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If people find Rovert interesting to read he has his twitter . You can also read what he has to say on other boards that he hasn't been banned on. You can still get your Rovert fix if you're inclined to do so. Just not here or other places he has been banned.

I'm rewatching it right now.

Just calling it like I see it.

Jack Brisco vs Giant Baba (12/2/1974) This is another good title match. We open up with Baba going after the arm. Jack counters it with an ankle pick. This sets up Jack working the leg with a variety leg locks I loved Baba sneaking in a headlock counter to all the leg work. Baba fights back. He uses a standing surfboard for a bit. This might have lasted a bit too long though. Brisco isn't giving up he throws a nasty punch right at Baba's ear. Baba positions Brisco for a Russian Leg Sweep for 3. The break between falls is telling as Brisco is selling between falls. The 2nd fall Baba starts out attacking Jack's neck. Jack is trying to get some seperation to no avail. Baba gives a big Atomic drop here. Not to be out done Jack delivers a huge Belly to Back Suplex. In a call back to the work on the leg in the 1st fall Jack locks in the Figure Four. Baba is selling it big here. Baba's selling really milks the drama here. Brisco with the Figure Four for the 2nd fall. Now in between rounds it's a big contrast between the 1st fall. The 3rd fall begins with Baba trying to cause seperation from Jack so his leg can get better. Baba closes his body to protect his leg. Baba also uses his reach to keep Brisco at bay. That was a nice touch. Baba can't keep him off for long and Jack is working the leg with inner thigh shots. To make matters worse Baba uses his knee as a weapon and hurts it even more. Baba goes back to the Russian Leg sweep for a great nearfall. Which is also a great call to the 1st fall. Baba finally gets a hanging clothesline on Jack for 3 and a new NWA champ. Final thoughts: I thought this was real good. Both guys really impressed me here. The drama in the second and third falls really had some great drama in it. It was also very layered when it came to performances. I thought the mat wrestling in the 1st fall was good and had a real chess feel to it. **** 1/4

Jack Brisco vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (01/30/74) This is for the NWA title and we have a Sam Muchnick sighting here. We start out with goes guys going for takedowns that both men stuff. Jumbo on top with some arm work. This is executed solidly. Nothing too flashy but it's constant and has a kinetic energy to it. Jack is great at selling it and trying to counter it. So this was a good base for the 1st fall. Jack's bloody lip added to the fight they were in. The 1st 8 or 9 minutes is all Jumbo with the arm work. They're getting the story over that Jumbo has Jack's number. This is further cemented when Jack has to cheat with a hair pull in a overhead wristlock battle to finally get an advantage. Jack starts with the headlock and then starts to work the legs. They do a little back and forth till Jack gets the win with a Billy Robinson Backbreaker. Cool story of the 1st round where Jack makes Jumbo look like a guy who got unlucky in the 1st fall. The 2nd fall starts with a headlock by Jack followed up with a nasty elbow. If people worked a headlock like this no one would call a headlock boring. Jumbo on his comeback goes after the leg with a counter of an atomic knee crusher. Now Jumbo goes after the leg with nasty work on it. This works because his arm work came up short in the 1st fall so let's try another body part. I'm usually a guy who likes you to stay on a particular body part. Though in a 2 out of 3 fall changing it up really works cause each fall can be worked with different strategies to capture a fall. Here it's Jumbo on the leg. My complaint is some of Jumbo's stomps lacked ooomph. Jack's selling here also takes the work up a notch and really makes it compelling. A nice touch was when Jack got vertical and was retreating he closed his body up so his left side was protected. The finish with awesome with a Jumbo Butterfly followed up by an Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex for the 3 count. What a great fall that really ratches up the drama. It looks like Jumbo is on fire at this point. The 3rd fall we now see Jumbo going after the back. Again at times Jumbo's stomps looked soft. Still the idea is there. The finish is Jumbo going for an Oklahoma roll, that is countered by Jack for the 3. Who better to counter an Oklahoma roll than someone from Oklahoma. Final thoughts. This was good stuff. Jumbo was great at focusing at working body parts, that accentuated by Jack's selling.Some of the work was so subtle you really need to pay attention. Jack did a great job of making Jumbo a threat. The work at times came across as sterile because with the exception of the finish of the 2nd fall that match lacked pop. What it did have was good story telling, really smart work, and some great selling. Jumbo's stomps at times were bad, and wish we saw Jack on top for a bit more. Still this had too much great stuff. ****

