Antonio Inoki vs. Dory Funk Jr. (JWA, 8/2/70)

As much as I enjoy the methodical groundwork and pacing of some of these early match-ups, the payoff can be somewhat of a letdown. That is, the mat-based stuff can be fun to watch but ultimately meaningless. Dory Funk Jr. is a guy I can appreciate as a minimalist wrestler but can easily find myself falling asleep to, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s like watching Bob Ross paint. But in this case, especially during the second fall, the match dragged and the structure felt odd. It didn’t help that this was a 60:00 draw -- it definitely felt every minute of that hour.  The wrestling itself was still top notch during the first fall, with plenty of smooth transitions and switcheroo limb work. Inoki had a good frenetic spirit about him --- the way he scrambles around the mat as Dory’s trying to get a hold of his leg was some smart maneuvering, and I liked his aggressive arm stomping and clubbing forearms.  Dory playing it a little dirtier was a lot fun, with him utilizing his baby brother Terry on the outside to heat the crowd up. They each pick up falls after using suplexes, Dory with the double arm and then Inoki with the German suplex hold. The third fall was clunky with more throwaway limbwork, slow counts, and outside interference. By the end of it, they’re both exhausted and Inoki continues teasing the Octous hold, which Dory is able to evade until the time limit expires.