Steve Grey

[ohtani's jacket]

To me, Steve Grey is the everyman of British wrestling. A nice, regular looking guy who just happens to be a world class professional wrestler. He was good at football, taught carpentry to old-age pensioners and handicapped people in his spare time, and had the best resume of matches of any wrestler on television. We're extremely lucky with the volume of Steve Grey matches we have. In a lot of cases, we have extremely limited samples of a British wrestler's work, but with Grey we have a fairly sizable chunk of both his 70s and 80s work. For my money, Grey is one of the best babyfaces ever, a feat he achieves by managing to be extremely likeable and an outstanding worker. He was my gateway to European wrestling through the Myers match that Bix posted once upon a time (thanks Bix) and remains the guy most likely to deliver the goods when digging through the crates.

 

A got a Grey comp made recently, mostly of the thousand Grey/Myers matches that exist. But there's some good stuff to come like Grey vs. the maestro Ken Joyce and Grey vs. Costas.

[GSR]

A got a Grey comp made recently, mostly of the thousand Grey/Myers matches that exist. But there's some good stuff to come like Grey vs. the maestro Ken Joyce and Grey vs. Costas.

Out of interest how much Ken Joyce have you seen? I've only ever seen the match with Tony Costas from 1/9/80 and really enjoyed that to the point that I recommended it on one of the old threads at DVDVR for consideration when the 80s European set gets done. He'd already retired twice by the time this match took place, but remember thinking he must've been something pretty special in his youth. I've a load of old WOS discs that were recorded off TWC here in the UK, but unfortunately that's the only match of his on them.

[ohtani's jacket]

A got a Grey comp made recently, mostly of the thousand Grey/Myers matches that exist. But there's some good stuff to come like Grey vs. the maestro Ken Joyce and Grey vs. Costas.

Out of interest how much Ken Joyce have you seen? I've only ever seen the match with Tony Costas from 1/9/80 and really enjoyed that to the point that I recommended it on one of the old threads at DVDVR for consideration when the 80s European set gets done. He'd already retired twice by the time this match took place, but remember thinking he must've been something pretty special in his youth. I've a load of old WOS discs that were recorded off TWC here in the UK, but unfortunately that's the only match of his on them.

 

I'm actually about to write about a Grey vs. Joyce match, but these are the Joyce matches on tape (air dates):

 

Ken Joyce vs. Dick Conlon (Gravesend, 22/2/1975)

Ken Joyce vs. Steve Grey (Crawley, 9/8/1975)

Ken Joyce vs. Jeff Kaye (Reading, 24/2/1979)

Ken Joyce vs. Steve Grey (Rotherham, 31/3/1979)

Ken Joyce vs. Tony Costas (Leamington Spa, 19/1/1980)

Ken Joyce vs. Steve Grey (Morecambe, 13/9/1980)

Ken Joyce vs. Johnny Saint (Shrewsbury, 4/7/1981)

Ken Joyce vs. Johnny Kidd (Lincoln, 13/2/1982)

 

Five of those aired on TWC and three are from surviving footage. Fortunately, I've seen them all.

[ohtani's jacket]

Steve Grey vs. Ken Joyce (3/14/79)

 

Ken Joyce is the maestro of British professional wrestling. When I first got into European stuff, I didn't appreciate how good he was, but the guy is basically the Blue Panther of British wrestling if that comparison works for you; the Terry Funk of British wrestling if you're the type who sticks more to your American wrestling roots. When people talk about Johnny Saint or Steve Wright being synonymous with the British style it's all bullshit. Joyce is the master. This was super fun. Grey slipped into his everyman role I told you about and was the perfect opponent for Joyce's maestroness. That's not a word, but I just coined it. Grey really was the ultimate match-up. I'm struggling to think of any worker he couldn't work with throughout his 20 year television run. Joyce came out of retirement two or three times and this was part of his final run that lasted through to '82. I haven't thought about it too seriously, but he almost represents the last vestige of the superior 60s/70s style since the stars of that era had faded out by this point par a sparing few. The amount of creativity he put into a single bout was astounding. This was really neat.

[ohtani's jacket]

Steve Grey vs. Ken Joyce (9/3/80)

 

Only a fall and a half of this survives. Tragedy! Looked similar to their '79 bout. They repeated the same awesome surfboard spot.

