German catch

[David Mantell]

On 7/13/2025 at 6:57 AM, David Mantell said:

Not sure of the storyline background but Collins' new mid 90s heel persona (as also seen in Britain) made another enemy in kilted referee Mick McMichael to the point where he put the tights back on.

 

Okay, here's what went down the previous evening at the Heumarkt 

 

Dirty Dan teams with  a man he once faced and pinned in a 1987Daddy :tag, Mad McDonald the Ultimate Chippendale against a firework bearing Ulf Herman and Joe Joe Lee (relative of Kwik Kick, Sammy and, er Bruce.) Kilted Mick is the ref. Fairly generic action with Ulf in. Apparently German fans like to sing Old McDonald Had a farm. Lee comes in and karate kicks everything in sight. Danny scores the first fall, Ulf gets the equaliser on Drew. In the decider, Danny is choking Ulf on the mat when Mick From Doncaster grabs him by the hair and throws him out the ring. Danny at ringside makes the challenge.

So that's how it happened.

 

[David Mantell]

On 9/7/2024 at 2:41 PM, ohtani's jacket said:

Have you seen Steinblock vs. One Warrior Nation? Apparently, it has the lowest rating of any match on Cagematch.

No but I'll tell you what I have seen 

And no I'm NOT gonna do a blow by blow account.  Although Warrior did surprise me at one point with a rear snapmare.  One of those rare scientific holdsbe would occasionally pull out and do as a spot, like the suplex at WM6.

Ulf tried his best.  At 10 mins this would have made a passable WWF TV match circa 1989-1991.  At 20 mins without Pat Patterson nor Randy Savage to direct traffic, it does drag on. Holds used as rest holds American style.  Ringside brawls, Ulf doing a flying move and mercifully Warrior catching him.And on and on ..

Warrior wins a World Wrestling trophy.  He and Ulf shake hands and both lift it up.  Jerry McDevitt has prevented use of Unstable so Warrior celebrates to, of all things, We Are The Champions by Queen.

Lord knows what referee Mick McMichael Of Doncaster (minus his kilt) was thinking. This man was a far cry from his old mate and sparring partner Vic Faulkner.

P.S @sergeiSem  I got told off once many years ago for for calling this a CWA bout - are you sure that's correct?  Apparently it was some other promoter (I forget who.)

[David Mantell]

Some more Flying Funaki for you, this time in a 1988 clean match at the Heumarkt against Tony StClair.  I'm getting ready to go out for the night but I might do a fuller account of this tomorrow or sometime. It's a really good scientific match but it's undermined by two problems 

1) large sections cropped out - it's basically edited highlights.

2) Didier Gapp and his "comedy" Humourless Officialdom Miserable Git act as referee.

Some really great moves especially Funaki, look out in clip 1 for him bridging up to almost upright then getting a rear snapmare on Tony even before fully standing. It ends in a draw with Funaki almost getting a pin when the final bell goes.  Nice to see since mostly the Japanese in Germany/Austria played street thug heel characters (notable exception Jushin Liger in 1992 and that was with his internationally famous mask on, not as Fuji Yamada.)   Hopefully one day we will get footage of the Yamada/Funaki tag team in either the UK or Germany/ Austria.

 

[David Mantell]

Oh and you'll never guess what the algorithms on my Smart TV YouTube app put up for me to watch after that Heumarkt footage:

Bless 'em.

[David Mantell]

A few minutes of Schumann in August 1986 putting up a good fight against big Swiss Rene.including the same rear snapmare while almost up from a bridge as Funaki did in the previous videos.

Proceeded by a Ringerparade including Leon White still in white meat babyface Baby Bull persona complete with baseball cap as pictured in PWI Scouting Reports when he was the big young kid who just might give AWA World Champion Stan Hansen a hard time.

 

[David Mantell]

On 7/26/2025 at 6:00 PM, David Mantell said:

Some more Flying Funaki for you, this time in a 1988 clean match at the Heumarkt against Tony StClair.  I'm getting ready to go out for the night but I might do a fuller account of this tomorrow or sometime. It's a really good scientific match but it's undermined by two problems 

1) large sections cropped out - it's basically edited highlights.

2) Didier Gapp and his "comedy" Humourless Officialdom Miserable Git act as referee.

Some really great moves especially Funaki, look out in clip 1 for him bridging up to almost upright then getting a rear snapmare on Tony even before fully standing. It ends in a draw with Funaki almost getting a pin when the final bell goes.  Nice to see since mostly the Japanese in Germany/Austria played street thug heel characters (notable exception Jushin Liger in 1992 and that was with his internationally famous mask on, not as Fuji Yamada.)   Hopefully one day we will get footage of the Yamada/Funaki tag team in either the UK or Germany/ Austria.

Okay here's the fuller account as promised.  Funaki comes to the ring to 1981 kitsch pop hit Japanese Boy by Anika which is as good music for a Japanese blue-eye as any.