I'm going to be looking at Jack's matches from Japan during pretty much his prime. I'll be editing matches in throughout. Jack Brisco vs Antonio Inoki (08/05/71) I looked at their match from 79 earlier in the thread and that match was bad. This one was awesome. Inoki is one of the most hit or miss wrestlers I've ever seen. Brisco in his prime was at worst one of the top 10 workers in the world. It's amazing to look at the 2 matches side by side at how far apart on the spectrum they were. It was 8 years but man. The 1st fall we see some great mat wrestling. Inoki was good here, but Jack was amazing. Inoki would hook on a move and Jack was constantly fighting and looking for escapes. The 1st minute was so fast and quick. Inoki had the early advantage and went after the leg. He would then move up and work the headlock. Jack was great at his selling from the big stuff to the more subtle stuff. Jack would get a run on top and really go after the leg. His work on the leg was so nasty. Jack slowly morphed into working subtle heel. He threw some punches and some mean looking strikes. We see some big moves like Brisco's butterfly suplex that Inoki fought. Inoki not to be outdone delivers a German Suplex. I loved the finish of the fall of Inoki going for his finish that Jack counters for the win. I really like Jack using flash pins which makes sense with his amateur background. The 2nd and 3 rd falls were strong too. We see more of the same strong mat work. Inoki's key lock was really great and they did a great job of milikng the drama. Inoki won the the next 2 falls. I loved how Inoki went back to the Octopus for the submission. Final thoughts: Jack was spectacular here. He was great at everything he did in the match. I wish Inoki would have sold more with his face when in some of these holds. He would show struggle applying a move but kinda didn't emote enough. I thought Inoki was great at working holds with Jack. The struggle in this match was outstanding. 4 3/4* match. Jack Brisco vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (01/30/74) This is for the NWA title and we have a Sam Muchnick sighting here. We start out with goes guys going for takedowns that both men stuff. Jumbo on top with some arm work. This is executed solidly. Nothing too flashy but it's constant and has a kinetic energy to it. Jack is great at selling it and trying to counter it. So this was a good base for the 1st fall. Jack's bloody lip added to the fight they were in. The 1st 8 or 9 minutes is all Jumbo with the arm work. They're getting the story over that Jumbo has Jack's number. This is further cemented when Jack has to cheat with a hair pull in a overhead wristlock battle to finally get an advantage. Jack starts with the headlock and then starts to work the legs. They do a little back and forth till Jack gets the win with a Billy Robinson Backbreaker. Cool story of the 1st round where Jack makes Jumbo look like a guy who got unlucky in the 1st fall. The 2nd fall starts with a headlock by Jack followed up with a nasty elbow. If people worked a headlock like this no one would call a headlock boring. Jumbo on his comeback goes after the leg with a counter of an atomic knee crusher. Now Jumbo goes after the leg with nasty work on it. This works because his arm work came up short in the 1st fall so let's try another body part. I'm usually a guy who likes you to stay on a particular body part. Though in a 2 out of 3 fall changing it up really works cause each fall can be worked with different strategies to capture a fall. Here it's Jumbo on the leg. My complaint is some of Jumbo's stomps lacked ooomph. Jack's selling here also takes the work up a notch and really makes it compelling. A nice touch was when Jack got vertical and was retreating he closed his body up so his left side was protected. The finish with awesome with a Jumbo Butterfly followed up by an Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex for the 3 count. What a great fall that really ratches up the drama. It looks like Jumbo is on fire at this point. The 3rd fall we now see Jumbo going after the back. Again at times Jumbo's stomps looked soft. Still the idea is there. The finish is Jumbo going for an Oklahoma roll, that is countered by Jack for the 3. Who better to counter an Oklahoma roll than someone from Oklahoma. Final