Popovich was an All-American from University of Oregon who just went through Sandy Barr's school. He'd debuted on an earlier card in a special attraction match but since Martel lost a loser leaves town and someone else was injured Owen puts him into a match with Buddy. They make a big deal about Martel being gone and the fact someone gives Popovich flowers before they match. They even made sure to thank the kids for continuing to come out with Martel gone.
Buddy starts with an arm bar but Popovich eventually reverses it. He's moving a bit gingerly in there and his arm clubbers look stilted with his knees to the elbow and stomps looking worse but it's a good idea. They're taking things nice and slow. He gets Buddy down but Buddy kips up and they reverse the arm bar back and forth a few times til Buddy makes it to the ropes. Buddy clubbers him on the ropes to intimidate the rookie but Popvich pops him right back and Buddy retreats and takes a time out through the ropes, before suckering Popovich in with a kick. Buddy takes over here with pretty simple stuff, including a full nelson which I haven't seen him try to do for a year or so. Popovich straight out powers out of it and puts him in one of his own. They're doing a pretty good job putting over Popovich's strength and basic wrestling skill.
Buddy struggles for a but bit finally drops down with the help of the ropes and turns it into a headscissors, which is a pretty weird way to get out of a full nelson. Popovich does a kip up of his own, but Buddy sneaks around with a beautifully timed sneakshot to the kidneys and starts honing in, culminating in a bear hug. Popovich undermines the arms and puts Buddy into a far bigger bearhug. Buddy cheats to get out but Popovich reverses a shot into the turnbuckle and really takes over. Buddy ends up begging off and getting leveraged out of the corner. He gets a cheap grounded kick in and starts playing king of the mountain with Popovich, kneeling on the apron and punching down. KOTMs get over the face as dangerous to the more desperate heel, generally.
Anyway, the big angle here is that Savage (the ref) grabs for the mask from behind to stop this. and Buddy grabs him through the ropes, getting Dutch's leg tied up there. At that point Buddy goes to town briefly on the stuck leg, landing on it off the top before Popovich can come in for the save. They sell this as a potentially broken leg for Dutch and Popovich wins via DQ and then carries Savage to the back.
So this was a match. Buddy did a pretty good job carrying the green guy and making him look like an up and coming threat with both power and skill, but maybe not as good a job as I've seen him manage in the past or was expecting. I have no idea just how many matches Popovich had under his belt though. Wrestlingdata.com has this as his first match and Bonnema only mentioned one other. If that's the case, I suppose it is pretty impressive after all.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Buddy Rose vs Rick Martel© - 8/9/80 - 2/3 Falls - No DQ (Wiskowski barred from arena) - Northwest Heavyweight Championship
So on Tuesday Martel and Piper won the tag team championship. Don Owen goes on again about how the title match being on TV is due to the sponsors. What a stand up guy. Buddy still has the mask. Martel still has the belt. Dutch Savage is the troubleshooting ref. And Buddy (still wearing the mask+wig) immediately takes a powder. He makes it back in, cheapshots Martel and starts raking the back AND front. He also does one of the best looking whips to the corner I've seen. He's really on top of him here, as aggressive as I've seen him start off a match. Martel usually starts a lot stronger than this. It gets over the importance of the match.
Buddy slaps on a headscissors and the fans chant for Martel, who rolls Buddy over and does a somersault out and right into a toehold which he then locks a facelock on. The mask is pretty ragged by this point but we get a great visual of Buddy biting Martel's finger. That breaks the hold and Buddy runs out (selling all the way). Martel chases him around the ring but Buddy rolls in and catches him as he comes on in. He can't stop Martel, though, and soon Rick's racking Buddy's back to the fans' elation. Bonnema's having a hard time here calling Martel Martino and an elbow drop a knee drop. Martel is keeping on Buddy just like Buddy was keeping on him before. Just attack, attack, attack until he locks on a knee-assisted chinlock and slows things down. It's a bit of a weird base for Martel but he grinds it for a minute before eating a Buddy leg clap. Rose tries to hide behind Savage but Dutch ducks and Martel nails him with a punch before running out of the ring leaving a fired up Martel within. Great visual spot and the fans popped accordingly. What always amazes me about Buddy is how smoothly and effortlessly he pulls this stuff off. Case in point: he hides in the corner trying to get a time out, gets a kick in the rear, and then shot after shot from Martel as he flops around the ring. Finally, he gets a perfectly time knee up as Martel runs into the corner. The smoothness here is just amazing. Everything looks so good and natural and it all makes sense. He works on Martel's throat with a few hidden judo chops and then hits this really good two step dropkick, which I've never seen him do before. Martel kicks out at two. Buddy slaps on a grounded headlock and the fans get behind Martel.
Martel starts to fight up but Buddy drives him into the corner and chops away. He then goes for a hip through out but Martel blocks it, hits one, this really smooth back body drop to follow, and then two dropkicks and the rana/pin for the fall. That was a really great finish for him and he should have kept it into the AWA. This was some of the smoothest wrestling I've seen out of them and for the time but it didn't seem at all choreographed. Totally the opposite.
Second fall starts with positioning in the center of the ring until Buddy grabs the hair and gets Martel into the corner. He goes for a choke but Martel fights back and Buddy goes on the defensive. Martel starts clubbering and stomping the back and Buddy sells it like death. I love Buddy's jump sell when he gets clubbed. Martel hits a nice gutwrench suplex and Buddy sells. Buddy cheapshots Martel but sells on the slam attempt and ends up battered more and more. I love how he tries to press his back against the turnbuckle so Martel can't get it. It's all moot though because he ends up in the abdominal stretch. Buddy grabs Savages arm and drags himself down to the mat, but Martel is just merciless with the driving knees to the spine. I'm almost starting to pity Buddy here, especially once Martel puts the crab on. Buddy is using the no dq to its fullest not in big broad ways (like chairs) but just by going to the trunks desperately and being able to get away with it. That's how he gets out of the crab but he eats a belly to back a moment later. This is just a mauling. Martel is bringing a lot of great offense here. Buddy gets a lucky, desperate, cheap shot by picking Martel up and dropping him crotch first on the turnbuckle for the second fall, though there's a cut so we don't see the pin. This match has had really subtle uses of the no dq.
Third fall starts with Buddy trying to stooge and box but getting outmoved until he lands a kick to block a back body drop. Buddy locks on the double claw to the ribs/side. Martel's selling is pretty amazing. He has the most pained look on his face ever until he goes for the mask and as he's pulling it off it's almost like time freezing completely as the fans go nuts. There's DARK HAIR under the mask but at the last moment, Buddy gets an eyerake in. He's irate now and hits the nastiest double drop and then an elbow to the weakened midsection. Martel kicks out at two and starts to fight up from his knees with punches. Martel lands a revenge double stomp of his own, then another. This might be Martel's best offensive showcase ever. Buddy gets up and goes for a bulldog but Martel pushes him into the corner. Martel tries to do one of his own and ends up in the corner too. Buddy goes for the belly to back into a corner crotch again but Martel flips over backwards and does it to Buddy! He gets the pin as the crowd erupts. Awesome finish. Great match. It's so hard to put these matches against one another This one was smoother, had better offensive, and smarter use of the stip than I can put into words, plus a pretty epic finish but they're all so damn good.
