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Post by elliott on Sept 8, 2018 1:17:34 GMT -5
Rock & Roll Express vs Dirty White Boys (5/11/85 Mid South)
Top 25 material for a "favorites" list. A classic southern style tag team match that I think matches up well with just about any Midnight's, Rockers, and Fantastics match. The thing that pushes this over the top is the crowd. I'm pretty sure it was Tim Cooke who said this crowd is the 80s US version of the Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Can Ams 92 crowd. I love 80s territory tag wrestling and this has always stood out even in a golden era of tag wrestling.
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Post by KB8 on Dec 1, 2018 19:26:41 GMT -5
Seconded. C&P from when I wrote about it a couple years ago:
Remember when pro wrestling crowds used to adore a team like the Rock 'n' Roll Express? The RnRs, with their tassels, rockstar tights, dodgy mullets and lazy eyes. The most babyface of babyfaces, revered in a time when wrestling was simple and Steve Austin hadn't beat his boss's brains out with a bedpan. This is one of the all-time great wrestling crowds, because they despise the heels and are absolutely blistering for the babyfaces. I'm not the first person to say this and I'm basically echoing a friend of mine who's been talking him up for ages, but Tony Anthony was really, really good. He and Denton were a great pair of scuzzy, filthy hillbilly bastards in this, like Reggie Ledoux's distant cousins. They distract the ref' and beat on Morton in underhanded ways, but you buy them as a team who can seriously kick somebody's tail when they need to. Like when they take over with Denton just crushing Morton with a lariat. There was no cheating or foul play with that, Morton just took his eye off the ball and Denton made him pay. The RnRs were pretty special for a while there. They'd come out and do all sorts of cool spots, many of which have been cribbed and modernised to some degree since, but there's something about Morton and Gibson doing them that just feels authentic. I loved the early parts built around the greco-roman knucklelock in this, with Morton coming in, crawling under Gibson's leg and popping Denton in the stomach, then Anthony coming in to try the same only for Morton to be waiting to kick him in the head as he's on all fours. And Morton is still timeless as a face in peril. He reads the crowd better than most people ever could, knowing when to start firing back to get them as loud as possible, then get cut off to break their hearts and make them a little more rabid for that hot tag. The finish kind of stunk, but people went schizo post-match, and you can't go wrong with a Mid-South crowd going schizo.
Short version: all-time great crowd, southern tag formula at its best, great babyface shine, great heat segment, crummy finish, great match.
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Post by mvz on Mar 21, 2021 23:46:09 GMT -5
First half of the match is a delight with creative spots making the dwbs flummoxed. I liked that the heat started with a simple clothesline rather than shenanigans. They looked dangerous stomping away at Morton. Great got tag, everyone in the place is fired up. I don’t dispute the finish being lousy, but felt like it didn’t take as much away here. The atmosphere and entertainment value was gonna leave me with a smile regardless.
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Post by elliott on Mar 21, 2021 23:48:44 GMT -5
Youre watching some fun stuff tonight!
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Post by mvz on Mar 22, 2021 0:12:20 GMT -5
I am leaning toward the crowd pleasers tonight! This was a lot of fun.
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