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Post by marc91 on Jan 1, 2024 20:57:45 GMT 1
(I guess this is the right section?)
Believe it or not, one of my new year's resolutions was actually start watching some pro wrestling again. Over the last decade, my passion for the state of the discipline has gradually diminished and, as much as I always blamed the lack of time at my disposal, the real reason is that I don't like the product. I haven't watched a full show since late 2019 and I think I have seen like 3/4 matches and a few promos since then. But still, I watched programs like Dark Side of the Ring or listen to some Jim Cornette's audio clips quit often. It's so weird, because it's like appreciating an an old band's interviews rather than listening to modern music itself. Wrestling to me is like staring at a woman you used to love so much and realize that you dislike what she has become
So let's watch some stuff from the 80s, I have a list of a 1000 matches and I can't wait to start! I will only review one match per day (maybe two if they are short), so this will take me quite a lot. I will enjoy the ride and hopefully some of you will join me!
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Post by marc91 on Jan 1, 2024 22:01:49 GMT 1
#0001 Two Out Of Three Falls Two Rings Match Johnny Valentine Cup Jose Lothario, Kerry von Erich & Tiger Conway Jr. vs El Gran Markus, Gino Hernandez & Tim Brooks (HOUSTON WRESTLING 04.01.1980) Woah, I haven't seen one of these Houston two rings multi tag matches in a long time. I'm not a big fan of the stipulation, as sometimes it's hard to follow everything that is taking place, but they planned things quite wisely and you would see a bump in a ring while the other one was buying time with a rest-hold. Gino's selling was great, him and Kerry were clearly one step above the others and von Erich's dive across both rings was very creative. The finish also made sense, because Gino and Markus cheated to win the first fall against Conway, but they lose the match once they try to cheat again. A bit too messy at times, but the match was fun
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 2, 2024 0:17:31 GMT 1
#0002 Ken Joyce vs Tony Costas (JOINT PROMOTIONS 09.01.1980) Seeing older fans laughing and having fun at ringside is very cool, but at times this match had too many comedy spots for my taste; this also happened because the crowd wasn't taking seriously a couple bumps that were not supposed to be comedic. However, they are two experienced grapplers and all the sequences looked clean and flawless; this style is the most similar thing to old school Lucha that you may see. While Costas was solid, this was the Ken Joyce show and he had several counters to trick his opponent, like the winning pinfall combination
***1/2 |
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Post by Asaemon on Jan 2, 2024 19:44:53 GMT 1
Moore sounds like a great project. Looking forward to read your reviews.
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Post by Moore on Jan 2, 2024 20:31:26 GMT 1
Marc is nuts  but I'm here to read the whole thread. I've never even heard of Ken Joyce and Tony Costas, tbh. And I thank Asaemon for the shout, as the project is really good. I'll probably stay on this side, though, as I haven't watched much of 1980s wrestling myself. |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 2, 2024 22:59:10 GMT 1
#0003 Two Out Of Three Falls Match NWA United National Title Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs Billy Robinson (AJPW 11.01.1980) This was quite disappointing to be honest. First of all, the match is heavily clipped as we only get about 25 minutes out of a 60 minutes draw. Secondly, some of Jumbo's limbo work was quite generic and seemed done to buy some time (I figure they did the same at the beginning of the match, especially as it wasn't broadcasted). That being said, it's still these two and so you can expect a solid match, good selling and an easy time when it comes to getting the crowd involved. Robinson killed it with selling his leg, especially towards the very end, when the pain prevented him from beating the clock and led us to the time limit draw. Not bad at all, but it looks like the second solid part of a throwaway title defence and I can't go really higher than this
*** |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 3, 2024 22:57:56 GMT 1
#0004
Two Out Of Three Falls Match NWA World Heavyweight Title Harley Race (c) vs. Rick Martel (PNW 12.01.1980) This was great! Race completely made Martel, giving 90% of the first fall and selling his arm in such a believable way. 24 year old Martel had a lot of fire, but the story is that it takes him a long time to finish Race, while the World champion pins him quite easily in his comeback as he's clearly one step ahead. The crowd was behind Martel during his comeback and it's quite sad for them to see this match end up by a TV time limit, right when their hero had a lot of momentum. A nice bout and, again, Martel looked really good here. My only problem is Race not selling the arm towards the end, but everything else was pleasant to watch
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 4, 2024 0:33:47 GMT 1
#0005 Two Out Of Three Falls Tag Team Match Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (NJPW 18.01.1980) This was a really nice Junior Heavyweight showcase, it went 20 minutes and never dragged once. I don't think Dynamite and Keirn tagged very regularly (if they did, I mostly missed it), but I surely wish they did because they showed a lot of chemistry and aggression when isolating the babyfaces, almost like this was a typical 80s Southern tag match. They did a good job at teasing a Dynamite/Fujinami confrontation to build a singles match, they also pinned each other but you never see enough of it, as most of the focus is on the gaijins destroying poor Hoshino. Fujinami gets the quiet crowd to pop big time when he hits a crazy suicide dive on Kid, but this leads to the heels beating Hoshino
***3/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 4, 2024 21:18:47 GMT 1
#0006 WWF Heavyweight Title Match Bob Backlund (c) vs. Ken Patera (WWF 21.01.1980) Patera was ripped and this was all about his strength against Backlund's technique. Backlund's armwork got a bit stale and it was quickly forgotten in the second part of the match, so it was just a way to fill time. However, his selling was really great when Patera got him into a long bearhug and the crowd got into it; but even there, while Vince was teasing Backlund passing out to the bearhug, Patera only ever got flat 1 counts. I feel like they should have milked this to add a bit of drama to the match, as it never looked like Patera was going to be a real threat. The non-finish and the final brawl both looked good. Vince saying that there were 42,000 fans at the MSG makes the WrestleMania 3 figure look much more plausible
**3/4
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Post by marc91 on Jan 5, 2024 0:23:53 GMT 1
#0007 Bruno Sammartino vs Larry Zbyszko (WWF 22.01.1980) This is the famous Zbyszko turn and it's really well done. Their wrestling is clean and tight, Bruno keeps outwrestling Zbyszko and the student is clearly frustrated about it. Zbyszko shows fire and wants to win, runs the ropes really fast and clinches the arm as hard he can, but Bruno is clearly on top. Zbyszko explodes when Bruno shows compassion and starts taking it easy, opening the ropes for him is the ultimate humiliation. Zbyszko is great in his illegal beatdown and the visual of him leaving Bruno in a pool of blood is really effective. It's a match that basically becomes an angle, but the wrestling was solid and the story was told in a perfect way, the fact they did it all in just 10 minutes is also quite impressive
***1/2 |
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but I'm here to read the whole thread. I've never even heard of Ken Joyce and Tony Costas, tbh.