Kabuki vs. Rip Oliver

--- Early on, really loved the head scissors on Oliver since Oliver was actively working to try and escape. Having seen kabuki before, there are times when that opponent would have laid there for five minutes with Kabuki doing nothing. Loving the early feeling out process. Turns into a strike battle with Oliver using throat thrusts and choking him. Kabuki retuns the favor with his own throat thrusts and Kabuki ends it with a thrust kick to Oliver’s jaw to get the pin.

 

2nd fall, Cornette is attacked by Kabuki to start but Oliver attacks from behind and starts choking Kabuki with the bottom rope. With a close camera angle, this looked pretty cool. Oliver keeps working the neck with nerve holds and headlocks. Eh. Cool little pinning sequence form Oliver who has Kabuki in a headlock and hooks his leg and grabs the tights in a pin attempt. Kabuki fights back and hits some nice thrust kicks and some that whiffed air a bit. After a ref distraction, Cornette nails Kabuki with the racket allowing Oliver to take control. However, after Kabuki blocks a slingshot attempt, Oliver attempts to bring him in to the ring and Sunshine grabs the feet allowing Kabuki to fall on top for the pin.

 

Kabuki wins 2 straight falls. Shit, this wasn’t high end but this is the type of match we like to see on the set. A really good contest between guys who won’t be featured heavily on the set.

 

McAdam 2141 Disc 1

2 out of 3 falls: The Great Kabuki vs. "The Crippler" Rip Oliver (6/24/85)

 

This had some MUGA style headscissors work in the 1st fall with Oliver trying to be Nishimura and this was pretty neat to see in World Class. Will is very right on about Kabuki the babyface worker as he had much more vibrance using a totally different psychology than Kabuki the heel. Oliver would use his taped thumb to weaken Kabuki but a missed Bombs Away off the top rope allowed Kabuki to use a Superkick to take the fall. Kabuki tried to attack Corny at the start of the next fall but Oliver would attack him instead and went to the Kabuki nerve hold on Kabuki no less. Kabuki would make a comeback using various kicks and strikes to put Oliver down but a poke in the eye by Oliver followed up by a tennis racket shot by Corny put Kabuki down. Oliver tried to suplex Kabuki though from the apron and as this happened, Sunshine tripped him up and Kabuki fell on him for the pin. This was pretty good stuff and is a low-end nomination to me.

So I was watching the good-but-not-nomination-good Kerry/Oliver match with a friend of mine a while back, and was trying to explain Sunshine's character at this point, how she started with wanting revenge on Jimmy Garvin and evolved to pretty much wanting to drive all heels out of the territory completely. "Oh, so she's a paladin," he says. Yeah...she is, actually. This is the second Kabuki match I've watched in a row that ends with Kabuki winning due to her interference...I'd have preferred Kabuki stay a face, but if they were dead set on turning him back, it could've been interesting to see Sunshine go from paladin to Knight Templar. But I digress. Both guys looked really good here. I don't know if this was one of Kabuki's better offensive matches or if Oliver was just that good at eating his offense. Probably both. Cornette's antics throughout the match were a hoot as well. This moves forward.

I liked this a bunch too, Kabuki's punches in the first fall got a audible profanity from me. The Oliver nerve hold was a bit dull, but this had a hot opening, hot finish and amusing shitck from Sunshine and Cornette. I would like to see this on the set.