Harley Race vs Terry Funk (NWA) 07/01/1977
The match is 2 out of 3 falls for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Terry Funk is amazing here. His offense is very impressive. He does everything with urgency. During his control period where he had Race in holds, he made it very interesting with the way he kept the holds. It was very brutal. Unfortunately the match slows down when Race takes over. Race wins the win with an abdominal stretch. The holds that Race applied didn’t all lead into the finish of this fall making it very hard to get through.
The second fall picks up the pace a little with Funk getting in some great offense. Race also steps it up a little here as well. This fall was more of what I was expecting from these two when I saw it was coming up. Funk wins this fall with an incredible piledriver. Funk’s urgency and intensity really stood out here.
This third fall was filled with intensity and brutality that you’d expect from Terry Funk and Harley Race. Funk went after Race with great motivation and Race repeatedly had to escape Funk’s flurry of offense. Those exchanges showed Funk’s determination and dedication and really made him into a likeable babyface. The fans were going crazy for Funk. These exchanges also highlighted Race’s cleverness and his skill as a world champion. The spinning toe-hold sequence was a great continuation to those exchanges. Funk got Race on the mat and unrelentlessly applied the hold all while Race repeatedly punched him above his eye busting him wide open. The image of Funk with a bloodied face not letting up with the toe hold while Race battered his face is one that I will remember about this match for years to come. The referee stoppage was the right way to end the match here. Funk being disoriented and not being able to even see straight while still trying to fight as he ended up just swinging wildly both gave the victory to Race and made Funk look very strong.
Overall this was a great match despite the painfully boring first fall. It felt like two different matches took place. This is another example of the 2 out of 3 falls structure being a detriment to the match. It was completely unnecessary and you could’ve told the story better without it. The second half of the match, which was the second and third falls, felt like the true fight one comes to expect out of these two. It was brutal and intense.
Final Rating - ****1/4
No comments:
Post a Comment