October 13, 20186 yr comment_5869131 No one will mistake this for an all time classic, but I thought this was a terrific match that stood out for its pacing and simplicity. The early minutes are worked around a Dusty headlock and Race's efforts to avoid it. Race uses simple, credible cutoffs like short headbutts and kicks while Dusty brings the fire and charisma to a receptive Japanese crowd. Both do a terrific job of working what's essentially a simple, basic match but doing so in big fashion for the live and TV audience. Race's bumps and selling are big and expressive without veering into anything ridiculous. I mentioned the pacing, but it can't be commended enough for never feeling slow, but at the same time every action was given time to breathe for a long enough pause that it mattered to the match and the audience. Really strong stuff here. ***1/2
August 3, 20196 yr comment_5895365 I was a little skeptical heading into this match because some of Dusty in Japan is sometimes boring due to his restholds and trying to be "scientific". But I was very intrigued since this is before Race's second World Championship and before Rhodes' first. I was surprised the only boring spots are his headlocks in this one. The rest of the match (which is to say 95% of it) is very well done. It is a 50/50 match for the most part with a clean finish (welcome to Japan). I would say this was felt more than a basic match because of the outside chair brawl, constant back-and-forth action, great offense by Harley, and Dusty using his charisma to move the fans. Yes, it was fundamentally sound and could be used to train workers. There's actually a lot going on in this match IMHO. Feels realistic. Oh, and only 10 minutes? Wow, they really maxed out their TV time efficiently. The only thing missing is that because this was a tournament match in Japan, there was no real U.S. heat/feud/championships in this match between these two rivals. But in many ways, because it feels like a match in a vacuum outside of the U.S., it answers the kayfabe nerd question of who the better wrestler was: Harley Race. Yes, I liked this match and minus the headlock it could easily be done today in AEW.
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