[1987-07-11-CWA-Graz, AUT] Otto Wanz vs Bull Power

[Jetlag]

Kind of a formative match for these two. The story is that Bull shocked the world and took the title off of Wanz, now the question is can the old champ withstand the beast and take his title back? Wanz was already pretty slow and couldn't do much anymore, and this wasn't as violent as some of their matches, but it was a fight like all their matches are. You could argue that there were a lot of restholds, but they always moved right back to beating the snot out of eachother. Vader was mostly interested in bashing Wanz's skull in, while Wanz for some reason did a lot of knee strikes and european uppercuts. These super minimalist, long Wanz matches really make you appreciate the most basic spots, such as getting the boots up in the corner or catching a charging opponent with a clothesline. And the crowd really loved every single thing Wanz did. I can't think of 5 more beloved babyfaces of the top of my head. Folks were jumping up and down and waving the austrian flag at the most simple things. The recurring theme of the match was a) things kept spilling to the outside (something that seemed to happen a lot more often in the brightly lit Graz Ice Skating Hall) and guys kept getting safed by the bell. I think both themes were solved nicely in the finish, altough it would have looked dated even in the 70s. Still, Otto Wanz vs. Bull Power is always a special match.