Steve Strong vs. Abdullah the Butcher (August 1989)

[El Boricua]

Steve Strong vs. Abdullah the Butcher (August 1989)

[elliott]

Abby jumps Strong from behind out in foul territory attacking Strong with a 2x4. Who is this Steve Strong and how did Vince McMahon not hire him? Abby is a beloved babyface here I guess (he’s an asshole, but he’s OUR asshole) because the crowd is loving it wit Abby choking out Strong and kicking his ass all over foul territory. It cannot be said enough how much the crowd and stadiums enhance matches like this. That is something you can count on throughout the set. The buildings are packed and the crowds are insanely hot. Rip Rogers encourages bootlegging tapes on commentary and goads Hugo into saying Terry Funk’s wife is uglier than most dogs, so I’ve turned around on him as a commentator. Strong finally gets in the ring only for Abby to maintain control with crazy headbutts and chops. Abby is freaking awesome in this. Even his selling when its time for Strong to take over is great. Abby gets busted open (big shock) and Strong works over the cut blasting away at Abby with his forearm guard thing. Crowd goes crazy for Abby’s karate chop based hope spots. Really. Steve Strong’s hair. Come on dude. Crowd goes CRAZY when Abby starts reaching for the fork and loves it when Abby stabs him in the throat with it. Abby takes the babyface pounding their chest during the comeback staple by STABBING HIMSELF IN THE FACE WITH THE FORK. YES. Ridiculous. As the double countout occurs, Abby literally stabs Steve Strong in the ass in one of the funniest spots ever. This was shockingly fun. I was expecting to hate these Steve Strong matches at the end of the set. That has not been the case. He’s no Hercules Ayala as a worker (Ayala also has AMAZING hair, Strong has ridiculous hair to just point out one difference) and I don’t yet feel compelled to seek out any Steve Strong matches. But this shit was fun and now I’m looking forward to these last two matches he has with Colon.

[dawho5]

Strong isn't anything special, but he's carry-able. Abby does a lot of the work here and that's for the better. I like Abby as a babyface as much as I like him as a heel in PR, which is to say a lot. He's got such a great connection with fans as both. Strong hits a couple of pretty good lariats and ends up looking pretty good coming out of the match. One thing I will say for him is that either he gets that he doesn't need to throw in a ton of flashy offense or just plain doesn't have it. Either way it works in his favor.