Tuesday is French Catch Day: Fryziuk! Batistou!

Yanneck Fryziuk vs Batistou 10/12/75

MD: We encounter once again Jean Frisuk (who we now think the best spelling of is as seen above), a Franco-Polish heavyweight who we have spattered about in the footage. This is our first look at Batistou, though he may be out there in one other match not in the collection. He is also a heavyweight, apparently a former rugby player, here noted as the son of a blacksmith and an ironworker artisan himself. He has a small band, including an accordion player out there supporting him and does come off as a sort of folk hero type. 

He's also a heavyweight and this is a pretty measured one. The advantage of a heavyweight contest is that all the shots hit harder and have more heft behind them, that all of the technique has a bit more weight to it. And you do get some of the latter as Fryziuk uses a series of clever go behinds on Batistou. Batistou counters more with raw power and headlock takeovers and the like. Fryziuk had the skill and could out wrestle Batistou but Batistou had the heart and almost childlike temper. They tease animosity as it goes, a shove out of the corner, pushing the ref away at a key moment, that sort of thing, but everyone in that crowd is waiting for things to boil over and it takes its good time to get there. When it does, it's pretty good though, especially once the band starts playing which they note is like "spinach" for him. He has one flurry towards the end that is almost worth twenty minutes of very deliberate pro wrestling to get to. Almost. 

I think, in the end, if I was in that crowd, I would have rather seen a hard hitting middleweight contest, however. The big guys are good novelty but by 75, these two at least, couldn't quite keep up. 

SR: They had a band for this that kept playing this jolly music, making it easily the most whimsical match we've seen so far. The music was fun a bit unfittin at times like when they tried to tease an intense moment and then this jolly music starts blaring. This was mostly clean wrestling throughout. They tease tempers flaring a few times but mostly calmed it back down. Only at the end did they flare tempers. These are two chunky gentleman, and it's fun to watch them do some slick and fast movements. Nothing mindblowing in terms of technique but it was all well worked and kept a good pace. Fryziuk had this leg stretch that turned Batistou upside down that was pretty great. Fun match though it felt a bit like a preliminary contest.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Don! Tejero! Mansour! Fryziuk! Bordes! Doukhan! Viracocha! Trujillo!

Juan Guil Don vs Anton Tejero 4/18/76

MD: Personally, I feel that some of the weaker matches in the set so far were those from around the turn of the 60s with the judoka guys: Calderon and Straub. There were a couple that overall worked and specific spots that worked, but it just didn't click. By the mid 70s though, things were a bit looser and maybe more allowing of entertainment, and Don was leaning hard into the Karate trend, like Sammy Lee or Ironfist Clive Myers (the real answer is very much like Eddie Hammel, who he teamed with in the UK, as opposed to let's say Kung Fu Jimmy Valiant) and this was a lot of fun.

Here, he had a thousand monkey flip variations, spin kicks, bounds through legs, handsprings; all sorts of fun stuff, plus all of this unique positioning and footwork bits and some ridiculous moments of tying Tejero up so he could whack him in the face with his foot. He also had maybe the first tope suicida we've seen? Plus he had that crazy twisting flying mare that we've only seen once or twice in all of wrestling history, I think. Tejero was as game as could be, such an amazing stooge and base, taking all of this stuff, occasionally plucking him out of mid-air into a backbreaker or laying in things when it was time to get some heat, but mostly just flying around the ring and feeding for his opponent. At times he'd mock the karate stance, and it'd be pretty funny given his look and mannerisms but then he'd walk right into a jumping double knee for his trouble. And he somehow managed to do the spot where he catches his throat in the ropes, but also had his foot caught as well. Pretty advanced stuff. Great base and a fun match even if it was entirely a showcase. People should check it out for something different though.

