David Mantell

Well this wasn't it. This is from Reslo 1982. Cullen isn't Chic yet, he's Dynamite Frankie Cullen. Rocco has only just recently defected from ITV/Joint to Orig's BWF and would soon expand to Brian Dixon's Wrestling Enterprises. I think Max Crabtree was quietly happy to see him go. Whereas Dixon was a big Rocco friend, Max saw him as a silly nutcase who smashed things up and kept getting banned from TV by the IBA. It starts out as a similar faster paced version of clean British wrestling, like Round 1 of the Rocco Vs Dynamite Kid World Heavy Middleweight title match mere months earlier. Rocco rolls out of wrist levers and unpicks them with a foot. Cullen snaps out of a side headlock and quickly convert it into an arm scissor. Rocco gets a snap suplex and switches to a side headlock. Then the brawling breaks out. Rocco kicks the fallen Cullen in the head and drops an elbow. A concealed punch, more kicks and a kneedrop follow. Rocco gets a side chancery, snapmare and chinlock. Rocco does a lot of attacking of his floored opponent and the crowd do not like it. This may be odd to Americans as this is perfectly legal in America but it would get amazing heat not just in Britain but across Europe (see Judd Harris Vs Rolo Brasil on the German thread and several French bouts). Rocco chinlocks Cullen then reels him in for a bodycheck that gets a 5 count. He stomps on Cullen's throat as the bell goes. Rocco carries on in the same way for round 2 but Cullen surprises him with a sunset flip for a 2 count. Cullen tries for Rocco's legs but Rocco knees him down.Rocco monkey climbs Cullen but he lands on his feet and dropkicks Cullen out of the ring. Rocco uppercuts Cullen from the apron and climbs the post but Cullen throws him off. He posts and atomic drops Rocco but Rocco gets the upper hand with the brawl. He throws Cullen out and obstructs his return so Cullen drags him out and stomps him at ringside, right in front of the town Mayor (his chain of office clearly visible onscreen) Rocco slams Cullen at ringside and kicks him around. It's more ringside action than ITV would ever allow although nothing like as violent as French TV brawls going back to the late 70s. Finally Rooco flips Cullen back in and paces about like a caged animal as the ref counts Cullen. He goes for a slam but Cullen turns it into a small package getting a couple of 2 counts. They brawl out the rest of the round. During the interval, the commentator says something in Welsh about Canada - Cullen wrestled for Stampede a fair bit as Robbie Stewart. Round 3 and Cullen gets a waistlock rear suplex for a 2 count. Rocco works on weakening Cullen's leg. He takes a bodycheck but comes back to backdrop Cullen to ringside. An old lady (not a fan) wipes Cullen down with her towel. Rocco tries to intervene in Cullen's return but gets a public warning. He grabs Cullen off the corner for a slam and gets a rope assisted slingshot suplex then a regular one and cross press for the opening pin. Rocco's attacks on the fallen Cullen gets too much and he gets his second and final Public Warning. He argued with the ref and the crowd, giving Cullen plenty of time to recover and strike a chin kick on a charging Rocco. cCullen slams and guillotine elbows Rocco - a bit late but the ref lets it go and he gets a 2 count on the pin. He tries typing up Cullen head in the ropes. Fans are chanting "Out! Out! Out!" for Rocco to be DQ'd. He bashed Cullen 's head in the corner but Cullen reverses a posting attempt, sending Rocco flopping to ringside selling an injury. He reenters via the corner post but Cullen catches him with a top rope superplex that would have made the young Barry Windham around this time round, then turns into a pin cover for the 3 and the equaliser . Round 5 and Cullen jumps all over Rocco with stomps til he quits the ring, pointing in complaint. The ref agrees and gives Cullen a public warning. Rocco tries Cullen in the ropes and charges but Cullen dodges and Roco sells an injury. Cullen pulls Rocco off the ropes by both legs with a bump, headbutts Rocco's stomach a la Mr Fuji and double leg slingshot for a 2. Rocco, is then slingshot in to top turnbuckle. Rocco Tree of Woes Cullen but the ref will have none of it and unhooks Cullen's legs. He snapmares Frankie and they continue to brawl Cullen. chinlocks Rocco who slips out of the ring and wanders around a lot, soaking up the heat until the bell rings. Round 6 and Cullen catches Rocco with a fine dropkick. Rocco snapmares Cullen and gets a 2 count. Ditto a cross buttock and press. He gets a string of tombstone piledrivers on Cullen but keeps on pulling him up before finally holding him for 3 to win the match. Wild Brawl with a technical bit at the start and occasionally therin. Very like thOJ will like it. I'm rather keen to see this Screensport fight. Cullen had a number of runs with the British Heavyweight Middle weight title until 1987 as well as a short world title run in the mid 80s. He had another run later, from beating Robbie Brookside in 1992 and held it for a decade until his 2002 retirement. The following year 2903, it was Rocco and Cullen who curated the tournament for a new champion, won by one Brian Danielson in Croydon. I assume this is the one @ohtani's jacket didn't like: Cullen is British champion. Rocco is still World champion and has been spending a lot of his time making life miserable for two idiot presenters. Good man. He's been off ITV some years by now and has fully developed his Maniac persona in silver jacket, headband and Road Warrior/Demolition spiked gauntlet. This is at Victoria Hall Hanley, we had a bit of an in depth look at this venue a page or so back. Referee is Frank Casey who also wrestled as the British Bushwhacker (see video 1993 Vs Spinner McKensie and finally ended up doing triple tags alongside the real Luke and Butch. This is a trophy tournament final. No rounds just one fall to a finish. No technical bit at the start, Rocco and Cullen brawl like on the first match, but like they are both on speed. Snapmares. Snap suplexes. Kip ups. Kick downs. Sunset flip. Cullen also has a Jim Breaks special, a hammerlock with bar and a French Catch style headscissors takedown. Screensport was very liberal about out of the ring brawls and the stage makes a good place to have them. At this point audiences are allowed to sit onstage (this was later banned by Health and Safety by the time of Dean Allmark Vs Mikey Whiplash 2003 as seen on here previously. Like a TV taping studio audience the crowd. One brawl near the end sees equipment from a "hospital radio table" (file under "Spanish announcer's table") and the live camera which still catches Rocco being thrown back in the ring. Cullen on the stage leaps over the ropes and catches Rocco with a missile dropkick that sends him tumbling to the theatre pit, in amongst the old grannies! This bit is surprisingly well shot from the back of the hall. We get another excellent top rope superplex and a not so well filmed splash off the ropes by Cullen. When Cullen is trapped in the ropes, the camera zooms in on him suffering and choking, tongue flapping out. The two fight in the theatre pit.m A cardboard sign for the Screensport show gets used as a weapon. When Cullen kicks Rocco in the head, one of the Chuckle Brothers makes a dreadful joke about using Rocco's head to score a goal for Liverpool FC and that Rocco's new song will be "I ain't got no Body". These two are like a working class version of the snooty French commentators. On a more positive note, Cullen neatly handstands his way out of a Frank Gotch toehold. After a series of near knockouts. Rocco gets the winning pinfall with a Tombstone piledriver. The trophy is presented by former world boxing champion Jon Conteh. Afterwards one of the Chuckle Brothers, Max Beesley, buttonholes Rocco about his rule bending ways and is beaten down. Cullen, interviewed backstage, vows retribution on Rocco. Roddy Piper,,if you can get Internet in the Afterlife, THIS IS HOW YOU DO A SCOTS ACCENT. A lot of violent action, much of it utterly unsuitable for ITV. Fortunately ITV were happy to arrange compromises to edit the All Star style into sometwhich spiced up the ITV shows rather than demolished them. As for Rocco and Cullen, they appeared in that first All Star show on ITV. I think next I shall review that match. All Star are returning to Victoria Hall Hanley next month. Buy your tickets now