They lock up, hit the ropes and start over. Tony gets a standing sife headlock into cross buttock throw into mat side headlock. Funaki goes for further nelson pin attempt but gets a 1 before Tony turns it upright again.  Funaki forces upwards, breaks the headlock open into a top wristlock and gets an armdrag takedown into a wristlever on the mat w ith Tony in the guard. He backrolls upright to standing then front rolls to untwist the arm but Funaki reverses the leverage forcing Tony to fall backwards into the guard.He kips up, rolls back and forth and uses his foot to unlock the writlock and takes Funaki's wrist for himself. Funaki is already promising at the British style, he rolls forwards, backwards, forwards and then forces a high whip but Tony is able to somersault through to a standing start, making a feet first landing without taking the bump.  The Heumarkt crowd applauds but Did blows his whistle at something, leaving both wrestlers staring askance at him. I did warn you

Cut to Funaki cross buttock throwing Tony. He takes the count for a rest in the mat until 9 a la Vic Faulkner. He gets an arm at into a hammerlock.

Sudden cut (I did warn you about this too) to Funaki with a wrist lever into armdrag takedown to the same ground armlock in the guard. Funaki stands for extra leverage, Tony kips up and rear snapmares him down but Funaki keeps the hold. Tony kips up again into a top wristlock position. Funaki forces him down so Tony backrolls out then front rolls and horizontally swivels on his behind and puts his leg in position for a kickoff and boots Funaki backwards. Tony has the toe and ankle but Funaki puts the other foot in and throws Tony with his feet, forcing a somersault and bump. Funaki is up and gets half a finger Interlock then backrolls to get a top wristlock and force Tony down in the guard again but the ging (bell) sounds for the end of the round. Clean break, handshake.

Cut to Round 2 possibly JIP. Funaki gets a side chancery. Rather than go for a throw, he takes Tony down into the guard. Sadly the ring apron edge gets in the way of seeing how but Funaki gets a crosspress for three 2 counts.  Tony gets up and Funaki gives him a bodycheck and side chancery throw into his favourite armlock in the guard. He takes his man up, seemingly for another side chancery throw but Tony gets an underhook, crotch hold and slam. Funaki still has hold of the armlock however.

Cut - Tony drops down on the mat as a rope bouncing Funaki goes over him. Tony gets a cross buttock throw and follows down on top with a shoulderpress but Funaki gets the bridging upwards rear chancery throw  that caught my eye on the first viewing (and that Franz Schumann did in the video in between.) for a shoulderpress of his own.  He takes his man up again in the side chancery for another throw but Tony blocks three times by stomping hard on the ground, the third stamp unfortunately landing on Didier Gapp's toe.  Gapp is a lot less understanding than Dave Reece in the recent Pat Roach/Colin Johnson bout on the British thread (5.5 years earlier in real time)  he blows his whistle, sells the foot and reprimands Tony while ignoring Funaki's pleas for clemency.  He reaches for his cards in his pocket.

Cut - and Didi is reprimanding Tony for something else. Funaki gets a single legdive takedown into kneeling toe and ankle hold. He applies weakeners then settles into a seated leglock. Tony pulls him over into the folding press but barely gets a 1 count before Funaki rights himself.  He switches back to the same standing toe and ankle with the same jumping weakeners (Gapp is lucky Funaki doesn't also accidentally stomp his toe.) and stands back for a seven count.  Funaki goes for a legdive to continue the treatment but Tony gets his arm first.  Funaki gets a riding rear waistlock counter as the gong goes. Another handshake, another appreciative clap from the Heumarkt fans. 

Round 3 (presumably) JIP, it's Tony's turn to get an armdrag into an armbar in the guard. Funaki stands up and tries to bounce StClair off the ropes but he uses the same stomp block and armdrags Funaki back down to the guard. Cut to StClair again using a stomp to block a Funaki bounce off the ropes.  Funaki leans on Didier Gap to help back somersault out.  An English referee like Jeff Kaye would usually laugh this sort of thing off, but not Didier Gapp. He reads both men the riot act until they both corner him and Tony plonks him on the top turnbuckle like the Ultimate Warrior did to one of the Hebners during a match with Randy Savage in early 89.  Gapp jumps back down and does a comedy landing on one side. angrily getting up and blowing his whistle.  Bout pauses for a spot of cheerleading encouraged by both wrestlers.  Tony gets the single legdive into toe & ankle into seated leglock, this time.  He brushes off a couple of Funaki chinlock attempts and gets upright to deliver similar weakeners as Funaki delivered before.

End of clip one, proceed to clip 2.

Tony is standing back while Didi counts Funaki. He gets a leg but Funaki stays standing, does a standing backflip and dropkicks Tony.  He gets the cross buttock into ground side headlock.  Tony gets just 1 with the folding press counter both men have previously tried in this situation.  Tony standing up in the hold, throws Funaki off and catches him on the rebound with a shoulderblock, flooring him with a blow to the back.  Funaki is up and Tony whips him into the ropes but he rebounds with a sunset flip and double leg nelson. Tony gets the double ankle smash in before any pin count can take place. They start over and Tony gets the armbar in a kneeling position. He turns Funaki over, drops a couple of knees and the gong goes.  More good sportsmanship.

