http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUx3SQkCsEE

 

I love Patera from this era, and remembered liking this but I had forgotten how good an old school style match this was. Realistically this is not going to be the sort of match that people are going to call an all time classic, but I think it is awfully good. Morales is not someone people consider a good worker, but he took three or four big bumps in this. I really loved how they worked spots like the front face lock and bear hug in this as Morales was so over with the crowd that they milked the shit out of them and set up really cool hope spots out of both. Patera was good cutting Pedro off at the knees and Patera snapping and getting nasty seemed like a natural set up for the schmozz finish. About as good a Morales match as you'll see and a good showing from Patera.

Ken Patera vs. Pedro Morales (10/20/80)

- Fucking Pedro was OVER! Pedro punching and choking Patera early on to huge cheers. Follows a similar pattern like earlier Patera matches where Ken gets the advantage and keeps Pedro on the outside after throwing him over the top rope. Patera is beating the shit out of Pedro. He slows it down with a front face lock and Pedro actually reverses it with a back body drop. Looked better than it sounds. Pedro’s comeback is so full of energy I can see why crowds went crazy for him even if he wasn’t a great wrester. You want to root for him. When Ken puts him in a bearhug, Pedro waves his finger letting the crowd know it isn’t over and milks it for all it is worth. Nice spot where Pedro falls on Patera while still in a bearhug and Ken almost gets pinned while holding onto the bearhug. Maybe the most entertaining bearhug sequence I have ever seen start to end. These two milked it for almost 4 minutes and I was perfectly fine with it. When Pedro finally breaks it, Ken is pissed and beats the shit out of Pedro. The ref gets in the way of these two battling and they end up getting disqualified. Maybe the best match I have ever seen Pedro morales in and Patera is having a helluva 1980. SOLID NOMINATION

This is a solid nomination. The MSG crowd loves Pedro. We start out with Pedro peppering Patera. Morales chokes Patera. Patera cuts off Pedro with an elbow. Patera tosses Morales over the top rope and Pedro takes a huge bump. Patera slams him on the floor.Patera posts Morales on the floor. The early part of this was fantastic. it slows down with the front facelock and Patera working the back and using a long bear hug spot. Though I did love the bear hug spot. Overall this was choice stuff, but would have benefitted from being a few minutes shorter. Overall, this is a solid nomination.

This is for the I-C title. Patera is out first and seems to be prepping for doing his stalling tactic of slowly taking his outer wear off. Pedro is introduced, takes off his jacket as heads into the ring, and immediately jumps a still dressed Patera. Some punches send Pater out of the ring and he heads up the aisle after Morales started to give chase. The crowd goes crazy for Morales who is playing to them inside the ring. Patera reappears (sans his outer wear) and stands at ringside holding up the title belt and taunting Morales. Finally, Patera gets in the ring, and we are formally underway. The crowd is hot as Morales attacks Patera with no respite, hitting punches, an eye rake and choking him on the mat. Pedro can do no wrong with this crowdf. Patera turns the tide by tossing Morales over the top rope and then hits a scoop slam on PEdor on the floor. Pedro amanges to get back in the ring but PAera still is on the attack ,sendi Pdro into he ringpost and then choking him. Pedro tries to stand up but can;t and Patera takies him down... with a facelocl. Oh joy, let’s see how long this drags out. Morales almost escapes after a minute but the facelock stays on. Second escape attempt is successful as Morales suplexes his way out the hold. Morales starts getting fired up and the crowd is getting fired up with him. Brief flurry from Morales but Patera cuts it off. Patera makes a couple of pin attempts and then gets a bearhug. Morales punches his way to a cover but Patera keeps the hold applied after kicking out. When Pedro breaks the bearhug the second time Patera really gets angry and just starts kicking and attacking Morales. Pedro rakes the eyes, and they start exchanging blows in the corner. The ref tries to separate them, and Pedro shoves him away, then Patera shoves the ref, and then both shove the ref to the floor. It’s a double disqualification as Pedro continues to choke Patera on the mat. Wrestlers come out to break it up and they almost get into a fight. Atera tries to after Pedro again, Pedro charges at Patera and they’re back to trying to break them up.

I’m on the fence with this one, the crowd was hot for Pedro but Patera on offense was hit or miss for me (although it may be an unfair reaction after the Andre match I watched earlier). It’ll depend on how you view the bearhug and feel about the finish. I’ll give it a nomination and see what you guys think. It could be a case of having the last few minutes and post match stuff as an extra if it falls short.