[2000-05-Portland-Total Chaos TV] Chuck Gordy vs Mark Large

[GSR]

In a battle of unoriginal nicknames, we have Chuck ‘Bam Bam’ Gordy taking on ‘Crusher’ Mark Large (who appears to be a firm favourite of the Portland faithful). The cameras cut to a rather vocal section of the crowd, one of whom is Chael Sonnen! Large escapes a hammerlock with a drop toe hold, and clasps on an ankle lock forcing Gordy to clamber to the ropes for the break. He slaps on a rear chinlock, digging his knee into ‘Bam Bam’s’ back for added pressure. Gordy with an arm wringer, from where he transitions to a cross armbar, but ‘the Crusher’ is able to reverse that into a leglock submission and ‘Bam Bam’ again goes to the ropes. He offers him his hand, which Large foolishly accepts, and Chuck is straight in with a boot to the mid-section. Whip to the turnbuckles and a running lariat in the corner. He tries to repeat it, this time though Large gets a foot up (I think, as the camera cuts to a woman at ringside), followed by a sunset flip off the middle for two. Gordy counters the piledriver with a backdrop, but very quickly ‘the Crusher’ is right back on him. As Large runs the ropes, Big Daddy Thunder (Gordy’s second) hooks his ankles from the outside. Gordy then whips Large into the official, knocking him down, as his back is turned and he’s having words with Thunder. With the ref out of it, the ‘Big Daddy’ enters the ring and goes to hit Large with a chair, but he moves and nails Gordy instead. Weirdly, after the way you’re conditioned to think what should happen next, he then cracks Large over the head, and with both of them KO’d, puts Gordy on top of his opponent. Thunder throws some water on the ref to wake him up and he comes around to count the fall.

 

This is the third Portland match I’ve watched, and can’t say any have left a positive lasting impression on me. This is probably the best of the three, but that’s very faint praise indeed.