Buddy slaps on a headscissors and the fans chant for Martel, who rolls Buddy over and does a somersault out and right into a toehold which he then locks a facelock on. The mask is pretty ragged by this point but we get a great visual of Buddy biting Martel's finger. That breaks the hold and Buddy runs out (selling all the way). Martel chases him around the ring but Buddy rolls in and catches him as he comes on in. He can't stop Martel, though, and soon Rick's racking Buddy's back to the fans' elation. Bonnema's having a hard time here calling Martel Martino and an elbow drop a knee drop. Martel is keeping on Buddy just like Buddy was keeping on him before. Just attack, attack, attack until he locks on a knee-assisted chinlock and slows things down. It's a bit of a weird base for Martel but he grinds it for a minute before eating a Buddy leg clap. Rose tries to hide behind Savage but Dutch ducks and Martel nails him with a punch before running out of the ring leaving a fired up Martel within. Great visual spot and the fans popped accordingly. What always amazes me about Buddy is how smoothly and effortlessly he pulls this stuff off. Case in point: he hides in the corner trying to get a time out, gets a kick in the rear, and then shot after shot from Martel as he flops around the ring. Finally, he gets a perfectly time knee up as Martel runs into the corner. The smoothness here is just amazing. Everything looks so good and natural and it all makes sense. He works on Martel's throat with a few hidden judo chops and then hits this really good two step dropkick, which I've never seen him do before. Martel kicks out at two. Buddy slaps on a grounded headlock and the fans get behind Martel.
Martel starts to fight up but Buddy drives him into the corner and chops away. He then goes for a hip through out but Martel blocks it, hits one, this really smooth back body drop to follow, and then two dropkicks and the rana/pin for the fall. That was a really great finish for him and he should have kept it into the AWA. This was some of the smoothest wrestling I've seen out of them and for the time but it didn't seem at all choreographed. Totally the opposite.
Second fall starts with positioning in the center of the ring until Buddy grabs the hair and gets Martel into the corner. He goes for a choke but Martel fights back and Buddy goes on the defensive. Martel starts clubbering and stomping the back and Buddy sells it like death. I love Buddy's jump sell when he gets clubbed. Martel hits a nice gutwrench suplex and Buddy sells. Buddy cheapshots Martel but sells on the slam attempt and ends up battered more and more. I love how he tries to press his back against the turnbuckle so Martel can't get it. It's all moot though because he ends up in the abdominal stretch. Buddy grabs Savages arm and drags himself down to the mat, but Martel is just merciless with the driving knees to the spine. I'm almost starting to pity Buddy here, especially once Martel puts the crab on. Buddy is using the no dq to its fullest not in big broad ways (like chairs) but just by going to the trunks desperately and being able to get away with it. That's how he gets out of the crab but he eats a belly to back a moment later. This is just a mauling. Martel is bringing a lot of great offense here. Buddy gets a lucky, desperate, cheap shot by picking Martel up and dropping him crotch first on the turnbuckle for the second fall, though there's a cut so we don't see the pin. This match has had really subtle uses of the no dq.
Third fall starts with Buddy trying to stooge and box but getting outmoved until he lands a kick to block a back body drop. Buddy locks on the double claw to the ribs/side. Martel's selling is pretty amazing. He has the most pained look on his face ever until he goes for the mask and as he's pulling it off it's almost like time freezing completely as the fans go nuts. There's DARK HAIR under the mask but at the last moment, Buddy gets an eyerake in. He's irate now and hits the nastiest double drop and then an elbow to the weakened midsection. Martel kicks out at two and starts to fight up from his knees with punches. Martel lands a revenge double stomp of his own, then another. This might be Martel's best offensive showcase ever. Buddy gets up and goes for a bulldog but Martel pushes him into the corner. Martel tries to do one of his own and ends up in the corner too. Buddy goes for the belly to back into a corner crotch again but Martel flips over backwards and does it to Buddy! He gets the pin as the crowd erupts. Awesome finish. Great match. It's so hard to put these matches against one another This one was smoother, had better offensive, and smarter use of the stip than I can put into words, plus a pretty epic finish but they're all so damn good.
Buddy Rose/Ed Wiskowski vs Roddy Piper/Rick Martel - 8/2/80 - 2/3 Falls - Tag Titles
They'd been playing up how Piper/Martel would get flowers before the matches from fans for months. This match, Rose and Wiskowski get them too. There better damn well be a foreign object in one or something. Anyway, this is because the Sheepherders left the territory after losing that double hair match with the Army. The belts were vacant and Owen put them up between the two logical teams. They're also building to a no DQ title match between Martel and Rose the upcoming Tuesday.
Piper and Rose to start. Stooging right from the get go as Wiskowski holds Piper from the outside but Roddy ducks and Buddy nails his partner. This is followed immediately by a ridiculously awesome Rose somersault bump off of a turnbuckle treatment in the corner and both heels bumping huge for Piper's punches to the fans' delight. Bit of back and forth before Martel tags in to a huge pop and he starts unloading on a begging off Buddy. Martel grinds a headlock to a ten count and tags in Piper who's about to grab Rose when he does a slow fall backwards.The timing on this stuff is great. Piper slaps on the headlock, repeats the ten grinds as the fans count along and then hits a dropkick knocking Rose out of the ring. Buddy's falling all over the place on the outside selling, stumbling, and asking for time out. He rolls in to a flying mare, that cool double stomp face split, and a head drop from Piper but manages to get a knee up in the corner and a quick enough tag to Wiskowski that they stop the tag to Martel and we get the beginnings of a heat segment. Great shine.
