World's Worst Man Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Holy cow, I wrote a review. Kind of by the numbers, but I'm not a creative writer, or even a good one Chigusa Nagayo vs. Devil Masami (8/22/85) This was pro-wrestling in its purest form. It wasn't about good vs. evil or trying to avoid or hit a specific move. It was about two competitors trying to win a wrestling match. And both Chigusa and Devil really, really wanted to win. Everything was fought for, nothing was given. Every early mat-hold was contested. Chigusa got the short end of the stick early on, but she never stopped trying to fight her way out of Devil's holds. And why wouldn't she, the holds hurt right? They sure looked like it, as both girls did a phenomenal job putting over the damage of the early mat-work, with excellent facials and clear body language. In some matches, the early mat-work seems to be given a passing thought. Not here, where it seemed like life or death from the very start. The struggle and competitiveness extended itself to the rest of the match. Suplexes and slams were fought for and against. It makes sense, but it also made for great timing, which is something missing from a lot of matches today. It makes such a large difference when the wrestlers fight for moves instead of just hitting them right away. It builds anticipation for the move and makes them that much more important. Maybe the best example of this was Chigusa's late match cross-armed german suplex. Chigusa slowly hooked it in while Devil frantically tried to struggle out of it, to no avail. When the move was hit, it made for an excellent near fall, one that the crowd bought into as the finish. Most all of the big moves in this match were timed and fought for well, which added to the drama, and put the moves over to the audience. While the main reasons this match was so great are covered above, there were a few other things that stand out, good and bad. Devil's absolutely devastating punches for one. These were some big league knocks Chigusa was taking, I can't remember the last women's match I'd seen with such great punches. The selling was just fantastic, most notably the late match selling which put over how much sheer energy each girl had used up. This was one of the big reasons the match came off as epic as it did. On the negative side, I wasn't crazy about the late match structure and transitioning, as it seemed like a few of the transitions came at perplexing moments. For example, a couple times it seemed like Chigusa or Devil would get hit with a move for a near fall, and then almost right after, transition into control without any reversal or comeback made. It didn't happen often, but was just a small annoyance late in the match. Finally, the double KO finish made sense, because the match had really been quite even. Devil got the better of it early, Chigusa eventually fought back to somewhat equal footing, and they each took their fair share of bombs late in the match. Some things might have been done to add a little more drama to the finish, because I don't feel it got over as well as it could have, but it was definitely the right finish for the match. I really liked this match. The "competitive" style of pro-wrestling is absolutely my favourite style. I'll take two wrestlers going at it in a rough, hard-fought wrestling match over a more theatrical approach any day. This match was basically that, and in that context, was performed almost as well as I could expect. ****1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Definitely an incredible match that I think you summed up well. I agree that the high point of this was that every move was a struggle and was earned. A simple move like a vertical suplex means a lot more when you know what it took for one to get the other to that point. Almost seems like something that would go without saying, but it's an honest-to-God *pro wrestling* match, where one thing leads to another pretty much the entire time. One of probably the top five matches of the 80s, if not even the best match of the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Watched the Di'Biase/Duggan multi-stip match today, and while it was fairly enjoyable, it's another match that I don't think lives uo to the crowd. The heat was great, and the punches, which the match was built on offensively, were among the best I've ever seen. Most of the offence was too low end to be exciting though, and I didn't find myself getting emotionally involved in the match or even being drawn in. Probably around ***1/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Didn't you write in another thread about how you were enjoying wrestling more ever since you decided to do away with looking deeply at transitions, low end offense, etc? Serious question, not a troll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 I will say that I do find the match to be overrated (I prefer the Houston street fight and the no DQ match on one of the Barnett comps), though the crowd is awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Watched the Di'Biase/Duggan multi-stip match today, and while it was fairly enjoyable, it's another match that I don't think lives uo to the crowd. The heat was great, and the punches, which the match was built on offensively, were among the best I've ever seen. Most of the offence was too low end to be exciting though, and I didn't find myself getting emotionally involved in the match or even being drawn in. Probably around ***1/4. Wait, Hogan/Orton was a top five match for you this year, but Dibase/Duggan was hurt cause of lowend offense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anarchistxx Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 Didn't you write in another thread about how you were enjoying wrestling more ever since you decided to do away with looking deeply at transitions, low end offense, etc? Serious question, not a troll. I try to look for entertainment in matches these days, rather than good psychology and stuff. I don't look too deeply these days, but I found this match dull offensively, which I don't think was looking too deep. The fact that it was still enjoyable without it says a lot for its good points in other areas though. I will say that I do find the match to be overrated though the crowd is awesome I'll pretty much subscribe to that pinion. Wait, Hogan/Orton was a top five match for you this year, but Dibase/Duggan was hurt cause of lowend offense? I don't think I'd like Orton/Hogan so much on a second viewing. It had a lot of things going for me. I was in a good mood at the time, I loved the retro feel of the match, the fact Orton was put over despite losing. the simple formula of him working over the leg, his great, coky heel performance and his dickish expressions. Hogan was good as the superhero fighting for the crowd as well. I just loved it at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 Barry Windham v Dick Murdoch - WWF 02/16/85, Philadelphia, PA Anyone left puzzled by some of the recent message board talk about working the hard camera and selling for the back row of a big arena should watch this match. Pretty much everyone knows Barry Windham and knows Dick Murdoch, so they're pretty familiar with how they normally do things. This is each guy with his personality and body language turned up to 11, and it's pretty cool to watch. Murdoch has always had a great staggered punch drunk sell - as good as or better than that of Terry Funk - but he exaggerates it even more here. There's also really cool small things Windham does like pull on the ring apron to keep his balance that really play well in front of the large Philly crowd. Murdoch and Windham are not WWF regulars, so you don't normally see them work this style, because quite frankly, they aren't usually wrestling in quite as big an arena as the Spectrum, or in front of as many people. Interesting contrast to some of the other matches they've had, and this match is totally different from the UWF TV time limit match they had a couple of years later. It's always great to watch two pros that work hard to make sure they don't have the same match every time out, and this is a terrific example of that in practice. This isn't a classic, or close to it, but it's still something everyone should see for the performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 This is a ways down the road for the WWF stuff that I'm hitting, but it is a match that I watched earlier. I found it exceptionally disappointing. If you want another contrast to how these two can work together, the early 1987 Barry & Garvin vs. Dick & Ivan US Tag Title match is a good one. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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