ohtani's jacket

Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter (WWF, 8/13/83) Another fun chapter in their '83 feud. Backlund is still incensed about the whipping he received and beats the shit out of Slaughter for most of the bout, but Slaughter claws and fights his way back into the bout and there's a cool finish where Slaughter is standing on the apron and catches Backlund in the cobra clutch. He thinks he's won the bout but young Joey Marella counts him out and Slaughter puts the cobra clutch on Marella after the bout. Gorilla is on commentary with Dick, which isn't half as fun as Kal being there, but the times were a changing.

This was a really good match. It even had a lengthy opening mat exchange between Blue Panther and Tarzan Boy which reminded me that I'm not crazy and that Tarzan Boy developed into an excellent worker from 2000-2005. The rest of the bout was full of smart lucha exchanges. Atlantis continued his long-running rivalry with Rey Bucanero and Mistico was given some showcase moments. The finish was screwy but in a way that actually worked and made the rudos look clever. The trios set up a tag title match between Atlantis & Panther and Olimpico & Bucanero. I had no idea Atlantis & Panther were the tag champions at the time as for the some reason their title win didn't air on television (or is unavailable on tape in the US -- the broadcasts were a bit sketchy around this time.) Hopefully, the title match continues the good vibes from this trios.

This was a perfectly solid Triple H vs. Orton match. I had no complaints about the work and was happy to see a clear, definitive end to the feud. However, I will point out that it was very clear and very definitive, as Orton never had a chance to hit the RKO while Triple H finished Orton with a pedigree. Triple H evaded the RKO three times, IIRC, which is telling given Orton's gimmick is that he can hit the RKO from anywhere. It's a cool move and was given the Stone Cold Stunner treatment over the course of Orton's face run, but Triple H put that to bed. They worked a concussion angle prior to the finish. I assume it was designed to give Orton an out for the loss, but it was in poor taste given what we know about concussion injuries. Apparently, they turn Orton heel after this and have him feud with the Undertaker. I guess that's a smart move since they need to get Orton out of the way of the Triple H vs. Batista feud, but I've always wondered how, kayfabe-wise, wrestlers can get over a loss like this and move onto the next thing.

Fun six-man tag heading into the Rumble. The set-up for the Edge vs. Shawn Michaels match is weak sauce, but it's kind of fun watching Edge mock Michaels. Benoit vs. Christian was a solid match-up and made me wonder if there's more instances of that pairing.

Thanks for sharing the clips, Phil.

Are those recent additions to the archives? Does anyone know if the INA add new footage to the archives?

Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter (WWF, 5/23/83) This may be my favorite Backlund vs. Slaughter match. It helps if you watch the angle leading into the match where Slaughter challenged Backlund to beat his record at the Harvard Step Test only to attack Bob and whip him with his swagger stick. Bob is pissed before the bout saying that Slaughter had hurt everyone close to him and that he had tried to keep the beating a secret from his daughter but she had seen the footage at a friend's house. What follows is a frantic brawl where Backlund gets, in the words of the Macho Man Randy Savage, only a piece of what he wants from Slaughter.

Who are the opponents?

This was more about Orton's upcoming match against Triple H than it was Flair against Orton. Flair's main contribution to the match was busting open the stitches on Orton's forehead before it became the Orton vs. Triple H go home show confrontation. There was more tension between Triple H and Batista as well. I'm curious to see what they do with Orton after the Rumble.

I was also confused by what happened at the beginning. Things seemed to get out of hand with some fans, and they cut to Cornette cutting a promo on Bobby Heenan. This was a decent, hard-hitting bout. I dig Danielson's new look. They actually went ahead and did a Best of Five with each match having a different stipulation. Looks like it took them until May to complete the series. The booking here was fairly simple with Homicide beating Danielson at his own match, playing off the injury Danielson had suffered at the end of their last match where the Rottweilers tried to break his arm. Danielson demanded a taped fist match after the bout before stomping on Homicide's head.

Finally, a badass Suzuki match. I knew there had to be one eventually since it was a badass in the 2010s. No surprise that it's against the best in the world. Suzuki seemed to embrace the opportunity to step on Kobashi's home turf and piss all over it. I liked how they acknowledged that Kobashi had no counter to Suzkui's grappling skill, but that his chops and lariat were more than a match for Suzuki's strikes. I also liked the way Kobashi countered Suzuki's stand up game with a good old-fashioned headlock, which was in equal parts amusing and awesome because of the intensity that Kobashi exuded. They didn't go too deep into the well during this one, but honestly that made it an easier watch.

I love me some Super Parka and matches like this are the reason why: slow, methodical brawling with thoughtful rudo work. Even Monterrey, with all its bullshit, can't prevent this from being an entertaining singles match. It's hard to believe at times that Nicho used to be Psicosis. I sometimes wonder what sort of runs he could have in Mexico if he hadn't dropped his mask so cheaply. Still, if Super Parka can be awesome walking around in a skeleton outfit with a Superman "S" on the chest, Nicho can try a bit harder too. I really need to go on a Super Parka binge. I think I like him better than the actual Parka.

This was an entertaining bout. There's a case to be made that if CMLL are going to run short, truncated bouts then the best way to fill the time is to cram them with as much action as possible. That's certainly been the case whenever Zumbido has been put in apuesta bouts. The haircuts were more entertaining than the bout itself, but all told this was a fun undercard bout.

