Lynch Portland Vol. 7

Portland #7

Disc 1

Rocky Johnson, Brett Sawyer, Steve Regal vs. Rose, Rip Oliver & Matt Borne (2/3 falls) (25:35)

- Early on, this match is fun as hell. The faces are all showing fire while the heels bump, stooge, throw in a little comedy and keep things moving. One spot shows Rose tagging in Borne while still stuck in an arm wrench. Borne goes up top to hit Regal but misses and nails Rose. Another spot has Rose running off an Irish whip and stopping about an inch before Sawyer pucnhes him. He turns around, gets hit by Regal which spins him around to get popped by Johnson and then popped by Sawyer anyway. It appears the heels have controll as Buddy has Regal in a bearhug. Regal backs up and tags Sawyer while BUddy is concentrating on the bearhug and Sawyer gets the first fall after a top rope sunset flip on Buddy who didn't see the tag. Great First Fall. 2nd fall starts off badly when the ring ropes collapse on a criss cross between Sawyer and Buddy. Thankfully, the heels improvise and tangle JOhnson in the loose ropes and choke him with the top rope. When Johnson makes the tag, Sawyer comes in on the attack but Borne improvises again and nails Sawyer with the rope bar ala Wargames 92. With the ref's back turned, Oliver picks up Saywer, Buddy nails him with the same rope bar (what the hell do you call it?) and that leads to an Oliver shoulderbreaker for the pin. What could have been a disaster turns into a pretty fun fall as the heels used the broken ropes to their advantage. I'll have to rewind it and see if it was intentional but I think it was all improvised. This is the wierdest thing I have ever seen but the third fall begins with no ropes in a tag match. In order for the tag to take place, the wrestler has to have his hand hooked to the ring where the rope once was hooked. Third fall starts with Sawyer hooking Oliver in a headlock and them playing it safe. When Rose comes in, he uses the lack of ropes ot his advantage and atomic drops Sawyer out of the ring. When Sawyer comes back in the ring, Rose teases throwing him out with a bodyslam but the ref prevents him which causes BUddy to back up to the face corner where the faces prevent him from tossing Sawyer outside. When they push Buddy, Saywer lands in a pin position but Borne breaks up the pin. I'll have to rewatch it but I think the match ends with a DQ on the heels after all hell breaks loose and Rocky Johnson gets crotched on the ringpost. Either that or the match is ended because Johnson cannot continue. Either way, another nomination for me for one of the wierdest matches I have seen.

Borne vs. Regal (2/3 falls) (20:00)

- First fall was pretty fun as Regal and Borne seem to be energized for this match. I don't know if there was anything that would really stand out in the long run though. Regal has a nice dropkick and also did a good job of being caught in the ropes. Regal takes fall one with a schoolboy pin. Second fall had Regal in control most of the way until Borne held on the ropes while Regal missed a dropkick. Funny how one of the highlights of Fall 1 caused the tide to turn in the 2nd fall. Capitalizing on Regal's injured back, Borne pins Regal after a belly to back. Third fall, Regal's rejuvenated and Borne's selling is great. End comes when Borne attempts another backdrop suplex but Regal pushes off the top rope with his feet, thinking he ahs Borne pinned. A double pin attempt is counted and Borne raises his shoulder for the win. Shit, another keeper.

Larry & Curt Hennig vs. Rose & Oliver (2/3 falls) (26:37)

- I had reservations about this match because Larry is old as hell and Curt is green. However, when you look at the Axe, he looks like the strongest guy in there despite his age. He quickly disposes of Oliver after an Axe Bomber and elbow drop in the first fall. Second fall starts off with Larry abusing Buddy's hand and Rose's selling and facial expressions are great. Curt's ribs are taped and he looks really skinny. Curt stays in control until Oliver catches him off the ropes with a knee to the ribs which makes Curt your FIP. The heels wortk over Curt's ribs which is the obvious thing to do and use some nice offense to make him cry out in pain. One spot has Oliver slingshot Curt to the ropes, whip back and the ribs land on Oliver's knees in a spot I think I have seen Goldust use. Larry tries to save his kid but he is eventually pinned after Oliver rammed Curt's ribs into the ringpost and dumps him back inside. Third fall continues where it lef toff in the 2nd. This is the thing I love about these POrtland matches. If a story from an earlier fall can carry on effectively, they run with it instead of doing illogical things. Larry eventually comes in and cleans house, dishing out punishment and laying in the strikes. THere weren't too many pulled punches in this round. I guess to put over the devastating effect of the Axe Bomber, Rose blades after a Bomber sends him flying out of the ring. I guess the Axe was blowing up because he tags Curt back in sooner than he should have been. Curt takes control, and is also still selling the ribs which is a nice touch. OLiver ends up bringing in a chair, using it on Curt's ribs and getting the DQ. Man, it is difficult to omit almost any Buddy Rose match becasue the guy is that good. He made green Curt and over-the-hill LArry look like a million bucks. Another nomination.