Round 4 presumably, JIP, Funaki goes to work with martial arts kicks like Sammy Lee, eventually felling Tony with a spinning kick.  He whips him off the ropes and catches him with a reverse flying shoulderblock. He rear snapmares him. Switches to the leg and turns Tony into the single leg Boston Crab. Tony sells the pain but does not submit and eventually releases to try something else.  He throws Tony into the ropes. Agets a mild chop the first time and misses with the spinning kick the second time. The third, Tony strikes with a lariat .  He catches Funaki getting up and delivers an uppercut and kneelift. Funaki is up at eight for a posting. Cut - and this time Tony delivers an oven the knee backbreaker to Funaki.  Tony gets double legs into a scorpion Deathlock, the hold a young Sting ea making famous that year but both these two menin 1988 associated more with Masa Chono.  Cut to Tony getting a double legdive into Indian Deathlock from the side.  Gapp calls for the break for some reason (has Funaki reached the ropes?) and demands they disengage.  Tony asks for help in untwisting their legs. Didier. unlike British referees somehow managed to trip over the pile of legs, landing on his back! This is the man German and Austrian fans consider a cult comedy hero.  He angrily blood his whistle and eventually Tony goose steps over to him menacingly as if to imply another stomped foot is on the way. A scared Did retreats to the top turnbuckle.  Tony his the ropes but Didi blows his whistle to stop everything. Cut and the three men are standing around, Didi and Tony arguing.  He goes over to say something to the judges. Cut and there is a round break, the two principles are in their corners.  

Round 5 starts with a handshake. Tony offers a one sided finger Interlock, Funaki responds with martial arts kicks to the knee then the chest, the last flooring Tony.  The exchange Tony's forearms and Funaki's chops before shaking hands. Tony gets a single legdive takedown into leglock on the mat.  Funaki gets a wristlock on one arm, uses his free leg to hook Tony's head and is left with a nifty armhank. Tony rolls over in the hold, Funaki converting to a lengthwise headscissors before Tony rolls into the ropes,,  forcingna break.  Once free, he shoulders his man, whips him into the ropes and lands him on the rebound with a back elbow.  Funaki, up at 4, goes back down to an uppercut. Tony whips him off the ropes but misses with another back elbow and Funaki strikes with a flying tackle, getting a 2 count.  He whips Tony and dropkicks him down on the rebound   Funaki gets another single leg into seated leg lock, again shrugs off Tony's chinlock attempts and like Tony earlier, is pulled over with the other leg and guillotined with the leg instead of an.armhank. As they get up, Tony gets a rear inverted waistlock and tombstone piledriver and shoulder press for 2 before presumably Funaki reaches the ropes.  Tony gets an uppercut, Funaki gets one too and a martial arts kick and spinning kick that floors Tony.  Tony lunges, floors and covers Funaki but Gapp breaks it up due to lack of continuous movement.  Tony posts Funaki and gives him a sharp kick. Funaki posts Tony back, climbs him and back somersaults off him, backdrops him and dropkicks him.   He goes to the top turnbuckle and scores a perfect flying bodypress but only gets 2.  He gets a dropkick but misses with a reverse flying shoulderblock and Tony scores with another lariat. Funaki is up at 6 and gets a small package but the gong goes at the 1 count. Both men exchange handshakes and bows.

An excellent scientific contest except for the two problems described.  

 

 

[David Mantell]

Quote

Klaus Kauroff vs. Vader (10/26/86)

All this 80s stuff is clipped to the equivalent of 8mm reels, but it's fun to watch none the less. ... the final Vader brutalises Kauroff. Kauroff was this short, stocky guy who tried to dish out some punishment with worked pro-wrestling style strikes and Vader just potatoed him. It was fun watching two in shape fat men pummel it out, but Kauroff was out classed. It's really hard to get a decent grasp on how good Germany was in the 80s because of the footage issues, but England had gone pear shaped around this time and Germany was much more interesting through to the end of the decade. How we're going to represent that on the Europe set I'm not sure, because you can only really rate and compare the longer Germany footage whereas this stuff would make a yearbook project. Still, if you liked Vader on the AWA and NJPW sets, you should fill in your Vader watching by checking out these clips.

Yes I thought OJ might like this.  Personally I find it rather slug and punch like the Piper/T boxing match at WM2, even when it ended up outside the ring (and I don't get why White's count was stopped. He gets forever before the count is restarted.) Maybe one or two side chanceries throw from Leon, that was the only technical moves of the bout.

Crowd take Kauroff's side despite his long heel history while Leon White was the pure and innocent Baby Bull in the AWA just months earlier.  Here he gets the win with a Big Daddy Splash and the crowd gives him the bird.  Despite everything KK and Bull Power are good sportmanly chums at the end - maybe this is how Kauroff went back to heel afterwards.  

Dodgy trippy title sequence - trying to make a test pattern tone signal and the dying moans of a geriatric relative plus video feedback effects generated by the on-screen lettering look and sound like the Saturday night horror show.

