NWA World Title In Japan DVD Set Disk Two
Nov 3, 2016 22:09:22 GMT -5
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Post by Shatter Machine on Nov 3, 2016 22:09:22 GMT -5
All of these matches are best two of three falls.
1974.12.02 AJPW at Kagoshima Prefectural Gymnasium, Kagoshima
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Giant Baba (PWF Champion)
I don’t think that there’s ever been a more overrated wrestler ever than Shohei Baba. He was tall, and that was about it. I guess that was enough for the Japanese fans. He takes Jack down with an armbar, but it doesn’t last long. He’s a lot quicker than I’ve seen, but then most of the stuff I’ve seen from Baba was a lot later in his career. Jack takes him down and starts working the knee. Baba gets a headlock, but Brisco takes him down and continues working the knee. It’s a sound strategy, work the leg of a man who towers over you, although Baba was 3” taller than Brisco, at most. (They billed Baba at 6’10”, but Jack was a legit 6’3”, and Baba seriously is no more than 6’6”, possibly 6’7” if he’s got lifts in his boots.) They do a ton of Baba fighting out of a leglock and Jack taking him back down. Baba reverses into a surfboard, and holy shit this is boring. Another odd thing about Baba that I’ve always thought about is how big his goddamn ribcage is. It’s like he stole someone else’s to add on to his. I’m literally waiting for something to happen to talk about. Jack reverses the surfboard, but Baba reverses right back. Jack runs him around the ring and gets the rope break. They lock up in the corner, and Jack gets a punch coming out. They exchange shots, then Baba hits an elbow and a dropkick. Russian legsweep gets the first fall for Baba at 11:47. The intermission is like 2 minutes, and when they start again, Baba nails a neckbreaker for 1. Brisco is on the run, so Baba knocks him down with chops. Jack gets shoulderblocks, then punches. Kneedrops get 2, then he goes to a chinlock. They roll around on the mat, but Jack holds on. Eventually, Baba fights out and nails a big kick for 2. Atomic drop by Baba for 2. Jack hits a back suplex and locks in the Figure – Four. Baba is right in the middle of the ring, and the ref calls for the bell. Brisco won’t let go for a minute, and it’s even at 17:26. The corner men are interesting, as Jack has (I think) Ken Mantell and Chris Markoff, while Baba has all the young boys and The Destroyer. Baba starts fall number 3 favoring his left knee, backing away from Brisco. Jack zooms in like a super predator, and Baba tries to fend him off. Jack takes him down and starts working the knee again. He teases the Figure – Four, but Baba fights him off, knocking him into the corner. Baba drives Jack’s head into his knee a couple of times, then nails the Russian Leg Sweep. Jack’s foot is on the ropes at 2. Jack gets the kneebreaker, and it’s starting to look bleak for Baba, but he gets a flying clothesline out of nowhere for the pin and the title. The crowd goes crazy, but not too crazy. This was certainly the best Giant Baba match I’ve ever seen, but it was by no means spectacular. (*** 20:46)
1974.12.05 AJPW at Nippon University Public Hall, Tokyo
Giant Baba (NWA World Champion & PWF Champion)
Vs
Jack Brisco
Same tour, only Baba is defending this time. This is not the match where Brisco regains the title, unfortunately. I can’t locate that one anywhere. I’ve got a ton of NWA title changes, but that one seems to be lost to the mists of time. For this match, Brisco has Jimmy Snuka in his corner, and Snuka looks like every villain from a 70’s cop show. They lock up, and I’m hoping against hope that this is better than the last one, but it starts really slow, with Jack using a headlock. Baba fights out, but Jack grabs the ropes before Baba can take him down. They lock up again, and Jack goes right back to the headlock. Baba starts fighting out, but Jack takes him down with the tights. Baba fights out, and works a wristlock. He takes Jack down with an armdrag, then goes to an armbar. Jack gets a rollup for 2, but Baba takes him right back down with an armdrag into an armbar. Sigh. I’m all about mat wrestling, if it tells a story, but this is just boring. Baba takes him down with a modified arm – breaker, then starts with a stretch on the mat. Jack starts working his knee at about ten minutes in, then they go to the mat again. They go to standing, and Baba gets an airplane spin, but it only gets 2. Russian Leg Sweep for 2 by Baba. Brisco with a dropkick, then a backdrop suplex gets the pin and the first fall at 13:53. Jack gets a series of elbows to the head, then knocks Baba to the mat. He drops knees, but misses a third, and Baba starts stomping away on him. He works Brisco’s knee, then he gets a Boston Crab. Brisco makes the ropes, though, so Baba lays in some weak – looking stomps. Slam gets 2. Russian Leg Sweep gets 2. Brisco gets a backslide for 2, but Baba nails a neckbreaker for the pin and second fall at 17:46. Baba’s offense looks so, so bad. I can’t describe how weak it looks. Fall three starts with Brisco cowering in the corner. He bails to the floor, then they start duking it out, with Baba getting chops and Brisco bailing out again. Back in, and Baba starts pummeling him. Big chop gets 2. Face buster, then a chop gets 2. Another knee smash, then a second. That gets 2. Brisco gets a sunset flip for 2. Dropkick by Brisco, but Baba swats a second one away. Backbreaker by Baba ges 2. He goes for the neckbreaker, but Brisco grabs the ropes. They totally botch a spot where Baba is supposed to fall on Brisco coming off the ropes on a back suplex, but he rolls over on him for the pin anyway to retain. Even Jack Brisco couldn’t save this one. (* ¾ 23:46)
Brisco would regain the title from Baba on December 9, 1974. He would make a couple more return trips to Japan as champion.
