Barbed Wire Match for the North American Tag Titles: The Invaders (I y III) © vs. Los Pastores (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) (9/21/85) I just watched a great barbed wire match with Colon & Ayala so let's see how this one turns out. Barbed wire and masks are an interesting combination so you have to use the wire on other parts of the body besides the head and the Pastores do a good job of putting the Invaders backs and other body parts in the wire. Pastores rip the masks and the blood starts coming out as the fans start pelting the ring with trash. Invaders would eventually fight back and the Pastores faces soon met the wire and their blood started flowing like water. Invaders were great brawlers here and this is again exactly what you wanted in a match like this. This is a definite nomination.

The Invaders get this insanely grandiose entrance and it's like the crowd is almost annoyed by it. I have never seen a PR crowd more lukewarm to their heroes than this. I guess it could be the mic'ing, but it actually hurts the match some as it's a pretty insane - but messy - brawl that needed a bit more pop to be a truly great match. Having said that, after a somewhat iffy start, I really liked this. I really like the way the PR barbed wire matches are set up as it allows for simple, but brutal looking spots like the faces getting caught between the ring ropes and the outer layer of wire, but also allows for the heels to stooge/sell the gimmick by bumping into the ropes and giving these big expressive responses to everything. There are some really nice little touches in this including a sick camera shot of an Invader mask/head being barbed to death, an Invader getting tied into the tree of woe, with one leg tucked under the wire as a means of isolation and a cool moment where Butch Miller is about to eat a fall and Luke Williams who is on his knees getting his ass kicked also just reaches over and decks Invader in the face to break up the fall. Plenty of blood, violence, trash getting thrown in the ring and a decent pop when the Invaders win.

9/21/85 is correct. The crowd was actually scolded by Hugo prior to the match, asking the crowd to behave or the match would not take place. I don't know if some people were acting up because they were mad over the Universal title being held up, the wait over the barbed wire being put up, or if the Sheepherders were that hated (or some combination of the three). That probably explains the crowd's subdued reaction when the Invaders make their entrance.

Barbed Wire Match for the North American Tag Titles: The Invaders (I y III) © vs. Los Pastores (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) (9/21/85) -

 

This was a bloody mess. The Herders bled everywhere. I'm pretty sure Butch got a huge cut on his arm too. This was a good match that was helped by the awesome pomp and circumstance in the entrances and the fucking great post-match with Butch Miller looking like a war victim who can't figure out where he is. This has the basic formula of the heels taking over first. The Herders bloody the Invaders with the wire and they bleed through their mask. The Invaders make a comeback and the Herders bounce into the wire in a bunch of different ways and bleed buckets. I liked the top rope stuff and the sneaky cross body was a great near fall. The Invaders won on a roll up. This was a blood bath with some nasty visuals. SOLID nomination.