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Everything posted by JerryvonKramer
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I've just turned 32. The main way I've changed as a fan is that 10 years ago my love for wrestling was all about kitsch. I loved it in a one-eyebrow-raised post-ironic sort of way. I was more or less solely about what you'd call "the bullshit". I'd watch it in the same way I'd watch Adam West Batman. The main change is basically admitting that I just love wrestling. Not in a post-ironic sort of way, but just straight up. I still do a mean sideline in kitsch, and still marvel at how something like TNT ever got on national TV, but for the past four years or so I've become increasingly interested in all aspects of wrestling from burrowing deep into its history to gaining exposure to matches and workers from different times and places. It's more than an obsession at this point, it's just part of my life.
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I think the longevity aspect for teams that did last should add to their viability to some degree. If you aren't a draw, you won't be kept together or used in any sort of meaningful capacity for very long. Hmmmm, I'm not sure of that. The flipside is that if you are a draw, it might speed up the inevitable point that you are split up to work the money feud together. What's the shortest time a team can be together for the split to really mean something? A year? Nine months even? Not saying that longevity should be totally discounted, but a team not being kept together is not necessarily a symptom of failuire: it could also mean success.
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Well look on the bright side, we were pretty close on the Dump match.
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Since I've ruled out Backlund making my 100 (which I may come to reconsider thinking about the number of good matches he has), I don't really see Patera making it. However, for those who haven't seen it, a great performance by both guys is: Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (5/19/80) This is the Texas Death Match. Reviewed on Titans #14, and I think it ended up as our match of the year for 1980. He also has a pretty good match with Pat Patterson for the IC title a few weeks before that. Ken did not come out of the AWA 80s Project with any matches that I rated A- or above. Highest was: B+ Crusher Blackwell & Ken Patera vs. High Flyers (11/24/83) I don't think Patera was ever a super worker, but he's certainly a lot better than his rep among some fans would suggest. A guy who was severely hurt by having his nadir coincide with being on millions of TV screens.
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There is some context. They had a match the previous year in 1977 so had a pretty heated rivalry going into this. And Sheik and Abby are just such cheating villainous swines that it seems to send Dory over the edge. I think what sets him off is Sheik attacking his hand earlier in the match, which is why he targets the hand in the psychotic attack. I think a lot of people will prefer the 79 match (also a classic), which is the blow off to all of this and more a "real match". But there's something about the level of primal rage in the 78 match that struck a chord. Sheik is a desparate and broken figure at the end of it all. Which is where those Magnum / Tully comparisons come in. I'll probably be alone in thinking it's better than the 79 match.
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I will be watching more Lucha, especially the pimped stuff. I have a feeling you'll be right though. The way I already know without watching another three dozen Lawler matches that he's not going to be breaching the top 10. Not completely counting out Lucha guys, I mean I did love MS-1 vs. Chicana (see here). But it's safe to say that I'm not naturally inclined to being a "Lucha guy". Hansen has a real shot. Funk's longevity feels like a bit of a cheat to me because he's not working week in, week out like Flair and Jumbo and so it's easier to drop in and make a splash. In fact, as things stand, Funk and Hansen are probably duking it out for #3. But there's no way I can count out the 90s AJPW guys from being in there either. No one from the 00s has a shot of my top 10 because my criteria doesn't really allow for it. Too early for them.