(Re. the Britain comment - this is from the year that Danny Collins feuded with Marvellous Mike Bennett with Mike winning the Grand Prix Belt, Roy (Steve) Regal and Kid McCoy's ITV debuts, Steve Wright as Bull Blitzer winning the World Mid Heavyweight Championship off Marty Jones, the UK Greg Valentine winning the Golden Grappler trophy, Fuji Yamada's All Star debut, the World Heavyweight title tournament at Hanley won by Quinn, Rocky Moran and Kung Fu as British Heavyweight Middleweight champions ...)

[ohtani's jacket]

I am a huge fan of Mike Bennett, but that Collins stuff was from the end of '84 to early '85. Blitzer vs. Jones is one of my all-time favorite WoS bouts, but the rest I can live without. There was a serious drop off after '84. It really began earlier than that when people started jumping to All-Star, which diluted Joint's talent pool. There is some good stuff post-84, but not very much of it. I doubt Germany/Austria was much better, to be honest. The early 80s in Europe wasn't as good as the 70s, which wasn't as good as the 60s, which wasn't as good as the 50s. 

[David Mantell]

1 hour ago, ohtani's jacket said:

that Collins stuff was from the end of '84 to early '85.

I stand corrected but the Grand Prix belt tournament win WAS 1986.

The things I listed were all more my cup of tea than Bull Power Vs Kauroff.

I mentioned some All Star stuff as for 1986 we do have the Screensport show.

[David Mantell]

A year earlier.  . Steve Wright was a fantastic wrestler but I'm a bit lairy of feeding him to King Kong Kirk.  Still it last 15 minutes, maybe it won't be a squash... The  disco plays Don't Let Me Down by ELO - a portent? Kirk's navy blue tights look bright magenta dure to a combination of lighting and cheap videotape. Referee is Jeff Kaye, formerly of the Barons in the UK and France. Kirk apparently gets himself counted out at the start having an argument with a fan (although all we can see in the gloom is one safety light.) Steve leads the crowds in a mocking chant.

Down to business, Steve cartwheels out of pressure points. He armdrags the big man and dropkicks him out.  A knockout count is interrupted by the bell.  By the next round Wright is down and himself thrown out the ring.  Kirk follows him out and presumably they brawl, it's impossible to see in the light. Wright gets back first and the round ends with Kaye pointing Kirk out ominously to someone at ringside.  Round 3 and Kirk is being counted again.  He gets alright on the ropes bashes him,,misses and Wright knocks him down.  He snapmares, stomps and Ivan Koloff style flying kneedrops his man. Cut to Kirk back in charge until Wright suddenly snaps up and dropkicks Kirk out of the ring. Kirk gets to advantage back.  Then Wright gets a missile dropkick on the bell.  DJ plays 99 Red Balloons - are Wright and Kirk's bald heads two of the 99?  Wright gets a shot in at Kirk between rounds and Kaye tells him off. Wright charges a cornered Kirk despite Kaye's instructions not to and gets a yellow card. He carries on battering Kirk. Cut to them having a sit down slugfest.  Wright flying tackles Kirk, gets slammed but dodges a guillotine elbowsmash. Kirk has Wright balancing precariously on the top rope but Wright soon has Kirk tied up. He attacks but Kirk gets free and clotheslines him down.  A round ends with the MC threatening someone with a second and final public warming and Weight choking Kirk with a towel.  Kaye gently rebukes him. Cut to Kirk back in charge in the next round.  Kirk kicks Wright out and they have another brawl in the dark.  Wright makes it back and Kaye has grave words then starts counting Kirk.  Kirk gets back in but a posting, four armdrags  and two dropkicks later he is back out.  Cute to Wright doing a tope on Kirk. Kaye joins the boys outside to sort things out.  Cut to Kirk in the ring,  Kaye at ringside talking to someone and Wright on the mat. Kirk has got himself DQd.  He puts his hands on his hips in a WTF gesture of exasperation and sits down in his corner. Wright recovers and is proclaimed winner,  he jumps up and down with excitement and clears off.

Not the squash I feared but still not an appropriate use of Steve Wright's skills..

[David Mantell]

Yes THAT Lance Storm, on his way to US success, taking on Danny.  A year before hec himself wrestled Danny, Mick McMichael has the kilt on as referee.  Dirty Dan has a weapon, Mick confiscates it.   Oh look there's Lance doing the whole German dancing babyface thing, so much for dignity for a man who in 2014 would rather write a long boring essay than do his ice bucket challenge.  