Well this wasn't it. This is from Reslo 1982. Cullen isn't Chic yet, he's Dynamite Frankie Cullen. Rocco has only just recently defected from ITV/Joint to Orig's BWF and would soon expand to Brian Dixon's Wrestling Enterprises. I think Max Crabtree was quietly happy to see him go. Whereas Dixon was a big Rocco friend, Max saw him as a silly nutcase who smashed things up and kept getting banned from TV by the IBA. It starts out as a similar faster paced version of clean British wrestling, like Round 1 of the Rocco Vs Dynamite Kid World Heavy Middleweight title match mere months earlier. Rocco rolls out of wrist levers and unpicks them with a foot. Cullen snaps out of a side headlock and quickly convert it into an arm scissor. Rocco gets a snap suplex and switches to a side headlock. Then the brawling breaks out. Rocco kicks the fallen Cullen in the head and drops an elbow. A concealed punch, more kicks and a kneedrop follow. Rocco gets a side chancery, snapmare and chinlock. Rocco does a lot of attacking of his floored opponent and the crowd do not like it. This may be odd to Americans as this is perfectly legal in America but it would get amazing heat not just in Britain but across Europe (see Judd Harris Vs Rolo Brasil on the German thread and several French bouts). Rocco chinlocks Cullen then reels him in for a bodycheck that gets a 5 count. He stomps on Cullen's throat as the bell goes. Rocco carries on in the same way for round 2 but Cullen surprises him with a sunset flip for a 2 count. Cullen tries for Rocco's legs but Rocco knees him down.Rocco monkey climbs Cullen but he lands on his feet and dropkicks Cullen out of the ring. Rocco uppercuts Cullen from the apron and climbs the post but Cullen throws him off. He posts and atomic drops Rocco but Rocco gets the upper hand with the brawl. He throws Cullen out and obstructs his return so Cullen drags him out and stomps him at ringside, right in front of the town Mayor (his chain of office clearly visible onscreen) Rocco slams Cullen at ringside and kicks him around. It's more ringside action than ITV would ever allow although nothing like as violent as French TV brawls going back to the late 70s. Finally Rooco flips Cullen back in and paces about like a caged animal as the ref counts Cullen. He goes for a slam but Cullen turns it into a small package getting a couple of 2 counts. They brawl out the rest of the round. During the interval, the commentator says something in Welsh about Canada - Cullen wrestled for Stampede a fair bit as Robbie Stewart. Round 3 and Cullen gets a waistlock rear suplex for a 2 count. Rocco works on weakening Cullen's leg. He takes a bodycheck but comes back to backdrop Cullen to ringside. An old lady (not a fan) wipes Cullen down with her towel. Rocco tries to intervene in Cullen's return but gets a public warning. He grabs Cullen off the corner for a slam and gets a rope assisted slingshot suplex then a regular one and cross press for the opening pin. Rocco's attacks on the fallen Cullen gets too much and he gets his second and final Public Warning. He argued with the ref and the crowd, giving Cullen plenty of time to recover and strike a chin kick on a charging Rocco. cCullen slams and guillotine elbows Rocco - a bit late but the ref lets it go and he gets a 2 count on the pin. He tries typing up Cullen head in the ropes. Fans are chanting "Out! Out! Out!" for Rocco to be DQ'd. He bashed Cullen 's head in the corner but Cullen reverses a posting attempt, sending Rocco flopping to ringside selling an injury. He reenters via the corner post but Cullen catches him with a top rope superplex that would have made the young Barry Windham around this time round, then turns into a pin cover for the 3 and the equaliser . Round 5 and Cullen jumps all over Rocco with stomps til he quits the ring, pointing in complaint. The ref agrees and gives Cullen a public warning. Rocco tries Cullen in the ropes and charges but Cullen dodges and Roco sells an injury. Cullen pulls Rocco off the ropes by both legs with a bump, headbutts Rocco's stomach a la Mr Fuji and double leg slingshot for a 2. Rocco, is then slingshot in to top turnbuckle. Rocco Tree of Woes Cullen but the ref will have none of it and unhooks Cullen's legs. He snapmares Frankie and they continue to brawl Cullen. chinlocks Rocco who slips out of the ring and wanders around a lot, soaking up the heat until the bell rings. Round 6 and Cullen catches Rocco with a fine dropkick. Rocco snapmares Cullen and gets a 2 count. Ditto a cross buttock and press. He gets a string of tombstone piledrivers on Cullen but keeps on pulling him up before finally holding him for 3 to win the match. Wild Brawl with a technical bit at the start and occasionally therin. Very like thOJ will like it. I'm rather keen to see this Screensport fight. Cullen had a number of runs with the British Heavyweight Middle weight title until 1987 as well as a short world title run in the mid 80s. He had another run later, from beating Robbie Brookside in 1992 and held it for a decade until his 2002 retirement. The following year 2903, it was Rocco and Cullen who curated the tournament for a new champion, won by one Brian Danielson in Croydon.

If you can get hold of Granada TV's 1967 docu The Wrestlers he's in there facing Les Kellet. The bout was also on World of Sport and as well as the specially shot footage, aa few seconds on the WOS version was camera-copied into the documentary from a TV set in a shop window! Big butch mouachioed guy. Imagine an evil version of Ted Bovid from the sitcom Hi De Hi!!! Here are father and son together:

Maybe how about a short roundup of 1990-present? As with British and German/Austrian wrestling, the survival to the present - at least at grassroots level - is an important symptom of the success and cultural prominence of all three Stronghold Euro territories: the trails are still in the sky even now, decades later. Just as long as it isn't the French version of the British "It Died Out" myth.

What's the plan for an endpoint? Will you just vaguely say that it "went into decline" in the 70s or will you go into the Flesh Gordon era, the more from A2 to .FR3 then back to TF1 for early New Catch then Eurosport New Catch, then Eurostars and the C21st Richard/Herve/(I)WS(F) versus Mercier/FFCP_revival promotional war?

Looking at the date, I see this was into the phase of Nazi Occupation with the Vichy Regime to to the South. I presume it was they who banned wrestling. Probably this belongs on the German thread, but in .Joe Jares' book, Paul Bosch is quoted as participating in the German downfall and finding a school textbook in Germany with a picture of a ladies' mud match labelled "This is how the decadent Americans treat their women" and remarking to a fellow soldier "OMG it's ME who started the damn war!"