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As things stand right now, Jumbo is the only worker who has a real shot at unseating Flair as #1 for me. Jumbo is someone who has a career that you can really stack up against Flair's. In fact, Jumbo starts earlier as a really meaningful worker than Flair does. He has matches on tape going back to 1972-3. Flair in the 78-9 is hurt a bit by lack of footage, but we can see enough of him on the Cornette Garbage tapes, in St. Louis and elsewhere to get a feel for what Flair was like in 78. But it's not that controversial to say that between these two Gods of the 80s, Jumbo's 70s is significantly better than Flair's. I've barely scratched the surface of 70s Jumbo, but he was great in a match tagging with Baba vs. The Funks I reviewed (11/30/79) and equally impressive against Harley Race (6/11/77). I've got both of them rated at ****1/2 / A-. From the 80s, I've got these matches rated at A- or above: A* Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89) Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83) Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87) A Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88) A- Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87) Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86) Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86) And just last night there were four more already from 1990, and I've barely even started on the 90s stuff: A* Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (09/01/90) A Jumbo Tsuruta vs Mitsuharu Misawa (06/08/90) Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada(09/30/90) A- Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue(05/26/90) ------- To me, Jumbo is just a transcendent worker. When he's on form, I can't think of many better offensive wrestlers. He hits every single move with such velocity and impact that it makes the ground shake. Jumbo might not be the biggest guy ever to step into the ring, but he's certainly one of the most physical. He can make a slight size advantage really count in a way that is special. He is great at selling. He bumps his arse off. He can work the mat. He can trade strikes. He can work hour-long technical broadways. He can work heated sprints. He can brawl. He can be the nice babyface champion who'd shake hands with your mother. He can be a total prick. He has a wonderfully expressive face that registers that unique mixture of disgust and being affronted that only Jumbo can register. I don't want to count out other candidates just yet, but a lot of them will have the problem of both longevity and volume. But right now, it's looking like a straight fight between Flair and Jumbo.
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I don't think that match is built around a Terry comeback spot though. If you read my review you'll see that it's the Dory/ Sheik stuff that puts it over the top for me. Even though the Terry / Abby stuff is great. I think Abby's psychology in that match is better than Dump's by some distance.
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Shit, that's a real shame. The "Davies Suspension Hold" is a great and unique move too.
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Gwyn Davies needs to be nominated if he isn't!
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Steve Veidor vs. Gwyn Davies (5/26/76) Being a Welshman I simply had to watch this because "Gwyn Davies" might just be the most Welsh name ever. I don't know why I've waited till now to watch some 70s British wrestling, I love watching British TV from the 70s, so it should really be right up my street in terms of presentation and "feel". And my first impressions are exactly that, immediately feel "very at home" watching this which is probably more important to me than most fans. Love the voice the ring announcer has. Love the hair styles. Love Weidor's 70s sideburns. Veidor's gay floaty cartwheel thing at the start was a little distracting, but immediately we establish two very different characters here. Weidor the young buck, who has some flash, giving up about thirty pounds in weight and half a foot in height to Davies, the established veteran and champion who is not going to be taking any shit from this prancing upstart. I'll admit that I've never heard of Gwyn Davies but he's tremendous here. Consummate heel, starts off fairly subtle but becomes more and more overt as the match progresses until he's just an open dick by the end. His smug, self-satisfied face is great. During this match we get to see some truly world class limb work from Davies. The way he pounds on the arm while he's working it is really nasty and this is exactly how I like matwork to be done. Totally engrossing. But Davies also throws some of the sickest forearm elbow smashes you'll ever see. He's masterful here controlling this crowd and feeding Weidor his hope spots. Some of this stuff is not very complicated -- the sneaky hidden punch to the face while in a headlock spot is a very well-worn heel trope, and a staple, for example, of Baron Mikel Scicluna's offensive arsenal. But Davies does it possibly better than I've ever seen it done here. When he connects with those punches it feels like a massive moment. Especially once Weidor is caught and starts bleeding (hard way?) from the mouth. I feel like I've sold Weidor's performance a bit short in that write-up but I really thought this was all about Davies. He has Nick Bockwinkel levels of self-satisfaction and by the end everyone in the room -- including both the commentator (I assume this is Walton) and, hilariously, the ring announcer -- have turned on him. The 30 minutes fly by. I loved this and immediately want to watch more 70s WoS. ****1/2 I did want to say a few general things about the rules. First of all, the round system is quite exciting to me. Rather than being alienating, it seems much more like an intriguing storytelling device where you can build in more layers than a one-fall match. I guess it's taking the possibilities of the 2 out of 3 falls to the next level. But this match, for example, used those rounds to tell a great story. Second, I absolutely LOVE the idea of a "first public warning". Three strikes and you're out (and seemingly the belt changes hands too). That brings a whole new dimension to the notion of cheating in a match. The ref can catch you, but you've essentially got three lives, and Davies in that match exploits that as if it's a glaring loophole. The digust of the crowd and the officials is palpable. What's so great about that though is that the "public warning" system brings the rules front and centre, so breaking them is a really big deal. The British despise cheating. Even now, there's an undercurrent in football that "those cheating foreigners might dive but we play FAIR", and so the system is absolutely perfect for the crowd. I'm looking forward to following up on some of OJ's recommendations in his various British Wrestling threads.
