Matches From 1984

[goodhelmet]

The Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics (No DQ) (Mid-South, 1984)

 

For a match to be special or stand-out, it usually has to do the little things right. The small attention to detail that could easily be overlooked, but when applied throughout, make a match that more special. If you didn?t know by now, Mid-South loved the gimmick matches, and they especially loved No DQ matches. As a background, Jim Cornette is wearing a wrestler?s mask at ringside. He recently had his head shaved when Hercules Hernandez (Cornette?s bodyguard) lost a match to Jim Duggan. This is also the Condrey & Eaton version of the MX so people don?t go in expecting Stan Lane. Before the match even begins, the crowd is worked up into a frenzy. They appear so restless that the PA Announcer has to tell them to sit down or the match will not continue. This immediately sets off the alarms to what will be one hell of a fight.

 

The first? little thing? the Fantastics do right happens before the bell even rings. The Fantastics take off their jackets and hold them. Once the bell sounds, they throw the jackets at the Midnight Express, temporarily blinding them, so they can attack. This sets off a shine segment that sees Rogers & Fulton playing babyface by using traditional heel tactics such as blatant double-teams, eye rakes, chokeholds, and employing the services of the outside guard rail and ring-post. Using this strategy, the Fantastics have complete control of the early portion of the match and it is a refreshing dynamic to see the faces cheat so openly? and get cheered for it!

 

Although I love the strategy incorporated, the early going is quite sloppy and a couple of moves looked either fake (a knee lift that doesn?t even connect) or poorly executed (an atomic drop). They quickly win me back though with more gratuitous face cheating. This establishes a nice early theme that when the faces are given permission to cheat, they will inevitably always be able to beat the heels at their own game? and the cheating doesn?t let up. The Fantastics continue with low blows, biting the forehead, and switching places without tagging.

 

Around the five-minute mark, The Midnight Express gain control with a Condrey knee to Fulton?s back after an Irish whip near the MX corner. The MX re-establish the No DQ stipulation by throwing Fulton over the top-rope and Fulton sells the damage. This brings us to the face-in-peril segment where the MX slow things down and build heat from an already vociferous crowd. I really admire the way the MX control this part of the match. The Fantastics are known as high-flyers so the MX keep Fulton grounded as the MX string together some nice heel work of their own? pulling hair, choking with the ropes, and allowing the tension to build as they work over Fulton. In this match, Fulton plays face-in-peril just as well, if not better, than any Ricky Morton match I have ever seen.

 

The end segment has its ups and downs and is where the match starts to ignore the little things and go overboard. First off, Fulton is never able to make the hot tag since Rogers gets fed up and takes matters into his own hands. He goes in and ties Condrey up in the ropes while Eaton is preoccupied with Fulton. A roll-up attempt sees Fulton, Condrey and the ref go down in a heap in the outside. This is where he Mid-South overbooking rears its ugly head. Cornette takes Fulton out with the Ether Rag(!) and the MX finish Fulton off with a top-rope clothesline for the pin.

 

Final Thoughts

The beginning of this match showed great promise. The Fantastics early control of the match showed how successful they could be when using dirty tactics. This more than made up for the sloppy execution that plagues potential great matches. The MX heat segment was also really neat to watch as the MX show that they still can?t be matched when it comes to cheating and controlling a match. The biggest disappointment was the end segment that happened way too fast and never saw enough back-and-forth segments to give the crowd the emotional roller-coaster that they were anticipating. Once Rogers entered the ring, the match was practically over after a couple of minutes of overbooked shenanigans. If this No DQ match had another 5-10 minutes to play with, I have no doubt it would have come to a much more satisfying conclusion.

