November 1979

Dusty comes to the ring in a tyedye tank top and a big floppy red hat. He actually looks kind of slim...oh wait...not really, lol. This is Dusty's first tour with New Japan, he had done one tour for All Japan in 1975. Hmm the online version of this match does not include the ring entrances. Greg Valentine, Pat Patterson and Mr Saito are in Dusty's corner. The crowd stands for the playing of the American and Japanese national anthems. They circle around each other to start the match, Dusty crisscrosses the ropes and hits a shoulder tackle and a bodyslam on Inoki. He whips Inoki to the corner and tries for a bionic elbow, but misses. He snapmares Inoki d…

Tokyo sticking his tongue out at the fans was great. Tokyo stooging for Willie early on. This is all solid stuff. Though it pails in comparison to the Ivan the Terrible stuff.

This is a mixed midget match. It had some real fun moments in it. I thought the Kamata/Willie stuff was the highlight of the match.

This is a rematch from their match a week earlier on November 1st. Dusty Rhodes comes to the ring looking gloriously splendous in his famous furry white robe and big floppy white hat. Nikolai Volkoff accompanies him down the aisle, wearing his purple tracksuit again. No national anthems this time, especially not with the possibility of Nikolai singing. The crowd is taunting Dusty and he bails out of the ring before the bell and starts heading up the aisle. Mr Saito, Greg Valentine and Pedro Morales are also with Dusty at ringside again The bell rings, Inoki charges at Dusty, who then bails out of the ring. He gets back in, Inoki connects with a diving leg kick…

Do you know the history of the short lived WWF North American Heavyweight Title? Ted DiBiase came to the WWF on February 13, 1979 and was announced as the first champion. Pat Patterson won the title from him at a TV Taping in Allentown PA on June 19, 1979. They feuded over the belt a few times over the summer. Patterson also defended it against Bruno Sammartino and Ivan Putski. On September 1, 1979 Pat Patterson appeared on TV with the new WWF Intercontinental Title, that he unified at a fictitious tournament in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The North American title was not defended again, until this match in Hokkaido. Patterson comes to the ring with his blue and black glitter…

Spoiler is so good at using leverage moves. Turning into a brawl. Both guys using chairs. A good solid 1st fall. 2nd fall and it's a slugfest.Spoiler teasing the claw and Brody is fighting it. Another tease of the claw. He gets it. Brody is struggling. Spoiler to the top with a forearm. Some back and forth. Spoiler gets the claw for a 3rd time. He uses the knee to trap the claw. The 3rd fall and another brawl. Over hand shots from the Spoiler. Spoiler to the top with a big elbow. They take it to the outside. I really got into this final fall. Brody using the mic cord as a weapon was really nasty. It was an all action brawl. I loved Spoiler going back to the claw,…

I found this really interesting. I understand the booking of this since they are building to a Brody/Patera match so Lothario was the gatekeeper opponent. I thought the psychology of the match was smart. JJ Dillon cut a great promo before hand. All of Patera's movements were big and grand . He clearly new how to play to the cheap seats. Lothario used some mat work and punches to keep Patera at bay. Eventually, Patera would focus on the neck and back to set up the spinning neck breaker. Eventually, he hooks it and wins the 2nd fall. Lothario is unable to continue so Patera wins in 2 falls.

This was a match that had both guys working really hard. Patera is a guy who a lot of people have missed the boat on or have forgotten what a great performer he was. From 78-82 he was one of the best heels in wrestling. Dusty is one of the all time great babyfaces. So put peanut butter and jelly together and the results will be good. The pace in the 1st fall is a lot quicker than I was anticipating. I loved all of Patera's mannerisms through out the match. Right off the back Patera is softening up the neck for his finisher. Dusty counters with some real fun arm work and both guys are really game here. The 1st fall did a good job of laying the ground work for the match. …

This is blond haired Gino. Their is a chant going at Gino. Loving Tiger's arm drags early. Gino on his bike and Tiger goes outside. Back in Tiger teases a a ball shot. The crowd is all over Gino. Tiger trying to spin out of this. He does. Gino bumps huge to floor. Gino tosses Tiger to the floor. He struts and does some KOTM spots. It totally seems they're building to the draw. The final few minutes gets really hot. Gino was incredible in his bumping. 2 1/2*

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Antonio Inoki - NJPW 11/30/79 I have seen their July 1978 (amazing) match and their April 1980 Florida match (underwhelming). I love Bob Backlund like it is my fucking problem. I could watch these two shoot in on each other all day long. Great struggle and rhythm. Look how hard each man works to stay upright on those hipblock takedowns. When is the last time someone blocked a hipblock and went full Greco-Roman wrestling? That's the shit missing. You have earn even the most basic takedown here. Backlund has two spectacular bridges early on. Inoki looks to control with the headscissors. Backlund has to fight hard to get ou…