[1981-01-03-Portland] Buddy Rose vs Jay Youngblood (2/3 falls)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[donsem43]

So the date on the YouTube description says the 2nd but I want to check out Rose so I'm going with this date. First fall is pretty bland, mainly because Youngblood refused to sell any of Buddy's arm work. I did like Rose's Asuka-style armbar takedown and how Youngblood takes the fall by just pounding the crap out of Rose's arm. Second fall is much better because of Rose. He starts out selling the arm, Youngblood immediately tries to go back to working on but Buddy repeatedly cuts him off with an eyerake. The story is that Rose is getting more desperate as he just doesn't have an answer for Youngblood's repeated arm attack. Buddy does get some good counters in but never truly regains control because Youngblood doesn't really sell any of Rose's offense. Pretty good screwy finish as Rose's desperation becomes too much and he just drills the ref to get DQed. Probably far from the best Rose intro, but I saw enough in the second fall to check out more of his stuff.

[Loss]

Buddy Rose vs Jay Youngblood (PNW 01/03/81)

 

This was an incredible match. Three days into 1981, and this just might be the best thing I see all year. Buddy starts by going after Youngblood's arm, which sets the tone for the entire match, as they keep going after each other's arms to shift momentum. I love the "submission" finish of Youngblood just pounding Buddy's arm until he can't take anymore and gives up. I guess you could argue that it's a bit lame that punching an arm while applying an armbar was enough to end a fall, but it was built up so much that I didn't have a problem with it. Jay potatoes Buddy at one point and he starts bleeding from the mouth. Buddy is the master. He does so many interesting things - both in selling and working arm holds - and leads the way in crafting a brilliant match. The story here is that Buddy was the early aggressor and picked a fight that he looked to have under control in the beginning until he got too much of his own medicine. Some may complain about the repetitive nature of this, but I really thought this worked. Buddy avoids the humiliation of tapping in two straight falls by punching the ref in the face to get himself DQ'd. Awesome! Great, great match.

[shoe]

I loved this match. Rose using a million different ways to work over Jay's arm was tremendous. The 2 dosey does were spectacular. Rose destroys the arm for a good 10 minutes, and when Jay makes a comeback the crowd pops huge. Rose manipulates that crowd to get the reaction he wants from the crowd. I absolutely loved the finish of the 1st fall. Buddy Rose is a master . 4 1/4*

[tcg91]

They wrestled a really smart match and, as usual, the Portland crowd made it so much better. Rose gets extended work on Youngblood's arm (fresh off from surgery), but then Youngblood manages to finally reverse a hold and he gradually becomes the one to torture Rose's arm. This goes from good to better, because the fans love seeing Rose dominated and Youngblood has all kind of Bryan Danielson arm/shoulder strikes to submit his opponent. Rose bleeds and is amazing in his struggle at getting back control, because he just got a taste of his own medicine. The finish makes sense too, Rose gets the count-out loss to avoid tapping out again, but it's a bit of a let-down and shame for what still remains a great match
****