Marty Jones was born on September 26, 1954 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. After being trained by Billy Robinson, Marty Jones made his pro wrestling debut in 1972, and that's also the year he first started appearing on World Of Sport Wrestling. This famous wrestling television show on ITV featured some of the very best pro wrestlers of British pro wrestling.

Marty Jones spent most of his wrestling career in Great Britain, but he also wrestled in several different countries, including Germany. At some point in the 1970s, Marty Jones was asked to go on a tour to Mexico. On June 13, 1975, after a hot feud with Perro Aguayo, Jones lost a hair vs. hair match against Aguayo at Arena Mexico.

On June 30, 1976, Marty Jones battled Mark Rocco in one of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history. These two had several other great matches against one another, including a couple of very memorable ones in 1978.

In 1977 and 1978, Jones had matches in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. In some of these matches, Marty Jones teamed with Andre the Giant. After seeing Jones wrestle in Japan, Vincent James McMahon (a.k.a. Vince McMahon Sr.) asked Jones to come wrestle in the United States. However, Jones declined the offer because the type of wrestling shown by the American wrestlers of the World Wide Wrestling Federation wasn't his thing.

In February of 1979, Jones started to spend some time in Stampede Wrestling, which was Stu Hart's famous wrestling league that was based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jones would occasionally team with Dynamite Kid, and often wrestle against Bruce and/or Bret Hart. Dynamite Kid had made Calgary his home since arriving there in April 1978. Dynamite would occasionally return to England to compete on World of Sport Wrestling, and on November 13, 1979, Marty Jones vs. Dynamite Kid had a really good match. 

In October 1982, Jones returned to NJPW for another tour. He wrestled The First Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) several times in singles and tag team matches, which included a very good singles match against Sayama on October 8, 1982 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

During one of Dynamite Kid's brief returns to England, on January 16, 1983 in Walthamstow, England, Marty Jones and Dynamite Kid had a truly great match against each other. It was a match that lasted seven rounds, and was one of the very best matches both wrestlers had wrestled in England.

On November 13, 1984, Marty Jones had a great match against Dave ‘Fit' Finlay, a wrestler from Northern Ireland. These two also had a really good match against each other on April 4, 1984 in addition to several matches that were pretty good as well. Fit Finlay ended up becoming quite a famous wrestler all over the world.

In February and March of 1985, Jones wrestled for the Japanese shoot wrestling promotion U.W.F., which was a newly formed league that featured some of the earliest examples of shoot-style pro wrestling, which essentially could be considered proto-MMA. The highlights of this excursion were a very good singles match against Nobuhiko Takada and a very good singles match against Super Tiger (Satoru Sayama). Jones wasn't a shoot wrestler per se, but combined his knowledge of amateur wrestling and catch wrestling with his World of Sport Wrestling technical style.

Most of the matches Marty Jones wrestled during his career ranged from good to great, but occasionally he had to face opponents that should merely be considered larger than life characters that appeared on the small screen, as opposed to actual good wrestlers. For instance, on June 5, 1985, Marty Jones' opponent was the 6'11” and 630-lb. Giant Haystacks. Some of you may remember Haystacks' run in WCW in 1996 as Loch Ness. And it's safe to say that it's putting it kindly to state that not many people consider Haystacks to be an actual good wrestler .

On March 5, 1987, Marty Jones wrestled against Owen Hart in a tremendous match. In spite of Owen's plane being late and there not being any time for Owen to do anything else other than getting in his wrestling gear and shake Jones' hand prior to the match, these two showed their amazing skill by having such a great match off the cuff.

The great Marty Jones never cared about gimmicks, he was all about wrestling skill. He liked to tell a story in the ring through realistic pro wrestling. This makes a lot of his matches timeless and still enjoyable even decades later. He won many titles during his career, and this confirmed that he was indeed a much respected wrestler. Even though he made many trips to different places in the world, he would always come back and make further contributions to British wrestling. In fact, over the decades, Marty Jones' contributions to British wrestling have been quite steady and consistent, further cementing his status as one of the all-time greats of British wrestling. 

In spite of having lost sight in his left eye since the age of six, Jones was able to successfully compete in the pro wrestling business, since he was top talent, both as a great wrestler and great trainer. Even though he officially never retired, it appears Marty Jones started competing less often since the mid 1990s and hasn't wrestled a match since 2003. However, he continued passing on his knowledge of this great sport in his role as a trainer.

At some point during his illustrious career, as his reputation of being an all-time great was firmly established, Marty Jones started being involved in the training of several promising wrestlers, including Lord Steven William Regal, Gabriel Kidd and also the nephews of the Dynamite Kid, Mark Billington and Tommy Billington.

