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Post by marc91 on Sept 28, 2024 21:11:42 GMT 1
#0296 Loser Leaves Town Steel Cage Match Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase (HOUSTON WRESTLING 26.08.1983)
Pretty great brawl right here. I liked the little touch of starting the match while the poor announcer was still trying to do things normally, as you could feel the hate and tension between the competitors. They managed to entertain and please the crowd with such a simple, but effective, story and the good use of the turnbuckle as a weapon (it wasn't that overdone, at that time). Even the finish was simple but great, the crowded exploded when Duggan knocked DiBiase out with a punch and pinned him. Very fun and easy to follow, with a nice crowd and a bloody slugfest
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Sept 29, 2024 13:07:39 GMT 1
#0297 AWA World Heavyweight Title Match Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Wahoo McDaniel (AWA 28.08.1983) This was a fun brawl. They definitely didn't hold back and, after just a bit of stalling at the beginning (Heenan was great), they started hitting each other in a very stiff way. Bock was always a master on the mat, so it was fun to see him having to compete against Wahoo on a physical standpoint, as he was trying to hit as hard as the challenger. The mayhem outside the ring was fun and realistic too, without going too far, but the lack of consistent selling and the clumsy finish didn't do this justice
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Sept 30, 2024 20:24:23 GMT 1
#0298 NWA World Heavyweight Title Match Harley Race (c) vs Ric Flair (MACW 31.08.1983) Good TV match, but I had memories of this being great and it just wasn't the case. I liked the fact that this was nothing like a Flair formula match, the Naitch had to get his hands dirty and fight against an aggressive race, that was continuously aiming at the challenger's face. Race's headbutts were persistent and he always seemed to have the last word. Good piece of storytelling, as Flair couldn't get the figure four locked no matter what during the match, so Race had his lackeys interfering when Flair actually managed to apply his finisher. This made sense and led to Starrcade, so well done
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 1, 2024 19:32:48 GMT 1
#0299 NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title Match Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW 31.08.1983) Pretty good Junior Heavyweight match between 2 very capable and solid workers, surely different from what the division would go through the following decade or even towards the end of the 80s. It almost seemed like a showcase at times, but a satisfying one anyway; Fuchi got to look good and got plenty of offence, especially over the champions' shoulders, while Chavo looked resilient at all times. Very cool nearfall on a german suplex for Chavo, the flashy pinfall was a fine ending to confirm Fuchi's worth and growth within the company
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 1, 2024 22:56:35 GMT 1
#0300 NWA International Heavyweight Title Match Bruiser Brody (c) vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 31.08.1983)
Amazing sight when Brody walked towards the crowd and grown men ran away from him, in pure fear. Gold. I always felt that this was the (poor) All Japan version of Hogan vs Rock or Hogan vs Warrior: basic work, felt long and dragged at times, but this had an amazing crowd and a very exciting finishing stretch. To be fair, most of the credit belonged to a very inspired Jumbo, because Brody wasn't good on the mat and only looked fine during the brawls. With Jumbo winning one of the big 3, a more definitive finish would have been preferrable, but the finish was well done despite the count-out *** |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 2, 2024 20:39:08 GMT 1
#0301
Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (AJPW 31.08.1983)
Insane crowd reaction for Terry's original retirement match. This was not the best match ever, especially by All Japan standards, but the fans made this so much better. Hansen and Terry were great together, as usual, Terry got colour and sold everything big time. The parts with Dory and Gordy were fine, but the gap with the other pairing was quite noticeable, even though Dory played a good babyface in perils. Terry stole the show, whether he was punching the heels or selling for them. I am usually all for the person that is leaving to lose the bout, but Terry's roll on Gordy felt so good and the fans loved it
****
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Post by marc91 on Oct 3, 2024 21:23:21 GMT 1
#0302 NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles Two Out Of Three Falls Match The Assassin & The Dynamite Kid (c) vs Buddy Rose & Curt Hennig (PNW 03.09.1983) Another good Portland tag. Rose and Hennig were a blast together and, despite being the babyfaces, didn't mind break a rule here and there. The first fall was great, Kid had the best looking headlock ever on poor Hennig, I wouldn't be surprised if that caused an injury. Really nice drama and hot tag for Rose, but things kind of died in the second fall, as they failed to replicate the same quality and tension. Not a bad third fall, thanks again to Rose's selling, but this was kind of spoiled by the non-finish
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 4, 2024 21:01:08 GMT 1
#0303 World Class World Six Man Tag Team Titles Match Buddy Roberts, Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy (c) vs David von Erich, Kerry von Erich & Kevin von Erich (WCCW 05.09.1983) Another good chapter of the von Erichs vs Freebirds feud, but this kind of paled in comparison with the six men from that July. Really nice control segment of the champions on Kerry and then also Kevin, who was awesome as the angry big brother, but then got isolated as well. The segments with Robert's protective helmets were also funny and made sense. The finish was a bit chaotic and not the best one, even the camera work wasn't done properly
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 5, 2024 22:51:24 GMT 1
#304
Mid-South North American Title Match
Butch Reed (c) vs Mr. Wrestling II (HOUSTON WEESTLING 09.09.1983)
A solid and fine bout, but I wasn't mad about this or anything they did. MW2 did a fun dancing spots at the beginning, that looked quite silly, but it was clear that his crowd support wasn't as near the one given to other main eventers in town. Reed also looked a bit clumsy at times, but generally things got better when he was the one attacking MW2. Long chinlock with little heat, but I liked how they used a leg injury towards the end and how that caused the sudden finish
**3/4
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Post by marc91 on Oct 7, 2024 10:11:48 GMT 1
#0305 Two Out Of Three Falls Match Buddy Rose, Curt Hennig & Billy Jack vs Rip Oliver, The Assassin & Dynamite Kid (PNW 10.09.1983) A good match, but a bit disappointing one, if compared to the quality of some tag matches between these stables. It was not the blowoff, so they didn't go all out, but probably the main reason is that Rose couldn't lead the matches anymore due to his babyface turn, since none of the heels seemed able to do it as well as he did. It was a solid bout, especially the first fall, but things never reached the next level. Even the finish looked too simple to be fear, the babyfaces just watches Hennig getting defeated without doing much about it. Really good commentary anyway
*** |
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