The Furious Flashbacks – The Best of ITV Wrestling

The Furious Flashbacks – The Best of ITV Wrestling

“Best of” shouldn’t just be a bunch of clips. Especially if your DVD is only 90 minutes long

When I was growing up I used to go over to my grandparents house and my grandmother was crazy about wrestling. I was first introduced to the world of British wrestling by her. I clearly remember my first experiences of viewing the Good Vs Evil bouts and being chastised by my grandmother for not liking Big Daddy because he was a fat, untalented bastard. Much like when I was first introduced to North American wrestling I was immediately not into it because Hulk Hogan was the big star (what’s the appeal of a bald orange guy?) but much like many other wrestling fans I was able to look beyond the “main event” and find something else about wrestling that I loved. The rest is history and this is the history of my childhood here in the UK. You may not recognise all of these names but hopefully it’ll give you a little insight into what British wrestling used to be back in the 1980s.

Host is Dickie Davies. He tells us wresting was on TV from 1955 to 1988. Formatting is horrible. Why didn’t they just stretch it to fit the screen? Or leave the sides black?

Jackie Pallo v Ian Gilmore

From way back in 1970. The only way to describe Pallo’s ring gear is that it looks like he’s wearing somebody’s fancy underwear from 20 years previous. They’re rainbow striped and slightly baggy. Gilmore looks like he’s wearing underpants too. Pallo is an extremely controversial figure in British wrestling as it was his mid 80s book “You Grunt, I’ll Groan” that exposed the business as a work. His autobiography effectively killed the 80s wrestling boom in the UK and fans defected to the WWF & WCW soon after, which is why wrestling wasn’t on TV after 1988. Pallo ironically called himself “Mr TV” and was a big star in the 60s and 70s. It has to be said the wrestling isn’t technically good in any way. It doesn’t look convincing and its really sloppy. Pallo is at least able to position the referee for some trademark cheating. The crowd is rabid and composed mostly of little old ladies with bloodlust. The match ends with Pallo turning a victory roll into a rana over the top. Gimore’s head bounces off the apron and he nearly doesn’t make it back in. Pallo floors him with a TOMBSTONE and when Gilmore barely answers the 10 count he submits him with a headscissors. Really picked up in the later stages but its really too clipped up to judge properly. An issue this DVD release suffers from as it has no full length matches (and therefore no snowflakes).

Mick McManus v Catweazle

From 1975. McManus was a bastard of a heel. Catweazle is a babyface that I remember seeing on TV. He was based on a TV character showing that the Japanese didn’t corner the market on converting characters from elsewhere. Catweazle schools Mick with some hugely entertaining mat wrestling and then cheekily rolls him up to win the first fall. There’s stuff in here that you don’t see done much nowadays but I’m sure Colt Cabana has taken bits of it. The ref has to warn Catweazle for being overly aggressive and it gives McManus an opening to clip the knee. Half crab and that levels it up at 1-1. It was called a “single leg Boston” too. So God knows when the term Boston crab snuck over to the UK. I’m not even sure where the term comes from. Help, wrestling historians? McManus slaps the Boston Crab back on and gets his submission for the win. Very clipped up but technically better than the opener. More entertaining too.

Mick McManus v Tony St Clair

St Clair is another guy I remember seeing in my youth. I always thought it was “Sinclair” though because of how is was pronounced. English is a confusing language. McManus is really aggressive and gives Tony a shoeing before double legging him into a pin. We get some weird looking arm tosses where Tony just takes a silly bump. Then he counters one into an armdrag and repeats the double leg pin for 1-1. Most of the 2 out of 3 falls went to 1-1, which is one of the reasons why the format was scrapped. McManus comes at Tony with his towel but Tony counters and chokes him out with it. He’d be fired from the WWE for that! SAVAGE HANGOVER! St Clair blows his knee out doing it though and gets counted out. Great finish! Savage was just about 2 years into the business at that point so Tony may have done the move first.

