Posted December 19, 200915 yr comment_5446543 DVD #28 12/14/85 Jumbo/Tenryu vs. Dory/Baba - I assume this is the same match you watched on Classics Will, but I didn't come away with the same impression. If anything, they eschewed a traditional slow build to go for big moves and nearfalls throughout the match. Considering who was involved, it came off as something of a spotfest. The subplot that held it together for me was Tenryu seeking Baba's respect with stiffess only for the boss to put him back in his place every time. I loved the energy the old man showed in defending the hierarchy, which is the backbone of Japanese wrestling. And shit, they delivered a clean finish that paid off the main storyline. So it's a nomination for me. Hansen/Dibiase vs. Choshu/Yatsu - I don't know if we can put a match with 14 minutes missing on the set, but the 16 minutes shown were pretty great. We dropped in with Yatsu in peril, but he turned the tide by ducking a western lariat and nailing Hasen with a dropkick. He and Choshu worked Stan's killer left arm for a few minutes until lovely chaos took over. In my favorite spot of the match, Yatsu ducked a double clothesline, and Choshu used the momentum to pull Hansen and Dibiase out of the ring. Riki then leveled Stan with his eastern lariato. A few minutes later, Choshu got Dibiase in the scorpion only for Hansen to roar in and drill him with the receipt lariat. Finally, everybody collapsed in a heap as time expired. Just a ton of intensity and violence here. I'm up for putting this on the set, but if the clip is just too great for you guys, I vote extra. 12/21/85 Hansen/Dibiase vs. Baba/Dory - Baba took a great hot tag in this after Dory played face in peril. I dug seeing the old man raise his game for the tag league. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. But I found it terribly deflating that the top two teams in the tourney went to a double countout in their showdown. If they had produced a few other moments as great as the avenging Baba sequence, I could forgive the finish. But strong post-match aside, this is a no vote for me. Hansen/Dibiase vs. Jumbo/Tenryu - This was pretty disappointing. JIP and they went to the double coutout before building to any kind of climax. clips of other tourney matches
