Tuesday is French Catch Day: Sanniez! Sullivan! Martino! Caclard! Noirs! LeDuc! BATMAN! BATMAN! BATMAN!

Albert Sanniez/Francis Sullivan vs. Tony Martino/Bernard Caclard 10/21/67

MD: At some point in this one, you just need to stop and sit back and relax and watch the thing. We've seen some very, very good middleweight tags over the last few months and this is where I wonder if they didn't go just a little too far, well on their way to the trampoline space catch match where you know they got too far. This was full of absolutely spectacular and amazing spots, spots that we hadn't seen yet in the footage chronologically, as best as I can tell. Sanniez had a way of contorting himself upside down and back to his feet that he used to high effect. Sullivan, past his great headbutts, was a tiny burst of terror able to fly around. Martino and Calcard kept up, certainly, and based and stooged and whatever else. At times, I think it felt too cooperative which is not something I've felt about almost any match too far, though everything had oomph behind it. They were countering counters, cartwheeling, headcissoring, rana'ing and blocking 'ranas. While the fans were appreciative throughout, everything shifted somewhat around the fifteen minute mark when the heels started to act that way. Martino especially was nasty. Now, the comebacks felt more earned and the big spots felt like they were worth something. There was a bit too much of the ref asserting himself (which made things feel almost like a midget match towards the end) but the moments of triumph came to feel triumphant. This match was at its best when it felt like a match instead of an exhibition, but at least the exhibition that we got for the first half was absolutely spectacular.

SR: 2/3 falls match going about 30 minutes. This was one of my absolute favourite French matches when I first saw it, and even so much more French catch being unearthed, it still stands out head and shoulders as one of the absolute top tier tags. What made this stand out among the dozens of French face vs. Heel tags was the technical skillset of Martino and Caclard. The opening minutes were just some beautiful wrestling, just basic throws and holds executed with a unique touch, such as the guys being dragged all the way over the back on snapmares as if they were judo throws, or guys being prevented from making headscissor escapes. Martino and Caclard largely stood their ground, and the first fall was basically 20 minutes of edge of your seat lightweight wrestling with a serious competitive streak. Eventually Caclard and Martino wanted to start roughing their opponents up and tried cutting off the ring, but Sullivan and Sanniez wouldn‘t let it happen. Eventually they just let loose and start beating the shit out of their opponents. 

Sullivan was awesome, like a mini Tenryu who could also do acrobatic moves, and during the heat segments he would just explode kicking the shit out of opponents with nasty kicks to the mid section, punches and those explosive dropkicks. Caclard looked snotnosed but was quite the fucker too, and you get the sense the heels were really trying to bruise up the faces kidneys. I also really dug the use of the hammerlocks and chickenwing. So the 2nd fall has the rudos evening the score through rough methods and the 3rd fall was all out with the faces having to step up to those foul moves. The athleticism in the match was just amazing, even by the standards of French wrestling. I think both Sanniez and Sullivan had an acrobatics background and it showed as they both busted out beautiful athletic counters, dropkicks and ranas left and right. They weren‘t afraid to throw hard shots too, and so the match just became a frenzy of beautifully executed and timed sequences and brutal strike exchanges. At one point Sanniez was bouncing around hitting like a dozen dropkicks to the left and right, something that would even make most athletes throw up. They went about all this in such an elegant and seamless way as if doing this kind of match was natural for them. Total classic, and still a stone cold contender for the best of all the French tags which would pretty much make it a contender for the greatest tag of all time. Just 30 minutes of the most beautiful and violent pro wrestling ever filmed.

PAS: Wild stuff. The match was worked at a incredible pace throughout, but there were spots when they would amp it up to 11, which were some of the fastest things I have ever seen in a wrestling match. Sanniez especially could flip out of anything and land on his feet. I also really liked how it broke down into something more violent at the end, with some really sharp and nasty punches and kicks. That ability to get down and fist fight was something that really separated the magnificent French Catch lightweights with those that followed them. They were brilliant acrobats, but it wasn't just acrobatics wrestling needs that grit to really make it work. 