thoughts. This was good stuff. Jumbo was great at focusing at working body parts, that accentuated by Jack's selling.Some of the work was so subtle you really need to pay attention. Jack did a great job of making Jumbo a threat. The work at times came across as sterile because with the exception of the finish of the 2nd fall that match lacked pop. What it did have was good story telling, really smart work, and some great selling. Jumbo's stomps at times were bad, and wish we saw Jack on top for a bit more. Still this had too much great stuff. **** Jack Brisco vs Giant Baba (12/2/1974) This is another good title match. We open up with Baba going after the arm. Jack counters it with an ankle pick. This sets up Jack working the leg with a variety leg locks I loved Baba sneaking in a headlock counter to all the leg work. Baba fights back. He uses a standing surfboard for a bit. This might have lasted a bit too long though. Brisco isn't giving up he throws a nasty punch right at Baba's ear. Baba positions Brisco for a Russian Leg Sweep for 3. The break between falls is telling as Brisco is selling between falls. The 2nd fall Baba starts out attacking Jack's neck. Jack is trying to get some seperation to no avail. Baba gives a big Atomic drop here. Not to be out done Jack delivers a huge Belly to Back Suplex. In a call back to the work on the leg in the 1st fall Jack locks in the Figure Four. Baba is selling it big here. Baba's selling really milks the drama here. Brisco with the Figure Four for the 2nd fall. Now in between rounds it's a big contrast between the 1st fall. The 3rd fall begins with Baba trying to cause seperation from Jack so his leg can get better. Baba closes his body to protect his leg. Baba also uses his reach to keep Brisco at bay. That was a nice touch. Baba can't keep him off for long and Jack is working the leg with inner thigh shots. To make matters worse Baba uses his knee as a weapon and hurts it even more. Baba goes back to the Russian Leg sweep for a great nearfall. Which is also a great call to the 1st fall. Baba finally gets a hanging clothesline on Jack for 3 and a new NWA champ. Final thoughts: I thought this was real good. Both guys really impressed me here. The drama in the second and third falls really had some great drama in it. It was also very layered when it came to performances. I thought the mat wrestling in the 1st fall was good and had a real chess feel to it. **** 1/4 Jack Brisco vs. Giant Baba (12/05/74) 1st off Parv by rare I think the collector meant as in a title defense was rare. I loved this match. The first fall was so great. The mat wrestling was good here. Brisco working a headlock and Baba was fighting it every step of the way. The struggle here was off the charts. Brisco had the headlock while Baba was fighting for the leg. The work here with the headlock was so damn engaging. They mixed this up with some great struggle on a couple of overhead wristlock spots. The stakes are high here so Jack resorts to cheating quicker than in the 1st match. Eventually Baba is working a real compelling wristlock on the ground.This in turn morphs into a cross arm bar. This was all good stuff. We see Jack get some more work on the leg. The leg work was had a real edge to it. In a great call back to the 1st match Baba attempts his running swinging clothesline, but Jack sniffs it out and delivers a dropkick to counter. He follows it up with a back suplex to capture the 1st fall. The 2nd fall is real hot. We see Baba go after Jack's back. This was great. On top of that Baba really uses his weight to great advantage. This really adds a lot this fall. Seeing Baba work a Boston Crab was tremendous. He looked like he got serious torque. Brisco's desperation back slide was a neat near fall. Baba with the swinging neck breaker to capture the 2nd fall. The 3rd fall we see it breaking down into a fight. The strikes were ok, but not really their strengths. I thought Baba's looked better. Baba after the back with high impact moves. Brisco goes for the same stretch as the finish of the 1st fall. This time Baba is ready and counters the Back Suplex to capture the 3rd fall. Final thoughts: This match was so amazing. It's even better than the 1st. It's a few minutes shorter and they seemed to cut some of the fat out of it. The mat wrestling was better in the 2nd