Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis (1/18/82 MSG)

BOB BACKLUND vs ADRIAN ADONIS (01/18/1982; WWF MSG; New York, NY; 00:38:55)
Bob is in control of the arm for a loooonnnnggggg time. The thig that saves this is the amazing facials and selling of Adonis. He gives us a demonstration of how you can keep arm work interesting for 20 minutes. Adrian’s face when he rams into the ring post is priceless. Vince mentions Bob’s broken nose but I have no idea where that could have happened. Maybe an earlier punch but blood is starting to seep out. They run the ropes and Adonis does a butt ugly early variation of a Sling Blade. Damn, Adonis just punches Bob with a left hand and sells the arm after. This really could have been as bad as the Muraco marathons but Adonis isn’t content to lay around like Don. That’s what saves this. Adonis gets some near falls. Neck breaker. Power slam. Suplex. Adrian hits a piledriver and goes up top but Bob is waiting and crotches him. Bob answers with his own piledriver and it looks awesome. Adonis is whipped into the corner but rebounds with Goodnight Irene. Bob escapes to the outside. Adonis is king of the mountain and keeps ramming bob in the ring post. Bob is a bloody mess so Adrian practices boxing his face. Bob fights back and at one point, loses his cool and keeps pounding Adonis in the face. The ref tries to stop him but Bob won’t stop attacking. Bob and Adrian won’t stop punching each other even after the bell rings. Adonis wins due to Bob’s blood loss but doesn’t get the belt? This was an epic. It’s no surprise this was a highly rated Bob match but I was shocked that this seemed to be people’s favorite Bob feud. SLAM DUNK NOMINATION but I wouldn’t have been mad if 5 minutes of arm work was taken off.