1975.03.13 AJPW at Nippon University Hall, Tokyo
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Bobo Brazil
Crikey. Bobo was a spry 50 years old here, and well past his prime. Fun fact: I’ve never seen Bobo wrestle, but I hear he was quite the draw back in the day. And the lighting on this, coupled with Bobo’s skin tone, means that after viewing this match, I still might not have seen him wrestle. Bobo jumps him before the bell, hitting headbutts, and getting the first fall in 27 seconds. He’s frothing at the mouth, it’s insane. He keeps at it in the second fall, getting another near – fall off a headbutt. Jack starts firing back, and Bobo is begging off two minutes in. Jack drops a knee, but Bobo cuts him off. Brisco takes him down and starts working the knee. He turns Bobo over in a half – crab, but Bobo powers out. Jack takes him right back down and continues on the knee. They get tied in a leg grapevine, with Bobo controlling, but Brisco escapes and almost gets the Figure – Four. He stays on it, and Bobo is really, really vocal in the ring. He escapes and gets a headlock, but Jack gets a Figure – Four for the submission at 7:22. The third fall starts with Jack hammering the knee in the corner and Bobo collapsing. Bobo’s second (no idea who it is) keeps trying to interfere, but Jack fends him off. Bobo chokes him out in the corner, then thumbs him in the eye. Double knee and a headbutt gets 2 for Bobo. Jack fires back, and they totally mistime something. Bobo sends him to the buckle, and Brisco gets an inside cradle for 2. Bobo chokes him out in a front facelock on the mat, but Jack reverses into a hammerlock. They go to the ropes for the break, and Jack drops both knees. Bobo heels it right up with punches, chokes, and throat shots, then a headbutt sends Jack to the apron. While the ref admonishes Bobo, his second chokes Brisco on the apron. Bobo sends Jack to the floor on the other side, and they brawl there. Bobo and his second assault Jack, and the ref throws the whole thing out with Jack winning by DQ in the third fall. Unbelievably bad match. Don’t know what they were thinking giving Bobo Fucking Brazil a world title match in 1975. (½ * 14:12)
Brisco would drop the title to Terry Funk on 12/10/75 in Miami, in a match that I’ve seen snippets of. It was okay, but not great. Pretty typical of the time.
