|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 1, 2024 17:40:16 GMT 1
#0267 Mil Mascaras & Tito Santana vs Super Destroyer & The Masked Superstar (HOUSTON WRESTLING 20.05.1983) A good, fun and solid tag match. Santana shined big time here, everything he did was so crisp and it got over huge with the crowd, especially his mat sequence with Destroyer or his flashy attacks. Surprisingly, Mascaras was quite generous in his selling and the match didn't drag at all when the heels were focusing on him, which lasted quite a lot. Really great hot tag for Santana, but an interference from Gran Markus costed him the match and protected him despite the loss. This was not a classic, but a good performance from Mascaras and another nod for Santana
***1/4 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 2, 2024 21:11:47 GMT 1
#0268 Algerian Death Match Mad Dog Vachon vs Jerry Blackwell (AWA 22.05.1983)
I haven't been a massive fan of the Vachon/Blackwell matches I have reviewed, but this was really good. Short, violent, crisp and straight to the point. Blackwell proved himself here, selling and bumping around for the veteran, despite his size and still never losing much stamina. Like their previous tag bout, Vachon was generous with Blackwell too and made him look very strong. Yes, the stipulation maybe affected the match a little, but the goodness of the slugfest was enough to make me ignore the long pauses between a fall and the following one (which was good for their rhythm, to be fair). Original but fun finish, even though the rules of the match kind of impacted the fans reaction to it
***1/2 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 4, 2024 20:41:48 GMT 1
#0269 SWCW World Heavyweight Title Tournament First Round Match Terry Funk vs Bob Orton Jr. (SWCW 26.05.1983) This was a great match, a very enjoyable crescendo that could have been one of the best ever with a proper finish. The announcer correctly talked about their similarities: second generation stars with good technical skills, but the respectful stalemate slowly turned into a snug war, that also got bloody at one point. The mat section was well done and the punches were so believable too. Funk ruled when he worked on Orton's knee, as Orton displayed a very subtle but consistent selling, almost like he was trying to work despite the injury. Not many nearfalls (but Orton's after the piledriver was massive), but I would have really loved any kind of finish here rather than a time limit draw, because this was getting just too good to be true
**** |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 5, 2024 14:26:06 GMT 1
#0270 Tornado Elimination Match David von Erich, Kerry von Erich, Kevin von Erich & Iceman Parsons vs Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & Jimmy Garvin (WCCW 27.05.1983) This was a fun and energic match, albeit a bit messy at times and not exactly fought with the same spirit of a "modern" elimination bout, as it was very quick and it only lasted about 15 minutes. As mentioned, the first few minutes created a bit of chaos, mostly to get rid of quite a few competitors, but then the match became a very attractive 2v2 deal with a nice crowd reception. Hayes got tons of heat here, this and Roberts worked well as a duo and made Kevin look very strong as the sole survivor
***1/2 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 5, 2024 21:40:13 GMT 1
#0271 NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match Curt Hennig (c) vs Buddy Rose (PNW 28.05.1983) Another good match between these two, at this point Hennig was almost as good as Rick Martel as a Portland babyface. The match was simple and, as usual, Rose bumped around big time to put the babyface over, starting from a simple but never ending headlock. They based this on a recurring stalemate, as they presented a series of roll up more than once, which also affected the ending of the match itself. Not a fan of the postmatch referee decision, but it didn't take much away from the contest to be fair
***1/4 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 6, 2024 21:19:46 GMT 1
#0272 British Lightweight Title Jim Breaks (c) vs Steve Grey (JOINT PROMOTIONS 28.05.1983) The first 2 rounds were unfortunately clipped. The crowd was loud and all focused on supporting Grey and laugh at Breaks' tantrums. This was a very nice rematch of the previous title change, but this time Breaks was the one that had a lot to lose, due to he usual dirty tactics and the habit of collecting public warnings. Grey sold an eye shot really well and did the same with his arm, as of course Breaks' focus on the limb work ruled. This lacked outstanding quality at times, but was such a simple and logical story, ending with Breaks finally facing some karma and losing the title by DQ
***1/2 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 7, 2024 23:57:33 GMT 1
#0273 IWGP Heavyweight Title IWGP League Final Match Antonio Inoki vs Hulk Hogan (NJPW 02.06.1983) This was a blast, a very fun match. Hogan was good on the limb work here, showing a lot of potential, and Inoki sold big time for him. Still, Inoki was clearly more familiar with the armwork and those were the best sequences of the bout, as a few of Hogan's happened to be a bit clumsy. They definitely had chemistry and this was their best match together, despite Hogan struggling to keep an heel attitude, as a good chunk of fans were supporting him. Very infamous finish here, but Inoki sold it very well and this was another testament to how over Hogan was getting at the time
***1/4 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 8, 2024 14:57:01 GMT 1
#0274 AWA Southern Heavyweight Title Loser Leaves Town Match Jerry Lawler (c) vs Bill Dundee (CWA 06.06.1983) This was a great match. Hot hot Memphis crowd and a big match feeling from start to finish. I am not always a fan of Memphis' big match pace, as they can stall a loooooooooot, but it was on point here: since the slow start, every little interaction mattered, every little detail was taken care of and they built a great climax, also thanks to the usual nice slugfest and some blood. Gordon Solie was flawless here too, he made me worry about Lawler more than the match itself did. An all time great count out tease for Lawler led them to the finish, a nice, clean and satisfying one to end the match accordingly
****1/4 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 9, 2024 21:57:34 GMT 1
#0275 NWA World Heavyweight Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match Ric Flair (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 08.06.1983) This was an excellent match, almost as good as the one from the previous year. They used a few spots from the 1982 bout and Jumbo looked dominant once again, his experience suggested him to transition from the armwork into the legwork, when he realised that it wasn't enough to beat Flair. After an amazing first fall, the second dragged a bit until Flair started his impressive legwork. I was just a bit puzzled when the last minutes of the match featured Jumbo protecting the 1-0 (that doesn't win him the belt), rather than Flair trying not to lose another fall. Apart from this logic and the stale 10 minutes, this was very very good all along
****1/4 |
|
|
|
Post by marc91 on Sept 10, 2024 21:22:47 GMT 1
#0276 Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match Billy Jack & Curt Hennig vs Buddy Rose & The Dynamite Kid (PNW 11.06.1983) Another nice Portland tag, but surprisingly the focus didn't stay on Hennig/Rose, despite their exchanges being by far the best ones in here. Dynamite was a nice addition to the territory and did very well, his roughness and high dropkicks popped the announcers despite his heel status. This started really well, but they couldn't follow the quality of the first fall, mostly because the rest of match was built on Rose and Dynamite imploding, which costed them both falls. Simple but effective booking, but also a very solid bout
***1/4 |
|