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I seem to recall he has a decent MSG match against Backlund (12/29/80). In the *** range.
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Chigusa Nagayo vs Dump Matsumoto (8/28/85) I just watched this and I don't really know what to say. Not because of the match, but because of the gap between my reaction to it and seemingly everyone else's. Let me put it this way: Chad's review up there is much better than the match itself. I almost feel like I want to watch it again to see what I'm missing. I did really enjoy the entrances, especially Dump and "her leather-clad-butch-lesbian-underground-club bitches of 80s doom". Dump sort of reminded me of a kind of cross between Abdullah the Butcher (in the weapon usage, the insane levels of cheating etc.) and Stan Hansen (in the dominant, bully-beef style) with a whole load of unique character work of her own thrown in. I did think her heel performance was great. The parts are all there: the villainy of the weapon usage, the total dickery of still using short-cuts despite Chigusa being obviously near-beaten, the cocky little swagger after the chair shot, the smug self-satisfaction at the victory. It's all there. But something in this match felt missing to me. I've had a think about what it was and really it amounts to this: the heat sequence that leads to Chigusa being bloodied and beaten just isn't violent enough. That might sound ridiculous, but I mean ... what did Dump actually do to her? We get a half crab, a few shots to the head with the handle of the scissors, and a chair shot. I'm not being churlish, but if I'm meant to put this up there with Magnum and Tully or the Sheik/Abby vs. Funks stuff I love so much, there has got to be more there. Now, I agree with everyone that the scorpion deathlock (which I assume is her signiture hold, cos she has "Scorpion" written down her leg) spot is magical. Fantastic visual and moment. It's everything a babyface comeback spot should be and more. But my problem is that I don't feel like the match to that point had earned it. The offense from Dump before that just wasn't severe enough for it to truly pay off ... at least not for me. The post-match with the crying fans is definitely something to see, and I was pretty transfixed by it. But I'm not sure I entirely understand the psychology of Chigusa not taking her just desserts. Perhaps there is some cultural or gender thing I'm missing. Traditional wrestling psychology would say that in that instance, the babyface has to front up "man up" and take what is coming to him. Chigusa does the opposite of that here and essentially runs away / begs off. She doesn't get a pass from me there just for being a woman, perhaps someone can explain that to me. I don't really buy Chad's explanation because -- as I've said -- Dump's offense didn't seem that severe anyway. Take your hair cut like a proper wrestler Chigusa! Ha ha. On the plus side, it made me really want to watch the rematch which I will do soon. To me this felt like a setup for an inevitable blow off. And it achieved some tremendous heat for Dump and a rare level of sympathy for Chigusa (how often did the fans in Joshi actually cry?) But I wasn't really overawed by this. That said, I have high hopes for the rematch, and did think that both workers were great in their roles here. ***3/4 I will say though that I have totally no problem watching Joshi. This just felt like pro wrestling to me only it was women rather than men. In fact, it was a hell of a lot easier to get into than Lucha has been for me to date, chiefly because I was able to follow it and knew exactly what was going on which I haven't always been able to do with Lucha.
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Oldest/Earliest Wrestling You Are Watching For The Project
JerryvonKramer replied to TravJ1979's topic in 2016
If you're interested there are quite a few matches from the 1930s knocking around from when they'd show matches before motion pictures in the cinemas (a bit like when they'd show cartoons in the same slot). Look up Ali Baba vs. Red Brannigan as a starting point, but there's probably more from the 1930s than there is from the 1960s. The 60s are a real dark period for wrestling on TV. A month or so back I was talking about this with Kelly on a Titans recording during a break. He gave about a 20-minute lecture on the history of wrestling on TV which was amazing. I wish it had been recording! Maybe he can fill in some of that stuff here, because it's fascinating. -
I find it interesting that you make Terry the star of that match, because I thought the real star turns were by Dory and The Sheik. My review is here.