This was the go home show before the Elimination Chamber match. It was a short, intense bout between the two that managed to be compelling despite run-ins from every participant in the Elimination Chamber and Shawn Michaels to boot. That was largely because the match was allowed to continue after the brawl, and Orton scored a clean pinfall from a RKO. For as crappy a reputation as Hunter has, he sure knew how to do business.

Bob Backlund vs. Don Muraco (WWF, 2/18/83) This was one of the better Backlund/Muraco matches, IMO. Vince was joined on commentary by Gorilla, who did color. He was still fairly new to the commentary game at this stage and not so jaded. However, there was an awkward period in the middle of the match where Backlund had Muraco in a side headlock that went on for too long and Vince and Gorilla struggled with how to call it. They wound up getting pissy, but it was forgotten about when they turned it on for the finishing stretch. It was an exciting stretch, but ended with a stupid finish where Backlund lost his cool and struck the referee. He did that kind of shit way too much for a champion at his level. Afterward, he struck his manager then attacked Muraco while he was being interviewed by Kal Rudman. Murao had a shit eating grin wider than Haystacks Calhoun's backside. He was inside Backlund's head and loving it. If only he brought that sort of psychology to his matches.

We'll never know because we don't have any all the facts from the case, but I just wanted to throw out a quiet rest in peace to the guy.

Bob Backlund vs. Don Muraco (WWF, 11/29/81) It took a while for these guys to realize they were in a no holds barred, Texas Death Match, but once they did they turned it into the most entertaining version of a Muraco vs. Backlund brawl you can imagine. But it only lasted 13 minutes and ended with a dodgy pin.

This was a great looking match on paper, and may have lived up to that potential anywhere other than Mexico City, but in the sub-15 minute match era, at least they made an effort to make the tercera caida the best fall of the match. It wasn't a revelation, but it at least left you with a better taste in your mouth than the opening caidas. The finish was clean as well, which meant no kick in the balls for the aficionados. There are probably better examples of workers working within the CMLL restrictions, but these guys cleared the bar nonetheless.

This was another excellent match between these two, however it was clear that they were running the match up one more time before transitioning towards something else, so it didn't have the epic one-on-one feel of their previous match ups. Both guys were so good at taking each other apart. There wasn't a sequence that went by where they weren't thinking about how to inflict the most pain possible. Forget about indy respect, these guys were out to hurt one another.

Bob Backlund vs. Don Muraco (WWF, 11/14/81) Kal and Dick joke that this might go 90 minutes. The joke's not funny. These guys sure didn't mind working at a snail's pace. It's easy to blame Muraco for being deadweight, but Backlund wasn't exactly setting the world alight with his performances. Once again, the work isn't bad, but it's not that far off watching paint dry.

Bob Backlund vs. Greg Valentine (WWF, 12/12/81) This was a fairly intense bout between the two. Kal and DIck deliver a classic rambling call. For some reason, Kal is in a strange mood and keeps getting agitated by Backlund's mistakes. It's like listening to a dude at a bar get pissed at the TV screen when his favorite player is having an off night. There's another shitty finish to go with the other shitty Backlund vs. Valentine finishes, but the work itself is top notch. Bob Backlund vs. Don Muraco (WWF, 10/17/81) Here we go. I know to some fans this match is the punishment that awaits sinners at the Seventh Circle of Hell, but armed with the knowledge that this goes broadway, a real man can stomach it. It's not like they do anything illogical. It's just slow. Even Dick and Kal get bored at times. They started off all fired up, but halfway through Dick is wondering how it's gonna last and starts talking about random shit like Backlund's teeth. The work isn't bad, it's just a stalemate. That word gets tossed around a bit, but this really was a stalemate. They could have wrestled for 8 or 9 hours and there wouldn't have been a winner. Staler than a month old loaf, perhaps, but I made it to the end and that's a badge of honor for me.

This didn't look like much on paper, and didn't seem like much in the beginning, but they worked hard to turn it into a match worth watching in the tercera only to piss it all away with an awful DQ finish. The kind of finish that makes you wonder why you bothered to watch the match in the first place. From three stars to DUD in the span of a few seconds.

This was a match from Guadalajara, so it had a bit of a houseshow vibe to it. Santo and Ultimo didn't go anywhere near as hard as they could have and Bucanero did comedy, but they succeeded in getting Mistico's offense over. He produced most of the highlights and hit his spots cleanly. The fans were wowed if nothing else.

This was around the time when Olimpico won the University de 1000% Guapo vs. Los Guerreros cibernetico match and was promoted to the role of third member in the GdI trio. I believe Wagner was still a rudo here. The match was largely built around the Guerreros beating on Wagner until he made a triumphant comeback and squared off with Ultimo one-on-one. You can do worse than Ultimo Guerrero vs. Dr. Wagner. Shocker took a backseat but had some decent moments. If you ever want to see what Olimpico looks like, this is the match. His mask was ripped in such a way that it was impossible for him to hide his identity. Dos Jr continued to suck, but they were committed to breaking him in.

This was a jam-packed match while it lasted. It was rudos contra rudos which is always fun. It's comforting to know that Universo 2000 still hates Perro Sr after all this time. Perro Jr & Universo have a big scrap on the outside to begin with until the attention shifts towards Satanico vs. Perro Jr. This was a rare match up and was awesome. It kind of made me wish Perro was feuding with Satanico instead of Universo, but that wasn't the case. Satanico and Dantes threatened La Comandante on the outside, which fired up creaky old Pierroth and set in motion the main event for Sin Piedad.