Let's have a closer look at some of the most memorable matches of Marty Jones' tremendous career…

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 4/19/72 Wolverhampton, England: Marty Jones & Dane Curtis vs. Steve Haggerty & Colin Joynson. The Hornets vs. The Danger Men. 18-year old Marty Jones gave a good performance, either countering or trying to counter the offense of his heelish opponents. Whenever he had the chance, he showed some good technical offense himself. The Danger Men were good in their role of the veteran heels. This was quite an enjoyable match, especially considering this was from 1972. Very good match. ***½

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 6/30/76 Lincoln, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones 22:31 (5:00, 5:00, 5:00, 0:37, 5:00, 0:57, 0:57). An all-time great match. Judging from the footage currently available, this was one of the best matches of the 1970s, if not the best. This bout was scheduled for eight three-minute rounds. Like many great wrestlers from that era, they were both from the Manchester area. This was their third televised bout against each other. They had previously met in matches on 11/21/73 and 3/17/76, but unfortunately this footage doesn't seem to be available. In general, both men displayed some great athletic skills, and they were solid technicians. There was enough sense of a true rivalry between these two men that everything they did had roughness behind it, as if they just wanted to show the opponent they really wanted to beat them. Rocco started wrestling rougher and rougher as the bout progressed. The heat between the two escalated to the point that both men received public warnings. The referee tried to keep control of this, but it felt like it could get out of control any second, and at some point he even tripped over Jones. In the first round, it all started with them trading technical wrestling holds. They didn't allow the opponent to catch much of a breather, and they were very evenly matched, as both were of similar size at the time. Rocco had a couple of years more experience than Jones. In round 3, Rocco was a lot more aggressive than in the previous two rounds. Jones wasn't too concerned about Rocco's attitude and was ready to fight. Jones's arm wasn't in good shape by the end of round 3. In round 4, Rocco immediately went back to working over Jones' left arm and shoulder. The action went back and forth. Rocco was great both in being in control and being the aggressor yet making Jones look as good as possible in the process. Jones was great at showing fighting spirit, and had great chemistry with Rocco. Both had excellent timing and execution. *****

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 8/3/76 Bedworth, England: Marty Jones vs. Alan Wood. Marty Jones showed his tremendous technical wrestling skills, as he moved swiftly and acted effectively. He definitely outwrestled his opponent during the early stages of the bout. However, Alan ‘Tiger' Wood seemed to be motivated by Jones' enthusiasm, and managed to show some surprising flashes of excellence as well. This turned into quite the competitive bout. Jones showed appreciation for his opponent's skills, but Wood didn't have time for handshakes, and was all business. It wasn't just his great technique that made Jones so great, it was also his great understanding of doing the right thing at the right time and showing his opponent the way. He definitely had the ability to maintain sight of the bigger picture, while being able to react quickly and appropriately in the moment as well. Excellent match. ****¼   

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/30/76 Solihull, England: Marty Jones vs. Terry Rudge. The British Light Heavyweight Champion Marty Jones took on heavyweight wrestler Terry Rudge in this catchweight bout. The grappling displayed was very snug and intense. Terry Rudge was the more powerful and rough of the two, but Marty Jones was not intimated and showed tremendous confidence in his ability. Rudge played his role as the aggressor quite well. Jones was really good at balancing between putting Rudge over as a tough opponent and still maintaining a strong level of competitiveness going. They really portrayed the dynamic between the light heavyweight and the heavyweight very well, as the storytelling put over the idea so well that Jones, while focusing on his superb technique and his ability to show bursts of energy, had to show more tenacity due to facing a heavy no-nonsense opponent. Jones was very nimble and versatile, and he really was the best pro wrestler in the world in 1976. The match ended in a draw, but Rudge said after the bout about Jones that “this man is a real champion” and received much applause from the appreciative and satisfied crowd. Great match. ****½

