Rip Oliver vs. Jesse Barr (4/30/83)

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Rip Oliver vs. Jesse Barr (4/30/83)

Disc 5

[garretta]

I thought for sure that Jesse would pull the upset, the way he was giving Oliver all he could handle. But the veteran capitalized on a mistake and put him away, as so often happens in matches like this.

 

Jesse looked excellent here, and Rip went all out to make him seem like a threat. Savage and Coss really put over his credentials, and although he didn't do anything spectacular, it was easy to see that he knew what he was doing out there. It's a shame that Vince saddled him (no pun intended) with the Jimmy Jack Funk gimmick, which from what I remember consisted mostly of his Lone Ranger mask, his noose, and his ability to do nothing while taking a beating. You would think that a third supposed Funk brother would at least be permitted to show a little skill, but I don't believe he ever was.

 

As big a deal as Savage and Coss made out of Sandy's impartiality, it was still wrong to have him referee this match. Didn't Don have any ​other refs on the payroll? I'm honestly surprised that Oliver didn't make a bigger deal out of it before the match, and if Jesse had been just a little bit bigger star he almost would have had to. As it was, Dutch's comments about Sandy seemed like a case of "he who doth protest too much".

 

That said, I liked the chemistry between him and Coss. He was clearly the play-by-play guy here, which was only right since he was the experienced wrestler. I liked his gentle digs at Don, who must have been a hell of a sport to put up with them even if they were meant in fun. Dutch also put over Jesse as a threat to Oliver by going into great depth about his background as an amateur wrestler, and the fact that he actually knew Jesse as a child (well enough to call him by his middle name, no less) only added to his credibility. I could have done without his seeming annoyance at the kids who call the office to get the details on Kids' Nights, though. Maybe they didn't write down all the particulars, or maybe their parents told them to call on their (the parents') behalf, you never know. It sounds almost like they'd gotten some prank calls in the days leading up to this show and Dutch wanted to put a stop to them.

 

Spot of the match has to be Oliver grabbing Sandy's hair to get out of Jesse's armbar. I know they're father and son, Rip, but surely they don't look that ​much alike!

 

I wonder if any matches on this set ended with someone being taken out of the arena on Rip's special stretcher. Someone really put some thought into designing the thing, that's for sure.