[1979-09-24-WWF-MSG, NY] Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson (Cage)

[paul sosnowski]

This is their 4th consecutive match at MSG. I believe it was the only time a heel was brought back four times in a row to challenge the champion. The crowd is already in a frenzy as both men start their way down the aisle. There is no referee inside the cage, no pinfalls. Only way to end the match is escape the cage, through the door or over the top.

 

Pat Patterson enters the cage first, and tries to ambush Backlund on the way in. Backlund unleashes a flurry of punches and immediately rams Patterson headfirst into the cage. He grabs Patterson by the hair and throws him into it again. Backlund elbows Patterson and rams his head down to the mat and hits a legdrop. Backlund starts climbing the cage, Patterson grabs his ankle and pulls him down, Patterson nails Backlund with two big punches and tries to escape out the door. Patterson gets three quarters of the way out, but Backlund pulls him back in. He picks Patterson up by the hair and again rams his head into the cage, and hits a kneelift. Backlund tries to escape, Patterson grabs his head and rams it into the cage twice. Patterson goes for the door, Backlund lunges and grabs him by the leg, and stomps on his face, raking Pat's eyes with his boot. Backlund goes for the door, Patterson grabs him and starts punching his chest and starts choking Backlund. Patterson climbs to the top rope and tries to go over, he rakes Backlund's eyes twice and starts going over the top for the escape. He gets almost out of the cage, Backlund climbs up, punches him in the gut, elbows him in the head. They're battling on top of the cage, Patterson finally shakes Backlund off him with a big elbow, but winds up trapped upside down with one knee hanging over the cage. Patterson quickly uprights himself and climbs the cage again, Backlund follows him, grabbing the ankle. Backlund elbows him in the head and now Patterson falls over the top of the cage, with only one knee holding him up there. Somehow, Backlund locks up Pat's leg and pulls him back over with the tights. Backlund starts going over the top, Patterson hooks his legs and kicks him in the balls. Both men fall backwards to the mat. Patterson starts crawling towards the door, Backlund grabs his ankle and pulls him back in. He nails Backlund with a big right to the head and scrambles towards the door again. Backlund lunges at him and prevents the escape. Patterson hits another shot to Backlund's head and kicks and stomps him in the gut.

 

Patterson goes to the opposite corner and starts climbing the ropes, Backlund grabs the ankle again, Patterson kicks Backlund in the head and stomps on his hand. Patterson goes over the top, Backlund catches him again, Patterson elbows Backlund twice in the head, and also undoes a piece of the metal turnbuckle from the top of the cage. Backlund falls to the mat, Patterson comes after him with the metal object and busts him open.. Patterson hits him with it again and goes for the door, Backlund grabs his leg and pulls him back to the center. Patterson unleashes eleven unanswered blows to the cut on Backlund's head making him bleed profusely. Patterson starts climbing, Backlund grabs the tights and pulls him down, but is met with two more shots to the head. Backlund starts a comeback, charges at Patterson, both men collide mid ring and are down. Backlund is up first and starts climbing the cage, while Patterson climbs up the other side, Patterson sees that Bob is almost out and has to get down and charge after him and pull him down. Backlund is a bloody mess and hits a headbutt and a big elbow to Patterson. Backlund hits a double leg takedown, scoops up Patterson and sends him flying headfirst into the cage. Patterson is bleeding now and has to crawl after Backlund to stop him from going out the door. Backlund nails him with two punches to the head and rams Patterson into the cage. He picks him up and rams him into the cage again, followed by a big two fistdrops from Backlund. Patterson gets up and starts climbing the cage, Backlund goes after him and hits a huge atomic drop in the center of the ring. Both men are stunned, but Backlund gets up and climbs again. Patterson pulls brass knucks out of his tights and now both men are battling it out on top of the cage. Patterson swings with the foreign object, but Backlund blocks it and hits three big elbows. They both crumble to the mat, Backlund crawls towards the door with Patterson hot on his heels. Backlund starts kicking Patterson, three big shots sending Patterson backwards, Backlund slides out of the door and tumbles down the stairs to escape the cage at 16:43 and retain the Championship. The crowd loses its mind screaming and cheering as Patterson flips out inside the cage.

 

HOLY SHIT, this was FN great. 4 1/2****. Backlund and Patterson both had awesome punches throughout. Extremely dramatic once they both started bleeding. Loved it!!! Make sure you watch the complete version from the 2011 WWE Greatest Cage Matches of All Time DVD and not the shorter edited version from the 2003 Bloodbath DVD.

[Chorros3]

This is IC vs. World Heavyweight Champion, escape only rules. Pat attacks the champion as he enters  but gets rammed into the cage for good measure. Both men try to escape trough the door early in what feels like a scrap fight. Great visual of Patterson crawling halfway out the door and Backlund holding on to his leg. Pat chokes Backlund taking advantage of the no ref stipulation and goes for an escape, but Bob catches him while going over the cage and punishes him on top. At one point, only Patterson left leg remains inside the cage before Backlund drags him back in. Neither man is giving an inch as Pat goes for the door again. Patterson tries escaping over the opposite corner and as Bob catches him at top, nails him with a foreign object, continuing to use it after both men have fallen to the ground. Bob is busted open and at this point he’s using all his energy just to prevent Patterson from escaping. After a head on collision both men try to escape at the same time on different sides of he cage, Patterson realizing he’s gonna lose the race goes after the champ. Now the IC champs is busted open from a punch, before being thrown into the cage and eating a couple of fist drops. Backlund  catches him with an atomic drop while trying to escape and tries to go over the cage himself afterwards. Patterson catches up with a set of brass knuckles but Bob fights him off as both men fall to the ground. The champ literally crawls to the door and kicks Patterson off him while falling backwards trough the door to win the match for an amazing pop. Sustained heat all over this and an amazing example of how WWF style works in MSG. ****1/2

[ohtani's jacket]

Man, this was a blast. I'd been meaning to watch this since Patterson died. I love me a good WWF escape rules cage match and this was one of the best ever. Patterson proved here that you can have an intensity, bloody brawl in a WWF cage match while still fighting tooth and nail to escape the cage. Backlund was great in his role as well. As Vince mentions, brawling was against type for Bob, but he didn't back down and took the fight to Patterson. You couldn't have asked for more from this match. Vince was great on commentary and the MSG fans were amazing during this era. I love the cops everywhere and the entire atmosphere. That living and breathing 70s NY culture. You can't beat it anywhere in the wrestling world. This was the most fun I've had watching wrestling in forever.