This bout came up on my Smart TV earlier tonight and I enjoyed it so I thought I'd share. They start by rolling out of each others' wristlocks. Kidd uses a leg to pick apart Greg's last one and has both Valentine's arms extended so he can only roll backwards into a possible folding press pin. Valentine does roll back but picks off both Kidd's grips. They reset. Valentine gets a full nelson, converts to a snapmares then a chinlocks but Kidd escape with a wridtlock. Valentine rolls, kips up and tries to Whip Kidd but he cartwheels off to a feet first landing. They lock up. Kidd leans back into a crossed scissor, looking for a toupee but Valentina deftly slides a leg down into a standing figure four leglock. Kidd rocks back and forth and gets the momentum to grab back his leg and roll away backwards to safety. Valentine gets another leglock Kidd takes control of it, gets into a standing position and starts to twist Greg's leg but Valentine whips him with his foot and Kidd spins out and takes a hard bump. Valentine gets another legs and folds it up into a Frank Gotch toehold Kidd rolls up and rolls out. Kidd dodges past Greg's side headlock attempt and gets a full nelson of his own then slides down, crawls through Valentine's legs, rear snapmares him then further Nelson's him for a two count before Greg's feet hit the ropes. Valentine takes a leg and gets a figure four leg extension. Kidd pulls himself into a standing position but Valentine drags him right back down into the figure four. Kidd instead sits up and spins out on the mat to free his leg Kidd gets a wrist and pulls Valentine down into a headscissor, Twice, Greg turns into the kneeling position and handstands his head out, twice Kidd pushes his head back in again. Valentine twists 90 degrees and kips up to free his head.. Kidd gets an abdominal stretch which lasts until the round bell. Cut to round Three. Kidd gets a headlock Valentine breaks it open into a top wristlock, gets down on his knees and whips Kidd on his top wristlock forcing him to take a bump. Valentine reapplies the double arm extension but Kidd bicycles his legs and clips Greg with one foot, making him break the hold. Kidd strikes with an over the knee backbreaker. He posts him and strikes with another over the knee backbreaker, Valentine selling the impact. Kidd posts Valentine back again, Valentine pulls up a knee to bounce off the pad and comes back but Kidd gets a snapmare on him. Kidd tries to bodycheck Greg but no impact, I expect Greg's uncle Big Daddy taught him a thing or two about bodychecks! He drops down to dodge the next charge, leapfrogs to avoid the cone after both men try for an inner forearm but slap against each other. Valentine falls down but picks himself up and takes Kidd down with a flying tackle but Greg's head touches the ropes, forcing a break. Greg posts Kidd hard. He gets a fireman's carry, aeroplane spin and dumps him down, cross pressing him for the one required fall. Beautiful short bout and a purist pallet cleanser after watching Collins and Valentine rein it in while Ocean and Hagan develop their heel acts

Okay. Let's have a watch: Ocean already a heel and already somewhat flamboyant with his pink tailcoat, matching bow tie and moustache. Ivan Trevors also has a rather nice purple/silver jacket. His dad was a wrestler called Brian Trevors, I don't know much about him but probably should Ocean does most of the attacking while Ivan rolls out of armbars etc in the early stages. Crowd are happy and Ocean stroppy when he takes a bump from going with a whip. Ocean does one neat escape, coming out of a sleeper attempt with a wristlock. Trevor's rolls out. Ocean jaws with a heckler in the crowd. Twice Trevors gets double legs but Ocean goes for the ropes - the second time Ivan pulls Ocean off with a bump. Ocean gets a side chancery and throw, wrenches Trevors' neck and drops a fist like prime Jerry Lawler. He gets Trevors down with an armbar when the bell goes. Cut to round 3, he offers the blue-eye a handshake but takes advantage drops a knee and tombstone piledrives Trevors for a two. He tries again but Trevors reverses it cartwheel style and gets the one fall required. The first of these eight man battle royals was on TV in 1980. Eight will remain the limit on ITV although on Reslo they will do 12 or even 15. ;Ocean has his pink gear back on. Brian .Crabtree has a mauve tie and blue carnation with his white suit. Ocean goes under the bottom rope a couple of times. King Ben is ganged up on. Ocean is 5th out of eight, eliminated by King Ben with an overhead press. Ben is the last blue eye going 1 on 2 with heels Texas Ted Heath and masked El Diablo, the usual end of battle royal trope. Ben puts them out to win the battle royale and a nice sash to wear.

Have found both these bouts. The bout was only six minutes long and was chopped down to three for broadcast. According to Kent, Hagen got in a lot of offence earlier against Stuart but we don't see much of this. Nice dropkick. Excellent bumper- perhaps why he went heel? Okay I may as well review the other bout: I see OJ made the same joke as me. Jimmy went on to MUCH bigger things of course over the next 24 years, the legendary Superflies tag team, stints as British and European Lightweight champion. If anything it was Greg who was the unfulfilled potential , only ever taking home the 1986 edition of the Golden Grappler trophy tournament that Kid McCoy would win in 87 and lose to his dad in 88. (Although this was in part due to something in which he had a personal hand, the closure of the family company which neither Steve (Greg) nor brother Spencer (Scott Valentine) wanted to take on when dad Max retired in 1995)) They could have easily squeezed the rest of Hagen/Stuart into the show in place of the preamble to this match but Max C knew he needed to get his new heel over and sent his son to do the job.,Ocean doesn't show much skill but he bumps around, gets thrown out of the ring and gets into arguments with crowds. Too bad he ended up doing all that for Dixon, Orig and ultimately his own tag partner Ricky Knight. Greg gets in a great gorilla press and drop to backbreaker, Superfly Jimmy pays tribute to his namesake at MSG and misses off the corner (a kneedrop not a splash and no cage involved.). Unlike Danny. Greg wins by pinfall. It just gets a further tantrum off Ocean. Actually, as Kent mentions, this wasn't Ocean's debut. He went down 1-0 to Ivan Trevor's and lostin a battle royale all in the space of one TV A episode in 1987. I think I'll check that out next.