[Loss]

Midnight Express v Fantastics - Mid South 1984 (No DQ)

 

I think my favorite worker in this match is Bobby Eaton, because every time he cheats, he thinks he's getting away with it, and Bobby Fulton comes from behind and either punches him or chokes him out. The heat is insane, as would be expected for '84 Mid South. I love the way they get the little things right -- the heels are relentless on Bobby Fulton's arm, to a point where Fulton is trying to run in circles at one point to get the momentum going against Eaton, so Eaton drops down instinctively to avoid this. He finds a counter, which works, so Eaton distracts the ref so they can weaken him some more illegally. The way they progress and not only cheat to be assholes, but cheat because they try wrestling first and Fulton is too good at that, is a subtletly lost on so many modern-day heels, and if this match proves anything, it's that the best matches progress all the way through. "X" move leads to "y" move leads to "z" move. The Midnights are also good for some really cool offense -- I really liked the butterfly suplex from Eaton and the lariat from Condrey, and of course the doubleteam finisher is great! This was the first time I'd seen the Midnights do the Doomsday device, but it's probably the best version of the move I've ever seen. This isn't really the best match from either team, or even close really, but it's another good example of what tag team wrestling used to be and how far it's fallen.

 

***1/4

[goodhelmet]

See, I wanted to call it a Doomsday Device but my understanding is the Doomsday is where they have the victim on the shoulders and the guy comes off the top with a clothesline. In this version, Condrey has Fulton in the Bearhug and Eaton comes off with the clothesline.

[Loss]

LOD has done the move both ways throughout the years, actually. I'll call it the Doomsday Device until a better name comes along.

[Guest Some Guy]

It sounds more like the Hart Attack only with the clothesline coming off the top rather than the mat.

[goodhelmet]

That is exactly the type of Doomsday Device it was.

[Tim Cooke]

The No DQ match is easily the worst of the MX/Fantastics matches in this set of DVD's.

 

Tim

[goodhelmet]

I haven't watched the others yet but that wouldn't surprise me.

[shoe]

Another thing that was pretty cool and added to the realism was how even the police were getting worried by the crowd. When Cornette was using the ether rag on Rogers you could see the police officer have his billy club half way out of his holder waiting for the crowd to attack. That is real heat baby.

[goodhelmet]

Oh most definitely. I really need to start diving into my World Class stuff because there was real heat in those matches as well. Hell, almost anyone who has done a shoot interview and worked in Mid South has made the comment that real heat does not exist today. Bill Watts even mentions it in his book. We We knew it back then too but look at how much struggle a Gino Hernandez or Chris Adams put up before getting thier head shaved. The fans were going batshit. On the Cornette MX comp, there is a match from Houston between TA & Wrestling II vs. the MX. Cornette had worked the crowd up so much that after the match, the Houston officials finally stepped in to tell the MX to stop before they caused a riot. Shoe, if you have my Magnum TA comp, it should be on there.

[shoe]

The match with the MX and Magnum/Mr. Wrestling is a top 5 Condrey/Eaton MX version match for me. People have a tendency to crap on the Condrey version a lot because he doesn't have the charisma that Lane had, nor do they work the double teams as well as Eaton and Lane did. Condrey made up for it by brining the heat, and working the crowd into a frenzy.

 

Magnum gets no respect as a worker. His work in the Nikita Koloff feud was really well done. Especially in match 6 and 7 that is on the comp. Sure Ivan helped by calling those matches, and Nikita had probaly the best match of his life in # 7 but Magnum really stepped up to the plate. His work with Dibiase was super strong as well. Magnum may never be a ring general, but he can work a good match and has been in a lot of classics.

[Herodes]

El Satanico v Gran Cochisse

 

Well I'm no expert at writing match reviews but I hope this at least means that someone will want to check this match out. This is a great long, title match that is worked like a title match. Satanico is the rudo challenger and signs of his rudo nature creep into this match, but on the whole it's kept clean, on the mat, struggling for holds and building to some great drama in the final fall. Satanico is one of my favourites but Gran Cochisse is not someone I'm too familiar with; seems like an older guy nearing the end of his career. Tremendous match.