Les Kellett v Leon Arris

Arris is better known as Brian Glover. You probably recognise him from Alien 3. Kellett is one of wrestling’s true geniuses. A comedy wrestler he also had a reputation as one of the toughest men to ever enter the squared circle. Arris starts the goofing around by forward rolling out of a hammerlock but Kellett doesn’t miss a beat and throws him across the ring with a simple change of balance. His comb over flapping about wildly. There’s no brylcream can hold that! Kellett stomps on Arris’ foot and that enrages Arris who then misses with a chop as Kellett just steps aside. Arris loses his sense of humour and goes after the neck. Kellett misses with a wild swing to bat him off and Arris rolls him up for the opening pin. Arris switches to the leg but Arris is busy talking so Kellett taps him under the jaw. Arris naturally bites his tongue. Kellett with the Figure Four, the actual one, not the one where you lie around and let your opponent turn it over. Kellett rides Arris around the ring to keep himself amused. Amazing to see whenever Kellett is knocked outside he’s helped back up by the fans and pushed back into the ring. They loved this guy and just wanted him safe. Les measures up a kick to the spine, in comical fashion, and takes a run up. Arris tries to lift the spot but Kellett ducks and he’s almost laughing too much to take advantage of the resultant opening. He’s still laughing after the 3 count. Arris gets thrown out onto the timekeepers bell. DING! Kellett crossbodies him and wins the match 2-1. Great stuff from Kellett. He would probably translate well to today’s game (in the Indies anyway).

Pat Roach v Magnificent Maurice

“Bomber” Pat Roach is one of THE big stars of UK wrestling. You’d be hard pushed to find someone from the UK and over 30 who didn’t love Pat Roach. He was a local hero where I live and was born in my town. He went on to a successful acting career and appeared in dozens of Hollywood blockbusters. Usually as a muscular bad guy who doesn’t speak. His most famous scene was perhaps scrapping with Indiana Jones around the plane in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Maurice slams him and sneaks a one fall lead in this one. You know that’s just so Roach can mount a comeback. Roach dominates from then on but from a fall down so the crowd goes mental. He gets his fall back with a powerslam. Crowd chants “easy”. Maurice looks like he should be a circus ringmaster or off training a flea circus. Roach slams him again and takes the win. Not the best of examples of Roach’s work this but he did just totally manhandle a sizeable gent and that makes him look like a star.

Pat Roach v Rex Strong

By way of apology here’s another match from Roach. Strong is also a generic heel. He sneaks in illegal punches and baits Roach into a public warning for punching back. Strong is an even bigger guy than Maurice but Roach still slams him for the first fall. He has that freakish strength that some guys just have. Strong keeps trying to sneak in punches but the ref spots one and he’s warned too. Strong gets a pin despite punching the gut during it and the crowd do NOT like that. Strong continues the cheating and rakes the eyes. Roach’s selling is AMAZING. I’m actually worried he might lose his sight. It’s totally illogical but selling makes offence credible sometimes regardless of how good the opponent is. Strong goes to the eyes again and is warned again. He’s going to get disqualified soon. Roach wants to beat him though and forearms the life out of Strong and uses that freak power to haul Strong up and slam him for the win. Genetically speaking Roach was a freak of nature and the crowds ate it up.

Kendo Nagasaki v Mike Marino

Nagasaki was a masked wrestler who lived the gimmick. He didn’t talk and he never unmasked (inside or outside the ring). He was supposed to be a samurai with hypnotic powers (yes, really). Peter Thornley was the man under the mask. If you’ve seen a Kendo Nagasaki wrestle in a Japanese show or in the USA chances are that Kazuo Sakurada who also worked the same gimmick. He spent a long time in the NWA in the 1980s. The British one was a heel who fans were desperate to see unmasked. In this one Marino picks the leg off and gets a submission. For me a samurai shouldn’t really be tapping out. Not unless his leg is falling off. But he was a heel. Marino starts to cheat as a receipt for all Kendo’s cheating and uses some illegal leglocks. Kendo gets a standing Crossface to level the falls. Eventually the ref is sick of his cheating and issues a second public warning. Next time he’s DQ’d. But you have to see him do it and Kendo tends to position the ref perfectly. So that doesn’t happen. Marino charges and Kendo POWERSLAMS HIM OVER THE TOP and NEITHER GUY SELLS IT! They repeat the spot with Marino taking a much softer bump and this time he’s counted out. Stupid.

We cut to the Wolverhampton Civic Hall where Kendo Nagasaki is going to be unmasked. The idea here being he’s not been beaten for his mask in 15 years so he’s going to unmask because he’s the best. The ceremony sees the mask burned. Thornley has a cool tattoo on the top of his head and gets a standing ovation. His eyes are red! Wicked. I’ve embedded this segment for you to get a look at the crowd reaction and everything that surrounded the unmasking.