match. The match had a more aggressive edge to it. They built off aspects of the previous match. They built off aspects of previous falls. The story telling here was top notch. Both guys put on great performances. Brisco's fire and selling were really on display here. I can't put over enough the struggle in this match. A true classic, and a phenomenal match. **** 3/4. Jack Brisco vs. Bobo Brazil (03/13/75) This will be a test for Jack. Bobo has a rep for drawing money but being a terrible wrestler. Brazil has this white stuff coming out of his mouth like white worms. I'm guessing he's trying to get over that he's a rabid savage. I'm guessing Boogieman might have been able to get over in the 70's. He's seconded by Rufus Jones. The 1st fall is started by a pearl harbor by Brazil. He's all over Jack with headbutts and spewing out the white stuff. Bobo catches the 1st fall. The 2nd fall we see Brazil continue his assault on Jack. This time he works in some punches.These punches sucked. Jack makes a comeback and goes after the leg. The leg work is done well. I'm a real mark for the hamstring stretches. Brisco takes the fall with the Figure 4. The 3rd fall we see Brisco really take it to Bobo by targeting the leg. Brisco is a master at working a leg. Brazil attacks Jack with headbutts, gouges, and punches. Brazil's punches looked much better here. The violence is picking up. Rufus starts helping Bobo. Eventually they brawl to the outside for the match to be thrown out. Final thoughts: This match didn't resonate with me like it did for Parv. Jack had a pretty limited opponent and did his best with him. Not to shit all over Bobo, he did has his moments. His offense was really lmited, but they did a good job working around it. Jack was smart to try to cut down the tree that was Bobo Brazil. Still the match was lacking. **1/4 Jack Brisco vs. Bruiser Brody (04/26/81) This was just a 4 minute brawl. Upside the crowd was into it. I can see originally getting into it live, but being pissed that you only got 4 minutes. Overall the match seems like a real town killer. I kinda wish Jack would have just stretched the shit out of him. The no selling of the Figure 4 on the outside when Brody got back in was a real WTF moment. He's running the ropes for crying out loud. I did like Brody's big scoop and then the slam of Brisco. It was a nice power move. I'll give it 3/4* for the crowd, and the strength spot by Brody. Jack Brisco vs. Dory Funk Jr. 1/27/74 This is one of their famous draws that has made tape. The other is from Florida. I watched this one the other day, but was kinda drowsy. I rewatched it and realized how mediocre the match is. This is a match up that has been beaten upon wrestling fans as an all time great match up. I've seen this a few times. The 1st fall goes about 40 minutes. This was really boring. They seemed like they just didn't know where they wanted to go. So they would work holds. Sometimes the arm, sometimes the neck, sometimes the leg etc. I understand if you switch strategies because one isn't working. With Dory's lack of selling the holds you get no idea what's working and what isn't. Their are some neat stuff, but overall the 1st fall is lackluster. Jack on the other hand is great at selling the holds. Dory takes the 1st fall. Yet the 1st 40 minutes seems like a basketball team running out the clock until their's 5 seconds on the clock and they pick up the pace and make a move. Just like the finish of the 1st fall. The 2nd fall is much better.Both guys are much more aggressive. Jack with his punches and Dory with his European uppercuts. The work here is much more on point and has a sense of urgency. Jack takes it with the Figure 4. Dory finally looks like he's in pain. Thank you for giving me some emotion. The 3rd fall opens with Dory doing a good job selling the leg damage. Some more nice exchanges. It ends with Dory on the verge of winning as the bell rings. Final Thoughts: The 1st fall really missed the mark for me. Even with a much better 2nd and 3rd fall the match falls flat for me. Sam Muchnick is in the front row to start, but ends up giving up his seat to a little kid. The mat wrestling was not engaging for the most part. I thought Jack worked hard, but it didn't translate into a good match. Dory had his moments but dragged the match down for me. ** 1/2