Gilbert Leduc/Batman vs. Blousons Noirs 12/1/67

MD: Our first hair match and maybe the most iconic Blousons match possible, with some interesting structural flourishes we just haven't seen much of. After a bit of even wrestling and babyface shine (with some unforced errors as the stylists miss a kneedrop here or there), the Blousons undo the corner protection and toss Leduc in to start the heat that'll extend past the surprisingly short first fall into the second. Just amazing tag work here as they cut off the ring and make sure to follow up every kick out or but of hope with a nasty kick to the back. As always, Manneveau is the stooge, constantly grabbing from outside and mugging and cheapshotting and Gessat is the meanest guy in the world with his shots. By taking the early fall, it means that the next twenty or so minutes has Leduc and Batman at risk of losing their hair. Ultimately, though, Leduc is able to counter an attempt at a double team and we get one of the hottest tags we've seen in all the footage. 

The second fall is very long, with Batman and Leduc having to come back from a severe disadvantage due to the beating in the first one. They'll get one up on the Blousons but then fall to cheating and double teaming until something ultimately backfires again. Here, Leduc gets to do all of his headstand spots and Batman gets to get in plenty of cartwheeling, but they almost always end up in the wrong corner and have to fight back from underneath once more. Ultimately, after the third big spot where they knock both guys out of the ring, they are able to tie up Manneveau which allows for the pin. After that, the third fall is academic and the only question is eliminating the other Blouson so the pin can actually happen. Therefore, the crowd goes nuts when Leduc runs around the ring to grab Gessat's legs from the outside preventing him from coming into break up the pin and leading to Manneveau getting shaved. There were a few moments in the second fall where it dragged just a little and they didn't quite press hard enough into the peril of the faces losing their hair, but in general, this was excellent, just an amazing, classic heel tag team performance by Manneveau and Gessat with the good guys more than holding up their end. There was more thought put into this one than normal too and it showed.

PAS: So cool to see an apuestas match from this time and this country, wager matches are one of my favorite things in wrestling history, and it is cool to see how the concept is adjusted in France. Fun dynamic with the Noirs being this killer heel tag team, nasty cheapshotters and hard hitters who have a bozo side as well. Both Batman and Leduc are escape artists, and much of the match was the Noirs trying to corral them, only to see Leduc and Batman slip out. I am a mark for LeDuc's master of the headspin spots, and he has some cool ones here, Batman is a bigger guy and he also has some very cool escapes along with some great looking dropkicks. I am used to hair matches in Mexico building to a violent climax, and this had a much more standard French Catch tag ending, with Gessat getting tripped up an Manneveau getting cradled. I would have liked to see it break down a bit more, but the work we got was very cool. 

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Tuesday is French Catch Day: Blousons Noir! Aubriot! Bayle! LeMao! Kocheski!

 Dan Aubriot/Remy Bayle vs. Le Blousons Noirs (Manuel Manneveau/Claude Gessat) 4/9/66

MD: Excellent tag, but there's no reason to expect less from Les Blousons Noirs. By this point they have the balance down perfect, especially relative to their peers, losing even, fair (but quick and stylish) exchanges, but going quick to the cheating and double teaming and controlling most of the match by controlling the ring. The comebacks were big and spectacular. The match was full of big spots like Manneveau launching Bayle out of the ring with a belly to belly or Aubriot doing this amazing sequence of hitting a handspring, headbutting one guy off the apron and then putting the other into a tapitia or the finish to the first fall where they invert the revenge spot of tying a heel up in the ropes. Once the tide turned in the second fall, it was all but over which is the big issue with some of these: long first fall, much smaller second, and tiny third, but it was still pretty satisfying. Manneveau is an all time stooge and Gessat is an absolute pitbull but they can both go and give and take it equally well. Good stuff all around.

SR: 2/3 falls match going about 25 minutes. A nice mix of Aubriot and Bayle doing some pretty outstanding wrestling and the Blousons being vicious pricks. Licked the opening tumbling a lot. Marcel Manneveau looked great as usual. Mostly because he is an absolute fucker, but also because he really knows how to pick his spots. He attacked the fingers and wrist, suplexed people over the ropes, and did about everything a ghastly French heel needs to do. This didn't turn into some brilliant frenzy like the best French tags but there was plenty of violence, plenty of quick exchanges and it was pretty lean at only about 25 minutes.

PAS: Blousons are just incredibly entertaining, vicious killers, big bumpers, goofy stooges, everything you would want from a heel team. I loved the nastiest of their arm work stomping on the elbow in a over hand wristlocks, kicking faces, landing uppercuts. Aubriot and Bayle had some really slick shit too, the Aubriot finishing run to the first fall is the kind of thing which should be giffed and sent around the internet. The bar for French Catch tags is impossibly high, but this was a real treat even if it wasn't the super high end. 