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Call for papers of possible interest to PWOers
JerryvonKramer replied to JerryvonKramer's topic in Pro Wrestling
The deadline for this was Friday, but I could probably still send in an abstract since we've been in touch and exchanged a few emails. However, after some deliberation, I honestly don't think I want to. I'm not sure I like what this proposed book is trying to do. And I really objected to the idea that they didn't want to go into specifics of particular wrestlers, matches or feuds. They say in the call: "the editors are especially interested in essays that address the myriad global forms of professional wrestling such as lucha libre and puroresu" -- yeah, right they are! I just think I could write a better book on wrestling alone. I mean, I probably won't, but still. -
Why hasn't anyone nominated Choshu and Yatsu?
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All Japan Excite Series #1
JerryvonKramer replied to JerryvonKramer's topic in Publications and Podcasts
Thanks for comments guys. If anyone else wants to add in their ratings like Chad has done, these threads might be a handy reference point come April 2016. Also, if you haven't watched this 90s All Japan stuff before, now is a great time to do so. I will also keep a track of mine and Steven's ratings, which you'll find below:- 18 replies
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http://placetobenation.com/all-japan-excite-series-1/ Join Parv (Where the Big Boys Play, Titans of Wrestling) and Steven "Grimmas" Graham (Pro Wrestling Super Show) to watch some of the greatest matches ever to grace the squared circle from All Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1990s. Starting in 1990 and moving forward chronologically, they will review four highly-rated AJPW matches once a month. On this first episode: 05/26/90 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Masa Fuchi 06/08/90 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta 09/01/90 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta 09/30/90 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue The PWO-PTBN Podcast Network features great shows you can find right here at Place to Be Nation. By subscribing on iTunes or SoundCloud, you’ll have access to new episodes, bonus content, as well as a complete archive of: Where the Big Boys Play, Titans of Wrestling, Pro-Wrestling Super-Show, Good Will Wrestling, and Wrestling With the Past.
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I'm keen to get other people's views on Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr vs. The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher (9/19/78), since I dropped 5 stars on it, and feel like it's up there in terms of "beyond wrestling-ness" with Magnum and Tully. Winged Eagle didn't like it as much as me but still gave it ****1/4. I suspect most people have watched it before at some point or other, but it's not a bad place to start for a re-evaluation of at least three of the guys involved. Career performances from Dory and Sheik, and possibly also Abdullah. For some reason the 79 match gets a lot of the press (it is also awesome), but I thought 9/19/78 is one of the best matches I've seen in years. Struck a chord with me.
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When dealing with a virtual universe in which all ills are settled by violence, it seems a bit rich to talk about "moral repugnance".
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Dory Funk Jr. vs. Gene Kiniski (2/11/69) No sound on this. Even though it's 1969, Dory still looks middle aged. Historic match-up for the NWA world title, Kiniski is the champ. Elbow and collar tie-up to start into a headlock by Dory. Headscissors by Dory results in Kiniski dumping him on the turnbuckle and pasting the shit out of him. Kiniski is working in a real stiff and bruising manner. He gullotines Dory on the top rope a couple of times dropping down to the outside to do it. There's been a lot of motion in this match so far, Big Gene keeps things moving. Applies a front chinlock and Dory bridges up to a vertical base. Slugfest now and Dory starts busting out the uppercuts. Kiniski begs off in the corner. Narrative of the match so far is that Dory is trying to wrestle and Kiniski wants to brawl. Dory gets on a hammerlock and drives multiple knee drops onto the arm. Dory is controlling this now by staying on the arm. Kiniski eventually comes back with a chop and a snapmare. Dory goes for a backslide for two. Sunset flip for two. Kiniski hits a back suplex to even the odds. Dory hits a backdrop and two bodyslams for two. Blatant lowblow by Kiniski! He goes for a side salto but Dory reverses into a SPINNING TOE HOLD! Kiniski tries to come back again but Dory goes back to it, again and then for a third time. He must do about 20 repeitions of the spinning toehold before celebrating his big world title win. Decent match. Watching it in deathly silence