Tuesday is French Catch Day: Batman! Khan! Mammoth Siki! Mr. X! Corne! Falempin! Viracocha! Gonzalez!

Batman vs. Abdul Khan 3/27/72

MD: Batman was Batman, of course, maybe a little older, a little less spry, a little slower, but still able to cartwheel and leapfrog and dropkick and with that theatrical flair to milk a moment. Khan was playing the stereotypical oriental gimmick with chops and nerveholds, but he fed well enough and I liked the look of the overhand chop. He also had some interesting stuff in between the knee drops and gut shots like a backslide lifting choke under the ropes (previously we've seen a Rude awakening version) and a nice double chop off the top. It was on his second attempt at the latter that Batman was able to catch it and come back. Finish had Khan remove the corner guard and Batman tease to a reversal of a whip. Again, he could milk the moment as well as a lot of the people we've seen in the footage, which enhanced everything else he did.

Mammoth Siki vs. Mr. X 3/27/72

MD: This was a straightforward heavyweight clash with a straightforward story, well enough worked, didn't outlive its welcome. The first third was Mr. X (a huge guy in a purple mask with the backstory of being disfigured) trying strength holds and Siki overpowering him and flipping him about. Mr. X went over for everything well and Siki had good timing and clear charisma and when he threw a shot or headbutt, it looked very good. Middle third was a lot of choking and nerve holds but Siki sold well from underneath and Mr. X contested with the ref well. Big comeback spot was out of a full nelson and after that Siki kept going for the mask with the ref trying to stop him. He had a nice double arm hold out of an arm drive into a Fujiwara armbar that let him really go for it. Finish was very unique and it sets up a match that I wish we had maybe. Mr. X had Siki tied up in the ropes and Petit Prince came into fly around and get his mask off which let Siki get the win. Mr. X was definitely competent and I would have to see what a Prince vs giant match would have looked like but alas, it's not to be in the footage we have.

Jean Corne/Michele Falempin vs. Inca Viracocha/Jose Gonzalez 3/27/72

MD: This one fell through the cracks of the footage, but it came immediately after the Siki vs Mr. X match and starts with the announcer wearing X's mask. It's another one fall tag and it's hard to fault the pacing of these so far. Likewise, it's hard to find fault in the talent of any of these four. Viracocha is unquestionable good, able to lean on his opponent with big shots, able to credibly work holds, able to pick up the pace for key moments of rope running, able to feed for all the big spots and set pieces, but Gonzalez remains the find. He has this over-the-top energy with an agility to match, even as he looks like a real scuzzy goon and stooges even more than that. Falempin and Corne were as good as always, quick with armdrags and dropkicks. Falempin had a great escape out of the corner to end a long bit of heat where he monkey flipped both opponents at once. Corne came in hot a couple of times with armdrags and dropkicks. But it was Gonzalez that really drew the eye from early stalling to end-of-match mugging at the camera even as his partner was losing the match, and all of the quick, exuberant work in between.