Marty Jones

[ohtani's jacket]

Same deal as with Jim Breaks.

 

Marty Jones vs. Marc Rocco (9/13/78)

 

This was the third of the Marty Jones/Marc Rocco matches that aired on The Wrestling Channel. I've been wanting to see this for the longest time as the Rocco/Jones matches are what turned my curosity over British wrestling into a wrestling love affair that's spanned a couple of hundred matches now. This was title vs. title, Rocco's British Heavy-middleweight title vs. Jones' British Light-heavyweight title, which was a pretty rare stip as far as I'm aware. The angle was that Jones dropped down to Rocco's weight but that was all kayfabed bullshit as far as I know. Mind you, not having seen Jones' 70s work for a while I was surprised by how small he was at this point. I've actually been quite of disappointed by some of the original broadcast Jones that's popped up from the early 80s, so as soon as this got going I sank my teeth into some prime Marty Jones.

 

I really love this match-up. People who know me will know that I hate Rocco, but against Jones he's just about perfect. The closest I've seen him come to this with another opponent is that great catchweight contest he had with Pat Roach. Rocco worked heel here, but it was same kind of deal as a rudo in a lucha title match in that he was more invested in winning Jones' title than worrying too much about cheating. I haven't watched the other Rocco/Jones matches in a couple of years so I'm not sure how this compares. My gut reaction was that it was the least of the three matches, but I'd have to go back and watch the other two. What's remarkable about these matches is how ahead of their time they were. They could have easily been great matches in the 90s let alone the late 70s. It's amusing how Walton doesn't know the names for the moves they do. At one point he calls a proto-missile dropkick a "dropkick from height." I thought they'd screw us out of a finish since it was title vs. title, but they actually swapped titles on a count out. It was announced as a knock out, but it was a huge ass bump over the top rope from one of the workers. That kind of gave it away if you know these two. Strangely enough, the winner vacated the loser's belt straight away and the loser won it back again in the tournament to determine the new winner, which doesn't make much sense, but who am I to question thirty five year old booking? This was a good match.

[JNLister]

Researching for a recent interview I did with Jones for FSM I came to the conclusion that although he's probably not the best wrestler of the World of Sport era, he's probably the guy who had good/great matches with the widest range of opponents.

 

Incidentally, as best I can tell Jones-Rocco was the pairing with the most matches on ITV.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty had a style of working where if he got fired up enough and it turned into a forearm smash contest he could have a great match with just about anybody, but he was a hell of a worker besides that. I might be inclined to pick Grey as the most versatile, however.

 

Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair (9/26/78, JIP Rd 2)

 

These catch weight contests often produce gems, but this was a bit more special than usual as it was the British Heavyweight champion vs. the British Light-Heavyweight champion, so Jones was giving away a fair bit of size. I can't imagine a heavyweight champion in any other promotion putting over a lighter wrestler as much as St. Clair did here. I've never given St. Clair much credit as a worker, instead praising him as a babyface foil for the likes of McManus, Kincaid and Bond, but I thought he was excellent here. Whoever booked this did a great job as they fooled me twice. St. Clair stayed down during the break between rounds with a shoulder injury and I thought maybe we were going to see a bullshit World of Sport injury finish that put Jones over for whatever reason, but St. Clair shrugged off the pain and the two men put on the best round I've seen on these discs to date. Really fantastic wrestling that had the crowd on their feet. Then they did a head clash spot that I thought for sure would lead to a double knockout, but the match kept going. For as shitty as WoS finishes can be, when they decide to pull a swerve or two it works really well. The match was a cracker and both guys came out of it looking good. Why more wrestling can't be booked like this is a mystery.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Dynamite Kid (11/13/79)

 

This was from the original broadcast but it was a six round match shown in full. These guys had a match in 1983 that in my opinion is one of Marty Jones' finest and probably the best match of Dynamite Kid's career. This couldn't live up those lofty heights, but it was a decent contest. Walton couldn't stop remarking over how much muscle Dynamite Kid had gained since the last time he was in the UK and out of the blue he named dropped Vince McMahon, mispronouncing his name in the process. I think he was talking about senior, but still it was surreal to hear McMahon's (mispronounced) name on British TV like that. Then he spun some bullshit about how McMahon wanted Dynamite Kid to headline Madison Square Garden against Nelson Royal. Match was worked like it was going to a double knockout, sold like it was going to a double knockout, and sure enough, went to a double knockout. That was pretty much the standard Dynamite Kid finish when he was over in the UK so I could live with it. There aren't many of his matches on tape, but Dynamite's British work seems to be the best of his career, IMO. I look at Marty Jones as the kind of worker Dynamite Kid could have been if he hadn't moved to Calgary.

