[1985-11-28-JCP-Starrcade '85] Tully Blanchard vs Magnum T.A. ('I Quit' Cage)

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWA US Champion Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA - NWA Starrcade 1985

 

In all my years of fandom, I don't think there is more UN-polarizing match than this one. It is universally praised as a ***** classic and undoubtedly one of the great violent brawls in history. There have been so many words used to describe this masterpiece of hate by so many people. I will try to do the match justice with my words.

 

What makes this match so special in my opinion are the screams of agony from Tully Blanchard into the microphone and Magnum's guttural roars of pain. It takes this match to a whole new visceral level. The eye gouging by both men is incredible. This is not a violent brawl in the usual fantastical sense of pro wrestling. This looks like what would happen between two men that truly hate each other. The match is one of the few matches where there is a real sense of fear for one of the competitors because of the danger they are in. Tully seemed to be in real danger when Magnum throws his shoulder into the arm and it was cut open. Magnum just loses control at the sight of blood and starts punching it and biting it. Baby Doll's reactions are pitch perfect. She is one of my favorite characters in pro wrestling and I really enjoyed her in this match. Tully claws at the eyes and just lunges at Magnum out of self-preservation. Then begins the mic punches from Tully. Goddamnit, Magnum say I Quit, ok you wont THUMP! Say it! THUMP! Say it! THUMP! One of the most famous sequence in pro wrestling history. Magnum gets into the mic shots too. Tully hits a inverted atomic drop and after a series of mic shots. Tully looks to be in control. Baby Doll chucks in a wooden chair, which Tully infamously shatters. Tully tries to drive a stake into the cut on Magnum's forehead , but he blocks. Magnum jabs the wooden stake into Tully eye and with blood pouring down his face and wails of indescribable pain Tully finally says YESSSSSSS! I love the ending of the match with Tully cowering in the corner of the cage looking like a pathetic, shivering man from the triumphant Magnum who slings the belt over the shoulder. *****

So greatest brawl of all time or greatest brawl of all time? Not so fast my friend! Slaughter/Sheik and Duggan/DiBiase are right there with this. I think Duggan is just as much as wild man in the cage and I think DiBiase does even better job selling that he is in there with a lunatic. It is more fantastical in its execution, but it is just as sweet in its payoff. Slaughter/Sheik has the advantage of not having the cage in my opinion which allows for Slaughter to bump huge and there is a more natural progression of shine-heat-comeback that takes you on a ride you can naturally go with and is so exciting. Magnum/Tully is so violent and so jarring. I think it is really cool how all three matches are paid off with a unique weapon. For Duggan/DiBiase it is the coal miner's glove, Slaughter/Sheik it is the boot and Magnum/Tully it is the wooden stake. When I think the matches are so close, things like context and the surrounding angle seems like it could break the tie. The DiBiase/Duggan angle is one of the all time great angles with DiBiase's return and the bloody Duggan cutting one of the greatest promos ever to the tuxedo match and DiBiase destroying Duggan's car. That bloody promo is fucking incredible and what a visual. For Slaughter/Sheik, the Pledge of Allegiance in Allentown gave my goosebumps and actually moved me. I am a sucker for these patriotic angles and Slaughter just knocked it out of the park. I loved the matches that let up to the Bootcamp match and how each match built on the next. Now we come to Magnum/Tully and I will be honest the buildup was pretty meh. I watched pretty much every Tully/Magnum promo from when Tully won the title to Starrcade right before I watched the match and they were entertaining promos, but this was not the next level shit I expected. The tit for tat dressing up as a cop was fun. The breaking of Sam Houston's arm was probably the highlight of the angle. "She likes it!" "She likes it!" angle with Magnum forcing himself on Baby Doll is definitely not timeless and I dont want to ruin anyone's memories, but I did not like a babyface doing those things to a woman. It soured me a little on the angle. Being objective, there is nothing that Magnum/Tully angle has that touches Duggan/DiBiase and Slaughter/Sheik. I think that is why I enjoyed those matches more. As for the best brawl, I still don't know. It is too close to call. I just don't think it is an open and shut case for Magnum/Tully.

