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Jim Breaks


Grimmas

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There are other workers from Europe worth considering for the top half of the list, but Breaks is a guy I could see in my top twenty. I will grant that a part of this is that his style is schitcky and something that I could easily see working in multiple U.S. territories, but even still the reason Breaks is so great to me is that he so neatly integrates his act into the Brit setting. He is a great grappler, but he's also a great character. In fact his character - the cocky technician who is not as quite as good as he thinks he is and pouts/plays loose with the rules when he's one upped or annoyed - is one that allows him to be entertaining even in shaky matches. I will be interested to see what others think of Breaks as this project moves along.

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The thing about Breaks is that he is as good as he thinks he is. He was probably the ultimate example of Walton's "if he'd only stick the wrestling" routine. Watching his early work it's easy to see why he was too stiff when he first turned pro as he was a machine. Just a great wrestler. But he let the crowd get under his skin and they'd really get him worked up when they called him crybaby and through pacifiers into the ring. His temper tantrums were fantastic as well when he'd blow his lid and jump up and down. He managed to pull that shtick off for over a decade without viewers tiring of it. The whole joint manipulation, Jim Breaks special and not liking his ear or nose being worked over were great as well and even better when you realise how many workers tried to have shtick and how only the best guys pulled it off and remained television regulars.

 

The other area where he excelled was working with teenage kids. His matches with Davey Boy Smith and Danny Collins were not only better than anything those kids could have with other workers, they were arguably better than the matches he'd have with Saint, Grey or Cortez.

 

If people like him he's a great gateway into the other television characters like McManus and Kellett. Brian Maxine is another guy people should check out if they like Breaks.

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Breaks is one of my favourite ever wrestlers and I can honestly say that I've never been bored when watching one of his bouts. Just the perfect whiny, crybaby heel that the fans hated with a passion. A master in nasty looking joint holds and manipulations and more than happy to mouth off to the crowd, the referee or Kent Walton himself mid-match.

 

I've not watched as much of him as OJ and he'll have a better idea on how many matches of his we have in circulation. He's the one guy who I hope this project opens the eyes to people on. The Saint matches from the 70s are the ones I intend to search out to see. Recommendations would be the early 70s match against Adrian Street, a glorious performance opposing Jon Cortez and the early 80s stuff with Young David.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jim Breaks vs Jackie Turpin (06.05.82)

This match was fought under slightly different rules as there were no rounds, just a straight 20 minute match with two falls required to be declared the victor. The focus here was Breaks working on Turpin's arm in all manner of ways to try and soften him up for the Breaks Special submission. All sorts of bending and manipulation of the arm and wrist the wrong way, 'snapping' them, even tying Turpin's arm up in the ropes to weaken it, then weakening it even more under the guise that he was trying to untangle the said arm. Intermixed are some obligatory Breaks mouthing off at the crowd with one woman shouting 'get his ears Jackie' to which Breaks responds 'shut your fat mouth!', and some rule breaking behind the refs back. Turpin gets the first fall after Breaks riles him up with an open handed slap, the angered Turpin goes after Breaks who then proceeds to drop to his knee, gets up and then does this a second time. Breaks then catches him with a head mare, Turpin at this point drops to his knees, Breaks looks to Max Ward and whilst he's not paying attention Turpin gets him with the folding press pin. Breaks equalizes sharpish after the resumption, going back to working the arm and getting the submission with his signature move. At one fall each Breaks again focuses on the arm and for a second time applies the Breaks Special, however Turpin holds out and Breaks has to put him down as he an no longer keep him lifted turning it into a hammerlock. Turpin escapes then runs off the ropes and goes for a flying cross body, though Breaks ducks and Turpin goes sailing over the top rope to the floor in a great bump. Usually when anyone takes a bump to the floor it is usually match over (see Haystacks vs Daddy) and potential injury angle (see Rocco vs Dynamite), yet to my surprise Turpin managed to beat the count and get back in the ring. Breaks charges at him, Turpin sidesteps him and rolls him up for the three count and the win. Breaks is clearly not happy and proceeds to attack Turpin on a couple of occasions after the match.

 

This was a real good TV bout, with a surprise ending that I wasn't really expecting both in Turpin beating the count after the bump to the floor and then getting the win over Breaks.