It was hard in the old days to get yourself booked as a villain if you were young. Ravishing Robbie Hagen made his ITV debut on the very last regular episode of ITV wrestling as plain old Bob Hagen, clean wrestler. At least he got the one fall required against veteran Pretty Boy Mal Stuart. (A somewhat older future Superflies member Jimmy .Ocean WAS allowed to heel it up for his own first and last ITV bout but went down to Farmers Boy Promoter's Boy Greg Valentine. Two years later on Reslo Hagen finally gets to be a heel on TV and in Danny he has one of the most popular blue eyes in the UK to play with. We join in action with Hagen variously antagonising the crowd and cowering from Danny. Thrice he grabs Danny's hair to pull him down from top wristlocks, drawing boos. He stuck a knee in Danny's throat for good measure. Danny kips up via a headstand so Hagen gets on the hammerlock with bar but as camouflage for an illegal kidney punch that sends Danny down on the mat selling (Context: in the late 80s Danny had to have a kidney removed in real life.). Hagen flings Danny's head to the mat and follows in with a stomp to the back then hurls him out of the ring. Danny manages to get in a knee on his way back in after feigning a vault over the ropes but Hagen knocks him down with bodychecks. So far, so dirty wrestling, so HEAT. Time for Danny's comeback. What @ohtani's jacket neglects to mention is Danny getting in a high back bodydrop and a side chancery mare before the legdrop or the way Hagen sells by flopping over the bottom rope like a jellyfish. That's quite a bit more blue-eye comeback than OJ credits and it gets the crowd going. Yeah so OJ doesn't like the backflip and arm windmill - different babyfaces/blue-eyes have their trademark ways of acknowledging a big pop. I recall Barry Darsow during Demolition's babyface run doing a tumbling motion with his arms to acknowledge the pop after he slams both Powers of Pain or both Twin Towers in quick succession. Danny's backflip is a good little trademark piece of exuberance and it takes crowd pops even higher. (I recall one video compilation which freeze frames as Danny flips to celebrate something.) Collins catapults Hagen in tona hard bump then dropkicks him. Hagen fles to ringside begging for time out. He still wants time out when he gets back, offers a handshake then a finger interlock but sneaks in a punch. Instant heat regained as Collins crumbles. It cannot be underestimated what BIG HEAT an illegal closed fist punch still was in Britain even in the Nineties. He stomps Danny's fingers, headbuts him down and illegally punches him in a headlock. Danny kicks backwards, drops Hagen on his spine and takes the legs of the fallen heel. Instead of a leglock or Boston Crab he drops a flying headbutt to his opponent's chest, getting a private warning from the ref. He once again begs for time out then darts forward for another illegal punch. He drags Danny half outside, bashed him on the ring apron, turns him over and crops an elbow. He gets back in, stomps Danny's hand then delivers about his first good clean move, a thunderous dropkick. He elbows Danny who responds with a kick, Dusty Rhodes bionic elbow, posting, spinning kick. He is angry and considered a retaliatory closed fist punch when Hagen triggers a live one. Danny drags Hagen out for he same apron bash and elbow smash that Hagen dealt him. He gets back in but Hagen chops him in the stomach and climbs the post for a Bret's Rope axehandle. He gets another then goes for a third but Danny catches him with a retaliatory closed fist that Hagen sells with a backflip of his own. He slings Hagen to the ropes and clotheslines him. He tries for a suplex but Hagen blocks with another illegal fist then two headbutt.s .Hagen undoes a corner pad then drags Danny outside and lines him up for a punch against the ringpost. Collins ducks and Hagan wallops the steel! Collins bangs Hagen's head into the post. The referee thinks enough is nearly enough and gives Collins a right talking to. Collins has RRH cornered but Hagen floors him with a bodycheck. Hagen gets Danny by the throat, slaps the base of his spine hoping to get a punch in there when the ref takes his eye off (OLD heel trick). Elbows him down. But the fans are chanting DANNY! DANNY!and Hagen covers his ears, he cannot STAND IT. He gets a Legdrop of his own for a 7 count, anothe fist to Danny's face, slams his head down, posts him, and BASKS in the heat!!! He fishhooks Danny's mouth in the corner and elbows and knees him. A good long brawl, not really my thing but I appreciate Hagen's heel work. "Collins' offence was all wrong"? Well I prefer him as a technician but hey OJ I thought you said on the German thread you like brawls. Unless you mean the next sequence of the bout, Collins the aerialist: Hagen posts Collins but Danny takes the bump well and does a decent Ric Flair flop over the top, along one side and up the top of the post to catch a FANTASTIC missile dropkick that sends Hagen tumbling. Collins follows up with a flying bodypress but only gets a 2. Hagen gets his second good legal move with a small package but only gets two. He gets back to heeling. stomping Danny and smacking his head into the mat. Danny tries a chest high dropkick but bounces off and lands with a bump. Hagen headbutts him but Danny posts himto the opposite corner. On the rebound both try a headbutt and there is a double knockdown. They get up and Danny leapfrogs, flips and dropkicks Hagen to ringside. Hagen gets up and gets in a cheap shot before Danny knocks him down and sends him back to the floor with a sliding dropkick. He gets back in and just like Fit Finlay on Prince Efy in that four nations tag match on the German thread, drops Collins on the top rope for an instant DQ. As the announcement is made that Danny has won, Hagan crashes to the floor like his near namesake Hulk Hogan at WM6 realising that the Ultimate Warrior has just dethroned him. (I bet that's where he got it from. For Hagen this has been a decent vehicle to get him over as a dirty cheating rotten villain. For Collins I concede brawling isn't his forte although he made up for it with the pyrotechnics of the lat two minutes. He dims down the technical skill for most of the bout to help build the new villain, even losing the fight if not the match.

John Harris aka Judd Harris Brit who spent most of his time in Germany. Came home to Britain and did some TV matches, only two are memorable - a Daddy tag in 1979 where "Gunboat" Harris teamed with King Kong Kirk to lose to Big Daddy and Bobby Ryan. (also apparently earlier that year he lost a Daddy triple tag and went down 2-1 to Bert Royal) and a 1988 World Heavyweight Championship eliminator at the same Croydon All Star TV taping as the Kendo/Rocco falling out angle where ex champ Wayne Bridges beat Harris, billed as "Baron Von Schulz", to earn a second return match against Kendo Nagasaki and then win the title back that Match on a DQ and take it home to his Bridges pub until his 2019 death. This is March 1983 and Harris faces Afro-German Rolo Brasil in a clash of rule ending Vs technique. Ring looks like the one from Roland Bock Vs Donjoni El Coral from the mid 70s. Harris tries to swamp Brasil with power but Rolo gets a Whip to force Harris into a bump landing. Harris gets a leg and a standing legspread but Rolo toupees him off. Harris gets a top wristlock and twice drags Rolo down illegally by his hair but Rolo gets up and the second time takes down Harris with a flying headscissors. Harris gets up into the kneeling position, grabs Rolo's legs, flexes them to release his head then turns him over into a single leg Boston but Rolo gets the crossed headscissor then a second toupee as the bell goes. Nice first round, pleasantly technical expect for the two hair fouls. DJ plays something Euro Discoey. Round 2 and Rolo snapmares Harris who sells it a fair bit on the mat. Harris gets the knuckle lock but Brasil leans right back and gives him the double ankles smash. Harris finally gets his heat with uppercuts, illegal punches concealed from the referee and throttling Rolo on the ropes and the mat and more dragging him up by he hair. He gets some sort of warning, not sure if it's a Public one (no sign of cards) but the crowd cheers it. Bell goes but he continues to stomp Rolo on the mat until the ref hauls him off. More Harris's kind of round. DJ plays something organny and proggy. Round 3 and for a moment Rololooks to be getting pugilistic. Harris takes him down with more fouls and a legal kneelift, tries to choke him on the mat but therefore pulls him off. He headlocks Brasil on the rope rope but Brasil tries for a snapmares from behind and is getting closer with each attempt until Harris lets off, getting one more concealed punch in for good measure. Harris tries again on another side of the ring and this time Rolo manages the snapmares on about the fourth heave, sending Harris topling out to ringside to a BIG pop. Everyone likes to see a big nasty man fall over and down. Harris barely makes the count. He doubles up Rolo with another illegal jab, whips him into the ropes and catches him with a sort of sideways backdrop. Brasil takes one heck of a babyface bump. Rolo also beats the KO count and comes back with a leapfrog and dropkick. He snapmares the bigger man to the mat and keeps hold so he can bash him with a downward forearm as "part of the same move" then dropkicks Harris out of the ring. As Harris gets in, Rolo twangs the top rope so Harris catapults in with a bump. He overpowers Harris in a test of strength, stamps on his hands an dropkicks him down. But Harris catches him with a rear elbow as he gets up, knocks him down again and again with a series of uppercuts, elbowsmashes and an inner forearm (that's Kent Waltonese for a clothesline, you know) before getting a Big Splash for the one fall required for Heel Victory. Crowd are furious and give it The Bird as loudly and shrilly as possible. Harris taps his brain like Buddy Rogers and mimics the elbow that turned the tide the final time then leaves. Rolo gets up and shrugs and the crowd cheer his efforts. Nice. Enough technical stuff to make me happy. A strong heel Vs babayface/blue eye narrative to keep You Lot happy. A bout we can all enjoy together.

