ohtani's jacket

Regarding the character stuff, they really only played gimmicks in the WWF. Rude had his whole shtick with the robe, "cut the music", the tights, the Rude Awakening, and Bobby handpicking some woman for him to kiss. Ted had the residence, the jacket, the laugh, the bodyguard, the Million Dollar Dream and the hundred dollar bill down the throat. Later on, he had the theme song and the catchphrase "everybody's got a price." It's impossible to say which gimmick was better, but I strongly disagree that Ted didn't wrestle like a "millionaire" is supposed to. Dibiase nailed that shit. I've always considered him a technical brawler. He had the right amount of technical acumen to suggest he had the best teachers and the right amount of brawling to suggest he wasn't an innately superior athlete. Ironically, I think Rude improved when he shred a lot of the "Ravishing" gimmick and became a legitimate asskicker.

I don't know if either girl is all that underrated. This match is a bit of a perfect storm unless you really go on a crusade for either girl.

She may have gotten him confused with Blue Demon Jr. I doubt she meant someone like Black Shadow Jr.

If Big Daddy was half as good as him he'd be in the HOF already. The Vader feud hasn't been discovered properly yet, so he won't rate a mention, but for his niche he's pretty damn good.

Parv, I thought that was a passionate defense of Dibiase and I applaud you.

Maybe they're just another night for Tef, but what really makes Dibiase special? I can't think of much outside of his signature offence and signature laugh, and to me that's not enough. If you can't write a treatise on a wrestler's character they can't be that memorable.

I watched those two Magnum TA matches for the hell of it (the ones from the same day); and while they were cool, there were times when Dibiase came across as both a poor man's Ric Flair & Terry Funk. It wasn't until he took over on offence that he produced anything you could say was definitively "Dibiase." I'm not sure he was enough of his own man to stand out among the truly great performers. He's just a really good worker trying to be passed off as an all-time great. If he'd been able to have matches like that in the watered down WWF (minus the blood) it would have strengthened his case, but Magnum was busting his ass in those matches, especially the Tulsa one, so it wasn't like it was all Ted shining.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 3 John Quinn/Kendo Nagasaki vs. Neil Sands/Tony St. Clair (4/28/87) This was a fairly entertaining brawl. It was goofy, dumb-as-shit All Star wrestling, but enjoyable in the same way McDonald's is if you haven't eaten it for a few years. It was basically an out of control brawl with public warnings flying everywhere and Billy Finlay in over his head trying to keep everyone in check. Quinn was still pretty mobile at this stage and St. Clair is starting to gain my respect for his veteran work. They had some quality dust-ups in this w/ St. Clair doing a great job of blowing a gasket. Sands had been on TV a couple of times in the 70s before returning to the independents and working the tournaments in Europe. He left the wrestling game in '81 but made a brief comeback in '86. One of the most ordinary looking blokes to lace up a pair of boots, but a great contributor to online discussions over the years. Delivered an amusingly dour one-liner during the pre-match promo that drew a chuckle out of me. Nagasaki was in his element working the all-in style, so All Star had all their bases covered here; however, Walton was strangely unethused. At one point he was commenting on Quinn holding the tag rope and uttered: "he's holding it for now... how long, Lord? How long?" It was the oddest thing I've heard him say. St. Clair and Quinn both got thrown out, and Nagasaki and Sands continued the bout alone. Unfortunately, Sands' offence wasn't really good enough to have a memorable stand-off, but it didn't detract too much from a fatty meal of a bout. Sid Cooper/Zoltan Boscik/Mal Sanders vs. Steve Grey/Rick Wiseman/Johnny Kidd (3/19/88) This was billed as a "Continental Rules" triple tag match with sin binnings instead of public warnings. The idea was that if you committed a foul you'd be sent to the penalty box for 1-5 minutes at the discretion of the referee (or, as the MC called it, the "prison area.") The penalty box in this case was two guard rails in a "V" shape. It was an interesting idea in theory, but a clusterfuck in execution. Jeff Kaye had no fucking idea what he was doing and neither did anybody else really. Grey was sent twice for a total of 6 minutes and Cooper once for 2 mins. It would have worked better in a regular tag match where you could have a clear FIP segment, but for the most part it was business as usual until the offending wrestler returned to the apron (!) and not the ring itself. Drama. Eventually, the heels put Kidd through the ringer and he was able to make a clumsy hot tag to the returning Grey, who cleaned house in equally awkward fashion. If it hadn't been for Sanders innovating some fun bumps that took out his partners as well, the entire thing would have fell flat on its face. It wasn't terrible as the heels were fairly good despite Boscik and Cooper being past their best (Walton called Boscik "Zolly" which I'd never heard him do before); the clumsiness can be chalked up to the lack of proper tag structure in British wrestling. Danny Boy Collins vs. Dave Finlay (Cage match, Merthyr, taped 3/29/90) This was the best Finlay/Collins match so far, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement but they managed to produce some fairly brutal looking stuff within the confines of the cage. Collins finally looked like a man, which was big because manning up has been an issue for him so far. Cool missile dropkick spot towards the end. First of their matches I'd recommend to people who worship at the altar of Finlay.

