New Footage Friday: HAMBURG!! LASARTESSE! VAN BUYTEN! REGAL! RUDGE! ANACONDA?

Rene Lasartesse vs. Franz van Buyten Hamburg 9/19/84

MD: It's the contrast that makes these matches. Lasartesse is stagnation and Van Buyten is motion. Lasartesse is the immovable object controlling the center of the ring and Van Buyten is a dervish of momentum leaping in with blows. Lasartesse is entropy, the old regime drawing heat just by taking off his cape, reminiscent of death with his odd physique and how you can almost see his spine as he moves. He lumbers forward with measured steps and a certain inevitability. Van Buyten is energy, a representation of life and its perseverance, renewing and regrowing even in the face of unimaginable oppression. There is a cost to all things and thus Van Buyten is also prone to over-exuberance: Lasartesse is able to take over mid-match, turning a vaulting leap across the ring into a bump to the outside. Subsequently, he dissolves the ring itself, turning the corner into a weapon to pick apart Van Buyten's back. Even the bell calling for the end of a round can't stop his creeping assault. Van Buyten's comeback is spurred by a reversal to a tombstone, energy flowing through his body to emit almost spasmatic kicks to break the hold. His resurgence, even in the face of the healthier Lasartesse's consistent clubbering blows is the triumph of chaos and rebirth over unchanging order. The finish, where an out of control Van Buyten drives his body into Lasartesse, knocking him over the top and drawing the DQ, is yet another manifestation of its ultimate consequence.

SR: We had this before, but the version we had was black and white and like 20 minutes worth of clips. This gives a much more complete image of the match, and it‘s nice to have that. These two, at least in the 80s, had damn great chemistry together. This also has the advantage that it‘s 1984. While Lasartesse was already crusty and looking like your grandad, Franz was still a stud rather than an aging maestro. Aging maestro is cool, but stud is really compelling. This was fast paced but also had a lot of gravitas, with Lasartesse leaning in on nasty chokes and Van Buyten decking him almost immediately with resounding uppercuts. Van Buyten is incredibly compelling doing basic stuff. He makes the spot where he struggles for a snapmare to Lasartesse awesome like it‘s a real sport. He is also predicably great selling the inevitable beatdown where Lasartesse jabs him in the throat a bunch. One of the cool things that happens in these small arena 80s Euro matches is when the heel removes the turnbuckle pad, the fans will try to put it back up to protect the face. Lasartesse sure had people made as hell at him. We also get Lasartesse working over van Buytens back resulting in a typically great selling performance and some really fun Tombstone reversals.

PAS: Nifty match. I loved the early snapmare fight, Lasartesse is a great stonewall, refusing to go over and barreling forward like a Rhino. Van Buyten was at his prime and moving like a dervish. I loved the multiple in ring topes leading to the huge for an old dude Lasartesse bump. It is really cool that this feud has been unearthed in the last couple of years, and we get to see so many versions of it. This was one of the oldest versions and it was great to see Van Buyten with a fresh face.

Rene Lasartesse vs. Franz van Buyten Hamburg 1991

MD: Familiarity and expertise drives this match. These two are old rivals, old enemies, archetypes. Lasartesse is the villain, a hamming, hammering Snidely Whiplash in the twilight of his years, still smug, still prideful. Van Buyten is evergreen, ever noble. Lasartesse is a master of utilizing space, of using the ring as a palette, always framed in the right place as he lays in his punches and chokes and stomps. Van Buyten is a master of using his own body, sweeping blows from every angle, throwing his full self into a dropkick or a bound back off the ropes, assisting the overall effect even with his prone form in a drag across the ring, arching his body either to invest the crowd in his attempt at the flag or attempt to pull Lasartesse off. And they're with him all the way. It all sort of devolves into an unsatisfying chaos in the end, but what we had before that was pure and distilled, a type of wrestling familiar and primal yet also alien to what many of us grew up with. We're fortunate that the world eventually became small enough that we were gifted it as well.

