Giant Baba vs. Destroyer (JWA, 12/11/72)

While not nearly on the same pedestal as their 1969 masterpiece, this match showed how the Destroyer can turn a prolonged headlock-dominated first fall into something entertaining. Baba isn’t the most engaging on the mat but Destroyer not only does a solid job selling Baba’s headlock but when the roles are reversed, Destroyer makes the headlock interesting. Whether it’s wrenching Baba’s head back and forth, using his knees to tenderize, or springboarding off the ropes with the takedown, Destroyer breathes life into an otherwise lackluster first fall. He’s jaw jacking to the fans, yelling at Baba “you get paid to lay down!”, but when he runs into the neckbreaker drop, it’s over. The second fall ends just as quickly when Destroyer gets Baba in the figure-four leglock. Baba’s selling in the third fall is tremendous. He hurts himself on the coconut crusher, his leg gives out on the single leg crab hold, but when Destroyer tries to take advantage of the injury, he keeps hurting himself, too! Baba wins the third fall and the match via countout. As always, Destroyer was a joy to watch in the ring and Baba really turned up the drama in the third fall.