SR: Jon Guil Don was pretty unique. Wearing a gi, moving like a luchador and hitting spin kicks. He even hit what may have been the earliest suicide dive on film in this. This kind of made you feel like nobody would have given a shit about Tiger Mask if he was just a south american guy in a gi. The match was a Guil Don tour de force with Tejero bumping his ass off, getting almost no offense. Guil Don had enough fun, unique and highly athletic spots to make it work. Even winning the match with a martial arts kick off the top rope. There is something impressive about Don just having 10 minutes worth of stuff to run through, all smoothly. Modern wrestlers don‘t have that much. And Tejero bumped like a pro.

Emir Mansour vs Janek/Jean Fryziuk/Frisuk 4/18/76

MD: Daniel Schmid came in to see the crowd before this one with a ton of stitches on his head. Let's not focus too much on that as this was remarkable. I've never seen a wrestler quite as flexible as Manour. The things he did here were just remarkable. The first time you really see it is with a double handspring and some bridges, but it's his crazy pop ups out of strike exchanges or his matrix style dodges that are downright breathtaking. With his mustache and amiable attitude, he comes off like the promise of Leaping Lanny Poffo fulfilled. He also had a bunch of the old trips in keeping a hold or switching from one to another and even brought out the rolling leg nelson. He'd have some of Petit Prince's stepover armdrags and things too (and a rare 'rana and straight up German Suplex for the finish), but it was the rubber man ups and downs that will make you look twice, no matter how much wrestling you've seen.

Fryziuk was old and grizzled by now though a sportsman, and you can watch him get more and more frustrated. You keep hoping for it to really boil over but it's almost impossible to with Mansour popping up midway through the exchange to clobber Fryziuk. It left him looking around bewildered. He was such a game vet to take all of this and play straight man to what was going on, occasionally mean or vicious but ultimately clowned and in over his head. It was always with a twinkle though, like when he ate a dropkick out of the ring in sat in the front row or had enough and started with the ref only to get back body dropped by him. Just a fascinating piece of pro wrestling that should launch a dozen gifs. Between this and the match that proceeded it, the fans certainly got some real stylized action on this night.

PAS: Yeah this wasn't an all time great match, but it is one of those cool spectacles that French Catch delivers as well, like the Spaceman match. Mansour should become a twitter gif favorite after this match, he is really wild. I loved the spot where he just powered up to a standing position after a full bridge, and he has one of the coolest kip ups I have ever seen. Weird is cool, and he is totally unique

SR: We‘ve seen Frisuk since the 50s, so that‘s actually cool. He was a lot older and lumpier here, but he could still pretty good bumping around and working holds, considering how old and lumpy he looked. Emir was the star of this with his freaky bridge spots. The guy was built like Jerry Lawler but lord those bridge ups and weird rubber kip ups were spectacular. He didn‘t always land perfectly but he a lot of things up his sleeve. Plenty of good hold for hold work in this. Add some fun European uppercuts and a good finish and you have yourself a crackin heavyweight bout.

Gass Doukhan & Walter Bordes vs Inca Viracocha and Tomas Trujillo 5/15/76

MD: I love the notion of introducing old wrestlers before matches. Here we got Jacky Corn. More importantly, we had Bordes' amazing robe, now in color. In this post Ben Chemoul era, he's trying out different partners and Doukhan is a solid choice, playing a bit more of a trickster than usual (he also threw what I thought might be the first spear I've ever seen in this footage, but I think it was more of a spearing headbutt to the gut, which is both common in the 70s and something that needs to be used more today). This was our first look at Trujillo and he spent a lot of the time bumping and stooging about, but also had some cool stuff like step up armdrags and backbreaker out of a reverse headlock

Bordes and Viracocha matched up so well in this one, both in an initial exchange where Bordes escaped headlocks again and again and then, later on, in some great rope running, and even later Bordes threw a number of huge flying headlock takeovers. In general, he seemed to have more wild energy than I'm used to, almost to the point where he got ahead of himself sometimes. When it was time for the match to shift gears, Viracocha started whipping Bordes around by his arm with these huge sweeping throws and then the heels took over in the corner on Doukhan. Unfortunately the big comeback moment in the second fall had Bordes a bit too over-exuberant and throw a catapult too soon. Still, the fans were happy for the comeback and Bordes destroying everyone and really for all of the subsequent clowning of the bad guys as they were tossed into one another over and over. Yet another crowd pleasing tag match as part of what seems like an endless list of them.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Montreal! Henker! Corn! Leduc! Schmidt! Frisuk! Viracocha! Tejero! Ben Chemoul! Bordes!

