Current Portland Nominations

[goodhelmet]

I have been watching some Portland lately and I thought I would post some of my nomination posts. Some are generic recap stuff written with the purpose of reminding me which match I am discussing for final list making. Others are just a couple of lines giving affirmation to the match.

 

1980

 

Buddy Rose vs. Rick Martel (2/3 falls) (4/26/80)

- Buddy is wearing a mask/wig combo for the match. 1st fall has some nice legwork from Buddy. Awesome spot where MArtle gives Buddy an atomic drop but his leg is damaged from all of the legwork. This allows Buddy to work on the leg some more and get the easy submission. This first fall was pretty good almost all due to Buddy. 2nd fall sees Martel still selling the leg and Buddy trying to destroy it. Buddy gets posted and the tide turns. Martel in turn decides to post Buddy's back and work on his back and eventually win the 2nd fall with the Boston Crab. I love it when wrestlers work the body parts and it means something. 3rd fall and Martel continues too work on the back. I love it when Buddy went to slam Martel but couldn't complete the slam because his back was too injured. Early in the fall, Martel rips off Buddy's wig and Buddy is too embarassed to continue and runs to the back giving Martel the countout win. This match was awesome and is a slam-dunk nomination and a contender for any set you want to put it on.

 

 

Roddy Piper & Rick Martel vs. Luke Williams & Butch Miller (2/3 Falls) (5/3/80)

- Pretty cool tag as Martel and Piper inspire the Andersons and destroy Luke's arm. Miller gets the tag but the ref doesn't see it so Williams is eventually put away in the first fall. 2nd fall has MArtel playing FIP after the Sheeps regaining control and never able to tag Piper so he evntually does the job after a vicious back elbow. 3rd fall starts where the 2nd one left off but this time Piper gets the hot tag and cleans house. After Piper shows some spirit, he eventually plays FIP. THe Sheeps do an assisted backbreaker where Butch drops Piper on Luke's knee. That looked pretty cool. A double pin end s the match in controversy but this was one hell of a tag. Definite nomination.

 

 

Buddy Rose vs. Rick Martel (2/3 falls) (5/10/80)

- Early on, a different match altogether from the first one where the first fall has the guys working spots out of the headlock includoing the earliest case of a hurrucanrana I can remember seeing as Martel takes Rose over. If the first match was all about working the body parts, this was an exchange of cool moves and sequences worked out of the headlock and Buddy countering. When he gets the advantage, he goes to the top rope and drives Martel's head into the canvas with his knee. It looked fucking sweet. Damn, Buddy is such an awesome bumper. Too bad he never found his way down to Mid South. 2nd fall has Buddy working on Martel's back in a role reversal from the first match. However, Martel catches Buddy in the sleeper and takes the 2nd fall to even it up. So far, this is a completely different match form the first one but still just as good. 3rd fall only had a couple of minutes of non-stop action before Martel catches Buddy in another sleeper. THis brings out the Sheeps for the DQ and Piper for the save. Even though the 3rd fall was abrupt, there was enough action to easily move this forward.

 

 

Roddy Piper & Rick Martel vs. Luke Williams & Butch Miller (2/3 Falls) (5/31/80)

- Similar match to the last one that sees Martel and Piper working over the arm since it was so effective in the last match. This time, the Sheeps injure Piper's leg and just go to town until he submits. The 2nd fall has Piper still getting his leg woked over until he makes the hot tag to Martel. Martel takes control and as he whips Williams into the rope, Piper "judo chops" him to the outside and rams his shoulder into the ringpost allowing his team to ge tthe eventual win. The third fall has Martel playing Fip as Piper is unable to really help his team with the injured leg. However, as Piper comes in after a hot tag and applies a sleeper, Buddy Rose comes in for the DQ but hits Luke Williams instead. The post-match is awesome as Rose starts beating Williams into a bloody pulp with the flagpole everytime Miller looks away. Miller and Rose brawl and finally the New Zealanders make thier way to the interview stand where Miller gies an awesome interview while Luke Williams is bleeding and barely able to stand. I take back what I said about the Sheepherders/ New Zealanders. Fucking awesome all the way around. Definite Nomination.

 

 

Buddy Rose vs. Butch Miller (2/3 Falls) (6/7/80)

- Miller is avenging his partner. Rose is fighting the match under protest so he stalls and tries o avoid Miller the first few minutes. When Miller finally gets a hold of him, he goes on the attack and just beats the shit out of him and after three jumping elbows, he gets the easy pin. This is excellent booking as Miller just dismantles Rose. The 2nd fall was back and forth and Rose gets the the pin using the ropes for leverage. 3rd fall is short but wild as it goes to the outside and Rose posts Miller and gets the blood flowing. The match ends in a countout but Rose and Miller keep brawling in and out of the ring. Another nomination.

 

 

Buddy Rose vs. Butch Miller (Lumberjack Match) (6/21/80)

- Another match that starts out with Miller kicking Buddy's ass. At one point, Buddy tries to run away from the match but the lumberjacks chase him and carry him back to the ring. Great way of getting the gimmick over. About 8 minutes in, Rogers throws a chain to Rose who is blocked by Piper when he tries to use it. He knocks Piper out but Miller rams Rose into his own hand and wins the match. THis wasn't nearly as good as the 2/3 Falls matches I have nominated so far but I'll throw this on as a low-level nomination.