Bruno Asquini/Gilbert Cesca vs. Les Blousons Noirs (Claude Gessat/Marcel Mannevau) This had a real "catch as lucha" beginning, which I dug. A lot of the exchanges could have been directly aped in Mexico and folks would have been none the wiser. This was a bit more work orientated than other Les Blousons Noirs tags, which tend to have a great number of cut-off spots and heel cheating. Here the focus was on a steady flow of exchanges with the rhythm and tempo being key to enjoyment. It was filmed at a different venue from usual (w/ more of a studio layout than Élysée Montmartre); perhaps giving it a different feel. Asquini (I want to say) threw a punch combo at the end that made me sit upright, and all told it was another nifty match.

Didn't rate that Punk match at all and actually thought Punk was pretty bad in it. Watched a so-so Evan Bourne match and bit the bullet on Rey vs. Edge, but the Michaels tag ended up being the best of the lot. Fair to say, 2008 was the worst year of Rey's run so far.

Flair wasn't the same worker after '93 so Flair vs. Rude not being that great in '93 wasn't entirely on Rude. Dibiase vs. Virgil is sublime, though. You have to give credit to the booking though -- the slow burn and Piper going nuts on commentary. The SummerSlam match wouldn't work if Ted wasn't trolling Piper at ringside. Late 80s WWF guys are hurt by not getting longer matches on PPV. That really damages their reputation because you have to look to the houseshows, and houseshows are houseshows.

This is tough. Rude's best match in the WWF (vs. Warrior) was better than any match Dibiase had there, but I'd rather watch a random Dibiase WWF match than a Rude one any day of the week. Obviously, Rude's early 90s run is better than Dibiase's, but he was working with some great workers in a promotion that didn't have as overbearing a house style and put a far greater emphasis on ring work. And even then his work continued to be dogged by rest holds. I like the stuff with Manny vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express, but it's fair to say that it wasn't on the level of Ted's Mid South work. I kind of lean towards Rude because of his WCW work, but you can boil that down to one year (1992) and it features a string of disappointments along with the top tier Dangerous Alliance stuff -- the Dustin feud and the lack of a defining match with Sting being two of the major blots. I think I'll do an about face and go with Ted, but he's no great shakes either.

So, who's Willis Reed?

This has got to be two indy workers.

Michel Saulnier vs. Le Petit Prince (9/30/67) The Little Prince was a renowned lightweight star who had debut the year before, I believe, in a match against Andre (then billed as a 144 kilos.) He was a flashy and flamboyant worker in keeping with both his gimmick and status as a lightweight draw, and I was immediately more taken with the ground game of Saulnier. Fans of Johnny Saint would probably enjoy the Prince. He worked at a solid clip and the action was off the hook at times, but it could have been weighted a bit better as the counters lost their sting after a while. I guess fast moving action was the calling card of the lightweights and one match is too little to pigeon hole the Prince. Another day where I was more into the rhythm of the bout and I probably would have thought it was impossibly cool. Batman vs. Teddy Boy (9/30/67) Batman actually wore the full Batman costume to the ring. That's cool. I guess it's not surprising that there was a Batman gimmick in the 60s given how phenomenally successful the TV show was, but it's not the kind of thing you expect to see in a French ring. In Mexico nobody bats an eyelid, but France? It's another layer to what was going on in the 60s. I guess ALPRA's uploads have focused a lot on guys like Chemoul and Cesca and not so much on the masked superstars and assortment of characters; but in any event, Batman was apparently British worker Dave Larsen, who was a Paul Lincoln guy. I assume he was a much better worker than the Batman stuff showed as it looked like he was trying to work a non-European power style to fit the idea of a super hero wrestling. Goofy, but harmless fun.

Where are you getting all this GAEA from? Did you order it? Makes me want to take a blast down memory lane.

THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 2 Dave Finlay vs. Kid McCoy (Cage Match, Cardiff, taped 3/30/90) One thing I'll say for Reslo is at least they didn't sit around on their derriere as the American product took over. They may not have succeeded in creating a product that matched the slick production values of US wrestling, but by pinching cage matches and other American gimmicks they at least put up a fight. It's hard to work a good cage match when there's no history or tradition to them in your territory, but they must have had some idea that they were used for blow offs in the States. Why then was this your typical Finlay squash inside a cage? These were bad years for Finlay as he had all the tools but none of the nouce required to work a great match. I sometimes wonder if it was an ego thing -- known tough guy constantly looking to prove himself and protection his spot -- not to mention the fact that this was King Ben's kid and God knows what relationship Finlay and Ben had. On the other hand, his formula was so ingrained by this point that perhaps it was impossible to deviate from it. His offence looked good, but he was so slow and methodical compared to his Riot Squad days where he was a hell of a bumper and pretty much a super worker. In any event, if you're going to separate the men from the boys apparently a cage match is the way to do it. McCoy tried attacking Finlay after the bout to get some heat back, but was brushed aside like a gnat. I miss Jones vs. Finlay. Peter Bainbridge vs. Garry Clwyd (8/4/87) Teenage boy wrestling is not really my thing, but they did all right for their age. While they were wrestling, there was a sudden clip of Hogan ripping off his singlet in front of thousands of screaming fans while Jesse claimed Orton was a chance of beating them... then back to the boys... Why did wrestling go off the air again? Skull Murphy vs. Fuji Yamada (Caernarfon, taped 3/14/89) Boring match. It wasn't European wrestling and it wasn't an honest attempt at creating a dramatic heel vs. babyface bout either. Murphy basically clocked in and clocked out, and Liger's roided body was off putting. Danny Boy Collins vs. Robbie Hagan (Machynlleth, taped 2/5/91) Man this was generic. I suddenly remembered why I don't like Danny Boy Collins. After hitting a leg drop on Hagan, the heel rolled out of the ring and Collins did a back flip followed by a windmill fist pump. Forgetting how awful a pose that is, he didn't even drop kick him out of the ring; the guy took a spell on the outside and Collins started over-celebrating. Who does that? I've lightened up on most guys over the years even Naylor and Sanders, but Collins will be a struggle. Hagan was a thick, stocky guy with limited skills. He had plenty of ideas about what he should be doing but couldn't make any of his stuff looked good. Collins' offence was all wrong, and if I'd had his ear at the time I would have told him to drop it all. At least there was a generic finish to complement the rest of the bout. Dave Finlay vs. Danny Boy Collins (Pontardawe, taped 4/4/89) These two had so many matches together that it almost needs to be a good series for both men's sake. At this point, it might even be a bigger feather in Finlay's cap if he can actually produce the goods with Collins. This was the best match of the hour almost by default as it was a bout that ran longer than 10 minutes, but Finlay was again a rock when it came to his slow pace, methodical style, and the match took a turn for the worse every time Collins was on offence. To have a good match with Finlay during this era, you need to take the fight to him like Kincaid or Jones did, but Collins would rather prance around. He finally showed some grit when they brawled on the outside, but that was the end of the bout. Whinging aside, this wasn't terrible. but it wasn't promising either. It was cool seeing a nine-year-old Arthur Psycho running around with a Metallica patch on his jacket, though.

When did Grey wrestle Fujinami?

Those Thin Man movies are a lot of fun. I'm sure there was an 1800s equivalent of "you know it's fake, right?"