Inca Viracocha/Anton Tejero vs Rene Ben Chemoul/Walter Bordes 1/18/73

MD: This was exceptional. So many of these Ben Chemoul and Bordes tags (and Ben Chemoul and Cesca for the six matches we have of them together before Bordes) are so, so good that it's hard to rank them but this has to be towards the top of the list. Viracocha did everything well, but Tejero was just an amazing big bumping base that had the visual of being almost Brazo like to really put it over the top. This match might set some sort of record for bumps over the top and to the floor or off the apron as Tejero just went over again and again in the first third, Bordes got absolutely killed in the second, and then the heels got their comeuppance in the last. There were some absolutely amazing sequences like Bordes getting lawn darted and bouncing into the front row only to come back on the second attempt at it with cartwheels and dropkicks as he bounded around the ring and took out both opponents.

The heat was strong and meaningful, cutting off the ring and taking out first Ben Chemoul and then Bordes, who had his back just demolished with whips and creative tosses to the floor and a huge backbreaker. He had a great bit of hope in there as he fought back in but over shot on a flying body press and got stamped out. Then the comeback was fiery and full of revenge and the final fall was hugely entertaining including a great spot where they crushed the ref between the two Peruvians and a high energy finish where Bordes leaped to the top and got his flying body press. I don't really see how this could be any better considering what they were trying to accomplish.

PAS: This was really great, felt like a classic lucha match, with Viracoeha and Tejero as big bumping, big stooging rudos, and the Chemoul and Bordes iconic technicos. Bordes was bumping big and I loved his big KO right hand, and when he went wild and started cartwheeling and flipping all over the ring. Tejero spent more time flying out of the ring then in it almost, and Bordes especially just got tossed everytime he hit the floor. Totally breezy 30 minutes, really something nearly any wrestling fan can enjoy. 

Mr. Montreal vs Der Henker 2/10/73?

MD: Big time heavyweight clash here. Henker was a big powerhouse but so was Montreal. Early on they played it up with Henker jamming Montreal's mares and headlock takeovers in a way I'm not sure I've ever seen before. It took a shoulder block (also jammed) and a rushing headbutt to the gut to even get him into a position where the headlock takeover worked. This might have been methodological at times, but there was always that sense of struggle. The first half of this was really the two of them trading holds with neither getting an advantage. Eventually Henker's inside shots won out and he did take over with nerveholds and rabbit punches. Montreal came back big, dropkicking Henker out and tossing him around the ring, but he overstretched by going to the mask. That let Henker toss him out and post him and the writing was on the wall after that. While Montreal didn't bleed, he did sell it all well enough to really get over that it was the beginning of the end. The appeal in a match like this is that guys that are bigger and stronger are showing the technical prowess. There were less in-and-out escapes but they played up the power and the struggle instead, and Montreal did go up and over out of a top wristlock into a headscissors. It was just the right amount of flash to go along with the hammering blows and the just overwrought enough battling over a test of strength or full nelson.

Jacky Corn/Gilbert LeDuc vs Daniel Schmidt/Janek/Jean Frisuk 2/10/73?

