Billy Robinson vs. Giant Baba 07/24/76

[Tim Cooke]

I re-watched this again for the second time in a week last night. I think I will either write a review or respond to Frank's excellent review later this week.

 

This is my MOTD for the 1970's and one of the best matches I have ever seen (maybe the best).

 

------------------------------------------

 

This review isn't about the WON Awards or a

candidate for the WON HOF, but since the match

involves two WON HOF members I thought it

might find a good home in this forum.

 

Tying back to Steve Yohe's excellent "Wrestler

of the Year 1900-1979" work, I'd have to say

that the case for Billy Robinson winning WON

Wrestler of the Year award in 1976 is strong.

 

Robinson's famous draw with Inoki in 12/75

would fall within the 1976 voting period,

as would this match and Robinson's 65-minute

draw with Jumbo.

 

It's one hell of a trifecta from a workrate

standpoint, though this match, Billy vs Baba

is probably my favorite of the three.

 

Frank

 

(Review follows below)

 

==========

 

If Billy Robinson was wrestling today,

one might describe his style as "fusion"

since it incorporated tumbling elements

now associated with juniors along with

matwork now associated with UWFi

and selling associated with All Japan.

 

The problem with the fusion classification

is that Billy Robinson's prime occurred

more than twenty-five years ago, so he

isn't a fusion of these disparate styles but

rather a wellspring of new ideas or a

missing link to the workers before him.

 

Robinson may not have invented these

moves, holds, and techniques, but in

numerous cases his matches provide

the oldest example of their application.

 

Watching Robinson's match with Shohei

Baba from 7/24/76 I was reminded of

many of the now disparate elements

which were fused in Robinson's work,

but more than that I got the feeling

that I was seeing a historic first.

 

Billy Robinson vs Giant Baba may be

the "first" Triple Crown match, not

in the sense of fighting for the PWF,

International, and UN titles, but in

the sense of providing much of the

blueprint that was used by Misawa

and Kawada in the nineties to make

"Triple Crown" synonymous with the

ultimate in professional wrestling.

 

One of the hallmarks of Triple Crown

matches was the evolution of sequences

from match to match as new counters

were added to surprise the audience

and take the rivalry to new levels.

 

Robinson and Baba didn't have the

luxury of playing off their previous

encounters, but they had three falls

to work with and they used sequences

and spots in the early falls to set

up surprise counters in later falls.

 

Baba dominated the end of the first

fall. Baba whipped Robinson into the

corner, then whipped him into the ropes

and caught him with a trademark high

kick for a hot near fall. Robinson

grabbed a headlock, literally trying

to "hang on", but Baba back suplexed

him to take the first fall.

 

These moves would be replayed later

in the match.

 

In the second fall, Baba again tried

to whip Robinson into the corner, but

Robinson responded with a running

elbow to begin to take control for the

first time in that fall.

 

Then in the third fall Baba tried for

the high kick, but Robinson caught

Baba's foot, slammed it down, and

dropkicked Baba in the chest.

 

Later, Baba tried another back suplex,

but Robinson kicked off the top rope

causing Baba to fall awkwardly and hit

the back of his head, stunning himself.

 

Counters like these became staples in

Triple Crown matches in general and in

Misawa vs Kawada matches in particular.

 

Another hallmark of the Triple Crown

style was organizing the match into

sustained series of offense by each

wrestler separated by transitions.

 

The genesis of the transitions was

often a single quick counter move,

but momentum usually reversed slowly

over several moves as it took the

former victim time to clear his head

after the previous prolonged assault.

 

Robinson and Baba worked several of

these deliberate, well planned shifts

of momentum into their storyline.

 

Perhaps the best of these transitions,

and one of the best transitions I've

ever seen, took place in the middle

of the second fall.

 

Baba came out strong, controlling the

first three minutes of the fall while

working on Robinson's sore neck with a

series of chops to set up a leg sweep

and a swinging neckbreaker for a pair

of hot near falls.

 

Baba whipped Robinson toward the corner,

but Robinson sprang up onto the second

rope, leapt off, and decked Baba with a

running forearm to the side of the jaw.

 

Robinson then collapsed himself, still

hurting from the earlier beating, but

made it to his feet first, steadied

himself, and launched a dropkick that

took Baba down again.

 

Robinson stayed on his hands and knees

following the dropkick, still trying

to gather himself. Again he made it

to his feet first and again he decked

Baba with a running forearm, but this

time he stayed on his feet and seeing

Baba down he went for a quick cover

but Baba, now thoroughly stunned, was

able to get his foot over the ropes.

 

Robinson, now fully in control of the

action, then hit one of his signature

spots, a hangman neckbreaker. Baba

shifted slightly, perhaps looking for

the ropes again, but had to kick out

to avoid being pinned.

 

The entire transition, from Robinson

being in peril to Robinson being in

complete control took a little over

a minute with several "rounds" of

combat featuring wonderful selling

and decisions that made perfect sense.

