Tuesday is French Catch Day: Chaisne!! Bernaert!! Fisher Brothers!! Delaporte!! Robin!!
Jo Rinaldi vs Robert Moine 7/11/57
SR: About 13 minutes of 30 are shown. Rinaldi is said to be Italian, which of course may be a complete fabrication. Moine doesn‘t show up again, and Rinaldi only shows up in these JIP matches, which I‘m a little salty about because both guys did some quality shit here. There was a particular cool sequence centered around leglock reversals that was the brainy type stuff I associate with European style matwork. There was also a great keylock escape that lead to a giant swing. They never threw strikes and then it goes to a time limit draw without ever heating up, so I guess it was that kind of scientific match. Still, it was cool to watch.
MD: Good thirteen minutes of technical action, JIP, before the draw. Rinaldi got a little dirtier at times and Moine a bit more heated, but in general they worked this clean. For two guys we aren't going to hear much from in this project, they both looked quite good. Everything was a real struggle, with a lot of back and forth counters and escape attempts (lots of trying to kick and jam and get a leg in). They both ended up in a joint leglock at one point slapping at each other's legs and selling appropriately for a moment after. They both went for a dropkick at the same time. One would go for a nose and the other would immediately return the favor. Very even in that regard. My favorite bit was probably Rinaldi catching Moine's leg as he tried for that grounded leg stamp we've seen a bit lately and turning that catch into a giant swing. I think we get another two minutes of Rinaldi and no more Moine and that's a shame. Really, if nothing else, it just shows the high baseline level of French TV wrestling in 1957.
Michel Chaisne vs Pierre Bernaert 7/11/57
SR: 1 Fall match going a little over 20 minutes. We go from Bernaert stirring shit up in a big way against Dauthuille to Bernaert doing a surprising amount of wrestling in this match. Although he did go back to his kidney punching, neck elbowing ways soon. Bernaert doesn‘t do much to truly set my world on fire, but he is solid enough to always be good for a niggly bout. Chaisne is notable for bringing really good babyface fire. Not quite as much here as he did in his match against Dr. Adolf Kaiser, so I guess Belgian jock who acts like a massive dick isn‘t quite as stirring as evil German Doctor of Philosophy. Once again, I felt the match ended a bit abruptly. This had such a lengthy build and we see so many matches where the heel ends up bumping like a maniac all over the place that the match just ending like that made this feel like a prelim bout.
MD: I'm higher on this one than Sebastian. Bernaert is extremely entertaining to watch. He actually got me here, too. After wrestling the first seven minutes or so clean and even holding an advantage on points (he was in control more often than not, hanging on to holds and even using a pretty nice Cobra Clutch style hold), he asked for a handshake and just clocked Chaisne for huge heat. This was just a week or two after the Dauthuille match too, so I should have known better, but sometimes guys flip from week to week depending on the opponent in this footage. After that, it followed a lot of the format of the prior match, with Bernaert doing anything he could to avoid comeuppance, most especially a long short arm scissors and endless heat-drawing leg dives. This felt very self aware, with Chaisne even catching him on one attempt with a big uppercut. That was one of the big moments of Chaisne getting revenge, another being a bodyscissors reversal out of nowhere (until Bernaert bit the foot to get out), and a third being the ref catching a hairpull and letting Chaisne back into it with these huge punting knees. To me the finish seemed a little abrupt but mostly triumphant, with a big hiptoss powerslam type move off the ropes and the post match shenanigans where Bernaert just wouldn't stop and Chaisne was forced to pound the heck out of him. To me, it was all tied together. Chaisne's a good, noble, straight-laced face but Bernaert was the star of this again.
PAS: I liked this a bunch too, Chaisne is a bit dry, but he is a fine foil for demonstrative heels. Bernaert is a really skilled grappler, he really hangs on to holds and grinds on them. Of course he is a dirty cheap shot artist too, his kidney punch, show the ref the open palm is a great bit of signature heel bullshit, I could totally see Doug Gilbert or Ric Rude using it. As a confessed short arm scissors superfan, this French footage has been a godsend, loved how Chaisne kept slapping his hand to keep it from going dead. I thought the finish was a bit abrupt, but it certainly heated up at the end, and those big uppercut knees leading to it, felt like a big babyface comeback. Hell that hiptoss powerslam might have been Chaisne's version of the Diamond Cutter or something.
SR: 1 Fall match going a little over 20 minutes. We go from Bernaert stirring shit up in a big way against Dauthuille to Bernaert doing a surprising amount of wrestling in this match. Although he did go back to his kidney punching, neck elbowing ways soon. Bernaert doesn‘t do much to truly set my world on fire, but he is solid enough to always be good for a niggly bout. Chaisne is notable for bringing really good babyface fire. Not quite as much here as he did in his match against Dr. Adolf Kaiser, so I guess Belgian jock who acts like a massive dick isn‘t quite as stirring as evil German Doctor of Philosophy. Once again, I felt the match ended a bit abruptly. This had such a lengthy build and we see so many matches where the heel ends up bumping like a maniac all over the place that the match just ending like that made this feel like a prelim bout.
