Tuesday is French Catch Day: Bordes! Zarak! Gonzalez! Gomez! Asquini! Mercier!

MD: We're in the 80s now, believe it or not. There's still quite a bit of footage to go. I think after we're done, I'll make yet another list that puts things in chronological order with our reviews and use that to fill in the gaps of other things that may have popped up outside of the collection. Good news for the 80s is that Sebastian has gone through most of this footage. I don't think he's been living and breathing this stuff as much as I have, so you'll get a different take on things. Which is good, as you'll see below, as I'm always a little uncomfortable being the only take on these matches. Go check out his blog which is consistently great.

Walter Bordes vs Zarak 3/1/80

MD: With the help of youtube's handy translation function I figured out a few things here. The first is that Bordes had been trying to beat Zarak for a bit but was always stymied. The second is that he had learned either through a trip to the US or just through research about the wonders of the strap match and in order to finally defeat Zarak, challenged him to one here. They even had Petit Prince guest commentate for a moment to explain it to the audience. For a minute there, I got pretty excited about it, but Zarak, rogue that he was, refused and this was just a standard match. At one point, Duranton (I think) came by with his dog and the entire production team cared more about the dog than the match. I was actually pretty high on this one and I saw more of an underlying story both in Zarak's strength vs Bordes' speed and technique and fire and in Bordes getting himself in trouble by going for Zarak's mask (or even his boot laces) later in the match when he had an advantage. This was such a heated rivalry that he lost his cool. I don't think Sebastian has it right that it ended in a DQ, but instead a time limit draw leading to the eventual strap match that we don't have. Zarak had used, mid-match, a sort of running headfirst charge which knocked Bordes off his feet. In his final comeback, Bordes started using them as well which popped the crowd huge but he missed and hit the ref for his second or third attempt at it. Again, I think it was just a warning as then the fans counted down to the bell a half minute later.

Zarak impressed me more here too, not necessarily for what he did (which was all good), but for what he did differently from when he was Batman. He worked this like he was Der Henker or one of the many masked headsman we've seen so far, with just a bit more of his theatrical panache and flair in just little motions of his hands. It's funny to think how so many of the masked wrestlers were headsmen. I'm not sure if that is a takeoff of the first, successful one or something more ingrained in the culture, in as how we had the Spoiler and Midnight Rider and Outlaw and whatever else here in the States. But I always reward a wrestler who's able to adapt in his style and mannerisms with a different character and Smith-Larsen absolutely did here. This is one of Bordes' best babyface performances too, as there was more built in animosity than usual. Some of his bumps were spectacular, flying sternum first into the corner (Even breaking the ring at one point) or out of the ring or into the crowd.

SR: 1 Fall match going a bit over 25 minutes. Zarak was a big, towering guy in a mask. It fascinates me how much masked French wrestlers look like luchadores. This Zarak guy didn‘t work like a luchador (he was a British guy, in fact), but he seemed like a decent worker. Bordes had entered the maestro portion of his career at this point, and he had quite good looking mechanics. The early portion of this was Bordes putting a hold on Zarak, Zarak powering out and Bordes really flying across the ring. Bordes even flew into the crowd like Spike Dudley later in the match. The problem with the match was that they seemed to have no ideas for a story or such, so it was your typical series of retaliation spots. Zarak had some nice punches, a knee drop to the throat and one point just kneed Bordes in the balls, but wasn‘t terribly interesting as a character. The worst thing about the match was that it ended in a stupid DQ after they ran through a series of nearfalls.

Jose Gonzalez/Pedro Gomez vs Bruno Asquini 8/14/80 

MD: Maybe as perfectly structured a tag as we've seen on the set. And we're in 1980. The long first fall with comedy with Saulnier as the ref and feeling out (with a stylist advantage) early, into the first round of heat with Saulnier missing all sorts of double teaming, a brief comeback, a second bit of heat leading into the pin and the second fall, the real hot tag and comeback and stylist win, and then a high octane, imaginative and celebratory last fall with those multiman spots that are so much fun. I don't think I could have laid it out better.

