[1980-11-01-AJPW] Abdullah the Butcher vs Terry Funk

[SAMS]

1980-11-01
AJPW
Abdullah the Butcher (c) vs Terry Funk
NWA United National Title Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match
Culture Gymnasium, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
★★★★ ¼  
Card

This is one of those classic matches that just built and built, organically layering elements on top of each other to the point that something like a double DQ finish was not just a satisfying ending, but the only ending that seems possible.
Terry started out pretty cautious here, wary of Abby’s strikes, constantly going for the leg takedown instead of going toe to toe with him. That didn’t last too long as, once Abby got a few strikes in, Terry was in trouble fast. The attack was mostly focused on the side of the head and the ear, and it wasn’t long before we got some blood spouting from that region. Just when it looked like Terry was going to be in real trouble though he caught Abby with a surprise Thesz Press to snatch the first fall.
Terry was more expansive in the second, buoyed from having taken the first fall, and things were looking good for him before they tumbled to the outside. Abby managed to post Terry’s leg, already heavily bandaged, and that turned the tide in a major way. No longer able to even put pressure on it, a feeble attempt to climb onto the apron was thwarted and the only outcome was a countout to tie things up.
The final fall devolved into more primal brawling than what had come before. Abby was now bleeding, to nobody’s surprise, and by the time we got the referee bump we were already on the verge of this getting way out of control. I absolutely loved the visual of Joe Higuchi being dragged like a ragdoll from the ring as the two continued to tear at each other. With no referee left things got more wild and woolly, more eye gouging, and Terry even began raking Abby’s bald head, which is something I can’t remember seeing before. A timid looking man tried to interject to establish some order, but he was rebuked in no time at all and the match ended in a double DQ, or more likely a no-contest.
Running through the action I don’t believe really does this match justice. Abby is someone I’m coming around to somewhat. He’s in a few of my favourite tag matches (specifically those against the Funks), but it’s still a little jarring to see him in a situation where he isn’t using the fork and the match is presented as a more “traditional” straight up wrestling match. I think he did a good job here, plus when things really got out of control, the more brawling action suited him to a tee, but I think he was more effective here as a foil to Terry, a symbol, merely being “Abdullah the Butcher”, than anything particularly special or noteworthy that he actually did. While this may not have been the match of the year, I’m strongly leaning towards the opinion that Terry’s performance here was the best performance of the year, and I’m struggling to think of a standout contender to challenge it. Terry is an all-timer in terms of always being on. At no point does he break character or reset himself. We saw him be incredibly sympathetic in the first fall, taking a real beating, making Abby’s offense look crazy effective, then pouncing for a desperate, but successful, attempt at a pin. He got more confident, timed his comebacks and hope spots perfectly to maximise their impact, then delivered an unparalleled sell job of the leg to finish the second. The third fall was all brawling but again this is where Terry excels. The desperation, the escalation, the triumph despite falling short, it was all there. Honestly I’m running out of superlatives.

[tcg91]

Saying that this was a broomstick match wouldn't be too fair, but Terry was so great here and he completely made this with an outstanding performance. He sold all of Butcher's offense and, despite not being used to the underdog role, he was a master at getting the crowd emotionally involved in his fight from behind. This was much better than the Carnival match and the crescendo made sense, in a context like this the non-finish is not a big deal because this was too out of control to have a clean finish. This is also quite refreshing to see, as it shares little to nothing with a "normal" wrestling match, so kudos to them for working with what they had
***1/2