MD: This is our first look at Schmidt and the first time we've seen Frisuk (Fryziuk, called Yanek here) in ten years. And this was very good. In part it almost felt like a throwback to the 50s with some of the holds, some of the spots, and the absolute slugfest that it devolved into again and again. Schmidt and Frisuk played de facto heels, Schmidt young and spry with as much energy as anyone we've seen in this footage other than Bollet maybe, and Frisuk older, a little slower on some spots, but still able to throw fists (or forearms as it was) and grind down. I say de facto because it was clean, with LeDuc and Corn helping Frisuk up after winning the second fall and all hands getting raised after the third. They had taken the first by capitalizing quite mercilessly on Corn going over the top and when the hot tag came in the second, it was very hot. Corn and Leduc were some of the best sluggers in wrestling history and they got more than their share of revenge with one big shot after the next. Down the stretch, it was all parties firing off on each other. Basically, if you enjoy watching wrestlers throw hands, this is one of the best matches in many a year from the footage for it.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Carpentier! Duranton! Frisuk! Delaporte!

Edouard Carpentier vs. Robert Duranton 3/24/62

MD: First and foremost, let's put the flippy guy aside for a minute. This was an amazing Duranton performance. That's what I want to lead with. He based so well for everything Carpentier did. He was incredibly giving, especially for a guy so featured in the footage and who was used to controlling a lot of the tag matches we've seen him in. He spends basically the entire match stooging for Carpentier, never able to hold him down for long, getting out of his holds only to end up right back in them, and selling more and more frustration, whipping his hair up in a frenzy and charging at him only to get clowned again and again. The more upset he gets the more fury he shows, the bigger and more definitive his comeuppance. It's a Carpentier showcase and Duranton makes it work and makes it matter. That said, Carpentier does bring something unique to the table. He's unquestionably agile, able to hit handstands, handsprings, and cartwheels cleanly and organically for both big, dramatic escapes, and to shock Duranton (who sold the surprise of them perfectly), able to slug it out with fire, and with some big painful bombs like the flipping sentons and double stomp. He clearly knew how to look like a force and look like a star. So long as he had someone to work with him, like Duranton did here, there's no question that he was an immediate headliner.

SR: 1 fall match going about 25 minutes. Carpentier hasn‘t shown up on TV in 6 years. He hadn‘t lost a beat, though. This was outstanding and the best French match in a while. Going in I was wondering if Carpentier would be just another French face with some athletic moves and a hard European uppercut, but he was far more than that. He was tagging Duranton with punches from the get-go while mixing in some really graceful athletic moves. The match structure also seemed improved, as this had one of the best openings of all matches as they immediately turned up the heat. I wonder if they were very influenced by US wrestling at this point, with the punches being a focus. Carpentier really seemed on an athletic level here that even most modern wrestlers can‘t dream of. He was cartwheeling around while making it all look effortless, and everything made sense. All the side headlock control stuff was neat and flew by, and there was other cool stuff happening like Carpentier catching a Duranton strike into a seamless flying armdrag. Duranton had probably his best showing so far as he was thoroughly flamboyant and cocky and also really vicious working over Carpentier. By the end Carpentier was destroying Duranton with punch combos, big back breaking flip sentons and super vicious double stomps. I also swear he lifted him up purely by the neck for a sick looking body slam. Finish felt like a Super Dragon moment. This was a great TV bout.

PAS: Hell of a Carpentier showcase, with a very giving opponent. Carpentier would alternate striking athletic flips and counters, with sick looking jabs, hooks and body shots. Carpentier is a big guy for this footage which makes his agility even more striking. Duranton was back footed for this entire match, with Carpentier escaping every trap, and meeting every shot with a bigger nastier receipt. He based well for all of the takedowns, was great at harrumphing and getting more and more aggravated. He also takes a huge beating at the end of the match, Carpentier was fucking his back up with those flipping sentons, he gets a lot of credit for how world beating Carpentier ended up looking.

Jean Frisuk vs. Roger Delaporte 5/3/62

MD: If you ever wanted one match to really understand Roger Delaporte as a singles wrestler, here it is. Bollet may have higher highs but Delaporte is endlessly consistent, a craven, whinging, bullying, dangerous, opportunist villain, insincere in all the best ways. He'll take advantage of every moment of distraction, will shamelessly beg off to buy himself time or to pray forgiveness from the referee for any of his endless transgressions, including quite frequently pushing him out of the way so he can lay in another blow. He's one of the great bad guys of 20th century wrestling and thanks to this footage, we get to lay claim to him in a way that people could only do so through their memories or the memories of their parents and grandparents. He mustache twirling (figuratively, despite having the mustache) belongs to us now and our lives are the richer for it.