SR: Lasartesse was 63 years old here. Van Buyten is 50. You see a corpse-like Rene Lasartesse entering the ring and then you notice that this goes 30 minutes. But this was, honest to god, the best Piratenkampf I‘ve seen from 1991 so far. That is not to disparage the South and Wallace matches, but this simply stepped up to a different level of intensity. Lasartesse despite being barely mobile was still really over and to make up for his state van Buyten was super fired up. Lord knows why van Buyten was beating the shit out of Lasartesse worse than anyone else in 1991 so far, but I guess having a 2 decade long rivalry will make you do that as you really get the sense Van Buyten was going to finally put the pillow on his evil old bastards face. Van Buyten was smart enough not to sell a ton for his corpselike opponent and instead beat the shit out of him while scrambling away from any possible chain related awrygoings. Needless to say that didn‘t work out the whole match as Lasartesse acted very savvy and soon found his openings. Lasartesse did some cool chain related shit – raking the chain across the back, chain punching the kidney, but mostly he was about working over Franz with nasty punches and stomps. He throws his punches like a guy with no hip, just straight fists and uppercuts, he looks like his knuckles are hard as stone, and Van Buyten sells getting unexpectedly punched in the eye extremely well. I have no idea how but it builds to a really great crescendo with head stomping galore and some Kill Bill level nasty chain choking, and Lasartesse takes an incredible „I just blew the entirety of my legs out“ bump off the top. For some reason this one has a time limit and they do one entire damn minute of tugging on the chain with Franz balancing on the rope before the time runs out which feels like one of the definite excruciating spots in wrestling ever. After the match Lasartesse challenges van Buyten to another Piratenkampf and van Buytens response is to jump him and beat the shit out of him some more. There actually is the beginning of another Piratenkampf between these two at the end of the video so keep your fingers crossed that will drop eventually as I‘m totally on board for another 30 minute match between a 63 year old Lasartesse and a 50 year old Van Buyten because these guys are the absolute masters of this stip and they showed here that age won‘t stop them from killing each other.

Dave Morgan/Steve Regal vs. Anaconda/Terry Rudge Hamburg 5/6/91

MD: Chaotic southern style tag with clear roles that didn't settle in like it should have, in part because of the ref. Regal was the quick, technical youngster (a veteran in years but still around 21). Morgan was the tough veteran mentor babyface. Rudge was the grizzled veteran heel directing traffic. Anaconda was the traffic. They inverted it a bit by having Morgan play face-in-peril while Regal kept getting missed tags and coming in to allow for double teams, but the ref was consistently out of place which forced people to stand around too much. All the action was good and all the roles were played well. There were some good spots, comedy and otherwise, but it was all a bit too chaotic to make sense of at times. I'd be all for a Morgan vs Rudge match though. Those two seemed almost to be made for each other.

SR: It‘s a pleasure to see Terry Rudge go to work. Unfortunately, his partner was a pretty dull kick and punch type of guy and this match was marred by some confusing clipping going in. Thankfully, Rudge did almost all the ring work. Him vs. Regal is known quality and we also get to see him tear up Morgans leg a bit. That is about the one thing this had going for it as it even ends in a confusing fashion.

PAS: Regal and Rudge are two of the all time greats, and any bit of new footage from either of them is a blessing. We got a couple of fun Regal vs. Rudge exchanges, although much of the match was the heels working over Morgan. Anaconda was a big guy in overalls, possibly a lost WWF Hillbilly and kind of wrestled like that. Had some moments, but never really came together.

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New Footage Friday: You Can Never Break the Chain

Franz Van Buyten vs. Johnny South Hamburg 9/22/91

PAS: South is gritty looking guy, sort of a less skilled Terry Rudge. These Van Buyten Piratekamf matches definitely have a formula, Van Buyten takes a big beating at the beginning, does a couple of big leverage spots to keep his opponent from climbing the poll, and then has a fiery comeback. The South beatdown here was on the more brutal side then normal, with Van Buyten getting some nasty looking cuts and abrasions on his nose, and Van Buyten's comebacks are always great. I enjoy good formula wrestling, although I am interested to see if any of these new matches deviate at all.

