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Post by elliott on Dec 7, 2017 1:18:14 GMT -5
Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine (Dog Collar Match - JCP Starrcade - 11/24/83) All time classic. One of the greatest american brawls ever and MAAAAAAABE my favorite "wrestlers tied together" match ever. Either this or Hansen/Colon bullrope. But these guys are attached at the neck. By a chain. That is totally fucking badass on another level. This is one of those transcendent matches for me that rises above the genre and will rank probably way too high because of that. The story of Piper's ear and the selling is brilliant. This shit rocks.
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Post by Cap on Dec 7, 2017 20:32:11 GMT -5
Second
I agree with everything above (though I would add Bull vs Kandori to the mix - more on that in that thread). This match is just good ol 80s brutality at its best. It is stuff like that that makes me laugh when people say Piper's best match was against Hart. This is a fantastic FIGHT, very likely to make the back half of my list somewhere, but very open to how it may move either direction.
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Post by jetlag on Jan 6, 2018 5:18:56 GMT -5
3rd. Top 20 match ever for me. Just the opening scene where they face off and start pulling the chain standing there is something I won't forget. Then you get Valentine just tearing into Piper with the bloody ear and all that. Just awesome brutality. Also, quite possibly the best punch combo on film from Piper.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jul 22, 2018 20:39:45 GMT -5
One of the my first 80s matches I have ever seen and I was blown away by the violence. Ear psychology is insane. Stone cold lock. I'm a total Hammer mark.
NWA US Champion Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rowdy" Roddy Piper - NWA Starrcade 1983 Dog Collar Match
The 1980s were just a decade of absolute awesome, violent brawls. It is a total lost art. I love how Valentine and Piper put over the danger the match early with the tug of war with the chain and just how cautious they are. I love a barnburner brawl, but there is something about this slow build that adds to the danger element. You add in Gordon & Caudle stressing the injury to Piper's ear. You know at any point Valentine could lash that heavy steel chain against the Hot Rod's vulnerable ear. Piper was in command early and used the chain more effectively. We got some many cool, violent chain spots. Valentine wrapping it around Piper's eyes only to have Piper wrap it around The Hammer's mouth and nose was an awesome visual. We got of course Piper yanking the chain out from under Valentine into his crotch, a good TIMBAH spot and Piper fucking around with Valentine in the corner. One of Piper's counters was just to take the chain hold it taught and pop right into Valentine's face. I let out an audible "Shit!" and grimace every time I see that spot. On the outside, Valentine seeks refuge, but Piper just hurls a chair at him and continues to wail. The ref tries to restrain Piper and BOOM! Chain lashed straight against the ear. What follows is one of the nastiest and gnarliest heel heat segments. Valentine bashes the side of Piper's head into the post and chucks him into chairs. He constantly is brutalizing the ear with the chain, his massive forearms and knees. The infamous blading of the ear takes to a whole new visceral level. There are two times Piper is in his element: loud, obnoxious jackass you want to punch in the face and scrappy underdog. We get the best damn scrappy underdog Piper! I loved when he fires up and just tackles Valentine. He sees his own blood and just fucking loses his shit. The best part about any Valentine match he will take as good as he gives. So he is game for taking all the beating from Piper. Also what is great about the Hammer is he ain't just let you fucking hit him. He is going to fire right back at you with some stiff shots. It was awesome watching this. The suplex struggle and the visual of both men lying on their backs with the chains on their faces was more telling than any words I can write. After all this violent awesomeness, how can I have complaints, I do and they are minor. I have never really like Piper's punches and some of them were clear whiffs. I wished he tightened that shit up. My bigger problem is the finish. It is just too anticlimatic. In the 80s, you can get away with that finish because the crowd is going to pop anytime an over babyface goes over an over heel. It was just Piper yanks Valentine off the second rope in the safest bump of the match, sort of throws the chain around and then just pins with a half-hogtie, just was not that definitive violent ending. What takes Slaughter/Sheik, Duggan/DiBiase, and Mags/Blanchard to that next level is that definitive, satisfactory and memorable violent ending. It is the lack of that ending that gets this knocked down a peg. Up until that finish, it was right there with him in terms of sheer brutality and great hated-filled brawling. ****3/4
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Post by elliott on Oct 22, 2018 1:29:51 GMT -5
Rewatched this again and I'm thinking hard about putting it at #1. It is just so brutally violent even today 35 years later. Piper's babyface performance is masterful and Valentine is the perfect foil.