Frisuk (Fryziuk if you want) is a game opponent. He's been a slugger in the tag matches we've seen him in and he came off as a total package here, albeit one that got a little too cutesy with some of his between the legs escapes. The fans popped for it but maybe it was something he should have been doing when he was a little younger. They had a lot of time to kill and worked holds with the usual escapes and escalation. You got variations on a theme because of the regularity of certain moves that you wouldn't see today: one example is the Mascaras twist, that sort of cross-footed headscissors takeover from the ground on a standing opponent. Because it was so commonplace, they developed heel counters where they grabbed on to the ropes, which always got heat. The very best of this match, however, was when one guy was bullying the other, which happened often, or when they were slugging at one another, which happened even more, and the very best of that was when they were brawling on the floor. This had a little bit of everything: violence, comedy, technique, though I imagine not quite enough wrestling for the true purists watching this, though it's a shame we lose a little bit at the end of the first fall. The only other things that mar it to me would be Frisuk's scampering antics (not necessary for a guy who's otherwise Ronnie Garvin-esque) and that the finish in the third fall needed to be just a little more creative. Otherwise, it's a great Delaporte showcase against a well-matched opponent.

SR: 2/3 Falls match going 40 minutes. Yes, yes, it‘s long, but this was another hit. Delaporte is fascinating. He isn‘t very athletic, he won‘t do anything fancy, but he is insanely charismatic, he will brutalize opponents and he somehow has enough of a gas tank to work a 40 minute brawl without slowing down. This is heated from the get to as both guys tag each other with punches before Frisuk gets Delaporte in a spinning toe hold (a move we‘ve seen end matches) with Delaporte frantically fighting him off. They continue at a crazy pace, alternating between working holds and reversals before beating the hell out of each other some more. You are watching and thinking how on earth can this keep but, but they keep up, and it builds to an even bigger second half with both guys taking spills into the crowd and brawling on the floor, some hard slams, ref getting thrown around and lots of great slugging in out. All while Delaporte had the whole crowd in his palm with his antics. Eventually Frisuk was just hammering his fist at Delaportes face in the corner. Frisuk looked solid, hitting hard and getting hit back, I did like him slamming Roger into the mat repeatedly while in an armlock, but this was the Delaporte show. His antics, his crazy selling, his general despicableness all while like your shady used car salesman uncle. Too bad about the ending of the 1st fall being missing, but we get everything else, and it‘s quite great if you like heated crowd pleasing slugfests.

PAS: I actually think this was the better of the two matches we got this week. You don't look at these two guys and think that you are going to get a 40+ minute cardio fest from them, but this really pushed pace for a long time. I thought the build in the first half was very cool with Delaporte and Frisuk working holds and Delaporte heat seeking, but that finish run was all timer stuff. Just an epic slugfest, with both guys getting knocked into the crowd, getting tossed over the top rope and just standing in the pocket and pounding on each other. The end of the match felt like a Thrilla in Manilla war of attrition, where neither man was ever going to be the same. I love when a wrestling match gets to that visceral violent level, and they got there.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Spartacus! Schnabel! de Lasartesse! Gamain! Debuf! Rouxel! Peruano! Daidone! Charret! Frisuk!

Spartacus vs. Hans Schnabel 1/7/61

MD: We went back and found this batch which was on the list but with a labeling issue. This is one of the best five minute matches I've ever seen. Schnabel was just awesome here, super aggressive, unsportsmanlike from the get go: refusing a handshake, refusing to engage, launching kicks from the double knucklelock position, quick to go to the ropes for a break. I loved his little stooging spin sell on Spartacus' uppercuts and forearms. Spartacus was the wrestling specimen that he always is. They had a great, brisk armbar spot where Spartacus kept shrugging off Schnabel's escape attempts, and it was a lot of square-jawed revenge for Schnabel's antics past that. The finish was pretty definitive with Spartacus hitting two of those flip bombs, the second tossing Schnabel across the ring, before KOing him with one of the best shots we've seen. Five minutes of perfect pro wrestling.

