July 1977

This is a total Holy grail match. This service is the best. A chess match right off the bat. A total feeling out process, and a little mind games. Big chop and Funk strikes 1st. Terry on the arm. Funk really wringing that arm out. Funk transitions into an arm stretch. Funk just rubbing into the arm. Funk just standing on Harley's face. Then a hammerlock with his feet. This is how you work an arm. Everything is gritty. Some of the holds look unatural. Harley's facials are great putting over the arm work. Terry Funk with a press slam and back to murdering that arm. The stepping on Harley's head is just plain nasty. We get a slight clip about 2 minutes, and Harley is working…

Lanza and Duncum defend the AWA World Tag Team Titles

Muhammad Farouk vs Tommy Seigler 7/22/77 Farouk is the Iron Sheik. These guys had a feud over the NWA British Commonwealth and Seigler would retire in 78 with injuries. This match takes place at the Astro Arena. I attended a WCW show in 97 there. This was your 15 minute broadway match that was a trend in the 70's and 80's at houseshows for usually one underneath match. My favorite spot was Farouk doing a cart wheel, celebrating, and then eating a drop kick to the back and taking a big bump to the outside.

This is a defense of Jumbo's NWA United National and of Oki's All Asia Heavyweight titles. It's also the ninth match of Tsuruta's ten-match Trial Series, which began with his March 1976 match against Verne Gagne and would end in the first week of 1979 with a victory over Fritz von Erich. I thought that this, alongside the fifth match in September 1976 against Bobo Brazil, would never see circulation again; however, this match finally entered my radar through a (now-deleted, but I backed it up) Japanese YouTube upload at literally the very end of 2020 (in my timezone, anyway). [EDIT 2021.08.19: Another YouTube channel has stepped in to preserve this match.] One should…