Buddy Rose vs. Dynamite Kid (2/3 falls) (9/24/83)

[goodhelmet]

Buddy Rose vs. Dynamite Kid (2/3 falls) (9/24/83)

Disc 7

 

[garretta]

First fall: ​We don't exactly pick up where we left off last week; in fact, the previous week's match isn't even referred to at any time during this match. But there's still plenty of great action, and things are much more even here than they were in the first fall last week. Dynamite eventually takes control and pins Buddy after a flying headbutt from the top to take a 1-0 lead with about fourteen minutes of disc time remaining.

 

Anyone who thinks that all Dynamite can do is fly ought to watch the fall. It's a hard-hitting contest from the start, and Dynamite matched Buddy blow for blow, and even bested him at times. With his long hair and mustache, he really looks like a slimeball, and as a fan you're itching for the Playboy to teach him a lesson he'll never forget.

 

Buddy hasn't forgotten his old bag of tricks entirely, he paintbrushed Dynamite several times during the fall, and also snapped his neck off the top rope at least once. But he also mixed in some great babyface moves that it's hard to imagine him doing, such as a flying bodypress and a sunset flip, both of which worked for close nearfalls. Overall, he looked way more comfortable in the face role than he did last week.

 

This is Dutch's last week on the air; we saw his farewell in the Extras. This gives me a chance to mention a favorite line of mine that I forgot during the original match in which it happened: The fans are chanting for the babyface to break the heel's arm, and Dutch says something to the effect of "What sympathetic souls the wrestling fans of Portland are." It doesn't read like much, mostly because I can't think of the original line exactly as he said it. Hopefully there's a similar situation on one of the earlier discs I have yet to watch, and he'll say something like it again.

 

I loved Coss giving Dutch a medal that says "You done real good". These two obviously have fun working together, and it shows. After Frank died, the show needed something a little bit different that still took the wrestlers seriously, and they found it with these two. I like Coss in this role much better than I do as a play-by-play guy, though he isn't bad in that role either.

 

I thought they'd try to explain how fighting Dynamite to a draw last week entitled Buddy to a title shot this week, but as I said above they never mentioned last week's match even once.

 

​Second fall: ​The hard hitting continues, and just like last week Dynamite ends up bleeding from over the left eye. Late in the fall, he gains the advantage and heads up top, only for Buddy to catch him with a back superplex that evens things up at a fall apiece with just over six minutes remaining.

 

I never would have expected these two to have such hard-hitting matches if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes. They've really had their working boots on in these bouts, and they've neither asked for quarter nor given any. Once these bouts hit general circulation, people may start looking at both guys in a whole new light.

 

I lost count of how many elbows Buddy dropped during the one sequence, but I've never seen anyone survive that many and come back to take over the fall like Dynamite did here.

 

I'm wondering if the cut we see on Dynamite was opened by accident. It looked like Buddy hit him with a headbutt, which might have stunned him but most likely wouldn't have busted him open under normal circumstances.

 

Dutch talking about how Oliver was using Dynamite (and, by extension, the Northwest title) to soften Buddy up in case there was ever a match between the two is the type of analysis you don't see these days. Of course, you don't see heel stables where even champions are expected to carry out the orders of the ringleader either. It certainly seems like the whole end game of Buddy's face turn is going to be a confrontation between him and Rip, regardless of whether he wins the belt in this match.

 

I liked Buddy's promo where he talks about finally having the people on his side when he wrestles for the NWA World title, although the fans' response when Buddy asked them if they would support him was kind of weak. He also talks about a possible hair rematch with Dynamite and a bullrope match with Oliver "if the people want it" (like they'd say no, right?). I'll say this for Don: he was looking to squeeze every possible dime out of Buddy's turn while it was still fresh in the people's minds.

 

Third fall: ​It gets more serious than ever in the last few minutes. as Dynamite hurts his knee coming off the top. Buddy slaps on the figure-four, but Dynamite gets to the ropes, then a minute or so later traps Buddy in the Boston crab. Buddy somehow ends up with a pinning combination, and Sandy counts three, but Dynamite's legs are clearly on the bottom rope. Buddy thinks he's won, but Dynamite rolls him up while he's celebrating and scores the pinfall with the aid of a handful of trunks.

 

It's ironic that Buddy gets screwed out of the Northwest title in his first high-profile chance for it (at least that I've seen) the way he's scored quite a few sneaky pinfalls in his day. Even though he's a face now, his complaints still ring a bit hollow for that very reason.

 

Line of the Night goes to Dutch, after Coss mentions that Buddy's trying to work on Dynamite's hamstrings: "By the time he's through, they're gonna be like violin strings!"

 

What a pair of matches. Hopefully we'll see these two guys mix it up again real soon.

[Jetlag]

This was a very good TV match, but left a little bit to be desired. The match from the previous week was bloody and violent, this didn't really feel like the right followup. Altough Buddy gave a nice babyface performance, he is such an athletic energetic wrestler and very compelling from below, and Dynamite Kid is a good opponent as Kid is such a psycho. Kid's flying and throwing you around actually feels like he is seriously out to hurt somebody - his flying kneedrop is great. Also loved Buddy clawing at his face and then just mauling him with a fucking running thumb to the eye and then that series of fist drops. They get the fans really excited for the last couple of moves and do the usual bait and switch routine from these US title matches where the face comes sooo close but gets screwed. You've seen it before, but this was a nice, quality, mostly clean wrestling match to add to the canon, just a hair below your all time classics due to some wonky transitions.