Posted February 24, 201312 yr comment_5536782 Thought I'd nominate this for the novelty of having some Belgium on the set and because van Buyten is a class worker. Who would have thought that Europe would have the best chain matches? I would've thought Mexico, Puerto Rico or one of the Southern territories, but nowhere have I seen such a singular focus on the chain as weapon as in these pirate fights. I love how they'll do regular holds and have the chain pulling across the forehead, in the eyes, even in the other guy's mouth. This wasn't as epic as the Taylor/van Buyten match, but it was still pretty fucking good. The match was clipped, but there was enough shown that it felt whole. Frank Merckx was an ugly looking bugger. He had the kind of face that was made for pro-wrestling, similar to Sid Cooper in the UK. Van Buyten was hardly Rudolph Valentino, but the crowd loved him and he was a great babyface with fantastic selling. He's been a revelation the past few days. I feel pretty confident in stating he was one of the best workers in Europe during the 1980s.
May 25, 20205 yr comment_5918422 There is something so grimy about a chain being raked across someones eyes with this yellowed film quality. The whole thing is kind of icky in the best possible way. Merkx is a burly barrel chested guy and makes this whole thing feel like a fist fight, this is van Buyten's match, and he has a bunch of interesting ways to work within the oddball gimmick. Actually climbing a pole with a chain is cooler visually then trying to touch turnbuckles, and I really liked how van Buyten used leverage and the finish was really exciting. Loved this, and Europe is really an undiscovered mine. We reviewed this last year on SC and I think it is pretty close to a lock, although we should watch all the Piratekamfs and put on the best