 

Also from EMLL 1984:

 

Sangre Chicana v MS-1: This is caballera contra caballera but not the famous classico from the year before. This is as intense and fierce as you would expect, but suffers from being too short, bloodless, and being compared to the more famous match.

 

El Dandy vs Javier Cruz: Dandy v Cruz is one of those rivalries that seems to have gone on for years and produced great matches along the way. I may watch this again but it was disappointing. Still a good match but something lacking giben that it's these 2 in a hair match...

 

Satanico v Super Astro: Both these guys are great. Satanico excels as a roughouse rudo and Super Astro's bumps always look great, and his schtick never gets old. This had more of a feel that it was building to another match but still a great match that's worth checking out.

 

Perro Aguayo v Sangre Chicana: Two of the greatest brawlers cutting loose and going at it with the kind of fire, intensity and hatred that you would expect from these guys. This is the final part of a 4 man elimination match and it's great. The more I wath of Chicana in the 80s makes me think that he should be thought of as one of the all-time top luchadors. Great charisma, great brawler and he brings the big match atmosphere.

[Tim Evans]

Man I need to get some of those lucha dvds. Where did you get them from? Barnett?

[Loss]

He may have gotten them from Alfredo, who is converting all the Lynch stuff apparently and releasing a Greatest Lucha of the 80s set that I believe has around 15 volumes now, maybe a little less.

 

El Satanico v Gran Cochisse (EMLL, 09/14)

An absolute classic! I was really, really surprised at this, as I wasn't sure what to expect from Cochisse, and the Satanico I've watched lately has been him mainly feeding babyface comebacks. And he's really good at that, but it's about all I've seen him do in this time frame. This was his breakout performance for me, just an incredible match that really shows off the best of both guys. The match is in many ways a lucha libre version of the Chigusa Nagayo v Devil Masami match from AJW, but with a more satisfying finish. It's a match where all the holds are earned and there's a lot of struggle for each move, and where they're overwhelmingly portrayed as equals. The first fall would be a nice Heat match on its own, with Satanico working over Cochisse and Cochisse fighting back while still selling his injuries during his comeback, setting up a clean finish in about five or six minutes. The second fall takes it a step further, with Satanico still staying on offense much of the time, but allowing enough teases and flashes of success from his opponent to keep things interesting. The final fall is amazing, with some of the best nearfalls you'll ever see. It may be a little 2.9 for some, but this match really worked that well and it was built up so nicely beforehand that each fall attempt seemed like it would absolutely be the finish, which gave this a huge big match feel. Some amazing dives from both, and I really love Satanico's simple offense. There's not really anything all that outlandish he does here at all, but he makes everything he does count. The punches and headbutts and kicks are all delivered with a lot of snap. Cochisse puts on a great performance here as well, but this is definitely a match carried by Satanico offense. Just about any other year and it would be MOTY.

 

El Satanico v Super Astro (EMLL, October)

Another great performance from Satanico! I don't think this was quite at the level of the other match, mainly because Astro does seem a peg or so below Satanico for much of this match, but it's still an excellent match for both guys. Super Astro looks terrific here, with lots of great high flying moves and dives to the outside. Again, though, it's Satanico that steals the show for me, just because he can deliver a beating so convincingly.

 

El Dandy v Javier Cruz (EMLL, October - Hair Match)

It was said recently in this thread that this match was a bit disappointing and I'd agree with that. It's still an excellent match, especially in the final fall, but it's a bit choppy and there's a lot of break-ups in the flow that seem a little forced. I understand that every style is not the Southern style, but man, seeing three consecutive DDTs not lead to a fall is a hard pill to swallow. The finish was tremendous, with both brawling outside and Dandy frenetically trying to get back in the ring before the count and also ensure that Cruz doesn't get back in at the same time. It worked, and Cruz had his head shaved as a result. There was some tremendous drama and suspense in that final fall, but the first two falls were a bit rough at times, even if they did still contain some nice stuff.

