Marty! You've Gotta Come Back With Me!

Marty Jones VS Terry Rudge - Joint Promotions 11/30/1976

CJD: So we went from the latest Marty Jones match I've seen in 1987 to the earliest I've seen in 1976. Unless you want to throw some of your Back To The Future time traveling Marties theories out there since you apparently thought Jones was a bright eyed babe last week. And I feel like this match has been in my future waiting for me, either possibly because of Regal specifically mentioning it on podcasts (which the 40k views would indicate), or because I'm watching a lot of these types of guys for research in my quest to find the 100 Greatest Wrestlers Ever. Either way, I kind of knew a match like this was in the horizon this week. And I wasn't really in the mood for a long for form epic like this. It took a few tries. But man did this match win me over whether I wanted it to or not. It's maybe the finest piece of escalation within the rounds system I've ever seen. So physical, so technical, and so captivating. We've talked about how important weight classes are in Britain, and with almost a 2 stone difference (2 stone John!!) this really feels like something special by the end. Enjoy baby! Just make sure you have some time to sink your teeth into this one.

JJZ: Oldest I've ever seen Marty Jones fyi. I don't know why but I keep thinking that I heard before that Rudge worked under a hood before. Different name of course. I'll agree with you that this match took me several start and stops to finish it. Parenthood interruptions, I know you know the struggle. The boston crab work was fantastic baby. One time I had to pause it and when I restarted it I went back to the start of the crab spot. I was getting major feels that this was gonna end like the Bate VS A-Kid match I played for you recently. Hmm, I think it's safe to say at this point, I've become pretty obsessed with British wrestling. This run we have been on has been probably my favorite we've ever done. All these matches have over delivered imo. Even the Big D!!!!! I ain't getting off this train yet my beautiful southern bell.

Forever Forward Fridays

Colt Cabana VS Swoggle - Zelo Pro 10/25/2018

JJZ: Colt Cabana has wrestled everyone. So my choices for this were endless. I scrolled through a lot of stuff and when I saw this Swoggle match I thought, well I don't think CJD would expect to ever watch this. The match is a silly back and forth with a lot of "OHH!" moments. I think it played good on camera but this would've been a joy to be live for. I totally popped when Swoggle came out for under the ring. Didn't see that coming at all. Hope this bout makes you smile like it did for me. For the people who think Funny don't make money I think you're wrong and I think matches like these add so much to full cards.

CJD: I do think funny can equal money, to an extent. I was really curious about this match on paper, which I'm sure is why you picked it with all those options. And Swoggle in a very unique way does fit our Forever Forward Friday theme. And I liked some of this match and laughed a few times. I didn't love this one overall though. Colt strikes me as someone who feels natural when he's actually improvising, but when he tries to sell something he has planned as off the cuff ("it's so far from it!") it comes off forced. That's probably confusing to read and I may be way off but it's the main thing I felt about this match. It felt too much like a badly written sketch and not enough like a funny wrestling match. All of that said, I have a soft spot for Swoggle because of AIW, and I did enjoy some of the exchanges. I'm kind of glad you sent this one over even if it wasn't my jam.

Forever Forward Fridays

Sammy Guevara VS Colt Cabana - Wrestle Circus 12/17/2016

CJD: Getting back to the indy focus of FFFridays. Although I did enjoy our roadside detour into Auto Luchas. I'll admit I didn't like Sammy the first few times I saw him. His charisma and bumping were undeniable but I thought he particularly suffered from a lack of guys on the indies at the time to learn and grow under. Well I know people have a variety of opinions on him in the ring but I do think Colt Cabana is a good learning tree to sit under and I thought both guys came out of this looking better for it. Funny at times but not a Colt comedy routine match, with Sammy showing personality but also playing a good straight man at times. Mostly this match gives you that living breathing indy atmosphere that's hard to capture on camera and man it makes me want to get out to a show.

JJZ: Baby boy this match was a joy! Getting to watch Colt really use his experience to school Sammy was a lot of fun. And then Sammy's athleticism to get his shit in made for one hell of a match man. You know I am a mark for Colt. Everything he has done for the independent wresting scene is incredible. I'm always rooting for him and in this match it was so easy to get his back. Sammy plays such a great little piece of shit. So when Colt shows him up I get a real kick out of it. I was highly entertained by this one mate.

I Go And Get The Big Daddy

Big Daddy/Marty Jones VS King Kong Kirk/The Samurai - Joint Promotions 1/8/1987

JJZ: I picked this match simply for the God damn ambiance. That ring! That venue! The weasel! Also within the first few secondS I liked how much energy the Big D had. This is the youngest Marty Jones match I can remember seeing also. So this match is pretty similar to your's but I did think Big Daddy had more spunk In this one. I watch a good amount of Big Daddy and I will say he has his routine and he sticks to it. Can't blame him. He was wildy successful. The heels were good in this one. Nothing over the top but they played good dickheads. Jones did a solid job. I didn't think he showed the potential of what he did become because it was so different. He got good heat on him and went to Daddy O for the pop. Entertaining 11 minutes.

