German catch

[David Mantell]

Quote

I enjoyed this match and will come back at some stage to do a blow by blow account as there's enough interesting detail here to warrant it.

 

OK here goes.  First up though, the theme music Simply Irresistible, originally the ring entrance music for white meat babyface Jeff Jarrett in that other CWA and in the USWA around this time. There are dining tables on the hard cam side and sounds of plates being scraped throughout.

Round 1 gets down to business with a bunch of cross buttock presses, mostly by Wright. Bernie gets a toe and ankle hold. Markus throws him with his feet but Bernie cartwheels out with ease.  Bernie gets a Headlock into side Chancery throw and crosspress for 2. He is pressed off and nearly lands on Didi who is not amused. Bernie tries the full nelson into snapmare into crosspress, again narrowly missing Didi.  Bernie gets a side chancery, Markus resists the throw but Wright gets it and the 2 in the end  Wright gets a double legdive and tums Markus over into a reverse double leg nelson, almost a folding for 2.  He gets a side bodyscissors, turning his man over for a couple more 2 counts then sliding him forward off a bridge for another one.  Markus tries bridging back for a fall but the bell goes.

Round 2  and Bernie gets a full nelson. Throwing him off doesn't work. Markus gets his escape by some means we can't see as Bernie is in the way.  Bernie lands a forearm smash and a lunge to Bucholz's stomach, then two more forearm smashes. Markus gets a snapmare into guillotine elbowsmash.  Bernie gets a drop toehold and a sideways on surfboard, releasing after Markus had resisted long enough. He posts Markus and delivers an over the knee backbreaker. a snapmare into chinlock. Markus breaks open the chinlock into a wrist lever but Wright rolls back and forth.  He cartwheels and somersaults in the lever before monkey climbing his man. But Markus still has the wrist, so Bernie kips up, unpicks the arm with his foot, snapmares and lengthwise covers Markus who bridges out, so Bernie snapmares Markus who again bridges out.  They log roll in stalemate. Didi leaps over them but trips as they reverse direction.  It winds up with Bernie in a bridge over Didi.  The bell goes

Round 3:   They are running back and forth.  Bernie gets a cross buttocks throw and press for 2.  He gets a wristlever, Markus rolls out and gets Bernie's arm, dragging him down to the guard with a top wristlock. Bernie kips up but Markus drags him down. He kips up again, turns on a front wristlock into the armbar and rolls forwards, cartwheels back and forth and snapmares Markus. Bernie gets a semi Japanese Stranglehold, unrolls it and bodychecks Bucholz.  He gets another armbar and smashes an elbow or two and some knees right in the joint.  He flattens Markus into a hammerlock flat in the mount. He continues the hammerlock as Markus tries to find an escape, in the end Bernie releases the younger man who is still selling his shoulder.  They finger Interlock and from there, Bernie picks off one side wi gets another hammerlock with bar and a high whip, forcing a somersault into bump, then follows with a long distance armdrag.  The bell saves Bucholz.

Round 4. They finger Interlock, Bernie picks off one side and scores a lean back dropkick.  He forces a gentle bump with a whip and puts on a short arm scissors.  He holds for some time, getting the odd 2 count until trying to armdrag and nearly getting caught in a folding press but pushing his man off into another short arm scissors and rolling him in the hold a good few times.  He turns himself again into the folding press position but Markus lifts him in a human glove (I have seen this done with midget wrestler Mark "Little Legs" Sealy before but not a fully grown opponent!) Markus eventually dumps Bernie hard on the mat. Bernie congratulates him for this power move. Bernie gets a side headlock throws his man to the ropes and bodychecks him on the rebound.   Marcus gets in a couple of good armdrags and side chancery throws before Wright gets a monkey climb but Bucholz lands feet first and they both fire a dropkick at the same time, both crash landing as the bell goes. The crowd gives standing ovation.

Round 5. Markus gets the upper hand from the initial lockup, slings Bernie in the ropes and backdrops him with Bernie taking quite a bump. Markus gets in two postings. He overpowers Bernie in a finger Interlock and forces him down but Bernie bridges as he hits the canvas and Markus tries to overload the bridge but Bernie can take the weight  and slip in a monkey climb underneath.  He rolls back into a double kneepress but Markus turns him over into a double leg nelson. It reverses back and forward with Markus getting a 2 on a folding press.  Markus gets a side headlock and runs the ropes, trying for a bodycheck but coming out the worst for it.  Bernie side chancery throws Bucholz but as they run the ropes, Markus ducks under then leapfrogs over then cross buttock throws Bernie and presses him for 2.  Bernie gets a side headlock and climbs the ropes and flips backwards like Kid McCoy's Yorkshire Rope Trick, lands in a position to go for the double leg nelson but Bucholz reverses it so Bernie turns it into a folding press held with a bridge for the one required pinfall.

Perhaps I was a bit too harsh on Markus Bucholz - he does do a couple of interesting moves, the human glove (great power move especially with a full sized opponent) and one decent rollout of an armbar plus keeping yup with back and forth folding press attempts a few times.  Most of this bout however was Bernie Wright and he carried the show. Bernie was as talented as brother Steve, he just didn't spend as much time in the territory as Steve did so had less opportunity to be the key influence.