Posted November 18, 200915 yr comment_5445868 This right here was an awesome disc to watch. It had 5 matches, three of which are not eligible for this set (Giant Baba vs. Jack Brisco - 2/3 Falls Match (12/2/74), Giant Baba vs. Abdullah the Butcher - 2/3 Falls Match (8/31/79), and Giant Baba/Stan Hansen vs. Steve Williams/Big Bubba Rogers - Real World Tag League tournament (12/5/93)). The Abby match was really awesome, but again, only TWO matches from the disc were eligible for the 80s set.... AND THEY WERE FUCKING KILLLLLLLER!!!! 3. Shoehi "Giant" Baba vs. Stan Hansen - PWF Title (2/4/82) This is a real hot match the whole way through. It only goes about 12 minutes, but both guys are on fire in this. Baba spends a good amount of time working over Hansen's lariat arm and Hansen sells it really nicely. The camera does a great job of capturing Baba's HUGE boot stomping the shit out of Hansen's arm. This is just constantly awesome, though. Just a really fun, stiff fight. The crowd is going bonkers the whole time, so loud. HEAVY RECOMMENDATION. 4. Shoehi "Giant" Baba/Rusher Kimura vs. Stan Hansen/Genichiro Tenryu - Real World Tag League tournament match (11/29/89) THIS right here is a bank full of money. Holy shit was this match just 20 minutes of the fucking greatest shit on earth. As Baba/Rusher are walking to the ring, Tenryu hits a wild out of control tope on Baba that Baba doesn't see coming, and just like Houdini being downed by a sucker punch to the gut, the unexpected...sucker tope (?) takes Baba out for a good 8-10 minutes. He sells it tremendously, ring boys spraying his stomach, Baba feeling around for what might be broken internally, etc. But Rusher is a fucking man, and he will fight one on two, and man is it awesome. He takes the headbutts to Tenryu and Hansen, but pretty soon they're too much. Tenryu is just a monster in this. There were times where it seemed like Tenryu legit hated Rusher and really wanted him injured. He blasts Rusher with such a nasty clothesline at one point that I literally shot forward in my recliner. For the first 10 minutes of this Hansen and Tenryu beat him like that fucker owes them money. A LOT of money. The crowd is into Rusher in a big way though, with tons of loud "Kimura" chants, and there are some GREAT near falls in this. It never felt ridiculous, either, like overkill. Kimura power out of some CLOSE pinfalls and the crowd eating it up was magical. His underdog babyface work was really special here, and he was a mighty underdog. Hansen and Tenryu were just relentless. He would kick out, and Hansen would just come in and stomp his head into the mat while Tenryu would hold him. It all build to the Baba hot tag, and that was awesome, and I fully expected the match to end in some sort of schmozz double count out right here... But Tenryu/Hansen eventually over power Baba as well! Baba's still selling his torso from the unexpected tope, so he's not 100% even though he's had the long rest period. Rusher at this point is just completely gone from the match, he lasted as long as he could and barely made the hot tag. There are some GREAT spots towards the end, where it seems Baba/Rusher might come back and vanquish the hoss motherfuckers, but the hosses are just too damn strong. Once Rusher gets leveled off the apron by a Hansen lariat (and Rusher takes a ridiculous bump off the apron to the floor), it's only a matter of time before Baba gets finished. And it takes a ridiculous neck first powerbomb from Tenryu to do him in. Just a nasty finish for a 50+ yr. old to take. The aftermath features one of the most touching moments I've ever seen in wrestling, as Baba and Rusher hug/hold each other up. It came across as so touching and powerful. So, everything about this match was amazing. I can see this being top 5 for me, no joke. This was 20 minutes of wrestling that I DID NOT WANT TO END. It's funny how Hansen/Tenryu are playing the young punks beating up the old men, as they were both 40 yr. old when this took place. But this is such a marvelous tag match, from Tenryu coldly taking Baba out to put Rusher at a disadvantage, Rusher being one of the most sympathetic face-in-perils I've ever seen, Tenryu/Hansen laying a disturbing beating on Rusher (especially Tenryu), and Baba still trying to hold on for the win, for the fans, for his partner that took an ungodly beating to get him the hot tag, for himself to prove that he still belongs with the "young guys". Amazing, amazing match. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE.