CJD: This match was a lot of fun for what it was. It's funny that you say this is the youngest you've seen Marty Jones because I'm pretty sure it's the oldest I've seen him. He was the glue of this match for certain and the main reason it was as watchable as it was. I have no idea what the deal with the Samurai was. It reminds me of PY Chu Hi in Texas. Did anyone think these big fat hairy old white guys were actually Asian?? I guess before the internet anything was possible. I also get a kick out of this match because Big Daddy supposedly really disliked kids in real life. What a slice of British wrestling history right here! Very sad what would happen to Kirk shortly after this match but he was still an excellent heel as you said right up until the end.

And They Call Him Mr Wonderful

Bobby Barnes/Sid Cooper VS Big Daddy/Danny Collins - Joint Promotions 7/14/1984

CJD: I know what you're thinking John. But listen to this crowd. Watch the masterful heel performances from Cyanide Sid and Mr Wonderful Bobby Barnes (what's Paula going to have to say about that??). Watch Danny Boy Collins play his super rookie role so well. And watch Big Daddy... be Big Daddy. I honestly think I've seen one Big Daddy match previously, but this is exactly how everyone describes every Daddy match. It's predictable, it's simple, but man the crowd LOVES it. And I'm not going to lie, I popped a few times too. Barnes and Cooper are so good milking that heat for all it's worth. This is the epitome of a match we'd never have imagined playing forward 4 years ago. And you might not be as charmed by it as I was tonight. But this caught me at the right time and was too ridiculous not share with you.

JJZ: Well, this was a match I did not expect to be reviewing. Ever. This is my first Big Daddy match and your right this is everything I heard it would be. Regal talked about being in Collins' position before and how it was a good spot but he couldn't grow in it. Big Daddy had Hulk Hogan love going on for him. After the match I thought about when Colt Cabana had Truth Martini on his podcast and they both joked about not bumping in their match together. Big Daddy didn't bump once of even get punched or kicked. But yet the match had great energy. Danny, Bobby and Sid did a great job of making 11 minutes a complete story. I came out of this liking Collins, Barnes and Cooper a lot and I'm on the hunt for a more competitive Big Daddy match!!!

Flat In The Affect

Jon Cortez VS Bobby Barnes - Joint Promotions 4/11/1981

JJZ: Cigar, check. Lager, check. Finally having time to watch this match, check. I have no clue who Bobby Barnes is. But this motherfucker is smooth as silk. And if I could describe this match in one word it would be smooth. My beautiful wife who is sitting next to me me says this match feels flat in the affect. She isn't sure if the crowd is in amazement or numb to it. Just wanted to add her outsider's opinion. This match has a lot of reversals to reversals in it which leads me to believe this isn't the first time Jon and Bobby have danced in the squared circle. Love how after the first fall the aggressiveness picked up. The Bad Boy wasn't playing around in the later rounds, really trying to out tough Cortez. Really enjoyed this one baby. Hope you do also.

CJD: The original Bad Boy! Joey, eat your heart out! I also am totally ignorant of Bobby Barnes but I am instantly a fan. He is like a great character actor out of a Scorcese movie. He looks highly annoyed to have to actually wrestle, unathletic, full of himself, and dangerous all at the same time. After watching a good bit of Cortez these two weeks I'll admit, I really don't like his body contortion reversals and one upsmanship very much. However his natural babyface instincts are great otherwise, he has an uncanny knack for slow selling that builds over the course of the match. He's also great at switching momentum when you least expect it. This match was a lot of fun, it had slow chunks that I didn't love but they built meaningfully to a very satisfying conclusion. I'll agree with AZ in that I don't think this crowd is riveted but I do think they're along for the ride by the end. Now where is Quadruple B going to take me next??

Forever Forward Fridays

Myzteziz Jr VS Puma King VS Sammy Guevara - AAA 6/16/2019

JJZ: Get your popcorn ready CJD! This is one action packed contest and if you blink you're gonna miss something. I'm super familiar with all three of these gentlemen so when I saw this I said out loud, here we fucking go. This match really showed that all three are at the top of the high flying game. Puma was such a nice add to bring a little something unique to the floppy dips. The control that the wrestlers have in their aerial attack is really impressive. They make it seem effortless. This would be a prefect match to throw on to impress a non wrestling fan.

CJD: I'm not super familiar with Puma King or Myzteziz Jr, and after these two weeks of matches I'm going to keep an eye on our current FFF Champion for certain. We throw a lot of lesser known high flyers up on the blog and some stick with me more than others. Myzteziz Jr isn't the most polished but he has something about when he pops spots off perfectly that has a wow factor a lot of other high flyers are missing. I enjoyed how different this 3 way was than last week's even though they're both quick car crash style matches. Sammy's very American antics brought a different energy that was a lot of fun. He's very good at positioning everyone in busy matches like this. I didn't love the selfie spot. But I'll admit that my thought immediately was "if he can post a reel or a story while the match is still going that's super fucking impressive." I don't think he did but that has to be a spot that's happened in a match before, right? Next thing you know wrestlers will be on Zooms in the middle of matches. Has anyone ever recorded a podcast while they wrestled?? I need to get on the phone with Conrad Thompson ASAP.