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 7/26/78 St. Albans, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones 13:02 (3:00, 3:00, 1:20, 1:22, 3:00, 1:20). This was their fourth televised bout against each other. Unfortunately, not all of those televised bouts are currently available for viewing. Mark Rocco tried to give Marty Jones as rough of a time as possible, but Jones wouldn't surrender, and would always try to fight back. Jones was one of the most talented opponents Rocco had to face, so the way he wrestled his matches against Jones was a bit different from the way he wrestled against less talented wrestlers. Against the less talented wrestlers, Rocco had to try with all his might to make the matches good, but against Jones, Rocco knew he could use Jones' skills to his advantage, and have a spectacular bout featuring some of the most high-end wrestling seen in the wrestling world at the time. The first round featured mostly technical wrestling. In the second round, Rocco was becoming wild and out of control, viciously attacking Jones, who remained calm, cool and collected. Jones fought back in a technical manner, as he didn't want to let his emotions get the best of him. Jones managed to take the match back to the mat. Rocco would continue to be wild and aggressive. Jones almost scored a pinfall, but Rocco was still too fresh. Rocco missed a dropkick, and Jones took advantage of it. After the round was over, Rocco sneakily attacked Jones. In the third round, the high-quality work continued. The wrestling was fast-paced and energetic. They were constantly moving and coming at each other, not giving each other too much chance to recover. In this third round, Rollerball Rocco scored the first pinfall. This brought a big grin on Rocco's face, satisfied that his no-nonsense and non-crowd pleasing approach was paying off. In the fourth round, Rocco took his big upside down bump in the turnbuckle after Jones launched him. Jones was able to take advantage of Rocco's overconfidence, and scored the equalizing pinfall via a flying bodypress. In the fifth round, Jones executed a beautiful top-rope dropkick. Rocco was bumping around like a madman, something he did so well. Jones's offense looked slick and well timed. Things were getting more heated and public warnings were given to both men. It was now time for the sixth round. After a hard-fought battle, Rocco was able to pin Jones. Rocco grabbed the mic and challenged Jones for Jones' title. Jones had an even better idea, and said they should have a title vs. title match! Rocco yelled at Jones: “This belt is 200 years old, when I'm finished with you, you'll look 200 years old!” Great match. ****¾     

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 9/13/78 Woking, England, British Heavy-Middleweight Title vs. British Light-Heavyweight Title: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. This was the big title vs. title bout! The first title vs. title bout in World of Sport Wrestling history. This was their fifth televised match against each other. Marty Jones was very prepared, and had even trimmed down to make weight for this bout. He was very quick on the mat, which seemed to annoy and surprise Rocco early on in the match. Jones was so on top of his game that he almost scored a pinfall relatively early, which rattled Rocco to the point that Rocco wasn't acting as cocky as usual. Rocco still had a meanstreak and still acted heelish, though, but that was just his villainous self shining through. Overall, Rocco was definitely more cautious than usual, which was a compliment for Jones, as, in the story, Rocco clearly was concerned about the outcome of this huge title vs. title bout. Jones was very focused and alert. Both Rocco and Jones took some tremendous bumps. Jones scored the first pinfall in round 5. Rocco visibly showed that he was upset with himself for letting it happen. Rollerball Rocco showed he was all business in round 6 by scoring the equalizing fall. Rocco took a huge bump to the floor and couldn't make it back into the ring. Jones was declared the winner. This was almost on the same level of their previous matches, but it was just lacking that little bit of extra intensity that would have made it great. Excellent match. ****¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 9/26/78 Digbeth, England: Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair. They kept busy and kept moving. Execution was really good as well. This definitely was one of the best Tony St. Clair performances available on video. Especially his ability to increase his speed and urgency towards the end helped his performance a lot. Excellent match. **** 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 1/30/79 Wolverhampton, England: Marty Jones vs. Steve Logan. His tag team partner may have been a bigger star, but Steve Logan was definitely a better worker than the overrated Mick McManus. That being said, Marty Jones was definitely outwrestling Logan here. Jones' selling and offense were top-notch. His European-style uppercuts in particular looked really cool. Logan dragged the match down with his heelish behavior, but it was overall quite a worthwhile match. Good match. ***¼ 

Stampede 2/23/79 Calgary, AB Victoria Pavilion: Dynamite Kid & Marty Jones vs. Bruce Hart & Louis Laurence 5:30. Marty Jones, a good wrestler from England, was a strong tag team partner for Dynamite Kid in this match. Later that year, they would wrestle each other in England. In this tag team match in Calgary, Jones took some pretty good bumps, and Dynamite took spectacularly good bumps. Because they were focusing on being heels, we didn't really get to see Jones' technical ability. It would have been interesting to see these two team up more often though, but they only teamed up a few times during early ‘79. Just imagine an alternate timeline that has Dynamite and Jones as the British Bulldogs. Anyway, let's not focus on my fantasy booking ideas. Louis Laurence was a wrestler from Montreal, and he seemed average. Bruce Hart wasn't in this match that much. The match was relatively short, and apart from a fun heelish performance by the English team, this match was all about teasing a confrontation between Dynamite and Bruce Hart, who were in the early stages of their rivalry. It was a relatively short match, but there was some pretty good action, thanks to the work of Jones and especially Dynamite. Decent match. **½

