Throwback Match Reviews: Rick Martel vs Ric Flair (AJPW) (10/21/1985)

Rick Martel vs Ric Flair (AJPW) 10/21/1985

Unfortunately for the match I knew the result from the start but not because I was spoiled, but because you could see the finish coming from a mile away. It was a title unification match. Martel the AWA Heavyweight Champion against Flair the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. It is also 80s All Japan so add that to the mix to the politics of the match and some sort of “creative” finish is apparent. With all that said the match was pretty great. 

Both wrestlers’ performances made the match. Martel fit the fiery babyface role to perfection. His offense was intense and explosive and his control periods were pretty good. There was one early in the match when he had Flair in a side headlock, which is usually a boring spot, but he put some extra torque in the headlock which made it look like he was trying to rip Flair’s head off his shoulders. His comebacks were hot and his strikes were powerful. Flair’s offense was the opposite (in a good way). He was more precise with his holds. Every strike was well placed to get the maximum effect. For example whenever Martel would make a comeback he countered with some well placed knees to the abdomen in order to shut him down. Not only did they knock the wind out of Martel but they knocked the wind out of his comebacks. 

The back and forth battles were as you would expect from a Flair match. They were heated and intense and well executed. The early mat work was real crisp. Both wrestlers looked world champion caliber. The transitions improved the flow of the match and made sense whether it was a flurry of offense from Martel or a clever counter from Flair. 

There were a few spots, especially early in the match, that dragged a bit too long. There wasn’t really anything bad in those sections but they could have definitely been removed and it would not have taken anything away from the match. One of these spots in particular happened right before the climax of the match, which definitely hurt the flow.

The finish, predictably, saw both guys get counted out. It was the best way to do one of these non-finishes. I still would have preferred for a clean winner but what are you gonna do. The crowd was hot for the most part except in those slow periods as I mentioned before.

Final Rating - ****¼

Throwback Match Reviews: Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF) (09/11/1985)

Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF) 09/11/1985

This was a great match to continue this rivalry. Super Tiger had defeated Fujiwara in the previous two bouts. The story of the entire match was that of Fujiwara trying to tame this wild animal and his flurry of attacks. From the start we get Tiger unleashing his devastating kicks. Fujiwara goes right after the left leg. Fujiwara’s attack on the leg was intense. He smoothly transitioned from hold to hold with great focus and intent. Tiger did an excellent job selling the leg while still throwing kicks with his right leg. Both wrestlers were consistent with their work. The match had great escalation that was properly done throughout. This first stage set the groundwork for the next phase.

Tiger countered Fujiwara’s leg attack by absolutely battering him with kicks with his other leg. He kicks him everywhere: on the legs, on the torso and on the head. These were some nasty kicks. At one point he does a spinning kick right to Fujiwara’s face while Fujiwara is backed up in a corner. I replayed the spot about five times. He also begins to kick him with his left leg in the torso in an act of defiance. It was a great no-sell but at the same time was still able to sell the leg. When Tiger would kick the torso with the right leg Fujiwara would go down with one or two kicks. With the left leg, Fujiwara took like four kicks but still did not go down. The kicks with the left leg were not as effective as the ones with the right leg. It’s a clever way to no-sell and sell at the same time. 

The escalation continued onto this third phase. Here it seemed both wrestlers have had enough of each other’s BS and just starting throwing suplexes and some nasty strikes. It was Tiger’s frustration that got the best of him here. He drifted away from what was working for him earlier in the match. At one point he even tried to do a Fujiwara armbar which Fujiwara easily escaped. The finish saw Fujiwara reverse a suplex attempt with an elbow to the face and some other type of armbar (I’m bad with move names). It was a bit anticlimactic even though I understand what they were going for. They wanted to go for the quick “gotcha” victory in order to show Tiger’s mistake. They could have reincorporated the leg here to really hammer home the point they were trying to make. Fujiwara finally gets the win against Tiger and did so by staying consistent with his plan.

Final Rating - ****¼

 

Throwback Match Reviews: Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Asuka (AJW) (08/22/1985)

Jaguar Yokota vs Lioness Asuka (AJW) 08/22/1985

This was an amazing match with excellent performances from both wrestlers. The selling in this match was superb, especially from Asuka. Her selling made the slower periods of the match where she was getting her leg worked over interesting. Yokota was great at selling too. They had an exchange of leg holds for a great portion of the match. It was a back-and-forth battle but with leg holds, it was very unique and well done. The execution of the submission holds was great. The transitions were smooth. The offense was incredible. Both wrestlers showed they are top tier workers. The crowd was hot throughout the entire thing, even during the mat work. That proves that the story they told with the exchanging of holds really paid off. After those exchanges they went into a battle of harder moves like suplexes and powerbombs. Everything looked viscous. The transition from the first portion to this second one was flawless. It made the entire match flow effortlessly.