 

Slow, well executed transitions like

this were one of the elements that

separated All Japan's top singles

matches from the rest of the world

and separated the Misawa vs Kawada

rivalry from the rest of All Japan.

 

Another hallmark of the Triple Crown

style was teasing and building the

importance of key moves by using a

sustained series of desperate blocks.

 

In the first fall, Robinson attempted

to lift Baba several times for a gut

wrench suplex, but Baba hung on to

Robinson's leg to block the move.

 

In the second fall, Robinson attempted

to lift Baba several times for a double

arm suplex, but Baba blocked it in a

number of ways, grapevining the leg,

dropping to a knee, and hooking the ropes.

 

The implication was that these moves

posed a real threat to Baba which is

why he was so desperate to block them.

 

Misawa and Kawada often used the same

psychology in their matches with Misawa

desperately blocking Kawada's powerbomb.

 

When Baba blocked the gut wrench suplex,

Robinson shifted to attacking Baba's leg.

When Baba blocked the double arm suplex,

Robinson went back to the leg and applied

a single leg crab, forcing Baba to submit

and evening the match at one fall apiece.

 

Robinson opened the third fall by going

after Baba's injured leg. He tried to

apply the boston crab several times, but

Baba made it to the ropes or kicked him

off. On one of the kicks, Robinson fell

backward and hit the back of his head.

 

Another hallmark of the Triple Crown

style was great selling, understated

and realistic in some moments while

over-the-top theatrical in others.

 

In the second fall Robinson had shown

that he could stagger around in peril

like Shawn Michaels in one moment,

then wilt following a heavy blow like

Toshiaki Kawada in the next moment.

 

In the third fall, after bumping his head,

Robinson avoided a stomp, made it to his

feet, then collapsed and rolled all the

way out to the floor.

 

Not to be outdone, after bumping his

head when Robinson kicked off the top

rope to upset a back suplex attempt,

Baba rolled three quarters of the way

across the ring, then rolled under the

ropes and off the apron to the floor.

 

Robinson and Baba varied their selling,

but they were not inconsistent. Their

selling reflected the overall flow of

the match and the most recent attacks

so they were able to mix theatricality

and realism like a Triple Crown match.

 

There are plenty of other elements that

can be analyzed in this match, from the

incredible build to the finish to all

the quirky moments Robinson brings to

the match, but I'm going to break with

tradition by avoiding a blow by blow

retelling of the stretch run here so

that readers can see it for themselves.

 

Robinson's bumping is great and Baba's

signature moves never looked better.

 

At one point Robinson staggers into

the ropes, then in response to Baba's

chop he falls out between the top and

second rope to end up on the apron.

 

Baba's back suplex is majestic with

Baba letting gravity do all the work.

Baba's finisher, the neckbreaker drop,

has all the ferocity of a car wreck

with Robinson flinging his legs into

the air as his shoulders are driven

into the canvas.

 

All that said, I'd rate this match at

****1/2. There were a couple of minor

slips early and while their matwork

seemed both organic and original it

ended a bit abruptly as if they had

merely wanted to get it out of the

way before moving on to other things.

 

The teasing and failure to deliver

later on the gut wrench suplex and

the double arm suplex was a negative,

but the teasing of a double countout

while actually delivering a clean,

satisfying finish balances that out.

 

I've seen Robinson vs Baba from 7/24/76

nine times now and I haven't tired of

it at all. There are literally dozens

of small touches to enjoy around the

strong central storyline.

 

It's the quintessential Billy Robinson

match, showing his strengths and the

diversity (to our modern eyes) of his

work while also showing a few moments

of Robinson marching to his own drummer.

 

If you were a fan of All Japan Triple

Crown matches in the nineties and the

great rivalry between Misawa and Kawada

then you definitely need to watch this

match to see where that style came from.

 

Frank

[goodhelmet]

Is this off the set I just sent you, Tim?

[JHawk]

Wait a second. A good Baba match? Billy Robinson might be the greatest wrestler of all-time if that's the case.

[Tim Cooke]

Triple Post

[Tim Cooke]

Yes, 1976 Volume 2.

 

I saw this for the first time when Frank posted his original review back in December 2002.

 

Hadn't watched it since late 2003. Revisited it when I got the set last Thursday and watched it again last night. May watch it tonight or tomorrow again to get some specific notes. Frank's review is tremendous but I want to elaborate on a few points and raise a few things I noticed as well.

 

Loss, have you seen this yet?

 

If you haven't, I demand you watch tonight.

 

Been thinking lately about the absolute best matches I have ever seen.

 

Santo/Casas from July 1987 is one of them. Maybe the best lucha match I have seen on tape. Santo/Perro Jr. from August 2004 is the best overall lucha brawl I have seen (Santo/Parka from December 2001 has a few issues that bother me and the Atlanta, Ga March 2004 version is clipped to 9 minutes but looks awesome). Multi-person Lucha tag brawl right now is October 2005 Capos vs. Perros.

 

But Japan is different, since it is what I was first exposed to in terms of foreign wrestling and is what I considered (and in some cases, still do) the best. But watching some of the best matches over and over has made me lose perspective. The other day I watched Misawa/Kawada from 7/29/93 and found it to be incredible.

