"Euorpean Style"?

[Guest Jimbo]

On another site, someone was talking about Doug Williams and others from England wrestling the "European style" and others like Jodie Fleisch, although a high-flyer, still incorporating it into their matches.

 

I'm not a Euro wrestling buff, but I've never heard of anything like this before.

 

Is there real a euro style (in which case, what is it?), or is this a bunch of crap?

 

Thanks.

 

EDIT: somebody please edit the title of this thread

[Guest DeputyHawk]

predominantly mat-based offense with lots of forearm uppercuts as transitions. fairly stiff. see william regal and fit finlay, and to a certain extent doug williams. it's just a less-brawling based technical style which was used throughout britain (and i guess europe) in the 60's and 70's before the dark days of 80's British TV wrestling and the more high-flying style of the FWA in the 90's.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

predominantly mat-based offense with lots of forearm uppercuts as transitions. fairly stiff. see william regal and fit finlay, and to a certain extent doug williams. it's just a less-brawling based technical style which was used throughout britain (and i guess europe) in the 60's and 70's before the dark days of 80's British TV wrestling and the more high-flying style of the FWA in the 90's.

We all know what happens when Regal & Finlay get in the ring for a match.....(Uncensored 96 anyone?_

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

The European style has lately become a trend in the US, especially in IWA Mid-South, where guys like Chris Hero, Nigel McGuinness, Arik Cannon, Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley all have it as part of their style, to varying degrees.

 

Deputyhawk has a good definition of it. You should see it used, the mat stuff gets really funky and cool.

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

Is that the style of the British Bulldogs? I saw only saw Davey Boy way pastb those days, but Mick Foley describes them as high quality tech wrestlers.

[Guest RickyB]

The style was still used a lot in 80's British TV Wrestling. Guys like Robbie Brookside, Jackie Pallo and Les Kellet used that style. Yeah, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks were fucking aweful but some 80's stuff was good to watch. Plus I still mark for Kendo Nagasaki .

 

But yeah, the old Euro style is good when the better British workers use it. All-Star and RBW are the only British promotions I know of that still prodominantly use that style. If you can get your hands on some old British Wrestling then you'll be able to see what the style is all about.

[Vanhalen 0]

If you would like to see some examples of this good style, get some UK tapes in from back around 1985 or so, when Liger(he was wrestling under a different name then, cant remember it off the top of my head) and Owen Hart were working regulary in the UK, there is some great matches to be picked up there.