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/13/79 Leicester, England: Dynamite Kid vs. Marty Jones 19:40. This aired 11/24/79 on WOS. This was Dynamite Kid's first match back in England since leaving in April 1978. He was almost 200 lbs at the time. Dynamite's physique clearly started looking differently, largely due to his use of steroids. Commentator Kent Walton almost couldn't believe it's the same Kid he saw over a year and a half ago. Dynamite had gained about 40lbs of muscle mass since he had left England for Northern America. Dynamite's wrestling style was getting more explosive too. Marty Jones was a very good worker. Jones was arguably Dynamite's best opponent in the 1970s, though Tatsumi Fujinami might have something to say about that. Dynamite and Jones kinda had somewhat similar styles and this made the counters interesting. Dynamite was the more explosive of the two, but Jones was the more technically sound. The match was scheduled for six five-minute rounds. Jones hit some nice knee lifts, which Dynamite bumped well for. Fifty seconds into round 4, Jones got a pinfall over Dynamite via a rollup. 2:25 into the fifth round, Dynamite executed a tremendous falling headbutt. Walton mentioned he had never seen anyone execute a headbutt like that before. He also executed a tremendous tombstone piledriver that got him a pinfall. One fall each now. It was time for the sixth and final round. Both workers executed moves with great intensity. Dynamite suplexed Jones over the top rope to the floor, and Dynamite went over the top-rope as well. The fall ended in a double count-out, and thus the match ended in a draw. Along with the great 8/17/79 match vs. Fujinami in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, this was easily one of Dynamite's most memorable matches from 1979. ****¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 12/30/80 Burnley, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. Joined in progress in round 4. Marty Jones pinned Mark Rocco to score the equalizing fall. Jones hit a tombstone piledriver and executed a somersault off the top rope onto Rocco. They both showed that winning this match would be something they truly wanted. The match ended in a draw. What is available of this match looked like the typically exciting wrestling between these two. Excellent match. ****

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 2/11/81 Bury, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. All of their matches are always slightly different, which is nice, because variety is a good thing. This match was more of a rough stompin' and brawlin' type of match with Rocco being the aggressor. This was a heated and intense bout. Jones' enthusiasm when going for a pin was similar to that of a sports team member about to have the opportunity to score a goal or points. That's the kind of thing that's often missing in today's wrestling, this enthusiasm and sport-like feel to the matches. While this was entertaining and fun to watch, this certainly wasn't showy by any means. It was a no-nonsense wrestling match that was always almost about to get out of hand, since both workers were so determined to beat the other. Jones' top-rope dropkick wasn't merely done for the sake of it or to show off, he did it in an attempt to take out Rocco by any means necessary. The crowd was also really invested in this, and Rocco even got hit by an angry woman when he was on the floor. These two bitter rivals were so obsessed with destroying each other that they both hit a tope suicida in spite of wrestling on the floor being quite illegal. The match ended in a draw. Excellent match. ****¼  

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/30/81 Catford, England: Marty Jones vs. Bret Hart. Joined in progress in round 5. Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid had come over from Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a tour. In this bout against Bret, Marty Jones scored the first fall in round 5. Bret hit a nice uppercut in round 6. After a piledriver, Bret scored the equalizing pinfall. In round 7, Bret continued to dominate with a North American-flavored offense. Jones turned things around with a vicious tombstone piledriver that Bret sold well. They attacked each other with a dropkick each. When Jones hit Bret with another dropkick, Bret went flying to the floor. Jones almost pinned Bret with a flying cross boddy press. After Bret took his sternum-first bump into the corner, Jones slingshot Bret into the corner. It was interesting to see this mixture of British and North American styles here. Bret came across like someone who definitely had the potential to be an international star. His timing and selling were particularly good. In round 8, Jones missed a kneedrop but still managed to score the pinfall soon after. Very good match. ***½ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 2/17/82 London, England Royal Albert Hall: Marty Jones vs. Caswell Martin. Caswell Martin was a wrestler who apparently was from Antigua. He showed some good wrestling skills against grappling master Marty Jones.Caswell went for a flying cross body press, but ended up plummeting to the floor. This caused the match to end somewhat abruptly after it had been building up quite well. Very good match. ***½    

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 5/5/82 Bedworth, England: Marty Jones vs. Fit Finlay. Dave ‘Fit' Finlay did more acting than wrestling here. Marty Jones stayed focused and kept doing his thing. Good match. ***  

NJPW 10/8/82 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Tiger Mask vs. Marty Jones 12:09. In spite of being a key player in his own country, English pro wrestler Marty Jones wasn't nearly as much of a big name in Japan as Dynamite Kid and Mark Rocco, the two main English foes of The First Tiger Mask. However, one can't deny that he was a great in-ring performer who was able to have really good technical matches with just about anyone. In this match, Jones did some technical stuff, but he mixed it up with some more standard heelish roughhousing. Satoru Sayama spent a great deal of this match selling for Jones' offense, but Sayama eventually won via a sunset flip. I could totally imagine that if they were given the opportunity, these two would have been able to have an excellent 20-minute match together in a World of Sport setting perhaps. What we got here was very good, but you can't help wondering if they would have been able to have a better match together. Luckily, they would have the opportunity to have a slightly better singles match in UWF in 1985. Very good match. ***½   

