Monday 24 October 2016

NWA Classics 24/7 #16

Butch Reed v Terry Taylor (Houston Wrestling, 5/11/84)

Man this was good stuff. I figured I'd like it because it's Reed and I'll like pretty much anything with Reed, and Reed v Taylor for thirteen minutes in 1984 was probably always going to be no worse than decent, but they worked in so much cool stuff that I never expected to see. Reed was never better selling for punches than he was for Taylor's in this. He has some great weeble-wobble moments, does a Terry Funk-esque pirouette before falling flat on his face, goes jelly-legged trying to stay upright; just so much fun eating Taylor's shots. Terry is wearing a neck brace so when Reed takes over you get some awesome clubbing to the neck, a big swinging neckbreaker and a hotshot across the top rope that Terry took without putting his hands up at all (looked brutal). Then Reed starts working the brass knucks hidden in the trunks shtick. The crowd are just all over him and he's popping Taylor and biting his forehead, then throws him out to the floor and challenges someone in the crowd to get in the ring in Terry's place. There were always pockets of fans in Mid-South/Houston that wouldn't take to Terry and boo him while he was still babyface, but they got 100% behind him here and they were molten for the comeback. The finish was rubbish, but everything up to it ruled. Every time I figured they'd settle things down and maybe Reed would work a chinlock or Terry would stop throwing amazing punches, they shut my mouth by continuing to bring the awesome in interesting ways. Totally ace and basically everything I could ask for out of a midcard match with no storyline implications. I would've had this top 50 on the Mid-South set. 

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