[1970-08-02-JWA] Dory Funk Jr vs Antonio Inoki

[Superstar Sleeze]

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dory Funk Jr vs Antonio Inoki - JWA 8/2/70 2/3Falls

 

First Fall: This is not as good as I remember their 1969 match being. I read my 1969 match review and it seems that one was a much more exciting from jump. Don’t get me wrong this is is still very solid and snug, but doesn’t get out of first gear yet. I like this idea of slams as more about body positioning rather than accumulating damage. I should say they can be both but an early slam shouldn’t be a death sentence. I like how both men scramble out of bumps to avoid the other consolidating the advantage. Generally seems Inoki is working the arm and Junior the leg. Inoki works a nifty arm drag early. Not to be outdone Junior works a fabulous drop toehold into a calf slicer one of my favorite spots. Junior hits a knee crusher out of an Inoki headlock. Watch that scramble from Inoki to avoid any more damage. Sometimes you don’t need to writhe to sell. You can sell fear in the scramble. Great single leg by Junior. They work a step over toehold. Inoki works out into an arm stretcher and a brief moment of Mania consumes him as he repeatedly stomp Junior’s arm. He works the arm now. They add some more motion here. Trading DROPKICKs and body slams but each time Inoki gets back into control with an arm drag. Inoki gives Junior too much space and ends up back in Drop Toehold. Last thing Junior is playing the Travelling Champion subtle heel well. Letting Inoki shine, Inoki is the one winning the mini battles, Junior is stretching the rules a bit. Solid base. Hopefully they kick it up a notch in the next forty minutes. Junior sits down into shirt arm scissors. Things pick up when Inoki gets to the ropes and Junior heelishly stomps the arm. Inoki takes a powder. Junior pounces on him. Tangling him in the ropes and letting the fists flying targeting the arm. Inoki hulks up. Junior begs off and powders. Inoki punches him and slams his head into buckles as tempers flare. Inoki works a standing headlock for a while before Junior hits a Belly To Back Suplex drops the elbows 1-2 and the ref pulls up. Wow! Inoki forget to kick out. Ref repositions and Inoki kicks out. That’s pretty bush league especially for these two and the era. What’s stranger is Junior ends up winning the fall with a Butterfly Suplex. I mean if he was going to win anyways why not just finish the count and protect the business. Still a solid match so far but pales in comparison to the 1969 classic. 

 

Second Fall: Action picked up here. Junior comes out hot looking to put this away. Inoki counters a surfboard into his own and then into the body scissors. Some fun work in and out of the body scissors. Junior pops him good. Junior tries the knuckle lock, Inoki bridges and Junior ends up back in body scissors that type of shit that’s always great. Junior ends up losing his temper and chucking Inoki into the outside slamming Inoki’s head into tables. He looks to win the match with a Butterfly Suplex. Great struggle. Inoki back drops out, lands on top 1-2-NO! Inoki German Suplex 1-2-3! It is all knotted up. 

 

Third Fall: This one is for all the marbles and you can tell both wrestlers have picked up the urgency. Junior tries to get something going with some shouldertackles but leaves himself open for the flying head scissors. We work in and out of that. Even getting what looked like the first ever Frankensteiner out of Inoki in a wild moment. We see of the patented Dory Funk Jr European Uppercuts. Junior tries for the Boston Crab but Inoki bests him. Junior tries a full Nelson but eats a mule kick. Then he sits down into a Short Arm Scissors that is a move at the 50 minute mark. Inoki tried to punch out Junior yanks him down by the hair. Here when Junior goes full heel. There is Terry Funk tripping Inoki, blasting Inoki into the ring post. Inoki fights valiantly attempting his famous abdominal stretch and a top rope knee drop. He misses one. You expect to see the Spinning Toehold but instead Junior gets one of his own but on the second he gets press slammed off the top. In 1970! Flair was just honoring tradition. I see why the Butterfly Suplex had to finish the first fall because Inoki needed to counter it in the second to win and he needed to take it here and kick out to show his growth & resiliency. He goes for Abdominal Stretch but gets tied up in the ropes. They throw out a lot of spots down the stretch but Inoki does get the Abdominal Stretch hooked up as the bell rings.

 

Weird match not bad per se but an hour long you better be great but this wasn’t. It had its moments and everything was well-worked. It was missing a hook to get invested or thread to tie it all together. Watch the 1969 match instead. ***1/2