He looked real smooth. The clips looked like they had a good match. He seemed pretty ahead of his time.

I watched all of these. It's an interesting look at Jack in his prime. These are basically highlights except the Lawler match.These alone won't make a case for him. Though if you put these as supplemental with his 9 or 10 complete matches in his prime, his post prime stuff in the early 80's, and his tag run with his brother helps flesh out Jack as a performer. I really loved the Watts highlights.

I can see it a little now Parv.

Awesome, and way better than James Cann as Bruno.

By historical viewpoint does that mean paying a jobber to come to Japan is nuts.

I viewed some of what Parv watched. I looked at these matches a few hours ago. Jack Brisco and Paul Jones vs. Buddy Colt and Johnny Valentine (06/05/73 It was a fun clip, but you don't get a lot out of it. Jack Brisco vs. Killer Khan (1979??) Here Jack gets a nice win in the studio. The match told a story and made perfect sense. Jack Brisco and Jimmy Garvin vs. Mike Fever and Gerald Finley (1980) This was interesting. Finley looked good, I wonder if he ever got an opportunity anywhere. Jack Brisco vs Mike Hammer (1980?) The commentary here is pretty great. Another squash. Jack Brisco and Jimmy Garvin vs Frank Monte and Geoff Portz (1980) Kind of funny seeing Garvin in the protege roll. I guess it's Garvin's amateur background. Jack Brisco vs. Buzz Sawyer (1981) I liked this a little more than Parv. I dug the quickness and opening shine of Jack getting the best of Buzz. You Jack lock on a Figure 4 arm bar. Then he would do a roll with it. I'm a mark for that move. Sawyer works the arm for a bit. It's not as fun as Jack's but it pushes the story forward. The finish was pretty great, and gets over Jack as like a pinning master. 2 1/2*. Clearly these guys have a great match in them. We get some more clips, and a squash. Jack Brisco vs Sweet Brown Sugar (1984?) This was a fun little match. Sweet Brown Sugar is Skip Young. Parv covers the match pretty good. Brisco clearly was working heel. He kinda had a stare of an assassin. I thought it cheapened Brisco a bit that he needed the Spoiler to help him get control of the match. Brisco did work a bit more rugged here as a heel. 2 3/4 *. Jack Brisco vs Brad Armstrong (1984?) This went maybe 4 minutes but it's a great 4 minutes. It looks like Brad is selling a neck injury. I loved how he showed up Jack with 2 Fireman Carry Takeovers. Armstrong controls with a headlock and we see him deliver a great drop kick. Jack goes after Brad's injury. The leg drop on the neck was great. The mean streak Jack shows here was great. Not enough to rate. Damn good stuff though. Some thoughts here as we see Jack in the 80's. He's lost a step, but clearly has a great psychology and is fun in his heel role.It's cool listening to announcers always referring to him as a former NWA World Champion. It really gave him a special aura.

I looked at these matches a few hours ago. Jack Brisco and Paul Jones vs. Buddy Colt and Johnny Valentine (06/05/73 It was a fun clip, but you don't get a lot out of it. Jack Brisco vs. Killer Khan (1979??) Here Jack gets a nice win in the studio. The match told a story and made perfect sense. Jack Brisco and Jimmy Garvin vs. Mike Fever and Gerald Finley (1980) This was interesting. Finley looked good, I wonder if he ever got an opportunity anywhere. Jack Brisco vs Mike Hammer (1980?) The commentary here is pretty great. Another squash. Jack Brisco and Jimmy Garvin vs Frank Monte and Geoff Portz (1980) Kind of funny seeing Garvin in the protege roll. I guess it's Garvin's amateur background. Jack Brisco vs. Buzz Sawyer (1981) I liked this a little more than Parv. I dug the quickness and opening shine of Jack getting the best of Buzz. You Jack lock on a Figure 4 arm bar. Then he would do a roll with it. I'm a mark for that move. Sawyer works the arm for a bit. It's not as fun as Jack's but it pushes the story forward. The finish was pretty great, and gets over Jack as like a pinning master. 2 1/2*. Clearly these guys have a great match in them. We get some more clips, and a squash. Jack Brisco vs Sweet Brown Sugar (1984?) This was a fun little match. Sweet Brown Sugar is Skip Young. Parv covers the match pretty good. Brisco clearly was working heel. He kinda had a stare of an assassin. I thought it cheapened Brisco a bit that he needed the Spoiler to help him get control of the match. Brisco did work a bit more rugged here as a heel. 2 3/4 *. Jack Brisco vs Brad Armstrong (1984?) This went maybe 4 minutes but it's a great 4 minutes. It looks like Brad is selling a neck injury. I loved how he showed up Jack with 2 Fireman Carry Takeovers. Armstrong controls with a headlock and we see him deliver a great drop kick. Jack goes after Brad's injury. The leg drop on the neck was great. The mean streak Jack shows here was great. Not enough to rate. Damn good stuff though.