MD: I'm higher on this one than Sebastian. Bernaert is extremely entertaining to watch. He actually got me here, too. After wrestling the first seven minutes or so clean and even holding an advantage on points (he was in control more often than not, hanging on to holds and even using a pretty nice Cobra Clutch style hold), he asked for a handshake and just clocked Chaisne for huge heat. This was just a week or two after the Dauthuille match too, so I should have known better, but sometimes guys flip from week to week depending on the opponent in this footage. After that, it followed a lot of the format of the prior match, with Bernaert doing anything he could to avoid comeuppance, most especially a long short arm scissors and endless heat-drawing leg dives. This felt very self aware, with Chaisne even catching him on one attempt with a big uppercut. That was one of the big moments of Chaisne getting revenge, another being a bodyscissors reversal out of nowhere (until Bernaert bit the foot to get out), and a third being the ref catching a hairpull and letting Chaisne back into it with these huge punting knees. To me the finish seemed a little abrupt but mostly triumphant, with a big hiptoss powerslam type move off the ropes and the post match shenanigans where Bernaert just wouldn't stop and Chaisne was forced to pound the heck out of him. To me, it was all tied together. Chaisne's a good, noble, straight-laced face but Bernaert was the star of this again.
PAS: I liked this a bunch too, Chaisne is a bit dry, but he is a fine foil for demonstrative heels. Bernaert is a really skilled grappler, he really hangs on to holds and grinds on them. Of course he is a dirty cheap shot artist too, his kidney punch, show the ref the open palm is a great bit of signature heel bullshit, I could totally see Doug Gilbert or Ric Rude using it. As a confessed short arm scissors superfan, this French footage has been a godsend, loved how Chaisne kept slapping his hand to keep it from going dead. I thought the finish was a bit abrupt, but it certainly heated up at the end, and those big uppercut knees leading to it, felt like a big babyface comeback. Hell that hiptoss powerslam might have been Chaisne's version of the Diamond Cutter or something.
Roger Delaporte/Guy Robin vs Charles Fisher/Arthur Fisher 7/19/57
SR: 2/3 Falls match going nearly 40 minutes. JIP and the fans are already pelting the ring with garbage, enraged at the tactis of Delaporte and Robin, who were pulling every dirty trick in the book. This was an all out fight from beginning to end, no shots pulled. The Fishers did almost nothing but forearm and throw the shit out of their opponents, but it was some great looking forearms and throws. One thing I really appreciate is the chinlocking the guys will do to pull others away from a scrap, it‘s such a small detail but it aids to the barfight feel. Delaporte & Robin are constantly jumping on the Fischers 2 on 1 and it‘s natural for a 4th guy to join the fray and try pull one of these bastards off. Aside from all the guys fighting, tumbling and climbing over each other you get some nasty armwork which while not being played up in the long run leads to a pinfall. I probably liked Robin the best of all the guys in the match, he did this awesome in ring tope to break up a hold, and he was always sneaking around to kneedrop someones throat. Delaporte was no slouch either and the faces convincingly play their role. It‘s a bit hard to rate this kind of match since it‘s basically a brawl worked like a sprint going 40 minutes with 2 breaks, it didn‘t have the kind of build I am normally used to from a wrestling match where it ebbs and flows, but as a heated slugfest it was quiet great.
MD: Forty minutes of extremely fun tag team wrestling, with a great heel side and some fiery faces. The latter are the Fighting Fishers from England, and I hate to admit it, but I really can't tell them apart well. I think it's Charlie and Arthur. They portrayed a rugged enthusiasm and the crowd seemed elated every time they scored an advantage and celebrated it. So much of that was because of Delaporte. He was a promoter as well as wrestler and we have him over twenty times in this footage and I think we'll thereby have the opportunity to claim him as one of the great in-ring villains of 20th century wrestling. He comes off as a slime and a stooge, but a formidable one, cheating at almost every opportunity even if just for the sake of cheating, yet unquestionably dangerous. Robin we saw vs Hayes early on and I really liked him as Delaporte's underling here. He had a bound to his step, this eager energy. When he interfered he'd leap over the rope into the ring to do so. He was lightning fast with his spots and really dogged and persistent with his limbwork.
This had a lot of heel control, as they were very good at cheating, double-teaming, constantly helping one another and dismantling a limb. We haven't seen much limb selling in French wrestling as of yet, but it's still very effective as a means for heel control, spotted with big comebacks by the Fishers. Early on, that was Delaporte's leg stretches off the ropes (and the double team version) which we've seen before. Fisher escaped that torment by headlocking both opponents at once and peppering them with knees, clearing the ring triumphantly. There'd almost always be a great heel miscommunication spot in these comebacks too. When the heels came back, it was with Robin endlessly driving Fisher's arm down into a Fujiwara armbar. Just again and again and again with that sort of bulldogging armlock. Fisher put up with so much of this that when he made his comeback, he tried to get his licks back in instead of going for the tag and ended up pinned for his trouble. When the Fishers do come back later on, they have a lot of fun stuff like a rolling short arm scissors and a giant swing. Eventually though, the cheating (including the first time we've seen ring rope choking in this footage) is just too much for them and the heels pick up the win with a pair of nasty shoulder breakers from Delaporte. The Fishers definitely keep themselves in the minds of the crowd by standing tall and furious in the post match. These tags can be exhausting but it's because they're so full of good stuff.
