[1985-09-14-WWF-Landover, MD] Bret Hart vs Dynamite Kid

[dawho5]

Bret takes an early modified version of his sternum bump off a catapult, which is pretty cool. I like Bret more as a heel. The way he carries himself lends itself to a stalling heel persona in a big way. And the way he delivers his offense with that signature arrogance screams heel to me. Dynamite sells the FIP better than I expected and makes a good comeback to get the crowd rolling. One thing I like about 80s Bret matches is that a roll-up, any roll-up late, is a big threat to end the match. Bret and Anvil 2 on 1 Dynamite post-match until Bulldog makes the save in very Bulldog fashion.

 

Good match that seems like a test for both as singles guys.

[GSR]

This match can be found on the the Coliseum video release 'The British Bulldogs' as well as the DVD 'Bret Hart: The Dungeon Collection'.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Dynamite Kid vs Bret "The Hitman" Hart - 9/85 Landover

 

Good opening sequence sees a quick criss cross sequence end with Bret Hart taking a catapult into the turnbuckle and bumping to the floor. Hart takes an atomic drop hard and then a snap suplex. Dynamite, oddly, goes for a chinlock, but Bret reverses into a hammerlock and Bret takes his own leverage bump to the floor. I see the chinlock was needed to get Bret to do his bump, I hate those sequences. They do the Stampede reverse of the wristlock, but Bret goes to do it: he just kips up and punches Dynamite. I liked that a lot. Bret hits the knee lift to start his heat segment.

 

Everything Bret hits just looks so crisp. He was a big fan of the bodyslam on the concrete during his heat segments. Bret is actually pretty decent at working the crowd at this point, it just seems like no one cares because they just see him as a newbie. Dynamite and Davey Boy are perfectly capable of selling they just seem unwilling to do it like it is nuisance. Whereas, Bret actually takes the time to sell one of his own headbutts. The sunset flip by Dynamite gets a decent pop so maybe I spoke too soon. No one bites on the backslide. Bret does the attempted backbreaker/opponent flips/opponent hits backbreaker or bodyslam spot, which looks good. One of the reasons, Bret and Flair set themselves apart is because they already have whole matches developed unto themselves. They have multiple spots for their opponents to do to them, which takes the onus off less talented wrestlers.

 

Bret is up first and ties Dynamite up only to take his throw himself in the ropes bump. Dynamite up with his hooking clothesline, hair pull/throwdown (Bret did it earlier) and Bret takes his patented bump chest first into buckle bump. Wicked sweet back suplex by Dynamite only get two follows that up with a second-rope kneedrop and only gets two. On a criss cross sequence, Dynamite trips over Bret and takes a header into the ropes. I have seen plenty of Bret matches and I dont recognize that as one of his spots. Is it a Dynamite spot? If so, it is a really good one. Dynamite takes the Bret leverage bump and while we are on replay we almost miss Dynamite winning with a reverse cradle.

 

This was a pretty good sprint for 11 minutes. You could already tell Bret was main event material in the way that this was the total Bret show. Almost every spot was a Bret concoction that he would learn to craft into fantastic 30 minute affairs. Dynamite is a great offensive dynamo and holds up his end on selling. It isn't anywhere near the best Bret match, but it is an important match to show how many tools Bret already had in his arsenal in 1985. I completely agree with everything I wrote in this five year review. It is a quick-paced match that follows the usual formula and Bret looks like a major star in this. ***1/2

[Beast]

1985 WWF equivalent of the Nitro cruiserweight match, and I love that it's not spot-spot-spot, but rather a heated back and forth that plays off how well they already know each other as opponents. It always works extremely well as the next chapter in their general tag team wars. Everything is so crisp, sometimes stiff, with the highlight being Dynamite's brutal 2nd rope knee drop directly to Bret's forehead. Both guys are known for taking their craft seriously, which makes even the smallest moment here feel worthwhile.

If anything, this could have been longer, as it felt like they were just getting started. Too bad they never really had a major televised singles match ever again.

The ending being missed due to a replay has always bugged me. I guess this was a live Cap Centre show with replays chosen on the fly? 

[cactus]

The workrate in this is so high that it feels massively out of place in 1985 WWF. Even Moonson is shocked by how hard these guys are going! I feel like Dynamite is a guy who's rated so highly because of how innovative his style was and not how great of a worker he was per say. Bret Hart in 1985 doesn't feel too different from Bret Hart in 1991. He plays to the crowd well and his stuff looks clean and crisp. He might be wearing blue instead of pink, but even here it's clear he's got all the skills to be a big star. 

★★★¼