November 1981

Man, you gotta give some credit to these guys for understanding how to work these exciting matches. You won't get any workrate or high end grappling in a Rusher match, but they knew how to set the crowd into a frenzy. Man Inoki blocking Kimura's chops is about the coolest basic thing nobody ever does. Lumberjack stip didn't come into play match except to force wrestlers back into the ring. Inoki trying to snap a bloody Rusher's arm repeatedly probably would've been better if Kimura knew how to sell, but the crowd sure went wild for that armbar. This is why you don't mess with Inoki.

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Yes, Brad Armstrong worked twice on this show.

House show footage from Columbus GA., with commentary. Brad Armstrong worked twice on this show. Talk about it here

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Andre The Giant vs Killer Khan - WWF Philadelphia 11/14/81 Stretcher Match One of the most famous matches of this era, Andre is looking to exact revenge for Khan breaking his ankle. I guess Andre broke his ankle getting out of bed so they shot an angle where Khan injured him or did they just say on TV that he did. Then on TV when Andre was giving an interview as an update on his recuperation, Khan attacked Andre with his crutch reinjuring the ankle. Here comes Andre now ready to kick some ass. No fun comedy spots. Andre here was ready to rock. Headbutts, punches, slaps and Khan could run but he could not hide. Andre just sits on him with all his own weight. Andre miss…

This was a complete surprise, as it was way better than it had any right to be. Fuji and Saito were just ruthless, while Jones and Atlas are such a weird couple at first sight, but gelled so well together. I find Atlas to be quite goofy at times, but here he sold well and bled all over the place, while the champions were greedy jackals on him. This also had the best hot tag of 1981 so far, but then they made it a bit weird with some sort of time out sequence and this time it was Jones to be beaten down, before the non-finish. Still, happy I saw this ***1/2

Jack Brisco vs Buzz Sawyer - CWF 11/18/81 High stakes in this Florida TV studio bout as Gordon tells us the winner will be in line for NWA World Title shot and Flair is out to watch the match. Really smooth, technical match. Brisco's arm drags are great and I love how fluid his transition from a hiptoss into a short armscissors is. I love the rolling short arm scissors. Sawyer plays it great with tights on the roll up. Brisco accidentally gets caught with a knee on a criss cross and Sawyer does from great work on the arm. Again it is on a criss cross the match is decided, Sawyer goes for a bodyslam in motion but Brisco jumps high and topples him with a Thesz Press to…

Jesus, did Rocco owe Dynamite money or something? However, this was a nice change of pace and fresh air for Joint Promotions, even for Rocco's matches (even though I usually like them). Quick action, rapid mat sequences and more strikes than we usually see in this dynamic. They both didn't hold back and collected public warnings, Dynamite's knee from the top was quite spectacular but still very stiff. Rocco had a nasty wound and lots of stitches on his taped knee, so props for him for still doing well, but it's a shame that they never took advantage of this injury. We also got a clean and satisfying finish, Dynamite's win was a nice touch as he got the international star …

I thought this was an awesome little match. You know how these studio tags tend to go. Usually they'll be way more frantic than they'd be in an arena, less about milking the big spots and payoffs, more about working sharp and heated in the closer environment. Sometimes that'll mean the structure takes a hit because they'll only have four or five minutes to work with, but this had double that, none of the individual segments felt rushed, they built heat with a short and effective babyface workover, everything they did looked snug, etc. It was just really good stuff all the way through. Jake and Steamboat are such a fun unit and I'm not sure I've seen them pair up before. T…

I enjoyed this match. Dory working over the arm was well done. I marked out huge when Dory would throw big European forearms at Moon's arm. I especially liked Moon's selling of those like he's been shot. Moon using dirty tactics to get a little advantage. Dory's Butterfly Suplex was tremendous. The finish was pretty weird though. 2 1/2*

This was a pretty solid tag. The 1st fall was pretty much a baby face shine. The Duo are great at bumping and stooging . I thought Dos Caras brought a ton of energy to the match. The 2nd fall we see Mascaras work some FIP. This was another solid fall. The 3rd fall leads to a double count out. Overall the heels were great in their role. Plus Dos Caras was tremendous. 2 3/4* Prematch we get a super fun Dynamic Duo promo.

This is for Tito's Gold Cup. This was a total blast and had so many interesting things. Like in the 1st fall these guys milked a test of strength spot and it turned into an epic moment. I enjoyed Bock and Tito working the headlock spots. Tito's arm work was really gritty. Back to the 1st fall I loved the quick punch spots. All the work seemed snug. The finish of the 1st fall was tremendous. The 2nd fall seeing Bock working the throat and stomach to destroy his breathing. Again this had a stunning finish. The final fall was off the charts. The guys do about the damndest double head knocker spot that I bought as a finish, yet it wasn't. Tito is bleeding and Bock is just goi…

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This was just your underneath young lion match. A match where both guys get some time. Put on a basic match and get a feel for working in front of the crowd. 2*

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