a stable called the "TV all stars". No titles up for grabs I don't think.

 

Breaks assaults the nose with the pressing. Walton never misses a chance to remind us that Breaks's nose is broken. "Ryan, of course, unlike Breaks has got a bone in his nose".

 

At one point Ryan injures his back missing a dropkick, but for some reason Breaks doesn't follow it up and instead targets the arm. I thought that was a missed opportunity and some illogical psychology. Later though, he does this weird move with both arms behind the back and a foot on each one, hard to describe but it was neat. Ryan does the land-on-feet counter to the snapmare too. Looks like a standard Breaks spot.

 

Breaks spends a lot of this match trying to break Ryan's left wrist, which Ryan sells pretty effectively with genuine agony on his face. Cool spot when Breaks throws Ryan and his legs land and hang over the top rope. The finish is spectacular as Breaks has an armlock on, and Ryan flips over for a bridged flash pin. 2-1 and the win.

 

This was good, but I wasn't sure why Ryan's back injury didn't play into the narrative more. Breaks did stick to his gameplan of attacking the wrist and had a laser-like focus on that and the finish was great, but this is the least of the matches I've watched in this sitting so far.

 

***1/2

 

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner (7/5/77)

 

Walton tells the story of how Faulkner lost the title to Breaks on a DQ, and had tears in his eyes because he'd never broken a rule before in his life. Wonderful!!

 

Faulkner is a pretty firey babyface, and as more spunk than Ryan or Boscik. His headscissors was nasty. Stamp on the hand. Slap across the face. This sort of thing ramps up intensity. Seems like Breaks has really pissed Faulkner off.

 

Breaks it seems to me has a number of basic strategies:

 

1. Destroy (left) arm usually culminating in the Jim Breaks Special.

 

2. Attack the face, especially the nose.

 

3. Dominate with throws, mainly the slams across the ring.

 

4. Needle with taunting and incessant complaining to rile up opponent make them lose their cool and make a mistake or get themselves DQ'd

 

5. Cat and mouse. Stooge. Beg off. Sneak attack or cheap shot (hair, tights, etc.)

 

These are his main weapons, and he moves between them like a master psychologist and pushes in a certain direction depending on the opponent. He can combine them, he can switch between them, but these are mostly the basic ingredients of his gameplan. A lot of them on display in this match, where it is clear that Faulkner is struggling to keep a level head. Breaks's taunting is world class. He points to his chin over and over again goading Faulkner into taking a shot (and so a DQ). Faulkner has to muster all his self control not to.

 

The stomp variant of the Breaks Special is sick as fuck by the way and legit one of the most painful looking moves ever. Although the submission mostly comes from the standing version.

 

Ultimate payback now as Bert Royal distracts the ref for Faulkner to get in a punch and steal a pinfall. Breaks looks totally shocked. Crowd erupt, get to their feet and seem like they want to get in the ring. Breaks offers his hand to shake and they do.

 

Great match which had some real heat because Faulkner brought a lot of fire, while Breaks worked and worked to rile him up only to see it back fire for a great payback spot and a real Wile E. Cyote moment in the finish. Great psychology and storytelling plus tremendous character work and some sick limbwork.

 

****3/4

 

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (12/3/79)

 

Davey Boy is 16 and is ridiculously young and skinny. Literally a schoolboy. Sort of the ultimate version of the DiBiase vs. Dustin challenge match combined with Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid. Stip here is that if Young David can score a pinfall, Breaks will give him £100.

 

Much of the drama of this match comes from seeing a veteran wrestler go up against this boy with more guts than sense. There are some nasty moments, like when Breaks gut punches David. Or when he has his wrist twisted back as he's lifting him up for the Breaks Special. He even hot shots him from the special onto the top rope at one point. And David submits eventually to the special. This is legalised assault. The visual of this grizzled man brutalising a 16-year old alone is worth seeing.

 

David's screams of pain as Breaks twists and bends and stomps on the wrist are genuinely a bit disconcerting. What this means is that the crowd cheer wildly for any bit of offense that David gets in. And, of course, he steals the pin to come back to 1-1 ensuring that he gets the £100. The ring announcer counts it out in £5 notes. And then announces David as the winner just to rub salt in the wound. And then announces him as "the loser of the contest" just to annoy him a bit more.

 

This match has a unique dynamic and is definitely worth seeking out.

 

****

[ohtani's jacket]

A few corrections on the dates:

 

Jim Breaks vs. Zoltan Boscik (aired 12/2/72)

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner (7/5/77)

 

The Breaks/Young David trilogy:

 

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (12/3/79)

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (12/19/79)

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (Davey Boy Smith) (2/13/80)