 

Steve Grey vs. Tony Costas (11/8/80)

Steve Grey vs. Tony Costas (6/15/82)

 

The footage we have of these is only really the scoring falls, which is disappointing because I wanted to see what sort of matwork they were capable of. The first match was a looser, more up tempo tournament match with a Grey injury storyline. The second was slower and closer to the bout I wanted to see, but the first three falls were missing. Oh well.

 

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (3/20/85)

 

Every time I get a comp made I make the mistake of ordering stuff I've already seen, but watching this again was a bit of a revelation. The first time I watched Myers and Grey's 80s stuff I had a natural prejudice towards it because it wasn't as cool as their 70s stuff and I hate the Iron First gimmick. What I saw this time was an excellent match, one of the best of the 80s in fact, and possibly the most beautiful draw I've ever witnessed in a wrestling match or close to it. I usually hate draws in wrestling and I especially hate the way they're worked with wrestlers being out of sync with the clock and not showing enough urgency at the end, but here the workers were so good that the old cliche of nobody deserving to lose held true. This was wrestled differently from their 70s matches as Myers had a totally different stance doing his kung fu gimmick, but the work was sensational. They did a headscissors spot that was absolutely mind blowing. Some people may not like the comedy that occasionally drifted into the bout especially later on when the stakes grew higher, but this was about as good a face vs. face, champion vs. champion WoS bout got in the 80s.

[ohtani's jacket]

Since I'm now an unabashed fan of Ken Joyce, I went back and had another look at his 1975 match against Steve Grey. It's not quite as even as it would be in later years as Grey was still proving himself, but there was some wonderful and creative stuff on show and a few good chuckles.

 

Steve Grey vs. Mike Jordan (11/13/85)

 

Not a big fan of Mike Jordan. For some reason people seem to like him, but this match did nothing to sway me in that direction. There was some decent title match action, but they weren't given enough time. It didn't help that the finish was one of those injury finishes where you're like "fuck this."

 

Steve Grey vs. Sid Cooper (12/15/82)

 

For a tournament semi-final this was solid stuff. Cooper was long in the tooth here, but he was a savvy vet who knew how to work a crowd, and as I said at the outset Grey is one of the most likeable babyfaces ever. This wasn't anything special outside of that babyface/heel dynamic, but it was well done.

[ohtani's jacket]

Steve Grey vs. Pete LaPaque (6/13/83)

 

This was billed as Grey getting a title shot at British Welterweight champ Alan Dennison, but Dennison broke his thumb a few days before the bout so the promoters had to postpone the fight. Instead, these two had a heck of a match, presumably to make up for the crowd's disappointment. LaPaque was a bit of a journeyman rudo and more of a tag worker than a singles guy, but he had a great look for a journeyman rudo and he could work. The bout was built around LaPaque legally (and illegally) working over Grey's leg and forcing him to submit with an agonising looking submission, Grey firing up and bringing his A game and LaPaque using every trick in the book to avoid Grey's retaliation. Highly entertaining.

[ohtani's jacket]

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (10/11/83)

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (3/23/83)

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (1/28/86)

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (3/5/84)

 

These two are a bit like Solar and Negro Navarro in that they do a lot of the same spots in each match but are still breathtaking to watch. The second match is a tournament quarterfinal and a bit shorter than usual and the third match is ruined by a confusing double pin finish where nobody seemed to know what was going on, so that leaves us with the first and fourth matches. The first match is similar to the '85 match I was pimping the other day. They do a lot of the same spots. What makes it fun is that the crowd seem to attuned to the fact that this isn't your normal Saturday afternoon wrestling and that these two guys are a step above everybody else. The fourth match is a hell of a draw with tremendous action all the way through. Myers even did a bit of martial arts and it didn't bother me as it was possibly the best karate kick spot I've ever seen. At the end of the bout, the ref Ken Joyce gets on the mic and puts Myers and Grey over as two of the best wrestlers anywhere in the world. This really was *the* WoS workrate match-up. I'm surprised I've slept on their 80s stuff so badly.

[ohtani's jacket]

I watched their '88 match again where Grey is a middleweight. The magic wasn't the same. Walton annoyed me by saying it was the first time Grey had beaten Myers even though he beat Myers in half the matches I watched recently and Walton said the same thing each time. I can't find their '85 wager match online, but I can't imagine it being as good as the two draws and the '83 showcase. I make it three matches from the 70s worth seeing and three matches from the 80s. Pretty good going and definitely one of the key match-ups in British wrestling.