The one critique that brings this match down for me is how they forgot about the leg work towards the end of the match. Now I’m not usually one of these selling fetishists but there was almost no reincorporation of the leg work. They did bring it back for the finish when Yokota did a sort of leg crusher and then hooked the leg during the german suplex. This saved the match from being any worse. 

Final Rating - ****½

Throwback Match Reviews: Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase (Mid-South) (03/22/1985)

Jim Duggan vs Ted DiBiase (Mid-South) 03/22/1985

This was a nice little brawl. I had to read up on the history of this match to find out what was going on with the tuxedos. It did not ease my mind at all. This was a blood feud but it looked so ridiculous with both men wearing tuxedos. They looked like high school teachers chaperoning prom. Duggan is the weird history teacher that has no control of his classroom and everyone does what they please and DiBiase is the ex football star at the same school but is now a washed up gym teacher that hits on the female students. They got into the spiked punch bowl and started fighting. It did not fit the intended tone of it all. It was a loser leaves town cage match street fight. I thought I was going to get something visceral. The rest of the match was your typical southern heel/face dynamic with all the possible tropes: blading, gimmicks on a pole, powder thrown in face. Duggan’s punch with the coal miner’s glove was pretty awesome though.

Final Rating - **¾

Throwback Match Reviews: Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Tiger Mask II (AJPW) (03/09/1985)

Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Tiger Mask II (AJPW) 03/09/1985

We get the first look in this project at Mitsuharu Misawa under the Tiger Mask gimmick. Kobayashi attacks Tiger Mask as he steps in the ring. They were rivals and it showed through their interactions. The match was pretty straightforward with an established dynamic between both wrestlers. Kobayashi was out-wrestling Tiger Mask. He was constantly one-upping him and escaping and reversing maneuvers. Tiger Mask fought back hard. All of these sequences contributed to their feud.

Tiger Mask’s athleticism was on display here. They played off each other in an organic way. There were only a few spots where they looked like they were thinking too much about their next moves. Other than that the match flowed smoothly. The match ended in a double countout and while I personally do not like it, it adds heat for the feud and subsequent matches. 

Final Rating - ****

Throwback Match Reviews: Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW) (12/22/1984)

Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW) 12/22/1984

This was a great tag team match. It was the finals for the Real World Tag League. Tenryu had a stand out performance in this match. His selling here was incredible and made his comebacks more intense. Hansen and Brody did an excellent job getting the heat on both opponents. Their tag team offense and psychology was really great and mostly kept their control periods interesting. There were a couple of points during those control periods where it felt as if they were repeating spots; a critique I have of this team from other matches. The dynamic between Tsuruta and Tenryu was properly displayed throughout this match. Tsuruta was Tenryu’s senior. Tsuruta was mentoring and protecting Tenryu throughout the match, especially when Hansen and Brody were getting the heat on Tenryu. In another instance, Tenryu took a Western Lariat from Hansen when he moved Tsuruta out of the way defending him. All of this worked to create sympathy for the babyface team as the crowd erupts towards the end when they start their comeback. They unleash a flurry of offense on Hansen and Brody that was brutal. The finish protects Hansen and Brody as they start to fight back but also hit the referee for the DQ. I get what they were trying to do with this finish but this was the finals of the Real World Tag League, there’s no reason Brody couldn’t do the clean job here. Now I understand the politics here but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t suck. Despite the terrible finish I really enjoyed this match. It had the simple babyface and heel dynamic with some great heat.

Final Rating - ****

Throwback Match Reviews: Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. (AJPW) (12/08/1984)

Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr. (AJPW) 12/08/1984

This was a very good brawl. The crowd was hot from the start and stayed that way to the end. Terry Funk in particular stood out with his fiery offense. Dory Funk Jr. did a great job playing the underdog. Hansen and Brody were also great in getting the heat on Dory. Their control periods early on in the match were really good. The Funks had great comebacks throughout the match. The tag team psychology was sound from both sides. One thing that surprised me was how consistent the match was. There was hardly any down time. It was a brawl and all wrestlers brawled throughout. It wasn’t a grappling competition so they hardly did any grappling. One part that I really disliked about the match was somewhere in the middle it felt as if they were repeating spots. It felt like they were doing the same comebacks with the Funks over and over. It’s hard to explain but it ruined the flow of the match for me. Although I disliked the DQ finish I liked Terry’s flurry at the end. It was well built and the DQ made sense with Terry losing control and pummeling everyone in sight. 

Final Rating - ***¾