Same two guys, another contest, another tent, this one more translucent, possibly glass roofed. Heelish Helmut has a few fans on his side but more people boo him and cheer Glaser when he comes back with legspreads, dropping his weight on Helmut's knee etc. Glaser goes too far and gets a first Yellow Card for attacking Helmut while he is tied in the ropes. Helmut takes over with big power moves. Glaser dominates the second half. Mostly slow powery stuff. One great move from Glaser where he gets a standing hammerlock, scoots through Helmut's legs to the front, gets up and nips behind to get a chinlocks on .Nice but a simpler switch could have been done from arm to head. For some reason Glaser gets a Second And Final Yellow Card. He then attacks Helmut on the ropes, shoves over the protesting referee and gets a red card, leaving Helmut the heel winner by DQ. Stupid babyface. Still it gets plenty of crowd heat. Can't say I blame the handful of Helmutmaniacs, I wouldn't cheer for a berk like Glaser. Slow power based match, very WWF in that regard.

Shock horror another good review of Flesh Gordon? Yup and a well deserved one, I agree with OJ. We first seen Flesh in his corner in light blue tights and longish hair looking like a skinnier version of the Honky Tonk Man. Walter is on the tag rope in his usual white trunks. Their opponents arre veteran Spanish tag team Los Halcones De Oro, here billed under their English name "THE GOLDEN FALCON'S" (Sic incorrect usage of the possessive apostrophe). We've discussed them in the past, no one is sure if it was the same two guys Robert Torres and Guy Renaud ( @Phil Lions or is that Guy Renault, as in the bald guy who did a biker tag team with Jacky Richard circa 1980?). all the way through but the gimmick seems to have had a long lifespan. In France alone they ran from early 70s bouts now only surviving as B/W overseas export Kinescopes, through this period of the early 80s up to the first season of New Catch on TF1 In 1988 taking on rookies Yann Caradec and Patrique Martineau with Flesh managing the rookies and a midget managing the Falcons. And that's not counting their time in Spain or in the UK although sadly not on ITV. Even the ring looks better than usual here, it has red/white/blue ropes and red/blue corners although the mat looks an unappealing light grey like a blob of unpainted clay. From the start it's all action with Flesh taking a backdrop, kicking his opponent in the face the getting a cross press for a 2 count. Flesh and a Falcon fling each other around forcing whip bumps on each other, Flesh gets a headscissor but the masked man grabs the rope with his feet to take the easy way out like a true heel. Bordes tags in and goes into his war dance as the crowd chant Mama Doux Mais Mais. At one point a Falcon has Bordes in a full nelson. Bordes back-bodychecks him off his feet, breaks the hold, let's him fall on his front then uses his feet to turn the Falcon into a Folding Press only for the other Falcon to make the save. Flesh pulls off a neat rear snapmares, diving headbut handstand out of a headscissors and move into a figure 4 leg extension, wrestlers bridgé into monkey climb (planchette japonais.) Bordes can do the seated swivel reverse of an armbar like Jim Breaks, reverse snapmares himself onto the ring apron then knock down his opponent and do a Rick Martel over the top rope bodypress, forward roll out of wristlever. At 10:50- 11:15 @PeteF3 if you're still wondering where Flesh learned that flying hiptoss, well here's your answer. A minute later, Flesh pulls off a corker of a move where he turns upside down in a flying tackle to take down a Falcon then oner 90 degrees to lard in the cross press position for the opening fall. Flesh gets a great arm-to arm go behind sequence to throw a Falcon out the ring. Satoru Sayama as Sammy Lee in England also used this trick- he also spent time in Mexico so maybe they both got it from there. Things get nasty at 15mins in when each Falcon takes turns to kick a downed Gordon in the head. The last Falcon makes it a flurry of boots and an axe handle. Twice Flesh gets a posting after the referee kicks his arm free of the top rope and ends up draped over the top rope like a towel. A very Harley Race/Dynamite Kid/Chris Benoit flying headbutt finds its target but a second one misses and Bordes tags in. Walter Bordes cartwheels and dropkicks a Falcon before bunging him to ringside where the other Falcon is. Then disaster strikes, Flesh is knocked off the apron by Bordes and has to be carried to the dressing room. Bordes fights on as a handicap tag. The Falcons double team Bordes, he fights back but soon also ends at ringside. He is thrown back in an a Falcon gets the Equalising pin. For a long while in the interim he does not look ready to go, he is on the floor while Flesh is backstage. For a while it looks like Bordes will have to concede the decider until a bloodied bandaged up Flesh, looking a lot like Ted DiBiase the night he turned babyface in 1985 Mid South.runs back to the ring and batters both masked men, tagging Bordes to get a flying bodypress for the deciding pin, the win and a trophy for himself and Flesh (presented by someone important looking in a suit) ito take home and drink cocktails from together. Flesh alternately celebrates and checks his head bandage wich is quite blood-soaked by now. Next up on Antenne 2 is the 11pm news. So I wonder how this guy ended up as the bald fat moustachioed bloke we know from recent years . Aaaaand right next up on Alessio's France 1970-1987 playlist is the Guy Mercier Vs Monsieur Montreal match. And I also stop to consider 1977 Gilbert LeDuc in colour, scalp worn thin from so many toupees that he needs a toupee to wear. And Michel Falempin, Angelito and Franz Van Buyten on Eurosport. And Jacky Richard as Monsieur Jacky. And I realise the aging process happens to us all. Flesh put up a GREAT performance here and so did Bordes and credit to the Falcons too. I agree with @ohtani's jacket about the French kid in '83 and I only wish that the said kid was on here to tell his stories.

