[1980-11-26-Joint Promotions] Dynamite Kid vs Mark Rocco

[SAMS]

1980-11-26
Joint Promotions
Dynamite Kid vs Mark Rocco
Assembly Hall, Walthamstow, London, UK
★★★★

Dynamite Kid back in the UK and the first signs of him on tape since way back in the spring maybe. I can tell it’s been a long time as he has a full head of flowing locks and the last time I saw him in Japan he was sporting a brutal buzz cut.
These two grabbed the audience's attention from the word go. Rocco getting in a few nasty cheap shots on breaks and Kid was having none of it, coming back at him with gusto, and we had ourselves a match on our hands.
Unsurprising from these two but the pace was quick, a lot of action but that edge was ever present. Lofton seemed almost perplexed by the amount of leeway the referee was affording them both, and while Rocco definitely was the initial aggressor, he certainly was not alone in carrying out illegal actions. The intensity and energy in the building grew and grew, climaxing in a cacophony when Kid was able to unleash a flurry of offense on Rocco which sent him to the outside to recoup. Finally in the third he was able to endure a few meaty moves from Rocco himself before he hit a backbreaker, falling headbutt and a GERMAN SUPLEX sequence for the pin! I don’t think I’ve seen a German in the UK yet and this was one of those where he released halfway, just flinging Rocco across the ring with an impact that folded him up like an accordion. Unfortunately for Kid he’d been opened up at some point previously and the referee deemed him unfit to continue so we finished with a no contest decision.
If they’d been allowed to go the full distance this would have been a classic, no doubt in my mind. It was a little workrate-y, but the chippiness and griminess at the edges pulled this together into something really fantastic. More and more I get the feeling that WoS is the ultimate tease promotion. All the elements are there but due to TV regulations, the nature of business at the time and other factors the matches often fall just a tad short of their true potential.

[tcg91]

The ring announcer is great at hyping Kid's homecoming and Rocco is an awesome heel, so it's a no brainer that this match generates a super hot crowd. This doesn't go too long, like some other Joint Promotion matches did, so it displays the great mix that a New Japan juniors match would: matwork, strikes and quickness. Actually, too many strikes, because Kid busts himself open with a headbutt and the crowd explodes (they're not really used to it). Stopping the match because of blood loss is a huge disappointment, especially in hindsight, and also a shame because this match had such an amazing start. This is a perfect example of why less is more, because the fans went crazy when they finally got the "less" before their eyes
***1/2