Giant Haystacks v Kwik Kick Lee

From 1983. Haystacks flips off the audience! He was ahead of his time. I’d almost forgotten about Kwik Kick Lee. People pretended to be him in the playground. Lee is actually Japanese sensation Akira Maeda who you may know from New Japan or UWF or from the infamous renegade shoot kick on Riki Choshu. Haystacks was nearly 7 feet tall and one of the biggest men ever to compete in British wrestling. He was pushing 700lbs. WCW fans will know him as Loch Ness. He is legitimately huge and Maeda is playful enough to make this interesting. He tries to throw Haystacks over the top and chops away to the crowd’s delight. I’m not going to tell you that Haystacks was far more mobile in the UK and the WCW fans never saw the best of him but he was pretty run down by the time he appeared in the US. He gives Maeda next to nothing, slams him and drops on top. He doesn’t pin because he wants the KO so he doesn’t have to get another fall. The idle fat fucker.

Giant Haystacks v Johnny Wilson

Aw, not another one. Haystacks lumbers around but you don’t job your biggest attractions and people loved to see Haystacks take a beating. But if you job him the beating means nothing next time. Wilson gets crushed here in short order despite some babyface antics. Haystacks BOUNCED on that splash.

Big Daddy v Mighty John Quinn w/Giant Haystacks

I can’t put into words how much I hated Shirley Crabtree. He almost wrecked wrestling for me at a young age. He’s this massive fat pile of shit whose belly hangs so far over his waistline he couldn’t have seen his dick since the 50s. He has entrance music and ‘gets’ Sportz Entertainment, which is how he became a big star. This is part of a bigger feud against Giant Haystacks. The reactions for Big Daddy squashing Quinn are enormous. The crowd rushes the ring! Big Daddy barely broke a sweat.

Big Daddy v Giant Haystacks

They also have an interesting approach. Unlimited time and first to get a KO wins. They were clearly learning from the American approach to the entertainment form and Big Daddy was a legitimate draw. This is a match that was eagerly anticipated although the actuality of it isn’t as thrilling as on paper. Its just two fat blokes hugging each other. That is until the ref gets in the way and he’s bumped. Big Daddy, like the stupid babyface, checks on the ref and Haystacks jumps him. Crowd do NOT like that. Big splash misses though and the crowd are throwing stuff at him! A heated affair this one. Haystacks takes a bump over the top off a shoulderblock and he’s too fat to get back inside. And that’s your finish. Not that I’d have wanted to see anymore of that bullshit.

And that’s your program. 53 minutes. A basic look at the characters from British wrestling in the 70s and 80s.

Off to the EXTRAS menu then and there are TONNES of match clips here too. Which does rather beg the question “why”? If everything was clips why not just include this in the show? Or an alternative question; why not include some full matches on the extras?

Big Daddy v Anaconda

Anaconda looks like a criminal. He’s covered in tattoos when that meant you were a criminal (or a sailor) and not just a normal person. Big Daddy drops him on his head and wins. The manager then jumps in and gets squashed as well. Urgh. Why even put this on the DVD?

Big Daddy/Young David v Mick McManus/Steve Logan

Young David is the future British Bulldog. His job was to get beat up for 15 minutes and give the crowd their value for money. Then Big Daddy gets the hot tag and squashes both the other guys for the win. I’m fairly sure Davey Boy called Big Daddy a fat bastard and a waste of space every time he was asked about him.

Big Daddy/Bobby Bald Eagle v Wild Angus/Bull Pratt

Same again only with different wrestlers. Angus has an epic beard. That doesn’t stop him being squashed.

Big Daddy v Mississippi Mauler

Here’s an interesting one; the Mauler is better known as Kamala. Which means he can actually sell and take bumps and stuff, which makes Big Daddy 10 times more entertaining. Except this ring is TINY. Big Daddy gets too blown up to carry on and just goes to the finish.

Kendo Nagasaki v Big Daddy

Kendo was another big feud for Big Daddy. There was only really Kendo & Haystacks that had the reputation (and heel status) to be in a long term program with Big Daddy. Big Daddy tries to unmask Kendo, which isn’t very sporting and he opts to just carry him around the ring instead. Kendo lays his fat ass out with a forearm smash the commentators try to claim is illegal. Kendo decides that’s enough and runs off to the back having scored a fall. 1-0 Kendo!

Kendo Nagasaki v Lee Bronson

Kendo is vicious here and slams Bronson over the top rope. Bronson never recovers and takes the Kamikaze Crash. End of match.

