[1985-09-27-Houston Wrestling] The Fantastics vs Dutch Mantell & Bill Dundee (Bullrope on a Pole)

[shoe]

This is a pole match with a bull rope on top. I was here live as a 13 year old kid. Fantastics were always over big in H-Town. You even see a glimpse of me when the Fantastics are getting their love from the ladies. Dundee is known as one of the great pole workers of all time because of his circus background. The crowd goes nuts every time the Fantastics go after the pole. Heels getting heat on them early. Crowd is hot as hell for this . Dundee playing dead in the ring is great.Their are a lot of great near getting the whip spots. The fantastic's comeback was awesome. The cutoffs on the pole have been great. Fulton gets the hot tag after . He gets cut off, but gets the tag to Rogers. This is really all action. The Fantatics get the whip and clear house. A really hot match with a lot of story and a hot crowd. 3 3/4*

[Chess Knight]

If Fulton had actually been able to use the bullwhip to finish both heels instead of just one spot before the bell rang, I might be calling this a classic. As it stands I think it's still a tremendous match filled with memorable moments. First ten minutes are mostly four guys constantly making a mad dash for the bullwhip, and if you're gonna make a mad dash for something you make a mad dash like these four. There are a lot of tag matches where you can say "this didn't take long too break down", but this one legit took about ten seconds before all four guys were in the ring and two were sprinting for the bullwhip - and it basically never recovered. There wasn't even really a "hot tag" at the end so much as just Rogers getting violently pissed off and coming in to throw dropkicks. Rogers was absolutely awesome in this, with his noodle-bodied bumping, especially up on that pole to start the match, flinging himself left and right and not being afraid at all to tease falling off onto every surface. Even the way he hit the floor to sell a punch. My God though, Dundee was just an outrageously great wrestling personality, stirring up all kinds of shit before the bell had even rung, trying to climb the pole behind the ref's back when not legal, hiding foreign objects, sneaking a low blow in to drag Fulton off the top rope, the way he sold his hand after punching the pole.

I really felt the exhaustion as this went on; there was a clear difference in how these guys looked two minutes in trying to run for the rope, and eight minutes in trying to do the same. Shout out to Fulton selling his nuts from the low blow after punching Dundee in the mouth. That finish did kind of fall a little flat, but I really thought this was 'holy shit' great.