PAS: This was great stuff, like an awesome WCW Pro match. You have Schnabel as this honey badger, chewing on the leg of the big boy and getting thrown around. I loved those hard headlock takeovers by Schnabel, and his slappy strike combos. Spartacus just kills him dead with the flip powerbomb, including the second one which looked like Sid killing a jobber. I also liked the one shot uppercut combo, which left Schnabel flopping like a fish on a pier. Good stuff, and I want more of both. 

Jack de Lasartesse vs. Al Gamain 1/7/61

MD: Long, complete, excellent match that leaned into Lasartesse's strengths so well with Gamain a solid and persistant foil for him. Lasartesse was a heat magnet owing to the swagger and the commitment and also to the dissonance of towering over his opponent, of being dangerous enough to cut his opponent off with a single strike at almost every moment, of being able to bully him with constant slams or toss him neck first on the top, but also being so quick to disengage, to hide in the corner, to go for a hairpull, to take over with a punch to the gut that he'd claim was an open hand. They ran a number of spots at the start where Lasartesse would use a hairpull or shortcut repeatedly only for Gamain to show him comeuppance with the same hold, ending with Gamain finally slamming him. This is the sort of heel ace vs local babyface stuff we'd see from Flair or Bockwinkel or Buddy Rose but we haven't seen it quite as much in this footage. As the match went on, it was Lasartesse using his size and scumminess to lean on Gamain and Gamain coming back big. Lasartesse was sure to sell the effects of these comebacks, favoring an arm or leg for a few minutes. Eventually, he started sneaking in the strangleholds, wearing Gamain down and battering him at every opportunity. Due to Lasartesse jawwing with the fans on the apron, Gamain got one last big comeback but rushed in too much and got tossed over the top. The fans, so incensed at Lasartesse, helped him up and tossed him back in, but it was more or less over from there, ending with the bombs away and Gamain unable to answer the count.

Jean Debuf vs. Jack Rouxel 11/10/61

MD: This was a pretty well executed sub-ten minute strongman vs jerk upstart match. All of Debuf's escapes in the first half were fun and definitive with Rouxel flying across the ring for him. He'd be quick to rush in and grab the next hold only for Debuf to completely clown him. Eventually, Rouxel had enough and just unloaded, laying in relentless shots and kicks as the ref screamed and gave him warnings and tried to pull him off. Debuf would try to get the ref out of the way but Rouxel would take advantage of that momentary distraction and hammer down some more. Eventually, Debuf got a huge bearhug out of nowhere and though Rouxel went to the eyes in the most grisly manner possible to escape once, he couldn't the second time. Nice compact, thematic match with Rouxel leaning into his role and definitely getting Debuf over as an attraction, but I disagree with Sebastian that it was better than the Spartacus vs Schnabel one. Still, we have a Rouxel tag vs Ami Sola upcoming and a singles match down the line vs Mantopolous and I'm curious to see both of those.

PAS: Very similar structure to the Spartacus match, and it is a great structure. Debuf is cut up like coke, abs, arm definition big shoulders, and early in the match he rebuffs everything that Rouxel tries, I loved him just flexing his way out of the arm bar attempt. Rouxel tries a bunch of cheap shots to take a little bit of an advantage, including a nasty headbutt and some gross eye rakes, but ends up getting ragdolled by a bearhug for the finish. I think I liked the Spartacus match a bit more too, but they were both very entertaining bits of business.