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 1/9/83 Crewe, England: Marty Jones vs. Fit Finlay. Dave ‘Fit' Finlay wrestled in a more serious manner this time, but it still wasn't very exciting. Good match. ***

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 1/19/83 Walthamstow, England: Dynamite Kid vs. Marty Jones 17:19 (3:00; 3:00; 1:45; 3:00; 3:00; 1:19; 2:15). This aired 2/5/83 on World of Sport. The British rounds system allows a story to be told in a different manner than most are probably used to (assuming that most fans aren't watching old school WOS Wrestling all the time). These old school World of Sport matches certainly come across as serious contests. This was a two out of three falls match scheduled for eight three-minute rounds. The first round was more a feeling out process. In the second round, Dynamite started being more aggressive. This made Marty Jones become more rugged in his approach as well. They gave each other some headbutts. Jones did a nice kip up after Dynamite tried to pin him down. Jones worked over Dynamite's left arm in the beginning of the third round. Dynamite was able to fight back for a bit, but then was caught by surprise in a small package that gave Jones the first pinfall in this match. Jones wanted to shake Dynamite's hand at the beginning of the fourth round, but Dynamite kicked him. Dynamite hit a stiff uppercut that took Jones down. While the ref was counting Jones as Jones was down, Dynamite hit him with a knee drop, which resulted in a public warning. Commentator Kent Walton explained that Dynamite is used to wrestling under completely different rules in Japan and America. Dynamite took a huge bump off a back body drop by Jones. Dynamite was then on the receiving-end of a couple of well-executed upper cuts by Jones. Early in the fifth round, Dynamite threw Jones back-first into the corner. Jones would throw Dynamite chest-first into the corner. Jones hit a beautiful double underhook suplex and almost pinned Dynamite, but Dynamite got his shoulders up. Tempers started to flare, and they hit each other even after the bell. Dynamite slammed Jones' head into the canvas and kicked Jones as he was down. The ref wanted to maintain fair play, so he gave Dynamite his second and final public warning. Dynamite got Jones down again. This time, he followed it up with a beautiful flying headbutt off the top rope. The ref reminded Dynamite that this is illegal. Dynamite executed a bodyslam on the weakened Jones and got the pinfall. Jones, who by this point in the match was now bleeding from the nose, threw Dynamite chest-first into the corner and Dynamite sold it in a spectacular way. At some point, Dynamite went for a flying headbutt again, but this time, Jones rolled away. Jones launched himself at Dynamite, and both went over the top rope to the floor. Once Dynamite was back in the ring, Jones hit a top-rope dropkick. There was some exciting back-and-forth action near the end that culminated in Jones reversing a rollup pin attempt for the win. This was a really good match, and it was good to see Dynamite in a WOS Wrestling match again. In fact, this was his final match in England that would be shown on WOS. Jones was a top quality opponent, and this match once again proved how versatile Dynamite could be as he had been excelling in Canada, Japan and England around this time in his career. Perhaps the thing that stood out most in this match was the tremendous execution by both workers. They worked this at a deliberate pace with plenty of stiffness, and it felt like every move meant something in this contest that they worked like a serious sports contest. Great match. ****¾

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling 12/7/83 Marty Jones vs. Ross Hart. Ross Hart was an important backstage member of Stampede Wrestling, as he was an important member of the TV production. However, as a wrestler, he never became as well known as some of his brothers. Grappling master Marty Jones can have a good match with almost anyone, though. Little details, like Jones showing frustration in not getting the three count, added to this match feeling more important than it was. There was an interesting moment where Ross started ramming his shoulder into Jones' mid section repeatedly while Jones was in the corner, which is not allowed on World of Sport Wrestling. Kent Walton chuckled and said: “That's not allowed over here, I'm afraid.” Ross proved to be carryable and proved that he was willing to try his best. Jones deserves credit for once again showing why he is one of the all-time greats, no matter who the opponent is. Good match. ***¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 1/25/84 Worcester, England: Marty Jones vs. Chic Cullen. Joined in progress in round 4. Marty Jones went for a methodical approach, always trying to be one step ahead in this game of human chess. Chic Cullen did well for himself here, but this wasn't one of his most energetic performances. Jones was definitely the worker of the match and rightfully was the winner. Very good match. ***½   

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 4/4/84 Blackburn, England: Marty Jones vs. Fit Finlay. Dave ‘Fit' Finlay sported a beard for this bout. Marty Jones' wrestling gear had an unusual color combination that you'd expect from someone like Dos Caras. Finlay was more focused than usual, but he wasn't showing a lot of urgency. He definitely showed a good amount of aggression, and even got a public warning, after which pretty Princess Paula told Finlay to calm down. Finlay didn't seem to listen, and whipped Jones so hard into the corner that literally the entire ring shook. Finlay bumped big for a back body drop. Jones was great as usual, but the big surprise was an exceptionally good performance by Finlay. At some point, Finlay and his Princess were arguing, but referee Jeff Kaye told Paula to leave the ring so that the wrestling could continue. Finlay lost by count-out. This story was far from over! Very good match. ***¾  

