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Post by marc91 on Apr 16, 2024 20:17:01 GMT 1
#0148 WWF Tag Team Titles Match Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito (c) vs SD Jones & Tony Atlas (WWF 14.11.1981) This was a complete surprise, as it was way better than it had any right to be. Fuji and Saito were just ruthless, while Jones and Atlas are such a weird couple at first sight, but gelled so well together. I find Atlas to be quite goofy at times, but here he sold well and bled all over the place, while the champions were greedy jackals on him. This also had the best hot tag of 1981 so far, but then they made it a bit weird with some sort of time out sequence and this time it was Jones to be beaten down, before the non-finish. Still, happy I saw this ***1/2
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Post by marc91 on Apr 17, 2024 19:20:09 GMT 1
#0149 Johnny Saint vs Vic Faulkner (JOINT PROMOTIONS 18.11.1981) While I can't really criticize their technique and their grappling skills, this was unfortunately was one of the classic comedy Joint Promotions matches. Seeing an announcer and the crowd laugh during a headlock sequence or a counter was very frustrating, at the expenses of the bout itself. So yes, the limb work had good times and time went quite quickly, but I wasn't really captivated by this. To make it worse, the obvious time limit draw didn't accomplish much and the competitors didn't really mind settling for a draw, so this also came off as unimportant. Too bad, because I know how Saint can rule in a different scenario **1/2
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Post by marc91 on Apr 18, 2024 21:53:23 GMT 1
#0150 Dynamite Kid vs Mark Rocco (JOINT PROMOTIONS 18.11.1981) Jesus, did Rocco owe Dynamite money or something? However, this was a nice change of pace and fresh air for Joint Promotions, even for Rocco's matches (even though I usually like them). Quick action, rapid mat sequences and more strikes than we usually see in this dynamic. They both didn't hold back and collected public warnings, Dynamite's knee from the top was quite spectacular but still very stiff. Rocco had a nasty wound and lots of stitches on his taped knee, so props for him for still doing well, but it's a shame that they never took advantage of this injury. We also got a clean and satisfying finish, Dynamite's win was a nice touch as he got the international star treatment ***1/2
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Post by marc91 on Apr 19, 2024 22:55:47 GMT 1
#0151 Gold Cup Trophy Two Out Of Three Falls Match Tito Santana vs Nick Bockwinkel (HOUSTON WRESTLING 20.11.1981) This was amazing. Houston was ON FIRE for Santana towards the end, especially the ladies, and this made the match quite special. I really liked the initial pace on the mat and the psychology of Santana going toe to the with the champion Bock with a long hammerlock, only to lose the first fall because of a risky crossbody. Even better, it were actually two crossbodies to award Santana the other two falls, like he finally learned what to do and, especially for the decisive pin, his desperation made him risk everything with an over the top jump. Santana's furious comeback was also pretty great, as he started bleeding everywhere like a raging bull, I was so ready for a typical DQ finish before the spectacular end ****1/4
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Post by marc91 on Apr 20, 2024 19:55:33 GMT 1
#0152 WWF Heavyweight Title Match Bob Backlund (c) vs Greg Valentine (WWF 23.11.1981) This was a nice match and, for once, it was refreshing to see a WWF blowoff without too much overbooking or contrived stuff going on. Just these two for 15 minutes and a clean finish; tons of fire and intensity, of course the MSG was also instrumental in making this a remarkable match. After Backlund being a copycat with a lot of opponents, this time Valentine used this strategy and his legwork was quite smooth. Backlund's weird charisma was off the charts here, he looked great in his struggle and hold reversal sequence, finally setting himself free before the finish. Not an all time great Backlund match, but this was tons of fun ***1/2
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Post by marc91 on Apr 21, 2024 14:31:10 GMT 1
#0153 Real World Tag League Match Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Ashura Hara & Genichiro Tenryu (AJPW 30.11.1981) This was a pretty good match. In hindsight, the highlight was seeing the Jumbo/Tenryu interactions, as once again they looked good and quite promising. Jumbo looked good as well, he wrestled most of the match of course, which helped Baba but also (in kayfabe) showed how Jumbo was getting better and better, not having to rely too much on his legendary partner anymore. My only problem with this is that the result was never in doubt and, despite even Hara working very snug and getting some offence, his team never got excessive heat on the fans favourite duo. Clean finish, albeit quite weak **3/4
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Post by marc91 on Apr 22, 2024 21:37:27 GMT 1
#0154 Terry Funk vs Bruiser Brody (AJPW 30.11.1981) This was slightly clipped, only 10 minutes out of 14 were shown. It was a good skirmish leading into the RWTL (both Dory and Snuka interfered) and the crowd was into it, but the match itself wasn't super. They both bled a lot and it almost felt like they were trying to create an epic battle, but it wasn't that good (it gave me H v Taker in a HIAC vibes). Funk did well, but his selling never reached the high levels that he can get to, maybe because the time wasn't enough, or maybe because he was smart enough not to let Brody dictate the whole match. The non finish wasn't a big deal, as this was a skirmish match and it served its purpose **3/4
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Post by marc91 on Apr 23, 2024 20:38:32 GMT 1
#0155 MSG Tag League Semi Final Match Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Dick Murdoch & Stan Hansen (NJPW 10.12.1981) This was fun and the overbooking actually helped, for once. Fujinami was in one of his early test as a heavyweight and he shined with his selling, the gaijins repeatedly beat him down and he proved all of his resilience. It also worked because the crowd was crazy for Inoki, so the hot tag on him got a nice reaction and final stretch, even though the highlight of the match was definitely the heels working on poor Fujinami. As mentioned, the match restart actually added to the contest, first the lariat on Fujinami was an incredible nearfall and then Fujinami himself captured the final pin, against all odds. In hindsight, you could tell Fujinami was a rising star ***1/2
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Post by marc91 on Apr 24, 2024 22:39:17 GMT 1
#0156 Real World Tag League Final Match Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk vs Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (AJPW 13.12.1981) This was an amazing match and, even better, an amazing storyline progression with the introduction of Stan Hansen in All Japan. Terry and Brody picked this right where they left it during their recent singles match, this time the brawl was done better and also helped by the support from Dory and Snuka. While these two at times tried to actually wrestle, Terry and Brody never stopped their slugfest for the joy of the crowd. It's easy to praise them as the star of the matches, but Snuka was a general here, helping Brody controlling the pace, while Dory was very sympathetic in the finishing run, when he was desperately trying to fight the heels by himself. This did wonders for All Japan at the time ****1/4
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Post by marc91 on Apr 25, 2024 23:07:57 GMT 1
#0157 SWCW Southwest Tag Team Title Match Gino Hernandez & Tully Blanchard (c) vs Mil Mascaras & Tito Santana (HOUSTON WRESTLING 18.12.1981) This was a good match, but I was really disappointed as I usually enjoy their work much more than what I did here. The Duo were awesome in their usual stalling and bumping around, especially at the beginning, but they all seemed to work quite loose during this match for some reason. Especially in the second fall, Mascara's selling appeared to be quite bland for me. Anyway, things picked up in the last few minutes, as predicted and I really wish there was a Santana vs Gino after watching this. The babyfaces get protected, so there was a non-finish that looked quite acceptable ***
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