Gilbert LeDuc in colour! He teams with Walter Bordes ("Mama Doux Mais Mais") to face Paco Ramirez (the evil El Matador Tito Santana, Gerard "Flesh Gordon" Hervé's first TV opponent) and Daniel Boucard who IIRC had a bit of a feud going with Le Petit Prince in 1973. Gilbert is older, has a combover and looks a little bit Verne Gagne and the crowd seem more interested in cheering MDMM for Walter. Both heels have flashy jackets like the Rougeaus circa 1988. Les Mechants work old Gilbert over, poor old thing, and score a shock early fall on him. This continues into la deuxieme manche. Bordes scores a HOT tag and goes to work Irish Whipping Boucard but he makes good feet first landings and regains his heat by pitching Bordes out of the ring. Bordes recovers and dropkicks Boucard who tags. They throw each other around then Gilbert is back in but this time he is ready. Soon neither heel fancies taking him on. Plenty of back and forth action from all four. Gilbert still has his toupee which he uses to escape an arm extension (even though all that rubbing his scalp round on the mat has left him in need of the other sort of toupee.). At one point the referee is knocked out of the ring and gets on Bordes's case for it. Gilbert cross scissors Ramirez, twice toupees him then kicks him in the corner where he and Bordes slap Ramirez around like they were playing table tennis with his head. Les Bons are having so much fun it's hard to remember they're a fall down since near the start. Even when they lose the advantage they quickly enough get it back. A Ramirez hair pulling foul on LeDuc earns Paco his first Avertisement. Gilbert is improbably winning a test of strength over Ramirez when sadly the clip cuts out. So I guess we'll never find out how - or if- Gilbert and Walter got their equaliser and decider. Nothing like a cliffhanger ending eh?

Do you mean the flying hiptosses? I thought they were rather good. The only other thing I can think you mean is Murdoch/Clark/Harrison using his sheer bulk to resist cross buttock attempts which seemed reasonable enough if a bit basic. I did say it was his look- the whole caped crusader vibe is a very Lucha thing.

From the French Catch thread: French Catch Vs British Wrestling? ... ... Hold my festive drink. On the third day of Xmas I give you: BRITISH WRESTLING AND PURORESU VS FRENCH CATCH AND GERMAN CATCH, FOUR DIFFERENT WRESTLING CULTURES ALL IN ONE TAG MATCH!!! Zefy and Zrno (the Z team?). make a low key entry, Finlay, post Paula, five months after losing the British Heavyweight Championship to Dave Taylor after seeing off the challenge of young Boston Blackie, is in bully mode and Isuka is in Japanese street thug heel mode as Japanese usually are in Germany despite them having been fellow Axis members. They came out to Ole Ole Ole, a song mostly associated in British Wrestling with faux luchador El Ligero, (sadly last heard of being named a d shamed by Speaking Out.), Finlay climbs the corner posts, shout abuse and soaks up heat. Fans have a chant going for Mile. Zefy gets a good cheer but he's not as insanely over on the East of the Rhine as back home. Zrno and Izuka start. Isuka does some dirty work but he knows his British technical stuff too, rolling out of armbars, applying a standing legspread. He does not spin out of an attempted toupee by Zrno. Mike takes him over in a cross buttock with quite a thump! He misses an elbow but tags in Zefy. Isuka is quick to get the Prince into his corner for a double team which carries on even in the middle of the ring. Zefy sells for Isuka then goes for a bridge then monkey climb then running dropkick. Zrno gets some good moves on Izuka including a flying headscissors. He gets trapped in the heel corner but uppercuts his way out against Finlay. He takes Finlay down with a French-style flying headscissor counter toa wristlock, switching to standing work when he sees Isuka trying to get in. Finlay regains control with an illegal closed fist punch to the throat. He throws Zrno into his corner, tags Izuka who front chanceries Zrno and takes him backwards - too far back. Into the blue eyes corner. Zefy tags in, gets a headlock and bodycheck off the ropes. Another bodycheck, this time by Izuka who then illegally stomps Zefy. TI butterflies PZ's arms for a double team. MZ tries to intervene but referee MMcM in his kilt interjects giving DF the change to complete the double team. Izuka and Zefy brawl and the crowd call - for Mile, not Zefy who is in the ring. Zefy gets plenty FIPped in the corner and on the mat by Isuka, getting a few near KO counts. He comes up with a good reversed cross buttock throw which gets a pop and tries for a dropkick but Izuka ducks- not so that Zefy sails past but so that he lands back to back on Izuka the slides off sideways - possibly a blown spot, it looks quite odd! Izuka gets a fine dropkick of his own, almost a flying karate leg-chop. He then grabs Zefy for a blockbuster suplex, bridges and gets the first fall!!! The villains have the lead but they blow it as only heels can. Firstly only a couple of minutes into the match, Zefy gets his revenge on Izuka with a flying splash off the top corner for the equalising fall. An enraged Finlay runs in the ring, dumps Zefy crotch first on the top rope and earn a summary red card from McMichael to go from 1-0 to the heels to 2-1 to blue eyes in a matter of seconds. The crowd are delighted and cheer - for Mile even though Zefy did all the hard work. Finlay and Isuka protest long an hard at ringside but the ref and the good guys will have none of it except daring them to come back for more and they retreat hurling insults. It's hard to shoe four different styles into one match and we had Zefy 's agility, Isuka's flying kicking style, Finlay's rulebreaking and occasional British technical work an Zrno's old school German mat style all in one tag match. I don't know if everyone got a fair shake to show their skills but it was fast paced enough and the crowd certainly did NOT feel short-changed by the DQ, they were delighted to see the villains especially Finlay, sent packing in disgrace! How to do DQ finishes well.

But I have found this bit on German Catch:

I think I've discussed either on here or on the German thread the history of the man we Brits know as American Avalanche, the Germans used to know as Cannonball Grizzly (not to be confused with the one on All Star shows a couple of years ago) Welsh mid 90s TV viewers as Ragin Bull (not Manny Fernandez) and all you Americans knew as PN News, yo baby yo baby yo. But I can't seem to find it. What is relevant here is that as American Avalanche (but NOT especially as Cannonball Grizzly, mister @ButchReedMark, the former rap master has had a long career over here for All Star Wrestling going back to 1993 when AA was Kendo Nagasaki's equalising tag partner against Giant Haystacks and Scrubber Daly, then billed as the UK Earthquake. (Ironically "Avalanche" would be the original Earthquake, John Tenta's ringname in WCW 1994-1995 - Tenta too would tour the old school British promotions in the final years of his career and life, working All Star and TWA shows in the early Noughties.) He also appears in Robbie Brookside's Video Diary quite a bit. Well over here it's getting near the end of another Xmas but across the pond you still have several more hours to go so if you need a spot of Family Entertainment then here is the AA in Action in 2015, the same year Butch posted, in an All Star main event by the seaside in New Brighton in Merseyside, a quick drive home to All Star's home base in Birkenhead. WARNING - Americans of a sensitive patriotic disposition who cannot handle the sound of several hundred young kids chanting that their country sucks, are advised to avoid this clip His opponent is Mason Ryan, the final student of Orig Williams from the late Noughties who went off to America to achieve WWE Stardom and put Wales on the American Wrestling map (as if Adrian Street and Tony Charles didn't). I actually saw Mason Ryan in action on an All Star show in Leamington Spa circa 2007 but I'm not sure what he was billed as at that point. If all else fails I shall check my bag of my collection of stuff from back through the years. It ain't pretty. Mason was a 6ft 6ins ex Gladiator (you called it American Gladiators your side of the pond) built totally for power. Paul Neu is a nice guy but a massive American Superheavyweight who wrestles accordingly. It's no one's technical classic, it's like Daddy Vs Quinn 1979 if Quinn was the blue-eye and it goes on for a good 15 mins. So NO WAY am I doing a blow by blow of this. But hoo boy is it over with The Kids. So was Hogan Vs Andre in 1988 I hear you say. But just remember, in the 2090s long after you and I are gone, a bunch of decrepit old ninetysomethings will be telling the great grandkids vivid childhood memories of watching that match. And unlike with Big Daddy, neither man was being kept stupidly ridiculously strong by the promoter, so they have a competitive kind of slug 'n punch. In the meantime, just console yourself with the knowledge that this is what the Rapmaster, master of The Broken Record and the Broken Dave Sheldon ended up as.