 

Marty Jones vs. Young David (6/25/80, JIP Rd 2)

 

This was your typical "young guy goes longer than experienced guy would have expected" WoS bout. It was face vs. face so there wasn't the same edge to it that you get from a Breaks or Cooper putting over a blue-eye. The wrestling was good, albeit a little soft as Jones released a lot of holds to give the boy a fighting chance. Walton put the match over quite a lot, piping in on how much he'd love to see a rematch between the two. If you've never seen a 16/17 year-old Davey Boy Smith it's quite surreal to think he was wrestling some of the greats of the sport at that age. It's amazing how much of a boy he looks like. He looks completely like a high school student, or college student as we say in British English.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Young David (5/13/80, JIP Rd 4)

 

This was the rematch that Walton wanted to see, or perhaps he knew it was going to air so he put it over like that. I'm not sure how much aired, but not much survived on tape and what was shown was flatter than the June match. Seems like it was taped a month earlier than the June match and aired out of order, so perhaps they were better for having this one under their belt.

 

Marty Jones vs. Marc Rocco (12/30/80, JIP Rd 4)

 

These two were such great rivals. I'm not surprised that this match-up featured more times on WoS than any other. Unfortunately, we only get a couple of rounds here, but what's shown is tremendously entertaining. Rocco is all stalling and illegal tactics and Jones keeps clenching his fist and calling Rocco a bum. Jones' offence is awesome and bumping was probably Rocco's greatest strength so together they're a match made in heaven. They work this cool sequence where Jones is sick and tired of Rocco's bullshit and does that unique piledriver of his followed by an illegal senton off the top rope, which was a great way to burn a public warning. Rocco sells it for all he's worth, clutching at his rib area, sprawling to the outside, rolling back into the ring, falling out again... The ring they're wrestling in is a piece of shit and one of the boards pops up under the canvas and they end up brawling and using the raised board as a weapon. If you're the type of person who thinks the beauty of wrestling is two people who don't like each other then this is the Brit feud for you.

 

Marty Jones vs. Marc Rocco (2/11/81, JIP)

 

This was a special twenty minute, no rounds, one fall contest to try to determine a winner between Rocco and Jones. My version joins the action about five minutes into the bout. This felt like more of a fight than their 70s matches. Rocco was all elbows and kicks and knees to go along with his illegal tactics and Jones would get all steamed up, move the ref out of the way and go after Rocco with the world's angriest monkey flips. The match followed along the same lines as their previous fight with Jones busting out more and more of his offence (and monkey climbs) and Rocco surviving and managing to find a way to avoid a loss. This time it was held in a gym on top of what looked like a netball court or something similar, which gave them room to try dueling topes. They couldn't quite catch them properly and the WoS crew shot them from over the catcher's shoulder as opposed to a side on view, but it was cool to see. What impressed me the most, however, is that for as annoying as I usually find Rocco there isn't a single thing about him in these Jones matches that bugs me. That may be because instead of Rocco initiating his usual go-go-go style, Jones dictates so much of the pace and tempo through his fired up babyface act or it may be because Rocco tended to brawl more in these matches. Whatever the case, these Rocco/Jones matches are highly entertaining.

 

Next up is a lengthy series of matches with Dave "Fit" Finlay, which just might be good.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (5/5/82)

 

This was a special fifteen minute contest. I believe it was the first televised match between these two. Finlay was so awesome before he grew the mullet and stache and hooked up with Paula. This wasn't a classic (I'm not sure any of their matches were, to be honest), but every so often they'd do a follow up move or hold that made you think, "Yip, this is Marty Jones and Dave Finlay all right." The finish was really cool and not at all what I was expecting. Made it seem like you were witnessing the birth of a rivalry.

