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Post by marc91 on Oct 26, 2024 13:41:13 GMT 1
#0326 Real World Tag League Match Dory Funk Jr. & Giant Baba vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW 29.11.1983)
This can't be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a fun and tight 45 minutes draw. While the action is wisely paced and "just" good, the limbwork never reached a dull point and this was made better by intangibles like Tenryu being a prick instead of respecting the legends, Dory stepping up to support his limited partner or Jumbo and Baba going at it, when they would normally team up in the RWTL. But yes, while they were smart enough to work around their flaws or limitations, this kind of dragged at some point and it's not an all time great match
*** |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 27, 2024 20:30:59 GMT 1
#0327
MSG Tag Team League Match Tatsumi Fujinami & Akira Maeda vs Riki Choshu & Animal Hamaguchi (NJPW 02.12.1983) Fujinami and Choshu went at it again and this was nicely paced, also thanks to their respective partners. Maeda showed potential and lack of fear towards the opponents, but of course he ended up suffering during the heat segment, as the mean Choshu and the veteran Hamaguchi did not go easy on him. This also went to a time limit draw, but it didn't drag too much, thanks for frequent tags and Fujinami having to work extra hard to fix things. Very hot finishing run, much better than the 29/11 All Japan time limit draw, even though that match surely had a better feeling due to its participants. The Choshu/Fujinami stuff was top notch and the non-finish only enhanced the feud ***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 28, 2024 22:02:40 GMT 1
#0328 Two Out Of Three Falls Two Rings Match Chris Adams vs Terry Gordy (WCCW 03.12.1983) This was from a B or C show, as the crowd was little and not even too loud, but these two busted their asses anyway. They went for 30 minutes and paced the match quite well, a few minutes were clipped but the action was solid throughout the bout and this was easily the best Gordy 20+ minutes singles match up to this point. I liked how Adams spent most of the time selling, but still managed to look strong on the mat and was highly relying on the superkick, as the move was well protected here. Apart from the second fall, that felt too rushed, everything else looked good
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 29, 2024 23:20:27 GMT 1
#0329 NWA World Heavyweight Title Match Ric Flair (c) vs Tommy Rich (GCW 04.12.1983)
Fine match, but it was missing something and the crowd wasn't that great either, they only popped a few times (like when Flair used the ropes for leverage, which led him to do that over and over to gain more heat). This was a C show Flair performance, which was still pretty good, but he went through the motions at times. Rich looked good on his comeback, but he was clearly a few notches below the Naitch when trying to build up the action. The finish was also disappointing, from the weak belt shot to the bad crowd reaction
**3/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 30, 2024 22:36:11 GMT 1
#0330 AWA World Heavyweight Title Match Nick Bockwinkel (c) vs Rick Martel (AWA 08.12.1983) This was JIP, as the first 4 minutes were missing (plus a commercial took place in the middle of it). Nice enough bout, it is hard to not enjoy a match when Bock is the general and Martel the underdog babyface. I can maybe see why they cut the first part of the match, as the beginning wasn't as good and crispy as the rest of the contest. Nice test of strength and struggle from beneath by the challenger, he made a simple headlock sequence look like a convincing and desperate attempt to break free. Disappointing finish, both in timing and execution
*** |
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Post by marc91 on Oct 31, 2024 23:45:13 GMT 1
#0331 Jumbo Tsuruta vs Ric Flair (AJPW 10.12.1983) Not the strongest Tsuruta/Flair ever (actually very far from it), but still a pretty enjoyable bout. Flair quickly switched to the heel touring champion once again, after being a babyface at Starrcade, which managed to put a lot of emphasis on Jumbo once again. The biggest flaw of this match was the lack of convincing limb work until the last 10 minutes, which was a shame, because Flair wasn't shy to sell the leg towards the finish; however, the first 10/15 minutes looked like too much of a filler in that regard. The time limit finish was obvious, but the crowd was into the match at least
*** |
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Post by marc91 on Nov 1, 2024 12:15:34 GMT 1
#0332 AWA Southern Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match Jerry Lawler (c) vs Randy Savage (CWA 12.12.1983)
This was quite underwhelming, despite the good presentation. I get the idea of the cage being there to keep them in the ring and everyone else away from it, but at the end of the day we got lots of rest holds (in a cage) and DQ finish for interference (in a cage), so what the hell. The bout itself wasn't terrible or anything: good Lawler punches, Savage used the structure well a couple of times and decent selling. With a good finish or a more "rough" approach, this would have been so more enjoyable despite all the political restraints
**1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Nov 2, 2024 19:44:24 GMT 1
#0333 Real World Tag League Match Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (AJPW 12.12.1983) Really good showdown between the best All Japan talents and the most menacing group of gaijins. Tenryu and Jumbo were also fine with a time limit, but Brody and Hansen immediately went all out and it was quickly clear that this wouldn't last 30 minutes, win or lose. This was all about Tenryu finally getting to hang with the big boys in a big match, he showed plenty of courage and helped Tsuruta working on Hansen's arm, which affected the gaijins' chances at the beginning. Even Brody was very good here, bumping for the opponents and showing great chemistry with Hansen. Good and credible final, poor Tenryu got isolated and did all he could before Hansen's lariat
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Nov 3, 2024 19:03:54 GMT 1
#0334 Mid-South Tag Team Titles Steel Cage Match Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart (c) vs Magnum TA & Mr. Wrestling II (MSW 25.12.1983) This was fun. As usual, I don't get why, in cage tag matches, two wrestlers need to be on the apron... but oh well. The stipulation and the good crowd hid all of their limitations, MW2 looked very inspired and this helped TA's pace and comeback. I liked the use of the structure, as it was effective but they didn't do too much. Quite good double babyface in perils segments, even though Reed did well and Neidhart looked a bit lost at times. Classic double mask spot by MW2, very clever and well executed finish by TA. This never overstayed its welcome
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Nov 4, 2024 23:10:50 GMT 1
#0335 NWA World Heavyweight Title Match Ric Flair (c) vs David von Erich (WCCW 25.12.1983)
This was a nice crescendo, but the first part of the bout dragged a bit with some basic, albeit solid, armwork from David after the usual Flair antics that only helped the crowd support the von Erich boy even more. I liked how David fought Flair in a different way compared to his brothers, with a mix of Kerry's fire and Kevin's mat focus. And the referee involvement was fun this time, as David Manning refused to disqualify Flair a bunch of times, seeing it as an easy way out for the Naitch. Flair went to the extreme when the claw was used and Manning had no choice but to finally disqualify him. Passable beginning, great central part and poor but logic finish
***1/2 |
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