Abdullah the Butcher vs. Victor Jovica (Chain Match) (July 1986)

[El Boricua]

Abdullah the Butcher vs. Victor Jovica (Chain Match) (July 1986)

[elliott]

I’m glad to see Abby survived that Colon match. Jaggers isn’t as great early on as he was in the tag tournament. He’s laughing at his own jokes way too much. Hugo continues to be terrific. I’m convinced he’s better than Jim Ross by this point. Jovica is bloodied early but manages to get control beating the crap out of Abby. Abby is awesome slowly falling back through the ropes. Abby takes back over stabbing Jovica with something. Both guys are bloody as fuck. Abby does a really good job selling in this. Its cool because its so different than in the Colon match where he was selling shock. Here he’s selling pain. Abby is awesome. Gosh these guys are just covered in blood. It is insane. They take turns just whipping each other with the chain. This is pretty dang fun actually with all of the blood, heat, and stiffness. Fun stuff

[AJS]

Well I'm surprised that Abdullah is even alive after the June match with Colon, but here he is in another brutal match taking another ferocious beating. It's not as one sided as the Colon match and there's nothing here to match the brutality of the fingers in the eye, but Jovica wrapping the the chain around Butcher's neck while he screams is pretty close. Abby loses but he's not as beaten down this time so he's able to repeatedly whip Jovica with the chain post match in revenge. Another crazy crazy bout.

[KB8]

Man, Abby attacking Jovica with a fork before he's even taken his executioner's hood off is a heck of a visual to start a match with. Pretty sure this is the first time I've seen Jovica wrestle. He was mostly okay and he bled like a maniac. Like, dude is absolutely covered in blood after three minutes. Abdullah ruled yet again. He was a nasty bastard when he was throwing chain-wrapped fists and whipping Jovica with the chain, and at one point he even threw in a dick punch for good measure. He was really at his best when he was wailing in pain, though. Jovica would punch him in the ribs and choke him with the chain and Abby would squeal and snort like a dying pig. This also had a really cool finish. They would sort of trade "nearfalls" in the sense that each guy would touch three turnbuckles then be cut off just before touching the fourth, going back and forth a bit with that for a few minutes. Then Abby looks like he's put Jovica down for good, but at the last second Jovica yanks the chain up between his legs and Abby goes down shrieking in agony. Even the Butcher will go down to that old chestnut.

[Willninho]

I thought it was really fun until it got to the turnbuckle nearfalls where I think the match slowed down some as it was not really dramatic imo one guy hits 3 turnbuckles then the other guys stops him for about 4 minutes. The lowblow finish was done well though. 6/10

[WingedEagle]

Not a whole lot doing here besides blood and some basic cut offs as each man tried to touch the four corners. Probably Abby's weakest outing yet but at least they didn't waste too much time. Rating is almost entirely for the gore factor. Funny to hear Savinovich call this the biggest upset in professional wrestling.

 

**1/2

[Migs]

Even by PR standards, this is a lot of blood, but there's not much to the match otherwise. Basic chain match stuff. It undercuts the upset aspect when Jovica dominates so much of the match.

 

**

[Matt D]

I'll do a full write up for SC later, but I thought the attempts to win with the corner touching were excellent, actually. In almost every chain match you see, actually trying to win the match is an afterthought, just something brought in for the finish or maybe for a mid-match transition. Here, it was front and center in the back half, and I thought that played perfectly into Jovica's underdog aspect. There was some great symmetry too, with Abdullah blocking the fourth corner on one attempt and then Jovica doing the same immediately thereafter, and some clever bits earlier on like Abdullah rolling out to stop the corner touching and some last second cut offs with Abdullah or Jovica dashing across the ring at the last second. I thought it worked hand in hand with the bloodiness too because it was about each wrestler surviving the war by winning the match. I'm in a different place than most of you on this one.

[Dylan Waco]

Matt - I thought the match was brilliant.

[Robert S]

I agree with Matt and Dylon, so far by far the best Abdullah match on the set.

[dawho5]

I loved this. Jovica and Abby both juiced big, Abby again sells like a champ and a way-past-his-prime Victor Jovica gets his moment in the sun in a place he is really over. One thing I have always loved about PR is the way the stip is, as Matt D also puts it, front and center. It is, to me, the way a chain/strap/bullrope match should be wrestled. Trying to win, unless context says you need to beat your opponent savagely for whatever reason, should be first and foremost. Als, Abby's selling here was really great. Have I mentioned that yet?