 

Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (9/1/83, JIP Rd 2)

 

This was a step up in intensity and had a really great stretch where Jones started going after Finlay's knee. Jones seems to have started using Andy Robbin's Powerlock, which is a leglock that starts out like a sharpshooter and turns into something of a figure four. Jones used it to get the equaliser and in all of the WoS matches I've seen I don't think I've ever see a guy who had someone on the ropes as much as Jones had Finlay cordoned here. Then they went and did another totally unexpected finish by having Skull Murphy appear at ringside to distract Jones. Finlay attacked Jones from behind and Marty got his ankle caught in the ropes, the resulting injury being enough for Finlay to bag the one, two, three. The interesting thing about this wasn't so much that it was a rare, US style finish, but that Walton couldn't really sell it. I had to watch it again to see what really happened because Walton was confused and missed the Jones accident. It was kind of interesting to hear a commentator with little experience at calling such angles struggle to put it over.

 

Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (11/2/83, JIP Rd 8)

 

All of the above finally led to Finlay getting a crack at Jones' World Mid-heavyweight title. Paula was now in Finlay's corner and he'd already grown the moustache and started wearing the white and green. He was in the early stages of growing his hair out as well. This was a 15 round title match that went the full 15 rounds. On paper, it was cleverly booked as Finlay was nursing a one fall to nil advantage late in the match and there was immense pressure on Jones to score a fall in the 14th and then 15th round to at least draw and retain his title. In terms of the execution, it was kind of a mix of two guys selling that they're fatigued after 15 rounds and actually being fatigued. 15 rounds was a lot of time for these guys to fill in with their style of working together and the match ended up being kind of good in a Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels ironman match kind of way as opposed to the epic it could have been.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (11/23/84, JIP Rd 4)

 

This was Finlay and Jones' best match together. A really heated bout for the World Mid-Heavyweight title with both guys being openly aggressive. There were a lot more strikes thrown in this match than your average WoS bout and Szakacs had real trouble on his hands with these two. One thing that Jones was really good at was playing the ill tempered baby face. Every time he paces around the ring pointing at Finlay, back chatting the referee or complaining to the timekeeper, I imagine him as some kind of turner and fitter who keeps shouting over the top of everyone at a union meeting. Finlay was an unbearable prick as well, so the dynamic here was really two assholes fighting over who the bigger prick was. The crowd fed into this and were massively pro-Jones. When he fell out of the ring, fans rushed to his aid, including one older woman who was frantically pushing him back in the ring to beat the count. I've never really liked Princess Paula era Finlay, but it worked really well here. When Finlay dropped a fall, instead of his usual kiss he got kicked to the canvas. This was a great touch for a guy who was supposed to be hard as nails and the crowd rode him for it. The finish here was also great: the crowd were whipped into a frenzy; tempers between Jones and Finlay reached a boiling point; Szakacs started dishing out public warnings left, right and centre, giving two at the same time to Jones; Finlay blindsided Jones with the mother of all cheap shots; and Szakacs DQ'ed him. The crowd rushed to the ring and Jones cut a rabid promo into the camera, lazy eye and all. Hot damn was this exciting.

 

Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay (7/31/85, JIP)

 

Joint Promotions had moved away from Jones vs. Finlay at this point, after two years of having them feud for the World Mid-Heavyweight title. This was the semi-finals of one of the endless knock out tournaments they used to run and was a throwback to their bitter rivalry. The mullet was fully grown by this point and looking glorious. This was another good bout between the two, a twenty minute contest with no rounds. There was plenty of quality niggle and some stiff hitting action, but the finish cut them off at the knees. Still, a nice extra to their feud.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Giant Haystacks (6/5/85)

 

I guess I'm only watching this to be a completest. The size difference between Marty and Haystacks was significant. We talk about guys who got away with being bad, well Haystacks is a prime example. Once you get past his size, you realise that's all there is. His heel schtick was bad and he was a poor promo. I'm not sure why they fed him the Mid-Heavyweight champion here, but Marty was starting to topple the giant when they did an odd finish that saw Marty hit a cross body press from the top and get rolled to the outside, where he landed badly and was too injured to continue. Lasted about a round and a half and had me wondering what the point was.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Pete Roberts (6/27/79)

 

This was another example of a good Pete Roberts match. It was the final of a tournament for some "Dale Martin Trophy" that they added to the already stacked Wembley Arena card and like everyone else on the bill (save Daddy) they went all out to have a good match. The work wasn't as outstanding as Rudge vs. Roberts, but it had the same general level of excitement. Having such a hot crowd helped and the pop for the finish was one of the biggest I've heard in British wrestling. Like Rudge against Kilby, Marty played the aggressor, which is something they did quite a bit of in the halls apparently when they had face vs. face match-ups. Easily the best of the three or more Roberts/Jones matches I've seen from what was, surprisingly, not that strong a match-up.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Chic Cullen (1/24/84)

