Buddy Rose & Curt Hennig vs. Assassin & Dynamite Kid (9/3/83)

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Buddy Rose & Curt Hennig vs. Assassin & Dynamite Kid from (9/3/83)

Disc 6

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First fall: ​This is either the fourth or fifth match I've seen with these four guys, and it's quickly become one of my favorite tag team feuds ever. The interesting thing here is that while Dynamite and Assassin are the ones in this match, it's Oliver​ and Assassin who are the Northwest tag champions. Similarly, although Curt and Buddy are representing the People's Army/RBA, it's Buddy and Brian Adias (who isn't represented on the set at all) who just lost the belts to Oliver and Assassin.

 

Anyway, this is a typical fall for this series, which means hatred off the charts and excellent teamwork from both sides. The finish here is off the charts, as Curt shakes off a tremendous beating and makes the hot tag to Buddy. Buddy and Assassin proceed to put on a clinic, featuring moves that no one would expect out of two beefy guys who made their reputation as brawlers. They exchange dropkicks first, then sunset flips, and Buddy gets the best of the last exchange tp score the pin that puts the RBA up one fall to none with about eleven minutes of disc time remaining.

 

I'm going to miss Dynamite, as this is his last match on the set that I haven't watched. Seeing him in this environment has really opened my eyes as to how good he was before his body broke down. He and Assassin don't get the hype that the Bulldogs do as a team, but they're every bit as crisp if not more so, as their doubleteam work on Curt in this fall amply demonstrates.

 

Curt's another guy whom this set has given me a new appreciation of; who knew he was this gritty as a babyface? He was pretty much presented as Larry's wet-behind-the-ears kid in the AWA up until his heel turn, and he was better as a heel than as a face for Vince too. He's even a better talker here than I thought he would be: not quite on Buddy's level (who in Portland is?) but more than adequate for the situations he found himself in.

 

This is also the last match I have to watch that features Dutch as a commentator, and he's been wonderful as usual so far. He refuses to play the whiny face announcer when he tells Coss that how the Clan won the tag belts back doesn't matter. and he makes sure to put the Clan over as worthy titleholders. I thought he was a bit short with the guy who hypothesized that Assassin loaded his mask with steel (what else would a heel load a mask with?), but that was his only misstep. I liked his and Coss's outrage over the Clan's tactics once Sandy's back was turned; it showed that while they respected them as professionals, they also recognized that those tactics were illegal and unfair.

 

Big news at the start of the bout, as Don announces that Harley and Andre are coming in for appearances. The Giant didn't make this set, but we have Harley's upcoming title defense against Billy Jack.

 

We also have the six-man referenced in the between-falls promo. I won't spoil the ending for those of you who have yet to see it, but let's just say that we'll have the Ripper to push around for quite a while yet. I wish Buddy had had time to talk about the coal miner's glove and elimination matches he mentioned as he was walking away.

 

Acrobat of the Night award goes to Sandy for his backhanded count on the winning pinfall. I've seen him count with the back of his hands before, but never for a three-count.

 

Second fall: ​Buddy plays FIP for this fall, as he takes a beating from Dynamite and Assassin both inside and outside the ring. Still, it takes shenanigans to beat him, as Assassin has to load his mask and hit a flying headbutt off the top to score the pinfall. We're even at a fall apiece with exactly four minutes of wrestling time remaining. and the smart money says we're headed for a draw.

 

I forgot to talk about the clinic Dutch put on during the first fall when he explained the difference between a front chinlock and a front facelock. Only a ring veteran could explain the difference in a way the average fan could understand. No disrespect to Coss and Stasiak, but the announcing's going to take a major hit when Dutch leaves soon. I wonder how he and Frank would have sounded as a team.

 

You can tell that Buddy's a true babyface now, as the announcers are plugging his softball games in much the same way as Lance and Dave do for Lawler's in Memphis. When Buddy was a heel, they would mention the Sassi Chassis occasionally, but they'd never plug actual games.

 

Third fall: ​We actually get a decision here, as Curt and Buddy wrap up Dynamite and Assassin respectively in dual abdominal stretches. This brings Oliver in with his new friend the cowbell, which he hits both Curt and Buddy with to cause the disqualification. Your winners: the People's Army. Afterwards, Billy Jack comes in to join the fun and gets a taste of the cowbell right in the ribs before the Clan retreats. Oliver proclaims himself and his team ready for the big challenge match in a postmatch promo.

 

This may be the first outside interference DQ that we've seen in a match on this set. That's a real surprise, considering how common that kind of finish was in other territories.

 

It's a shame that Dynamite and Assassin didn't have time to really work over Buddy's arm, because what they started to do here looked first-rate.

 

Heel bragging is one thing, but how can Dynamite say that the RBA "went down" when they both won the match and got the better of the postmatch brawl? Heels who claim things that never came close to happening don't get heat with me; I just dismiss them as idiots. Give me the heel who admits that he does what it takes to win and dares the faces to stop him, as Oliver does here.