Wiskoski is going back to the double stomach claw he used vs Boyd which is a good visual move for him given his size. Ah, Piper's left side of the back was injured in an attack by the Army apparently, so they're honing in on that especially. Piper's great in the hold, struggling and trying to get over to make the tag. Rose runs around to nail Martel with a cheapshot delaying it and allowing Ed to snap on a nice looking bodyscissors roll to get Piper away from the corner. He keeps the hold on, continuing on the ribs/side while Piper tries to work towards the corner again. Great sense of struggle here as the fans go nuts in support and Martel reaches for all he's worth from outside. At one point, Piper gets his foot over and Martel grabs it, trying to drag him over, but Barr breaks it up. Then Piper starts flailing wildly with his arms to make a potential tag (still in the body scissors) until Wiskowski uses his side to scoot back to the center of the ring and it's all top notch stuff. Rose tags in and slaps the hold on again, doing some big leverage moves to sort of atomic drop Piper on the ma and tries to turn it into a pin. Piper scrambles for the corner, but Rose quickly tags Ed and they cut him off. Piper goes through the legs but Wiskowski manages to position himself between Roddy and Rick. Piper fights his way out of the heel corner, DIVES for the tag with a whipped out arm, but Wiskowki grabs his foot at the last second and pulls him back and then quickly grabs the clawhold again, with a added jab, to stop Piper long enough for Rose to come back in, but Piper's just too determined and he manages to roll away at the last second for the hot tag. That was one of the best hot tag sequences I've ever seen and Martel has almost Promethean fire empowering him as he cleans house, with punches, an awesome looking hip through, a few quick, tight dropkicks, and a 'rana into a pin for the fall. This was one of the best single falls I've seen in Portland and that's saying a lot.
Second fall starts with Wiskowski trying to start, but Barr disallows it. Heels conference in the corner and Martel slams their heads together. They do some quick rope running and after a backslide, I thought they were going to keep it up and do Savage/Steamboat near falls for a second. Instead, Rose rolls out and stalls to work the crowd. He walks around the ring, rolls in and tags Wiskowski from a prone position. His mannerisms are really great. Martel and Wiskowski start working a headlock base (Martel in charge). Rose blind tags in after a minute or two but ends up in a headlock too. Martel's very good at working this. His diving reversal of Rose's hairpull is particularly good. Buddy keeps trying to cheat his way out, by grabbing the hair or tights. Piper goads Wiskowski around the apron and then does a blind switch with Martel while Barr is distracted. Barr catches the end of it and looks bemused. It's kind of weird to see Piper do running headlock takeovers off the turnbuckles. Piper positions Buddy into the corner for the tag they do a cute little spot where Piper lets go of the headlock, Buddy rears back, and Martel catches the hand from behind and puts him right back into the headlock. Martel does a great backflip off the turnbuckle and then that corner hiptoss of his I really like. Buddy ducks away from a dropkick though and it's one of the best missed dropkicks I've ever seen. There's this super fast element of flailing feet that's just great.
Rose makes it to the corner and Wiskowski starts on Martel's ribs (where he landed after the dropkick). Martel's selling is so good, as in "one of the best ever" good in this. Wiskowski is both methodological and dogged, keeping his offense varied and giving it time to breath as he stalks the selling Martel around the ring. using the ropes as a prop and switching stomps with a slam with a bearhug. He controls ring positioning with the bear hug, which lets Rose cut off a the beginning of a hope spot and tag in, using an Argentinian backbreaker, which I've not seen him use before. He marches Martel back into the corner and drops his head onto the turnbuckle before just exchanging it with Wiskowski in a cool looking moment. Piper rushes in to break it up but Wiskowski just slaps on the bear hug again. This is a great heat segment and very different than the Piper one from the first fall. Rose, cheerleading on the outside, jumped on the bottom turnbuckle and broke the rope. I assume that was a mistake. Anyway, Piper gets fed up again and comes in. Barr gets distracted. Buddy comes in without a tag. He clotheslines Piper on the top rope with a catapult and lands him on his knees, working int into a backbreaker hold. Martel bridges up to the ropes and drops a knee. Rose cuts him off and tries to slam his head onto the mat, but Martel reverses it, so Rose desperately punches Piper off the apron to prevent a tag. Great moment. Buddy rolls Martel up but Piper rushes in and starts pounding on him. Barr restrains him. Wiskowski runs in and Rose grabs the broken turnbuckle and smashes it across Martel's back. Wiskowski puts the bear hug back on and drives him down to a pinning situation but Martel tries to fight his way on top out of it. I'm amazed that wasn't the end of the fall. They really protect Martel in this. Barr breaks the hold and Wiskowski clubbers and hits an atomic drop but Piper breaks up the pin. Rose comes in. Martel leap frogs him off the ropes but Buddy turns it around catching him in basically a boss man slam Robinson backbreaker variation that looks awesome and I'm not sure anyone had ever seen before. This time Wiskowski comes in to cut off Piper and that's the second fall. Great stuff, with a finish way ahead of its time in both details and complexity.
Third fall has the rope fixed. Martel is still reeling. They start on Martel but he reverses a Wiskowski suplex. Rose gets a phantom tag and tries to cut him off, but Martel reverses a gutwrench suplex and then a headlock into a back suplex. He's not able to follow up at all though due to the hurting back and how he keeps using his back to reverse. Rose tags out to Wiskowski who cuts him off but Martel fights back with punches in the corner, selling huge as he does. He's basically using the ropes to stand up and to even help with a forward kick that knocks Wiskowski down. The heels are so dogged in keeping him from tagging though. Wiskowski uses his superior size to drag him back to his corner and Rose comes in. Martel fights his way out of the corner again and this time finally gets the molten hot tag. I'm not sure I've ever seen a hot tag that was harder to work for. It was almost too hard, but not quite.
Piper wailing away on Rose in the corner is pretty amazing. The crowd has come unglued. Piper hits some big knee lifts on both heels. Wiskowski begs off but gets a double eye poke for his trouble. Roddy tosses him out but Barr stops him from going after. Rose tries a sneak attack to Piper's back but Piper shrugs it off and just nails him off the apron. It's distraction enough (and just really smart, detailed oriented wrestling, of which Portland might have the distinction for having more of than anywhere else ever) for Wiskowski to come back in and get a cheap punch in. They do a cool combo slingshot, back body drop with Rose coming in and chucking Piper over the top. Buddy tries to go after Piper on the outside but Martel chases him around the ring, pummeling him. This lets Wiskowski work on Piper with all four guys outside of the ring. Piper fights back and they slam the heels together.
They're brawling like madmen here with the faces just wailing away and the bell ringing repeatedly and the crowd screaming. Faces finally lock on double sleepers in the center of the ring but they all crash into each other and just end up a mass of humanity. Rose grabs the belts and start using them as weapons. Then Martel grabs one from Barr and uses it a weapon too and it ends up with each team having one belt as the heels take a powder.
It ends as a double countout and obviously sets up a money match to come (they push the singles match between Rose/Martel to Saturday and do a lumberjack match on Tuesday). It breaks down AGAIN after they announce it. Definitely a top 10 Portland match from what I've seen and maybe one of the best tag matches I've seen in the whole decade.