Oh dear, it sounds ominously like it's going to be a chain match. That explains the weapon Dan brought in.  Bell goes, after some cheerleading they lock up. No chain. PHEW!! Still not much technical work. Storm gets Dan to catch a leg. Aflips over on it and gets an armdrag intonarmlock- NOW you're talking. Dan gets a rope break. More cheerleading. Collins bodychecks Storm who leapfrogs and cross buttocks and presses him for 2. Collins gets a semi Japanese Stranglehold and clothesline and a diving headbutt. Danny side chancery throws Storm, comes off he top turnbuckle but is dropkicked by Storm.  Storm gets a side chancery throw to cross press for 2.  Collins pitches Storm to ringside and keeps him there. Storm comes back in on a sunset flip for another 2. Danny argued with Mick and Storm folding presses him for another 2. Storm gets some Lucha esque huracanrana variant. Danny pitches him out but only gets him on the apron from where Storm fights back. He smacks Danny's head on the top turnbuckle and gets a flying bodypress for 2. Storm dropkicks Danny to ringside and sliding dropkicks him to keep him there. Collins takes over with the fouls. He posts Lance who tries to do a Flair Flip and Flops to the Floor (of the ring.)  Collins gets a fireman's carry and dumps Storm throat first on the top rope. He somersaults over Storm who somersault bodypresses him for 2.  He gets a spinning kick then goes a bit wild and Mick calms him down. Danny gets an ambush but Lance karate kicks him. 

Suddenly Finlay runs in and attacks Storm (helping Collins his old late 80s enemy who in 95:still has the British Heavy Middleweight title won from Finlay in 1989.  Tony StClair and Franz Schumann  come to the rescue.  . Storm is DQXwinner but he gets in the miç and demands that chain match they made noises about earlier.  

The best of today's three German bouts despite all its faults. Not as good as Lance vs Danny Boy could have been.

 

[David Mantell]

Christmas 1995. Finlay and an American takeaway on Schumann and Smisl.  The latter is very much the CWA's answer to Hillbilly Jim or Mighty Igor Vodic, a folk dancing fool in his silly hat.  Schumann is actually a fine technician pulling off a decent rollout of armbar, twisting round  then kipping up again to reverse the armbar.  Earlier on he got a waistlock from behind and rolled upright when shrugged off. Smisl also has some tricks, kneeling down to get a  backdrop on the taller Titan.  

It all ends in tears for the babyfaces as they get carried away, posting both American villains then posting referee Didier Gapp on top so that he Disqualifies the good guys and rules the win for Finlay and Titan. Yes it's that old We Wuz Robbed (Aux Chiottes L'Arbitre et tout cela.) finish.

 

[David Mantell]

Been wanting to post some of Wildcat Robbie Brookside's heel work in Germany from the late 90s and 00s. Found this 2009 EWP tag for a start.  Apart from a few spells as Kendo Nagasaki's hypno-slave, Brookside first got into rule bending in 1995 in Croydon when he turned heel on Liverpool Lads tag partner Doc Dean. The two later reconciled but the angry shouting  heel Robbie was the foundation for The Wildcat persona which angered German so much that when an unknown Bryan Danielson beat him for a German title in 2003 it made Bryan an instant star over there.

Thunder is Darren Walsh, son of Tony Badger Walsh. He and Robbie Brookside had a major feud for the British Heavyweight title in Leamington Spa 2003-2006 continuing even after Robbie lost the title to Drew McDonald in 2005, with Robbie still as Wildcat heel with his whispy goatee and Darren as the local kid, the same nice lad who teamed with Marty Jones in Hanley to take on Kendo Nagasaki and Vic Powers in Hanley, June 2000.  Everywhere else in the UK at that point, Robbie was blue eye and Darren was Thunder, evil bald cyborg heel with the Warlord/Phantom Of The Opera metal mask.

Here they take on Leon van Gasteren and Karsten Kretschmer two local babyfaces. Apparently Leon is in the white, Karsten in the orange. Thunder gets to work on Karsten. cross buttock throwing him but he rolls out of the throw and away from danger. Another cross buttock throw is more impactful. The good guy gets a headlock but Thunder throws him off and bodychecks him down on the rebound. Leon tags in and gets bodychecked down but dodges a second one as both babyfaces shoulder tackle him down and double team Brookside, sending both Bad Brits out of the ring. They eventually find their way back with Robbie complaining to the referee about continuing the count when they are both back No doubt in the same tone of voice and Scouse accent as the Hey Referee That Man's Just Done Something To Me speech in ITV in 1988.  Robbie offers Leon a handshake but he will have none of it. Robbie shakes the ref's hand but then changes his mind on Leon who gets that crowd going with an anti Liverpool chant ("Liverpool Liverpool ha ha ha" in a strong Teutonic accent.) Robbie is angry.  Robbie gets an armbar, giving it extra twists and weakeners.  Leon like the good little scholar of Steve Wright that he is, rolls out and when Brookside takes him down with a top wristlock, goes into a bridge, pivots round on his head and gets a wristlever of his own.  Good technical work in the middle of a heated tag. Karsten tags in and drops and axehandle on Robbie's outstretched arm (Max Ward would not have stood for this - see Lapaques Vs Myers & Kwango on the British thread.)  Thunder tags in and gets a back hammerlock, slam and guillotine elbowsmash.  He drops a knee and gets a front face lock on Karsten then a forearm smash before running out of shot to do something nasty to Leon that the camera misses. Leon complains as Thunder gets Karsten in the corner in a tree of woe and Robbie comes in to deliver a sliding ground dropkick..  Thunder crushes Karsten on the ropes, Leon comes in to complain but the ref sends him out.  Thunder gets another grovit. He snapmares Karsten into the heel corner, runs a Ross and bionic elbows Leon then keeps the ref occupied while Robbie kicks Karsten. Thunder gets the front face lock again but Karsten is forcing towards tagging range. Thunder tries a posting but Karsten reverses it then backdrops Thunder.  With the big man's back weakened, Leon tags in, they double team Thunder but in the confusion Leon falls to ringside. Karsten is working over Thunder who responds with punches and forearms.  He whip Karsten into the ropes but Karsten slides between his legs (more Steve Wright influence!) then bounces off the top rope with a flying forearm. He delivers a spinning kick and armdrags but Robbie breaks up the resulting cover.  Leon follows him over to the heel corner but the ref sends him out and Thunder gets his heat back with a powerful clothesline.  Thunder gets an over the shoulder backbreaker but Karsten wriggles free, nails Brookside and dodges a Thunder elbowsmash that lands on Brookside.  Karsten gets a side folding press on Thunder but only for two.  He tags Leon who cloth lines and dropkicks both the Bad Brits. The Good Germans double dropkick Thunder (a move Brookside and Regal did to Kendo Nagasaki on ITV in 1988 which Kent Walton treated with amused bewilderment.  The ref orders Karsten out and Thunder powerbombs Leon for the one required fall. Victory for the heel Brits.