[GSR]

I intend to try and watch as much of the WOS guys as I can for the GWE project and instead of clogging up the thread in that forum with reviews for everything I've seen, I'll try and only post matches that are worth watching over there with other bits going in the Microscope (providing they have a thread here).

 

Big Daddy & Steve Grey vs Tony Walsh & Red Berry (09.09.81)

So everything I can includes tag matches alongside Big Daddy, and this has one of the campiest entrances ever. Daddy is sporting a Union Jack waistcoat along with a sparkly cape and helmet, pushing a young girl in a wheelchair, kissing grannies and being followed by a bunch of kids like he is the Pied Piper, all to the sounds of 'We Shall Not Be Moved'. Berry is from Australia, and every bit as bad as Banger Walsh who can't even throw a decent looking elbow drop. Daddy appears to operate by his own rules, coming in to the ring whenever he wants and not getting admonished one bit by the referee. I actually found this match funny in places but I don't think that's the effect you're meant to have, whilst it's tough to get into the heat spots on Grey as you 'know' what will happen. Daddy and Grey win in two straight falls, with Daddy even allowing Grey to get the second (which comes a whopping 14 seconds after the first).

 

Big Daddy & Steve Grey vs Scrubber Daly & Lucky Gordon (10.02.85)

Fit Finlay was supposed to originally be teaming with Daly, but he just walks out on the match and goes back to the dressing room. Princess Paula tries to drag him back to the ring but he wants no part of it. Lucky Gordon then draws the short straw as the standby wrestler and replacement for Finlay (Banger Walsh must have been otherwise engaged!). Grey gets the first fall rolling up Gordon and Daly squares things up with a big splash on Grey. A Daddy splash on Daly then takes it for his team. There is some nice selling from Grey after Daly gets the pin on him, but that was really it. You're not going to get much on Grey from watching these tag matches with Daddy.

[GSR]

Steve Grey vs Sid Cooper (12.15.82)

This was fought over six three minute rounds and was the semi-finals of the 'New Year's Day Knockout Tournament'. Cooper starts out on top with some headmare attempts that Grey rolls through on, he tries to throw him off the ropes but again he just rolls through. When he tries that a second time Grey reverses and throws Cooper across the ring, he then tosses him out of the ring much to the amusement of the crowd. Cooper with a side headlock that Grey handstands out of and follows up with a finger interlock. He whips Grey into the ropes then crouches down attempting to trip him as he comes back, but Grey skips over him and gives him a kick in the backside which again brings laughter from the crowd. As the end of the first approaches Cooper starts to lose his cool, first with a bit of hair pulling and then with a closed fist punch to the face. Double arm stretch by Cooper which Grey kicks out of and Cooper is complaining to the referee and gets him to check his forehead. Grey reverses a Cooper reverse double knee hold into a body scissors, posts Cooper and backdrops him for a near fall. Cooper responds with a punch to the mid-section out of view of the official, slips on a side headlock and as Grey is about to escape, a quick pull of the hair and he's back in it. Grey reverses a double finger interlock and Cooper punches him in the back. Cooper then continues after the bell has rung claiming he couldn't hear it because of his cauliflowered ears. As the crowd are on his case he flicks water from his bottle at them! Cooper opens aggressively in the third. He attempts to post Grey who blocks it, ducks between Cooper's legs and lands two dropkicks which lead to some nice facials and selling from Cooper. Grey rolls Cooper up, but some more hair pulling sees him escape and he then catches Grey with a backslide for the first fall. At this point Cooper starts blowing kisses to the crowd and then leaves the ring heading to the back, maintaining that he thought it was just a one fall contest! Cooper has the early advantage in the fourth and a crossbody attempt by Grey sees Cooper catch him and run him into the turnbuckles. Flying tackle by Grey is again caught by Cooper who slams him to the canvas, Cooper then comes off the ropes, but Grey is up and leaps over him with a sunset flip for the pin. Cooper attacks Grey after the equalizing fall and throws him out of the ring getting his second and final public warning in the process. A Cooper backbreaker is followed with a backhammer that Grey flips over the back of to escape. Cooper shoots him into the ropes and Grey goes for a roll up, whilst another dropkick from him sends Cooper tumbling out of the ring. A body check from Cooper and Grey nips up, headbutt to the stomach, Cooper whips Grey into the ropes and in a carbon copy of the first fall, Grey leaps over Cooper with a sunset flip double leg nelson to advance to the final.

