September 1980

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Man, this absolutely ruled. What the hell? Why is this never talked about when one of the guys in it is the most talked about wrestler in the history of our great sport? How is there a Flair match this good that hasn't had eighty six thousand words written about it? Pre-world title babyface Nature Boy is so awesome. I never thought I'd get properly excited about Flair again, not after all this time when I thought I'd seen all I ever possibly needed to see from him, but I couldn't believe how impressive he was in this. His babyface energy was startling. This wasn't like when he'd work babyface after he'd won all those world titles. It wasn't even like that brief period in …

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Really fun spectacle. Despite the numbers advantage, all the rudos eat shit against Andre. There are some really cool spots in the first half built around that. The rudos are good in this, especially Sangre Chicana, in a very different role to the wild brawling underdog he's in his big matches a few years later. The match does get insanely messy in the second half. There's some Cien Caras as face-in-peril spots but they don't amount to much because he always tags out after a minute or two. The crowd is always ecstatic to see Andre back in, which is cool.

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Harley Race defends his newly regained NWA World Heavyweight Title against Mil Mascaras

This was just one hellacious fight. Gary Hart worked his ass off here too. Lewin is much better as a walking tall face. The first fall was high energy. Hart sets up the heat by posting Lewin 2 or 3 times on the outside. Eventually Lewin turns the table and posts Hart. Now the comeback here is great with both heels feeding him. The 2nd fall is great with Gino bumping and eating all Lewin's offense.. Gino slows the pace down to get some heat. Then we build to the finish. The 3rd fall is all chaos, but quick. At the end Gary Hart's jacket is ripped up. This was a great Gary Hart performance, Lewin played his role spot on, and Gino was great with all the little stuff. 3 1/2

I really loved this match.They meshed the British style with the southern style seamlessly. Thornton brought this real rugged technical style that really generated heat with the crowd. Diamond sold really well.When Diamond was on offense he didn't look smooth, but it was focused. I loved the finish to the 3rd fall, and it was a match that made both guys. Watching Thornton work over Diamond was a real joy. 4*

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This is JIP and we get the last 2 falls. Koloff was great here at making Brody look good. Koloff bumped big. He took weapon shots. He bled for him. Koloff really made this match.

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Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales defeated the Samoans for the titles at Shea Stadium on August 9th, but had to vacate the belts. This is the Tournament Finals to determine new champions!!! This match does not appear on any Coliseum Video, so it may have been a recent release. Originally aired on Championship Wrestling, 9/20/80

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