German catch

[David Mantell]

On 7/18/2026 at 11:28 PM, David Mantell said:

We've finally reached our last 1986 bout and it's a special one:

 

Two big men go at it that summer.  Otto is now obese,  eight years into his second CWA title reign. Next year he and Peter Wilhelm will seize the IBV from Nico S and turn it into Catch Wrestling Austria. Andre has let the Machines angle get its own steam and is off having a rest , filming the Princess Bride,, chilling out - and having this match.  Andre had plenty of visits eastwards across the Rhine before moving from  France to Quebec.

This is part of a professionally filmed Otto's Greatest Fights videotape - we see a caption slides with an image of the CWA belt.  

Runde  1 is very much built around armlocks,double wristlocks, Hammerlocks from front,  position armbars.  If Andre doesn't have a kimura/double wristlock/ hammerlock with bar in place, he is desperate y trying to get one, try to bend a straight Otto arm into a figure four position. It's very much an old German.Wrestling, the slow leverage battles of Axe CV6 Otto tries to counter with a crotch holds, trying for a slam.  Andre is hesitant to release on the bell and although his alliance with Heenan is 6 months off, he settles into the heel role for this bout from this point.  To be fair he only knew much of rounds from trips to the UK, Spain and Germany/Austria.

Runde 2 is more of a slug and punch brawl. Otto slugs out of the armlock attempt and off they go.  Andre tries choking Otto who shoves him to ringside and later ties him up.  Otto is now  the one trying for a double wristlock.  He levers Andre down, turns him into the  Guard, tries and tries for a cross press but Andre turns him over and gets an American small package for  one (or maybe it was a very messy side folding press.Andrecgets up but misses a splash and is kicked around as he gets the ropes.  They brawl in the ropes as the bell (hooter goes). 

Runde 3 - more of the same - armbars on the ropes - slug and punch.  Andre gets a leglock on the mat.  Otto gets a top wristlock on the mat then an armhank.  Andre sells it noisily.  Aand eventually gets his own leglock.  Into Gotch toehold!. Otto tries to push up and holds on until the hooter goes.

Runde 4. Andre gets long knockdowns from an elbow and a headbutt then choked Otto until Wanz reverses on the ropes. Wanz ejected Andre sits on Otto like he did in the WWF.to opponents such as Ax.  Otto gets a front chancer.y into abdominal stretch.   The hooter goes.

Runde 5. Oddly like the finish of WM3. Andre goes to work, misses a boot, Otto gets a slam and somersault splash but Andre puts up a boot to catch Otto on the chin.  Andre covers Otto and eventually gets a very slow 3 count for the one fall required

Found a promo for this match:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1572592804362902/

 

[David Mantell]

On 8/1/2026 at 11:11 AM, David Mantell said:

1988 - 17 December, on the day of ITV's The Final Bell

And therefore already not a happy day in the life of Martin Ruane. The above was his starter for 10. And then THIS happens

 

(Haystacks here is called Luc Haystacks, a reference to his early ring name Luke McMasters.  This makes for extra confusion as Rambo's real name is Luc Poirier. So we have the battle of the Lucs.)

For a good three Runden or so Stax takes out his frustrations over Greg Dyke on Poirier, sometime putting pressure points on but ,let's just bludgeoning him.  Eventually Rambo Hulks up, gives Haystacks a solid pounding and -astonishingly- scores the one required pinfall! He gets a massive pop as Didier Gapp raises his hand, astonishingly when you consider that up until this point he has been a hated heel in the German speaking world.

So that's the match done but the video clip is still only halfway through.(Did you really think Stax was going half an hour?). We get what looks like a Ringerparade except most people are dressed in street clothes including some smart suits.  Samoan Sika Anoia in particular turns out to be quite the snappy dresser when not being a Samoan savage. Everyone including Fit Finlay's missus Princess Paula gets presented with bouquets of flowers although Colonel Brody ignores his. A couple of trophies also get handed out.  Haystacks turns up late to the party, no doubt sulking over his defeat.

[David Mantell]

Franz Vs Frank.  I thought we'd seen some Merckx before but can't find any.  I shall call them Z and K after the different letters that end their otherwise similar first names.

K is a big man, I think he's black.  Hard to tell from the longshot and poor colour (apart from a yellow sign an a couple of pastel coloured ladies cardigans.). The MC calls him Mercier but he is no relation to Guy, Marc and Paul. They stall a lot. Z wedges out of a Headlock on the mat and there is the odd good throw. Z spends forever trying to rest snapmare the much heavier K, does it in the end.

And so it goes on. Z gets a nice French style flying headscissors takedown.whenever Z makes a good move he gets a oop, sadly including an airhorn.  K starts doing punches and the MC tells off "It's not boxing!". K is getting dirty, chokes on the ropes. "SCHTOP!!!"

About 30min into the match, two guys run in the ring, beat up both competitors and are escorted out. Not sure if this is a run in angle or crowd rowdies. I think they could even be plants paid to spice things up.  A little under 10min later Z gets the one fall required with a flying tackle.

Very long and ponderous. A throwback the the pre Steve Wright days.