No Holds Barred is streaming on Netflix. I just noticed it the other day.

I'm not saying he's going to sandbag it. I'm just saying it's a possibility. Just like his match at Mania could get shit on if people know he's a lame duck champion. These are things that could happen , not that they are. As a promoter these are ideas that should cross your mind.

If your not going to be there. The care factor isn't there. It's like your last day on the job.

Their are different ways to job to someone. It's how you job is the key. If he worked a match like the 1st Cena match from earlier in the year, but jobbed at the end will that elevate his opponent? Heck no. The crowd reaction is another thing if he's leaving. It might get ugly. Their are a lot of what ifs with Brock. He also did honest business because he was at the start of a contract. When you're leaving the motivation isn't there except how you motivate your self.

Brock also in his last match at Mania might not be in the mindset of making someone look good. Plus his opponent won't be able to stop him. I think it would be smarter for him to job the title at Rumble and maybe do a job for Ryback at Mania as the new bad ass if he seems up for doing business.

Brock has to drop it before Mania if he's not signed.

You could really build Ryback here . Have him win by going like 3 vs.1 and being the sole survivor. Heat him up for Rumble and Brock. If they aren't going to resign Brock put Ryback over him at Rumble.

I watched Blassie and Rikidozan from LA. Blassie was an incredible heel in this match.

We only have Brisco against Dory in their prime to look at. Wrestlers say Dory vs. Billy was just as good. We can't gauge it because it didn't make tape.

I think comparing and contrasting between the 2 is going to be interesting . Both guys have high end Japan matches. Do you compare the Briscos tag work to Robinson tagging with Hoffman and Angus? I'm not sure if that's fair. Do you judge highlights of stuff. I say you can look at it, but shouldn't make a case on it. Do you compare opponents . They both had classics against Baba, Inoki, and Jumbo. Billy also had classics against Verne and Bock in Japan. Other common opponents in Japan are Abdullah I feel Billy had a better match with Abby than did Jack. In the states in 82 both worked Funk Jr and again I thought Billy's match was better. Other things to look at are singles matches in the late 79, 80's . This is super close too. Billy has Bock, Tito, Martel, Jumbo , and Blackwell matches and others. Jack has Idol, Flair, Piper, and Muraco. I think we have a lot to evaluate .

I think Childs sums it up pretty good in his post . Both guys have the majority of their high end complete matches in Japan that made tape. Like Brisco both guys have a smattering of clips and highlights in the territories during their hey day .I think it will come down to how you weigh things. The fact that Jack was higher on the card doesn't mean squat to me in the GWE poll.

I look at more Jack. Jack Brisco vs The Gestapo (1978) This is a showcase match for Jack. His quickness is on display. We get a taste of his mat work. He really comes across as the best in the world. We get an interesting tag match next. Jack Brisco vs. Austin Idol (07/06/79) First up I'll agree with Parv that the talking head is Keirn, but not sure. Secondly, he's wrong about the finish. That was a false finish. The wrestlers kept going afterwards, the ref didn't deliver a 3 count. "Keirn" called it but was wrong. So he blew it or the promotion told him to so to give Idol a big win on t.v. The match itself was a blast. Idol was a real fun heel with loads of charisma. They can't work a technical masterpiece, but can work a great match none the less. We see some great hair pulling spots by Idol. He gets by with some fun heel tactics.Idol is great at working the crowd here. Jack uses the headlock to keep Idol at bay. He mixes the headlock up with high spots. Now both guys are attempting their Figure 4's and various spots to work the leg. The crowd totally eats the match up. We build to the finish that isn't really a finish .Brisco gives Idol an outside in belly to back suplex while Idol hits him with a foreign object that Parv and Keirn thought was the finish. I'll go 3 1/2*. This is a perfect example of Brisco looking like Steamboat when it came to working a match. Parv I thought you'd give Idol more credit for engaging the crowd.