 

Atlantis, Villano III & Mascara 2000 v Sangre Chicana, Mocho Cota & Cien Caras (EMLL, October)

Good match, as you'd expect from these guys. Not the classic you'd hope for, though.

 

Perro Aguayo v Sangre Chicana v El Faraon v Villano III (EMLL, October)

The four-way stip didn't really do much for me here. It was a good match, but it felt more like a tornado tag match with Villano/Faraon v Aguayo/Chicana for most of the opening. That's fine, but it didn't maintain long enough to mean anything because the eliminations came too soon. Still, all four guys are awesome and there's chemistry that can't quite be explained between the participants here, and they do a good job of putting over several feuds at once. Fun enough.

[Loss]

Sangre Chicana v MS-1: This is caballera contra caballera but not the famous classico from the year before. This is as intense and fierce as you would expect, but suffers from being too short, bloodless, and being compared to the more famous match.

Definitely not as good, but I really enjoyed this match. This felt like something Bill Watts would have booked to get over the realism of the wrestling style. Both are selling that they're working hurt, and it's pretty awesome -- for MS1, it's his shoulder and for Chicana, it's his neck and throat. Both go after the weakness of their opponents like vultures. There is a much slower pace because they're selling so much, and I agree that the match could have used some blood, but I think it does a great job getting over the hatred of the rivalry, and the horror on MS1's face when he realizes he's about to lose his hair yet again is quite the sight.

[Al]

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik - Boot Camp Match, MSG

 

First, Loss's review of the match...

 

06/16/84 - Sgt Slaughter v Iron Sheik -- BOOT CAMP MATCH

Slaughter's entrance is so incredibly grandiose, even by 2005 standards. Anyway, I love seeing Slaughter come out so strong so early and destroy the evil foreigner to the delight of the crowd. Sheik bumps like he means it and Slaughter is an awesome babyface. Slaughter's no slouch as a bumper either, bumping to the arena floor off the Irish whip in big fashion. I love the little morality play going on here, as Sheik starts using weapons and the crowd boos him out of the building for using the same tactics that were used against him. This match could have been held in the middle east and wrestled the exact same way and the Iron Sheik would be the babyface. Kind of a precursor to the USA/Canada angle in 1997 in that regard. I also love how everything has so much meaning here -- the mythology surrounding Sheik's pointed boot is something missing in today's wrestling, but it's so simple and could so easily be done. Fans buy it as a death spot when Slaughter gets thrown into the boot head first. Great paybacks too, with Slaughter doing the same spots on the floor that Sheik did to him early on - in some ways, that's the tone of the match, with Sheik giving Slaughter a dose of his medicine and then some early on and Slaughter following up by getting revenge for all of that and then giving *him* more, and the match continually escalates that way. By the time they get to Sheik trying to use his boot as a weapon for a second time, Slaughter gets a huge pop for just blocking it and the crowd buys that Slaughter is in danger of going down for good when he goes stomach first into the boot. Such smart stuff that the crowd makes so epic. Every time Slaughter makes a comeback, Sheik cuts him off with a kick to the midsection. Imagine the added drama Muhammad Hassan's matches could have had this year with something as simple as pointed boots. The payback with Slaughter's steel-toed boot ROCKS and still doesn't deviate from the direction the match had already set. By the time they start attempting covers, they've already destroyed each other and are fatigued and looking for a way out, as opposed to Savage/Steamboat where Steamboat is trying to win from the opening bell. Far more hatred on display here. Slaughter using Sheik's boot against him as a weapon and loading it up couldn't possibly be a more fitting finish. This just may be the best US match I've ever seen. I know it's ***** in my book.

There's not much to add here. This match rocked. Easily one of the best WWE matches I have ever seen, and I'm stunned this hasn't found it's way on some dvd release. WWE really should do a "Best of MSG" dvd of pre-1985 stuff.

