Pretty awesome abbreviated version of the classic MX/RnR formula. A few of their spots didn't come off perfectly just yet, but they were clearly starting to mess around with the difficulty sliders and find ways of getting all four involved in sequences (all five if you count Cornette; six if you count the ref'). This happened in Philly and it's cool to see how batshit wild even your non-southern crowds would go for all of this. Someone in the crowd has a sign with Cornette slander on it and Cornette immediately gets heat for throwing a tantrum. In an awesome spot I don't think I've seen them do before, Morton dropkicks Condrey into Eaton on the apron, and Cornette tries and fails incrementally to use his shoulder to keep Eaton from falling off. As Cornette's legs slowly buckle the heat goes up and up and the pop for the house of cards crumbling is why you can imagine this match-up working pretty much anywhere in the world. Morton in peril rules, Condrey dropping knees on his throat rules, Eaton's missed rocket launcher splash rules, even the Dusty Finish rules. Pretty much the definition of "this is pro-wrestling, motherfucker."
Sam Houston v Black Bart (Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, 3/29/86)
If - or perhaps I should say WHEN - I start that Complete & Accurate Black Bart, this gets a stonewall EPIC. What a badass wee match in front of an awesome crowd; a real treat that I wasn't expecting when I flung on a random episode of what was probably Crockett's C-level TV show. I feel like I've barely seen any Black Bart, but every time I have he's great. Just a hulking big presence with an amazing grizzly bear look, super fun bumping and killer looking offence. Houston also should've wound up being a megastar, or at least a moderatestar, and he looked great here with his energy and selling. A perfect combo of two perfect midcarders, stepping up and delivering in a TV main event. I liked how Bart would try and use the ropes to his advantage early, backing Houston into them and wailing on him, throwing a headbutt to the chest, trying to keep Houston from using any of that speed advantage. Loved the bit where Houston snuck underneath one of those blows so it was Bart against the ropes, hit three punches that brought Bart a little closer to teetering over the top each time, then finally sent him out and into the barricade with a dropkick. It was a great bit of milking from Bart, the sort of thing you'd see from your all-time burly giants squeezing every bit of juice out of a pop. Houston works the arm for a little bit and Bart is fun again as a big wounded animal, then he takes over with a huge hotshot and goes TWO-PRONGED with his attack, working the throat and forehead of Houston. It ruled. He'd hotshot Houston across the barricade and choke him across the ropes (and blatantly with his bare hands), then he'd bite and claw at the forehead. Plus he'd sell the arm, my favourite instance being when he hit an AWESOME single-handed delayed backbreaker. It looked fucking spectacular, how he held Houston in the air, damn near vertically, with that one arm doing all the work, letting Houston and everybody watching know what was coming, before snapping him in two with a perfectly executed backbreaker. When Tommy Young took a ref' bump I expected some sort of schmozz finish, but instead we got Houston taking a lunatic bump through the ropes after his visual pinfall, followed by Bart guillotining his head off as he climbed back in (another hotshot-type move! Continuity, motherfucker!). I will now watch every Black Bart Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title defence.
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