Marty Jones vs. Chic Cullen (3/14/85)

 

These guys didn't match up as well as I would've liked, which was a shame because Cullen was one of the few genuinely good workers who debut in the 80s. Some of the sequences they do are out of this world, particularly in the second bout which is the better of the two, but there wasn't the same intensity or friction as Jones' feuds with Rocco and Finlay and both matches have weak finishes. The highlight of the match-up is probably Jones' dropkick in the first match. Marty Jones has to be a contender for best dropkick in the business.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Bobby Gaetano (11/9/82)

 

This wasn't a truly great match, but it was a heck of a spectacle. It was a 15 round title bout for Mike Marino's vacant World Mid-heavyweight championship and there was a lot of emotion centred around Marino's death and the title being decided. Gaetano was a French worker who often worked the summer German tournaments and I thought Walton did him a disservice by questioning his wrestling a bit, but Walton seemed to do that with guys he didn't have a handle on. The matwork wasn't all that great in this, but the stand-up action was good and it basically hit enough right notes to be a satisfying bout. After the match, Marino's widow and an old-time referee came to the ring to present flowers and Marino's belt to the victor and there were a few speeches. Walton was a pro and let the audience at home soak in the moment instead of speaking. Gaetano couldn't speak English very well, but he gave a speech anyway after the presentations. Very similar to the Joshi retirement ceremonies in terms of impact.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Dave Duran (3/20/85)

Lenny Hurst vs. Scott McGhee (3/20/85)

Marty Jones vs. Scott McGhee (3/20/85)

 

Scott McGhee! That's not as random as it sounds as his father was Geoff Portz, a British heavyweight of some renown who later worked in the AWA, Portland, Stampede and Florida. though Walton referred to him as his trainer here. I think McGhee may have even had a brief stint in the UK in the mid-70s using his real name Garfield Portz. This was shortly after Eddie Graham's suicide, but I don't think McGhee had left the territory yet. I'm pretty sure he returned to Florida before doing another tour with the original UWF then starting with Vince in September.

 

This was billed as a Four Nations knockout tournament with two ten minute semis and a fifteen minute fall. MC Rob Harding butchered an introduction that must have ticked Walton right off because he could be heard bitching about the seating arrangement and how "everyone thinks I want to be right next to the monitor." Kent! As some of you will know, Jones had a lazy eye and always wrestled cross-eyed. Here he wore tinted glasses to ringside, and whoah... Bruce Hart eat your heart out.

 

Dave Duran was a thick stocky Irishman who was basically a rough and tumble type, but he had a neat scummy look and was a decent enough hand. I tell you what, Marty Jones didn't mind letting the world know when he outclassed someone as he would just play cat and mouse with them all match long. I suppose if I were as good as Marty Jones I'd be cocky too. It wasn't as though it was a bad bout; it was just like watching Jordan take some poor sob apart.

 

McGhee vs. Hurst was actually really good. They took it to the mat a lot more than I expected, and while it wasn't exactly Euro style matwork it was pretty slick. For a ten minute knockout bout it was pretty ideal though the finish was much too soft. The final was more dynamic and less mat based, but also a solid bout. It seemed for all money that Jones would go over as he was one of Joint's favourite sons, but they gave the new man to the territory a rub by having it end in a draw. That meant the promise of a re-match some time on television or anywhere in the country as Jones so earnestly put it, but McGhee didn't stick around. That's a shame really as he had a lot of potential in this style. It wouldn't surprise me if it paid more being a WWF jobber though.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Peter Wilson (10/28/81)

 

It's striking how much younger and slimmer Jones looks here. Not sure that move up into the mid-heavyweight ranks was too good for his all-round wrestling ability. He was trying to drag Wilson to a good match here, which was markedly different from how he's been in '84-85. The Jones from the Duran bout would have eaten Wilson alive. Pete Wilson has to be the most nondescript WoS worker I have come across, and that's saying something. Walton was brutally honest in saying he had never been tremendously impressed with Wilson before. He was trying to put over the improvement he'd made, but I don't think it helped. The match was nothing special.

 

Marty Jones vs. Pete Roberts (7/22/82)

 

This was a pretty bout. I knew these two must have had a good bout together at some point. It was every bit as combative as you would expect with neither wrestler giving an inch. The skill level was tremendously high and unlike their other two bouts there were no blown spots. You could maybe argue that it never reached truly great heights (I was tired and would have to watch it again), but they were tied heading into the final round and went all out in a way that few other wrestlers had the gears for. Excellent on first watch. Could be more on second.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Skull Murphy (3/21/83)

 

This was really good. It was Jones' first title defence of the World Mid-Heavyweight title after his win over Bobby Gaetano in November. A title defence against Skull Murphy was never going to be a technical masterpiece so they didn't even bother and worked a straight up heel vs. face match instead. They weren't overt about it, but since Murphy was Finlay's tag partner and Finlay became Jones' perpetual rival after Rocco left, it pretty much tied into the ongoing storyline.

 

Jones always played the gobsmacked, earnest sportsman who would never accept a decision he felt he didn't deserve, but he was equally short tempered and while he would do all that cocky cat and mouse stuff with lesser opponents, he'd fire up if he didn't like the way he was being treated. When Murphy wasn't out and out cheating here, he would be be niggling Jones. His favourite trick was to rub his bald forehead against Jones' and throw the occasional headbutt or shove his palm right in Jones' face while stretching him in a submission. Jones eventually lost his cool, the crowd gave Ward an earful over everything Murphy did real or imagined, and the whole thing simmered nicely until Jones was busted open and the stakes suddenly rose tenfold. I'm not sure how Jones got away with blading on TV, but this almost certainly how their matches most have played out in the halls. They even did a spot that looked like he was straight from the houseshows where Jones goaded Murphy into punching him in the jaw and Murphy punched the ringpost instead.

 

The blood soaked Jones was actually up a fall during his big peril segment, but it looked for all money like Murphy would make him submit. The finish was a bit of a let down given the heights the match had reached, but this was still a heck of a spectacle and one that has vaulted my already high opinion of Jones as a worker.

 

Marty Jones vs. Studs Lannigan (8/21/84)

 

What a great little bout this was. It only went about three rounds and was another Jones vs. lesser guy match, but for whatever reason Marty gave Lannigan a lot more respect than some of his other opponents. Instead of toying with him, Jones brought his mat game to the bout, which is an aspect of his game he often shelves, and they worked a bunch of cool holds. Lannigan was also given a fall to the great surprise of many. The crowd booed him so he gave them the finger twice. On UK television no less. Studs enjoyed that. That woke Jones up and he annihilated Lannigan like the British Bulldogs beating up on some jobbers. Studs ate the missile dropkick beautifully. I've seen him once before, but I don't remember him being quite this good. This was a bad ass squash. Studs ruled.

[ohtani's jacket]

Marty Jones vs. Skull Murphy (12/3/82)

These two had great working chemistry together. Jones was easily Murphy's best opponent and has single-handedly raised my opinion of him since Murphy seems to add one or two little touches to their bouts that I never notice in his fights against other people. This was on its way to being a great bout when Jones slipped on some water that had been left on the canvas from the previous bout. As far as injury finishes go it was pretty well done as I was in two minds as to whether it was real at first. The ref called it a no contest, which of course Murphy found incredulous.

Marty Jones vs. King Kendo (8/8/84)

This was Marty against the fake Kendo Nagasaki. The fake was a guy named Bill Clarke who ripped off Nagasaki's gimmick on the independent circuit to the point where he pretended to be him. After considerable legal action from Peter Thornely (Kendo Nagasaki), he ditched the name but kept the look. They then feuded in All-Star Wrestling over the mask. Joint ended up bringing him in I suppose to fill the void left by Nagasaki who was working for Dixon along with Bridges and St. Clair and Quinn. The footage had sound issues so I couldn't follow it very well, but Finlay was in Kendo's corner and the implication seemed to be that he was sending Kendo out there to hurt Jones.

Marty Jones vs. Digger Nolan (9/17/85)

Nolan was billed as an Australian wrestler from Freemantle. This was a total squash. You know a guy's a jobber when he gets KO'ed by Jones' dropkick. Jones had a great dropkick, but that's rough.

Marty Jones vs. Skull Murphy (1/3/85)

This was another World Mid-Heavyweight title fight between Jones and Murphy. Murphy wasn't quite as good in '85 as he had been in '83-84, but there was still a lot of quality in this. The only negative I'll say about Skull is that his selling could have been better. He bumped for the big spots, but if his reactions for the little stuff had been better I'd have no qualms calling him a strong worker during this phase of his career. As it was, he was pretty good against the right opponents.

