[1991-01-18-USWA Texas] Eric Embry vs Gary Young

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Very good match! I wasn't sure what to expect, so this exceeded my expectations for sure. They brawl into the Sportatorium crowd and back into the ring. Embry is a really expressive wrestler, both through body language and facial expressions, especially when he's selling. There's not much here in the way of wrestling moves (although Gary Young does have an excellent high knee), but the match is so well crafted that it doesn't really matter. Embry gets the win, which earns him a shot at the Texas title.

[shoe]

I didn't like this as much as loss. It might have been following up the last 2 matches. Though I hate that their tights are almost the same.

[soup23]

I thought this was fine but my least favorite match on the set so far. Good basic stuff but I am not really a believer of Gary Young based on the limited stuff we have seen.

[PeteF3]

Embry is a blond once again and looks sleazier than ever. Funny how lack of moves is brought up because in terms of pure offense I thought this brought more than most post-buyout Texas matches with the exception of Jarrett/Gilbert. This isn't a match of great substance but for a bomb-throwing-fest, Texas-style, this was pretty good. After his miracle run of 1989, I'm always happy to see Eric Embry back working in the Sportatorium.

[Kevin Ridge]

This was probably alright but real tough to follow the last yearbook match in my view. Embry looks all weird with the blond hair and no facial hair.

[soup23]

Liked this a little more this time around. Still towards the bottom of the list for the year because 1991 has been so good so far but Young looked a lot better and I really liked his flying knee. Embry yelling Texas also excited me with the fire he showed.

[garretta]

This match was much better than the one a week later, as it was more about the feud that was still going on after so long. These two really brought the hatred, and this may be Young's best overall performance so far in the yearbook series. This was a bit more of a back-and-forth than the other match we saw between these two, but Embry still got his chance to sell; either he's getting better at it or I'm just noticing it more. I didn't like the brawl in the crowd, though. Unless you know the camera's following you, as it did in ECW almost all the time, it's best to keep the action of your match in the ring or at least around ringside.

 

The stip attached to this one really made no sense. If the Texas title is being held up (as it apparently was, judging by the fact that we saw the first round of the tournament on 1/25, a week later), then why guarantee the winner of this match a shot at it, particularly since these same two guys ended up paired in the first round as we saw? Guaranteeing a title shot to the winner of a certain match works best when you actually have a champion for that winner to take a shot at. (I know that they could simply have given Embry the first shot at whoever won the tournament, but if that was the plan, Michael should have spelled it out better on commentary.)

 

I wonder where Ak really was. Actually, I'm wondering if Jarrett didn't tell him to take that week off, since this was taped just three days after the U.S. went to war against Iraq. I don't think people with turbans around their heads who claimed to have become rich off of Arab oil money were exactly popular in Dallas at that moment in time.

 

I wonder if we'll get one last rubber match before Embry turns heel in a couple of months. I certainly hope so!

[drew wardlaw]

Fine match. I liked the brawling into the dark, and Embry was pretty good and showed some good fire. I liked the finish as well. I know there's another match coming up for these two so I'm interested to see where it goes.

[dawho5]

I thought brawling into the darkened portions of the Sportatorium was a sketchy decision at best. Why highlight how small the crowd is? Fine match, but that was what stood out for me.

[cactus]

This was completely fine. My main takeaway from this is that everyone who worked in USWA knows how to throw a good punch and sell one. Embry, with his dyed blonde mop, looks way too sleazy to be a babyface. 

★★½