I'm sure by now most people are aware of the existence of the Arthur Psycho channel on YouTube. He's uploaded a lot of stuff I didn't bother getting; stuff that wasn't worth paying for. Thanks to him I can continue my obsessive compulsive cataloguing of British and European wrestling; but since there's a fair bit to get through, I'm going to watch it one hour at a time. Let me present: THE ARTHUR PSYCHO HOUR Ep 1 Dave Taylor vs. Steve Regal (Machynlleth, taped 2/5/91) This was all right, I suppose, but far down the list of good matches from both men. I've never been that high on WCW Sat Night style matches and this wasn't a particularly great entry into the genre. Tony St. Clair vs. Steve Regal (Caernarfon, taped 1988) I'd seen this before, but it was worth revisiting. It's kind of an interesting match-up as St. Clair was in no way the type of heavyweight Regal aspired to be. He was always flashy and athletic and a lot looser than your standard Regal influences; but he was a wily vet at this stage, and a guy who kept ploughing along long after the UK scene turned to shit. Not a great match as Regal didn't really lay his shit in, but an interesting look at where Regal was at in '88. Rollerball Rocco vs. Danny Boy Collins (Caernarfon, taped 4/6/90) Rocco was nearing the end here. He looked considerably older.. and fatter.. but still worked the same frenetic, all-action style that differentiated him from so many of his peers. The guy didn't possess an off switch and was a maniac in the ring. Collins I've never been a fan of, but I've mostly seen teenage Collins and have no idea what he was like as a man. This wasn't a good place to start as late 80s-early 90s Reslo is as bad as the latter years of ITV, but it looks like I'll have plenty more opportunity to delve into Collins. Dave Taylor vs. Tony St Clair (Denbigh, taped 1988) This was the pick of the all-Reslo hour. It was joined in progress, but the action was immediately better than in any other bout. The difference was in the way they contested each hold in the old-school WoS style as opposed to the short all-action format Reslo developed when the TV switched to one fall bouts. I'm not sure if St. Clair knew Taylor's father, but that may have been a factor. Post-83 Reslo bouts are only good when they're hard hitting and this one delivered. Cool finish too. Rollerball Rocco vs. Fuji Yamada (Caernarfon, taped 1987) This was a juniors bout and didn't resemble anything remotely European. It was all right as far as short bouts go, but do you really want Doobie in your funk? Not what I signed up for.

Gagne/Robinson was an excellent match. Gagne was very much a wrestler's wrestler, but far be it from me to complain about wrestling for wrestling's sake. I'd watch him again against the right opponent.

Federer was a brat too, although that was in his junior days. I am not sure the Lendl comparison works; Lendl was stoic and impassive, while Djokovic is highly emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve. And not in a dour, unpleasant way like Murray either. I don't really mean it as a direct comparison as Lendl was even more unpopular than Djokovic. Lendl muscled in on Connors and McEnroe in the same way Djokovic muscled in on Nadal and Federer. Djokovic has never really been accepted as the third guy. He doesn't have a marketable playing style and his back story isn't saleable. A lot of people remember what happened between him and the fans at the US Open and he's never really been a crowd favourite because of it. He's arguably the most sophisticated of the three w/ Federer being more interested in fashion and celebrities than anything else and Nadal basically living with his family and unable to speak English well; and he's probably the most articulate of the three as well. He's just not very interesting to a general public who don't care about his homeland or his story. But mostly I think people can't get their head around him disrupting the Nadal/Federer narrative.

I ended up watching the entire Finlay feud. It was a bit more story driven than I would have liked with the PPV matches in particular doing more to advance the storyline than deliver a great match. I found it odd that the TV bouts had more substance than their PPV work. It was almost as though they were the wrong way around. The match Jimmy listed is good -- from memory, their second best behind their 3/06 bout -- but I'm leaning towards Finlay not being that good a match-up for Rey, which kind of disappoints me. Maybe it's because of my expectations. One thing I've been impressed with as Rey's WWE work continues to unfold is his striking. He really developed a strong kick-punch game over time. The return match against Chavo at SummerSlam was their usual by-the-numbers bout, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the MVP stuff. It was sloppy at times and MVP was a little rough around the edges, but I liked the attitude he brought and it as refreshing to see Rey matched up against a different guy.

The finish -- and by finish I mean literally the finishing move -- was posted in another video he uploaded. So this is complete.

Bob ALPRA has posted a full length version of this with improved video quality. Teddy Boy was in actual fact Aldophe Sevre, who died a few days ago. I don't know where I got the name Jean-Claude Bourson from. I can't find the page I sourced it from. Anyway, forgetting my ignorance, the full length bout is a typical heel vs. babyface tag from the era with a thirty minute opening fall followed by a quick sub-10 minute concluding fall. Le Boulch comes across as a slightly better worker in a Hombre Bala journeyman type way, but Sevre is the younger guy who actually fits the Teddy Boy gimmick. Lots of the cheating and retaliatory brawling you would have seen from other matches that ALPRA has posted. At one stage, a fan is holding Sevre back so Sevre takes a swing at him. The pair start scrapping and the police get involved. It's mental how close the action is to the fans given how many fights there are. Fun match, but not really essential unless you're a completest. Sevre played the gimmick well, but 60s catch has a list of quality heels the length of my arm and he didn't quite rate as high as some of the others.