 

[Microstatistics]

A superb match for sure. Absolutely visceral hatred, great selling and an all time great finish/post-match. **** 1/4

[El-P]

The bloodletting of all bloodletting.

 

This match is about 70% selling. The important is not what you do but what your project. And these two projected a whole lot of emotions. They actually did beat the shit out of each other too, looking to work snug. The blood was also quite a big part for the nightmarish visuals of two guys wanting to maul each other. Yeah, those screams... Tully is absolutely fantastic, but Magnum has a once in a lifetime performance too. The finish is an apex of violence, the post-match is fantastic while Magnum renouncing to injure Tully even more and dropping the piece of wood down.

 

Classic match with timeless appeal.

[dawho5]

If it's not the greatest, it's top 5 of all time. I mean matches, not brawls. Tully instinctively going for a cover and realizing his mistake is such an awesome spot. I LOVE how both guys are just gone after 4 minutes. They have beaten the shit out of each other and both are on fumes. I love how they construct this too, with Tully putting over how tough Magnum is just by the sheer frustration he shows and Magnum really making Tully look good despite being a weaselly heel. And you know, for the ending I'm just not buying that Tully has anything to be ashamed of. After all that to have a wooden shard put into your head and moved around would be a tough one. You know that one Mission Impossible movie with the knife like 1/4 inch away from Tom Cruise's eye? These guys did that in real time in front of a crowd on the first take after beating each other up for 10 minutes. And people say wrestling is fake. I also love how Tully's frustration leads to hubris. He brings in the weapon that causes his own demise. Perfect ending to an almost perfect match.

[cactus]

There's no pussyfooting around at the start of the match, as they start wailing at each other as soon as the bell rings. Tully and Magnum sell their arses off and bleed buckets. The finish sees Tully trying to take out TA's eye with a shard from a broken wooden chair. They have a big struggle before Magnum turns the tables on Tully and jams the shard into Tully's forehead, causing him  to forfeit. With a strong opening and a memorable finish, I felt the middle portion of this match let this one down for me. It felt like they are losing steam. Anyways, this wasn't an all-time great for me, but it's still a damn fine brawl. 

★★★¾

[TheDuke]

This match is great because it doesn't feel like a wrestling match. It doesn't even feel like a typical wrestling brawl. It feels like 2 men trying desperately to kill each other. I love how sparse the commentary is. I kind of think it would be better with no commentary at all, because the periods where all you hear is the crowd and the grunts and screams of the wrestlers is great. It gives a very unsettling feeling. This match is much more of a horror show then anything WWE is currently capable of doing. It just feels so real. I wonder if a lot of the early death match wrestlers were inspired by this as much as the Tupelo brawl because of the feeling of desperate violence. Like you can feel how exhausted and in pain the guys are by the end.

[Mr JMML]

In the last review I talked about this match being the greatest match in Jim Crockett Promotions in 1985 and I don’t regret saying that, it’s the real main event of Starrcade 1985, the rematch between Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair wasn’t nearly as good as this match, it’s just way better than any other match of the show and the whole year to be fair, I love how gruesome this match is, most deathmatches aren’t as gruesome as this match, deathmatches usually glorify violence in a way that makes them no longer uncomfortable but this match without being a deathmatch is more difficult to see than most matches that are promoted as bloody and violent but they’re just people bleeding for the sake of bleeding but this match is actually unsettling, there’s real tension between these two, the hate these two have for each other is palpable, they will do everything necessary to win this match, the I Quit stipulation makes it that much sweeter, being able to hear them scream NO! it’s emotional to a point I can’t describe with just words, the most impressive thing about this match especifically is the run time, they made one of the most emotional matches in wrestling history in less than twenty minutes, the level of violence in this match is something else, there’s blood but it isn’t about that, it’s about their willingness to do whatever it takes to make their opponent submit, in a way it’s close to the Trojan War, it’s an all out brawl caused by a woman, if you ask me this rivalry is way more epic and better written than Homer’s books honestly, the US Heavyweight Championship is the least important part of the whole ecuation, I mean it’s a midcard title, Magnum TA made Tully say yes.

Just watch it, you’ll love it if you are into brawls from the territory days.