NWA Classics 24/7 #26

Butch Reed v Junkyard Dog (Dog Collar Match) (Houston Wrestling, 11/4/83)

This was kind of low key for a dog collar match, especially when you compare it to every Buzz Sawyer dog collar match to happen in Mid-South let alone something like Piper/Valentine. It was mostly fought in close quarters and nobody got hurled around by the neck or hung up over the ropes in attempted murder. There was blood, but nothing grotesque and certainly at no point did anybody stumble around with an ear hanging off. It still managed to feel pretty brutal though, the closeness giving it a gritty, personal sort of edge. Lots of nasty chain-wrapped punches, some to the forehead, some to the jaw, a couple to the ribs that looked extra mean. Those body shots aren't used a ton in matches like this, maybe because the wrestlers will generally opt for the more visceral - and what's more visceral than repeatedly punching someone in the face with a chain-wrapped fist? But the body shots were definitely a nice addition and they were sold like it sucked being on the receiving end of them. There was also a really cool transition spot where JYD went to headbutt Reed only for Reed to use the chain as a shield. Reed in control had some of the more brutal chain whippings I've seen as well. Plus Reed is someone who will absolutely go all the way when milking feet on the ropes for leverage. He never half-arses it by reaching out and grabbing a rope just to intimate to the crowd that he's cheating. He literally hangs his feet off the top rope and really forces his entire weight across JYD's neck when applying that headlock. Of course you question the need for a headlock in a dog collar match but hey, neither are Roddy Piper or Greg Valentine so we forgive them for their missteps.