Inca Peruano/Giuseppe Daidone vs. Michel Charret/Jean Frisuk 11/10/61

MD: Nice, long example of the standard French tag with underhanded heels and fiery faces. Frisuk had more slugging blows and a great spinning toehold, while Charret seemed both more technical and more apt to just throw himself at his opponent. Peruano was, of course, the most talented guy in the world, able to come at you from any angle. In the tag setting he didn't have quite as much flash, but he made up for it with meanness and by being involved in just about everything. The heels cut off the ring and made frequent tags and involved one another in what they were doing. Daidone came off as a mean jerk who would just lean on you. Plenty of double teams and then heel miscommunication leaning to comeuppance. The bombs were big, one literal as Frisuk one the second fall with a straight up power bomb with a flipping bridge and Daidone hitting a pile driver towards the end. When the heels took their falls, it was more due to persistence and grinding down than anything else. This was good, but what you'll generally keep with you was the babyface fire (two variations) and Peruano being a constant presence.

PAS: I really liked this, French tags are of a pretty high average quality, and this had some moments which stood out above that. Peruano is a goddamn wizard one of the slickest most unique wrestlers of all time. This isn't the match you are going to show someone to sell him on Peruano, but he is almost like Negro Casas, even when he isn't a focus you can't keep your eyes off of him. Daidone was a brutal prick of a heel too, at one point he was landing these gross looking forearms to the back of Frisuk's head, and his piledriver was really nasty. Charret had a fun spot where he kept flipping out of armbars, and could also bring the heat when needed, and Frisuk was nearly spinning heads around with his uppercuts. I would have liked to see the match end on the piledriver in the third fall, it was such a huge move that anything after it felt superfluous, but that was a minor quibble in an excellent match.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Marcel Parmentier! Al Hayes! Rogers! Rene Ben Chemoul! Bob Anthony!

Marcel Parmentier vs. Jean Frisuk 5/24/57

SR: JIP with about 8 minutes shown. Not getting a full match of Parmentier is probably among the biggest misses in this footage, but at least we now know he existed. Frisuk is a good looking babyface and has good fire. I imagine if we had the build up this would be a really good match because they were both happily dishing out receipts and inside shots. I am still getting used to how violent French wrestling is compared to the British stuffs. I mean British heels are nasty but they won‘t full on running punt a downed opponent like Parmentier does here. Love Parmentiers rugged aura and these two guys killing each other with massive elbows was awesome to watch briefly.

MD: It's a crime we don't have a full Parmentier match. They beat the heck out of each other here and we can only ever assume why. It's not hard to assume, mind you, given how scummy Parmentier is, though. He was the absolute master of the leg dive out of nowhere, just throwing his body at Frisuk's legs almost every time he gets knocked down (Well, at least three). You have to love how he plays to the crowd here, when he gets the better of Frisuk (through hook or crook) and especially after he eats the loss. After that punt Sebastian mentioned, Frisuk does the absolute meanest thing we've seen yet, just ripping at Parmentier's hair and clubbing at his skull, alternating between one and the other.

PAS: What we got of this was really great, Parmentier was a scuzzy creep, and Frisuk was throwing heat at him for sure. I really liked Frisuk's headscissors takedowns, before it just broke down. Parmentier has amazing looking elbows, he just throws his whole body into each shot and land the point right on the upper jaw and ear, elbow smashes are one of the most trite things in wrestling these days, and it is cool to see them throw so well and so nastily. If we got more of this I imagine it might be in the upper tier of stuff in this footage.

Al Hayes/Ray Hunter vs. Roger Delaporte/Roger Guettier 5/24/57

SR:2/3 falls match over 30 minutes. Hayes & fellow Englishman Ray Hunter are apparently introduced as „Australians“. There is also a giant robot watching the match from the crowd whom the announcer calls a „martian“. And the French team of Delaporte (champion of France, even!) and Guettier gets a big heel reaction. All the absurdities aside, this was a very good match. The last time Hayes showed up he was a real highlight, and he is really fun here again coming up with fun counters to all the holds. It‘s funny how you can watch a ton of old French/British wrestling and still see new things. Hunter is really tall and likes to upside down chop people, so he‘s basically Baba in this match. The two Rogers won‘t blow you away if you‘ve been keeping track of all the awesome heel workers we‘ve seen in this project so far, but they did a good job working over Hayes back with Fuchi-like rope stretches, big backbreaker moves and knee drops to the spine. It builds to a pretty hot 3rd fall with the Brits masquerading as Australian going for near finish after near finish with the Frenchmen breaking up pinfalls as much as they could. I‘m not sure whether it cut off before the finish or if the deciding pinfall simply came out weird, but since that‘s all there is of this match we‘ll have to go with „came out weird“.