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 4/26/84 Nottingham, England: Marty Jones vs. Pete Roberts. This was joined in progress. This appeared to be the origin of the dual chanting, as the crowd was chanting loudly like a modern British crowd would. These two grapplers were going back and forth as well. Marty Jones scored the equalizing fall over ‘Destroyer' Pete Roberts. This was definitely one of the most exciting Pete Roberts matches. Jones gave a great performance. Not surprisingly, the match ended in a draw. Very good match. ***¾  

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 6/28/84 West Bromwich, England: Marty Jones vs. Black Jack Mulligan. This is NOT the Texan Blackjack Mulligan who was a Texas wrestling legend and father of Barry Windham. Instead, this Black Jack Mulligan was from Newcastle, England. He was just a mediocre brawler, but the great Marty Jones did a fantastic job of making this match better than average. In the end, Jones won the match deservingly in quite an easy manner. Decent match. **½ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/13/84 Dartford, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Fit Finlay vs. Marty Jones. Joined in progress in round 4. This match featured one of  the best performances of the career of Northern Irish wrestler Dave ‘Fit' Finlay. He was still heelish, like before, but he had an added aggression to his wrestling, and he showed a certain hunger to win the bout. He didn't overdo his heel act, and he didn't focus only on generic brawling like he would start doing later in the decade (until his surprisingly awesome run as stiff, no-nonsense brawler in WCW in the late ‘90s). In spite of Princess Paula being at ringside, Finlay was quite focused on the match. Marty Jones gave a great performance, as he emphasized how he was struggling against the champion's newfound aggression, yet being the experienced grappler that he was, he knew that there was always a chance to win the bout. Finlay's execution and timing was surprisingly good and appropriate. The energy and urgency displayed by both competitors emphasized that this was indeed a big title bout. Finlay's bumping and selling was wild. The drama and intensity kept increasing as the bout went on. At some point, Jones even leapfrogged over the referee to get in Finlay's face. This match had all the things that made old school British wrestling so great, including the wrestlers going over the top rope to the floor together and an old lady at ringside interfering when the wrestlers were on the floor. These two had good matches before, but this one was exceptionally good. We're used to seeing Jones in great matches, but where this amazingly spirited Finlay performance came from is a mystery as of this writing. Great match. ****½

UWF 2/18/85 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Marty Jones vs. Nobuhiko Takada 15:26. This wasn't the first time they wrestled each other, as they had also wrestled each other in NJPW in 1982. Marty Jones enjoyed wrestling in Japan because of the style. Jones was one of those few gaijin who enjoyed the Japanese approach of actually kicking when you kick and expecting an actual kick back. Jones was completely dominating this match versus Nobuhiko Takada, as he managed to keep Takada grounded in leglocks. Takada was fighting with all his might to escape, but Jones didn't make it easy for him. Jones combined his knowledge of amateur wrestling, catch wrestling and World of Sport Wrestling styles to create a wonderful blend of technical mat wrestling offense. Takada seemed overwhelmed, but occasionally had a good answer to the situations presented by Jones. In the end, Takada somehow managed to win via submission. This felt undeserved, but it showed that a submission win could apparently happen anytime and any place to anyone. Very good match. ***¾ 

UWF 3/2/85 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Super Tiger vs. Marty Jones 14:38. Marty Jones did a good job using his World of Sport-style grappling, which was his main strength, to his advantage. Unfortunately, that only got him so far in a UWF setting against one of the top fighters in the world. Satoru Sayama's striking really stopped Jones' momentum each time Sayama would decide to strike. Sayama's ability to fluently move from one style and strategy within the match really made this match so interesting. He managed to get Jones all fired up and excited about increasing the intensity as the bout progressed. Jones' tenacity and perseverance made it plausible that he could potentially give Sayama some serious trouble in this match. Sayama tried to escape Jones' headscissors, but Jones then quickly transitioned into a crossface chickenwing that made the crowd mark out and made Sayama run towards the ropes. Jones bumped big for Sayama's enzuigiri. Eventually, Sayama got the expected win. Very good match. ***¾   

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 3/14/85 Cannock, England: Marty Jones vs. Chic Cullen. Just like their 1/25/84 match, this was slightly underwhelming. Of course, it didn't help that the footage was joined in progress in round 4. Other than that, this was overall a very good grappling. It's just a shame that it seemed Chic Cullen didn't really get to do much in terms of offense in rounds 6 and 7, giving the match a bit of an anticlimactic feel. Good match. ***¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 6/5/85 Hyde, England: Marty Jones vs. Giant Haystacks. The 6'11”-tall, 630-lb. Giant Haystacks was a true super heavyweight giant, one of the largest wrestlers in pro wrestling history. To say that Haystacks wasn't the type of wrestler that gets mentioned often in best wrestler lists would be an understatement. In fact, he often gets mentioned in discussions about the worst wrestlers, in particular due to his infamous run in WCW in 1996 as Loch Ness. However, this made it interesting to see whether or not Marty Jones was going to exceed expectations in his quest to get something good out of the behemoth. Let's just say that Jones tried his best here and move on from there. Mediocre match. *½    