1976.06.11 AJPW at Kurame Kokugikan, Tokyo
Terry Funk (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
Some NWA officials read proclamations, including Jim Crockett, who holds the belt up for all to see. Funk has Bob Geigel in his corner. They wrestle on the mat at the start, feeling each other out. Funk works an armbar, then a hammerlock, but Jumbo picks him up and puts him on the top turnbuckle. Terry gets an overhand wristlock, driving Jumbo backwards, but he powers back up. Funk takes him down and starts working the arm on the mat. They fight over a surfboard, with Funk winning initially, but Jumbo eventually reversing it. Jumbo starts working his arm, and Funk just lays in the stiffest chops you will ever see. Holy shit. Jumbo gets a backslide for 2 after a nice reversal sequence, then he goes to the armbar again. Funk is an absolute master of selling the armwork, all the while trying to improve his position. He gets an atomic drop, but misses an elbow, and Jumbo gets an armdrag and goes right back to the armbar. This is classic storytelling: grab a hold, work some spots around it, go back to the hold. Funk mows him down with a shoulderblock, and a butterfly suplex gets 2, Jumbo gets 2 with a rolling reverse, then a sunset flip wins the first fall at 15:55. Terry starts the second fall on the floor, but he comes in quickly. Terry starts working as a subtle heel here, swatting at Jumbo’s head. They exchange chops, then do the test of strength. Funk hits a neckbreaker for 2. He gets that odd neck splash that Dory did against Brisco for 2, then a piledriver. That gets a long 2. He dumps Jumbo to the floor and follows him out. Funk hits a dropkick there, then he runs Jumbo into the buckles on the apron. Funk flips him back in and goes to a chinlock, so we will see some high spots here soon. He holds it for longer than you’d expect, but Jumbo starts hitting elbows. Forearm sends Funk to the floor, in a way that only Terry Funk can do. Suplex in, which gets 2. They fight over a rolling cradle, and Funk gets the pin at 21:55 to even it up. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, but Geigel is on the apron to distract the ref. Funk dumps him to the floor, where Geigel gets in a cheap shot. Gut wrench suplex gets 2. Jumbo blocks and reverses a second one for 2. He stomps away, then gets a brief chinlock. Jumbo with a butterfly suplex for 2. Funk hits a back suplex and both guys are down. They each get 2 on a rolling reverse. Jumbo sends him to the corner, then hits a backbreaker for 2. Back suplex by Jumbo, but it only gets 1. Terry leapfrogs him, then gets a Stun Gun for the pin. That was an amazing match. You could tell that Jumbo was destined for great things. (**** ½ 27:07)
Funk would hold the title for a while, then drop it on 2/6/1977 to Harley Race, who would basically hold it for most of the next four years, with the exceptions of dropping it for a few days here and there to guys like Baba (twice), Dusty Rhodes, and Tommy Rich.
1977.06.11 AJPW at Setagaya Ward Gymnasium, Tokyo
Harley Race (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
I’m puzzled as to why Jumbo keeps getting all the title shots when the NWA Champion comes in. Was he that big of a star? I didn’t think he was a tippy-top guy until much later, like around 1984 or so. Curiouser and curiouser. I’ve never seen very much of Race in his prime, but he was quite the bump machine. Jumbo hip tosses him and grabs an armbar. Race picks him up and hits a backbreaker. Slam by Race, slam by Jumbo, and Jumbo goes back to the armbar. Race hits a gut – wrench suplex for 2. They trade slams and backbreakers, but when Jumbo goes for a butterfly suplex, Race sprawls on him and forces the break in the ropes. He snapmares Jumbo over and drops that Harley Race knee, then works a front facelock. Jumbo escapes and hits two consecutive high knees and a butterfly suplex to win the first fall at 8:26. Race backs off to start the second fall, but buries a knee to the gut and hits a shoulderbreaker for 2. Piledriver gets 2. Jumbo counters and reverses a gut-wrench into one of his own, but misses an elbow. Race drops another knee, then another, then ANOTHER for 2. He gets a roll into a front facelock. Jumbo gets a small package after fighting out, but it only gets 2. More knees, then Race does a falling headbutt, and a second, but that only gets 2. Race goes into the front facelock again, but Jumbo reverses into a hammerlock and rolls him over for 1. He stays with the hammerlock for a bit, then transitions to a surfboard. Race fights out and takes him down, dropping an elbow for 2. Jumbo misses a charge to the corner, posting himself, and Race suplexes him. Race gets an Indian Deathlock, and after a couple of drops, Jumbo submits the second fall at 16:34. The third fall starts with them circling again, but Jumbo’s knee is compromised. Race with a kneebreaker, but Jumbo blocks the Indian Deathlock. Race starts working a leg grapevine, but Jumbo hits him with a leg across the face to escape. Gut-wrench by Jumbo for 2. Huge dropkick by Jumbo, but a second one misses. Race gets yet another front facelock, but Jumbo suplexes out of it for a couple of 2 counts. They butt heads, and both guys are down. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, but Race hiptosses out of it and hits a falling headbutt. He goes up, but Jumbo slams him off. Race gets knees up on a splash, and they go tumbling over the top on a crossbody, with Jumbo getting the worst of it. Race with a slam, Jumbo with a slam, and that gets 2. Jumbo misses a running kneelift, and Race gets an inside cradle for the pin. That was excellent. (**** ¼ 21:58) After the match, Race is presented with a trophy and raises Jumbo’s hand.
Race would hold the title until August of 1979, where he’d drop it to Dusty Rhodes in Tampa, then regain it from him five days later.