 

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Kamakazi vs Jim Breaks (10.07.81)

Breaks starts before the bell has even rung, annoyed that Kamakazi was introduced first he informs MC Brian Crabtree that as he is a champion shouldn't he be introduced first? Kent Walton informs us that Kamazaki is oriental, when he is in fact a masked Maurice Hunter. This is probably one of the worst matches that I have seen involving Breaks and I can only put that down to Kamakazi, who has some nice spots but that is pretty much it. Masked wrestlers were quite a novelty over here, but even that can't disguise how bland and boring Kamakazi is. A round is edited out and as the bout is tied at one fall apiece, Kamakazi takes a tumble to the floor appearing to have fallen between the top and middle ropes as he tries to come off them. The match at that point is then stopped with Kamakazi unable to continue, a lacklustre finish to what was a lacklustre match in general. The highlight is probably after the bout when referee Jeff Kaye points out Kamakazi did injure himself and it was nothing to do with Jim Breaks, and in this instance the opponent has the option of accepting the decision (ie taking the win) or refusing it (so the bout is declared a no contest). Crabtree asks Breaks what he wants to do, and in a heartbeat he accepts the win.

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I was part of the original Smarkchoice poll. His was a name brought up. When I finally got a chance to see him wrestle I was blown away. He was a guy who fit a lot of the criteria I have in my wrestling. I don't even know if he made my ballot last time. If he did I gave him the short shrift . I will fix that problem this time around .

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Jim Breaks vs Sammy Lee (07.15.81)

Breaks is sporting a silver jacket with the words 'CHAMP' on the back and shoves Lee during the referee's instructions. Lee starts skipping and bouncing around the ring which doesn't impress Breaks; some flashy kicks, a backflip and someone from the crowd yells 'sort him out Sammy', which receives a 'shut yer mouth' response from Breaks. A super quick leg trip takedown from Lee, an Indian Deathlock and Breaks crawls to the ropes for the release. He gets up and points his finger to Lee whilst mouthing off at him. Breaks again has resort to grabbing the ropes to break a Lee submission, and then he's not happy when in his eyes Lee doesn't break the hold quickly enough. Towards the end of the round he's looking for the Breaks Special and starts to bend the rules, punching and hair pulling behind the referee's back. The cheating continues into the next round, but as he's choking Lee on the ropes he tries to propel him backwards to the canvas but Lee pulls out a backflip, Mongolian chops and a folding press for the pin. The crowd starts chanting 'easy, easy', which does little to ease Breaks' temper. Breaks opens the next round with yet more closed fists to the face behind the referee's back, this time Lee retaliates finally having enough of Breaks' persistent rule breaking. Closed fists to the face of Breaks, forearms, a dropkick and then an uppercut, but because he didn't allow Breaks to get back to his feet he gets the first public warning of the match. The crowd aren't happy, Lee turns his back on Breaks giving him the advantage he needed to drag Lee down and get the equalizing fall. The ref finally catches Breaks in the next round giving him his first public warning. He tries to post Lee, who runs up the turnbuckles and does a backflip, unloads with rapid fire kicks, chops, a reverse kick before getting a folding press for the pin. As Brian Crabtree is about to announce the result, Breaks goes 'what about the kicking Crabtree?', and then challenges Lee saying he'll wrestle him for money.

 

This was a very fun sprint, not a great match per se, but highly enjoyable, entertaining and a ton of fun for what it was.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jim Breaks vs Kung Fu (09.03.86)