And of course, everyone, from the wrestlers to Saulnier to Couderc (shouting "Save the cameras!" late when Mercier was chasing Gomez around the ring). Gonzalez is a true hero of the footage, the successor to Inca Peruano, stooging, creative, dramatic, hard hitting, incredibly fast in feeding and bumping and in holds. He's great a putting a little twist on something normal, going high low on clubbers instead of just straight on, that sort of thing, and of course more than willing to bump himself into the ropes and choke himself. This was our first look at Gomez and I thought he was excellent chain wrestling with Asquini. Otherwise, he didn't stand out as much but he took everything clean and worked well with Gonzalez. Aqsuini, of course, is spry, probably second or third best for what he was to Carpentier and Ben Chemoul on the set, but with a patina of age and grump to him. And Mercier is the perfect all arounder, able to do the headstand twist, hard shots, a fiery comeback when he tosses one after the next into the corner. I may be more sympathetic to the Saulnier stuff than others because we know him so well and he's so small and still able to bump and plays his role well. Here, I don't think too much of the heat ended up on him. Some of the last fall stuff was new too, a couple of spots where they made one heel pin the other and counted. This didn't have the long holds of the 50s but it was much more refined from years and years of working out the style to a point which feels quite ideal to me.

SR: 2/3 Falls match going about 25 minutes. I love that France has a litany of South American rudo bases available. Structurally, this was exactly like something you‘d expect to see in Arena Mexico or Monterrey. The thing that the French crew has going for it in 1980 is that these guys are old and rugged now but still doing all the ridiculously fast armdrags. Asquini is balding and dumpy looking here but has just a beautiful dropkick. Mercier didn‘t do a ton besides hitting some great looking arm drags and stiff uppercuts, but he had a nice airplane spin and impressive old man strong military press. Gomez & Gonzalez looked good during the opening wrestling portions. Unfortunately, the rudo beatdown went a little long and they seemingly didn‘t have it in them to make up for it with a ferocious finale, although the rudos were dedicated to miscommunication spots. There was also some ref bullshit in the match, although the refs mannerisms were amusing and thankfully it never took center stage. I could see someone who has never seen French pro wrestling before digging this.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Asquini! Trujillo! Mercier! Gonzalez! Momo! Latif! Siki! Schmid!

Bruno Asquini vs Tomas Trujillo 8/21/87 

MD: We get the last eight or so of this. Trujillo is the Peruvian we've seen the last, but he's very good. He's got interesting angles to come at with his offense, plays to the crowd well, bumps big, can handle complex rope running sequences, and has the big swooping climb up armdrag, which would be better on a babyface, but still stands out. He matched up here with Asquini, who by this point was relatively old, but still worked hard and had a sort of twinkle in his eye in how he wrestled. Saulnier as ref got just a bit too involved here. The put upon, furious tiny terror gimmick has its moments but I was more interested in seeing these two match up. Trujillo actually gets the win after catching Asquino off the ropes with a quick pin. I feel like outside of a monster like Henker, we haven't seen heels win almost at all in the last decade.

Jose Gonzalez vs Guy Mercier 8/21/78

MD: I love how clean this match was narratively. Twenty minutes. Entertaining. Well worked and competitive. Ebbs and flows. Saulnier (the ref) being a bit annoying but getting plenty of comeuppance and he can't outstooge Gonzalez who was just one of the best. Mercier grounding everything like the old pro he was.

I don't do this often but let me run you through how the match was set up as it was as clean as anything I've come across in the footage match. They have a feeling out exchange where Gonzalez gets an early advantage with multiple mares and armdrags and biels but where Mercier gives him comeuppance and sends him to the outside with a reversal. Then we get an extended cravat sequence where Gonzales hangs on through multiple escape attempts as Mercier tries to escape. After he finally shrugs him off, Mercier does his spin out legpick and starts with a toehold, peppering in legdrops onto the leg and changing position. This is probably the most extended portion of the match save for the actual heat later on, as Gonzalez manages to reverse it in the ropes and then uses the ropes for leverage as Saulnier keeps missing it. We've seen tag partners work together but less of one person really using the ropes like this. Mercier is able to take back advantage with more of the same, with Saulnier getting chopped for his trouble. Gonzalez gets another shot at it, in the corner, grinding the leg over his shoulder, but Mercier konks him in the top of the head with his foot and Gonzalez bumps forward into Saulnier (second public warning on Mercier).

