Curt Hennig vs. Buddy Rose - 5/28/83

Little game of one-upmanship to begin. Oh fuck, Hennig goes for a monkey flip, Rose cartwheels out only to showboat and get caught with Hennig doing a Kobashi roll (don’t know the name) for the 1st fall. 1st fall was short but fun.

 

2md fall, they battle over a backslide which Hennig eventually gets for two. Rose is getting frustrated at Hennig outsmarting him. Rose starts stalling and even leaves the ring to jaw with some fans. Hennig works the headlock and gets a couple of 2 counts out of it. Rose is hurting but kills the momentum with a backdrop suplex. However, Hennig regains control and goes back to the headlock. I gguess Harley Race is supposed to be the king of working headlocks but Rose has made it work in two matches so far… this one and the Regal match. Rose finally gets control with an atomic drop and brings the punishment. Fuck Bruiser Brody, Rose has some wicked knee drops. Rose puts Hennig on the top rope but Hennig knocks Rose off and connects with the elbow drop. The fall ends ends with a pinning sequence cooler than anything that Dean Malenko has ever put together.

 

Billy Jack Haynes Interview

 

3rd fall, Rose starts with his back work which I always mark out for… butt drop, body drop, knees to the back, all good, setting up the back breaker but Hennig kicks out. Back and forth down the stretch with Rose getting the pin with a handful of tights. Hennig, the crowd and Billy Jack Haynes all complain about the tights so the ref changes his mind and rips the belt from Rose and gives it back to Hennig. WTF? What is this, Texas? I didn’t know that Hennig was a member of the Von Erichs?

 

Rose with rightful indignation in the Crow’s Nest. Well, Rose getting robbed leaves a bad taste in your mouth but the match fucking ruled. Probably the best singles Hennig match I have ever seen. Better than the hour long Bock match. Better than the Bret Hart match. This ruled but the end is annoying.

 

 

 

LYNCH VOL. 9

I thought this bout was good. All 3 falls ranged from good to excellent. I liked the 1st bout that ended with the Rose injury better. I also wouldn't place it as better as the Bock draw, or the Hart bout from KOTR 93. I dug the carny stuff Rose was breaking out in the 1st fall, along with his cockyness. Plus it was cool that his arogance lead to him losing the fall. Some other neat stuff in the bout was that backslide in the 2nd fall was amazing. I've never seen 2 wrestlers get as much out of that spot as Rose and Hennig here. Rose was awesome in his selling of the headlock. Of course in the 3rd fall I dug all of Rose's back work. I agree this is a strong nomination.

The first fall was a fun showcase for two really athletic guys, with Buddy trying to upstage Henning only to get snared in that roll. The second fall moved to some excellent fighting over basic moves like the backslide and headlock. The finishing sequence to that fall was tremendous, with Henning pushing Buddy off the top and hitting a nasty flying elbow, only to get reversed on the pin. The third fall featured some great back-and-forth, highlighted by Buddy's superb back attack and Henning's fiery comeback punches. I didn't love the finish, which seemed to confuse the face-heel dynamic by putting some sympathy on cheating Buddy. But the match was great and needs to be on the set.

Buddy is working heel on ten here as we get the kip up spot an the pre-match shit talk before the match. The opening mat work is fucking awesome as Buddy does all kind of escape attempts out of a wristlock. He works Owen Hartesque spots, WoSesque spots, et. You can tell he was trained by Billy Robinson. He also does his douchey strut after this and follows through with another douchey strut after a cartwheel escape from a monkey flip, only for Curt to leap onto his back and do the old role around the ring spot for the fall. This was the most believable rolling cradle and a tremendously entertaining fall even if it was short.

 

Second fall starts off with a great spot as they are both going for a backslide and do a sort of test of strength from that position with Hennig eventually winning for a near fall. Buddy is great selling frustration as Hennig works through a string of rollup spots. Buddy jumps to the floor and argues with grandma before vaulting back into the ring in the most grandiose way possible. Hennig works a headlock with the cranks for some near falls, but Buddy counters out with some hair take downs and finally a back suplex only for Curt to go back to the headlock. Buddy finally breaks the flow with an atomic drop and a sick sequence of knee drops that Curt sells the fuck out of. Buddy takes him up top and bangs his head into the back of the infamous Portland post, but Curt counters and hits a really great looking second rope elbow, but Buddy reverses the pinning combo and almost steals the fall. Second fall ends with an excellent roll up sequence and Buddy winning on a sunset flip. Another really awesome fall that was a change of pace from the first, but really well put together.

 

Third fall starts off with Buddy going to work on Curt's back. Some really sick knees, the butt bump, et. Buddy hits the backbreaker but Curt is able to kick out. Curt counters the momentum with a suplex of his own but both guys are spent. They go into a great spot with both guys trading huge shots on their knees center ring. Hennig hits a crossbody but Rose rolls through and gets the fall. Only post-match bullshit gets it over turned.

 

Even with the annoying reversal this was an awesome match and a number one contender.