Marty Jones vs. Bearcat Bernie Wright (2/12/85)

Wright has this weird look in '85 where he shaved the sides of his head. Kind of a proto-Berlyn look, but it wasn't shaved the whole way round. It didn't help his standings very much as they continued to job him out. It's weird the way they treated Wright considering the stable he came out of. Only the finish of this survives, but judging by other Wright matches at the time I can't imagine it being great.

Dave Finlay & Skull Murphy vs. Marty Jones & Clive Myers (6/13/83)

All right, a 20 minute workrate tag! That's something you don't get... well, ever... I've been waiting a long time to see a WoS tag match like this where four guys go all out and work a proper tag match. This is what the tag bouts should have been, but aside from that wonderful Johnny Saint bout and the Caribbean Sunshine Boys spectacle weren't. Any time Jones and Finlay square off it's just dynamite. Jones may actually be Finlay's career best opponent. At worst I would rank them alongside any other great pairing of the decade they're that good. This didn't have traditional Southern style structure as the FIP segments were short, but it was continuous hard hitting action and a great spotfest. Finlay's bumping was off the charts. I like him so much better before he shacked up with Paula. Excellent bout that ended with the overused need for a replay, but who's complaining when you get to see this match-up again?

Dave Finlay & Skull Murphy vs. Marty Jones & Clive Myers (8/23/83)

This was the replay to decide whatever all important knockout tag contest they were fighting over. This might have been even better than the last bout. Again there wasn't the kind of structure you'd find in a Rock 'n' Roll Express match, but the exchanges were flat out brilliant. Finlay's bumping was even crazier than the first time round and Murphy brought the killer spots like his back elbow guillotine drop off the top turnbuckle. Jones cleaning house was a sight to behold as well. He has got the single best face slap of any wrestler I've seen. The finish was a bit confusing as the tape cut off before we found out how the ref was going to call it, but this was another outstanding tag bout and another overwhelming pleasant surprise.

[ohtani's jacket]

Dave Finlay & Skull Murphy vs. Marty Jones & Clive Myers (5/28/83)

 

I watched these tags out of order as this was the first in the trilogy. This wasn't quite as good as the other two. In fact, it was more like the style of British tag wrestling I'm used to as though they hadn't quite broken free of the shackles. There was still plenty of good stuff, but you could probably argue that Jones and Myers were too dominant and the Riot Squad were too much like a heel in peril WWF team.

 

Vic Faulkner/Marty Jones vs. Lenny Hurst/Jim Moser (aired 3/31/84)

 

This was a match filled with interesting contrasts. On one hand, you had Marty Jones, arguably the best wrestler in Europe at the time, working awesome exchanges with Lenny Hurst and then on the other hand you had Vic Faulkner playing silly buggers. A lot of what Faulkner did was amusing and the West Indians were willing and able straight men, but it occurred to me that perhaps what had been holding British tag wrestling back for so long as the popularity of the Royal brothers and how they turned tag matches into gimmick comedy bouts. The contrast worked, don't get me wrong, but it did prevent the match from being flat out awesome, which it could have been under different circumstances. If you like comedy in your wrestling it was the best of British, that's for sure.

 

Vic Faulkner/Marty Jones vs. Dave Finlay/Rocky Moran (aired 3/31/84)

 

Faulkner was more serious in this since it was the final, but again it felt a bit one sided with Jones steamrolling the Irishmen, though it has to be said that Jones' powerlock is, as Walton puts it, both 'murder' and 'Indian death." Jones was so much better than everyone else offensively and wrestled with such intensity that he often outclasses his opposition perhaps without meaning to. That would be my biggest criticism of him. Apart from that, I would rank him alongside Breaks and Grey as the best of his era with Cortez being next. These matches I watched recently were the last real footage of Jones available aside from bits and bobs, and I'm glad I went ahead and ordered them as I was not only reminded of the class of the man but found a couple of hidden gems. This wasn't one of those gems, but a decent bout. Faulkner working seriously was almost as goofy as when he was taking the mickey, but I suppose that's a stigma I've attached to him. Moran was a bit disappointing by previous standards and his tag team with Finlay didn't really have the same vibe as the Riot Squad. But I suppose aside from re-watches and maybe the odd bout here and there that puts a close to Marty Jones. Great wrestler and phenomenal talent that I hope more people familiarise themselves with in the future.