They reset into a go behind reversal by Mercier, who drops Gonzalez into a bodyscissors sequence, with him thudding Gonzalez down repeatedly. Eventually, he gets out, eats a monkey flip to land on his feet, poses, and Mercier dropkicks him out (and then dropkicks Saulnier twice for good measure). Gonzles sneaks back in, gets a cheapshot and starts the real heat, a lot of stomps, headlocks with punches, and bicep poses to the crowd. Eventually he ties Mercier in the ropes and they run a spot where Saulnier gets his foot stuck trying to get him out, which the crowd loves. The transition is Gonzalez missing a charge and choking himself in the ropes. That leads to Mercier tying Saulnier up in the ropes too so he can whack Gonzalez on the top of the head, sending him tumbling and stooging on the outside.

The finish is some back and forth forearms, with a Mercier advantage, Saulnier preventing Gonzalez from holding the rope to avoid a whip, a nice bit where Mercier hits a gut shot the first time and gets sunset flipped the second for a nearfall, and a third whip where he hits the armdrag slam (really nicely as he'd been looking away until a split second before) for 3. This was one of the cleanest matches I've seen narratively. It only went seventeen or so, which helped, had clear characters, and they worked nicely segmented sequences (feeling out, stylist hold advantage, heel hold advantage, stylist overcoming to regain hold advantage, stylist presses advantage into clowning, heel comes back and gets heat, stylist comes back as they go to finish), but I do sort of wonder if it's just me living in this footage for a couple of years now.

Jean-Pierre Momo vs Salah Latif 8/28/78

MD: We get the last five or six of this. It went around twenty before we got here. There's a Breton folk group in the crowd dressed up. It feels like a smaller venue. Latif had a lot of headbutt related offense, despite not looking like a guy who would. I'm not sure if the ring was slightly smaller or usual or what but there were some spots where the positioning was off and dropkicks didn't quite unravel like they should. It felt like they were working towards a draw but Latif kept going for a double underhook in the end and finally hit a sort of floatover suplex with it to score a win with a couple of minutes to go. They hit hard enough but it wasn't the smoothest match in the footage.

Mammoth Siki vs Daniel Schmid 8/29/78

MD: I expected Siki to be the face here and Schmid the heel out of previous matches, because Siki had a good reaction coming out, and because the commentary talked him up as a good guy, a former accountant, a bouncer, etc. Plus Schmid is a natural heel, a Buddy Rose analogue. He's a few years older here and I know they brought him out the last time we saw him after a injury that was either real or fake, but seemed pretty severe. Since we're up to 78, Portland could have brought him into run an angle as Buddy's cousin and it would have been the best thing in wrestling that year. He could do kip ups and rope running quite like Buddy after all. This had a lot of him working from underneath in armbars or nerve holds. Not the most exciting stuff, but he was working hard and the crowd was behind him. The Breton folk group started playing music to support him and that's exactly when he timed his comeback, which is how wrestling is supposed to work when you're not working to specific quarter hours on TV. We're at least ten years into when I started noticing the trend, but this was the clearest I've ever heard the "Bonuses", which, in this case, was when people in the crowd or local businesses rewarded things that happened by offering donations to the wrestlers, 120 francs for Schmid and less for Siki by the end, and someone even gave the ref 10. It's a uniquely French thing as I've never encountered it anywhere else, but quite common throughout the 70s. Sadly, this ended with said ref getting crushed off the ropes in a mishap and then Siki stomped him which led to the DQ. It was an ok novelty but shouldn't be the top of anyone's list to watch.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Van Buyten Brothers! Vladimir! Strogoff! Mercier! Asquini! Taysse! Viracocha! Gonzales! Trujillo!

Guy Mercier/Bruno Asquini/Gerard Taysse vs Inca Viracocha/Jo Gonzales/Tomas Trujillo 8/7/78

MD: On paper, this one may not seem so special. Some stylists (French and Italian) against the Peruvians or Spaniards. This is, however, our first real trios match. We had one previously back in 74 but that had been more of a penalty box match where the third wrestler on the stylist side didn't join until halfway in. At a glance, it doesn't seem to catch on like it did in Mexico around this time, as I don't see more of these upcoming in the footage.

That's a shame as the style was so suited for the ins and outs of traditional trios matches. There was an extra flow to the pairings in the first third, wrestlers cycling in and out, with an underlying story of Gonzales (who was wonderfully over the top here and I'm not sure I've given him enough credit overall) sort of ducking Mercier. They felt like de facto captains in the narratives. Things shifted to a fairly clear heat where Asquini and Taysse would fight back but get trapped back into the heel corner. They'd cycle in and out but the advantage stayed with the heels. Mercier got knocked off the apron a few times but didn't get in. The only real move of note here was a Trujillo slam where he fell too, landing sort of in a suplex (We still haven't seen a standing vertical one. This was more like a Snow Plow). Most of it was shots and stomps but it was all effective and drew heat.