Kendo Nagasaki v Big Daddy

This was part of the 1975 feud and Big Daddy pulls the mask off here but gets punched down and pinned for his troubles. Strange how they totally ignored this when they eventually unmasked him in the ceremony. 2-0 Kendo! Fuck you Shirley!

Giant Haystacks/Big Daddy v Steve Viedor/Tibor Szaak

Both big men are working heel and are WAY bigger than the babyface duo. They basically mangle them. The smaller babyfaces make a comeback though and Viedor even uses the ropes. He hits a high crossbody for the second fall. I think it was Eastern Europe somewhere, which makes it odd for this to appear on TV. The big men win eventually because of sheer size.

Giant Haystacks/Big Bruno v Big Daddy/Tony St Clair

This is the other side of the duo with them opposing each other. Its basically just a way to extend the feud by having them both crush their opponents. St Clair gets his leg taken apart but Big Daddy sneaks a punch in and St Clair falls on top of Haystacks for the win. You’ll notice Haystacks takes the fall in order to build up a fresh singles match. I expect Big Daddy’s “Big Off” against Big Bruno would have been less entertaining.

Mick McManus/Steve Logan v Kendo Nagasaki/Gorgeous George

George is Kendo’s manager rather than the more well known American. Everyone is traditionally a heel but Kendo is SUCH a heel that the crowd cheer the other two. Kendo bosses Logan but tags out while Logan gets a hot tag. George then takes a crowd friendly 2 on 1 beating. McManus puts George out with the sleeper to level it up. He quickly tags out and you’d question him coming in to begin with. Kendo puts Logan away with the Crossface and despite being basically in a handicap match Kendo wins. Stars always get the big push! Although I think 2 on 1’s don’t help anyone involved.

Fit Finlay/Rocky Moran v Marty Jones/Vic Faulkner

Finlay is SO young here. It looks like his mum cut his hair still. Marty Jones was quite good and he slaps the Powerlock on Moran for the first fall. That’s basically the Sharpshooter without turning it over. A fairly basic leglock but give it a fancy name and its over. Jones throws dropkicks around and powers Moran around. Powerlock again and Moran gives up again. 2-0 to England!

Big Daddy/Ringo Rigby v John Quinn/Rollerball Rocco

Finally we get a look at Marc Rocco. Unfortunately its just as cannon fodder for Big Daddy. He doesn’t get anything. He just bounces off. Quinn, despite his bigger size, gets virtually nothing too and is splashed for the first fall. Rigby assumes the Davey Boy role and is just there to eat up time and abuse until Big Daddy feels its time for him to win. He quits to Quinn’s backbreaker to put it over although Quinn would never be able to get the hold on a bigger man like Big Daddy. Why not get over something else that he can use against him? Psychologically speaking it doesn’t make any sense. HOT tag and Big Daddy just squashes Rollerball. Rocco gets NOTHING. Big Daddy splashes him and its over.

Wow; all those were pointless. Just bits of clips. Nice to see Rocco, Davey Boy and Kamala though.

Out of the Ring

We see Sir Jimmy Saville in the ring. He talks about how he got absolutely hammered in his first match. His opponent beats Saville down. And the ref. And the guy trying to interview Jimmy. Brutal stuff. Jackie Pallo, Marc Rocco and Mick McManus put over Les Kellett as the toughest wrestler. Pallo says he’s sooner have wrestled 3 guys if Les was in a bad mood. And that’s your lot. That’s all they got out of the interviews.

The 411: While it’s a pleasant enough trip down memory lane the footage is cut to pieces and what passed as a “documentary” or main feature was just a bunch of clipped matches. When you go to the extras its just a bunch of clipped matches. Which is sad because you don’t really get the true artistry of a wrestling match in 30 seconds worth of clips (or even 6 or 7 minutes). Just the high spots. What annoys me the most is they could have put together a half decent documentary with the interviews they had but didn’t even bother. Did they expect the audience to have a short attention span? No one under 30 is going to watch this! I’d much rather have seen some interviews with entertaining stories and history than a bunch of clips I’ve already seen. There’s maybe 90 minutes of footage here and that’s including the extras. I got more from the 3 minute long “out of the ring” segment than everything else put together. Why not embellish on that? Very disappointing DVD. There still isn’t a DVD on the market that tells the story of British wrestling. The best one was the DVD on Keith Myatt “Keith”, which gave us so much more than just bits of matches. It gave us history and a story. The history of ITV wrestling needs that in DVD form. This isn’t it.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]