 

I thought this was a decent match and Cooper had some nice touches that added to it. Not one that I would say is essential viewing, but in the same boat you won't come out of it thinking you've wasted your time if you do decide to give it a watch.

[GSR]

Steve Grey vs Jackie Turpin (12.15.82)

This is the final of the 'New Year's Day Knockout Tournament' (Turpin had defeated Tally Ho Kaye) and in a change to the semi-finals is fought over ten minutes duration, with no pinfalls, no submissions and the winner will be determined on a points system, where if any part of the body bar the soles of the feet touch the canvas then your opponent scores a point, and the person with the most points at the end of the ten minutes is declared the winner. I'm pretty sure that this wasn't the first (or last) time that they did this 'points match'. This was something different, if nothing else. Both legitimately appeared to forget what was going on at times, with Grey putting his hand on the canvas for balance when Turpin had him trapped in a grapevine, and Turpin dropping down to a knee whilst having a front chancery on Grey. With three minutes to go and Grey 13-5 up, he for some reason decides to throw a dropkick. It made no sense in the slightest as the best outcome would be both gaining a point, whilst the worst would be just his opponent gaining one. The worst outcome is what happened as Turpin sidestepped the move and Grey hit fresh air. If that wasn't bad enough, he later tries a monkey flip and a similar outcome occurs with Turpin landing on his feet and again Grey cost himself a point. Towards the end of the contest MC Brian Crabtree (who is keeping a running update over the house mic for the crowd and audience at home) gets confused and gives Grey a point that should have gone to Turpin! Turpin ends up going head mare crazy to win the contest, officially 20 points to 18 (although the correct score is 21-17).

 

I really didn't like this at all. Grey throwing a dropkick and attempting a monkey flip made him look stupid. You could portray it as him 'forgetting' he wasn't in a regular match, but the amount of times both wrestlers scrambled to the ropes to prevent being taken down, I'm not buying that. Also, if he 'forgets' it wasn't a regular match, it again is making Grey out to be an idiot. The mess with Brian Crabtree only added to things. Maybe they wanted to give Turpin a win without Grey having to take a fall, I don't know, but give me tags with Big Daddy any day over this!

[GSR]

Steve Grey vs Vic Faulkner (08.25.76)

Single leg takedown by Faulkner and he goes to slam Grey's leg into the canvas but he hops up. Wristlock, and Faulkner is starting with his tricks early, motioning with his head for Grey to look up. He does, then Faulkner immediately headmares him but Grey holds on to the move. He tries again to no avail, so a nip up, forward roll and he propels himself backwards off the ropes to get the reversal and Grey rolls through to escape. Side headlock by Grey and Faulkner starts running on the spot, but in the process is repeatedly kneeing Grey in the base of the spine to free himself from the hold. Dropkick by Grey and they start criss crossing. Grey stops as Faulkner continues to run the ropes. He all of a sudden stops, points upwards to distract Grey then lunges at him but Grey ducks out of the way. Faulkner whips him into the ropes, leap frogs Grey then takes him down with a flying headscissors. Reverse double leg nelson and Faulkner bridges back to take the opening fall in just 2:35 of the first round. He then walks Grey back to his corner and towels him down. Faulkner with a Japanese stranglehold and he pulls it back into a surfboard. Top wristlock and Grey steps into the hold for the reversal before another random criss cross spot. Grey turns an over the shoulder arm lever into a crucifix, and Faulkner escapes a full nelson, comes off the ropes and over the top of Grey with a sunset flip. They criss cross again, Grey drops to the canvas, Faulkner leaps over him, Grey's up and goes 'whoa, whoa, whoa!' whilst signalling for Faulkner to stop running. He does, turns his back then Grey O'Connor rolls him to square things up. After being pinned, Faulkner lifts Grey's arm up and starts clapping him (Christ!). With both men now requiring just the one fall, a double fingerlock sees Grey go for the pin. Faulkner bridges up, monkey flip and rolls back to cover Grey. He then starts to work on the arm but Grey picks him up and sits him on the turnbuckle. Multiple double leg grab attempts by Faulkner and Grey spins him out on each occasion, before getting the winning fall with a backslide.