Referee Peter Szakacs gives both men their instructions and as soon as Kung Fu turns his back, Breaks grabs him and rams his head into the turnbuckle. Fu was having none of that and goes over to Breaks' corner and does the same to him. He opens quickly, then Breaks grabs the wrist and takes Fu down with it, working it over and 'snapping' it before telling someone in the crowd to 'shut yer mouth'. Leg dive from Breaks and he starts on Fu's ankle. The abuse from the crowd continues and this time he tells someone to 'get a big pillow for that mouth of yours'. He lets go of the ankle to continue arguing with the ringsiders, steps with one leg between the ropes but Fu is up and kicks it before dragging Breaks along by his ears and ramming his head into the turnbuckle. Fu turns his back, Breaks charges at him but is met with a chop to the head. He steps out of the ring and onto the apron and as Kent Walton stands up, Breaks tells him to sit back down. Walton says that Breaks has never forgiven him for when in one bout he informed the referee about Breaks' cheating and grabbing the trunks to get a fall! Round two is cut from the broadcast, but as the third is about to start two members of the audience try to goad and bait Breaks, dancing and gesturing at ringside (although the one old chap appears to be drunk more than anything) and he responds with 'I pay tax for you?'. Breaks works on Fu's wrist, but he grabs Breaks' ear and nose with his bare feet. Breaks tosses him out of the ring and when he's back on the apron tries to ram his head into the post. Fu blocks it and it's Breaks' head that meets the turnbuckle. Fu climbs up to the top rope, leaps at Breaks but he ducks out the way yelling 'I'm not stupid' whilst pointing to his head, though seconds later gets schoolboyed for the first fall. He returns back to his corner, but gives Fu a dig in the stomach as he passes him then someone from the crowd hands him a dummy. He's not impressed, 'this should not be happening Mr Walton!'. Down one fall in the contest, Breaks starts the next round by saying 'Look, lets wrestle. If you can't trust me who can you trust?', which brings roars of laughter from Kent Walton. They shake hands but Breaks pulls him in and lands a punch to the face. Szakacs thinks that there was something suspicious with the shot, but Breaks swears that it was an open hand telling him 'you just be careful who you're talking to, I was a European champion!'. Nerve and pressure hold by Fu, and when Breaks tries to charge the unsuspecting Fu he's met with another chop. Breaks with a headlock and he tells the cameraman to 'get that camera on me whilst I'm on top'. He gives Fu's nose a quick yank after the bell has rung, but insists it was 'on the bell'. Round five and he is arguing with everyone and tells Fu 'don't you be saying to me I rabbit'. Arm lever by Fu and he turns it into an orthodox double arm lock, however at this point he leans back to the canvas, puts his feet round the front of Breaks and starts rubbing his nipples with his feet (I kid you not!). As expected this angers Breaks and he ties Fu's arm up in the ropes, then tightens them under the pretense of that he's trying to release him. Someone from the crowd shouts 'Breaks you s___house', and he then apologies to them! He applies the Breaks special immediately for the submission, and the drops Fu on the tope rope when he releases the hold. Arm wringer by Fu is met with a punch to the mid-section from Breaks, and at this point Fu has had enough of Breaks' cheating. He goes on the offense before Breaks stops him with another punch right in front of the referee this time, and gets a second and final public warning. Whilst the MC is announcing the public warning, he applies the special again and Szakacs taps him on the shoulder. Breaks celebrates thinking that he has got the second fall and won the match, but he is in fact disqualified for continuing the attack after the public warning.

 

This is the Jim Breaks show and is a fantastic one man performance from him. Fu's offense is incredibly lame, and I have no idea in the slightest what he was even attempting at that one point when he had the double arm lock applied. I'd put this up there with the Cortez bout from '76 as the perfect introduction to anyone for what Breaks is about. Not sure off the top of my head what is left for Breaks after this (bar the already watched Bainbridge bout), but probably his last great televised bout. Enjoyed this one immensely.

 

 

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It's from Joint. Once you got into 85/6ish, Joint had cut the schedule down so much that they couldn't really enforce people being exclusive to them, so you had more people working for multiple promotions rather than doing a formal jump. Looking at house show results, Breaks seems to have been split fairly evenly between Joint and All Star in 86.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a hard time getting into WoS unless the workers involved do a lot of schtick. So my two favorite WoS guys are Catweazle and Jim Breaks. I could easily see Jim Breaks placing high on my list, and that's only seeing 5-6 matches of his. He is just SO GOOD at what he does that I think he's by far the easiest WoS guy to get an introduction to the style with.

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  • 4 months later...

If you haven't seen any Breaks, go and use OJ's list as a starting point, eg:

 

Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street

Jim Breaks vs. Johnny Saint

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (Davey Boy Smith)

 

Are all online. If you have seen everything OJ listed, go and watch everything else you can find (like with any other worker, really).

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If you haven't seen any Breaks, go and use OJ's list as a starting point, eg:

 

Jim Breaks vs. Adrian Street

Jim Breaks vs. Johnny Saint

Jim Breaks vs. Vic Faulkner

Jim Breaks vs. Young David (Davey Boy Smith)

 

Are all online. If you have seen everything OJ listed, go and watch everything else you can find (like with any other worker, really).

