Gilbert Leduc

[Grimmas]

Jetlag said: "Maybe the picture of the stoic French baby face wrestler. Generally understood to be "The Man" of French catch, and he is quite the ace character. Both excellent technician and really great at slugging it out, with a knack for matches that build up neatly. Shows up from 1957 - 1977 and looks good against a wide variety of opponents, from typical heels to giant masked monsters. We've yet to dive into the second half of that period but I have a feeling he'll be excellent from beginning to end."

 

Recommended matches:

vs. Warnia de Zarzecki, 5/30/1957

vs. Rocco Lamban, 10/30/1958

w Claude Montourcy vs. Karl von Chenok & Robert Gastel, 5/23/1957

[Jetlag]

No discussion on Gilbert Leduc. Crying shame, because the guy is damn great in the 70s still. He has the bloody HENKER feud which is fascinating plus some gritty old technical matches against the likes of Bert Mychel. Insanely strong resume of great matches really considering we only have about a 20 match snapshot of his career, really. Not only is his technical ability great but his stoic fire when it's time to stand up and beat the shit out of someone is awesome.

[Matt D]

I've been withholding comments for various reasons, but the one-two punch of the Henker handicap match and the Mychel singles match is just amazing. Two very different matches. Two very different performances. Chronologically close together. If you asked me who he was after the first few matches, he was the guy with the "toupe" headspin. But we have a very clear picture of just how good he was over decades.