Piper and Rose to start. Stooging right from the get go as Wiskowski holds Piper from the outside but Roddy ducks and Buddy nails his partner. This is followed immediately by a ridiculously awesome Rose somersault bump off of a turnbuckle treatment in the corner and both heels bumping huge for Piper's punches to the fans' delight. Bit of back and forth before Martel tags in to a huge pop and he starts unloading on a begging off Buddy. Martel grinds a headlock to a ten count and tags in Piper who's about to grab Rose when he does a slow fall backwards.The timing on this stuff is great. Piper slaps on the headlock, repeats the ten grinds as the fans count along and then hits a dropkick knocking Rose out of the ring. Buddy's falling all over the place on the outside selling, stumbling, and asking for time out. He rolls in to a flying mare, that cool double stomp face split, and a head drop from Piper but manages to get a knee up in the corner and a quick enough tag to Wiskowski that they stop the tag to Martel and we get the beginnings of a heat segment. Great shine.
Wiskoski is going back to the double stomach claw he used vs Boyd which is a good visual move for him given his size. Ah, Piper's left side of the back was injured in an attack by the Army apparently, so they're honing in on that especially. Piper's great in the hold, struggling and trying to get over to make the tag. Rose runs around to nail Martel with a cheapshot delaying it and allowing Ed to snap on a nice looking bodyscissors roll to get Piper away from the corner. He keeps the hold on, continuing on the ribs/side while Piper tries to work towards the corner again. Great sense of struggle here as the fans go nuts in support and Martel reaches for all he's worth from outside. At one point, Piper gets his foot over and Martel grabs it, trying to drag him over, but Barr breaks it up. Then Piper starts flailing wildly with his arms to make a potential tag (still in the body scissors) until Wiskowski uses his side to scoot back to the center of the ring and it's all top notch stuff. Rose tags in and slaps the hold on again, doing some big leverage moves to sort of atomic drop Piper on the ma and tries to turn it into a pin. Piper scrambles for the corner, but Rose quickly tags Ed and they cut him off. Piper goes through the legs but Wiskowski manages to position himself between Roddy and Rick. Piper fights his way out of the heel corner, DIVES for the tag with a whipped out arm, but Wiskowki grabs his foot at the last second and pulls him back and then quickly grabs the clawhold again, with a added jab, to stop Piper long enough for Rose to come back in, but Piper's just too determined and he manages to roll away at the last second for the hot tag. That was one of the best hot tag sequences I've ever seen and Martel has almost Promethean fire empowering him as he cleans house, with punches, an awesome looking hip through, a few quick, tight dropkicks, and a 'rana into a pin for the fall. This was one of the best single falls I've seen in Portland and that's saying a lot.
Second fall starts with Wiskowski trying to start, but Barr disallows it. Heels conference in the corner and Martel slams their heads together. They do some quick rope running and after a backslide, I thought they were going to keep it up and do Savage/Steamboat near falls for a second. Instead, Rose rolls out and stalls to work the crowd. He walks around the ring, rolls in and tags Wiskowski from a prone position. His mannerisms are really great. Martel and Wiskowski start working a headlock base (Martel in charge). Rose blind tags in after a minute or two but ends up in a headlock too. Martel's very good at working this. His diving reversal of Rose's hairpull is particularly good. Buddy keeps trying to cheat his way out, by grabbing the hair or tights. Piper goads Wiskowski around the apron and then does a blind switch with Martel while Barr is distracted. Barr catches the end of it and looks bemused. It's kind of weird to see Piper do running headlock takeovers off the turnbuckles. Piper positions Buddy into the corner for the tag they do a cute little spot where Piper lets go of the headlock, Buddy rears back, and Martel catches the hand from behind and puts him right back into the headlock. Martel does a great backflip off the turnbuckle and then that corner hiptoss of his I really like. Buddy ducks away from a dropkick though and it's one of the best missed dropkicks I've ever seen. There's this super fast element of flailing feet that's just great.
Rose makes it to the corner and Wiskowski starts on Martel's ribs (where he landed after the dropkick). Martel's selling is so good, as in "one of the best ever" good in this. Wiskowski is both methodological and dogged, keeping his offense varied and giving it time to breath as he stalks the selling Martel around the ring. using the ropes as a prop and switching stomps with a slam with a bearhug. He controls ring positioning with the bear hug, which lets Rose cut off a the beginning of a hope spot and tag in, using an Argentinian backbreaker, which I've not seen him use before. He marches Martel back into the corner and drops his head onto the turnbuckle before just exchanging it with Wiskowski in a cool looking moment. Piper rushes in to break it up but Wiskowski just slaps on the bear hug again. This is a great heat segment and very different than the Piper one from the first fall. Rose, cheerleading on the outside, jumped on the bottom turnbuckle and broke the rope. I assume that was a mistake. Anyway, Piper gets fed up again and comes in. Barr gets distracted. Buddy comes in without a tag. He clotheslines Piper on the top rope with a catapult and lands him on his knees, working int into a backbreaker hold. Martel bridges up to the ropes and drops a knee. Rose cuts him off and tries to slam his head onto the mat, but Martel reverses it, so Rose desperately punches Piper off the apron to prevent a tag. Great moment. Buddy rolls Martel up but Piper rushes in and starts pounding on him. Barr restrains him. Wiskowski runs in and Rose grabs the broken turnbuckle and smashes it across Martel's back. Wiskowski puts the bear hug back on and drives him down to a pinning situation but Martel tries to fight his way on top out of it. I'm amazed that wasn't the end of the fall. They really protect Martel in this. Barr breaks the hold and Wiskowski clubbers and hits an atomic drop but Piper breaks up the pin. Rose comes in. Martel leap frogs him off the ropes but Buddy turns it around catching him in basically a boss man slam Robinson backbreaker variation that looks awesome and I'm not sure anyone had ever seen before. This time Wiskowski comes in to cut off Piper and that's the second fall. Great stuff, with a finish way ahead of its time in both details and complexity.
Third fall has the rope fixed. Martel is still reeling. They start on Martel but he reverses a Wiskowski suplex. Rose gets a phantom tag and tries to cut him off, but Martel reverses a gutwrench suplex and then a headlock into a back suplex. He's not able to follow up at all though due to the hurting back and how he keeps using his back to reverse. Rose tags out to Wiskowski who cuts him off but Martel fights back with punches in the corner, selling huge as he does. He's basically using the ropes to stand up and to even help with a forward kick that knocks Wiskowski down. The heels are so dogged in keeping him from tagging though. Wiskowski uses his superior size to drag him back to his corner and Rose comes in. Martel fights his way out of the corner again and this time finally gets the molten hot tag. I'm not sure I've ever seen a hot tag that was harder to work for. It was almost too hard, but not quite.
Piper wailing away on Rose in the corner is pretty amazing. The crowd has come unglued. Piper hits some big knee lifts on both heels. Wiskowski begs off but gets a double eye poke for his trouble. Roddy tosses him out but Barr stops him from going after. Rose tries a sneak attack to Piper's back but Piper shrugs it off and just nails him off the apron. It's distraction enough (and just really smart, detailed oriented wrestling, of which Portland might have the distinction for having more of than anywhere else ever) for Wiskowski to come back in and get a cheap punch in. They do a cool combo slingshot, back body drop with Rose coming in and chucking Piper over the top. Buddy tries to go after Piper on the outside but Martel chases him around the ring, pummeling him. This lets Wiskowski work on Piper with all four guys outside of the ring. Piper fights back and they slam the heels together.
They're brawling like madmen here with the faces just wailing away and the bell ringing repeatedly and the crowd screaming. Faces finally lock on double sleepers in the center of the ring but they all crash into each other and just end up a mass of humanity. Rose grabs the belts and start using them as weapons. Then Martel grabs one from Barr and uses it a weapon too and it ends up with each team having one belt as the heels take a powder.
It ends as a double countout and obviously sets up a money match to come (they push the singles match between Rose/Martel to Saturday and do a lumberjack match on Tuesday). It breaks down AGAIN after they announce it. Definitely a top 10 Portland match from what I've seen and maybe one of the best tag matches I've seen in the whole decade.
The Army (Buddy Rose/Ed Wiskowski/Fidel Cortez) vs Sheepherders/Jonathan Boyd - 7/19/80 - 2/3 Falls
They're still running Rose/Wiskowski vs Sheepherders at the top of the card and hyping a potential double hair match (Wiskowski AND the Sheepherders want nothing to do with it. Buddy would have to take off the mask). Apparently the 'herders at this point are selling gimmick photos of Rose without hair. Brilliant. How is Don Owen not a great promoter? There's a great promo before this where Rose offers Wiskowski his purse money if he goes along with the match. He finally convinces him.
Anyway, Cortez has your typical Cuban Assassin Castro look down to the hat and cigar. Boyd gets a HUGE reaction. Cortez and Boyd starts and Cortez is not bad at stooging and has pretty good facial expressions here in the early shine armwork, which is pretty good and moves along nicely. Finally, he forces his way to the corner, tags in Buddy and the crowd pops big for Buddy vs Boyd, so, of course, Rose immediately tags out to Wiskowski and the two of them go at it. Boyd gets the better of it and the crowd is hugely into this. They go back to armwork on Wiskowski and it's all very solid. They cut off Ed getting to the corner a few times, but he finally snatches a leg between his own only to get kicked off right into Rose in a fun comedy spot. Poor Ed finally (and dramatically) reaches Cortez. Buddy tries to interfere immediately thereafter but Boyd runs around and stops him to the crowd's delight. Cortez finally gets lucky and puts a chinlock on Luke, but the fans chant him up and he nails a hart attack clothesline off the ropes and goes right back to armwork. Cortez fights back again, this time on Miller, but Butch reverses a corner whip and ambles to his corner letting Boyd come in.
The heels triple team Boyd, with Rose finally getting his chickenshit hands on him, but Boyd comes back huge on Wiskowki, slams him, and hits the big bombs away knee from the top to take the fall. Really entertaining first fall.
I wonder if Barr was the only ref in the territory. Past Dutch Savage, occasionally, I haven't seen anyone else ref. That had to be tiring. Anyway, heels tried to sneak another guy in to start the second fall but it had to be Wiskowki. Boyd does this kind of neat nipple nerve lock thing. Heels menace from the outside but faces counter. Miller tags in. Faces double team and Wiskowski stooges back into his corner. Cortez comes in and hits a butt attack to reverse a shoulder throw. Miller starts to sell the shoulder from this and the ensuing stomp to the outside. Cortez looks pretty good to be honest. I'm not sure why I haven't heard of him before. Heels do a King of the Mountain with Barr continuously distracted before finally letting Miller in. This is a perfectly fine heat segment. I like Cortez' overblown stomps, which send Miller out the ring the other side. Heels get him on the outside again as Cortez faces off against Williams on the apron to distract. Miller's back in the ring and they're keeping him from the corner effectively, cutting off the ring and grinding down with pedestrian holds. Miller gets a hope spot off of an eye gough escape but the heels tag quickly and cut it off. He works from underneath, literally with good looking strikes but Buddy gets the tag and cuts him off. They sort of stumble through a back elbow reversal spot and Boyd gets the hot tag and finally gets in with Rose. He keeps tossing Buddy out and dragging him back in but Buddy makes it to his corner to Cortez who gets a quick clothesline or two on Williams, followed by a nice looking grounded cobra clutch and that's the second fall. It's really amazing how Williams is positioned below Miller. You don't think of the Sheepherders like that.
Third fall starts with Cortez clotheslining Williams (who was still on the apron heading back in) on the top rope). He sells the throat and the heels keep on it cheaply while distracting the ref. Buddy uses a nice cravat. He grinds it and wrenches it well as Williams sells. Then Wiskowski does the same. Most of Luke's hope spots here are eyerakes and bites but the crowd is into them and the cut offs are well timed. Williams' works well from underneath, working towards his corner while in a neck vice. Wiskowski runs around and pulls Miller off the apron to help prevent a hot tag. This is sort of interesting. It's something that I hadn't seen at all in 79-80 and now they've done it two times in a month or so. It was very similar to when they started to implement the ref missing hot tags after never doing that before. You wonder if Wiskowski saw it in another territory and brought it in or what.
Anyway, hot tag to Boyd. Crowd goes nuts. He charges into the corner too quickly though and Rose gets his knees up. Considering how hot he's been for Rose all match this was good. Heel start to dismantle him, with Wiskowski and then Cortez doing a revenge claw hold from how Boyd did it to them earlier. This is instead of targeting the shoulder and it's a mistake as Boyd gets out and to the corner for a sort of heatless tag to Williams as Rose comes in. Williams gets some revenge for the long heat segments, but he jams his arm on a missed knee drop and has to roll over for Miller who gets a big pop and immediately starts to beat on Rose. Cortez comes in to break up a pin and everything breaks down. Boyd chases Cortez back to the dressing room, but in the chaos Wiskowski (who had put on the wig and was NOT the legal man) sneaks into the ring and rolls up Miller, grabbing the tights, for a three. Pretty strong finish with the end result being that the Sheepherders are so pissed off they accept the hair tag match, which is now in a cage.
Really good six man. Boyd brought a lot to the table and I rather liked Cortez actually.
Anyway, Cortez has your typical Cuban Assassin Castro look down to the hat and cigar. Boyd gets a HUGE reaction. Cortez and Boyd starts and Cortez is not bad at stooging and has pretty good facial expressions here in the early shine armwork, which is pretty good and moves along nicely. Finally, he forces his way to the corner, tags in Buddy and the crowd pops big for Buddy vs Boyd, so, of course, Rose immediately tags out to Wiskowski and the two of them go at it. Boyd gets the better of it and the crowd is hugely into this. They go back to armwork on Wiskowski and it's all very solid. They cut off Ed getting to the corner a few times, but he finally snatches a leg between his own only to get kicked off right into Rose in a fun comedy spot. Poor Ed finally (and dramatically) reaches Cortez. Buddy tries to interfere immediately thereafter but Boyd runs around and stops him to the crowd's delight. Cortez finally gets lucky and puts a chinlock on Luke, but the fans chant him up and he nails a hart attack clothesline off the ropes and goes right back to armwork. Cortez fights back again, this time on Miller, but Butch reverses a corner whip and ambles to his corner letting Boyd come in.
The heels triple team Boyd, with Rose finally getting his chickenshit hands on him, but Boyd comes back huge on Wiskowki, slams him, and hits the big bombs away knee from the top to take the fall. Really entertaining first fall.
I wonder if Barr was the only ref in the territory. Past Dutch Savage, occasionally, I haven't seen anyone else ref. That had to be tiring. Anyway, heels tried to sneak another guy in to start the second fall but it had to be Wiskowki. Boyd does this kind of neat nipple nerve lock thing. Heels menace from the outside but faces counter. Miller tags in. Faces double team and Wiskowski stooges back into his corner. Cortez comes in and hits a butt attack to reverse a shoulder throw. Miller starts to sell the shoulder from this and the ensuing stomp to the outside. Cortez looks pretty good to be honest. I'm not sure why I haven't heard of him before. Heels do a King of the Mountain with Barr continuously distracted before finally letting Miller in. This is a perfectly fine heat segment. I like Cortez' overblown stomps, which send Miller out the ring the other side. Heels get him on the outside again as Cortez faces off against Williams on the apron to distract. Miller's back in the ring and they're keeping him from the corner effectively, cutting off the ring and grinding down with pedestrian holds. Miller gets a hope spot off of an eye gough escape but the heels tag quickly and cut it off. He works from underneath, literally with good looking strikes but Buddy gets the tag and cuts him off. They sort of stumble through a back elbow reversal spot and Boyd gets the hot tag and finally gets in with Rose. He keeps tossing Buddy out and dragging him back in but Buddy makes it to his corner to Cortez who gets a quick clothesline or two on Williams, followed by a nice looking grounded cobra clutch and that's the second fall. It's really amazing how Williams is positioned below Miller. You don't think of the Sheepherders like that.
Third fall starts with Cortez clotheslining Williams (who was still on the apron heading back in) on the top rope). He sells the throat and the heels keep on it cheaply while distracting the ref. Buddy uses a nice cravat. He grinds it and wrenches it well as Williams sells. Then Wiskowski does the same. Most of Luke's hope spots here are eyerakes and bites but the crowd is into them and the cut offs are well timed. Williams' works well from underneath, working towards his corner while in a neck vice. Wiskowski runs around and pulls Miller off the apron to help prevent a hot tag. This is sort of interesting. It's something that I hadn't seen at all in 79-80 and now they've done it two times in a month or so. It was very similar to when they started to implement the ref missing hot tags after never doing that before. You wonder if Wiskowski saw it in another territory and brought it in or what.
Anyway, hot tag to Boyd. Crowd goes nuts. He charges into the corner too quickly though and Rose gets his knees up. Considering how hot he's been for Rose all match this was good. Heel start to dismantle him, with Wiskowski and then Cortez doing a revenge claw hold from how Boyd did it to them earlier. This is instead of targeting the shoulder and it's a mistake as Boyd gets out and to the corner for a sort of heatless tag to Williams as Rose comes in. Williams gets some revenge for the long heat segments, but he jams his arm on a missed knee drop and has to roll over for Miller who gets a big pop and immediately starts to beat on Rose. Cortez comes in to break up a pin and everything breaks down. Boyd chases Cortez back to the dressing room, but in the chaos Wiskowski (who had put on the wig and was NOT the legal man) sneaks into the ring and rolls up Miller, grabbing the tights, for a three. Pretty strong finish with the end result being that the Sheepherders are so pissed off they accept the hair tag match, which is now in a cage.
Really good six man. Boyd brought a lot to the table and I rather liked Cortez actually.
Buddy Rose/Ed Wiskowski vs Sheepherders - 7/5/80 - 2/3 Falls - Non-Title
Sound is a little muted which is strange for these, but we'll do our best. Face Sheepherders are fun. Butch is dancing along to the "We Want Butch" chants. He's the only man in the world who can sell punches by moving his jaw like he was chewing. Anyway, Wiskowski tries outpunching Miller only to get beaten and slides through the ropes comedically like they were, well, a slide. They do a cute little spot where Rose gets knocked off the apron before the tag and then after the tag. He still has the mask. He draws Williams into the corner, does a cheapshot kick but gets reversed into the corner and Williams starts to dismantle him with strikes. Finally, Wiskowski draws Butch in and as the ref gets him out, he hits a cheapshot on Williams from the outside and the heels take over.
Long and uninteresting chinlock on Williams from Wiskowski until Luke uses the hair to get out. Quick tag to buddy cuts off the hope though. Heels are cutting off the ring. Wiskowski's headlock punches are great. They do a parallel spot from before where Ed takes out Miller on the apron (With Buddy hitting he exclamation point on the outside) meaning that Luke, twice, can't get the hot tag. Once Wiskowski sets up a nice roll up nearfall out of it. The second time, Buddy leans in heelishly and when Miller recovers to break up a pin, he's stuck with Barr thus missing a third tag attempt by not being in the corner. He gets knocked off again and Rose attacks him on the outside AGAIN and we get a FOURTH missed tag. This is good, focused stuff as they just keep on tagging in and out and dismantling Williams and deceitfully and brutally preventing a tag. Buddy does the body drop to the shoulders, which is something I've seen Ed do, but not Buddy. Eventually Buddy cheatingly attacks Williams from the outside and Butch drives him away from ringside. This means that they can't prevent the hot tag and the crowd comes unglued when they get it. Butch hits his big back elbow and an elbow drop and takes the fall. Really well timed/executed/conceived first fall (And different than anything we've seen over the last year+).
Second fall starts with Miller tagging in Williams, who is rightfully pissed and Buddy begging off. Buddy misses a back elbow. Luke hits a flying back elbow and then a knee drop but just for a two count this time. Miller comes back in and riles the crowd up but Buddy dives under the ropes and tries to tag. Barr prevents it and the Sheepherders each take a leg and pull Buddy back to his corner. Funny stuff. When Barr complains, Buddy almost gets the tag again but is cut off hilariously. The transition is fun. Buddy takes two knee drops to the inside of the thigh by Luke and kicks out of a lateral press. Then he grabs Williams' head and claps his legs around it, stunning him long enough to get the tag to Wiskowski. Clever little ring general move out of Buddy.
Ed batters a bit and slaps on a chinlock. It's a good camera angle and Luke's expressions sort of make it interesting. Buddy draws Butch in from the apron and then blindsides him to the outside when Barr yells at him. Buddy keeps on Miller outside meaning that when Luke goes for the tag, there's no one there. Heels keep on Williams including a beautiful elbow drop by Buddy and the big diving headbutt from Ed. Buddy keeps Miller from entering the ring from the outside and that's the second fall. It's really cool they went back to their original tactic. The diversity in these matches is amazing. I've seen dozens of tag matches put of Portland in 79-80 and this is the first time they've done anything like this and they build the entire match out of it. It's an element of Rose and these matches that you'd never ever know if you didn't see all of them like I'm doing but it's downright amazing. The variation in these matches while keeping everything logical and grounded and reaching such high levels of storytelling on a weekly basis is like nothing I've ever seen or heard of.
Between falls, Buddy keeps going to the top and teases jumping off but doesn't get to because Miller gets up or Barr gets in his way. Third fall starts with Williams still beaten up. Buddy shoulder shrugs him out through the bottom rope and they keep on him on the outside until Miller can come and protect him with a nice brotherly hug. Heels draw Williams back to their corner and doubleteam (one holds, one hits). Williams fights back but loses to the numbers' game. This time though, Buddy goes for a big knee off the ropes and Luke moves, meaning that Buddy hits Wiskowski and we get a hot tag. Everything breaks down. Heels are whipped together and Ed goes flying athletically through the ropes. Sheepherders hit the DOUBLE GUTBUSTER which I think is the first time I see them do that. Williams won't leave the ring though and this gives Buddy time to get a chair and start to clear house. He gets DQed but they open up Miller with it. Buddy throws Barr out of the ring but Piper comes out with a chair to clear the ring. Buddy and Ed keep trying to attack from the outside. The fans are so riled that some get involved. Bonnema: "You wouldn't go to a football game and make a tackle." Etc.
Anyway, my gushing about variation and switching things up aside, this was a lot of fun. The heels had a tactic which worked for them most of the first fall, backfired leading to the fall itself, and worked wonders leading to the second fall before everything broke down at the end. Great stuff as always. The post match sets up a Cole Miner's Death Match with Piper as ref.
Long and uninteresting chinlock on Williams from Wiskowski until Luke uses the hair to get out. Quick tag to buddy cuts off the hope though. Heels are cutting off the ring. Wiskowski's headlock punches are great. They do a parallel spot from before where Ed takes out Miller on the apron (With Buddy hitting he exclamation point on the outside) meaning that Luke, twice, can't get the hot tag. Once Wiskowski sets up a nice roll up nearfall out of it. The second time, Buddy leans in heelishly and when Miller recovers to break up a pin, he's stuck with Barr thus missing a third tag attempt by not being in the corner. He gets knocked off again and Rose attacks him on the outside AGAIN and we get a FOURTH missed tag. This is good, focused stuff as they just keep on tagging in and out and dismantling Williams and deceitfully and brutally preventing a tag. Buddy does the body drop to the shoulders, which is something I've seen Ed do, but not Buddy. Eventually Buddy cheatingly attacks Williams from the outside and Butch drives him away from ringside. This means that they can't prevent the hot tag and the crowd comes unglued when they get it. Butch hits his big back elbow and an elbow drop and takes the fall. Really well timed/executed/conceived first fall (And different than anything we've seen over the last year+).
Second fall starts with Miller tagging in Williams, who is rightfully pissed and Buddy begging off. Buddy misses a back elbow. Luke hits a flying back elbow and then a knee drop but just for a two count this time. Miller comes back in and riles the crowd up but Buddy dives under the ropes and tries to tag. Barr prevents it and the Sheepherders each take a leg and pull Buddy back to his corner. Funny stuff. When Barr complains, Buddy almost gets the tag again but is cut off hilariously. The transition is fun. Buddy takes two knee drops to the inside of the thigh by Luke and kicks out of a lateral press. Then he grabs Williams' head and claps his legs around it, stunning him long enough to get the tag to Wiskowski. Clever little ring general move out of Buddy.
Ed batters a bit and slaps on a chinlock. It's a good camera angle and Luke's expressions sort of make it interesting. Buddy draws Butch in from the apron and then blindsides him to the outside when Barr yells at him. Buddy keeps on Miller outside meaning that when Luke goes for the tag, there's no one there. Heels keep on Williams including a beautiful elbow drop by Buddy and the big diving headbutt from Ed. Buddy keeps Miller from entering the ring from the outside and that's the second fall. It's really cool they went back to their original tactic. The diversity in these matches is amazing. I've seen dozens of tag matches put of Portland in 79-80 and this is the first time they've done anything like this and they build the entire match out of it. It's an element of Rose and these matches that you'd never ever know if you didn't see all of them like I'm doing but it's downright amazing. The variation in these matches while keeping everything logical and grounded and reaching such high levels of storytelling on a weekly basis is like nothing I've ever seen or heard of.
Between falls, Buddy keeps going to the top and teases jumping off but doesn't get to because Miller gets up or Barr gets in his way. Third fall starts with Williams still beaten up. Buddy shoulder shrugs him out through the bottom rope and they keep on him on the outside until Miller can come and protect him with a nice brotherly hug. Heels draw Williams back to their corner and doubleteam (one holds, one hits). Williams fights back but loses to the numbers' game. This time though, Buddy goes for a big knee off the ropes and Luke moves, meaning that Buddy hits Wiskowski and we get a hot tag. Everything breaks down. Heels are whipped together and Ed goes flying athletically through the ropes. Sheepherders hit the DOUBLE GUTBUSTER which I think is the first time I see them do that. Williams won't leave the ring though and this gives Buddy time to get a chair and start to clear house. He gets DQed but they open up Miller with it. Buddy throws Barr out of the ring but Piper comes out with a chair to clear the ring. Buddy and Ed keep trying to attack from the outside. The fans are so riled that some get involved. Bonnema: "You wouldn't go to a football game and make a tackle." Etc.
Anyway, my gushing about variation and switching things up aside, this was a lot of fun. The heels had a tactic which worked for them most of the first fall, backfired leading to the fall itself, and worked wonders leading to the second fall before everything broke down at the end. Great stuff as always. The post match sets up a Cole Miner's Death Match with Piper as ref.
Buddy Rose vs Butch Miller - 6/21/80 - Lumberjack Match
So the new army is Rose, Rogers, and Wiskowski, which is as good as a stable gets. Same crew that was there for the battle royal is there, basically. Buddy still has the hair mask. Miller's early offense is a bunch of shots up and down. The ones to the gut Rose sells huge. I feel like Miller had some of his later mannerisms already a a heel but as a face, they're all there. Buddy can't escape so Butch is all over him with measured blows, stalking around the ring. Rose finally makes it out but he ends up right by Luke and Roddy and gets rolled back in. Miller goes for the mask and Buddy rakes the eyes and takes over.
He's in the corner Flair chopping which I haven't seen him do much before. Fans are chanting for Butch but Buddy sends him out by the heels. The faces come over to stop them but Buddy still is able to kick him right back out. They're using the toss-outs as transitions, as Butch comes back with kicks of his own when he comes back in. Rose rabbits! The faces (And Volkoff, the commie scum!) bring him back. No transition this time as Butch keeps on him. He had a pretty good flying back elbow at this point. He follows up with an elbow drop but misses. Rose rolls him up off the rope wanting to end this but Butch kicks out and drives Buddy's head into the mat for a near-fall (With Roddy knocking his feet off the ropes). Buddy tries to rabbit again but gets dragged back. The crowd is loving this. He comes back in to a Miller slam but reverses a pile driver.
Buddy hits a body slam of his own and hits a top rope splash! I like how active the lumberjacks are here. This time Luke tried to stop him but Buddy was too quick. Big spot but just a two count. Rose complains too much and Miller starts on him again with a double turnbuckle treatment. He goes for the mask again but Rip is up on the apron. He throws in a chain but Roddy sees it and tries to stop. He gets nailed but it gives Butch time to take out Rose from behind. and get the win I THINK what happens is that he slams into him and Buddy goes crashing into the corner, head hitting his outstretched hands, including the chain. It's a pretty cool, quick visual moment.
Everything breaks down post match with Buddy getting the upperhand on the faces with the chain which leads to Roddy finally getting past his differences and teaming with the Sheepherders in a big moment. Very fun for what it was with an extremely clever finish.
EDIT: Context matters. There's a Rip vs Roddy match from earlier that night which is super, just a great under-seven minutes match which has a finish where Buddy threw the chain to rip that made the finish of the later match even better. Piper's promo between the two matches is really good too.
He's in the corner Flair chopping which I haven't seen him do much before. Fans are chanting for Butch but Buddy sends him out by the heels. The faces come over to stop them but Buddy still is able to kick him right back out. They're using the toss-outs as transitions, as Butch comes back with kicks of his own when he comes back in. Rose rabbits! The faces (And Volkoff, the commie scum!) bring him back. No transition this time as Butch keeps on him. He had a pretty good flying back elbow at this point. He follows up with an elbow drop but misses. Rose rolls him up off the rope wanting to end this but Butch kicks out and drives Buddy's head into the mat for a near-fall (With Roddy knocking his feet off the ropes). Buddy tries to rabbit again but gets dragged back. The crowd is loving this. He comes back in to a Miller slam but reverses a pile driver.
Buddy hits a body slam of his own and hits a top rope splash! I like how active the lumberjacks are here. This time Luke tried to stop him but Buddy was too quick. Big spot but just a two count. Rose complains too much and Miller starts on him again with a double turnbuckle treatment. He goes for the mask again but Rip is up on the apron. He throws in a chain but Roddy sees it and tries to stop. He gets nailed but it gives Butch time to take out Rose from behind. and get the win I THINK what happens is that he slams into him and Buddy goes crashing into the corner, head hitting his outstretched hands, including the chain. It's a pretty cool, quick visual moment.
Everything breaks down post match with Buddy getting the upperhand on the faces with the chain which leads to Roddy finally getting past his differences and teaming with the Sheepherders in a big moment. Very fun for what it was with an extremely clever finish.
EDIT: Context matters. There's a Rip vs Roddy match from earlier that night which is super, just a great under-seven minutes match which has a finish where Buddy threw the chain to rip that made the finish of the later match even better. Piper's promo between the two matches is really good too.
Portland BATTLE ROYAL - 6/14/80
They moved the anything goes match with Miller and Rose to the Tuesday after the last match and switched the Battle Royal to Saturday which works for us as we get to see it. I am not going to go through this thing like usual. I'll just point out cool things in bullet point format.
-One interesting thing about the Portland footage I've been watching is that it's really just the top of the card. Sometimes there's the extra match but i rarely have sense of what's going on in the rest of the card. This is 13 men so it's everyone in the area at the time.
-Steve Pardee, Roddy Piper, Mike Hennesey, Martel, Ricky Hunter, Tough Tony Borne, Sal Martino, Luke and Butch, Chris F'n Colt! Igor Volkoff, Rose, Rip Rogers
-Rose is great from the get go, running in and out of the ring to avoid the Sheepherders. Piper is also great just unloading on everyone.
-The crowd is irate for Rose to go in the ring. Battle Royals were huge draws back then and you can feel the excitement here.
-Ha! Sandy Barr is just chasing Buddy around ringside trying to cajole him in. Now one of the Sheepherders is chasing after him.
-Bonnema says it's a minimum $1500 purse "probably more with side bets" which is such a cool idea that it's a shame it gets brushed over so quickly.
-Okay, this is one of the coolest Battle Royal spots of all time. Sal Martino has Rip held and Pardee is about to dropkick him. Buddy comes flying in the ring, disrupts the dropkick out of nowhere allowing Rip to move and Pardee to accidentally dropkick Martino out. Buddy keeps on moving out of the ring. The timing on this is amazing.
-Buddy pulls Piper's tights from the outside. Piper comes out. Colt comes out and holds him. Martel comes out to break it up and Buddy rabbits around the ring again. He heads down the aisle but Martino is leaving ringside and threatens him back. Everyone hates poor Buddy.
-Piper is going at the Sheepherders (And Pardee) but not Martel. He was really made for 1980 Battle Royals
-I get worried that Chris Colt was eliminated, but he's just hiding. Tony Borne goes and it was nice to see him briefly.
-Buddy pulls Butch under the ring rope and out but gets reversed into the pole and they brawl on the outside.
-Piper and Martel just about have Rip out but Buddy grabs all three of them and pulls the mass of humanity out from the outside. The base villain.
-Chris Colt begs off against Hunter(?) for no reason! Go Chris Colt. Oops. He got eliminated.
-Buddy goes for the leg of Miller again meaning to drag him out but gets dragged in instead. We're down to Sheepherders, Hunter, Volkoff and Rose. Rose sends Volkoff after Hunter, but he's a scrappy fighter. Rose comes to help and they toss him.
-Heels and faces pair off as teams, but Buddy takes a powder letting the Sheepherders toss Volkoff. Fans go NUTS.
-A Fan runs in from the crowd with a cane. He starts taking out the security guards, coming REAL close to nailing a female one by accident which is kind of a jarring image. In the melee, one Sheepherder goes out. Buddy sets up the other for a shot and they toss him and that is how Ed Wiskowski returned to Portland.
Very fun battle royal with a great stooging performance by Buddy and a really good one by Piper. Post-match the faces run back in and the heels run, with Wiskowski getting in a shoving match with a fan on the way out.
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