[smkelly]

Adonis & Murdoch vs. Inoki & Fujinami 12/5/1984 - One of the greatest tag team matches I have ever seen. Murdoch and Adonis are text book heels in this match, and work so well together, and they isolate Fujinami for nearly ten minutes before Inoki gets the hot tag. That whole period, by far, was the best FIP I've ever seen. This match is definitely worth going out of your way to watch, buy, download, or however you get your wrestling fix. If I was to rate this out of snowflakes, it gets the full monty *****.

 

EDIT: I removed the links, I was unaware of them not being allowed.

[Dylan Waco]

Damn, I have had that match on my comp for a while and have been too lazy to watch it.

[Al]

Adrian Adonis, Dick Murdoch & Lou Albano vs. The Samoans & Sgt. Slaughter

September 22, 1984

 

The crowd perks up the moment Howard Finkel mentions "six man tag." Adrian Adonis comes out first and when Fink says "from New York" the crowd immediately starts booing in anticipation. Lou Albano looks like an utter slob. He's a cretin, annoying and a complete pain in the ass. It makes him easy to hate, a good trait for a heel manager. The pattern for this match is simple. Lou Albano will only come in to deliver a cheap shot. Adonis and Murdoch do the work and since both are good workers, the match delivers. Early in the match Murdoch attempts to elbow the Samoan Sika. When that doesn't work, he calls in Adonis for a double elbowsmash, and that doesn't work. When Murdoch runs out and tags Lou, Lou claims a bad back. Two things drive this match. One, the match works around the strengths of the participants. Murdoch/Adonis carry the load, the Samoans aren't asked to work beyond their limitations and Albano is there merely to stooge. (This is Adonis pre-weight gain, by the way.) Second, the crowd is AMPED.

 

The story for the match is that as the match wears on, Adonis and Murdoch become exhausted carrying the load for their team. The match pace almost never wears up. One of the Samoans pins Murdoch, Adonis runs into get the save but is cut off by Slaughter, and Murdoch kicks out anyway. Albano finally comes in and gets caught in the cobra clutch. Adonis saves him. Albano runs over to tag out, but Murdoch and Adonis are both slumped in the corner. Albano runs for the locker room, Slaughter slams Murdoch off the top rope and the Samoans cut off Adonis with a double headbutt. Just a great brawl with non-stop action and a hot crowd throughout. ***1/2

[smkelly]

I re-watched the 12/5/1984 WWF vs. NJPW match today.

 

It's even better watching it now since I've been watching so much AJPW and NJPW lately. By far, the greatest tag team match I've ever seen NJPW pump out in the 80's, and the greatest heavyweight tag in NJPW's history.

 

Simply phenominal.

[smkelly]

Its been nearly two years since my initial viewing of this match. It's still my favorite NJ heavyweight tag of the 80's, and I still think it's the best of all of their heavyweight tags, even over the 11/90 match. Just great, great wrestling.

[Sean Liska]

Agreed on the 84 tag final. I had not come across much hype for the match when I first watched it, so I was completely blown away. I actually went back and watched the match again immediately afterward, which is something I never have the patience to do.

[smkelly]

That's what happened to me as well, I found a download link on I believe Ditch's website and downloaded purely because Ditch said the match was great. The rest is history.

[smkelly]

Adonis & Murdoch vs. Inoki & Fujinami 12/5/1984 - One of the greatest tag team matches I have ever seen. Murdoch and Adonis are text book heels in this match, and work so well together, and they isolate Fujinami for nearly ten minutes before Inoki gets the hot tag. That whole period, by far, was the best FIP I've ever seen. This match is definitely worth going out of your way to watch, buy, download, or however you get your wrestling fix. If I was to rate this out of snowflakes, it gets the full monty *****.

 

EDIT: I removed the links, I was unaware of them not being allowed.

This has become a February viewing tradition.

 

I still love it, and will add more thoughts later.