Buddy Rose vs. Steve Pardee (12/18/82)

[goodhelmet]

Buddy Rose vs. Steve Pardee (12/18/82)

Disc 5

[garretta]

I liked this match a lot better than the '86 version. Buddy was a lot closer to his peak at this time, and he really showed off, including slingshotting himself over the top rope and inti the ring at one point. He may have looked like a fat slob, but he sure didn't move like one.

 

I liked the finish; it's rare for a heel to come up with a legal trick to get the win. I've seen the double leg hook finish a couple of times before, most notably when Randy Savage beat Dynamite Kid with it at the Wrestling Classic in '85. the difference was that it came off of a superplex in that match.

 

As much as I liked the match, I could have done without the postmatch. This is the sixth disc I've watched, the third with matches on it, and I've seen Buddy beat up Sandy Barr in what seems like just about every bout he's in. Not just shove him around like Flair did to Tommy Young, but push, kick, choke, kneel on, and hit with a chair. How in the hell has he not been suspended ten times over? I get that Sandy was a wrestler and can take the abuse, but that's not the point. If wrestlers aren't supposed to touch the refs, then they need to be fined or have something else happen to them when they do it. I know suspending him would do no good for anyone, but they need to start fining him or punishing him in some other way in order for their rules to have some teeth to them. While they're at it, they should probably punish him for piledriving Pardee on the chair too.

 

I loved Dutch practically waxing poetic about Buddy's robe, which really was a beauty, especially in a territory where most of the guys come out in either a T-shirt or as generic a jacket as they can possibly find.

 

They really made a big deal about Buddy's stint in New York, as they should have. But they didn't put over the guys like Backlund or Morales that helped Buddy set those records. I thought they'd at least give Bobby an acknowledgement, since most of the fans probably knew that he was WWF World champion, but they didn't. Dutch also mentions the other guys who left Portland and went east (Jesse Ventura, Piper), and says that Oliver would be on his way out soon "whether we or he likes it or not". Strangely, that run never happened. I could just imagine Oliver getting together with Albano about this time and driving Vince crazy during interviews. I'm not sure how he and Backlund would have worked together, but he'd have been a hell of a bounty hunter for Capper against Snuka, stretcher and all.

 

They're also putting over the rookie Billy Jack heavily, and you can tell that Don really sees money in him, as he's going in almost right off the bat against Buddy. I don't think we have any matches between them on the set, though, and that's a shame, because they seemed destined for a hell of a feud.

 

Observation of the Night: Dutch talking about how so many guys have hit the post so hard that it's developed an inward curve. That's one of those things that doesn't make sense until you sit down and think about it for a while.

 

Was Farhat still touring this late? Coss promotes an appearance by The Sheik at one of the upcoming holiday cards, and I was wondering if this was ​The ​Sheik or someone else using the gimmick (with his permission, I hope).

[Lee Benaka]

This match was all Buddy Rose a nice little showcase for Buddy's return to Portland after his triumphant stint on the East Coast. After the announcing almost making Buddy out to the a conquering hero, I thought the post-match was pretty exciting and powerful, with Buddy cranking up the heat by shoving the ref down a couple of times and pile-driving Pardee on a chair. The confrontation between Buddy on the top turnbuckle and Billy Jack in the ring was dramatic. I think it was smart to avoid direct physical contact between the two, like Billy Jack slamming Buddy off the turnbuckle. I thought Dutch's going on and on about people leaving Portland was a little pathetic. I kind of doubt Ed Farhat was appearing in Portland at this point in his career. There were multiple Sheiks in wrestling in the early 1980s, including a Sheik Abdullah in the Central States, and of course Adnan Al-Kaissey (sp?) in the AWA.