SR:Well, it‘s 1991. Van Buyten was 4 years away from retirement, and Johnny South, while having a reputation for being a really good worker on British TV in the 80s, was slowly morphing into a Road Warrior clone as European wrestling was dying. Piratenkampf magic was at play here, though. It‘s weird how chain matches that start with something that resembles chain-assisted shootstyle before devolving into a series of drawn out nearfalls over tugging on the chain can work so well, but here we are. The grappling feels really intense with neither guy being willing to give an inch as that might mean he‘d have to spend a few minutes in a painful chain-assisted facelock. South was feeling it here, working a bit like a quasi-Finlay working over Franzs body parts with chain assisted moves and giving him a beating. Franz is of course someone who will sell really well for a guy working like Johnny South here. One thing I am fascinated by is that even after watching Franz in a few chain matches, is that he always does something to mix it up. You watch him and start to notice his spots that he has, and then he will catch you off guard by doing something different. It‘s the mark of a great formula worker that his signature match doesn‘t get old. This was pretty lean at about 20 minutes and since it ended with an interference spot before Franz challenges a young PCO in his Zubaz pants to another Piratenkampf. Weird to have a grudge match set up another grudge match but I‘m not complaining and this was an unexpected nice late career moment for Johnny South.

MD: Super minimalist affair. South spent the first half really leaning on Van Buyten, using the chain to enhance his rudimentary holds and strikes onto a limb. He'd wrap the chain around an arm or leg and just hammer or knee the chain. Van Buyten would have little comebacks whenever he could create distance but he couldn't follow up as South would just goozle him again. He was credible and imposing but not exactly dynamic. He could pretty much get away with just dropping knees on a bleeding Van Buyten. With these matches, a wrestler can get the crowd manipulation equivalent of a hope spot by pulling someone off the pole but that it doesn't mean you can follow up, so it's a nice little narrative tool. As the match went on, Van Buyten's hope spots added in more offense until he finally fully came back with chain assisted punches and was able to go for the pole. It wasn't the most triumphant Van Buyten comeback I've ever seen but the gradual nature of it made it all a bit more nuanced than usual. The back third of the match was all about Van Buyten fighting for victory on the top rope, hanging on to the pole, and it was full of compelling visuals and the crowd being really into it, with a great final flourish that the camera only half caught, but all felt a bit one-sided and maybe even unearned relative to how the first half of the match went.


Franz Van Buyten vs. Wild Carl Wallace Hamburg 9/29/91

SR: Carl Wallace, a young PCO, was another Canadian worker staying in Europe to learn the business. I‘ve seen him have some fun interactions on the (otherwise pretty awful) New Catch show that aired on Eurosport, but I had no idea he stayed in Hamburg let alone that he fought Franz in a Piratenkampf. This had an unusual amount of the face being in control in the opening, I assume to kill time as Wallace wasn‘t super versed in what to do with this gimmick. We do get Franz twisting up Wallaces leg a bit and putting on a chain assisted Fuchi leg stretch. It‘s weird that a chain match opening with grappling and holds works well, but it makes sense when you think about it. Getting your leg worked over sucks, getting your leg worked over with a chain seems downright torturous. PCO quickly finds his groove though as he steps the rope onto Van Buytens throat and then continues to work over him with chain punches while his partner Crawford was outside yelling at Van Buyten in French and cheering PCO on to tug harder when it came to grabbing the flag. Van Buyten looked convincingly beaten to a pulp after eating some elbows and leg drops from PCO before starting his trademark great comeback. Once again there was a nifty spot that involved someone getting launched off the top rope that got a big pop, and because PCO was young and eager he took a big flip bump for his troubles. The ending was more extended than the South match with van Buyten smashing Wallace in the face repeatedly with forearms before PCO misstimes a bodyslam and lands on his own head which feels like the most shocking finish any of these Piratenkampfs had so far. I have no idea how a ca. 1991 PCO would fare in a regular match this long, but in with this stipulation and Van Buyten as the opponent there are no limits.