 

i think parv mentioned elsewhere that he's looking to watch 5-10 matches for specific workers who intrigue him, and wants the best possible 5-10 matches for the purposes of this project

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Breaks has 49 matches on tape. 24 of them aired on the Wrestling Channel and about half of those are on YouTube. Watch his bouts against Cortez. Grey, Saint, Faulkner and Young David, and his other 70s bouts against Boscik, Naylor and Street. If you like that there's a six volume best of floating around. A lot of the original broadcast stuff is partially complete or joined in progress, but it does feature some classics like his sublime carry of Danny Boy Collins.

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  • 6 months later...

For anyone who hasn't given him a chance yet (or are just interested in seeing more of him): yesterday I watched the first two Breaks vs. Saint matches recommended in OJ's Euro thread (3/14/73 and 5/3/73). Saint in the past hasn't been my favorite WoS guy, but he is fantastic here as Breaks turns up the heat and this is worked like a real blood feud. There's a busted nose in this that's one of the most violent things I've ever seen in a worked match. But Breaks is the story there: just one of the most pure talents from a technical perspective as his pace and finesse in moving in and out of holds is unlike anyone I've ever seen. I'd loved the matches of his I had seen, but this was a reminder to watch anything and everything. A legit top 20-30 prospect depending on what I else I can see.

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Jim Breaks is amazing, and is going be to quite high on my final list, and people have said much of what I wanted to say about him in ring. Aside from all of his much deserved technical praise, Jim Breaks was basically incapable of letting the audience's attention wander, and it's fantastic. There are so many times now when I'm watching a comp, or going down a youtube rabbit hole, and my interest will fade a little. I'll check my phone, or open another window, just something to do. Breaks is constantly making noise, jawing with the crowd, stomping around, and every single time he does it it pulls me right back in and forces me to pay attention. He has a great sense of when to do this and how to time it, and it makes all of his matches seem organic and unique, which I think a lot of the other WoS workers struggled with at times. I think I'm in the minority here in that I still really like Saint and think he does a bunch of things well, but the more I watch (especially in their matches together) the more I find myself struggling to find reasons to rate Saint higher. Breaks would've been at home in any region in any era, which is something you could only say for a handful of guys. A clear top 30 candidate.

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  • 4 months later...

Breaks may be the single most revelatory wrestler of all time. I don't think there's a single person who has stumbled onto him and not thought "Holy fucking shit at this Jim Breaks motherfucker!"

 

He has that immediate effect, like shooting up smack. And it never goes away the more you watch, he's endlessly entertaining. Just so magnetic.

 

He's knocking at the door of my Top 10, in all honesty.

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  • 1 month later...

I could honestly see someone go #1 with Breaks. He's someone I hadn't seen at all a couple of years ago and I haven't been disappointed once. He's so much of what I enjoy in wrestling, and there just aren't cracks in the act. Sure, we only have so much footage, but i never get the sense of "well, he was good in this and this situation, but he probably found himself in this situation now and again where it wouldn't hold up. We just don't have tape of that." When it comes to balancing footage issues, doubt is a huge factor, and I don't have any doubt when it comes to Breaks.

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  • 5 years later...

Breaks was in my top 10 last time and I wish I could stick him there this time, but it seems a high bar what with me adding the entire country of Japan. Wrestlers who were the absolute best at one thing will have a hard time hitting my top 10 if they weren't also at least extremely good at other things as well. That's just how my list is going to work. Wrestlers like that will 100% be in the 10-20 range, however. I want that footage of Breaks fighting a foreign menace or some upstart asshole or someone just as mean as him where the crowd gets behind him because "Well, that's our bastard, innit?" (the 20-30 range will probably be more reserved for guys like Martel who were close to the absolute best at something I value but where we have the footage of them not being great at other things, as opposed to us just not knowing or for them being actively good at it).

But yeah, he's one of the best, most complete, most absolute bad guys in wrestling history.

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Breaks was versatile. He could wrestle technical bouts, work the light heavyweight style, brawl, do the cry baby act, and there were few better at carrying teenagers. If we had more footage of his early days, I think we'd see a more serious side to him. I am pretty sure he was a babyface when he got his big win over Mel Riss in '63. I would like to see some of his heel vs. heel stuff as well. Breaks vs. McManus sounds pretty wild: "They started wrestling, went hammer and tongs, ignored the ref, ignored the bells ending round one and two. And then I think they both got disqualified." 

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