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Post by microstatistics on Oct 22, 2018 1:48:03 GMT -5
Rewatched this again and I'm thinking hard about putting it at #1. It is just so brutally violent even today 35 years later. Piper's babyface performance is masterful and Valentine is the perfect foil. Honestly, I can see it. So smart yet so brutal at the same time. The ear stuff is epic. Total classic
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Post by KB8 on Dec 7, 2018 5:58:54 GMT -5
Yeah, I hadn’t seen this in a good few years but I’ve always had it as one of the best chain/strap/collar/anything that attaches the wrestlers matches ever. That was pretty esteemed company anyway, but watching it after the July match and some of the build through the Network...man, it might be the best gimmick match ever. That early stretch before Valentine takes over and works the ear is just the perfect use of a gimmick; maybe the best I’ve ever seen. Nothing is elaborate or set up, they’re basically making shit up on the fly with this chain that’s been thrown into their already-volatile situation. It’s all rough and organic and Piper is a madman with it. He whips Greg on the elbow with a length of chain, throws chain-wrapped fists, yanks a length of it into Greg’s nether regions, etc. The bits where they just wrap the chain around each other’s eyes/mouth/nose are the most brutal versions of that spot ever, especially when Valentine starts sawing the fucking chain across Piper’s eyes. Piper using it as a winch around the post was also unreal and of course he just bit a hole in Valentine’s forehead after a while because I guess why wouldn’t you at that point? His sell of the busted ear is out of this world. It’s probably his greatest performance, and I only say probably because apparently they worked dog collar matches around the horn so there might be something even better in the vaults. The equilibrium selling, blood gushing out the ear, wildly flinging punches to try and make a comeback, all the while Valentine is just massacring him with knees, chain-wrapped fists, posting him directly on the ear, whipping him across the ear with a length of chain, etc. Finish is really my only criticism as it did feel a wee bit flat, but I at least dug Piper wrapping the legs with the chain and the post-match had even more gnarly brutality to snap you back to the fact this was a masterpiece.
It won’t be my #1, but it feels like a top 20 lock and top 10 isn’t out the question. What an unbelievable slice of the pro-wrestling.
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Post by shodate on Feb 26, 2019 10:45:34 GMT -5
glad to see this get some love here so underrated match.holy fuck this is an all time classic. The start with both guys pulling and bending the chain was great both trying to damage each other pull at each other choke and the neck attachment was so badass. Then both just start trading and its business great strikes. I love how gnarly and reckless this is the chain spot to face chain whips etc are not only great visuals but just brutal. I love how they struggle with putting it on the face. And this is a fight. Such unique brutal spots and piper is so dirty in this his character work is good but at the end of the day hes a street brawler he knees valentine in the face chokes him with post attched to neck and even pulls it from his nether regions. This is shot so well reminds me of jumbo bock 79. It just feels like a boxing slugest with two heavyweights in blue tights the atmosphere and heat is great as the crowd wants piper to win. The commentary is great as they make great points and adds to it and treat it like a fight and it just connects perfectly. Then the ear stuff and man greg bleeds after those brutal chain whips and takes revenge by destroying the ear making it bleed and piper does so expectional fighter trying to stay but falling down sell every time piper builds a comeback greg cuts him off with going to the ear and they recklessly brawl. Its one thing to bleed but piper bleeds from ear/equaliream and its a bloodbath with blood on the ring man the visuals with their skin turning white both falling and looking concoussed is so great and piper destroys valentine. Even the basic slams elbows have good execution and surve purpose. This is a gruesome brawl as both guys are almost done and greg takes risk and piper somehow survives. The post match with greg taking revenge for 7/9/83 suffocating piper as he sells even in post match, great punches great execution and perfect narrative hatefulled war. This gruesome bloodbath is top 35 contender. I hope all the piper valentine house shows matches that exist get available someday. Piper is wahoo to gregs johnny
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Post by bossrock on Mar 4, 2019 22:41:30 GMT -5
Finally gave this match a proper watch and it's absolutely incredible. So simple yet so effective. Piper is great at controlling Valentine with the chain and pummeling him when he has him trapped and Valentine does a tremendous job working over Piper's ear. That's all there really is to it and that's all they really needed. And Piper looking at the blood from his ear might be one of the greatest fired-up face moments of all time. I do agree the ending is a bit flat even if I appreciate what they were going for.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2020 10:36:11 GMT -5
Just watched this for the first time. If you haven't seen this match YOU NEED TO STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WATCH IT RIGHT NOW OR ELSE!
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Post by mvz on Jan 3, 2021 6:51:09 GMT -5
Just rewatched it and the brutality is still stunning at times. Piper is an incredible fired up baby face and Valentine is vicious, a great combination. Top 10 contender for me.
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Post by puropotsy on Mar 21, 2023 20:47:08 GMT -5
One of the best brawls and bloodbaths ever but the best quality of this for me is the creative use of the chain. From Valentine making Piper wear it as goggles to Piper trying to start a fire on Valentine’s neck with it similarly to the use of the rope in 7/9/83, this was like watching Shawn Michaels use a ladder on PPV for the first time. Both guys are perfect in this match. Sure the finish could be a tad stronger but I’m glad they were able to finish after what they put themselves through.
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