Henri LeMao vs Zadi Kocheski 4/17/66

MD: Another look at the great Henri LeMao. If the world was just we'd have another dozen of his matches. We don't. He was a wizard and with excellent takedowns, holds, counters, striking. Kochecki was a loudmouth and while it was fun to watch him get more and more frustrated as the match went on, he never came across as particularly dangerous except for the very end when he tossed LeMao out and was playing King of the Mountain.  My favorite bit was an exchange where LeMao got Kocheski caught in the ropes only to graciously let him go; Kocheski immediately followed suit by trapping LeMao in the ropes and hammering him; so, of course, LeMao got revenge by trapping him again and hitting the charging headbutts to the crowd's delight. All in all, it felt a little like a fairly equal Zoltan Boscik vs poor man's Jim Breaks. It's not that I didn't like Kocheski; he was emotive and engaged and active and really got under the crowd's skin but I think I would have rather seen both of these guys against different opponents, LeMao against someone who could hang more and Kocheski against someone who was more of a scrapper like Jacky Corn.

SR: 1 fall match going a bit over 20 minutes. This was like the prototypical face/heel match. LeMao is a balding gentleman and a brilliant technician. And Kocheski was pretty much throwing inside shots from the go. LeMao had some great technical moves and escapes and Kocheski kicked the shit out of him. The crowd got really heated, LeMao fired back in kind and a good time was had. That's about all I have to say here, but both guys looked really good.

PAS: I was into this. Really fun to watch LeMao have an answer for everything Kocheski threw at him, before Kocheski lost his temper. I especially loved LeMao's headscissors into a neck crank cool vicious twist on a spot we have seen a lot. We get a solid slugfest finish with big uppercuts and LeMao dropkicks right to Kocheski's face. Not as good as the previous LeMao match, but I am glad we got another look at him, really fun talent. 

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Tuesday is French Catch Day:Les Copains! Blousons Noir! Said! Kader! Bernaert! Double Dip of Manneveau!

MD: As promised, let's talk quickly about 1963 and 1964, and really, why we have so little from 61 on. Over at PWO, Phil Lions stopped by and told us the following:

"How come there were so few shows in 1961, you may ask? Well, in April of 1961 Maurice Herzog (the French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports at the time) put pressure on the network not to air catch anymore, because he considered it a "degrading spectacle" and wanted them to focus on other "more noble" sports such as athletics, boxing, skiing, volleyball, and basketball. Despite catch being one of its most viewed sports broadcasts, the network could no longer air it regularly so they'd only do a handful of broadcasts per year. So that explains why there's so little footage from 1961 and onward."

So we're suffering here, 60 years later, from a cultural backlash. Phil also looked through French newspapers in 1964 and found about ten TV listings for Catch, including a couple of Rikki Starr matches (including one vs Gastel), but we don't seem to have those from the archives. Hope springs eternal that they might one day show up.

If you haven't already seen Phil's article on L'Ange Blanc, go check it out. It's phenomenal: http://wrestlingclassics.com/cgi-bin/.ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=005393

Le Grand Vladimir vs. Bernard Vignal 5/16/64

MD: We'll take whatever we can get in 64, obviously, but this might not have been my first choice. It's 9 minutes JIP and fine. Vladimir is a guy who we have British footage of decades later but seeing him young is new. He hits hard (including slaps/chops at the neck), had the sort of chokes and nerve holds you'd expect, some nice throat-based offense using the ropes, and an interesting entry into a cobra clutch off the ropes I haven't seen before. Vignal is someone we've seen before, an older scrapper with the fans behind him, but this never really escalates into the slugfest you'd want it to, and it ends on a pretty lame low kick DQ. Certainly ok stuff, and we're beggers and not choosers for this year but nothing high end.

Les Copains (Dan Aubriot/Bob Plantin) vs. Blousons Noirs (Manuel Manneveau/Claude Gessat) 5/16/64

MD: If we're only going to have one full match from 64, this isn't a bad one to have. Manneveau and Gessat are such a great unit and I'm glad we get at least a few more matches with them upcoming. They are such a well-oiled machine, constantly drawing heat, constantly cheating, constantly looking for an advantage or a double team, and when it's time, feeding and stooging. We know how good Aubriot was and he lived up to that here, with flashy offense, sympathetic selling during the long FIP stretches, and fiery comebacks when he had the chance (though always cut off in the back half due to the backwork; even after he snuck the fall on a bridge, he couldn't get out of the bridge without Plantin's help). Plantin showed a lot of fire here, especially being great on the apron. After the super fast, tricked out opening exchanges and some great hold exchanges, the rest of the match was heat and more heat, with some southern tag tricks, that heavy back focus on Aubriot, and some hot tags. Finish could use just a little more weight to it, but at that point, you got the sense that the Copains were just worn down from the constant assault.