This disk is much better than the first. The next two are even better.
1974.12.02 AJPW at Kagoshima Prefectural Gymnasium, Kagoshima
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Giant Baba (PWF Champion)
I don’t think that there’s ever been a more overrated wrestler ever than Shohei Baba. He was tall, and that was about it. I guess that was enough for the Japanese fans. He takes Jack down with an armbar, but it doesn’t last long. He’s a lot quicker than I’ve seen, but then most of the stuff I’ve seen from Baba was a lot later in his career. Jack takes him down and starts working the knee. Baba gets a headlock, but Brisco takes him down and continues working the knee. It’s a sound strategy, work the leg of a man who towers over you, although Baba was 3” taller than Brisco, at most. (They billed Baba at 6’10”, but Jack was a legit 6’3”, and Baba seriously is no more than 6’6”, possibly 6’7” if he’s got lifts in his boots.) They do a ton of Baba fighting out of a leglock and Jack taking him back down. Baba reverses into a surfboard, and holy shit this is boring. Another odd thing about Baba that I’ve always thought about is how big his goddamn ribcage is. It’s like he stole someone else’s to add on to his. I’m literally waiting for something to happen to talk about. Jack reverses the surfboard, but Baba reverses right back. Jack runs him around the ring and gets the rope break. They lock up in the corner, and Jack gets a punch coming out. They exchange shots, then Baba hits an elbow and a dropkick. Russian legsweep gets the first fall for Baba at 11:47. The intermission is like 2 minutes, and when they start again, Baba nails a neckbreaker for 1. Brisco is on the run, so Baba knocks him down with chops. Jack gets shoulderblocks, then punches. Kneedrops get 2, then he goes to a chinlock. They roll around on the mat, but Jack holds on. Eventually, Baba fights out and nails a big kick for 2. Atomic drop by Baba for 2. Jack hits a back suplex and locks in the Figure – Four. Baba is right in the middle of the ring, and the ref calls for the bell. Brisco won’t let go for a minute, and it’s even at 17:26. The corner men are interesting, as Jack has (I think) Ken Mantell and Chris Markoff, while Baba has all the young boys and The Destroyer. Baba starts fall number 3 favoring his left knee, backing away from Brisco. Jack zooms in like a super predator, and Baba tries to fend him off. Jack takes him down and starts working the knee again. He teases the Figure – Four, but Baba fights him off, knocking him into the corner. Baba drives Jack’s head into his knee a couple of times, then nails the Russian Leg Sweep. Jack’s foot is on the ropes at 2. Jack gets the kneebreaker, and it’s starting to look bleak for Baba, but he gets a flying clothesline out of nowhere for the pin and the title. The crowd goes crazy, but not too crazy. This was certainly the best Giant Baba match I’ve ever seen, but it was by no means spectacular. (*** 20:46)
1974.12.05 AJPW at Nippon University Public Hall, Tokyo
Giant Baba (NWA World Champion & PWF Champion)
Vs
Jack Brisco
Same tour, only Baba is defending this time. This is not the match where Brisco regains the title, unfortunately. I can’t locate that one anywhere. I’ve got a ton of NWA title changes, but that one seems to be lost to the mists of time. For this match, Brisco has Jimmy Snuka in his corner, and Snuka looks like every villain from a 70’s cop show. They lock up, and I’m hoping against hope that this is better than the last one, but it starts really slow, with Jack using a headlock. Baba fights out, but Jack grabs the ropes before Baba can take him down. They lock up again, and Jack goes right back to the headlock. Baba starts fighting out, but Jack takes him down with the tights. Baba fights out, and works a wristlock. He takes Jack down with an armdrag, then goes to an armbar. Jack gets a rollup for 2, but Baba takes him right back down with an armdrag into an armbar. Sigh. I’m all about mat wrestling, if it tells a story, but this is just boring. Baba takes him down with a modified arm – breaker, then starts with a stretch on the mat. Jack starts working his knee at about ten minutes in, then they go to the mat again. They go to standing, and Baba gets an airplane spin, but it only gets 2. Russian Leg Sweep for 2 by Baba. Brisco with a dropkick, then a backdrop suplex gets the pin and the first fall at 13:53. Jack gets a series of elbows to the head, then knocks Baba to the mat. He drops knees, but misses a third, and Baba starts stomping away on him. He works Brisco’s knee, then he gets a Boston Crab. Brisco makes the ropes, though, so Baba lays in some weak – looking stomps. Slam gets 2. Russian Leg Sweep gets 2. Brisco gets a backslide for 2, but Baba nails a neckbreaker for the pin and second fall at 17:46. Baba’s offense looks so, so bad. I can’t describe how weak it looks. Fall three starts with Brisco cowering in the corner. He bails to the floor, then they start duking it out, with Baba getting chops and Brisco bailing out again. Back in, and Baba starts pummeling him. Big chop gets 2. Face buster, then a chop gets 2. Another knee smash, then a second. That gets 2. Brisco gets a sunset flip for 2. Dropkick by Brisco, but Baba swats a second one away. Backbreaker by Baba ges 2. He goes for the neckbreaker, but Brisco grabs the ropes. They totally botch a spot where Baba is supposed to fall on Brisco coming off the ropes on a back suplex, but he rolls over on him for the pin anyway to retain. Even Jack Brisco couldn’t save this one. (* ¾ 23:46)
Brisco would regain the title from Baba on December 9, 1974. He would make a couple more return trips to Japan as champion.