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 6/26/85 Bradford, England: Marty Jones vs. John Savage. This was joined in progress. John Savage would later become known as Johnny Smith. Marty Jones executed an amazing dropkick. Johnny showed that he definitely had potential, but Jones showed he was indeed the world champion. Johnny almost scored a surprise pinfall near the end, but Jones ended up scoring the winning pinfall soon after. Good match. ***

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 7/31/85 Telford, England: Marty Jones vs. Fit Finlay. This was Marty Jones' final match on the World of Sport Wrestling television show. Despite it being quite a good one overall, this match wasn't on the level of their great 11/13/84 match. Good match. ***¼ 

Joint Promotions 2/12/86 Hertford, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Marty Jones vs. Johnny Kincaid. Johnny Kincaid was a wrestler who was billed as being from Barbados, even though he grew up in London, England. This was the final match of his career, which had started in 1963. Kincaid was a decent wrestler, but not someone you'd put near the top of your lists of must-see British wrestlers. Marty Jones did a very good job of trying to make Kincaid look somewhat special. However, Kincaid just didn't bring enough to the table to turn his final match into an actual good wrestling match, in spite of the crowd acting like an enthusiastic soccer crowd. Okay match. **¼ 

Joint Promotions 3/18/86 Dorking, England: Marty Jones vs. Tom Tyrone. The footage of this one-fall contest was joined in progress in round 2. Tom Tyrone appeared to be quite a decent worker. Marty Jones scored the pinfall in round 3. Decent match. **¾ 

Joint Promotions 9/3/86 Southport: Marty Jones vs. Roy Regal. 18-year old Roy Regal is the wrestler who would become known worldwide as Lord Steven Regal and later William Regal. This was the first televised match of his career. Marty Jones was actually involved in the guiding of Regal's career during these earlier stages. Regal has apparently even credited Jones for turning his career around in a very positive way. For this match, there was such a difference in experience that Regal was given one fall in his favor even before the first round started. This is something very unusual, but in this case, I guess that's fair. Marty Jones did a good job of guiding and carrying the young Regal, but Regal just wasn't competitive enough yet at this stage of his career to help make this an actual good match. Still, this was an interesting piece of wrestling history. Decent match. **½    

Joint Promotions 3/5/87 Bradford, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Owen Hart vs. Marty Jones 25:54 (3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 1:40, 3:00, 3:00, 1:06, 3:00, 2:08). This was a contest for the vacant title, scheduled for twelve three-minute rounds. Owen Hart's plane was late, so they had to start the match as soon as he arrived at the building without any real preparation. They sent a taxi to the airport to pick up Owen. Then, Owen put on his wrestling gear and shook hands with Jones. The match they had was done on the fly, off the cuff. Even though it had been a while since they had wrestled each other in Canada, this was an amazing match. Marty Jones himself has said in an interview that it's one of the best matches he ever had. What's even more amazing is that this was before any of Owen's Japan tours, so the amazing ability to work an excellent match he showed here was quite impressive, as his only wrestling experience at the time was from his first few years in Calgary and his previous tour of England. Both men were careful not to make any mistakes early on, both showing a lot of respect for each other. The first round was a very technical round, in which they weren't taking too many risks. In the second round, they showed more speed, as they realized it was a good time to start trying something more daring. Round 3 and 4 were not shown. In the fifth round, Owen showed some amazing athletic skills that got him the first pinfall. During the sixth round, they kept the action going, but neither man scored a fall. Round 7 was not shown. In round 8, Owen continued to show his amazing skills, but Marty Jones used his experience to counter and score the equalizing pinfall.  In round 9, they both continued to outdo each other and challenge each other to take things one step further. Owen hit a flying elbow drop off the top, but the referee explained that this is not allowed over here. In round 10, they really pulled all the stops and did the most exciting things you could imagine at the time. With less than a minute to go in round 10, Jones managed to score the winning pinfall. Jones was the new champion! What they did really well was use the round system to their advantage, building the anticipation while also not letting the rounds system interrupt the flow, as they were able to flow their story very well throughout all the rounds in a continuous manner. Kent Walton mentioned this was “turning out to be one of the finest title bouts we've ever seen on television.” This really had the vibe of a serious sports contest in which both men pushed each other to the limits. And, perhaps most importantly, this felt like a timeless match. Great match. ****½   