 

Disappointing bout with Grey adopting some of the tricks and tactics of Faulkner. There didn't seem to be much structure to the match and whilst not as blatant as Saint vs Faulkner it did have its similarities. The first fall coming so quickly was also a shocker as you are almost conditioned for them to come later into the match. I've now seen three Faulkner matches (I also watched the Royals vs the Black Knights tag) and there is something about the guy to the point I'm disliking him the more I see. For a face he's so ungodly smug and smarmy; from the permanent grin on his face, to the patronising of his opponents, to a couple of his ridiculous trademarks spots (the criss cross and the 'look up'), that you get the sense he could have been a tremendous heel. Thing is there are plenty of glimpses that he could be a great wrestler. He's an infuriating (and probably a polarising) one for sure.

[Tim Cooke]

From 3/16/15 WON

 

Steve Grey, a three-time British welterweight champion in the 80s, now in his late 60s, came out of retirement on 2/28 in Peavehaven England as a late sub. Grey, who debuted in 1968 and was one of the stars of the 70s and 80s World of Sport era television show, was said to be in tremendous shape for his age, and did both a tornado DDT and won his match with his trademark surfboard submission move.

[ohtani's jacket]

Some handhelds:

 

Steve Grey vs. Jon Ritchie (4/13/88)

 

Decent bout. Ritchie took the first fall and Grey systematically destroyed him over the following rounds. If there were more analysis of Grey on the internet, I suspect one of the match types people would cotton onto is Grey taking an opponent apart. It was similar to how he handled Wiseman during his title shot. It's an interesting wrinkle since it's not the first thing you think of when you think of Grey.

 

Steve Grey vs. Sid Cooper (7/15/92)

 

Cooper was a thousand years old here. He looked like a wrestling grandpa. Grey was defending his World Lightweight title, but it was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a bunch of shenanigans. Cooper jawed with the crowd, who were a bunch of yokels, and had a running gag going with the ref and the crowd that was like watching a children's puppet show. Good on Cooper for continuing to wrestle, turkey legs and all, but the only good part was when he nicked a pensioner's cap and used it to beat Grey.

 

Steve Grey vs. Johnny Kidd (2/10/93)

 

Better title defence, naturally. Grey showed he could still go even in 1993. Kidd was one of those unfortunate types who came along too late, but he still managed to forge out a career was a wrestler and that should be respected regardless of the declining scene. This is one of his better matches on tape and would have looked great on TV.

 

Steve Grey vs. Masakazu Fukada (Walthamstow, 1998)

 

Grey must have been pushing 50 at this stage. I don't know Masakazu Fukada from a bar of soap, but this was a short one fall contest that proved Grey would have been good in just about any environment including Japan. It wasn't a tremendously exciting bout, but Steve looked comfortable working a more Japanese mat based style. I don't a lot of time for "fish out of water" wrestling such as British guys working Japan, but it would have been interesting to see him tour there.

[Matt Farmer]

Fukada was the New Japan young boy that during a match with Shibata, believe it was said to be a brain hemorrhage.

 

First match I saw of Grey was when he was wrestling Tatsumi Fujinami. At the time Fujinami was one of the best and Grey was having a great match with Fujinami. I need to go back and watch that match again and see if it holds up.

[ohtani's jacket]

When did Grey wrestle Fujinami?

[Matt Farmer]

I think my mind played tricks on me. It was JERRY Grey from Florida. Haven't watched it for so long, well since I got the tape a few weeks after it aired probably. It was a good match but the wrong Grey.

[ohtani's jacket]

Steve Grey vs. Zoltan Boscik (9/26/74)

 

This was a one fall bout from when Grey was still an up-and-comer and Boscik was a blue eye. Obviously it didn't have the chemistry of their later bouts, which were sensational at times, but it was a solid contest. My main takeaway from it was that Grey wasn't anywhere near as well established as thought in the famous Myers match. It's hard to say whether that Myers match made Grey, but '75 was definitely his breakthrough year.

 

Steve Grey vs. Zoltan Boscik (9/11/84)

 

Almost 10 years to the day, Boscik was a whole lot stockier and not on TV that often, but he hooked up with Grey to produce a rollicking one fall contest that came pretty close to recapturing the lightning in the bottle from their early feud. I love pissed up Grey more than any pissed off babyface I can think of, but Boscik didn't really cross the line here; it was more of a competitive testiness and I loved every exchange.

[JerryvonKramer]

Steve Grey vs. Clive Myers (11/22/75)

 

Completely awesome setting -- it always reminds me of snooker at The Crucible in Sheffield, both in the crowd and in Walton's commentary style. Something so British and crap-sounding about "Steve Grey from Peckham".Clive Myers is in his new union jack trunks. The ref is extremely loud with his counts and uses this bizarre kind of Scottish auctioneers' voice, probably the greatest ref in the world. He looks like he could be a town butcher or something like that. Definitely enjoys a pint or two and maybe a packet of pork scratching down the pub.