1975.03.13 AJPW at Nippon University Hall, Tokyo
Jack Brisco (Champion)
Vs
Bobo Brazil
Crikey. Bobo was a spry 50 years old here, and well past his prime. Fun fact: I’ve never seen Bobo wrestle, but I hear he was quite the draw back in the day. And the lighting on this, coupled with Bobo’s skin tone, means that after viewing this match, I still might not have seen him wrestle. Bobo jumps him before the bell, hitting headbutts, and getting the first fall in 27 seconds. He’s frothing at the mouth, it’s insane. He keeps at it in the second fall, getting another near – fall off a headbutt. Jack starts firing back, and Bobo is begging off two minutes in. Jack drops a knee, but Bobo cuts him off. Brisco takes him down and starts working the knee. He turns Bobo over in a half – crab, but Bobo powers out. Jack takes him right back down and continues on the knee. They get tied in a leg grapevine, with Bobo controlling, but Brisco escapes and almost gets the Figure – Four. He stays on it, and Bobo is really, really vocal in the ring. He escapes and gets a headlock, but Jack gets a Figure – Four for the submission at 7:22. The third fall starts with Jack hammering the knee in the corner and Bobo collapsing. Bobo’s second (no idea who it is) keeps trying to interfere, but Jack fends him off. Bobo chokes him out in the corner, then thumbs him in the eye. Double knee and a headbutt gets 2 for Bobo. Jack fires back, and they totally mistime something. Bobo sends him to the buckle, and Brisco gets an inside cradle for 2. Bobo chokes him out in a front facelock on the mat, but Jack reverses into a hammerlock. They go to the ropes for the break, and Jack drops both knees. Bobo heels it right up with punches, chokes, and throat shots, then a headbutt sends Jack to the apron. While the ref admonishes Bobo, his second chokes Brisco on the apron. Bobo sends Jack to the floor on the other side, and they brawl there. Bobo and his second assault Jack, and the ref throws the whole thing out with Jack winning by DQ in the third fall. Unbelievably bad match. Don’t know what they were thinking giving Bobo Fucking Brazil a world title match in 1975. (½ * 14:12)
Brisco would drop the title to Terry Funk on 12/10/75 in Miami, in a match that I’ve seen snippets of. It was okay, but not great. Pretty typical of the time.