Joint Promotions 10/28/87 Shrewsbury, England: Marty Jones vs. Caswell Martin. This was a slow match that lacked urgency. It was technically quite decent, though. Decent match. **½ 

Joint Promotions 1/26/88 Burnley, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Marty Jones vs. Colin Joynson. This title defense of Marty Jones against ‘Bulldog' Colin Joynson was a decent one. Decent match. **½ 

All Star Wrestling 6/8/88 Bedworth, England, Mid-Heavyweight Title: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. These two were both a few years removed from their peak years. Good match. ***

10/20/90 Aberdeen, Scotland, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Marty Jones vs. Danny Collins. British wrestling was no longer televised nationally at this point. WWF's sports-entertainment had taken over as the main pro wrestling alternative. This match between Marty Jones and Danny ‘Boy' Collins was from a regional Scottish show that was taped and aired on TV in Scotland. The match was slow, but the work was good. By this point, this was probably about as good as it would get for British wrestling. Decent match. **½ 

Ffederasiwn Reslo Cymru Reslo TV 2/6/91 Llantrissant, Wales: Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair. Even though British wrestling was no longer televised nationally, the Welsh pro wrestling product of Ffederasiwn Reslo Cymru was still being shown in Wales as part of the Reslo TV show. This was a slow match, but it was solid overall. Decent match. **¾ 

Ffederasiwn Reslo Cymru Reslo TV 3/7/91 Beaumaris, Wales, Cage Match: Marty Jones vs. Skull Murphy. This cage resembled the WWF PPV-era type of steel cage, which means it was the blue bars type of steel cage, not the mesh type. Marty Jones won the match by climbing over the top and escaping the cage. Okay match. **¼       

1972 Good (6 out of 10)

1973 n/a (hoping to find footage)

1974 n/a (hoping to find footage)

1975 n/a (did not appear on WOS)

1976 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1977 n/a (hoping to find footage)

1978 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1979 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1980 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1981 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1982 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1983 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1984 All-Time Great (10 out of 10)

1985 Great (9 out of 10)

1986 Great (9 out of 10)

1987 Great (9 out of 10)

1988 Excellent (8 out of 10)

1989 n/a (no information available)

1990 Very Good (7 out of 10)

1991 Very Good (7 out of 10)

Marty Jones' five best years were 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984. Some of Marty Jones' most notable opponents were Dynamite Kid, Mark Rocco, Fit Finlay and Owen Hart.

Marty Jones definitely deserves a spot in the Hall of Talent. After having watched more than 35 of Marty Jones' matches, it's safe to say that he is one of the all-time greats of professional wrestling. He's arguably one of the five best British pro wrestlers in pro wrestling history. And he's also arguably one of the ten or fifteen greatest pro wrestlers in all of pro wrestling EVER.

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 6/30/76 Lincoln, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones 22:31 (5:00, 5:00, 5:00, 0:37, 5:00, 0:57, 0:57). *****

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 8/3/76 Bedworth, England: Marty Jones vs. Alan Wood. ****¼  

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/30/76 Solihull, England: Marty Jones vs. Terry Rudge. ****½

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 7/26/78 St. Albans, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones 13:02 (3:00, 3:00, 1:20, 1:22, 3:00, 1:20). ****¾ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 9/13/78 Woking, England, British Heavy-Middleweight Title vs. British Light-Heavyweight Title: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. ****¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 9/26/78 Digbeth, England: Marty Jones vs. Tony St. Clair. ****

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/13/79 Leicester, England: Dynamite Kid vs. Marty Jones 19:40. ****¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 12/30/80 Burnley, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. ****

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 2/11/81 Bury, England: Mark Rocco vs. Marty Jones. ****¼ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 1/19/83 Walthamstow, England: Dynamite Kid vs. Marty Jones 17:19 (3:00; 3:00; 1:45; 3:00; 3:00; 1:19; 2:15). ****¾  

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 4/4/84 Blackburn, England: Marty Jones vs. Fit Finlay. ***¾ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 4/26/84 Nottingham, England: Marty Jones vs. Pete Roberts. ***¾ 

Joint Promotions WOS Wrestling TV 11/13/84 Dartford, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Fit Finlay vs. Marty Jones. ****½ 

UWF 2/18/85 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Marty Jones vs. Nobuhiko Takada 15:26. ***¾ 

UWF 3/2/85 Tokyo Korakuen Hall: Super Tiger vs. Marty Jones 14:38. ***¾ 

Joint Promotions 3/5/87 Bradford, England, World Mid-Heavyweight Title: Owen Hart vs. Marty Jones 25:54 (3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 3:00, 1:40, 3:00, 3:00, 1:06, 3:00, 2:08). ****½ 

Marty Jones Hall Of Talent

Hall Of Talent YouTube Playlist