After the first fall, they ramped the heat up more, putting a lot of it on Saulnier (being the diminutive ref, who we know well by now both as a wrestler and a ref) including him missing a hot tag to Mercier before Asquini rolled so he could make it. Mercier subsequently destroyed everyone, including Saulnier, whipping him into the corner repeatedly as he was tossing Gonzales around. The third fall had some elaborate spots including the six person at once headlock, set
up beautifully at the end by Saulnier getting in Mercier's face not to do it. They even did a spot where they pressed Mercier into a heel and counted a pin with him. Fun stuff all around, good performances, with Mercier and Gonzales standing out, and a taste of what French trios wrestling might have been if it developed further that way into the 80s. One last note, while there hasn't been a lot of week to week build in the French footage, it has happened occasionally and it looks to be happening again soon as I see the August 21, 1978 show is Asquini vs Trujillo and Gonzales vs Mercier. We should cover that next week.

Ivan Strogoff/Le Grand Vladimir vs Franz van Buyten/Daniel van Buyten 8/14/78

MD: More sound issues on this one, sorry. Unsurprisingly, it's worth watching though. Daniel is Franz' brother and works very similarly to him, including the same huge babyface comeback spot, one of the best of all time, that lunge across the ring up to the top rope to fire fists into his opponent's face. That's for the end though. This was fun with a different structure than usual. Strogoff and Vladimir were a formidable team, clubbing and leaning with armbars. The first third or so had them trying just that and Franz and Daniel out wrestling them. Ultimately though, they cut of Daniel and Strogoff put him down with a prototype of a Tiger Drive ('78 I guess).

Second fall had a pretty awesome comeback early on with Franz putting on maybe the tightest cravat I've ever seen, but Daniel ended up back in and beat upon. Delaporte was equally a jerk to everyone in this one, keeping Franz out but also pulling on Vladimir's beard when he went too far. Eventually hot tags were made and fiery comebacks were had. It eventually spilled out to the floor for a big brawl and got thrown out. These guys all matched up extremely well.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Genele! Cabrera! Mercier! Taysse! Gonzalez! Renault!

Bob Genele vs. Pedro Cabrera 3/21/74

MD: Interesting setting on this. Apparently they're somewhere on the Riviera, in a shopping center, with the ring up on stilts in a fountain in a plaza. There are palms about and occasionally we get an interesting camera angle from above. Usually, you'd see these guys in tags, but this was a singles lightweight match that went about twenty with clear face/heel leanings. The first few minutes were generally about Cabrera having advantage despite Genele's best efforts, so you knew he was going to turn things and start heeling and cheating soon enough. Genele was a Teddy Boy and had a real mean streak that got a lot of heat. As the match went on, he'd get some shots in but Cabrera would control with a headlock or short arm scissors or armbar, which they'd work in and out until Genele would have to pull the hair or get in a forearm to escape. He'd get some shots in and they'd repeat. Straightforward stuff but well worked with some quick flourishes and rope running bits and a nice repetition reversal finish. A match like this going twenty instead of thirty isn't a bad thing by any means. Cabrera was slick and this felt like a pretty good example of what a standard lightweight match of the time might be.

Guy Mercier/Gerard Taysse vs. Jo Gonzalez/Guy Renault 3/21/74

MD: Another match from the same show in the fountain. At the very end of this they teased a couple of spots where Renault almost went out, but he didn't quite. As it went on, I really thought the ref (our old friend Michel Saulnier) was going to go but nope. He did eat a lot of offense considering and he deserved it too. The first minutes of feeling out was solid wrestling, with Gonzalez working tight cravats and Mercier with headstands and even a short leg scissors at one point, but obviously the heels were going to start to play dirty. When they did, it was deep southern tag, with Mercier hot on the outside and Saulnier distracted and stopping the babyfaces to the point of putting too much heat on himself. Still, there was heat and Gonzalez and Renault were excellent at grinding down even through a couple of tags where they kept control with the numbers advantage and by distracting the ref. Occasionally here Saulnier would eat a dropkick or a punch from the babyfaces but the heels kept control through the end of the first fall. 

