Saturday, February 4, 2017

Terry & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza (AJPW, 12/5/78)

Hey, it ain’t the prettiest matwork but it’s effective, especially when you got Bock and Dory Jr. interacting, with the added grit of Lanza and the magnetism of Terry. Nick shows good control over the arm of Dory early on, keeping it in check through Dory’s escape attempts. They also stay friendly throughout with their chops and uppercuts. Blackjack isn’t quite on the technical level as the other three but Terry sells so well for him, bumping like a madman off his irish whips, and when Lanza gets the claw on, the fans lose their shit. I love that Dory protects his baby brother being whipped into the corner by sacrificing his own body. When Terry finally gets the tag, Dory comes in suplexing and piledriving -- even Terry’s back in to get a little revenge with his shuffle jabs and haymaker punch. Blackjack’s claw is the bane of Terry’s existence and he keeps running into it, even when he’s trying for the spinning toe hold.  Eventually he counters out with a knee breaker and Dory comes in with the spinning toe hold, with Terry playing defense against Bock long enough for Lanza to give up. A fun tag with a sympathetic crowd for Terry. 

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