Again from Hanover 1985 and again featuring Klaus Kauroff. In against Colonel Brody in a place where he feels free to drop N bombs in his promos. (I still have yet to confirm if he ever did that back home in Britain when the ITV cameras were safely out the way but somehow I think most local councils would have none of it just the same as the IBA.) However here in the non Anglophone land of Germany he is free to push the envelope for cheap heat. Kan Klaus Kauroff outheel him or will this be another video where fans cheer the bi bald beardy man? Kauroff starts as a gentleman accepting a handshake from Brody only to be suckered in for a kick to the gut and a flying tackle for a 2 count. Kauroff retaliates by dumping Brody crotch first on the top rope earning a private warning from referee Mick McMichael. Kauroff defeats Brody in a test of strength, forcing his hands to the floor and stomping on them. He cross buttocks Brody then old Brody enemy from England McMichael also stomps Brody's hand. Kauroff gives Brody a Big Daddy bodycheck and fans are chanting his name. Well I think that answers my question. Brody gets a full nelson on but Kauroff neatly powers his way out. Brody goes to the ropes to soak up the heat but Kauroff follows in and gets a full nelson of his own. He breaks it and neatly gets a Kauroff leg but Kauroff boots him into the ropes with the other leg and flips himas he rebounds. Cut to later in he match, Brody has a standing legspread on Kauroff. Kauroff flips him off again, this time sideways over the ropes. (Talking of Big Daddy, he did the same to John Elijah in their late 1977 yes-Daddy-CAN-wrestle clean match on World Of Sport.). Cut to Brody having heat on Kauroff, stomping and ramming him into the corner with McMichael blowing his whistle Kauroff reverses a posting, forearms Brody, rams him twice into the corner and gives him a low hiptoss to start a knockout count. Brody gets up, boots Kauroff in the stomach and comes off the ropes but Kauroff is ready and flings him to ringside. He comes back and tries for a flying tackle but Kauroff catches him, slams him and cross presses him for the one required pin. Exhausted, he rolls off and flops to the mat before getting up and having McMichael raise his hands. Your basic German Heavyweight tournament fodder. Nice to see KK being cheered again.

Short nine mins of footage of Quinn, either still holding his black title or having just lost it to red/white/blue belt holder Wayne Bridges whom he defeated on Cup Final Day 5 years earlier then lost and regained it to >Tony StClair on All Star shows in 1982/1984. Now up against Wild Angus. Jeff Kaye is referee. Quinn is dominating with beatdowns and power moves and throws. Later Casey has Quinn down, beating ,backdropoingand getting a 2 count. Quinn is back in charge after a cut until Casey blasts him with two uppercuts. Kaye eventually gives Quinn a yellow card. Casey brawls back and gets his own yellow card. Cut to Quinn chucking out Casey and getting privately warned. Casey comes in with a sunset flip for a 2 count. They brawl for a bit then Casey gets a backslide for another 2 count. Quinn continues to dominate Casey until there is a round break.and continues afterwards. Quinn pounds a downed Casey in the corner to earn himself a Second And Final Yellow Card. Casey slams and missile dropkicks Quinn, forearms him, flying tackles him for a two count but Quinn comes off the ropes with a Hulk Hogan big boot then a guillotine elbowdrop for the winning pin. A good fight, not a good wrestling match, as Kent Walton would say. But with a few little bits of solidity in there, the odd good move. Good enough for the drunks at the festival.

I think that's all pretty unfair. Murdoch, we already know, is Dick Harrison aka Ron Clarke of UK opposition promotion tag team the Lincolnshire Poachers. Flesh's look, we now know, basically comes from his Lucha Libre background. This is him in an intermediate stage, no longer the high flying missile dropkicking tag partner of Walter Bordes but not yet the tubby bald aging moustachioed figure of the early C21st. It's the early Maxi Cuisine mat so presumably originally screened on TF1 In 1988. English language commentary is by British MC John Harris who also refereed the Johnny South Vs Johnny Palance bout I just posted to the British thread. Referee here is Charley Bollet (brother of Andre Bollet, Roger Delaporte's old tag partn Flesh gets a side headlock on but Murdoch resists cross buttock attempts. He gets a single leg coming off the ropes but Murdoch pounds him down, getting some stomps in., getting a 2 count on a pin attempt .Flesh fights back with two well executed flying cross buttocks and a dropkick. A snapmares gets Murdoch down for a 2 count. Flesh dumps Murdoch to ringside, gets in three elbowsm throws him back in, gets another over the shoulder snapmare, then a third flying cross buttock gets the win. Short but sweet and undeserving of the hatchet job @pantherwagner gave it.

An international dream match for Christmas Afternoon. Klondyke Kate, British Ladies Champion, the only one ever to win her title on TV (albeit on BBC2's Raging Belles docu, not ITV) faces Gaby Lailee, faux Native American and darling Bonne of French ladies' wrestling (when she wasn't busy handling cowboy heel Jessy Texas's horse.) It looks on paper like a female version of Scrubber Daly Vs Kid MCoy and that's pretty much what you get. Gaby spends the early moments dodging Kate's bulky charges into corners. She wrings Kate's arm before Kate blasts her down. Kate drops her weight on Gaby's leg the applies a leglock. Gaby dodges a splash, double leg dives Kate and drops her own weight on Kate's knee leaving her limping. An aggrieved Kate chokes Gaby on the ropes and clotheslines her. Gaby rides Kate's back to get a crossbar on her but Kate just backs her into a corner. She double nerveholds Gaby, backdrops her and disrupts a sunset flip attempt with one stomp. More illegal rope work gets Kate an Avertisement before she dumps Gaby ringside then follows her out and throws her back in. Gaby flips her in. but Kate chops her sides and back. She goes for a piledriver but Gabby slaps her behind so Kate just drops her on the canvas like the proverbial sack of excrement.A second attempt brings similar limited success for Kate but a headbutt is good enough to finally get the piledriver and pin. Kate getting herself over as a heel in France and succeeding. Crowds give her the bird and a thrown paper ball hits her full in the face, but she's content to have her heat.