PAS: Really enjoyed Robin as the Spike to Delaporte's Chester, just running in and hitting all of these pesky high energy attacks. Loved him flying in and breaking everything up with a big headbutt. Liked the finish to all three falls, the giant swing into a big stacked pin was really cool as was Delaporte's shoulder breakers. I didn't get a huge sense of the Fishers, obviously skilled but I couldn't tell them apart and they didn't have much flash. Delaporte is a real prick in these matches so far and I am looking forward to see how he evolves, we have Delaporte matches up until 1984, so we are going to a breadth of his as a wrestler and I have a feeling he ages well.
SR: 2/3 Falls match going nearly 40 minutes. JIP and the fans are already pelting the ring with garbage, enraged at the tactis of Delaporte and Robin, who were pulling every dirty trick in the book. This was an all out fight from beginning to end, no shots pulled. The Fishers did almost nothing but forearm and throw the shit out of their opponents, but it was some great looking forearms and throws. One thing I really appreciate is the chinlocking the guys will do to pull others away from a scrap, it‘s such a small detail but it aids to the barfight feel. Delaporte & Robin are constantly jumping on the Fischers 2 on 1 and it‘s natural for a 4th guy to join the fray and try pull one of these bastards off. Aside from all the guys fighting, tumbling and climbing over each other you get some nasty armwork which while not being played up in the long run leads to a pinfall. I probably liked Robin the best of all the guys in the match, he did this awesome in ring tope to break up a hold, and he was always sneaking around to kneedrop someones throat. Delaporte was no slouch either and the faces convincingly play their role. It‘s a bit hard to rate this kind of match since it‘s basically a brawl worked like a sprint going 40 minutes with 2 breaks, it didn‘t have the kind of build I am normally used to from a wrestling match where it ebbs and flows, but as a heated slugfest it was quiet great.
MD: Forty minutes of extremely fun tag team wrestling, with a great heel side and some fiery faces. The latter are the Fighting Fishers from England, and I hate to admit it, but I really can't tell them apart well. I think it's Charlie and Arthur. They portrayed a rugged enthusiasm and the crowd seemed elated every time they scored an advantage and celebrated it. So much of that was because of Delaporte. He was a promoter as well as wrestler and we have him over twenty times in this footage and I think we'll thereby have the opportunity to claim him as one of the great in-ring villains of 20th century wrestling. He comes off as a slime and a stooge, but a formidable one, cheating at almost every opportunity even if just for the sake of cheating, yet unquestionably dangerous. Robin we saw vs Hayes early on and I really liked him as Delaporte's underling here. He had a bound to his step, this eager energy. When he interfered he'd leap over the rope into the ring to do so. He was lightning fast with his spots and really dogged and persistent with his limbwork.
This had a lot of heel control, as they were very good at cheating, double-teaming, constantly helping one another and dismantling a limb. We haven't seen much limb selling in French wrestling as of yet, but it's still very effective as a means for heel control, spotted with big comebacks by the Fishers. Early on, that was Delaporte's leg stretches off the ropes (and the double team version) which we've seen before. Fisher escaped that torment by headlocking both opponents at once and peppering them with knees, clearing the ring triumphantly. There'd almost always be a great heel miscommunication spot in these comebacks too. When the heels came back, it was with Robin endlessly driving Fisher's arm down into a Fujiwara armbar. Just again and again and again with that sort of bulldogging armlock. Fisher put up with so much of this that when he made his comeback, he tried to get his licks back in instead of going for the tag and ended up pinned for his trouble. When the Fishers do come back later on, they have a lot of fun stuff like a rolling short arm scissors and a giant swing. Eventually though, the cheating (including the first time we've seen ring rope choking in this footage) is just too much for them and the heels pick up the win with a pair of nasty shoulder breakers from Delaporte. The Fishers definitely keep themselves in the minds of the crowd by standing tall and furious in the post match. These tags can be exhausting but it's because they're so full of good stuff.
PAS: Really enjoyed Robin as the Spike to Delaporte's Chester, just running in and hitting all of these pesky high energy attacks. Loved him flying in and breaking everything up with a big headbutt. Liked the finish to all three falls, the giant swing into a big stacked pin was really cool as was Delaporte's shoulder breakers. I didn't get a huge sense of the Fishers, obviously skilled but I couldn't tell them apart and they didn't have much flash. Delaporte is a real prick in these matches so far and I am looking forward to see how he evolves, we have Delaporte matches up until 1984, so we are going to a breadth of his as a wrestler and I have a feeling he ages well.
Labels: Arthur Fisher, Charles Fisher, French Catch, Guy Robin, Michel Chaisne, Pierre Bernaert, Roger Delaporte
posted by Phil @ 10:00 PM
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