Some good technical work from the youngsters especially Leon  and Robbie heels it up while Darren Thunder Walsh is the monster.  I'll try find some more heel Wildcat soon.

[David Mantell]

HeIn the meantime there is these:

On 5/12/2025 at 5:54 AM, David Mantell said:

 

From the post CWA EWP and from Fit Finlay's farewell tour, he gets a World title shot here at Paul "Cannonball Grizzly" Neu, the artist long ago known as PN News.  First up it's nice too see they still went in for white ropes and dark blue mat- what is it about old school German wrestling and that colour combination. They've still got the disco between rounds "Eurotrash Hits " the commentator calls it- and indeed they still have rounds at all when All Star hardly bothered. Finlay has Robbie Brookside of all people as his corner man while Grizzly has Ecki Eckstein as his flag waver.

One is an old man, the other a big fat man also getting up in years so a fairly slow paced affair and not in the methodical German style either.  Bearhug territory from Grizzly .  Things look a bit temperamental between Robbie (with his corner bucket). and Finlay (the crowd favourite) at the start of round 3. The commentators discuss Finlay's former backstage job with the WWE Divas - Trish Stratus is name checked. 

Finlay cross buttocks Grizzly to break out of a bearhug in round 4.  Finlay gets a yellow card in round 5:for persistently not allowing Grizzly back in the ring. Grizzly goes to work in round 7 with a Big Daddy style offence but it falls to bits when he misses a "Cannonball Roll" (that's a Broken Record for all you old WCW fans). of the top turnbuckle.

At this point the Wildcat goes WILD, turning heel on Finlay and attacking him at ringside then getting into a wild schmoz with Eckstein and a bunch of other guys who run in.  Everyone including Grizzly piles in to keep them apart.  Robbie says something rude about Finlayin German with a strong Scouse accent and Finlay piles out after him followed by everyone else. Brookside cuts a long promo in English challenging Finlay to a Liverpool street fight then storms off.  Finlay offers to make it a tag match with son David Jr (III). Which I guess led to the Finlays Vs Brookside and Dirty Dan Collins tag match I reviewed several pages earlier in this thread.

 

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  n 1995 Croydon Robbie Brookside turned heel on his Liverpool Lads tag partner Doc Dean and became an angry surly heel, his first heel run apart from under Kendo hypnosis. Although they buried the hatchet and went to do some jobs in WCW 1997, the Liverpool Lads fallout was just a taster for the HATED villain Wildcat Robbie Brookside would become in the CWA/EWP in the late 90s/00s as mentioned by Daniel/Bryan/Danielson above. Here he is teaming with Fit Finlay against Tony StClair and Franz Schumann. himself no stranger to Britain - Simon Garfield describes him being beaten unconscious by Giant Haystacks at an All Star show in Tunbridge Wells 1992.

A few years earlier Brookside Vs StClair would have made a nice catchweight clean match on Reslo. Here it's like a heated heels Vs blue eye All Star tag of the early 90s involving the Superflies or Task Force One. StClair and Schumann are just as happy to throw the rulebook out as the villains.

Unfortunately it's hard to tell what the finish was as a bunch of fans stood up and blocked the camera view.

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The next night at the same venue. August Smisl's traditional Ethnic beer music as babyface has them dancing in the front row, while heel Brookside comes to the ring to his legit musical tipple of thrash metal. Smisl comes to the ring in floppy hat and farmer clothes like a Central European version of Hillbilly Jim. Referee Didier Gapp is a veteran of New Catch and I think mid 80s Old Catch on French TV.