and the 16mm film make it look like something out of the 1930s than out of the late 60s, but this was fine. I would have probably liked Kiniski to get more of the match, because it did seem like he was soundly beaten here, but I guess if you're going to put over the new champ, you might as well put him over strong. Kiniski seems like a guy who would have been really good a couple of years before this. **1/2 Dory Funk Jr. vs Antonio Inoki (02/12/69) Oh no it's Inoki! I've psyched myself up for this because on paper it has the potential to be the most boring match of all time. This is just one day after the Kiniski match.That was a quick flight! Dory Funk Sr is with Jr in his cowboy hat. He looks a bit like a cross between his two sons, but more like Terry (with goatee). Inoki looks like a Japanese Elvis Presley and is cool as hell. An old Japanese dude reads from a scroll with traditional (vertical) Japanese characters on it. The contrast in visual quality to the footage of the Kiniski match is striking. I mean, Dory actually looks like he might have once been 30 years old here. Incidentally he was around 28 here. The young Inoki is two years younger and looks spry. I can't help but notice that in 1969, it seems like fewer Japanese people wore suits in the crowd than they would later in the 1970s and 80s. Interesting. In fact, a few of them seem to be wearing the Mao-style traditional tunics (which I thought were only Chinese). There's also a lot of the long Columbo-style biege rain coats. Cagey to start as the guys feel each other out. Arm drag by Inoki into an arm bar Inoki to breaks the deadlock. Stays on the arm. Dory tries to break free but just get a couple more arm drags for his trouble. And then another one. Dory eventually turns things around and his gameplan is to work on the leg which he does with those "falling back" leglocks (anyone know the name for that move?). One point I'll make here is that although this has been worked exclusively on the mat, they've kept things moving quite a lot. The moments of action are explosive and both wrestlers seem really agile. Dory goes to a half crab and into something that looks like an STF. Inoki reverses into a hammerlock. There is a lot of struggle during all of this. Another interesting little point is that Dory Sr is very active at ringside, he's playing a traditional US manager role but in Japan. That's interesting to see. Dory goes into a leglock now. Inoki keeps trying to counter, but Dory has an answer for him every time. Test of strength spot now and I think things are starting to drag a bit here. Dory Sr is audibly trash talking some of the crowd at ringside, I'm guessing the Japanese don't speak Texan. As things stand Inoki has Dory in a body scissors and things keep threatening to spill over into more overt violence. Dory comes back with a nasty double axehandle to the mid-section and goes back to the half crab. Some of this matwork has lacked intensity to me. Both guys are selling well and showing a lot of struggle, but I'm not sure if they are actually working the holds very interestingly. Things spill over a bit now and Dory takes a tumble to the outside. I've just noticed that a young Harley Race is there as a second! Handsome he is too. Dory starts to do some subtle heel stuff now. He refuses to lock up. He puts himself between the ropes. The crowd boo and even throw some rubbish into the ring. Inoki sends Dory flying off the apron with a running forearm smash to cheers. But of course, being Inoki he follows this bit of excitement up with ... a headlock. In fairness it's a GREAT headlock which he wrenches and wrenches. Dory reverses with a back suplex and then stamps on Inoki's hand -- nasty! There's no messing about any more, no pleasantries or politeness. The level of violence and intensity is slowing rising on a moderate gradiant. Now that I've said all that, we get a handshake and a clean lock up. Inoki keeps going for the Boston crab and there are several attempts. He eventually gets it and the crowd goes wild, but Dory comes back and targets that injured hand again before bailing. I do wish that Inoki would do more than follow up every high spot by going back to a hold. He sucks the life out of matches, even at 26 he was happy just to sit there. Dory tries to escape this latest arm hold by doing headstands. Dory regains control and dumps Inoki out of the ring (subtle heel). We get some King of the Mountain now as Dory cuts the ring off and stops Inoki from re-entering. We even get a pose from Dory to rile the crowd. Awesome moment now as Inoki sends Dory in for the Irish whip and Dory Sr covers the turnbuckle!! I never knew that was a spot that the Funks had learned from their dad. Referee admonishes him and the crowd aren't happy. It's great that they went to Japan and heeled it up in 1969. Back in the ring and Dory has a chinlock on. Well with that chin I wonder if Dory's doing more damage to his own arm!! Would YOU chinlock Inoki? Anyway, he turns