Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask (NJPW) 04/21/1983
Unfortunately this is one of those matches that is hurt by expectations. There have been other matches in wrestling history that have been more overrated than this one but this one sure is baffling.
The first half of the match is great. It builds towards what I thought the direction of the match was going in. All of the development that Dynamite Kid went through in previous bouts was culminating here. He was able to keep up with everything that Tiger Mask was doing. There were moments of frustration where he began to lose composure but was able to fight through it and remain focused. At times it even felt though as Tiger Mask was the one that was letting his frustration get to him. They had their usual exchanges of holds and moves but it felt more urgent here given everything both wrestlers have gone through at this point. It builds to both wrestlers throwing everything at each other. The action was heated and hard-hitting but at the same time it was done so effortlessly. The atmosphere also contributed to the feeling of high importance. This great first portion of the match prevents the entire match from being bad.
The match comes to a grinding halt when they both get counted out and the match ends. They spend a lot of time trying to get the referee to restart the match. It really took me out of the match. Everything they had done earlier in the match felt like it was pointless. The flow was ruined. They spent too much time on that portion. The match picked up from there. The crowd definitely helped get the match back on track. After all the time it took to get the match restarted and the effort it took to get the excitement up, the match again ended in a double countout. The reason to do a restart is so that we can get a definitive outcome to a match. So the finish makes the whole “restart the match” portion of the match ultimately meaningless.
Although there were some questionable booking calls in this match, the body of the match is great enough to call this a great match, even though it’s massively overrated.
Final Rating - ****
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