Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

[El Boricua]

Invader III vs. Eric Embry (1/6/86)

[Willninho]

This was fun; went over a bunch of commericals so felt super clipped but still got a lot of the match and was good. I reallly liked Embry heeling/bumping for as much of the match Invader 3 controlled. The ending was great with some good near falls until the nice dive before the ending.

[elliott]

Eric Embry!! MR PILEDRIVER! YESSSSSS! That is quite the shirt Embry is rocking. The 80s were a dark time for basically every aspect of life except for wrestling. Stalling by Embry to start is really fun getting the crowd pissed off and throwing shit in the ring. Embry is really fun early on refusing to tie up and getting drop kicked out of the ring and tied up when he actually does. Just classic shit eating heel stuff. Embry’s work makes the simplest things like hammerlocks and shoulder blocks. Invader III is awesome as a babyface in this as well. As a US wrestling comparison this reminds me of something like Ricky Morton vs Tully Blanchard. Embry’s selling of the wishbone spot is awesome and I love Invader’s headbutts to the stomach too. This has really turned into a terrific match. Invader going back to the leg down the stretch is great as is Embry’s selling of it throughout the match. Ending stretch with all the near falls and submissions is awesome and super heated and builds to that incredible dive. I know this is clipped, but I don’t think we missed that much and I think it was a great match. Maybe the best match on the set up to this point.

[KB8]

Okay, while Chicky/Invader I felt like two thirds of an awesome match, this was the WHOLE of an awesome match. I honestly haven't seen a ton of Eric Embry. He was all over the last disc of the Texas set where he was really fun, and I remember loving the Lawler match, but he was playing scuzzy-looking-yet-easy-to-get-behind babyface in that. This wasn't that Eric Embry. This was Eric Embry being the biggest shitbag imaginable. He was so great in this. It was like he made the conscious decision to try and annoy people with every single thing he did. I loved all of his early stalling, very deliberately calling the referee over to tell him there was some hair-pulling going on, refusing to properly engage Invader until he's good and ready, making obnoxious whiny faces even John Tatum would scoff at. Even when he was selling he'd be making faces that made you want Invader to hit him again, only this time a little harder. Then when he was on top he'd pat himself on the back for everything as if it was a victory unto itself, like when he grabbed Invader's mask and used it to yank him into a headlock, whooping at the crowd because this was obviously something worth celebrating (of course he shit himself when Invader got out of it two seconds later). In the back half of the match there's a spell where Invader works over his leg, and even though the leg work gets dropped eventually it doesn't stop Embry from selling it right through to the end. Invader might not be Liger or Pierroth in terms of masked wrestlers expressing themselves through body language, but he has some killer offence. His dropkick looked awesome, he does this cool wishbone spot where he headbutts Embry in the stomach to stop him from sitting up, he does a super slick roll-up, and down the stretch he was throwing out all sorts of cool stuff. The stretch run actually felt like something you'd see in a Ric Flair title defence, with Embry playing the Flair role of trying to hang in there while Invader pushes to put him away. Every move Embry kicks out of ups the heat a little more, then he spills out to the floor, dazed and confused, and Invader screwballs him into the barricade with a bullet tope. Great, great match. The best on the set so far.

[WingedEagle]

Embry already acting like a boss heel before they even lock up. And them more stalling. Literally for many solid minutes. Would want the crowd to be near a riot at this point but that's not the case. Feels very much like a Memphis heel routine transplanted to Puerto Rico for a bigger crowd. After an eye rake Embry takes it to the mat and they somehow manage to quiet a hot crowd that was just loving Chicky vs. Invader #1.

 

Embry is soon bleeding around his hair line, but they soon return to working holds rather than play up the violence. Completely baffling. #3 is now finally punching and kicking the leg to pay off some of the holds, but we're again back to some odd psychology with the babyface picking apart a heel's body part from the start rather than as payback. #3 stays in control almost the entire way until Embry catches him with a punch and piledriver that leave both men down. A couple near falls down the stretch that builds to Invader 3 hitting an AWESOME tope suicida. Embry doesn't beat the count and Invader wins by countout. Great spot, but weak finish even if crowd seems to dig it.

 

I'm apparently very much the low man here but this didn't approach its potential even if they teased it at times.

 

**1/4

[Mattsdmf]

I really enjoyed this match. This had a bit of everything. You had great stooging by Embry starting off, some great control segments, Invader 3 putting on some nice submissions and it had great pacing. I loved the desperation moves that Embry had to throw out to prevent being steamrolled like that sloppy piledriver and his selling afterwards. This had some blood and a beauty of a tope by Invader which led to a "cheap finish" that made sense. This is probably my favorite match of the set so far and I just started disc 2.

[Migs]

I love Embry's shirt. Interesting to see him without a gut or a beard.

 

Emery plays a good stooge, but we know what a hot Puerto Rico crowd looks like, and this is not it.

 

There's a really bad cut from Embry controlling with a chin lock to Invader in control with Embry bleeding. Man, is this match slow. Invader is controlling by moving from hold to hold, with very little happening in between and the holds not really building - he works the knee, then locks on a head scissors. Embry's selling is good, though.

 

Emery hits the piledriver and it doesn't seem like a big deal? The match just sort of continues. The dive is great, for sure, and then we just get a countout. Okay then.

 

Not feeling this at all.

 

**1/4

[fishbaugh]

Embry's "Mr. Piledriver" shirt is fantastic, but it did distract me from figuring out why some lady was put in a mosquito net cage. A bit of stooging by Embry to start out, but it felt like the commercial breaks cut out some of the transitions and made the match feel really clipped, even if it wasn't. As in the last match, it seems like the commentary is coming over the house mic and it is really distracting -- having a hard time getting into this one. Embry gets some color, but even that doesn't pull me in. Finally picks up when III starts attacking Embry's knee, leading to a few minutes of heated exchanges. At this point Embry breaks count after count by putting his leg on the ropes, and I'm wondering why III doesn't catch on. Right as I'm giving up, III hits a BEAUTIFUL tope leading to the count out for a hot finish. Being in a pissy mood and distracted by the weird audio puts this one in the rewatch column for another day.

 

Rating: 5

[dawho5]

Great match with Embry being the sleaziest stalling heel you ever saw. That bullet tope by Invader 3 was awesome! I do wish they'd shown us how Embry got cut.