things round and goes into an armlock, but Race and Dory Sr distract the referee for Dory to cheaply capitalise and reverse it. Seems to me that there has been rather too much parity in this match so far. Inoki works a hold, then Dory works a hold, Inoki works a hold, then Dory works a hold. It feels like it's been like that for 30 minutes now. I want something to HAPPEN dammit. As I say that Inoki smashes Dory into the turnbuckle and does a few stomps but then ... back to the hammerlock. This is getting ... dry. Some rope running now and Dory hits a big Jumbo-style knee -- don't recall him doing that before. And he goes back to the plan he's been working on for some time now: the hand. I actually like this little detail. He's not working the arm but THE HAND. And there's something really sinister and calcuated about that. The little bones in the hand seem like they might be mangled. It's generally just meaner than working an arm. Anyway, two dropkicks by Inoki pop the crowd but Dory comes back with a snapmare before a near-fall for Inoki. Dory is resorting to strikes now, but then misses a dropkick. He goes for the big butterfly suplex and hits it! Two count. Kick out by Inoki makes the crowd roar. Inoki is as over as Bruno Sammartino was in New York, crowd are with him 100% in everything he does. Dory hits a kneedrop from the top rope and covers for another two. Big slap by Doy now, and a slam. But Inoki catches him on the turnbuckle and slams him off. Action goes outside and Dory stomps on Inoki on the floor. Distraacts the ref as Dory Sr squares up with some seconds. Airplane spin!! Inoki gets a two count from that. Straight into the headlock. See, why would he want to go right back to the headlock after getting that nearfall? It's just so ... soooo boring. Inoki!! Why are you so stubbornly boring? I just hate the way he consistently follows up excitement with a hold. I don't see how it makes sense from any point of view (psychology, crowd control, etc.) Every time things threaten to get exciting, he takes the wind out of the sails. Dory works the 400th leghold now and does the "falling back" thing again. This is a problem. I feel like the match hasn't really moved on from where it was 30 minutes ago. I thought the violence was gently escalating but that sadly hasn't transpired and we're left with this seemingly endless series of not-very-interesting holds, The match hasn't had any flow. Dory takes things outside now and smashes Inoki's head on a table. Big block forearm. Where did that come from? Dory dumps Inoki again now near Race and Dory Sr. Bodyslam outside. So now he seems like he wants to fight dirtier. Inoki drags Dory out of the ring and they brawl outside. Back in and Inoki is laying in shots that I honestly don't think are very good. He hits an awkward-looking vertical suplex for two. Dory goes for a backslide. Slam by Inoki. Inside cradle by Dory. Snapmare. Double missed dropkicks and both men are down. Dory covers for barely two. Couple of slams by Dory now, still just two. Octopus!! Dory immediately dumps Inoki out of the ring. That's an effective counter. After some more stuff Inoki comes back to it again and the bell goes. New champion? No, it appears that we have a time-limit draw. Dory was nowhere near submitting. This was really quite dull and while I blame that mostly on Inoki, Dory didn't exactly do much to make him do much more (which I suppose you wouldn't expect of him, but still). The main problems with this match are: 1. it lacks intensity. 2, it lacks any real structure, doesn't build at all and 3. almost nothing happens for 45+ minutes. Dory did some neat stuff in targetting the hand, and some good subtle heel work, but I won't be watching this one again in a hurry. Especially not when the next match is ANOTHER Inoki one that goes even longer. Inoki is so boring. ***
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I agree. Those 70s guys I'm looking at (e.g Dory Jr, Brisco, Race) arguably have a bigger up hill battle because there are lots of people who just don't give a shit about the 70s. And some posters (i.e. Will) have shown open hostility to Dory. I'm not really letting it put me off. The Dory thread has had a grand total of 7 replies. I'm just carrying on, not sulking off. I think the 00s and 10s people will have an easier time of it than the 70s people -- the period is closer, more footage is available, it's perceived as being less "boring", the guys will come to mind more readily for people who have been watching. There are a lot of natural advantages for the modern wrestlers over their 70s counterparts in a vote like this.
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Well I just did some searches for "WKO wrestling forum top 100" on Google and seeing the various reactions to the list on different forums reminded me what awful places the vast majority of them are. Look at the quality of discussion here and here, for example. Now think about what PWO is like in general.