TBC

[David Mantell]

Otto versus the visiting American, Black Bart, former World Class champion and sometime WWF jobber has Orig Williams in his coner, Otto has Steve Wright in his.   A man with a trumpet plays the US and Austrian National anthems.  He's not the only only horn player here, dozens of the crowd have those airborne you Americans HATE.  There's also a jazz funk version between rounds of Time After Time, a song by former WWF Diva Cyndi Lauper.

It's a professional multi cam  set up but let down by a lighting failure,  the match taking place in shadowy darkness like that WWF In You House where they had a power cut. Lights only improved about 5 minutes from the end.  The match is your usual Otto Brawl and your usual Cowboy Bart brawl Little to write blow by blow about.  Otto gets the odd good side chancery throw on Bart.  They also brawl outside the ring a lot -;OJ will like thafThey have an electronic sound effect instead of a bell for Runden.  

Otto gets the win with a bodyslam and big splash pin .  The public charges the ring like that old Bob Backlund clip from a title sequence.  You get what you pay for with an Otto mat frankly. 

 

[David Mantell]

Okay, at least one of these guys is a European with technical skills. The ref is Didier Gapp former French Arbitre Méchant turned comedy hero of Germans and Austrians.  Plus we postpone thhe battle of two Superheavyweight blobs for next weekend (you'll see).

Runde 1 sand both absorb each others bodycheck attempts til Zrno dropkicks Rambo and twice armdrags him.  Quite a lot installing.  Twice Zrno gets a hammerlock and Zrno goes straight for the ropes, major heal heat throughout Europe. The second time Zrno kicks Rambo's behind.  Crowd are chanting "MILE MILE MILE".  Rambo twice uses a hairpull tho win a top wristlock battle. Mile gets a headlock and plans to forerarm smash Rambo. The bell goes but Mile presses ahead and is warned by Didi. Mile and Didi have a blazing row.

Runde 2. The first good scientific move of the bout - Mile rolls therefrom and kips out of a Rambo armbars.  He forearms the Quebecr who pulls him down by the hair.  Mile kips up , forearms, is hairpulled down, then in a second scientific move and a real beauty, steps over Rambo's head, unrolls himself and coils back up with a ground position dropkick.  Mile gets a Headlock, Rambo a rear waistlock.  There is a battle to throw each other. Zrno wins.  Cut to Mile battering Rambo with kicks.  Mile gets a drop toehold into Gotch toehold and leans back to make an Indian Deathlock.  Cut to Rambo clotheslining Zrno and repeatedly stomping on him, breaking the KO count.  A brawl erupts, Zrno swings at Dido and gets a First Yellow Card.  Rambo stomps a fallen Zrno again as the bell goes. He carries on and and gets a first yellow card of his own.  Even that does not deter him as he posts Mile back to his corner. Didi holds the yellow card up again- not sure if this is a Second And Final or just a reminder to Rambo

Runde 3   Rambo gets a front facing back hammerlock.  Zrno tries to slam him but to no avail.  Rambo  batters him down.  He gets a full Boston Crab. Zrno does not submit so Rambo, bored, drops the hold and stomps Mike in the back.  He actually lets him up before smashing his head into the corner.  Rambo hides a concealed punch from Didi but Gapp is suspicious.  Rambo gets a posting for 6, a side headlock into concealed punch. Another posting Zrno converts into a flying bodypress but only gets 1.  So he lands three uppercuts and dropkicks Rambo out of the ring.  Cut to the bell going but Zrno gets in a stomp this time.  

Runde 4 JIP  and Rambo is staggering.  Zrno dropkicks him and rear snapmares him and flying cross headscissors him twice with Rambo taking spinning bumps.  Another dropkick sends Rambo to the apron.  Zrno tries to stomp him off.  He gets a not very good shoulderblock, tries again but Rambo gets a big boot.  He smashes Rambo's head twice in the turnbuckle, posts him, bodyslams him and gets the one required fall. Rambo is the winner.

The scientific European Vs the Arrogant North American with total contempt for European rules. A common enough trope in all Europe.  A few real bits of sparkle, mainly from Zrno,- the unroll and recoil into ground dropick.  Rambo won and he went on to bigger things in the CWA, mainly against another arrogant American, Bull Power.

 

[David Mantell]

Sadly there is nothing suitably short from 1988 Germany/Austria to serve as a second bout like the British and French threads so here instead is a music video from the people who gave you We Are Dynamite. Worth watching for the sight of Haystacks in a sun visor. shades and Hawaiian shirt.  Oh and Paul Neu is a much better singer than rapper.

 

[David Mantell]

On 9/5/2026 at 5:41 PM, David Mantell said:

Plus we postpone thhe battle of two Superheavyweight blobs for next weekend (you'll see).

I did warn you

Like Otto vs Black Bart, I've linked to this in the past but not reviewed it.  Yokuzuna the future extended interim WWF World Champion.

Runde 1 is mostly a brawl OJ will like, occasionally settling into a Kokina nerve hold or Otto getting a toehold.  

Cute to Runde 3 - more of the same. some okay snapmares from each other. Kokina spends a lot of the round being dormant.

Runde 4 Still much the same to be honest.

Runde 5 dItto

Runde 6, Otto gets the win with a clothesline, somersault splash,,slam  and crosspress for the pinfall win.  

It made a lot of drunks in Bremen happy.

Here is a fan cam off YouTube: