Pro Wrestling Love vol. 38: Best of NWA 1983-1987 (Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 38:

The Best of National Wrestling Alliance 1983-1987

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirty-eighth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in National Wrestling Alliance, which includes Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/Jim Crockett Promotions, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling, Central States Wrestling, St. Louis Wrestling Club and Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling between 1978-1983. The bulk of the matches I watched from this era comes of course from Jim Crockett Promotions which is born out of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. The year 1983 makes sense for a starting point both from a historical perspective as that was the year of the big Final Conflict show and the first Starrcade show. It was the year that Jim Crockett and Carolinas clearly became the dominant force in the NWA. Prior to that year, Georgia and Florida were bigger territories and St. Louis & Kansas City due to Sam Muchnick and Harley Race remained major players. In 1983, Ric Flair cemented this place as The Man when he beat Harley Race at Starrcade and then by the end of 1984, the biggest star of the NWA, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes came to Crockett full time shifting the balance of power from Florida to the Carolinas permanently. There is an interesting history as Vince McMahon bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1984 but after a year of trying abandoned Southern expansion plans. That’s when Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling took up shop in Atlanta and on TBS. That’s a winning hand: Atlanta, TBS, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. The years 1985-86 in Crockett is considered a golden era of TV wrestling with the Four Horsemen pitted against Dusty Rhodes and his buddies. Many consider it the best span in US pro wrestling history. From 1984-1987, Jim Crockett would expand by acquisition purchasing Central States, Florida and Mid-South. Thus that’s why 1987 is a great end point by 1987 Crockett had basically purchased the entire NWA and the once travelling NWA Champion became a homesteader in their promotion. By the end of 1988 due to excessive spending, Crockett was forced to sell to Turner and Dusty was ousted as the booker. That makes 1988 a great year to start the follow up to this piece. 1983 is also a great place to start as that the year when footage from Crockett and Company is most prevalent. I did not watch enough of the other territories to warrant their own blog post, but since most the matches involve NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair I thought they fit in nicely. You will see Georgia, Florida and Hawaii all represented on this list.  You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Thanks Dad for buying me the PWI Almanac in 1997 when I was a kid!

Honorable Mentions

NWA World Tag Champions Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khrushchev vs Rock N Roll Express - 

JCP 7/9/85

NWA World Tag Team Champion Midnight Express vs Rock N Roll Express  

JCP Philly 8/16/86 2 Out of 3 Falls

NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs The Andersons 

Starrcade 1986 Steel Cage Match

NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock N Roll Express vs Ragin & Ravishin

 (Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude) - WCW TV 12/6/86

Let me tell you about the Rock n Roll! They had an immediate impact on their debut winning the World Tag Team Championships from the Russians in the Summer of ’85. They were instantaneously over and you gotta hear David Crockett call that match. Surprisingly, people sleep on the Rock N Rolls/Midnights series from 1986. There’s another match I like even more that makes the Top 12. The cage match against the Andersons is just the perfect combination of tag teams. There is nobody you want to see work on top more than Ole & Arn Anderson and there‘s nobody you want selling and working underneath more than Ricky Morton. The Battle of the RNRs at the end of the 1986 is another great long TV match from the Rock n Rolls!

NWA US Heavyweight Champion Greg Valentine vs Roddy Piper - MACW 7/9/83

NWA US Champion Magnum TA vs Ole Anderson - World Championship Wrestling 12/28/85

One of the great hidden gems discoveries of the Network has been this awesome, violent brawl between Valentine and Piper who were embroiled in a deeply personal war. It makes their Starrcade match all the better once you have seen this. Magnum vs Ole is the ultimae lo-fi, slugfest, war of attrition match. You can count all the wrestling moves on one hand but everything means so much. Ole is the consummate heel. It is a minimalist dream and highly recommended.

NWA World Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat - Night of Champions 5/29/84

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Kerry Von Erich - St. Louis 1/25/85

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Wahoo McDaniel - CWF Battle of the Belts 

Nature Boy is in the house! The year 1984 is an interesting year for Crockett, it is not discussed much. It is overshadowed by 1983 with Flair/Harley & Valentine/Piper build to the first Starrcade and the red-hot 1985 and 1986. It did feature two amazing Flair vs Steamboat matches that are in turn overshadowed by the 1989 series, but don’t sleep on these. Flair vs Kerry is the best match I saw out of St. Louis and it another great installment in my favorite US feud of all time. Flair vs. Wahoo is an incredible Flair carryjob as Wahoo is very limited and Flair takes him into deep waters, one of the best matches from dying days, Florida.

Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon) vs. The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors, Paul Ellering) - WARGAMES 

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ronnie Garvin vs Ric Flair - Starrcade 1987 Steel Cage

The year 1987 gets lost in the shuffle of great Crockett years, but it definitely had its bright spots. Wargames is something a lot of people love and I have to stay I always thought it was a cool concept when I was a kid but I never saw one. Then when I got older and finally got a chance to see them I wanted to like them, but they never really hit me hard (save for 1994 that one has some great emotion with Dusty coming out of retirement for his son). To me it is a lot of hurry and wait. It is like one minute burst of a hot tag followed by waiting for the next entrant. Anyways, Wargames I is one of the better Wargames and it is highly regarded by many so I would be remiss not to include it.

NWA World TV Champion Dusty Rhodes vs Tully Blanchard - NWA Starrcade 1986 First Blood

It killed me to leave this off the list. This match is just pure joy. Dusty playing red light, green light with the bionic elbow is the epitome of wrestling. I just love this match.

Top Twelve Best National Wrestling Alliance Matches 1983-1987

#12. Tommy “Wildfire” Rich vs “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer – Last Battle of Atlanta

"It's gotta be. It's going to be." - "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer waxing philosophic in the face of The Last Battle.

Wildfire vs Mad Dog. Precious Paul above it all. A Flood Of Blood To End It All. In a match so concerned about finality, the beginning is neglected. It felt like we joined the match in progress in my opinion. They just jumped right into the heat segment and everyone selling a war of attrition. It was an incredible heat segment and one helluva finish, but it was missing that spark. I think it was because they cut out a red hot babyface shine or even if was just a red hot slugfest to start it out. I liked the cautious beginning with each man afraid of punching the cage or going into the cage. Instead of it breaking loose, Rich's arm gets smashed into the cage and Buzz goes to work.

I like to tuck my complaints in the back end of a review, but because my sole complaint was about the beginning I thought I stick it there. What follows is incredible, violent, bloody war of attrition. Mad Dog was nominally in control of the majority of the match attacking the arm at first, but then switching to smashing Rich's head into the cage followed by biting and working the cut. Rich was great with the desperate hope spots like going for the balls and then just all out slugging Sawyer. I loved the one where he just grabbed Sawyer and piledrove him. At every turn Buzz because he established a lead early on that he was able to cutoff Rich in some fashion with an eye poke, going to the arm or the cut. Rich eventually busts Sawyer wide open on a cage shot. These just are totally bleeding buckets. The rules were a bit unclear at first. There is no ref in the ring. Over the PA, an official is counting at first I thought it was Last Man Standing, but pinfalls were permissible. There was an all-time great slugfest from their knees. The ultimate Oh Shit Highspot was Buzz hurling his own body into the cage as Wildfired ducked out of the way. Rich repeatedly slammed Sawyer's head into the cage. I liked how Rich collapsed and the official was counting both men down and then Rich kinda just flopped his body on Buzz Sawyer for the win.

Impressive heat segment and finish. Absolute war of attrition with great selling, lots of struggle (loved Rich's desperate hope spots and Buzz's dickish cutoffs) and a very final finish. Still felt like it lacked energy. Absolutely great match and worth the 33 year wait. 

Ole Anderson vs Paul Ellering - Last Battle of Atlanta

In a bonus match that is almost as great as the Last Battle of Atlanta, Ole and Precious Paul tear the house down! Love how Ellering cupped the back of Buzz's head when he got into the cage. Crimson Mask is an understatement here. You can barely make out Mad Dog's face. Ole comes in street clothes and just hands Ellering's ass to him. He even tears his jeans hardway!!! Incredible babyface shine this is what the above match needed. Just so much energy with Ellering playing pinball and Ole killing him at every turn. So that when Ellering finally manages an inverted atomic drop crowd, the crowd is molten for Ole. Ellering works a great heat segment on Ole busting him open and choking him. Ole's comeback is so awesome. He is such a great Walking Tall babayface. He just keeps moving forward with some great body punches and then firing them off into the face. I loved the headbutt finish completely with Ole walking through it and covering. Jake The Snake and Ellering whip Ole like a dog to set up the next show. Awesome bloodbath match with more energy, but didn't have the same hatred as the previous. Still a total classic in my opinion. 

#11. NWA World Tag Team Champions Sgt. Slaughter & Don Kernodle vs Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood – Final Conflict Steel Cage

I was underwhelmed when I first watched this five-six years ago. I have an open mind.

Babyface shine: A 12 minute heel in peril segment that features Kernodle complete and you know what I loved it. Yeah there were a lot of headlocks, but the spots in and out of the headlocks were great. It really established Steamboat & Youngblood as a great babyface team. I loved Steamboat using his foot to avoid being thrown in the cage and then applying a headlock. Or how Steamboat gets in the way of Youngblood to stop him from going into the cage. Steamboat & Youngblood had good babyface offense plenty of dropkicks and flying chops. Kernodle sold more and more as time went on. The best part for me were all the false tags. Usually see it for the babyfaces, but here Kernodle almost makes the tag, fingertips away and another time Slaughter is out of position when Kernodle finally made it back to the corner. This was really great textbook tag wrestling from the babyfaces and the heels were great stooges for it. The tag to Slaughter was a little anti-climatic as Kernodle just gets his fingers jabbed into Youngblood's side. They faked me out the shine continues. Youngblood throws Slaughter into the cage back first and then head first. He is the first into the cage and typical Sarge fashion he really throws himself into the cage. He tries to throw Youngblood into the cage, but Youngblood uses his foot and it is a battle of wills. Youngblood wins and tags out to Steamboat who is immediately on Slaughter. Big time clothesline gets two for the Steamer. Tag out. Youngblood flying chop and then a great standing dropkick gets two. It has been all Steamboat & Youngblood, Daddy! Criss cross, Youngblood is flying and Sarge uses his own momentum against throwing him hard face-first into the cage, this has got to be the break Sarge & the Pride of the Carolinas has been looking for. 

Heat/Finish: What the fuck was I smoking way back when? This is a BARNBURNER! Quadruple juice! Slaughter flying off the cage like he is Jimmy Snuka! Steamboat & Youngblood going wild! I thought the heat segment on Youngblood. A couple times I thought he died but he came back to life. Heel offense was perfect, punches working the cut, choking and Sarge looking for the Cobra Clutch. Youngblood sends Slaughter and Sarge does the most blatant bladejob on camera in history. Steamboat was a great hot tag and I LOVE Slaughter pushing Kernodle out of the way as Steamer gets color too. Steamboat is the one who sends the Pride of the Carolinas into the cage to complete the Quadruple Juice! Slaughter coming flying off the cage brings Youngblood into it who is a total house of fire! The ending is absolute mayhem. Double catapult of the heels into the cage! Cobra Clutch and Sleeper simultaneously on the heels! Slaughter bowls over Youngblood into the ref. He loads the Slaughter Canon with a foreign object and takes out Youngblood. Steamboat sends Sarge into the cage and puts Youngblood on top. The footage then cuts to the babyfaces winning, which is a shame. 

Way, way, way better than I remember. The last half is an action-packed Crockett match where there's just a ton going on. Steamboat/Youngblood were a great high-energy tag team, tons of offense and some great selling. I thought more than the blood and the big Cage spots, that what really held this all together were the commitment to babyface/heel dynamics.

#10. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat – Boogie Jam 3/17/84

NWA Match of the Year, 1984

What is most impressive about this match is how Flair and Steamboat take every advantage allotted to them by virtue of going long by taking the time to make every single sequence count and drip with struggle. It is this attention to detail that makes the seemingly ordinary extraordinary. The test of strength spot which saw Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair flex every muscle, perspire profusely and clench their jaws as Steamboat worked to get Flair on the mat and Flair finally countered with a bodyscissors and see the battle waged there until we get a monkey flip. I am a total mark for amateur wrestling sequences in the middle of the match and these two were awesome here. Once Steamboat gets a takedown on Flair, he still has to work the extra mile to control his feet and apply the Boston Crab. The first 15 minutes of the match feel like the template for Flair vs Butch Reed with a great extended headlock sequence. Steamboat keeps going back to the headlock and they do every headlock spot you would expect. Another favorite of the early part of the match is Flair wants a suplex to break these headlocks and there is a great struggle over it only for Steamboat clamp on a front facelock. The next five minutes is spent working in and out of front facelock until Flair finally gets that suplex he wanted and Steamboat holds on to the facelock! Awesome!

One of my favorite aspects of this match in addition to the struggle is of course the progression of Flair's performance. It is what he does better than anyone else. In '84 in the Carolinas, he is a babyface feuding with Dicky Slater, but here of course he is the de facto heel. They start with a handshake and Flair is soundly routed at the beginning by the headlock. He goes for the aforementioned suplex and ends up still on the losing end. Now he is getting frustrated. He starts shooting for amateur takedowns and they have an engaging sequence with Steamboat coming out on top and getting that Boston Crab I spoke of. Flair shifts gears again, he tries to quicken the pace, but Steamboat is game for that and nails him with multiple dropkicks. Flair goes for a walk and cannot get anything going after trying three different strategies. This is when that test of strength happens. Flair tries to chuck him out and Steamboat comes right off the top with a flying karate chop. Flair now tries crowding in the corner and this lead to Steamboat roaring back with chops. Flair is now desperate and he is throwing knees and chops. Steamboat is too much and hits a press slam. Flair begs off and this feels like the climax of the shine with Flair progressing with more frustration and more desperation until that moment when he is terrified at the prospect of losing. Steamboat goes for the figure-4 yank of the trunks and Flair buries a knee into Steamboat when they are tied up in the ropes. The master of the corner and ropes, Ric Flair has finally gotten one up on Steamboat. Flair kicks ass on top and reminds me a lot of The Hammer with big forearms and nasty elbows to the top of the head. Flair is so smart with his timing because he does not rush anything and makes sure to give Steamboat plenty of time to sell and sell he did. There is a great pinning combination from Flair that exemplifies the struggle of this match where Flair hooks the leg and clasps Steamboat with that hand while also cradling Steamboat's neck and spreading his legs for extra, legal weight advantage. A very compelling spot. 

The first Steamboat hope spot is a sleeper and when he goes for the big splash, he eats knees to the midsection (the same midsection Flair worked on) and he collapses to the outside. There is an amazing, moving moment when all the women rush ringside and try to tend him. It is moments like these just will never happen again and show the beauty of pro wrestling. It was after Flair's ab stretch that I thought the match kinda went off the rails. 

The bridge/backslide is the sequence that seems out of place. Flair jumps on him with a sleeper and is sent into the turnbuckle. Steamboat is rocking it, but gets hotshotted. Flair really pours it on with great offense like the butterfly and delayed vertical suplex. Flair goes for the figure-4, but Steamboat blocks. Big Steamboat comeback: Flair Flip and Flair Flop. Barrage of Steamboat cradles. They have quickened the pace to increase excitement, but they have departed from what they were doing before. Flair's only equalizer is the headbutt to the midsection, but nothing can deny Steamboat except for the bell. Steamboat is able to hit a flying bodypress and the bell rings at two. Saved by the bell.

The first chunk of this is really excellent. There is no one wrestling spot that will take your breathe away or will make you mark out, but the attention to detail will completely ensnare you. The women tending to Steamboat is the one spot that moves you. I just feel like the finishing sequence is the standard, awesome Flair/Steamboat finish sequence, but departs too sharply from the great struggle from before. Yes you still have Steamboat doing all he can to win and Flair desperate, but ti feels different. Still it is Flair vs Steamboat for close to an hour, it is fucking excellent. 

#9. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ronnie Garvin – JCP 9/25/87 Steel Cage

Flair vs Garvin is always a flesh on flesh, man on man firefight. However, unlike most of their other matches together, they go long in this match. It is a steel cage match where the cage plays a factor more in Flair's strategy. Flair loves to powder to both regroup and to break his opponent's rhythm. He also loves to hurl his opponent out the ring where his opponent will take a bad bump and where he can slam his opponent into hard metal objects. David Crockett does a great job pointing this out that Flair is being forced to face Garvin. Flair loses a criss cross eating a hiptoss, but cant powder. He goes for a top wristlock he lets out a couple Woos but ultimately ends up on his back. He makes back on his feet and chops Garvin but Ronnie immediately responds with his own stiff chop. That dominates the next bit where Garvin uses his chop to repel any Flair offense. We see Flair eat hiptoss, back drops or bump off the chops. Flair tries to use the corner to position the ref so that he can sneak in a knee. The only other time to cage comes to play in the first half is Flair wants to use this advantage to  slam Garvin's head into the cage, but instead Garvin blocks and chops his way out of problems. That is what would dominate this portion. Garvin would use a hold such as the front facelock to control Flair and whenever Flair looked poised to comeback Garvin would chop his away out of trouble. One good spot was Flair suplexed while in the front facelock and Garvin tenaciously hung on. Flair finally gained an advantage on a criss cross scoring a reverse elbow. This is one of Flair's favorite strategies use the criss cross to create an opportunity to take over. Garvin deviated away from his hold and chop strategy. Flair started working on the left arm. It was chop, chop, chop and work on the left arm. Some really good hammerlocks and wristlocks using the ropes of course. Garvin used his dominant hand to break the wristlock, but it was badly injured. He tried his best to keep his left away from Flair by going to an Unorthodox stance, but Flair was able to regain control with the chop. Flair hit the first kneedrop. Then on the second Garvin caught it and transitioned into a figure-4 and then a single leg crab before Flair made the ropes. At the halfway point, I really liked the match thus far. Garvin did a great job selling the left arm. They established Garvin's chop like it is Misawa's elbow. They also established that Flair cant use the outside anymore to his advantage: both to powder and to throw his opponent into hard, metal objects. I have seen this match before and I have the same complaint that I did before and that it is a bit low energy for me. They are working hard, but the front facelock can only be so interesting. Lets see how the second half shakes out. 

The last half is pretty much every Ric Flair trick thrown at you in relentless fashion so if you love Flair you will love it. Garvin comes out swinging after the half crab and it looks like Flair is overwhelmed. He grabs a kneecrusher and applies a figure-4. Garvin escapes, but Flair gets another kneecrusher. On the third, Garvin blocks and KOs Flair with the Hands of Stone, but his leg is so messed up he cant capitalize. Flair comes up desperate and goes for the sleeper. When Garvin escapes that, Flair tries to throw Garvin into the cage, but he ends up going into the cage and he is bloodied. Flair tries to escape but Garvin bounces his head off the top of the cage. Garvin gets a top rope crossbody for two. We see the two versions of the backslide by Garvin that Flair loved to use in his matches. What makes Flair so good in my opinion is so he reacts to getting his ass kicked. It is so quick and swift. He is always in fight or flight mode. There is no in between. Yes he will holler, but it always quick. He is going to roar back and run away. You see both sides as I said he tried to escape the cage. The other is he will just start ripping into Garvin with chops only to get his ass kicked. One of my favorite Flair spots that is very underrated is the inverted atomic drop coming out from the turnbuckles spot. When he does right, it happens so sudden that it is electric. On the second time, Garvin blocks and knocks Flair back down with a punch. Garvin Stomp! Great sell by Flair! This is Flairism in excelsis! Even the most ardent Flair fan as myself, can find this hard to process all at once. Flair true to form tries to escape from Garvin desperately. He rakes the eyes, but Garvin recovers quick enough to press slam Flair off the top. Garvin hits a suplex and then an elbow drop. Flair is so good at selling. This is such a Flair performance he throws out a short kick to the midsection and starts laying in the chops. Garvin starts flying back with the chops and Flair wants to escape. He flips so quickly between fight and flight that's an incredible. His mind is always thinking. Garvin bounces his head off the cage and Flair falls on the top rope nuts first. Sunset flip from the top 1-2-3! The Most Unlikely World Champion of All Time! 

The second half is just so ridiculously over the top Flair that it is beautiful. I feel like this match defies rating. The first half is basic fundamentals executed really well. The second half is Flairism in all its CHAOTIC glory. Flair is such an instinctual wrestler this really benefits his matches feeling organic. The second half is chaos as Flair vacillating between fight and flight in the matter of microseconds. We think of the world in black and white so often. Certain people are brave. Certain people are cowards. That is not true. People struggle everyday between these survival mechanisms. Flair captures the desperation for survival better than anyone else.  It is all so human. Ric Flair is the most human human who ever humaned. Lets call it ****1/2 I need to digest all this. I feel like I need to re-watch all Ric Flair over again but using this new "fight or flight" lens.  

#8. NWA World Tag Team Champions Rock ‘N’ Roll Express vs Midnight Express –

 Superstars on Superstation 2/7/86

Wicked fun! I am a total mark for a big, fun shine and this is just chicken soup for my soul. I loved that MX jumped them and threw them out. You really thought you were going to be robbed of a shine sequence only to have Morton use the ropes to throw them over the top. Then they had a ton of fun spots against the MX running them into each other in a bunch of ways. Once things settle down, the fun does not end. Eaton throws a wicked right and Gibson immediately responds with a punch of his own (Eaton is selling quickly) and a headscissors. Eaton throws Morton out and again you think the heels may take over and Eaton ends up taking a back body drop over the top. I am liking all the heel hope spots. The leg work on Condrey was so much fun. The RNRs were doubling up and Crockett yells "Teamwork, yes!". Currently, my company is all about teamwork. I really want to isolate that soundbite and play it at work. There is a great moment where Condrey finally gets offense, but it is a kneelift! Great selling by him off this. Again it is little spots like this that keep things interesting. RNRs were so energetic in this loved it. They lose control of Condrey and crawls over to tag Eaton. Eaton RIFLES Morton in the corner! WOW! Eaton eats a suplex and the MX just cant get anything going. Eaton traps Gibson going for the dropkick and catapults him into Condrey. Eaton & Condrey immediately pounce on Gibson. It gets a little chinlocky, but there is enough hope spots that keep it interesting. My favorite one is Gibson tries to sunset flip both and Morton comes in and dropkicks one out so Gibson can get the other over. Very cool. I love when the other tag partner gets involved. Eaton crashes and burns on the Rocket Launcher. Hot tag to Morton! Morton tees off on everyone. Morton crossbody! Double dropkicks (DOUBLE DROPKICK per David Crockett) for everyone, but that bumps the ref. The RNRs want to beat the shit outta Corny and David Crockett approves Whip him like a dog!, but Condrey wallops Morton. Corny pulls Eaton on top for the win!

Awesome Southern Tag match! I loved this! So energetic, great selling from both teams. RNRs overcoming the MX at every turn early to only get caught in the catapult. The only thing that keeps it down was that it was a little chinlocky. Loved the finish super hot stuff from the RNRs before heel cheating to win. I think the key to the RNRs is you gotta keep them between 15-25 minutes. Those long matches just were not for me. This is so much breezier. Below Wrestlewar '90, but second best MX/RNRs match I have seen.

#7. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs Ronnie Garvin – WCW 12/28/85

It pains me to leave this out of the top 6 and most likely out of my Top 100 of all time. I just love this match so much. 

This match is like one big mark out moment for me. This is one of my all-time favorite matches and that's with only having seen like the first 3/4s on Youtube. I only got my hands on the full thing and LORD HAVE MERCY!!! This may be the best TV match I have ever seen.

Flair and Garvin just absolutely wail on each other for 15 minutes. There is no better sound than sound of flesh on flesh. The skirmishes they have are simply awesome. They just beat the living shit out of each other. Flair is so busy trying to go chop for chop with him he forgets to beg off until late in the match! Some highlights I had not noticed before was Flair screaming "watch those tights damnit" so he could sneak in a closed fist. I love that moment when Flair incensed grabs two tuffs of Garvin's hair only to have Garvin grab his giant honker and smack around a bit. Flair likes to say "All Man". This match proves he is All Fucking Man! Flair was on fire on promos on 12/21 & 12/28. "I'm high on just being Ric Flair" and bemoaning the hardships of being a modern day sex symbol was killing me. Pete on Parv's Fair for Flair is so right, this is not Flair being dragged out of his comfort zone. This is Flair in his natural state just pounding the shit out of each other. If you watch Fair's strikes (his elbows and sledges) they are very reminiscent of his former tag partner, Greg Valentine. Carolina boys love this level of brutality and physicality. He just did not always have the opponents to execute those matches. Garvin's chops on the floor are just YIKES! I love them choking each other in this match both just to survive. There is literally never one dull moment. It is all an action, stand up sprint between those two badasses. If you don't believe in the awesomeness of Ron Garvin, watch this match. It is what made me a believer. Garvin reverses a suplex and lunges on top of him, but Flair is in the ropes. Some Flair-isms do stop seep in late in the match, but most of them fit in this all out war. Kneecrusher! Flair exclaims "Now tough guy go to school!" Garvin shoves hard. What follows is just fucking incredible! Garvin loses his mind and basically tries to kill Flair. He grabs any part of Flair's face and throat and open hand slaps huim. Flair two hands around Garvin's throat! I LOVE PRO WRESTLING! David Crockett and I are marking out together 30 year apart. HANDS OF STONE! Foot on ropes! MUTHAFUCKA! Flair crotches him on top rope and Flair looks exhausted from this war. He chucks the ref and here comes the American Dream. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! He applies the Figure-4 and the Andersons hit the ring and they look to re-injure Dusty's leg.

Amazing, brutal, rompin stompin match! So glad to finally see the whole thing in all its glory! One of the stiffest match you will ever see! Hot Damn! 

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 37: Best of WWF 1978-1983 (Bob Backlund, Sgt. Slaughter, Hulk Hogan)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling: Parv, Pete, Kelly & Johnny.

Thanks for all the laughs & the memories.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 37:

The Best of World Wrestling Federation 1978-1983

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirty-sixth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the conclusion of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in World Wrestling Federation between 1978-1983. This era in WWF history is the Bob Backlund Era. Bob Backlund won the WWF Championship from “Superstar” Billy Graham in February of 1978 and held it until December of 1983 losing to The Iron Sheik. During this time period, Bob Backlund was a major draw in the Northeast especially at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was the twilight of the Vince Sr era as Vince Jr would transition to control in 1982. Bob Backlund has become one of my favorite wrestlers upon rewatch starting back in 2013 and I am very excited to present these two volumes of Pro Wrestling Love which will showcase him at his best. I think the best way to explain Bob’s psychology is “Anything you can do, Bob can do better”. As you read these match reviews this will become readily apparent. I cant do this era justice so please I implore go listen to the greatest podcast of all time: Titans Of Wrestling which chronicles the Bob Backlund years of the WWF starting in 1979. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Bob Backlund Deadlifts Hulk Hogan

Top Six Matches of World Wrestling Federation 1978-1983

#6. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Hulk Hogan – Philly 4/12/80

This might be my favorite Bob Backlund match. It is definitely the one I have seen the most. It is so much fun and really represents who Bob Backlund is at a professional wrestler. The core characteristic that defines Bob Backlund is the phrase "anything you can do I can do better". He will out-wrestle, out-brawl and out-power you. That's why I love Backlund. He is so versatile. He adapts the Bob Backlund match to his opponent. It is not just lets have the same match with Hulk Hogan as I do Adrian Adonis. Those are two very different wrestlers, but he never ever loses his identity either. It is still very much a Bob Backlund match.

What makes this match so interesting is that it is Bob Backlund's core tenet of his identity "anything you can do I can do better" actually costs him the match. There is a little bit of hubris there that we don't see from the champion. Hogan is so cocky early on as he is taller, heavier and stronger than Backlund, but Backlund understands leverage and is crazy strong himself. We see Hogan throw Backlund off. Backlund does a great job putting Hogan over in these exchanges and they make the shine that much stronger. He is not scared of Hogan, but he is cautious and realizes that this a major test. The way he rubs his hands on the top ropes before the test of strength. He acknowledges he is at a disadvantage, but he wont back down from a challenge. Of course, we get the really fun Backlund shows up his opponent spots like his single pick ups. Backlund really cranks the headlock. Really good stuff before Hogan hits a Robinson backbreaker. The weakest part of the match is Hogan's arm work. There is no urgency and just no real wrenching. So Hogan had hoisted Backlund up to the top rope to embarrass Bob and Backlund was pissed took a swing at him. This all sets up the mother of all deadlifts as Backlund powerlifts the 300lbs, 6' 8'' Hulk Hogan from a short arm scissors. Always an incredible sight! Hogan goes to the bearhug, which is the move I think he should have controlled with. I think Hogan focusing on the back would have been for the best. In my second favorite spot of the match, Backlund transitions out of a bearhug into an awesome piledriver! Both guys are spent and Hogan hits a vertical suplex. Throughout the match we have seen Backlund do Hogan's offense right back to him. There is a big suplex struggle and Kal does a great job putting over that Backlund cant afford to take another suplex. When Backlund hoists Hogan up for the suplex and the crowd went apeshit! Finally Hogan gets Backlund up for the airplane spin. Of course, Backlund's natural instinct is to put Hogan in the airplane spin, but they tumble to the outside so he does another one out there, but as he is revolving he puts Hogan back into the ring and he is left dazed and confused on the outside to lose by countout.

Just a pitch perfect finish to a great story. This was such a great consistent story. Everything Hogan did, Backlund would do right back to him and do it better. This built to that amazing deadlift and suplex. However, that hubris was Backlund's fall as he was so committed to out-powering Hogan that he lost due to the airplane spin. One of the best narrative-based matches you will ever see.

#5. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson – MSG 7/30/79

I am still of the opinion that Valentine brings out the best in Backlund, but Patterson is a really awesome Backlund opponent. He is really well-suited to make Bob look like a million bucks. His bumping in the first half of the match was out of this world good. Backlund has big offense and can be really fun with the right opponent. Valentine is not a fun opponent. He never is. Besides the TIMBAH bump, Valentine is bringing hate and severity to his matches. Patterson is a fun Backlund opponent. The out of control ramming of his shoulder into the post had every single person at MSG grinning like a Cheshire Cat. In my opinion, he was the best bumper Backlund ever faced and he really did everything he could to put Backlund over. Backlund was LAUNCHING him early with bodyslams. Some of the best bodyslams this side of Jumbo Tsuruta. Backlund was relentless on the arm and was really entertaining working it over, while Patterson provided the movement, bumps and stooging. Eventually Patterson gets behind Backlund and whacks him with a double axehandle sending him careening to the floor where Backlund hurts his leg. This is where the match goes from a fun Backlund match to a classic match. Patterson dissects that leg and Backlund sells it like a million bucks. I think Backlund was willing to be more vulnerable earlier on in his run as I am seeing way more conventional heat segments and selling from Backlund in these matches. Backlund pounds his way out of a leg lace with his pitbull tenacity and bullies Patterson to the apron where he smashes him into the turnbuckle. Backlund can barely pull himself up. Backlund is killing it in the selling department. Patterson grabs the ankle and Backlund kicks him off Patterson cracks his head on the railing. Backlund pounds away, but on a bodyslam attempt Backlund's leg gives out on him. Tremendous!

Backlund misses a dropkick. It does not look good for the champ. Patterson hits a bodyslam to set him up for the Bombs Away Kneedrop and Backlund knocks him off his perch with a right. Patterson takes a crazy bump wrenching his leg in the top rope. Backlund is merciless kicking him in that precarious position. Backlund runs him across the apron for a third time into the post busting him wide open. Backlund wants to win it in the middle of the ring and stops the ref's count as assuredly Patterson would have been counted out. I love as Patterson tries to enter the ring; Backlund kisses his fist and punches him in the head. SLUGFEST! ATOMIC DROP~! BACKLUND SELLS THE LEG!!! AWESOME! Patterson puts a foot on the ropes. They knock heads and Patterson blows him away with knuckledusters. Arnie Skaaland is pissed and knocks him out with the belt leading to a double knockout situation. Pretty damn good bullshit finish in my opinion must have been a Patterson special.

Incredible fun and entertaining match. Patterson got his ass kicked in really entertaining fashion. He got his heat for 5 minutes, which set up the finish wonderfully. Backlund had to overcome a bad wheel. Bob is at his best when he is a pitbull and determined making his comeback, but still selling his leg the whole way. Patterson still saved up some big spots for the finish run falling off the top on his kneedrop and blading. Honestly, I don't think I can find a single flaw with this. A perfect old school babyface/heel match which was unique to the way Backlund and Patterson wrestled, I think what this match did so well was even though Backlund got the majority of the offense in the finish run his dominating position was tenuous at best. You were praying for the countout or for him scamper over for the cover after the atomic drop because it seemed like he could lose at any minute. So even though Patterson executed almost no offense in the last 5 minutes, he actually felt like he was in control. It was really dramatic and very cool feel to the match. Without a doubt, if we had more Pat Patterson he would rank among the greatest of all time. Incredible. 

#4. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter – Philly 3/21/81 Steel Cage

For my money, the best WWF steel cage match of the 1980s, but it is close. It is a perfect combination of bumps and violence. Backlund at avoiding moves to elicit a big pop. Slaughter smashes his hand and head into the steel cage because Backlund ducks. Backlund throws Slaughter into the cage a couple times and Slaughter really launches himself into the cage. Kal's bloodlust is working in overdrive during this match as he eagerly awaits the bloodletting of Sarge. Slaughter after getting his ass kicked goes low and then inverted atomic drop on the balls. He throws Backlund shoulder first into the cage twice. Dick lets us know that Backlud shoulder was injured by Hansen at MSG. Backlund shows great wherewithal always grabbing Sarge's foot before Slaughter can exit via the door. BACKLUND PILEDRIVER! Here comes a classic Titans of Wrestling line about pablum, which was a classic Johnny Sorrow/Parv interaction. Backlund tries to climb out, but Slaughter is able to yank him down. Slaughter tries to climb the cage himself so Backlund gets some payback and smashes Slaughter's balls. Both men are down and to quote Kal Rudman, They are on Weird Street! Again Slaughter tries to exit the door and Backlund is able to stop him by grabbing the foot. BIG SLAUGHTER BUMP OVER THE TURNBUCKLES INTO CAGE! Kal's bloodlust is revving up. Backlund is teeing off on Slaughter's head and throwing him into the cage. Kal cant believe there is no blood. It is only a matter of time, Kal says, Backlund with big hammer punches on Sarge. Kal is so excited when the blood gushes and even says he is working on the cut. That's exactly what I was going to say! Slaughter backs him into the corner and Backlund moves as Sarge rames his head into the post on a mistimed shoulderblock. LOVE IT! Backlund rakes Sarge's face on the steel. THAT IS BLOOD! Kal exclaims. Backlund's awesome punches are on full display here. He punches Slaughter so hard he falls to the door. This is the best escape struggle. He slams Slaughter's head into the steel doorframe. OW! We get a closeup of Sarge's fingers on the door and then Backlund stomps those fingers on the steel! OUCH! Awesome! Slaughter goes back to work on the nuts of Bob Backlund because that is his only offense. There is a quick cut in my version. Backlund slams Slaughter's head into top of cage. Backlund triumphantly parades out to a roaring crowd.

The cut hurts the finish and makes it feel a little lackluster. This was a great Backlund asskicking. As with most Backlund matches, I do wish we get some more heat on Backlund, but after the January match you wanted to see Backlund kick the shit out of him and that's what you got. Sarge took some awesome, awesome bumps. Classic steel cage match. 

#3. Sgt. Slaughter vs Pat Patterson – MSG 5/4/81 Alley Fight

WWF Match of the Year, 1981

The World Wrestling Federation in 1980-81 was a damn solid promotion. I feel like Bruno would have been in this role if he was still around, but instead we get Pat, which aint a bad thing at all. Slaughter had been tormenting jobbers on TV as part of his Cobra Clutch. Well Black Demon wasnt having any of it so he bailed on the whole thing. Patterson conducted the interview with Sarge, who called him yellow so it was on. Slaughter and Patterson have a great little mini match with Patterson trying to escape the Cobra Clutch and just as he is about to, Slaughter knees in the gut and then brutally attacks him with a chair and puts the Clutch back on. Titans favorites Middle Aged & Crazy Dom Denucci (Kelly), Tony Garea (Johnny) and Ricky Martel (Parv's) save the day as Denucci lives up to his name and goes crazy with the chair on Slaughter. It was a damn good brawl. I know I have seen the April MSG match that set up this match before. but I couldnt find it so I went straight to the Alley Fight.

Hot damn! They just dont make bloody violent brawls like they used to. Patterson comes out in the famous I <3 NY shits. 

As a street fight this was badass, but I think the rules or lack of rules hurt the finish. I get what they were going for with no referee that was an unsanctioned, real deal street fight like you would see at a bar. It accomplished that all the way up until they needed a finish and it just lacked that climax that is the 1-2-3. I think "I Quit" rules would have also been perfect for this if someone had thought of that. Still one of the all-time classics and a top 5 WWF 80s match. 

#2. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ken Patera – MSG 5/19/80 Texas Death

WWF Match of the Year, 1980

Damn, I forgot how good this match is. I have not watched much from the year 1980, but this feels so ahead of its time at least in America. It is an awesome slugfest/bombfest. Backlund comes from behind in this match and it really feels like a big challenge for to win this match. This actually probably represented the peak of his title reign and the toughest test he would face until dropping the title to the Iron Sheik. True to form, Backlund won this match by out-brawling and out-rule-breaking the biggest brawler, rule-breaker in the WWF at the time, Ken Patera. Patera was extra hot having just won the Intercontinental Title from Pat Patterson the month before in MSG. He came a short, but great promo before the match saying he would kick Backlund's ass just liked he kicked Patterson's and he would own all the title belts.

Patera goes so far as to jumpstart the match and throw Backlund outside the ring. Patera showboats a bit too much, but hell it is pretty uncommon for anyone to get one up on Backlund early in match. Backlund drags him out by the boots and beats the shit out of him. Backlund wants him in the center of the ring to a big pop. They slug it out until Backlund rams his shoulder into the post. FULL NELSON! Backlund drives Patera's head into the turnbuckles. Flair Flop! Patera was a perfect blend of stooge and strongman. He toed the line wonderfully. Patera back drops him to outside and quickly follows up with a bodyslam on concrete. He goes back to the bearhug, which worked really well in Janaury. In Texas Death Match, Backlund does not have to scientifically get out of the bearhug, he can just hammer Patera's "facial area" as VinnyMac so awkwardly puts it (you can just call it his face). HUGE ATOMIC DROP! The one thing I definitively remember about this match was that atomic drop and Patera's amazing sell of it. MASSIVE PILEDRIVER! God Bless Bob and his piledriver. Patera quickly scoops up Backlund and puts him in a tree of woe and chokes him. He goes after Backlund's wind with a clothesline that Backlund sells as if he hit the throat and left agsping for breath. then drops him throat first on top rope and choking. Backlund is only getting hope spots this is all Patera. Backlund gets a hope spot of an ab stretch, but Patera hiptosses him out and really gets some heat. He steals the belt from the worst manager ever, Arnold Skaaland and beats Backlund with it. Then rams him headfirst into the railing to bust him open. Patera works the cut expertly. I love him avoiding Backlund's wild swings and then stinging him in the head with fists. Backlund fires up and kicks some major league ass. Backlund throws him over the top and sends him into hard metal objects head first so we get double juice. Backlund working his cut, but gets ballshotted. Backlund press slams Patera off the top. They end up outside where Backlund throws him into some chairs. Patera tries to use the chair, but Backlund evades at every turn and manages to get a hold of the chair. He hits Patera a couple times, but only gets two?!?!?!? What is this ECW? 

A crossbody ends the match as win for Bob Backlund for an absolutely fantastic match, easy top 5 WWF 80s match ever. I was not in love with all the transitions, but this was so badass. Patera and Backlund were just both in total asskicking mode. I loved Backlund coming from behind in this one constantly. Patera was fluctuating perfectly from asskicker to stooge. The standing ovation for the match by MSG was ridiculous, It was massive sustained heat. which was incredibly rare was there ever another time in the kayfabe era? They earned that Standing O.

#1. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine – MSG 2/19/79

WWF Match of the Year, 1979

This is the last major match I have left to review in one of my all-time favorite series of matches. I have seen this before and remember loving it. This is the one hour draw. Instead of taking notes, I will review the match in 20 minute intervals.

First twenty minutes: You would never know this match is going to a draw given the pace they cut in the first twenty minutes. No this is not Flair/Steamboat, but they don't telegraph it in the least and work as brisk as usual. Valentine is such a great opponent for Bob because he makes him earn everything. Bob's base hold of choice is the side headlock and they do some really fun work in and out of it. Like when the Hammer looked to counter it the first time by grabbing a leg this led a monkey flip. The next time Backlund dropkicked him and TIMMMMBBBBAAAAAAHHHHH! When Valentine would just touch Backlund's legs the crowd would gasp because they thought the figure-4 was imminent. Valentine hit some really hard shots to Bob's midsection and really was laying in it as to be expected. Backlund missed his second dropkick. Valentine got a nice bow and arrow on Backlund. Next up was a nice full nelson exchange with Backlund busting out the wheelbarrow into the full nelson, which was nifty. Then followed up by the short arm scissors exchange no deadlift, but a nice rolling short arm scissors. The twenty minutes end with Backlund in control of the arm. Really strong first twenty minutes with the story being that these are two very evenly matched opponents. Backlund definitely had the upper hand in this tit for tat beginning as shown in the full nelson and short arm scissors exchanges. Even after twenty minutes, it still feels like they are feeling one another out, but it is not boring in anyway. Just two pros trying to find what sticks. After the short arm scissors, Backlund has Valentine in the armstretcher so going into the next twenty minutes, we will see if Backlund can maintain this advantage and what Valentine will do swing things his way and when will he go for the figure-4?

Second Twenty Minutes: Really amazing back half here. Lets get the 20-30 minute mark outta the way. Backlund does his rowing spot and then drives his heel into Valentine's face and seemingly has the match in hand when he knocks heads with Valentine and that sends him to the floor. He never really recovers after that unfortunate incident. Valentine bodyslammed him in and went to Short Arm Scissors. I really like the short arm scissors, but this one did drag until the awesome Backlund deadlift high spot. Backlund hit a shoulder tackle, but Valentine uses his momentum against him to throw him out. Now we go to school. This is the all-time best heat segment on Bob. Valentine kicks the shit out of it. Wicked forearms on the apron. He brutalizes him on the apron. Stomping on him, choking with the boot, just kicking his ass. He starts pounding that leg. You know what that means. Figure-4 attempt is reversed into the small package, but Valentine was relentless on the leg and got a really nice single leg crab. Really cool Backlund escape sees him contort his body that he tabletops Valentine. Backlund THROWS Valentine on that vertical suplex. Incredible. Backlund cant hold Valentine, love that spot. Valentine big elbow and right back to the leg. Really compelling stuff in those last ten minutes. You never see Backlund get his ass whupped and Valentine looks totally dominant. Backlund is selling great, but also has great hope spots. Going into the last twenty minutes it really comes down to can Valentine get the Figure-4 applied and what the hell does Bob have to get himself out of this huge hole.

Home Stretch: In-fucking-credible. The last thirty minutes of this match is just amazing pro wrestling. Backlund is not going down without a fight. Valentine has Backlund in a leg lace as he tries to set up for the figure-4 and he just starts drilling him in the back with kicks and then pulling at anything he get his hands on. Valentine says fuck this and goes for the figure-4 and Backlund keeps kicking him off. Backlund is just lunging at Valentine out of desperation, but is crashing and burning. This is a battle of wills. Valentine goes for the figure-4 and Backlund repeatedly kicks him in the face. Valentine goes for Backlund's big atomic drop, but Backlund blocks and sends Valentine flying out. BACKLUND SELLS THE LEG! Valentine is crawling in and Backlund scurries over and headbutts him in the midsection. Valentine grabs Backlund by the hair and rams into the apron, but he is so spent, he falls into the ring! Backlund misses the splash and then Valentine eats knees on the splash! Backlund sells it! THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME! Backlund butterfly suplex, but he is on jelly legs. Vince posits that Backlund's legs maybe injured that's why he collapsed on the suplex attempt. Ya think, Vince? Awesome slugfest with Valentine falling right on his ass and Backlund teetering on his feet. Loving this selling of fatigue. Each wrestler is having these bursts of energy and then will lose it. Valentine puts his foot on the ropes and Backlund SEAT DROPS on that leg with all his weight. Now Backlund looks to give Valentine a taste of his own medicine and try to win with the figure-4. BUTTERFLY SUPLEX! That burst of energy fades and he cant capitalize. Now Valentine has burst of energy and grabs the leg starts to wrench against the bottom rope. Backlund trips him up, but Valentine kicks him square in the face. He brutalizes him with forearms and Valentine runs into a wicked knee. TIMMMMMBBBBAAAAAHHHH! BACKLUND LEG DROP! KICK OUT! Valentine hangs out for dear life to the top rope to avoid the Irish Whip and leads to the ab stretch. Ok, that was a bit of a letdown. The Hammer reverses it and punches him in the stomach. I love Valentine. Backlund back to butterfly suplex into a SWEET Valentine drop toehold. Valentine back to the Indian Deathlock and finally looks to get figure-4 , but Backlund hooks the bottom rope with all his limbs. Valentine hits an ugly (selling the fatigue) suplex, but it is fitting in this war of attrition. Valentine is frustrated and he pushes the ref. BACKLUND GUTWRNECH SUPLEX! Valentine gets his foot on the bottom rope. This is Valentine's match to lose. Not many people can say that against Bob. HUGE SLUGFEST! Backlund backslide! Valentine is trying everything and eats a punch coming off the middle rope, header into turnbuckle. Kicks Backlund hard into midsection. Valentine is desperate and frustrated and Backlund is determined, but exhausted. They knock heads again. Figure-4 again, but small package. Wicked slugfest again in the 60th minute! These men are GODS! Valentine collapsed into Backlund and PILEDRIVER~! As time expires.

You will be hard pressed to find a better 30 minutes in pro wrestling history than those last thirty minutes. The first twenty minutes are solid. The 20-30 minute stretch keeps this from being a strong Greatest Match of All Time, but this is safely a ***** because of those last thirty minutes. Battle of Wills is how I sum it. Backlund's leg selling is incredible. Valentine is a God on offense. What makes this match extraordinary is the selling of fatigue and how they incorporate bursts of energy. You gotta two beasts slugging it out in the 60th minute! Best Backlund match ever and maybe the best Valentine match ever! 

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 36: Best of WWF 1978-1983 (Bob Backlund, Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine)

Hey Yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

Dedicated to the Titans of Wrestling, Parv, Pete, Kelly & Johnny.

Thanks for all the laughs & the memories.

Pro Wrestling Love vol. 36:

The Best of World Wrestling Federation 1978-1983

Objective:  Break up the Greatest Match Ever Project (hosted at http://gweproject.freeforums.net/) into more manageable chunks to help me build my Top 100 List for the project.

Motivation: Contribute to the discussion around these matches to enrich my own understanding of pro wrestling and give a fresh perspective for old matches and even hopefully discover great pro wrestling matches that have been hidden by the sands of time.

Subject: This thirty-sixth volume of Pro Wrestling Love is the beginning of the Top 12 countdown of the best matches to take place in World Wrestling Federation between 1978-1983. This era in WWF history is the Bob Backlund Era. Bob Backlund won the WWF Championship from “Superstar” Billy Graham in February of 1978 and held it until December of 1983 losing to The Iron Sheik. During this time period, Bob Backlund was a major draw in the Northeast especially at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was the twilight of the Vince Sr era as Vince Jr would transition to control in 1982. Bob Backlund has become one of my favorite wrestlers upon rewatch starting back in 2013 and I am very excited to present these two volumes of Pro Wrestling Love which will showcase him at his best. I think the best way to explain Bob’s psychology is “Anything you can do, Bob can do better”. As you read these match reviews this will become readily apparent. I cant do this era justice so please I implore go listen to the greatest podcast of all time: Titans Of Wrestling which chronicles the Bob Backlund years of the WWF starting in 1979. You can revisit past Pro Wrestling Love Volumes at ridingspacemountain.blogspot.com. You can check out the full version of these reviews in ProWrestlingOnly.com by going to the forums and finding the folders associated with the date of the match.

Contact Info: @superstarsleeze on Twitter, Instagram & ProWrestlingOnly.com.

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

DisHonorable Mention

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Don Muraco – Spectrum 10/17/81

In the very first volume of Pro Wrestling Love, I set out the mission statement of this project to celebrate pro wrestling. However, any pro wrestling fans knows pro wrestling is far from perfect and there are some real stinkers out there. I don’t know if there is anything stinkier than this match right here. If you had to ask me what the worst match of all time is right now, this would be my choice. Not only is one of the dullest experiences of your life they go 55 MINUTES! I wrote as the conclusion to my review that silver lining is that at least they did not go a full sixty minutes.

Honorable Mentions

Greg Valentine vs Chief Jay Strongbow - Spectrum 7/21/79

Greg Valentine vs Chief Jay Strongbow – MSG 7/30/79 Indian Strap Match

The Hammer sure had a beef with Indians in the 70s. He broke Wahoo’s leg in Mid-Atlantic and he injures Strongbow here in this surprisingly hot, blood feud. This is one of the many hidden gems uncovered by Titans of Wrestling. For my Dad and my Uncles, Strongbow is one of the most memorable pro wrestlers and I was happy to finally find some great Strongbow matches.

WWF Tag Champions Rick Martel & Tony Garea vs Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito – MSG 12/29/80

WWF Tag Champions Rick Martel & Tony Garea vs Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito – WWF TV 4/4/81

WWF Tag Champions Rick Martel & Tony Garea vs Mr. Fuji & Mr. Saito – WWF TV 10/17/81

“RIGHT IN THE FACE WITH NOTHING BUT PURE SALT!” One of the all-time great Vince McMahon calls. This is a shoutout to the best tag team feud in the WWF in what was usually a dire tag team division.

Sgt. Slaughter vs Pat Patterson – MSG 4/6/81

The lead in for the famous Alley Fight match that is a great match in its own right. I highly recommend watching this before for the Alley Fight to get you hyped for that match.

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Buddy Rose – MSG 8/30/82

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Buddy Rose – Spectrum 11/25/82 Lumberjack 

Buddy Rose is famous for the red-hot Rockers feud in the AWA and being the lead man in Portland in the late 70s/early 80s. He also had a stint as the heel challenger to Backlund in 1982. These two matches show off why Buddy Rose is such a great Backlund opponent as he is a high-energy bumping stooge, definitely check these out as they build on both men’s legacies.

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter – MSG 5/23/83, 

Match of the Year 1983

The year 1983 is a year of transition for the WWF as it is the first full year under Vince Jr. It is not considered one of the great years in WWF history as Vince is trying to get his building blocks in place for his national expansion thus he keeps the belt on Bob Backlund for the year and uses retreads as his challengers (Muraco & Slaughter) with Masked Superstar being the one new challenger. Slaughter, being such a great bumper, is one of Backlund's best opponents. While this is not as good as their '81 Philly series, this is still a great Backlund title defense.

Top Twelve Matches of World Wrestling Federation 1978-1983

#12. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ivan Koloff – MSG 8/28/78

WWF Match of the Year, 1978

Tremendous Bob Backlund match! Pretty much everything you want out of a Backlund match and more! The best part of Backlund matches are his raw power, lots of struggle, interesting, dynamic wrestling strategy and logical progression. Here you get the added bonus of more Backlund selling and his opponent getting a chance to work on top. I thought the first half of this match was the more entertaining version of the Murdoch/O'Connor Headscissors AJPW 75 match. I loved how Backlund first got into the hold as there was a ton of struggle over a hiptoss so Backlund used Koloff as a base wrapped his legs around his head and took him over that way. They traded headscissors in really compelling fashion for 15 minutes. Backlund showed his usual dogged determination. If something is working for him, he sticks with it. Koloff ALWAYS had to use the hair to keep Backlund in the headscissors or to gain the upper hand, which is a great touch. Backlund got to show off his power with incredible bridging. Koloff actually placed Backlund on the top rope and Backlund was none to pleased about that and delivered a nice short knee there. Overall, the beginning of the match was very solid established Backlund as the better wrestler and Koloff needing to use the hair. I thought everything was snug and Backlund really wrenched his stuff. Koloff began to kick Backlund in the head and drop the knee as things picked up. Backlund caught Koloff's foot on a kick and we transition into the next phase. Backlund begins to work Koloff's leg ferociously. This is exactly the opportunity Backlund looks for in a match. The leg work is super energetic, lots of movement and he is always going back to it even when Koloff gets a move in here or there. Eventually, Backlund gets a little overzealous on a wrenching and goes out to the apron. Koloff suplexes him back in and then applies a short arm scissors. Koloff works a nice rolling short arm scissors with plenty of teases to the big spot. Backlund deadlifts Koloff up and places him the top rope. That always gets me! Backlund slaps the piss outta him! This was set up nicely by Koloff putting Backlund on the top rope earlier. Backlund goes to back to the leg with a modified figure-4, but again Koloff grabs the hair. Double stomp, but sells the leg! Backbreaker by Koloff. Very rare to get to see the heel pour it on, but it is refreshing. They knock heads and Backlund goes out to the floor. I smell countout. Not so fast! Koloff rams him into he turnbuckle and suplexes him in. He misses the top rope knee drop to a big pop! Backlund sets his head too early and Koloff kicks him. This sends him outta the ring that was kinda lame. The finish was pretty cool with Koloff coming off the top rope with a stomp to Backlund's head on the apron to draw blood ending the match on cuts. Backlund gets his heat back by kicking Koloff's ass including an atomic drop.

Really entertaining match, held back by just some slow portions in the holds. This was a classic Backlund match where everything progressed nicely. You had the battle of the headscissors that established face/heel dynamics and put over Backlund's power. Then when Koloff was roughhousing; Backlund made him pay by going after the leg. You have the big Backlund highspot of the short arm scissors deadlift into his possible finish with the figure-4, before a pretty hot finish run by Koloff set up by the hair pull. Another Backlund classic!

#11. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Ken Patera – MSG 1/21/80

I have never seen this match before and it is really awesome classic Bob Backlund. Anybody who says Bob does not sell well or cant sell should watch this match because he does a masterful job in a bearhug and maybe the best selling of a bearhug of all time. Throughout the rest of the match, Backlund continues to sell the pain and exhaustion. Before that, it was classic Backlund showing up his opponent early. Patera tried to use strength (takedowns and shoulderblocks), but was thwarted by Backlund's wrestling acumen and speed. There were some really fun one-upping shots. Now Backlund could not get anything going because Patera kept continuing to retreat to the safety of ropes. Patera carries Backlund to a corner off a side headlock, damn, stealing Bob's spot, ballsy. Patera goes after arm and uses hair pulls to keep Backlund in the armbars. Patera uses an armstretcher. Backlund was pissed about all these hair pulls so he used a boot to the face to break the hold. Backlund is classic here because he is going to beat Patera at his own game by applying an armstretcher. The rowing of the armstretcher was super over with the MSG crowd. Patera does the classic roll up counter, but Backlund expertly wraps up a headscissors. Patera escapes, only to end up back in armstretcher. Patera stomps Backlund's head to get out. Patera bodyslam only gets one with Backlund military pressing him off and Patera suplex does not fare much better. Then Patera applies the bearhug. Wow, one of the best bearhugs sequences ever. Backlund struggles so hard to get out and finally pries the arms off and hiptoss. Only to have Patera drives elbows into the back and reapplies the bearhug. Backlund's selling was perfect in how he was limp and Patera gets his shoulders to the mat. Backlund fires up only to collapse again, really well done. I love the payoff being a quick inverted atomic drop. Patera's sell of this is fucking awesome. Backlund wins a suplex struggle, but eats knees on a splash attempt. Patera hits an axehandle off the middle rope. He is looking Full Nelson to put the staggered Backlund out. Backlund slipped out and hit a massive atomic drop for a super hot nearfall. It was the first fall to go to a two count with Patera only getting his foot on rope. Patera pushed Backlund into the ref, which would trigger a No Contest, but there was an awesome heated slugfest post-match. Backlund kicked some serious. Everyone talks about the Texas Death Match, but this is a classic in its own right. The awesome Backlund shine was so much fun, loved the armstretcher tit for tat, one of the best bearhug sequences of all time and a super hot finish run with both men totally staggered and exhausted makes for an awesome match. Patera was great at his bumping and selling to really get Backlund over. I consider this one of the all-time best Backlund performances.

#10. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Sgt. Slaughter – Spectrum 1/10/81

I can hear Johnny Sorrow of Titans of Wrestling fame talking about Kal saying Backlund was "pumping pain" into Slaughter. Kal explains that these two are just living on weird street in this match.

It is Gomer Pyle vs Howdy Doody. Dick & Kal blames Vince for getting Gomer Pyle over. Right in the front row there is a sign says "Kill Gomer Pyle" and there are constant chants of Gomer. Slaughter is really frazzled by all this and has a hard time concentrating. He muffs his ears. This is a really fun shine with the typical Backlund showing up his opponent, but Slaughter is extra good at taking the bumps. Slaughter tries to sneak attack with the swagger stick after giving Backlund the thumbs down. Them's fighting provocations. Slaughter totally whiffs on a punch and tumbles over the top rope. Love it. Backlund single leg pick up. Slaughter rams his shoulder into the post. The Backlund arm work is actually unusually lackluster. Slaughter uses headbutts to break the hold. He uses the headlock to cover up driving knuckles into Backlund's head. Backlund is really WOAHING tonight. I like Kal description of Slaughter looking like a cartoon character with his jaw, big eyes and his expressive face. The ref catches Slaughter cheating and thus he switches to the back with backbreaker and then using trunks to pull Backlund into hard strikes on the back. Backlund fires back and knocks Slaughter onto weird street with a big headbutt. HUGE PILEDRIVER! Slaughter needs a quick jab to the throat and Dick says that Backlund opponents have no alternative because Backlund is so good. He signals for the unbreakable Cobra Clutch, but Backlund slips out. Slaughter is press slammed off the top. Slaughter kicks off Backlund in the O'Connor Roll sending him crashing to the floor. Backlund is knocked loopy. This is when the match goes into overdrive. The fans are urging Backlund on as Slaughter gets a chance to recuperate. Slaughter drives Backlund back first into the railing and backbreaker on outside. He drives Backlund's head into the post and turnbuckle. Backlund is busted wide open and Slaughter is very proud of his work. Slaughter bites the cut and punches Backlund's forehead on apron.Slaughter punches himself out and Backlund fires back with two headbutts into the midsection that doubles Sarge over. Backlund whips Slaughter for him to take his signature bump. The crowd goes wild and so does Backlund who is incensed and kicks the shit out of Slaughter on the outside driving him into hard metal objects. They fight on the apron and Backlund knocks Slaughter back in the ring giving Slaughter a countout win. The post-match brawl is awesome with Backlund kicking major league ass. The ref brings the title in the ring and Slaughter uses it to crack Backlund and the ref into the head.

