Matt D

Chaisne liked using these big knee lifts. This was some real comeuppance. I love the sledge too. So do the fans: Duranton was not as skilled at the actual wrestling as some of the other guys, but he had lots of little flourishes, like using the foot to assist the choke here: Last one for this match: Lots to see here, from the initial camera angle, to the kicks to keep the hold, to the kick to escape it, to the haughty expression afterwards:

Nice little recoil shutdown Everything Duranton does is standoffish and dickish: The little crowd interaction of the shrug here is actually fairly unique for 1958 France: I don't think I've ever seen this quite done this way. Poor ears:

Labat apparently could use his shoulder like (what's better than Triple H and his knee?) Ok, after this I'll stop posting them; at least this one has some uppercuts too: Last match for this week is Robert Duranton vs Michel Chaisne. Duranton was a smarmy jerk who got a ton of heat. You can see the strings on this one a little more than usual, but I like how Chaisne ends up just wrenching Duranton's head around to make the hold work:

The handicap matches vs the Heenan Family are worth watching.

This is where I got the name from, btw

Who here knows Cesaro? Gulak? Someone has to start doing this: Also, the rolling leg nelson and the stuff you can do with it. I'm not asking for much here: See!

Huge 1958 spot (they had both gone for a headscissors before this): It's becoming cliche, but this is one way to escape a hold/pin, yes: You give Ami Sola just a bit of distance and he's going to running 'rana your head off.

So much to see here for a little gif. Labat fakes behind the head in order to get underneath the arm. Sola tries to go to the face to stop it. Then there's the flip and the hold: Here's Sola's attempt to get out and Labat hanging on: Great escape/trip/hold (never gets old):

Other show starts with the second Jo Labat vs Ami Sola match we have. Technician battle with some heat. We've been at this for months and months now but this is the first week where I really felt like I got it, where I really started to call spots before they happened. The ebb and the flow of the counters and escapes. Sola goes to the forearms first and Labat is just aghast. They were having a technical match and this guy, pure babyface, is going to do this? Well, he's got the grand equalizer with that cravate shoulder blast of his. More of those to come.

This stuff never gets old, especially when punctuated with a headbutt: One way to keep a guy in a hold: Last one for Asselin/Besch. We don't see these guys again. Its a shame:

Heel Pedro Morales doing a double stomp onto Inoki in 1979:

How good and how mean is this exchange? I couldn't figure out where to end this because they just keep going: Man, this match ruled:

Yup @AxB, took us a little bit to figure it out, but that's what they call heels in 1950s France. Second match on that show was Rene Asselin (Who I know nothing about, sorry) vs Moise Besch These guys work hard for every advantage: The way Asselin hangs on here on the body scissors is just amazing. I've never seen that before.

Guys, I love this so much. Debusne was a pissy, whiny, mugging heel (méchant) but he was up against another one and it was his moment: This is such a cool set up for a head twist:

Those votes hold up well too.