German catch

[David Mantell]

 

Been a while since I did a German Catch review but just saw and enjoyed this one Signsquad put up.  Berlin, Leap Years Day 1992 (same day Sting beat Luger to win his second World title). The man I credit with revolutionising German Catch in with one of the children of his revolution in a good clean scientific match.

Ring looks suspiciously 1970s French, much like the one in the 70s Roland Bock Vs Beau Jack Rowlands clip, maybe it never did get transported back westwards across the Rhine. In fact the overall presentation smacks of being more the traditional VDB than the CWA. Small venue, looks like a hotel function hall. One fall match with rounds, seconds and full Mountevans rules.

Long five minute lecture at the start in German from the MC and we are off, good scientific match with plenty of excellent reveals and escapes from both men. Another long lecture after round 1 seems to be about Ted Bentley training Wight.

Only downside is some "comedy" from French referee Didier Gapp, doing his best to be the usual miserable SOB.  Two yellow cards are dished out to Wright, the first for leaning on Gapp during a somersault (actually I saw this on WWF TV today, from 17th Dec 1988 at the LA Sports Arena, Lanny Poffo, still a babyface, pulled this one during a match Vs Boris Zukhov, the ref just rubbed his shoulder and looked on in askance at Poffo) the second time for accidentally catching Gapp in an aeroplane spin after Didi and Schumann accidentally link hands while criss crossing the ring. Schumann also gets a telling off (but no public warning) for accidentally stamping on Gapp's foot while trying to resist a snapmares. The MC talks to Didi in French.

Finish comes with a neat side suplex and cross press by Wright. Then cut to an old bloke with a moustache giving a long speech, probably someone important that I've disrespected there, never mind.

[David Mantell]

From the sublime to the CWA. There's not a lot to be said for this match action wise - predictable brawl WCW might have treated as something exotic. OJ will like it though. Plenty of outside the ring action, tables and that.

It's interesting for Vader's intro tape which seems to consist of Leon White making asthmatic noises as he lumbers to ring. Also for being a bit of a crossroads in two NWA/WCW world champions. Fujinami having been NWA champ during the spring 1991 trial separation of the titles, before losing it back to WCW champion Flair. Vader meanwhile is just weeks away from beginning to replace Lex Luger as WCW heel champion and Harley Race's Sith Apprentice starting with the Jan 92 Clash where he and Mr Hughes lose to the Steiners in what was -  Luger to Vader substitution aside - was otherwise a rerun of the main event WCW in London night 3 of 3 just days before this German bout.

For winning, Vader gets a big bottle of champers and a trophy cup to drink it from.  Otto Wanz also posted up to congratulate him.

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Mate, even I don't know if I'll enjoy a match before I watch it.

Franz Schuhmann vs. Steve Wright (Berlin, 2/29/92)

This was wrestled in a tiny ring in some sort of Berlin hotel or convention center. The setting reminded me of US indy shows from the same era. There was some decent action but it wasn't much of a match and never rose above the exhibition level. I can't really blame them though as it was an unnatural setting to have a match. 

[David Mantell]

3 hours ago, ohtani's jacket said:

Mate, even I don't know if I'll enjoy a match before I watch it.

True but you've stated your taste for the German variant of hard hitting brawls (just as I have my Walton-induced taste for technical exhibitions) and Leon White, before Sting and Harley Race tamed him somewhat, is reliable for that sort of thing.

I forgot to mention there appears to be a professional camera crew operating at ringside. I wonder where that footage is now. Is it a Japanese crew that flew over with Fujinami and Hatori or were the CWA still doing their professional grade video productions?  I guess we can rule out S4C - they sent OB units across the North Sea for some other tours but not this one.

[David Mantell]

Reslo goes to Germany again! And this time they've bought some bits of ring with a Welsh Red dragon ring apron on the side nearest the camera and some emptied skins of Reslo corner pads stuck (badly) over the tops of the corner pads of what looks like the same make of ring as seen in the 1980/1981 Hanover tournament camcordings and come to that some of the early 70s B/W docu footage with the young HansI Rooks etc 

We join the action in round 6.  Starts like its going to be a brawl with Zrno pounding Ocean in the corner but turns into a pre-Steve Wright  German match of the Dieter Sr/Chall generation with lots of holds being slowly worked over to twist every last scrap of Pain and drama from a sleeper, an armbar, Zoltan Boscik 3 in 1  etc. Like the ghosts of the old ring are taking over it's young competitors. Ocean uses both round breaks to get fouls in. Round card girl in glittery baseball cap and bad early 90s lycra fitnesswear.

Backdrops and DDT from Ocean for pinfall and KO attempts in Round 7. Crowd perk up when Zrno leads them but then dies down again. Round 8 more forearm smashes. Ocean gets a flying axehandle. He tries a flying tackle off the top but Mike converts it into a horizontal blockbuster suplex for the one fall required.

 

 

[David Mantell]

This match was from the same show as the Reslo bout above with the same Reslo markings on the ring and appears to have been filmed using the same camera positions but has German commentary with a ringside intro by a German speaking host  - possibly Peter Wilhelm.  Not sure what this was for - was Catch Up still going by this point?  If so, did S4C ever try to get a similar deal with ITV or Channel 4 for footage to be broadcast to the rest of the UK, perhaps with Lee Bamber or even Kent Walton on commentary?  (Well there was the Wrestling Madness home video to consider- perhaps it was a pilot for a Rest of the UK edition of .Reslo.) In the final seconds of the video some zReslo style title graphics appear on screen if that's a clue.

Match is pretty much predictable CWA quasi American fare - the spirit of Otto's matches being carried on after the man himself retired from the ring. Michiyoshi Ohara as scowling Fuji Yamaha and local Eddie Steinblock are about the best workers here and probably deserved better than this.  Unfortunately all they get to do is chop each other a bit before Yamaha gets eliminated first and Steinblock second. 

Kauroff here is a babyface and German old school institution that fans bring signs applauding.  He goes down third, leaving  us with an all North American handicap tag.  Cameron, ex Stampede North American champion who died in a CWA ring a couple of years later, was a mutton dressed as lamb roid case.  Mastino on the other hand had a big time American career ahead of him - as Mantaur the human cow. Here he's a cheap replacement for Leon White who is about to dethrone Sting in a couple of weeks. I've speculated on Max Crabtree sending Leon in to do a Daddy tag -maybe Mastino would have fit that bill too.

Rambo, the third North American in this. is the hero of the CWA having sent Bull Power packing back across the Atlantic to replace Lex Luger in WCW.  Unfortunately he just works 80s/90s WWF style. Mastino finishes him off with a splash that would have made the said Big Daddy proud, leaving himself and Cameron as survivors.

Amusing moment towards the end - Mastino and Cameron both double team and elbowsmash Rambo.  The commentator calls this with the Anglicism "Double Elbow" which just so happened to be the name of Big Daddy alternative backdrop finisher 

Referee is Didier Gapp but even he doesn't do his "comedy" routine as miserable bossy  petty official a la Saulnier.