Ric Flair v Terry Funk (All Japan, 10/7/81)
Things like this make me think this ridiculous hobby of ours will never get old. Like I know this has been available for a while now, but it's still Terry Funk wrestling Ric Flair, captured on a handheld video camera in 1981, showing up on the internet for all of us obsessed lunatics to marvel at. And sure enough these two knock it towards the back end of the park, if maybe not fully out the park like they would eight years later. The roles being reversed is very cool and while the majority of the first fall was more about the low key matwork and tension-building, it went up a level when Funk did his own Flair Flip out to the floor and Flair went out to bury him. As soon as they got back in Flair submitted him to the figure-4, which was incredibly jarring at first because I never realised it was 2/3 falls, and then Flair smelled blood in the water and we got the very best Ric Flair, which is vicious maniac Flair who'll just press his knees across your shoulders and punch you repeatedly in the face like a rabid animal. Therse mounted punches looked brutal and at the risk of once again beating a long-dead horse I wish we got that version of Flair a lot more than we did. Even in the 45-year old slightly blurry camcorder footage we can see every emotion from Terry Funk. His selling and body language jumps off every page, his writhing in the figure-4, his wobbly-legged selling, the desperation in his comeback, everything. The comeback obviously ruled because it started with him throwing headbutts, first as he sort of reared up from the mat and then with a couple more from his knees. Flair even took a sort of delayed reaction Flop off the first one. The longer it went the more ASSURED you were in there being a less than decisive finish, but they bring us one and all back around as they pummel each other with punches even after the bell. Give me everything these two ever did together, I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment