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Post by marc91 on Jan 16, 2024 14:59:37 GMT 1
#0028 Two Out Of Three Falls Match Buddy Rose vs Rick Martel (PNW 26.04.1980) This was great and the best thing of 1980 so far. Rose is wearing a ridiculous mask with a wig, as Roddy Piper shaved him bald, and Martel can't wait to expose him. However, this costs Martel some distractions and Rose just rules in working on his opponent's leg. Martel could be the best seller in the USA right now, he's so good and the fans are dying to see a comeback. Martel keeps being a talent in the rough, he still makes a few key mistakes that cost him a lot, like refusing a count-out win and hitting an atomic drop on his comeback, ending up hurting his leg again. This way, the experienced Rose still manages to control the match, despite Martel targeting his back and constantly worrying about his max and fixing it on his face several times. The finish is great too, Martel finally manages to expose Rose's bald head after a long tease, so Rose quickly covers up and leaves to lose by count-out. This sets up a title match down the road and I'm looking forward to it
****1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 17, 2024 15:45:43 GMT 1
#0029
Champion Carnival Final Match Jumbo Tsuruta vs Dick Slater (AJPW 01.05.1980) Slater is wearing an eye patch and Jumbo is respectfully staying away from it, instead of taking advantage of it. It's refreshing to see a complete All Japan match, no clipping at all, even though the initial matwork drags a bit at times. I liked the idea of Slater hitting Jumbo in the legs to limit his ability to use power moves. It also makes sense because Slater can win the Carnival with a time limit draw and so he tries to ground Tsuruta as much as he can. The end is really tight and we get quite a few nearfalls, by 1980 standards this is almost a spotfest. Jumbo gets desperate and stops a submission with brutal kicks on Slater's bad eye, making him bleed, which ruled. Now Slater is desperate, because he can't see properly, so he hits the post furiously and Jumbo finishes him with a belly to back, keeping the bridge despite his bad leg. Man, this ruled on so many levels. Too bad that the first part of the match was so cold ***3/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 18, 2024 0:44:11 GMT 1
#0030 Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Dick Slater & Terry Funk (AJPW 02.05.1980) This was an enjoyable Carnival fallout. Slater's eye is not taped anymore, which doesn't make much sense (it's only been 24 hours), plus it makes me sad that they are not using this anymore. The more I see Slater and the more I think he's trying to be a little version of Terry, they have good chemistry and Jumbo bumps around for them, as they are smart enough not to overexpose Baba. Baba and Jumbo working on Terry was a bit lazy, but Funk is so over that the crowd keeps the match alive anyway. The finish is a bit abrupt, but consistent with the Carnival final, so thumps up
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 18, 2024 23:56:48 GMT 1
#0031 Two Out Of Three Falls Match NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles Rick Martel & Roddy Piper (c) vs Butch Miller & Luke Williams (PNW 03.05.1980) Good match, also because the crowd is so hot and so everything seemed better than it actually was probably. As mentioned before, the Sheepherders are actually a competent team, but here they made a couple of awkward mistakes, while Martel is again just too good to be believed. It's a bit weird for the babyfaces to benefit from a blind tag, rather than the heels, but Piper keeps using a few shortcuts and probably that might lead to a heel turn. Still, it was a fun bout and the champions shined all along, the crowd was mad about Martel's final comeback. The finish is quite creative and well explained by the announcer, so kudos to them
*** |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 19, 2024 0:53:26 GMT 1
#0032 WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs Chavo Guerrero (NJPW 09.05.1980) This was a nice 15 minutes "shut up and wrestle" match, I'm sure that we would need way more of these today. Overbooking, BS, excessive nearfalls, "taunts" are not a thing here, it's just these two on the mat. Granted, it lacks in heat, because the crowd only gets hot towards the end, but this is technically sound and you can see Fujinami wrestling a respectful and competitive match, compared to the wars he had against Hara or Kid a few months before. Again, this never became too exciting or dramatic enough to be a masterpiece, but it worked perfectly and never overstayed its welcome
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 19, 2024 22:12:13 GMT 1
#0033 NWF World Heavyweight Title Match Antonio Inoki (c) vs Stan Hansen (NJPW 09.05.1980) Another good match in their series, but for some reason all the Inoki/Hansen matches haven't been super great and something was missing here too. The chemistry is there and Inoki is bumping quite generously for the big Texan, but I feel like they were lacking of bit of structure and the story didn't evolve as much as I wanted. We get another count-out tease after the lariat, which is fine, but they have wrestled a few times so far and none of them has changed their strategy or approach to get a win. Plus, Inoki persists with some time-wasting limbo work that goes nowhere. It was good though, even the non-finish, but I hope they evolve their matches next time I see them go at it
***1/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 19, 2024 23:37:03 GMT 1
#0034 WWF Heavyweight Title Match Bob Backlund (c) vs Hulk Hogan (WWF 10.05.1980) This was better than their previous bout, as it was only 20 minutes long and Hogan didn't dictate the pace for the whole time. I liked the fact Hogan used the bearhug again, as it worked really well last time, he was also good at selling the leg that Backlund targeted with good consistency. The announcers are not great during this, but they pointed out how big Hogan was and you could tell that Backlund was doing his best to look like he was overpowered. There is another count-out finish, this time to Backlund's favour, but at least this time we got a more realistic conclusion and the loser doesn't look like an idiot (like Backlund did in the previous bout)
***1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 20, 2024 22:17:13 GMT 1
#0035 Two Out Of Three Falls Match NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title Rick Martel (c) vs Buddy Rose (PNW 17.05.1980) This ruled as predicted and I'm so disappointed that the title change wasn't aired anywhere. Again, the crowd is so hot that everything seems so simple, Martel steals the show selling his injured back in a very dramatic and convincing way. It's incredible how the crowd is so much into a simple headlock sequence. While this was great, it failed to reach the height of the April match, maybe because the mask stunt was just too good (Rose wore it again, but it was yesterday's news apparently) or because the (non)finish was a bit cheaper here, lacking that bit of creativity that they showed in the previous month
***3/4 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 21, 2024 18:55:07 GMT 1
#0036 Texas Death Match WWF Heavyweight Title Bob Backlund (c) vs Ken Patera (WWF 19.05.1980) This was incredible and the MSG crowd made it so special. It's billed as a Texas Death Match, but it's "just" a No DQ Match, the pinfall rule is not enforced; while strange, it's a great thing because keeping a compelling match with that stipulation is so difficult. Keeping their previous match in mind, Backlund overcomes the odds by going all out and bravely trying to knock Patera out, despite being outsized by the challenger. Yes, Backlund still tries to ground his opponent, but then he has to take bigger risks, which get both of them bleeding. Backlund uses the chair that Patera tried to hit him with for a great pop and we also get a clean finish after a crazy crossbody, thus ending the feud
****1/2 |
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Post by marc91 on Jan 21, 2024 19:54:51 GMT 1
#0037 WWF Heavyweight Title Match Bob Backlund (c) vs Dusty Rhodes (NJPW 27.05.1980) Quite a fascinating match, the top guys of New York and Florida meet in Japan. If you think that this match has a political non-finish you would be correct, but they actually tried and this wasn't just a simple showcase. Backlund is good on the mat, focusing on Dusty's leg, as the match is much better when he's in control. I like the idea of Dusty growing frustrated and using heelish tactics to make Backlund bleed, which will lead to the final DQ, but it's a shame that he forgot to sell the leg towards the end. Overall, finish aside, they still cared enough to have a decent main event instead of wasting time and just relying on their starpower
***1/4 |
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