A tale of two left arms. Nice clean modern copy from a C21st rescreen on S4C Digidol. Match is joined towards the end of round 2 with "Sean" South holding Palance down in an armbar. He's still a decade away from becoming a Legend of Doom (as screened in Reslo's final year) and 14 years from ending Marty Jones's final World Mid Heavyweight Championship in Bristol, May 1999. He has a thick tache and a comb over and looks like Gary Hart before Fritz Von Erich shaved him. He also reminds me of Roland Bock. Palance meanwhile is a stout no nonsense veteran of the Indies who reminds me of Colin Johnson as a blue-eye. He was probably long ago a fresh faced blond haired TBW. By 1985 he looks like a friendly Ray Stevens. The armbar becomes a hammerlock and then the bell rings and they warily shake hands to light applause. After the break, South uses a full nelson to get Palance back down in the armlock. Palance fights his way upstairs with forearms, postings and a kneelift. South gets him down in a backslide for the opener. Still sporting handshakes. South tries to Whip Palance but he rolls through nicely. They shake hands again but South uses this to drag Palance forward to hit the mat, already weakened shoulder first. South reapplies the armlock from a standing position then drops his weight on it. He takes the wrist and kicks the ribs under the hurting shoulder. More standing arm- hank. Two postings build the punishment but then South charges an empty post and hurts his own shoulder. Palance drops an elbow a bit late and gets a quiet warning from the referee. He forces a hard bump with a whip to stretch South's arm some more, but is still selling his own arm. He puts on his own armhank and locks it into a standing figure four armscissor. He eventually converts it to a hammerlock held in position by the feet but the bell goes. Palance gives South a cheeky sporting pat on the good shoulder but South is heavily selling his own arm now. Round 5 and South breaks out heavy pitting moves on Palance's shoulder while keeping his distance to let his own arm recover. Palance floors South with a dropkick. He forearm smashes South down twice and cross presses him for the equaliser. He continues the treatment with a forearm, snapmares and elbowdrop. South regains the advantage with a backbreaker across his knee.and then a second one before getting the winning submission with a Boston Crab. Crowd are split between those applauding and those booing because they know him too well as a hard-nosed heel. Not a technical masterpiece but it told a solid story about the arm/shoulder weakeners until they were forgotten about for the finale.

But I think I shall! To see how far MCoy had come, here is that earlier bout: It starts off nicely enough with some good escapes by both men, until Zolly puts the knee in and starts roughing up the Kid, Kid gets on the same Rope Trick/Toupee hybrid as the tournament final and Zolly doesn't like it any better nine months earlier! Mostly it's Zolly the Bully being brutal then shrinking away whenever McCoy gets in some offence. The bell to end Round 1 saves McCoy from a leglock and test of strength leverage into a pinfall attempt. Things continue that way after the interval although Zolly's opening pin is quite a skillful affair, going over nicely on one hand from a whipped arm lever (which would more normally score a hard bump) before slipping in from behind for a folding press. Zolly tries again for the move that got him the first fall but McCoy clamps down on Boscik's legs for the equaliser! An enraged Zolly attacks between rounds and gets himself a Public Warning. Boscik is still angry at losing his lead and eventually gets and advantage by dodging a dropkick. He desperately works for the 3 in 1 but the Kid resists. He tries again but gets the same neck drop on the top rope that cost him the tournament nine months later. Kid gets a slam for a 2 count. He survives another leglock/wristlever combo and fights back. The kid fights back to the end of the round and a frustrated Boscik gets a kick in earning himself a Second And Final Public Warning. So now not only is the score equal but Zolly is in danger of a DQ and must behave himself. Finally he gets his 3 in 1 and the deciding submission. It's a disappointing moment for the Boothmans and the Southport fans but nine months later it would be a different story. Just like Danny Collins in 1983 getting a consolation fall off Jim Breaks in a 2-1 defeat and then the next year racking up multiple wins over Breaks - a tournament win, a £500 a fall challenge, the British Welterweight title at the Royal Albert Hall and finally after a no contest return match, one more win to put Breaks out of contention. That was Danny's rise and Kid's rise was wins over Zolly B, Steve Grey for the title, Mal Sanders for the Golden Grappler trophy and nearly beating his Dad to make it two years running. Leland's next step is surely a title win of some sort, maybe another shot at Nino - or will Nino win a heavier Mountevans British title and leave his Lightweight title for Leland to pick up? Roll on 2025 ...

Okay, we've seen teenage Leland Bryant come a long way from being the plucky underdog against menacing heels to seeing him beat big brother Nino in a trophy tournament and nearly taken his Mountevans British Lightweight Championship. We've also seen Kid McCoy, an earlier teenage British Lightweight Champion and Golden Grappler tournament winner, reach the finals of the tournament for a second year running before coming unglued at the hands of his own father, but not before showing Dad a thing or two (and as part of Dad's own push towards a brief British title). With both these TBW pushes in mind, one from the 1980s, the other from the 2020s, I think it would be interesting to examine some more of McCoy's push by watching him clean up the rest of the tournament we started on with Zoltan Boscik beating Johny Kidd. To start with, here is McCoy in the other semifinal Vs Jeff Kerry: Round 1 starts off oddly similar to the first two rounds of the Bryants' title match. Lots of two counts, more from bridge folding presses than the trip folding presses employed by Leland and Nino and some of the same acrobatic skill albeit more from throws and bumping than from leaps and flying headscissor variants. Anyway, MCoy gets an opener with a sunset flip in just 52 seconds. Things settle down in round 2 like they didn't quite do with the Bryants' match. McCoy kipping out of a headscissor and using his head as fulcrum for a bridge to turn out of a wristlever, Kerry simply rolling out of one. As with the Bryants there is also a hint of an arm weakener story with Kerry using a hammerlock and a straight arm lift just before the bell on McCoy. After the round break, he continues the arm work, stretching the arm with a whip (and forces McCoy to take a hard bump) and further weakens the arm by using it to pull on three postings. Oddly enough, he gets his equalising pinfall with a Kendo Nagasaki style Kamikaze Crash (diving fireman's carry) rather than an arm submission like Leland did. Sadly Round 4 was cut out (and also sadly not reinstated by TWC) so we get a brief round 5 where McCoy uses his Yorkshire Rope Trick to go up an over Kerry for a neat folding press decider. McCoy wins but next on his plate is Zolly, heavier, older and with the added dimension of dirty wrestling ... From the start Zolly is playing mind games, giving hard words to McCoy. He chops away on the younger man's chest and goes for the ropes when McCoy gets an advantage. McCoy is clearly established as underdog and crowd favourite just as a young vulnerable Leland was in some of his first matches on Rumble's YouTube channel where he gained shock pinfalls in triple tags or where he and middle Bryant brother Xander were sacrificed to superheavyweight Henchman Jim Diehard. Zolly gets his 3 in one (a favourite of Leland, funnily enough) on MCoy who nonetheless resists lon enough that Boscik changes tack and goes for a side folding press 2 count. McCoy gets his other, toupee related version of the Yorkshire Rope trick on Boscik and has the bigger heel cowering for mercy. Zolly weakens McCoy with a single leg Boston Crab (which McCoy resists) and by dodging a couple of dropkicks. He goes for another 3 in 1 but the Kid dumps him on the ropes, gets in a couple of postings and then a straight arm submission to win the contest tournament and trophy! King Ben runs in to congratulate his son while Zolly rolls around in pain and defeat. The late Anne Relwyskow presents Kid McCoy with the cup, a bouquet and a crafty kiss, (the naughty lady!) As the future British Lightweight Champion celebrates with his booty, the Former British Lightweight Champion stands on the corner, desperately calling out for some Respect ...