 

It had the following working so well:

 

* Second Triple Crown Match between the two

 

* First time they faced off in a face vs. heel / rival vs. rival instead of friends who have to face off for one reason or another (10/92 and 3/93)

 

* So many little stories with Kawada showing he can stand toe to toe with Misawa in a variety of ways (out manuvering, doing Misawa's moves-only better)

 

But at the end of the day, it is just a great bridge between 10/92 and 6/94.

 

And that is where I am torn because this match is so great, it deserves better treatment.

 

Back to the original subject. Where as I still haven't seen all the lucha on tape that I need to see, I have for All Japan, at least what has been widely released. And Robinson/Baba fits my expectations for everything I would want out of a match at that time and point.

 

More people need to see this now!

 

Tim

[Tim Cooke]

Triple Post

[Tim Cooke]

Oh fuck, I don't know how this ended up here 3 times.

 

And Baba has a whole list of good to great matches.

 

03/05/69 vs. Destroyer

06/13/74 vs. Pedro Morales

12/02/74 vs. Jack Brisco

12/09/75 vs. Harley Race

05/11/76 vs. Jumbo Tsuruta

07/24/76 vs. Billy Robinson

10/31/79 vs. Harley Race

02/04/82 vs. Stan Hanson

07/31/84 vs. Stan Hanson

11/30/93 with Hanson vs. Misawa/Kobashi

12/??/94 with Hanson vs. Kawada/Taue

 

And I think MNJ reviewed the 1993 RWTL match with Kawada/Taue in the reviews folder recently.

[goodhelmet]

Damn Tim, it was so important you needed to say it three times.

[Loss]

I still have not seen Baba/Robinson, and I would love to watch it tonight Tim, but I don't own it. I've been home with a 102-degree fever, with bronchitis, vomiting and ... um ... gastrointestinal issues all week now. Medicine seems be doing nothing; maybe a great match will at least make me forget how shitty I feel for a little while.

[goodhelmet]

Wait a second.  A good Baba match?  Billy Robinson might be the greatest wrestler of all-time if that's the case.

Yeah, JHawk, the whole Baba is a bad wrestler is another one of those myths that actually is disproven when you watch the matches. his chops may have sucked but he had some quality matches against many different opponents.

[Guest Mike Campbell]

Baba being a bad worker is a myth created by people who'd only watched the matches from the latter part of Baba's career, and just assumed he was never good to begin with.

 

The match Tim's pimping and Baba/Destroyer 3/5/69 are tied for my favorite Baba match at the moment. It's also my pick for best match of the 70's for now. I need another sitdown with Jumbo/Terry 6/11/76 though, to see if a year and a half and much more viewing experience from that time frame has effected my view of it though.

[JHawk]

Then let me clarify that I've never seem a good Baba match, and the only passable matches I've ever seen him in were tag matches. So I'd be very interested in seeing this match or his match with Destroyer.

[Tim Cooke]

I know the Destroyer match was floating around the internet.

 

If I can rip the Robinson match this weekend and figure out how to upload it, I will.

 

Tim

[goodhelmet]

I still have not seen Baba/Robinson, and I would love to watch it tonight Tim, but I don't own it.

Well, when you get your package tomorrow, you should have a little bonus. I sent the copies of the Digests that Frank sent me along with our trade. The only issue is that you may have to watch them on your computer or cretae new discs using your decryter on your computer to play on regular DVD players.

[Loss]

I'm watching this tonight, if only so Tim will stop trolling me.

 

[Loss]

Okay, so I just watched this match, and my God, Tim, you're right. Best match of the 70s by a large, large margin. Incredibly modern, in that it could take place today and fans wouldn't be disappointed by the action at all. I think that even the best 70s AJPW stuff is typically going to require patience from the viewer, but this match was such an enjoyable breeze. Anyone who has enjoyed any matches from AJPW in the 90s owes it to themselves to see where many of the ideas appear to have originated. I don't think I've seen any other 70s matches built around so many false finishes, but the coolest thing about this is that this isn't a superficial match where the action is there because the thought is lacking. Robinson starts off attempting to be a nice guy, but as the match progresses, he gets more aggressive and more focused and gets the best shit-eating grin you'll ever see on his face after low dropkicking Baba later on. Speaking of the low dropkick, that's been a really common transitional move in the US since about 1995 when Eddy Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit entered WCW. It's one that was impressive at first, but it's been overused and no longer grabs my attention like it used to. This match made me appreciate the move again, if only because in the context of 1976, this wasn't commonplace and seeing Robinson pull it out was very cool. So much desperation in the matwork communicated through the pacing and facial expressions, so much build, and man, was Robinson ever laying in his shots. The corner forearm later in the match after the Irish whip was a thing of beauty. Brawling on the floor reminded me a lot of Akira Taue matches and the tease of the nodowa, and the match layout is eerily similar to Misawa/Kawada on 6/3/94. I'll be watching this quite a few more times.