1976.06.11 AJPW at Kurame Kokugikan, Tokyo
Terry Funk (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
Some NWA officials read proclamations, including Jim Crockett, who holds the belt up for all to see. Funk has Bob Geigel in his corner. They wrestle on the mat at the start, feeling each other out. Funk works an armbar, then a hammerlock, but Jumbo picks him up and puts him on the top turnbuckle. Terry gets an overhand wristlock, driving Jumbo backwards, but he powers back up. Funk takes him down and starts working the arm on the mat. They fight over a surfboard, with Funk winning initially, but Jumbo eventually reversing it. Jumbo starts working his arm, and Funk just lays in the stiffest chops you will ever see. Holy shit. Jumbo gets a backslide for 2 after a nice reversal sequence, then he goes to the armbar again. Funk is an absolute master of selling the armwork, all the while trying to improve his position. He gets an atomic drop, but misses an elbow, and Jumbo gets an armdrag and goes right back to the armbar. This is classic storytelling: grab a hold, work some spots around it, go back to the hold. Funk mows him down with a shoulderblock, and a butterfly suplex gets 2, Jumbo gets 2 with a rolling reverse, then a sunset flip wins the first fall at 15:55. Terry starts the second fall on the floor, but he comes in quickly. Terry starts working as a subtle heel here, swatting at Jumbo’s head. They exchange chops, then do the test of strength. Funk hits a neckbreaker for 2. He gets that odd neck splash that Dory did against Brisco for 2, then a piledriver. That gets a long 2. He dumps Jumbo to the floor and follows him out. Funk hits a dropkick there, then he runs Jumbo into the buckles on the apron. Funk flips him back in and goes to a chinlock, so we will see some high spots here soon. He holds it for longer than you’d expect, but Jumbo starts hitting elbows. Forearm sends Funk to the floor, in a way that only Terry Funk can do. Suplex in, which gets 2. They fight over a rolling cradle, and Funk gets the pin at 21:55 to even it up. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, but Geigel is on the apron to distract the ref. Funk dumps him to the floor, where Geigel gets in a cheap shot. Gut wrench suplex gets 2. Jumbo blocks and reverses a second one for 2. He stomps away, then gets a brief chinlock. Jumbo with a butterfly suplex for 2. Funk hits a back suplex and both guys are down. They each get 2 on a rolling reverse. Jumbo sends him to the corner, then hits a backbreaker for 2. Back suplex by Jumbo, but it only gets 1. Terry leapfrogs him, then gets a Stun Gun for the pin. That was an amazing match. You could tell that Jumbo was destined for great things. (**** ½ 27:07)
Funk would hold the title for a while, then drop it on 2/6/1977 to Harley Race, who would basically hold it for most of the next four years, with the exceptions of dropping it for a few days here and there to guys like Baba (twice), Dusty Rhodes, and Tommy Rich.
1977.06.11 AJPW at Setagaya Ward Gymnasium, Tokyo
Harley Race (Champion)
Vs
Jumbo Tsuruta
I’m puzzled as to why Jumbo keeps getting all the title shots when the NWA Champion comes in. Was he that big of a star? I didn’t think he was a tippy-top guy until much later, like around 1984 or so. Curiouser and curiouser. I’ve never seen very much of Race in his prime, but he was quite the bump machine. Jumbo hip tosses him and grabs an armbar. Race picks him up and hits a backbreaker. Slam by Race, slam by Jumbo, and Jumbo goes back to the armbar. Race hits a gut – wrench suplex for 2. They trade slams and backbreakers, but when Jumbo goes for a butterfly suplex, Race sprawls on him and forces the break in the ropes. He snapmares Jumbo over and drops that Harley Race knee, then works a front facelock. Jumbo escapes and hits two consecutive high knees and a butterfly suplex to win the first fall at 8:26. Race backs off to start the second fall, but buries a knee to the gut and hits a shoulderbreaker for 2. Piledriver gets 2. Jumbo counters and reverses a gut-wrench into one of his own, but misses an elbow. Race drops another knee, then another, then ANOTHER for 2. He gets a roll into a front facelock. Jumbo gets a small package after fighting out, but it only gets 2. More knees, then Race does a falling headbutt, and a second, but that only gets 2. Race goes into the front facelock again, but Jumbo reverses into a hammerlock and rolls him over for 1. He stays with the hammerlock for a bit, then transitions to a surfboard. Race fights out and takes him down, dropping an elbow for 2. Jumbo misses a charge to the corner, posting himself, and Race suplexes him. Race gets an Indian Deathlock, and after a couple of drops, Jumbo submits the second fall at 16:34. The third fall starts with them circling again, but Jumbo’s knee is compromised. Race with a kneebreaker, but Jumbo blocks the Indian Deathlock. Race starts working a leg grapevine, but Jumbo hits him with a leg across the face to escape. Gut-wrench by Jumbo for 2. Huge dropkick by Jumbo, but a second one misses. Race gets yet another front facelock, but Jumbo suplexes out of it for a couple of 2 counts. They butt heads, and both guys are down. Jumbo gets an abdominal stretch, but Race hiptosses out of it and hits a falling headbutt. He goes up, but Jumbo slams him off. Race gets knees up on a splash, and they go tumbling over the top on a crossbody, with Jumbo getting the worst of it. Race with a slam, Jumbo with a slam, and that gets 2. Jumbo misses a running kneelift, and Race gets an inside cradle for the pin. That was excellent. (**** ¼ 21:58) After the match, Race is presented with a trophy and raises Jumbo’s hand.
Race would hold the title until August of 1979, where he’d drop it to Dusty Rhodes in Tampa, then regain it from him five days later.
This disk is much better than the first. The next two are even better.