MD: Great tag match. Hayes did everything right here, super technical at the beginning, standing on the ropes and working the apron, being the recipient a hot tag where he got to clear house to set up the end of the first fall (more on that later), then playing face-in-peril for the rest of the match, with escalating limb-focused selling. Very complete performance. Hunter was larger than life, just towering over his opponents, especially Guettier (who was portrayed, even by the commentator, as Delaporte's little crony). We got a clear picture of Delaporte as a heel's heel here, but maybe not a complete one. There will be time for that. I really liked the bouncing leg lock off the ropes when they cut Hunter down to size, and the double teaming that followed. The heels cut off the ring well when in charge and the backwork on Hayes in the second and third falls was just picture perfect. We have a lot of tags ahead of us and the later ones we've seen haven't been so pinpoint focused. Lots of backbreakers and kneedrops and grinding over the top turnbuckle. A little more variation might have been nice but they were only developing it, so you forgive it. It's just a shame we don't get a finish (unless Delaporte running out of "public warnings" on pinfall breaks was the finish). I'm looking forward to the handfull of Bollet and Delaporte tags we get later.

PAS: Really enjoyed the Rogers here, frantic focused attack which isn't something I have seen a lot of in wrestling. They really key in on the back and work it over really well, but execute that attack with wild intensity, they were a mix of the Sheepherders and the Andersons. Loved their bouncing rope step over toe holds and all of the jamming of Hayes back into the turbuckle bolt. Hunter reminded me of Baba too, and I loved how impassioned he got going after the heels. Feels like were are missing the last minute or two, which is a shame, but what we got is really class stuff.

Rene Ben Chemoul vs. Bob Anthony 4/7/61

SR: 1 Fall match that is a little over 30 minutes long. Bob Anthony is someone we saw before in the twilight years of his career working World of Sport, and here he is in his mid 20s only a few years after making his debut. Although he didn‘t look green at all here and was doing many of the same spots as 19 years later, so I guess back then in European wrestling things changed slowly. This was a clean contest for the purists with no unfair tactics from Anthony. I‘ve noticed that while the athleticism is quite high end, French wrestling didn‘t get as brainy as the British stuff when it came to matwork. That is minor complaint though when you get 30 minutes of classy back and forth technical work. Ben Chemoul is probably at his best when he is being charismatic and uppercutting the fuck out of a stooging heel, but of course he is also a maestro and this type of match fits him like a glove. This didn‘t really kick into next gear and the finish looked a little too easy but I enjoyed it greatly.

MD: This was Sebastian's pick and it's the best AWA face vs face match you're going to see this month. Lots of working in and out of holds. The more we watch, the more familiar some things get, like using a step-over flying headscissors to get out of a long armbar. The first time we saw it, it was like lightning, now it's a familiar and welcome part of the syntax and diction of their storytelling. That said, these two had a bunch of stuff that was cool and novel, like Anthony's rolling bodyscissors and the amazing deadlift cradle slam that Ben Chemoul used to get out of it. Or Ben Chemoul's backflip out of a backhammer right into a roll up, or his escape from another one where he got his foot behind Anthony's leg and just tripped him. So simple. So good. And yeah, then there was the rolling cradle stretch. While things never got too fiery, they did escalate into strikes. Anthony as a faux Australian had this great jumping kangaroo double knee, whereas Ben Chemoul would throw these crazy combos from every angle. You wish it would have went over the top for the finish but ultimately it was just a great, hard hitting, cleanly worked technical match with more than enough sights to see along the way.

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