When it was time for Mercier to come in hot, he blew the roof off the place (if it even had one), with big shot after big shot and huge whips all around (including to Saulnier). One of the best hot tags we've seen in this, though they never go to a finish right after. Still, from that point on the stylists were definitely in it and they were able to clown the heels more and more as time went on. Mercier was one of the great French stylists, no question there, another one of those guys who knew all the tricks, hit hard, really wore his heart on his sleeve in the ring. Gonzales was one of the great stooges and villains; that's become apparently as we've gotten into the 70s. Taysse played face-in-peril well and got a few good shots in on comebacks but he and Renault were both capable but not nearly as memorable second bananas for their partners. They also had to fix the ring between the second and third falls due to its odd set up in the water. That hurt momentum a bit. If that didn't happen and if a bit more of the heat ended up on the heels and not the ref, this would have been over the top great. As it was, it was still very good.

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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.

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Batman! Inca! LeDuc, Gonzalez! Mercier! Lemarre! Marsalo!

3 on 3 series: Batman vs. Inca Viracocha, Gilbert LeDuc vs. Jo Gonzales, Jean Corne vs ??? 12/20/69

La Batman vs. Inca Viracocha

MD: This was a three on three event where they drew names (or threw names) and then went one-on-one. The announcer claimed this was a brand new thing they were trying. This was the first pairing and it was very good. Batman isn't the very best stylist we've seen but he had some size and charisma and could really hit a lot of stuff effortlessly. He had some signature spots no one else did, like his up and over to get out of a headlock. Viracocha, as we're quickly learning, may not have Peruano's flair but he was a quality cheapshot artist and stooge who could hit an extra gear on rope running and feed into all of Batman's offense. Lots of little counters and jockeying for positioning. This went a little shorter than normal given the format and ended with very rare interference from Gonzales to explain how Viracocha could take the first fall for his team.

Gilbert LeDuc vs. Jo Gonzales

MD: Gonzales (who I think was Jo) was dressed like Viracocha with the pancho and similar pants. I feel like we haven't seen LeDuc for a while, but he still knew how to work from underneath exceptionally well and had the trademark headspins. They worked some long holds where Gonzales held on well, and Gonzales certainly stooged like a champ, including teasing a hand behind his back like Mantopolous only to get kicked in the face by LeDuc who was too old for that crap. LeDuc was a real crowd pleaser, especially when he put on a leglock, whacked the knee to bring Gonzales to a seated position and then chopped him as he sat up. Repeating that a couple of times got the crowd chanting. He had all of the older French spots (like the repeated body scissors drop) and the leg whacks on the rolling leg nelson and they were all used to high effect. He took the second fall, but unfortunately we ran out of time before we could get the third: Corne vs whoever he was lined up against (which was some guy with a top hat that I never caught the name of).

Jacky Corn/Guy Mercier vs. Ted Lamarre/Jo Marsalo ?/?/70

MD: Excellent, excellent wrestling here. This was nominally stylist vs stylist with guys who were very experienced. We haven't seen too many stylist vs stylist tags. It's usually singles, and that gave this an interesting dynamic where it got heated, especially towards the end, but would lead more to holds than hard shots throughout the match. Lamarre and Marsalo were more the aggressors maybe, quicker to go mean if not dirty, with Mercier and Corn doing more of the firing back. Lots of great sequences. I thought Mercier had plenty of fun stuff, lots of leverage throws and takeovers. Lamarre kept up with his opponents and worked some of the best chinlocks I've ever seen, amazingly tight, amazingly competitive. In general, they spent a lot of the match rolling all over the place jockeying for position. Marsalo was more of a bruiser, bigger and stockier with a slam to Corn over the top rope or bearhug attempts, but the tag nature of this meant that it kept moving. Instead of Corn's usual big comeback, he built to a hot tag after the second fall and a very quick third fall which was Mercier cleaning house. Top notch match of its style and now I wish we had more stylist vs stylist tags.

PAS: Yeah this was nifty stuff, this didn't have the lighting fast exchanges of the lighter weight wrestlers, but lots of cool technical wrestling including lots of cool spots working out of Lamarre's chinlocks, and an extended short arm scissors section which is one of my favorite things in wrestling. We got some solid clubbing when it broke down a bit as well. The pacing of this was a bit weird with the long first and second falls, and the 90 second third fall, but the actual work was top notch

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