The audience is very pro Smisl, doing the American style chant "Go August go" in their local accent. Smisl is a big strapping guy specialising in powerful backdrops. When Robbie isn't shouting abuse at the Crowd he's begging Smisl to tone it down. Robbie gets very annoyed with the pops for August, at one point digging out the old British reversals and rolls to show Smisl and the German crowd what he can do.

In fact the bout remains scientific if heated - with Smisl at one point pulling off a nifty French style headscissors takedown - until 3/4 of the way through when Robbie drags out some dirty tactics involving the ring apron and corner post, mainly focused on weakening Smisl's knee. This gets him a public warning but he continues to work with a mixture of dirty stomps and clean leglocks, even a stomp between rounds behind Gapp's back. Smsl rallies in the final round with American power moves culminating in a powerslam ("Rrrunungslam" says the MC) for the one pinfall required.

 

[David Mantell]

A rainy evening in Vienna 1997 (umbrellas are up) either the twilight or atmospheric purple lighting is making the Heumarkt look like a Prince gig and the Wildcat faces Christian "Ecki" Eckstein in what the commentator calls a shoot fight. Now I'd be the first to object to the word Shoot being used in the context of kayfabe but this does come out in translation as a decent mat based scientific match for most of it. At this time Robbie was back from his stint in WCW where he and Doc Dean were used as jobbers. Doc went native and took up indie wrestling  and plumbing in Florida but Robbie returned to the UK and Germany/Austria to try his further luck there. 

Brookside 's complaining streak is like that of Ron Simmons in WCW. s blue eyes/ babyfaces it's unamused righteous indignation, as heels it's out and out belligerence. And there goes Robbie cussing out the Austrian crowd at the start. But he can technically wrestle too and gets in a quick half nelson into rearc waistlock takedown at the start, riding Ecki into the guard, clamping on a headlock, switching to Frank Gotch figure four toehold and adding a one arm neck crank. He goes back to the chinlock but Eckstein straightens out the arm into a wristlever. Robbie gets the chinlock back and moves back to the Gotch toehold. But Ecki does not quit and a frustrated Brookside stomps him in the back heelishly before quitting. .,He gets another chinlock and tries to develop that into a sleeper, when Ecki breaks that open he goes for onecside of pressure points. Ecki still controls thecarm, passes it overhead and makes a back hammerlock of it but Robbie reaches the ropes. He legdives and switches to mat side headlock then guard position double wristlock. The commentator is rattling off Heumarkt heritage like a German speaking Gordon Solie, even name checking Schurli Blemenschutz. Ecki bridges up to counter any cross press and gets a headscissor. Again Robbie gets the ropes break - traditionally heat in Europe if not done sparingly and referee Mick McMichael Of Doncaster, kilt and all looks heatful about it. He has his problems with Danny Collins around this time and now here is another tarnished golden boy. The two wrestlers link hands and Ecki gets a wristlever and is tightening it up when the bell goes. Robbie provokes a shoving match before Mick breaks it up.

Round 2:  Robbie gets the same rear waistlock into a single leg Boston Crab, switching to Gotch Toehold after a while with a chinlock and armbar thrown in, becoming a Chono STF before signing off with a heelish stomp.  Robbie gets an Indian Deathlock before his man is up, adding a grovit.  Ecki reaches up and overhead chinlocks   Robbie stands up in the hold and Ecki slips down into a legspread into single toehold and elbowdrop on the knee, legscissor and sit up Marty Jones Powerlock. Panicked, Brookside reaches round for the ropes, can't quite make it and has to struggle for them (a more honourable less heelish way out than a quick grab).   Robbie takes his time selling the hurt on the mat before getting up and getting a side chancery into sitting rear chinlock.  But Ecki undresses thecarm and turns into a back hammerlock plus quarter nelson into an armhank in the guard. Brookside goes for the ropes more quickly and heelishly this time, adding to his heel credentials with another last quick stomp before the bell. Robbie has found a "friend" in the audience, a fat moustachioed man, and the two exchanged barbs between rounds.  He has something nasty to say in his Scouse accent to the camera too

Round 3.  Single side finger Interlock and Robbie develops into standing back hammerlock into chicken wing, just a couple of years after Mr Backlund made this the most feared move in American Wrestling.  He doesn't quite lock it off and switches to a Wigan Grovit.  Once again Ecki undresses it into an armbar, once again Robbie gets the ropes break. The message is clear - this Wildcat may know all the cruel submission holds but when faced with a taste of them for himself, he takes the coward's way out.  Double finger Interlock but Ecki gets a kick to the chest and armbar.  Somehow (the cameras don't catch it) Robbie gets Ecki to release, smashes him in the back, rear wIstlock s him and smashes his head face first into the mat.  Robbie gets the Gotch toehold and twin wristlocks and pulls back for a surfboard.   He doesn't get Eckstein all the way up so releases. He pulls Ecki up, moves from a hoist position to yet another Gotch toehold. Ecki thumps down and Robbie gets the wrists again, hoists up the surfboard and adds a reverse front face lock to top it all off for the one required submission. Robbie celebrates by returning to trading insults with his fat friend while Ecki is seen to by McMichael. We get an outro of clips featuring the likes of Paul Neu. Mongolian Mauler and Rasta The Voodoo Mon.