 

 

Buddy Rose, Ed Wiskowski & Fidel Cortez vs. Butch Miller, Luke Williams & Lord Jonathan Boyd (2/3 Falls) (7/19/80)

- The first fall finds the Sheeps working over the arms of Cortez and then Wiskowski. The big spot had Ed shoot into the ropes and knock Buddy off the apron. When the heels gain control, Jonathan Boyd takes a great bump off a rope choke. When he regains control, Boyd ends it with a flying knee drop on Wiskowski. The 2nd fall has Miller playing FIP and Rose finally comes into the match when the heels are firmly in control. The hot tag is amde to Boyd who bounces Buddy around in and out of the ring. Luke Williams is tagged in, misses the back elbow and is put down with a sleeper. After the fall, while the referee is distracted, the heels take turns pounding Williams who still isn't awake from the sleeper. One of the things I really like about the Portland 2/3 Falls matches is that the guys who ended the last fall have to be the ones to start the next fall so Williams continues the match as FIP. The 3rd fall ends with a shmoz as Rose rolls Miller up for the pin while holding the tights. I don't think this is the best match i have seen today but it is worth a watch. Boyd was really on fire here and Buddy was great as usual, even when he wasn't the legal man, always keeping things interested on the outside. Nomination.

 

 

Butch Miller & Luke Williams vs. Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowski (2/3/ Falls) (7/5/80)

- The first fall was back and forth with the typical great Buddy Rose stuff. Miller gets the pin after a couple of elbows. The 2nd fall has the heels making short work of Williams after a Wiskowski diving headbutt. 3rd fall picks up where the 2nd onoe left off. Williams is getting his ass beat until a mis-timed knee from Rose hits Ed instead of Luke. 3rd fall saw Rose nearly beat but Wiskowski gets DQed bringing a chair in kicking the ref. This match wasn't as good as previous tags (Ed relied heavily on the chinlock) but probably still worth a look. The post-match interview with Miller is must-see though. Nomination.

 

 

Buddy Rose & Ed Wiskowski vs. Roddy Piper & Rick Martel (2/3 Falls) (for vacant tag titles) (8/2/80)

- Damn, Buddy Rose does more on the outside of the ring than most people do inside. 1st fall has Piper doing the majority of the work and when the heels are in control, they are working over his injured ribs and back. When Martel comes in, he lights the heels up and disposes of Rose with the huracanrana pin. 2nd fall has Martel in control until a missed dropkick. Ed & Buddy hen proceed to destroy Martel's back. Rose is doing some great moves finding new ways to work on Martel's back including a nice backbreaker to get the 2nd fall. With nearly all Portland tags, the wiiners of the last fall continue to do what worked in the last fall, which is working over Martel's back in this instance. I am only 4 discs into the Portland footage but DAMN if it isn't the most logical and well-worked matches I have seen even if guys who are considered limited like Piper and the Sheepherders. Buddy Rose is also one of the Top 5 heels of the 80s right up there with Tully blanchard and Ted Dibiase. back to the match, Piper gets the hot tag but Buddy and Ed do a cool double team over. Ed slingshots Piper into Rose who proceeds to backdrop him out of the ring. Fucking sweet. This causes the action to spill out of the ring and the match ends in a no-contest but the wrestlers coninue to brawl anyway. In the end, each team claims one of the tag titles and they ontinue to brawl in the post-match interview. Another badass Portland tag!!!

 

 

Roddy Piper vs. Ed Wiskowski (2/3 falls) (8/23/80)

- 1st fall has Piper beating Wiskowski until Ed catches him in the throat. Wiskowski proceeds to attack the throat area and for once, I don't mind the Wiskowski chinlock. Later on, Piper's leg gets caught in the rope so Ed starts attacking the leg. Piper tries to cut Ed down by attacking his leg. I don't know who was responsible for laying out the matches in Portland but I have never seen matches that make more sense than the ones I have watched the last couple of days. Piper catches Wiskowski by surprise with a swinging neckbreaker to get the three. So, when the 2nd fall starts, he works on the neck. I am not crazy about seeing a nerve hold but it makes sense. Wiskowski escapes the nerve hold by tossing Piper outside the ring. ON the way down, Piper sells his back so Wiskowski goes outside to ram Piper's back into the ringpost and then bodyslams him on the concrete. One fan at ringside was so irate he had to be subdued by the cops. Wiskowski gets him back in the ring and puts him away with the headbutt. 3rd fall starts off as a brawl with them fighting outside the ring. Back in the ring, after an Irish whip, Buddy Rose trips Piper and Ed wins in a really short fall. AFter the match, Rose and Wiskowski beat on Piper until he is busted open. Once again, we have a match worth watching.

 

 

Roddy Piper vs. Buddy Rose (2/3 falls) (9/13/80)

- Once again, these guys have a really solid 1st fall with both guys going back and forth trying to get the advantage. Piper ends the 1st fall with a sleeper but not before BUddy tried ramming him in the turnbuckle a few times in an attempt to get him to break it. 2nd fall has Rose busting Piper open on the ring post before he can even get into the ring. Buddy is going to town on the gash. At this point, I thought Piper would show some fighting spirit before Buddy would put him away in the 2nd fall. However, Piper gets a rollup and beats Buddy 2 straight falls. Again, these guys have agreat match with each other and an easy nomination.