[1998-10-05-BattlARTS] Bob Backlund vs Daisuke Ikeda

[superkix]

It's always a blast watching Backlund in this kind of environment. Here, he stooges around for most of the first half until they start slapping each other and Ikeda headbutts him out of the ring. Backlund's selling of the headbutt is the best kind of comedy, as he collapses into some of the fans in the first row while Ikeda mocks him in the ring. Backlund's able to reverse an abdominal stretch into a big ole double arm suplex and then fires off some of his signature spots before scoring the pinfall. A fun easy, breezy watch.

[cactus]

Backlund is so adored by this crowd and they eat up every big spot of his. The butterfly suplex (which looks fantastic by the way), atomic drop and crossface chickenwing all generate a big pop before Backland executes the moves.

 

You're not going to find a more pro-style BattlARTS match than this, which is quite surprising when you see who's involved. Backlund does a bit of goofy comedy, Ikeda beats on him and then proceeds to mock him.

 

As the OP said, a very easy watch.

 

★★★½