[1987-05-16-UWF-TV] Terry Taylor vs Chris Adams

[Superstar Sleeze]

Terry Taylor vs Chris Adams - UWF TV 5/3/87

 

Vero's Hero puts in one of the best performances of his career as the entire match is one long, simmering heel turn. I noticed something was up almost immediately when did not shake the Gentleman's hand. Also, Taylor did a great job early on showing how insecure he felt. He would try something and nothing would stick. While Adams was always one step ahead of Taylor, whether it was taking him over with a headlock or double wristlock or powering him down off a leapfrog sequence. We saw Taylor try to pick up the tempo, slow it down by going into ropes or the outside or counterwrestling, but at each step Adams was a head of Taylor. I thought the way Taylor sold was much more like a heel would where he looked like he was being wimp whereas a face would fight through the pain. You could really feel the insecurity in Taylor's mind and that insecurity led him to start taking shortcuts. Like a kneelift to the Gentleman when he gave him a clean break or a closed fist. The closed fist started sending off the alarm bells in JR's & TA's heads especially as the ref confronts Terry Taylor. It is clear that Taylor favorite heel was Ric Flair, who he worked with closely in 1985. There were a lot of moments in this where Taylor looked like Flair, but not moreso than late in the match by the way he begged off. As good as Taylor was at slowly ramping up his heelishness, I thought Adams wrestled as the consummate babyface. His scientific wrestling was both exciting as it was pure. I loved his hope spots being pinning combinations. This was nowhere near Flair/Steamboat, but in a lot of ways it felt like that. By Adams wrestling so pure, it really highlighted Taylor's heelishness. Taylor bumrushed him with a headbutt into the midsection and finally Adams realizes that Taylor is being a prick and he headbutted Taylor into the midsection and here comes the heavy blows like punches and clotheslines. I love how Adams is now throwing it back in Taylor's face. Adams collides with the ref on a criss cross sequence. In the previous Adams/Taylor matches they have helped each other into the ring. This time TERRY TAYLOR PILEDROVE ADAMS ON THE CONCRETE! As a nice touch, Taylor plays dead and the ref counts both men down. Of course, Taylor is able to get back up and win by the countout. At the beginning of the match, Terry Taylor was cheered and by the end he is resoundingly booed. Taylor cements his heel turn in his post-match promo. I loved the story this told of Taylor's insecurities leading to him joining the dark side. I don't know if you could do a heel turn just based on how someone's tactics changed in a match. I loved the simplicity of the times. Taylor and Adams both delivered excellent performances. ****1/2