Match was a good vehicle for Brookside the heel. A good skilled and cruel implementer of submission holds who resorts to the ropes or fouls when the tables are turned on him. Perfect material for a heel.

 

 

[David Mantell]

On 3/30/2025 at 5:54 PM, David Mantell said:

Okay, from the Sublime to the Ridiculous. Otto Wanz's war with the Moondogs.  And not just any old Moondogs but Rex and King, the classic WWF World Tag Team Championship winning partnership.

December 1985, eight days before the Hansen-Martel title change. Rex by now was teamed with Spot. This trip to Europe was somewhere on route from Memphis and no DQ matches with the Fabulous Ones and WWF jobberdom in 86 after they rejected Vince's plan for a babyface run using material later recycled for the Bushwhackers.

Colour signal is really ropey, probably multi generation and well played. I expect most if not all early 80s B/W German tapes were originally in colour before suffering a similar fate.

Rex has a bone with him. He also has a bald guy who could be Baron Von Rashcke (also in Germany around this time.) but actually looks a lot like French "Russian" heel Le Grand Vladimir.

DJ playlist includes Take On Me by A-Ha, a hit only one year earlier.

Unfortunately it goes on for a long long time and is basically a Big Daddy solo match circa 1978 just before Max Crabtree finally banned Daddy from selling for opponents. Most of it is Otto bodychecking Colley. Otto does take a cross buttock press bump at one point but lands rather gently, Rex takes a much heavier one later on. Finish comes  with a piledriver where Otto rolls over on his backside so Colley's head couldn't possibly touch the mat, then a few more lockdowns then a slam and pin.

Hmmm, let's see what King can do ...

King is billed as Sailor White here but dressed totally as a Moondog. In fact this is 1981 Graz and I'm none too sure how this fits into the chronology of the Moondogs. Rex and King won the WWF World Tag Team Championship then King went abroad, tried  to come back into the USA via the Canadian border and was turned away. Did this trip happen during that period? In which case the White King is an incumbent tag champion in America during this title shot as I think Sgt Slaughter was (with JCP) a year later.  No sign of Captain Lou but he has a guy in a suit, bowler hat and grey beard in his corner as coach and second.

Otto is less roly poly here, it's a step back towards the chunkier compact Otto of a year earlier against Don Leo. He's got a whole little team of seconds including Tino Salvatore and Steve Wright, still with hair albeit receding and close cropped. It's all shot professionally on multicam by an OB unit and the colour signal is good.

Action is in progress as the video starts. It's no more scientific than the bout with Rex but its quite a wild brawl and I think @ohtani's jacket might like this one.  White has no time for round breaks; he launches himself viciously on Otto between one break and his seconds have to help him fend the Dog off - he gets a First Yellow Card.  Later when he refuses to release a hold Otto's seconds prise King off. Otto gets in a couple of bonus kicks and is ticked off by the referee.

OJ might be a little less happy with the finish as it's a stoppage knockout. King is never the same after he shoulders himself on the corner post and falls out of the ring. He takes various backdrops and is irresponsive until the referee declared him beaten. The audience are quite delighted as is Otto and it does feel like a fight has been decisively won.

From German TV, some broadcast footage of the Otto-Rex fight with a backstage interview with Colley.  Randy doesn't totally break kayfabe, he still talks of his match with Otto as a contest but he is very much his out of ring personality and seems rather a nice guy. A far cry from some slobbering bone-obsessed werewolf that Captain Lou dug up somewhere. Not even  a heel.

Baron Von Raschke also pops up momentarily in a tracksuit, once again doing his faux German gimmick in front of an audience of the real deal.

The German female fans are also spotlit.  They really are quite something - fur coats, make up that could get you a job with Barnum and Bailey ...

 

[David Mantell]

Some more of the Wildcat being Evil in Austria, the Vienna Heumarkt in 1997.  .  Here he actually teams with Fit Finlay, against Michael Kovacs and  Osamu Nishimura.  From the start the British Islanders do a Road Warrior Pearl Harbour.  They send the babyfaces outside and slingshot them into each other.  Brookside roars at the crowd like Demolition Ax circa 1988. He tortures Osamu with a camel clutch/front face lock combo until Finlay stomps the Japanese babyface.  Brookside dives in to rescue Finlay from Kovacs. This is a "streetfight" and Robbie proves it by taking Nishimura taking turns to bludgeon the babyfaces. He superplexes Kovacs as Finlay cheers. 

Kovacs fights back with elbowsmashes on Brookside but Brookside still the long term advantage. Finlay chokes with a tag rope and puts out Kovacsxwithba submission but only after Didier Gapp intervenes.  To top it of, Brookside does an in ring promo where he says that technical or Street style, hemand Finlay can beat 'em all .