 

Bizarre spot about 7 minutes in where Grey rolls up into a ball and Myers rolls him around, gets a laugh out of the crowd. There are some extremely neat and lightning fast counter sequences here. This is worked uber-clean. They get themselves into some highly improbable knots and the crowd laugh a few times. There's a lot of comedy in Grey's performance. At one point Myers has him down for a pin and he raises an arm in a comical manner, Myers does a double take. Crowd find it funny. He's kind of a worm, wriggles out of things a lot. Myers the aggressor for the most part.

 

This was a mix of some stiff looking matwork, explosive action, weird comedy spots and excellent fast counters. Pretty enjoyable, time flew by.I'm not sure about PeteF3's 5-star rating, but it's definitely a great match.

 

****1/2

[ohtani's jacket]

11/22/75 was the air date. The match was taped 11/20.

[GSR]

Moving these over from the GWE sub-forum.

 

Steve Grey vs Jon Cortez (12.13.73)

This is one of the earliest Grey bouts on tape, with the only one earlier that I could find being a match against Eddie Capelli from the year prior. It is also during this bout that Kent Walton informs us how Grey teaches handicraft to OAPs and the handicapped! Nearly the entire first round of this contest was worked around a headlock, firstly with Cortez in control and then Grey. After two rounds of straight wrestling Cortez starts to get more aggressive in his offense, firstly palming Grey in the face and then hitting him with a great sounding uppercut. He cartwheels out of a headmare immediately throwing a dropkick and Walton is not happy with Cortez losing his cool thinking that it could spoil the contest. Cortez continues to be the aggressor into the fourth giving Grey a shot whilst he is on the ropes and another uppercut. Grey responds with a dropkick of his own which catches Cortez in the chest. He does a nice sell job as though he's been winded, even delaying releasing Grey when they are in the ropes on the next move to give him a little bit more time to get his breath back. Grey lands on his feet from a monkey flip and when Cortez tries it again Grey holds on to the knee as he goes over to take it with him. The finish comes after Grey again lands on his feet from a monkey flip and surprises Cortez with a dropkick, he follows up with a headmare but Cortez comes back with a cross body for the pin.

 

A slow burner of a bout as I went in with pretty high expectations from these two. It really picks up from the third round and it's interesting to see them work for so long just off a headlock. I've another Grey/Cortez match to come (from eight years later) so it will be interesting to see how it compares to this one.

 

 

Johnny Saint vs Steve Grey (01.28.80)

This is a return contest from the previous December where Grey came out on top. They open up quickly with Saint catching Grey in an armlock, who does all he can to try and escape; he biels him off the ropes, holds on to referee Peter Szakacs to flip over, tries using the top rope all whilst Saint maintains hold of the armlock. With the round closing out Grey finally works out an escape and frees himself. On to the second and the two exchange holds, each trying to gain the advantage but with Saint mainly having the upper hand. He moves back to working on Grey's arm and similarly to the first Saint holds on to the move despite everything that Grey tries to escape. Head mares are having no luck and eventually he rolls backwards, forwards and throws a grounded kick to the chest to release himself. Saint moves to working on a hammerlock as the bell sounds to close out he second. Again Saint concentrates on the arm and with a back hammer in place looks for a pinfall, but a series of reversals sees Saint spin Grey out of a folding press. Grey grabs the arm and wrenches Saint as he finally starts to get some ascendancy in the bout. He turns his attention to Saint's left arm, but Saint flips out of the hold and again moves back to holding the advantage. Hip toss takedown and pin attempt from Grey for a two count, double arm stretch by Saint and Grey repeatedly kicks Saint gently in the jaw to force the escape. Dropkick from Grey and Saint comes off the ropes with a sunset flip for a near fall. Saint takes a bump over the rope early in the fourth after being spun out of a Grey hold. A series of pin attempts by both and then Grey runs off the ropes, Saint leaps over him and immediately drops down into a ball. Saint offers the hand, Grey takes it, Saint flips him over and covers him for the first fall. Saint opens the next round with an abdominal stretch as he looks to take the contest in two straight. Grey briefly makes a come back, but Saint goes back to working for the submission. A single leg crab is followed by a full boston crab that Grey ends up powering out of, over the knee backbreaker, side surfboard and a version of the torture rack backbreaker all by Saint as he tries for that second fall.

 

Before Round Six starts, Kent Walton says that Johnny Czeslaw hasn't been well and sends him his best wishes whilst quipping about not putting any half nelsons on the nurses! At this point Walton stops calling the action and mentions how Steve Logan has recently had to retire due to injury and both Johnny Yearsley and Gwyn Davies are out of action recovering from injuries. He then talks about the 'clever boys' who write for 'sleazy newspapers' who say that the wrestlers don't really get hurt, and how he wishes they could get in the ring with one of these two. Back to the action and Grey has a back hammer on Saint that he flips over the back of. Grey misses a dropkick, Saint shoots him into the ropes looking for a hip toss take down but Grey reverses it into a backslide for the equalizing fall. With the bout all even Grey is back to working on Saint's arm, but he escapes and turns the tables starting on Grey's ankle in an attempt to try and slow him down. Monkey climb escape from Grey, Saint lands on his feet and looks to try and post Grey in the corner but he reverses it. Saint blocks the posting and ducks under Grey who goes over the top and down the back for a double leg nelson, folding press by Saint and Grey spins him out. Saint drops down and tries to schoolboy Grey but he turns on the move and tries for another pin attempt. Double leg nelson by Saint this time, folding press by Grey and he has the legs trapped and shoulder's down for the decisive fall. After the bout Saint says that as Grey has now beaten him twice, it's only fair that Grey now gets a shot at his World Lightweight title.

 

This was a great match that was fought at a tremendous pace from the onset. Often these matches will start out slow and they will move things up as the match progresses but that was not the case here. I hated the way that Saint got his fall, but this bout is a really good advert for him as a lot of his 'kooky stuff is kept to a minimum and wasn't really on show here. It'd be interesting to find out what led to Walton going off on one as it was so out of the blue and unexpected. I'd rank this a notch below Grey's bout with Jon Cortez (from 07.27.81) but still one that is well worth checking out.

[GSR]

Steve Grey vs Jon Cortez (07.27.81)

Prior to this match Johnny Saint comes into the ring as this is to be an eliminator for a shot at Saint's World Lightweight title later in the year. This is fought at a much quicker pace than the previous bout with Cortez having the advantage in the first round, even going for a pin attempt when turning a Grey back hammer escape into a sunset flip. At the end of the first we see Grey lose his temper thinking Cortez's attack came after the bell. Into the second and a front head chancery by Cortez which Grey spins out of and again Cortez is not breaking when on the ropes. Great action towards the end of the second as Grey tries to keep hold of a wrist lever whilst Cortez does all he can to escape. Full nelson by Cortez which is reversed by Grey, which Cortez then turns it into a crucifix for another pin attempt, but he's not happy with the referee thinking he's slow with his count. Cortez goes for a straight arm lift submission and then continues to concentrate on this hold, applying it a second time and when he goes for it a third (which could well get him the submission) Grey responds with a forearm smash that drops Cortez who has a look of 'Well the f____, so it's like that is it?' on his face. The bell rings to end the third but the two continue to argue after the bell with Cortez not happy at all about how Grey got out of the hold. Both are sweating considerably at this point with Cortez again looking at the left arm of Grey. Another straight arm lift but Grey escapes the fingerlock, stands on Cortez's shoulder, leaps to the canvas and hits a dropkick. Cortez barely beats the count and looks shattered. He bides his time trying to rest in the corner and slowing the pace whilst Grey beckons him to come in to the centre of the ring to continue. Leg grab from Grey and a kick to the thigh of Cortez and he isn't happy, complaining to the referee again. Grey has him backed up to the ropes and Cortez strikes him which prompts Grey to retaliate with a forearm to the chest and another kick to the leg. They again continue arguing after the bell and butt heads this time. The penultimate round and Grey looks for the surfboard, but has to give up when he can't get Cortez's arms. Cortez continues to suffer and sells the surfboard attempt nicely with his legs seemingly giving way. Monkey flip attempt from Cortez and Grey lands on his feet, tries it again but to his dismay he again lands on his feet. Goes for it a third time, but Grey drops him down for a folding press and Cortez just about kicks out in time and yet again there is more argy after the bell with Grey slapping Cortez. With one round left, Cortez jumps Grey immediately. Grey ends up getting his legs caught between the bottom two ropes and falls backwards hanging upside down outside the ring. The Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance come to help Grey, but the bout is called off with him unable to continue and Cortez is the victor by TKO.

 

This is a great, great match, and is probably the best match I've watched from 80's WOS so far. It doesn't have the high impact moves of Haward vs Myers, but I feel is a better match. The bout is really heated with both being more aggressive than normal (you rarely see Grey like he is in this one), as the added incentive of the title shot against Johnny Saint for the winner gives an added dimension to the contest. It'll take something special to beat this for my WOS match of the decade.

[GSR]

Steve Grey vs Ritchie Brooks (05.14.86)

Brooks is a 21 year old who has only been in the business a couple of years at this point. A side headlock and arm lever from him as he has some early dominance. Full nelson which Grey breaks and releases himself from and Brooks is back to working the side headlock which Grey handstands and flips his way out of. He tries to throw Brooks, but the youngster cartwheels through it. An arm lever which Brooks nicely escapes from before a back hammer and wristlock by Grey to close out the round. Round two and a quick schoolboy attempt from Grey. A cravat and headmare before a full nelson. Grey whips Brooks into the ropes, he ducks looking for the back body drop but Brooks goes over for a sunset flip, folding press by Grey and Brooks spins him out. Grey hooks the leg but Brooks sits down on him, reverse double leg nelson, countered with a folding press by Brooks but instead of going over he holds a headstand position for the first fall. Round three is cut from the broadcast, and Grey starts to work on Brooks' arm in the fourth. Backdrop and headmare from Grey but a quick roll up from Brooks gets him a two count. Brooks this time focusses his attention on Grey's left arm including throwing both a dropkick and head butt to it; he goes for a second dropkick but Grey steps out of the way. Boston crab by Grey but he gives up on the hold when it's clear to him that Brooks wont submit and with Brooks in pain from the crab attempt he looks for the surfboard submission, but the round ends before he can fully apply the hold. In to the next and a posting from Grey followed by a headmare and with Brooks clearly suffering with his back Grey again tries for the surfboard. This time he is in the centre of the ring and with plenty of time remaining is able to apply the hold getting the equalizing submission. The sixth and final round and Brooks is still selling his back. After his success in the previous round Grey goes for the surfboard, but Brooks struggles and fights the attempt to the point that Grey gives up on the hold. Over the shoulder backbreaker but he can't quite get Brooks up and he continues to concentrate his efforts on the weakened back of Brooks. Brooks gets a brief advantage returning his efforts to Grey's left arm even managing to execute a straight arm lift. He goes to post Grey but it's reversed and Brooks crashes into the turnbuckle. He fights off another surfboard attempt, but Grey grabs the double leg and turns it into a Boston crab. The timekeeper announces sixty seconds left and Grey decides to give up clear in his mind that Brooks wont submit to that hold. With the time limit expiring he goes for one last surfboard but no luck, and the bout is declared a draw.

 

I thought Grey did a tremendous job on this one and Brooks more than played his part. Grey gave him enough early and made Brooks seem like a credible threat to the point that when he rolled Grey up in the fourth, I genuinely thought Brooks was winning 2-0. As the match wore on the experience of Grey showed, whilst Brooks still had his hope spots. Brooks selling of the back was really nice, although you could question the over reliance on going for the surfboard (though it is a Grey staple), whilst there was a sense of a real struggle and fight over the hold in the last round. It also made a change to see Grey in the role of the veteran here working with a young and up and coming wrestler. Good stuff.

[ohtani's jacket]

I'll probably be exploring a bit more Grey in the coming days, so I'll put this here to begin with:

 

Steve Grey vs. Ritchie Brooks (7/3/86)

Excellent bout, and refreshing too after watching so much shoddy wrestling of late. I have no idea whether I've seen this before as Brooks is the kind of guy I would have turned my nose up at in the past. Reminds me of the Sanders/Grey feud I overlooked in the past because of my prejudices. I'll have to take a look at the other Brooks matches, and the series with Danny Boy Collins as well, as Grey clearly wasn't as washed up as I thought in '86. It was weird seeing the beefed up, mulleted Brooks as a lightweight. He acquitted himself well, I thought. It was a title match, which naturally brought out the best in Grey, but Brooks showed more talent than I've given him credit for in the past. Egg on my face? A pleasant surprise? I won't mind being wrong if the other Grey matches are this good. Steve Grey is incredible. He really is. Every time you watch him it's the same thing yet every time it's awesome. How does that work? Such a class act.