PAS: You can definitely tell that PCO is greener then goose shit in this match, but the Piratekamf formula can integrate that pretty seamlessly. You don't need to be super experienced to wrap a chain around someones mouth, and that is always going to look awesome. PCO is of course one of the great physical freaks in wrestling and he demonstrates that by hitting a huge flip bump off the top rope, and taking an Oro bump on a bodyslam. Some of his punches and elbows could have used work, but we had the great Van Buyten comeback and some really cool fights over the flag.

MD: This one, just a week later from the last, was a lot more dynamic and a lot more complete. It had an early period where Van Buyten was clearly in control, utilizing holds enhanced by the chain but with a tangible sense of struggle. WCW (PCO in his early-mid 20s) took over with a hairpull and a lot of chain-assisted punches and choking. Very credible if very simple offense. He already had a great physical presence in tossing his body into blows. Van Buyten excels at creating a triumphant moment of comeback, and later in the match, he absolutely created one here by running across the ring and diving away while WCW was going for the flag, causing WCW to take a physics-defying flip bump off the top. From there it was a back and forth slugfest, with Van Buyten selling the weight of the match, especially when going for the flag, before spiking WCW on his head to allow for the finish. While WCW brought a lot of physical tools and enthusiasm to the table, you do get the sense that Van Buyten could do this match with just about anyone in the world.


Shank vs. Terry Knight NWA Wildside 10/21/00

MD: It's a little bit tricky going from Germany to this, if only because the Piratekampf rules of using the pole are just better than the four corner touching. The weirdest moment in this was when Knight did the same sort of leap away from the corner as Van Buyten did in the PCO match, but instead of it being a huge moment, it was just a momentary cut-off on a babyface and Shank was right back in it a moment later. The transition to the outside where Knight pulled him out was utilized better, but again, it didn't stick. I generally liked Knight here. I thought he did some interesting things with the chain, like wrapping it around his own knee, even if maybe he wrestled this a little too evenly. It was very back and forth, which it really didn't have to be given the arrest finish (which is one of those things they used repeatedly, I think, and probably sounded like a good idea on paper, but...). Specific moments were okay here, but nothing stuck. Whereas with the Van Buyten matches, everything sticks.

ER: This starts with a custom Shank sonnet written on a half roll of toilet paper all about how he was going to have Terry Knight's ass, how he bought him for two cigarettes and a roach clip, and we are immediately reminded of Shank: Babyface. The match itself has moments, but overall doesn't really work. It's too long, and the tapping turnbuckles kind of structure doesn't work with a babyface like Shank. The best parts of this are both guys punching with their fists wrapped in chain (Shank has those kind of mostly good punches that you know means the other guy is paying the price the better they look), and Knight even wraps his knee in chain for a kneelift! I also love Shank matches where he gets in over his head on offense, tries things he probably shouldn't be trying, like a wild guillotine legdrop. But Shank is a wildcard and shouldn't be put in matches with silly rules, so the visual of Shank trying to smack turnbuckles in succession makes him look silly. And even sillier, they had Knight carry him around the ring while hitting buckles and had Shank hit them after, and the visual of another man just carrying Shank around like a baby is a position they never should have put him in. Shank can't be just carried by some oversized Mitch Ryder! The arrest finish was a fun idea on paper, and I think would have worked great if Shank had just completely massacred Knight, really needed to look like he was murdering him with that chain. Instead the worked a completely competitive match with Knight being just as dominant as Shank, so most of this sadly didn't work for me.

PAS: I am the high voter on this match. Shank is one of my favorite characters in wrestling ever. A giant muscled up tatted guy who worked a babyface prison rapist gimmick. The poem written on a roll of toilet paper where he lovingly describes sodomizing Knight is a true moment in time. He isn't really a polished wrestler, but has an almost early Goldberg feel to a lot of his offense, it doesn't look controlled, but really looks spectacular and really looks like it hurts. That top rope leg drop was incredible and super violent. I thought there were a lot of nifty moments in this, like Shank wrapping his leg around the chain to block Knight from reaching the buckle, and Knight wrapping Shank's broken arm around the ringpost with the chain. I agree the finish was dumb, but I really enjoyed everything before that.

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New Footage Friday: VAN BUYTEN! GUJARADO! MORGAN! LOGAN!

