Buddy Rose vs. David Schultz (2/3 Falls) (7/31/82)

[goodhelmet]

Buddy Rose vs. David Schultz (2/3 Falls) (7/31/82)

Disc 5

[garretta]

First fall: ​I don't honestly know that you could call what we've seen so far a wrestling match. Most of the blows we've seen are illegal, and in fact the first fall comes on a DQ when Dave crotches Buddy on the top rope. The Playboy leads one fall to none with about nine minutes of disc time remaining.

 

More interesting than anything that happens in the ring is Don's prematch declaration that if both men don't stay in the ring, they won't get paid. This creates an interesting bit of psychology, as each man takes turns leaving the ring and daring the other to follow and attack, thus forfeiting their purse for the evening. So far both men have resisted the temptation, but we still have at least one more fall to go. Each man has hit the other from the apron at least once, and we'll probably see more of that in the upcoming falls.

 

From the He May Be A Bastard, But He's Our ​Bastard, And Don't You Forget It Dept.: The elderly woman at ringside complaining to Sandy when Dave uses his thumb to jab Buddy in the throat. Dave hasn't exactly behaved like a gentleman since he came to Portland, but they've been trying to portray him as a kind of knight in tarnished armor who's come to town to save the people from the scourge known as Buddy Rose. But if the people ever bought it, they're not doing so anymore. The time to turn Buddy may not exactly be at hand, but it's up over the next bend in the road and will come into view soon.

 

Further evidence of the above is Buddy being voted one of the coolest thing in Portland sports. Don has to have expected it, but it also has to have thrown his plans for a bit of a loop. I don't know how ready he is to turn Buddy face, but he has to get ready now, if he wasn't before. Maybe that's one reason why Dave's being a little more heelish than has been usual for him here in Portland.

 

Second fall: ​Just as I say the above, Buddy unloads every vile trick in the book on Dave, ending the display by crotching him on the post and drawing a payback DQ. We're even at a fall apiece, and according to Frank we have about four minutes of wrestling time (six minutes of disc time) remaining.

 

I don't know if Frank's right about this being the first two-out-of-three fall match he's ever seen where each wrestler takes one of the first two falls by DQ, but I know it's the first time I've ​seen it. Then again, this is the first heel-heel two-out-of-three match I've ever seen.

 

Third fall: ​This fall is even shorter than the second, as Buddy tries to run out on the match at least twice before Dave gets sick of it and goes after him. We see Dave ram Buddy into the post, then beat him senseless with a chair. Eventually both men are counted out, and the whole thing's declared a no-contest, with neither man getting paid, just as Don had warned.

 

Dave's postmatch promo sets up the cage match that's in the extras section. Buddy doesn't want the match, but according to Frank he has to take it or face a suspension.

 

For the record, this is the first no-contest I've ever seen in a two-out-of-three match, and if ever a match deserved to be a no-contest, this one was it.

[Lee Benaka]

The beginning of the match came across as an epic stall job on the part of Schultz and then Rose. I didn't pick up on the "no pay if you don't stay in the ring" stip at the beginning, so I guess it makes sense. But without knowing that, it is a bit exasperating. I did like seeing Buddy, when they finally ended up in the ring together, bailing after Schultz flinched. Buddy's selling of the repeated thumbs to the throat in the first fall was epic. The elderly ringside regular (didn't catch her name, but it was cute that Frank identified her) coming to Buddy's defense was the highlight of the entire match for me. That was a great demonstration of Buddy's attempt to tell a story. I loved how, when Buddy eventually turned the tables, he would suck his thumb before giving Schultz the thumb to the throat. The mirror DQs were kind of interesting, but not super-satisfying. The no-contest ending with both on the floor left things a bit flat for me, especially with the blow-off (I assume) cage match not immediately on after this match in the "official" disc line-up. (I'll look forward to seeing it on the extras.) Considering the bloody and violent lead-up to this match, I was expecting a bit more out of this. Dr. D had some progress to make on his promos also at this point in his career.