American Tag Titles: The Dynamic Duo ("Gentleman" Chris Adams & "Handsome Halfbreed" Gino Hernandez) © vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (12/25/85)

 

Kerry & Kevin wear their Cosmic Cowboys hoods before the match but rip them off before entering the ring as the fans go nuts. Kerry is also working barefoot here since he & Kevin were supposed to look alike. Adams would catch Kerry with a Superkick over the top rope to start the match but Kerry would fire back with discus punches on both Chris & Gino and this match is on. This was the blowoff match of a year long feud that produced some of the best matches and overall heat in this whole set and this match does that justice. All four men were on point here doing what they do best with a molten hot crowd. Gino would refuse an Adams tag so eventually a pissed off Adams threw Kevin over the top rope to the floor for the DQ then he got into it with Gino after the match decking him with Gino saying that he couldn't tag in because his was hurt. Was it a cheap finish, yeah, but it made sense with the storyline that was coming and it didn't hurt this match in the slightest as this was completely awesome. Slam dunk nomination.

Disagreeing with the slam dunk here but not because this was a bad match. The opening was super hot but there were a couple of things that bothered me. First off, The VE boys spend alot of time in control early on and it takes a while before Kerry plays FIP. Also, the finish bothered me becasue so many matches in this feud have had clean finishes. The other thing that bothered me was the lack of violence. I don't recall much blood being spilled in this matchup but for two teams that have been feuding for the better part of a year, it was wrestled more like a conventional tag. With so many matches from these two going on the set, I think this one can be left off and the set will be better for it. I mean really, this would be really anti-climactic coming off the heels of the cage match or the hair match or the anything goes matches.

Sorry, Will. I'm backing Kris 100% on this one. Yeah, the Von Erichs dominated the opening of the match, but it was never dull, so I don't see a problem with that. No clean finish seems like a mistake to me considering where the angle was heading, but as World Class non-finishes go, this was one of the best. Von Erichs should have won to really put this over the top, but I'm not going to let my fantasy booking interfere with my judgment of the match that actually happened. The lack of blood seems odd now that you mention it, but watching the match, it's not really something that ever crossed my mind. There was too much action to let details like that distract me, and even without blood, it still came across as hate-filled and wild. I don't think it compares unfavorably to their other matches at all, and with that in mind, I second the nomination.

I have no problem putting this in the rewatch file... I'll hold off from moving it to doubt for now.