Dave Morgan vs. Steve Logan Hamburg 1984

SR: Dave Morgan was a British worker who travelled the work and made a name for himself everywhere except Britain. I‘ve always enjoyed the little scraps and bits I‘ve seen of him, as he has that kind of subtle charisma of a rugged technician, like Osamu Kido or Shunji Kosugi. He won‘t do any of the fancier dancy bits of British wrestling, instead he‘ll throw a side suplex that looks like it requires zero cooperation and earn himself the respect of any audience he was working for without any theatrics. This was a clean match. I think Steve Logan was some young boy just starting out and making his way working the German tournaments and getting the rub by going long with a veteran here. The grappling here won‘t blow you away if you‘ve seen a lot of Euro stuff but there were some beautiful arm lock takeovers and suplexes especially from Morgan.

MD: I'd call this an excellent Morgan showcase. I don't get the sense we have a ton of matches of his but if we were trying to judge him for a Greatest Ever list, this is the sort of match we'd use to check off "carrying an able young wrestler to a multi-round draw." It was pretty clear he was directing traffic in there but he also managed to show a lot of depth and variety in what he did. The first half contained simplified versions of some of the catch holds/exchange we've been seeing lately, hanging on to an arm through multiple escape attempts, including the up and over headscissors and a second attempt at such being jammed. Logan, working from underneath, put a lot of struggle and effort into everything he attempted. There were a number of quick pin attempts and reversals here and the crowd was appreciative of everything. The match turned somewhat midway when Logan fooled Morgan on a series of cravates into a snap mare by slapping him on the shoulder. Morgan responded by this amazing stepthrough wind-up back kick to the ribs and turned up the brutalization. He had a few good suplexes and throws: a floatover, a butterfly, and a fall-away slam. He was able to flawlessly segue into some subtle comedy, getting caught up in the ropes or missing leg dives, and then into one big bump over the top off a dropkick for Logan's last flourish, before taking back over with a frustrated last attempt to put the youngster away before the time ran out. The crowd was up for everything and seemed very appreciative of the draw. Logan showed promise but this was Morgan's match.

PAS: Logan had a nice leapfrog, but as Matt and Sebastian said this was a Morgan showcase. He wasn't breaking out the super fancy mat wrestling, but everything he did looked tight and meaningful. I loved his big takedowns, really put his hips into the throws. It didn't really build to a big finish, but it was a fun chance to see what Morgan delivered.


Franz Van Buyten vs. Indio Guajaro Hamburg 1984

SR: 1980s Hamburg was a charming territory. Since we are probably going to review a lot of Hamburg stuff, I‘m going to have to state some disclaimers – not all German wrestling in the 1980s and before was run by CWA. In fact, CWA didn‘t even exist properly at this point. Hamburg was promoted by a guy named Sven Hansen and Rene Lasartesse, and it has a vibe that is slightly sleazier and raunchier than the stuff from Bremen, Hannover and Austria. Supposedly, the tent that they were running these shows in was really old and gritty, and a sizable chunk of the audience were pimps and their associates, not just from Hamburg. The crowds were pretty rowdy too, basically always yelling things like „Bash his face in!“ or „Rip off his balls!“. This was the kind of formula match that got these crowds really going, every single time. The face is the superior wrestler, the heel cheats a bit, and through lots of foul tactics it builds to a segment where the face is finally able to blow the bad guy away. Guajaro is a solid enough Colombian rudo, spitting at the audience, yelling Spanish into the mic, beating his chest and saying „I am the best!“ in German. Van Buyten must have had this exact match 500 times, but he is too brilliant to scorn him. Both guys were pretty lively here and there were some movements like rope running and leapfrogs that they didn‘t do later. The match had a good pace and an interesting finish were Franz took a big bump to the outside then Guajaro earned himself a DQ for bodyslamming van Buyten outside. Franz, of course, wants to continue fighting and we get Rene Lasartesse coming in wearing a sweater and throwing the Piratenkampf bracelets and chain into the ring and I‘ll bet the place was filled up for when Van Buyten accepted that challenge.