SR:2/3 falls match going about 35 minutes. The French love their tag matches. This started out as a fantastically athletic match, with guys busting out sick looking kip ups and working holds with fantastic resistance. Then it turned into a total asskicking. That was due to Manneveau and Gessat, who cut off the ring and beat their opponents like they owed them money. Aubriot and Plantin fired back like any French babyface would, with massive european uppercuts and throwing their opponents around the ring with blindingly fast headscissors. The Blousons ruled the show though, with those nasty short kicks, stomps, kneedrops to the face, and throwing hands. While Aubriot and Plantin were supposed to bring the spectacular, the Blousons had some big moves of their own, including probably the highlight of the match, a crazy headscissor counter into a huge backbreaker. The 3rd fall was just a house of fire with Aubriot and Plantin having enough and just stomping their opponents on their face. It‘s not hard to see from performances like this that the Blousons Noirs act is up there with the Anderson Bros, Misioneros de la Muerte, Ikeda and Ono etc. as an incredible heel unit.

PAS: This was killer stuff, a fine 1964 MOTY representative, even if we only have one match. Noirs have shown signs of it in the other stuff we have, but man was this a master class of showing out for the babyfaces and when given a turn just unleashing a bruising. The opening section was really fast and elaborate, reminding me of a great opening Caida in a lucha match. When it got down and dirty in got down and dirty with the babyface landing big shots and being matched with even bigger stuff Manneveau almost leaps into his uppercuts spinning the babyfaces around with them when they land. He also hit almost a springboard jumping roll up for the for the second fall. The third fall was furious stuff ending with an assault with Manneveau stomping and punching Plantin right on the throat,  he landed a disgusting knee which looked like it crushed his windpipe. The final big bodyslam almost felt like a respite. 

Arabet Said/Abdel Kader vs. Pierre Bernaert/Marcel Manneveau 1/10/65

MD: This was extremely heel-in-peril, with very few periods of extended heat, despite Bernaert and Manneveau sure trying their best and taking every opportunity. In some ways, that's a shame, because you could tell from the get go, this was a really game crowd and they would have near-rioted if there was any actual heat. At one point, some lady swipes Manneveau's leg from the outside and he barely even deserved it at that point. That's a lie. He always deserves it. What a pest. He's almost like a combination of Delaporte's mustache and smugness and willingness to show ass with Bollet's manic energy. He threw himself into everything, including bumping out of the ring repeatedly and hitting a crazy fast spinning and twisting sunset flip to win the first fall. Bernaert was more than happy to play along. He's always a great slugger and so good at being smarmy with the ref and his opponent. Said looked great here, with one extended short arm scissors bit where he kept getting each guy into it and a lot of legitimately funny stuff worked around his hard head. Kader could garner sympathy and had solid striking but he was in there to lose the advantage so Said could get it back. They built to some fun and elaborate heel miscommunication spots late. Bernaert's come a long way and Manneveau is just one of the most entertaining guys in all of the footage.

SR:2/3 falls match going about 38 minutes. This was another good match although slightly overshadowed by the above tag. Bernaert and Manneveau, the heel team, didn‘t fully let loose like the Blousons did above. There was still plenty of asskicking going on, with Arabet Said doing some fun hard head work, and we got treated to some quality wrestling from the faces including some great short arm scissors work. There was a genius moment where Mannevau from the apron tripped somebody up, who fell perfectly into a Bernaert front headlock and set him up for Manneveau to come in with several flying stomps. That is high end heel work just thrown out casually in a match that is basically a fun house show main event by the standards of this stuff.

PAS: Fun match and a look at a slightly different shade of Mannevau. He was much more of a goof here, getting caught in the ropes, spun around by armdrags, stooging for Said hard head. We never got to see him unleash the brutality he showed in the previous match, but he was great in a more overtly comedic role, as was Bernaert who just got angrier and angrier the more he got flummoxed. Love a hard skull gimmick and Said did it well, including Baernert basically breaking his arm trying to forearm him. Great week with two different but hyper enjoyable tag matches. 

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