Goody Bag 83: No Time for a Title!

 

Ric Flair v Ted DiBiase: From an NWA (St. Louis Wrestling Club) event in St. Louis Missouri on September 16 1978. Stalling from Flair to start. A feeling out process goes DiBiase’s way, and a sunset flip gets him two. A test-of-strength goes Ted’s way as well, and he works the arm. Ric begs off in the corner, and manages a low blow on the approaching DiBiase, which turns the tide for him. Flair works Ted over, but DiBiase makes a comeback, and delivers an atomic drop for two. Ted goes to a leglock, but Flair goes low again, and tags him with a backelbow. Flair goes up, but DiBiase slams him off, and slaps on a figure four. Flair makes the ropes, and sweeps DiBiase from the outside, allowing Ric to bash the knee into the post. Flair with his own figure four, and DiBiase is doomed at 5:10 shown of 16:10. This was heavily clipped to the point where I can’t comfortably rate it. What a weird clip job too, in that they didn’t bounce around to different sections of the match, but rather just kept skipping ahead every ten seconds or so, like someone using a jump forward button on a DVR. Like, ‘watch ten seconds, skip ten seconds.’ All they left in was basically just the formula of the match, without any of the nuance. 

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Hulk Hogan: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on May 10 1980. Posturing to start, until Hulk manages to get Bob down, and the challenger works the arm. Backlund pulls out a rollup for two as a hope spot, but Hulk quickly cuts him off, and goes back to the arm. Backlund tries a small package for two, so Hulk goes for the legdrop, but Bob dodges. That allows Backlund to go after the leg for a while, until Hulk dumps him to the outside. Backlund looks to beat the count, but Hogan kicks him to knock the champion off the apron. Bob fights back onto the apron, so Hulk bodyslams him back into the ring for two, but telegraphs a backdrop, and gets clobbered. Bob tries to capitalize with a side suplex, but Hogan rakes the eyes to block. Hogan looks for a follow up, but Bob hooks a small package for two. Both guys stagger up, and Hulk gets a bearhug on to slow things down. Bob fights free, and delivers a nice piledriver for two - the cover reversed by Hogan for two. Bob keeps coming, hammering the challenger, and a trio of dropkicks send Hulk to the outside. Hulk beats the count in, so Bob throws another dropkick, and this time Hulk gets tied in the ropes as he falls out of the ring for the countout at 22:10. The first fifteen minutes, or so, were painfully dull, but it picked up nicely in the final leg. *

Jake Roberts v Shawn Michaels: From Mid-South Wrestling TV on February 2 1985 (taped January 30) in Shreveport Louisiana. Feeling out process to start, with Jake trying to hook the arm, but Michaels using speed (and armdrags) to shake him off. Jake manages to get a side-headlock on, so Shawn tries a criss cross, but gets clobbered with a punch. Back to the mat-based headlock from Jake, but Shawn forces another criss cross, and outmaneuvers Roberts this time around. That earns young Michaels a pounding in the corner, and Jake delivers a bodyslam to set up a bootrake. Jake abuses him on the mat a bit, and Shawn was already pretty good at selling at this point, though not as nuanced as he became later. Shawn fights back during a slugfest, and lands a dropkick, before slugging at Jake in the corner, but Roberts fights him off with a short-clothesline, and delivers the dreaded DDT at 4:45. *

The Hart Foundation v The Rockers: From New York City on November 25 1989. Bret Hart and Marty Jannetty start, and they posture. A criss cross sees Bret deliver a hiptoss, but Marty blocks the follow up, and they end in a stalemate. Bret tries another hiptoss, but Jannetty reverses, though misses an elbowdrop. That allows Hart an elbowdrop, but Marty dodges, and gets an armbar on. Bret counters to a wristlock, but Jannetty makes a blind tag to Shawn Michaels. The Rockers double team, but Jim Neidhart comes in, and steamrolls them. The dust settles on Jim and Shawn, and they feel each other out. Neidhart tries a bodyslam, but Shawn rolls through for two, and gets a headlock on. Shawn tries a bodyslam of his own, but that dramatically fails, so Michaels uses a cradle for two instead. Tag to Marty to work an armbar, but a criss cross ends badly when Jim blasts him with a shoulderblock. Jannetty wisely makes him run around through another criss cross, and Marty manages a drop-toehold into a front-facelock. Jim powers out, so Jannetty uses an armdrag into an armbar. Tag to Shawn for stereo superkicks for two, but Neidhart escapes an armbar with a bodyslam, and tags. Bret misses an elbowdrop on the way in, allowing Shawn a wristlock, but Bret forces a criss cross, and delivers an inverted atomic drop. Bret with a pointed elbowdrop ahead of a stomp to the groin, and he passes back to Anvil - then throws a cheap shot from the apron as they criss cross. The Foundation work over Michaels, until Bret misses a 2nd rope elbowdrop (complete with masterful camera work), and Jannetty gets the hot tag! Jannetty runs wild on Hart, and a kneelift gets him two. Hart tries a hiptoss, but Jannetty counters to a backslide for two, and lands a bodypress for two. A sunset flip gets two, but Bret sweeps the leg, and drops a shot to the groin. Backdrop, but Jannetty blocks. Rollup, but Hart blocks, so Jannetty tries a bodypress, but Bret hits the deck, and Marty takes a bump to the outside. That allows a tag to Jim, and he drags Jannetty back inside, but misses a shoulderblock. Tag to Shawn, and he comes in peppering Jim with shots, but a criss cross allows Anvil a great jumping shoulderblock for two. Shawn sold that one perfectly. Michaels fires back with a dropkick for two, and a 2nd rope bodypress gets another two. Jim dumps him to the outside and tags Bret, but Shawn fights off getting pulled back in. Shawn with a flying bodypress to get back in on his own terms, but Hart rolls through for two. Bret with a rollup for one, reversed by Michaels for two. Hart tries a vertical suplex, but Shawn reverses for two, so Bret goes to an abdominal stretch, but Michaels reverses before Hart can get it properly locked. Jim saves, so Marty comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door! But before the door can even get barred, the bell sounds at 19:11 due to the time limit expiring. Not surprisingly, this was really good. *** ¼