PAS: I enjoyed the griminess of this brawl. It started deliberately, but really picked up, with Guajardo landing hard forearms to Van Buyten's back, he really moved him with each shot. Van Buyten fired back by hitting these really cool diving bodypresses into Guajaro while Guajaro was tied in the ropes. Eventually they just spill into the crowd and wail on each other on the floor. Guajaro doesn't seem like a hidden great worker or anything, but he looks cool and brings some energy to a brawl like this. Did its job to get me excited about the Piratekamf.

MD: The more Van Buyten I see, the more I wonder if he isn't one of the greatest sellers ever. Guajaro was there to use his strength and ferocity, to take advantages and stomp and clubber, to refuse to break clean and maul Van Buyten on the outside. In the first third, Van Buyten would seize an advantage with flash and style. The middle was launched by Guajaro hitting a cheapshot double-thrust on a rope break and knocking Van Buyten over the top, following up with a slam into the post and a series of shots to the back and rib. The comeback was triumphant as usual, with Van Buyten playing chicken with the ref to dive at Guajaro before everything broke down and cards were bandied about. Guajaro didn't have to do a lot here, just be a looming dangerous presence and let Van Buyten do his thing from underneath. That was probably a good thing, but the final effect was a fun match in front of a game crowd.


Franz Van Buyten vs. Indio Guajaro Hamburg 1986

SR: We didn‘t get a new 1984 Piratenkampf, but I guess we can pretend the previous match set up this exact match. This is a match stip where even unspectacular workers like Dave Taylor or Frank Merckx can produce something pretty great. Unfortunately, that didn‘t quite happen with Guajaro here. Guajaro is a guy who is more suited for energetic, heat mongering affairs. Unfortunately, he didn‘t know to do much with this stip besides choking Franz a lot. The chokes looked nasty especially those where he dragged the chain across the mouth, but it needed a bit more inventiveness that Guajaro doesn‘t quite show here. There was some cool chain grappling early on built around gnarly endurance spots, and we DO get a great van Buyten comeback where he locks in a nasty chain choke himself before booting Guajaro in the face a bunch, even hitting a chain clad dropkick. The crowd wasn‘t into the choke-heavy body of the match but they got into it big time as they do when the fight for the flag started. Guajaro didn‘t do much in this section either so van Buyten just kind of bags the win. Still, it gets the full Piratenkampf point.

PAS: These Hamburg Piratekamf's have a specific rhythm to them, a filthy violent grinding rythm and this delivered that. Guajaro was dominant early, rubbing the chain into Van Buyten's mouth using it to pull his throat into the bottom rope, slowly torturing him. We had some great moments of leverage with Van Buyten tensing and pulling as hard as he could to keep Guajaro from the flag, and then an awesome Van Buyten comeback, with big hard shots from the wrist brace and chain and a great dropkick. Van Buyten is a really great comeback wrestler, works well with the crowd, times his spots well. He is up there with Colon and Dusty and Lawler in that 80s comeback babyface. I wanted maybe one more big exchange before Van Buyten got the flag, but otherwise this was great, and I am really happy we get to watch a bunch more of these types of unique cool matches.

MD: From my limited experience, there are different sorts of piratenkampf matches. For instance, there are the ones where the wrestlers are constantly going for the flag and then there are the ones with a lot of punishment and a big comeback. This was much more of the latter, which, on principle, I prefer. Ultimately, this was very similar to their other singles match, just enhanced by the chain. It had a lot of similar beats, with Van Buyten out-finessing Guajaro early on, getting leaned upon for the middle section, and then mounting a bit fiery comeback. I think, ultimately, the chain helped. It meant less motion but often times more viciousness. It meant that the hope spots were primarily Van Buyten pulling Guajaro off the pole, generally losing his own balance in the process so he couldn't capitalize. The comeback was a barrage of forearms by Van Buyten that were almost better than whatever he could have done with the chain and the crowd was absolutely up for it. Guajaro was much more inclined to choke with the chain than strike with it, which made for solid visuals given Van Buyten's selling, but no color of note. The finish could have used maybe a bit more oomph but again, the fans were wholly into it whenever anyone even got close to winning.

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