Ric Flair vs. Brett Sawyer (2/3 falls) (30:10)

- First fall starts off working Flair's long match formula. No rushing, headlocks, tests of strength, etc. However, the crowd is just going nuts for this match. Still, pretty solid with only one botched spot I could think of where Flair they collide and neither man could figure out who was supposed to sell the shot. Sawyer takes a nice bump off a Flair knee to the midsection where he drops headfirst to the concrete. This was setup all because Flair took advantage of Sawyer when Saywer thought Flair would break because he was on the ropes. Flair takes over and spends the remainder of the fall abusing Sawyer, tossing him around, throwing himi outside the ring, executing moves designed to put Sawyer away like the shoulder breaker and gut wrench suplex. At the end of the fall, Falir is trying to put him away with the Figure 4 but Sawyer small packages him to score the upset pin. If this fall were its own match, I would not have nominated it. Secoond fall, Flair is pissed and takes it to Sawyer. Flair goes for a knee drop n Sawyer's head but Sawyer grabs the leg with his hands and applies his own Figure 4 in a spot that made the crowd erupt. Sawyer attempts a flying body press that ends up being reversed by Flair for the pin. I must have missed it but the match either cut off after a fall apiece or I missed a fall inbetween somewhere. As it stands, it is a nomination but I want to know if I have the complete match. I'll have to rewatch it.

Larry & Curt Hennig vs. Rose & Oliver (2/3 falls) (25:00)

- The first 2 falls were very similar to the last match except the heels won the first fall and Larry got the pin after the elbow in the 2nd fall. The 3rd fall ends with a double countout and Matt Borne comes down and a wild brawl ensues. Rip Oliver was busted open during the 3rd fall and Larry joins the crimson party after the match. I think I like the 1st match a little better but this one is at least worthy of a nomination. Maybe in the end, we will only need one.

Disc 2

Rip Oliver vs. Brett Sawyer (2/3 falls) (25:10)

- I guess this match was ok. I wasn't really feeling it. There were a few spots that stuck out. At one point, Sawyer goes up to the top rope and comes down with what appears to be a double knee drop but ends up giving him a kneeling flying headbutt. Wierd. At the end of the third fall, Oliver lifts Sawyer up for a back body dro pbut he lifts him with his head to Sayer's groin which allows Oliver to get a pin... off a backdrop! Oh, and Oliver has some pretty nice knee shots. I am on the fence on this one and will defer to you guys.

Andre the Giant & Brett Sawyer vs. Rip Oliver, Matt Borne & Dizzy Hogan (20:52)

- Dizzy is our friend Brutus Beefcake and thankfully he doesn't see much action. I am not really digging this either. You have the Andre freakshow factor but I enjoyed the mixed midget tag much more than this.

Buddy Rose Interview (Gifts from Japan! EXTRA)

Brett Sawyer & Tommy Rogers vs. Buddy Rose & Matt Borne (20:55)

- This one had some good stuff in it but also had some weaknesses. The first fall was marred by a botched finish as Borne got tangled in the loose ropes before what was supposed to be a double elbow drop. The 2nd fall seemed really disjointed and I couldn't get into it. Sadly, it seemed really off when Rogers was in the ring and I thought he would have been awesome in a Portland setting. Maybe there are better matches with him in Portland.

Post-match breakup between Rose & Borne (4:09)

- The post-match was much more interesting than the match itself. EXTRA

Buddy Rose vs. Matt Borne (2/3 falls) (16:37)

- I like how these guys came firing out of the gate. BUddy attacked MAtt before he could take off his warm-up tights. No armbars or tie-ups. Just pucnhes and strikes and ramming each other into the turnbuckle. Some great back and forth jostling leads to a SWEET Matt Borne Piledriver to win the first fall. There wasn't much of a first fall but it was action-packed. Second fall starts outside and Rose gets a chair and busts Borne open. Man, Rose was going to town on Borne when we had some VQ issues that prevented us to see what led to a Rose pin. 3rd fall sees Rose trying to ram Borne's head into the ringpost again but Borne blocks and busts Rose open. Borne grabs a chair and starts nailing Rose even though the ref is trying to take the chair from him. This is the 2nd time the ref has allowed a chair to be used even though there was not a No DQ clause. Eventually, all hell breaks loose, after Borne was biting Rose on the head, they go outside and brawl on the floor until the locker spills out to try and contain both men. This wild atmosphere sets up an arena lights out match so I don't mind the non-finish. Nomination.

Buddy Rose vs. Matt Borne (2/3 falls) (Lumberjack Match) (20:25)

- Rose is complaining early on about having to wrestle on television when he thought it would be an arena match. As a lumbrjack math, there are about 4 guys out there to serve as "guards". There is confusion about the match as the ring announcer said it was No Disqualification but the announcer said regular rules apply. Who knows but they start out wild enough as Borne is pounding away on Rose. Rose ends up busting Borne open and working on the cut. Later on, Rose grabs a chair and nails Rose with it to bust him open. Seriously, the first fall might be enough of a nomination on its own. Borne punches Rose in the head and gets the pin after a flurry of punches. Rose was laid out and did not leave the ring after the fall. The 2nd fall continues in the same vein as the 1st until Rose gives Borne a low-blow to turn the tide. The ref claims it was to the stomach but to drive the point home, Buddy gets Borne in a wheelbarrow position and kicks him right in the crotch. He then does some running knee lifts, connecting with more "close calls" on each knee lift. Shit, this match is brutal. And after Rose appears to have the upper hand, Borne lands a low blow of his own. Borne goes for the punches again but gets flipped over in a sunset flip position and pinned. Borne wastes no time in the 3rd fall and goes o town on the cut including a SWEET double knee lift to the head. I don't know where he got it from but Buddy has a chain wrapped around his hand and knocks Borne the fuck out for the pin. OK, nevermind because Borne revives about ten seconds later. Borne's post-match interview sets up a chain match between the two. I think I remember seeing it listed on Walburton's Portland list so maybe that is something we can pursue. Anyway, this matchis a SLAM DUNK NOMINATION.