I thought this match did a lot better job than the Backlund/Patera match in setting up the gimmick match. I really liked Backlund/Patera match as a classic wrestling match, but this is the match that makes you want to see a bloody steel cage match. Slaughter kicked the ass of Backlund and then left Backlund laying. Plus Backlund kicking ass was also awesome. A really awesome set up match for the steel cage match.

#9. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Adrian Adonis – MSG 1/18/82

WWF Match of the Year, 1982

In the stodgy, lumbering early 80s World Wreslting Federation, Bob Backlund brings a dynamism more akin to Mid-Atlantic. I don't want to say that is overlooked by his proponents, but I don't think his critics give him enough credit for working the cutting edge style of movement in an area where everyone was accustomed to a slower pace. Yes, Backlund works holds, but he is always working the headlock or arm and peppering in spots in between. Adonis is a perfect opponent for Backlund in this regard because he excels at bumping and moving. Even though the majority of the match revolves around a long heel in peril sequence, it never drags too much because Backlund is always working the arm and Adonis working ways to get out, but ends up thwarted in a most entertaining fashion. The story was Backlund using Adonis' desperation against him by countering at every turn from the get go. This is a Backlund staple: you go running at him with a fist and he will single leg pick up you to make you foolish. So a similar effect he was always reapplying his wristlock. Adonis rolls up on the armstretcher-rowing spot. In doing so, Adonis does manage to bloody Backlund with by rubbing his palm in Bob's face, which I was surprised caused that to happen. The hardway blood definitely helps as it feels as though the playing field is level. Adonis even busts out a proto-Sling Blade. With his newfound advantage, Adonis starts throwing bombs to win the match (neckbreaker, slams, suplexes) and Backlund is getting crazy awesome kickouts. Adonis hits a piledriver, but it is only a decent one. Backlund knocks him off the top and Adonis crotches himself in most epic fashion. Backlund gets a receipt for the the stomp to the groin with his own stomp to the groin. Backlund then shows him how you muthafuckin piledrive someone. I like how Backlund threw back these moves in Adonis' face It is a shame he used that as a transition move. Good Night Irene! Backlund dives to the outside to break the hold, but shakes himself up in the process. Adonis rams Backlund's head into the turnbuckle and taps a gusher. They tease the countout, but Backlund makes it back in. I bit on the countout finish hard. A great, great boxing match breaks out; the ref loses control and awards the match to Adonis on cuts to set up the rematch, which was on an untelevised MSG card. BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

For Backlund critics, I am sure the talking point was that he dominated the match with the wristlock forever, but I thought they worked it an entertaining fashion. The home stretch was strong and the finish fantastic. This match is a great war of attrition. Adonis throws everything he has at Backlund, but Backlund is resilient. Look at that massive kickout by Backlund after the groin shot. They both are exhausted and battered. Then Good Night Irene, the countout finish tease and the bloody boxing match at the end. Definitely one of the best Backlund title defenses. 

#8. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine – MSG 10/19/81

Huge kudos to the Titans especially Pete to get me to watch this in short order. This bad boy did not disappoint.

"Anything you can do, I can do better." - Bob Backlund's motto. Whether it is out-brawling Patera, out-powering Hogan or in this match out-slugging Valentine, Backlund's game is to prove he is better than his opponent at their game. It is this attitude that truly makes him a world heavyweight champion (I acknowledged it was not recognized as a World title, but damnit Bob is my boy.).

In this match, there a countless of examples of Valentine executing a move and Backlund absorbing the move and then dishing out the same move but with even more impact and ferocity. This is established early with Valentine getting three early takedowns. Backlund fires back in rapid fire those three same takedown. Anything you can do, Hammer, I can do better and don't you forget it, pal! 

The crux of the match centers around Valentine and his full court press to apply the figure-4 on Backlund. He begins by weakening the knees. There is a great spot where Backlund gets a monkey flip out of a half crab. Anytime, Backlund looks to turn the tide, Valentine comes crashing down with a thunderous blow. Valentine tries 8 million ways to apply the figure-4, but he can't wrangle the ever-scrappy Backlund. This is just perfect pro wrestling. You can feel Valentine's frustration about not being able to apply this hold and simultaneously you feel Backlund's desperation to avoid this hold at all costs. The figure-4 becomes everything and you are totally invested in this struggle between these two competitors. Valentine tries a different tact. He turns the match into a slugfest. Against pretty much anyone else, Valentine could bully his way to victory with his vicious forearms, but not against our hero. Backlund gives as good he gets with equally vicious elbows, fists and headbutts that must have inspired BattlArts, The dynamic switch between stand up and ground really feels like you are watching BatBat match take place in early 80s WWF in MSG. It is crazy. Valentine bullies him into the ropes and goes back to the legs. He applies the figure-4 and Backlund immediately flips to his stomach. GREATEST SPOT EVER! Bow down at the altar of Bob Backlund! Again Valentine stymied switches to slugfest and this ends with a BACKLUND PILEDRIVER~! Only two for Bob, who misses the leg drop and hurts the injured leg. BattlArts headbutts from the knees ensue and they just beating the shit outta each other.

Then we get the finish. Valentine hoists Backlund up for the airplane spin, but hits the ref. Backlund ends up on top, a groggy ref counts to three, Valentine is up first and because they wearing the same trunks and have similar builds the ref hands the title incorrectly to the Hammer thus the title is held up. I get that they are setting up for a rematch and this is creative, but I didn't dig it. It is just kinda lame. I can't really explain it. It is just lame in my eyes. It knocks the match down just a peg. Still one of the all-time classics of the Backlund era, an absolute pleasure to watch and guide on how to sell the importance of a hold and a match. Terrific performance from both wrestlers.

#7. WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine – MSG 11/23/81

This is the rematch from last month's disputed finish show where The Hammer walked out the Champion, but did not win the match. Thus the championship is held up and there must be a winner! Backlund is red-hot to start and beats Valentine's ass from pillar to post. The Hammer was great here at selling, begging off and bumping for Backlund making him look like Superman. Valentine goes for broke rushing into the corner with double knees and jams them in the turnbuckles. Backlund gives a taste of his Hammer's medicine to the Hammer working over the leg. I will say the one thing that did bring it down for me was Backlund's kicks to the leg were not the best. I recognize this is not Shoot-Style Japan, but Backlund has those killer headbutts, punches and forearms it makes his kicks look extra weak. Valentine is selling this for all its worth and when Backlund does use his fist to work the leg or an actual hold it is better for it. Valentine tries to dig himself out of this hole with desperation lunges, but it seems too deep at first with Backlund headbutting and punching his way back into control. On a figure-4 attempt, Valentine is able to punch Bob in the head and pounce on his leg. Valentine takes Backlund to school. No disrespect to the champ, but this is how you do it. Backlund fights him off and throws some wicked European Uppercuts to Valentine's leg from ground. Holy shit, both their legs are just shot and I am loving the double leg psychology. Valentine just grabs Backlunds ankle and scoots out and wraps his knee around the post. There is no avoiding it this time, Backlund is taken into the Figure-4 twice and his mettle is tested, but GOSHDARNIT HE IS BOB BACKLUND AND HE NEVER GIVES UP. With every fiber of his being and muscles bulging, Bob turns Valentine into the ropes. Both men are just exhausted. Valentine is the first one to try a suplex for a victory, but he can't capitalize. Backlund hits a magnificient, textbook German with a beautiful bridge to win the match! MSG explodes and Backlund leads him in a proto-Yes chant. I agree with the Titans this feels like the climax of Bob Backlund's reign. I thought this was exactly on par with the original 1981 match. I thought the original one just felt a bit grittier. Valentine was more frustrated and Backlund scrappier, but this one had sweet feel-good finish. It is a total toss-up; both are all-time classics.