Tuesday is French Catch Day: Bordes! Cohen! Mantopolous! Rouxel!

Georges Cohen vs Walter Bordes 2/12/67

MD: This is our second chronological look at Bordes. Last time he was teamed with Ben Chemoul; I think he was billed as his nephew. They said he was 20 here and that makes sense, because we'll be seeing a lot more of him over the rest of the footage, even deep into the 80s. From what we can see here, that's not a bad thing at all. This was a stylist vs stylist matchup with a juniors feel. Lots of holds, a good chunk of rope running, and some chippiness in the last third. For that first half, it really felt like the older, more seasoned Cohen was working Bordes through his paces as they went in and out of holds; there was a long armbar by Cohen, full of lots of interesting escapes and looping back in. Bordes' stuff wasn't quite as interesting, headscissors and full nelson and later a straightjacket hold that led to Cohen starting to get chippy. Also, there was a moment or two where something he tried off the ropes didn't quite work or his footing didn't quite land right, but in general, it was an impressive match for the younger wrestler and the older one who likely led him through it and the crowd was appreciative the whole way through.

PAS: This is more of a chance to see a youngster with potential, then it was a great match. We have seen a bunch of these juniors matches before, and there was nothing here which particularly popped, but the athleticism was there, headscissors looked good and it got a little nasty at the end. This is such a high floor project, this was near that floor but it was still high quality stuff. 

Vasilios Mantopolous vs Jaques Rouxel 6/29/67

MD: This was a blast. Mantopolous was maybe as good as being a diminutive wizard as anyone in wrestling history. Rouxel was bigger and could be defined as a lug. When he finally lost his cool and started hammering, it was with these overwrought jumping stomps and clubbers. He had some cool stuff like a front cobra takeover and was more than eager to go flying over the rope for transitions when Mantopolous was able to get a little distance and get him to charge. Or to feed into dropkicks and armdrags. And his complaining was memorable enough. For the most part though, this was Mantopolous doing his thing, balancing fire and sympathy and underdog cheek with sheer mastery. He'd sucker Rouxel in with a hand behind his back, would use his momentum against him, would snatch a limb out of nowhere or keep a hold despite the size and strength differential. He'd do his little bouncing leap to start an exchange and get Rouxel to beg off in frustration and with the obviously knowledge that when it came to wrestling skill, he was outmatched, and then, to end it all, he'd tie him up in a knot that even the ref couldn't untangle. This was from Puteaux and the crowd seemed to be there more to be amused than to riot, but the lighting is so clear and crisp that you can see Rouxel's every reaction and every iota of Mantopolous' skill.

PAS: Very fun showcase for Mantopolous, he moves so effortlessly, and is really great at dancing his opponent around the ring. It has a very Johnny Saint vibe, although with more athletic explosion. The speed and pop of Mantopolous's headscissors are on another level from the stuff in the earlier match we reviewed. I liked Rouxel too, he had this Anaconda Vice like submission he used to ground Mantopolous, took a couple of big bumps to the floor and laced him up when he needed to. Match ending in a Neblina was a real trip, not a move I knew was around this long ago.