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.

Antonio Inoki vs. Jack Brisco (JWA, 8/5/71)

Slower pace got you down? Well, the intensity that these two go at it on the mat, the fervid energy, the way Brisco throws his body into a hold – this is exciting stuff. Brisco brings such a refreshing dynamism to this match. During the first fall, he goes after Inoki’s leg with some vicious stomps, forcing Inoki to reevaluate on the outside. Brisco hits a beautiful deadlift double arm suplex for a two count and out of frustration, he starts pounding Inoki’s head into the turnbuckle. After getting himself tangled in the ropes after Inoki’s attack, Brisco is able to counter the cobra twist with a lateral press for the first fall. Things slow down a bit during the second fall, as Inoki works the arm, utilizing a rolling armbar before firing off the sudden German suplex hold to tie it up. Brisco’s selling the effect of that German suplex was fantastic and Inoki takes advantage of it, dominating him throughout the third fall before submitting Brisco with the cobra twist to claim his victory. The good stuff.

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.

Giant Baba vs. The Destroyer (JWA, 3/5/69)

Giant Baba is an interesting cat -- gangly, awkward and at times, clumsy, but he somehow makes it work. He may not be the stiffest worker but he’s one of the smartest, knowing his limitations and how to utilize those long limbs in effective ways. Even with his size and strange build, Baba’s early takedowns and reversals looked silky smooth. The Destroyer is about the best kind of heel you can ask for: dastardly, perfectly despicable, and a wrestling savant on the canvas. When he’s working Baba’s arm, he’s gnawing on the fingers, punching the hand, making the hold multifaceted and interesting. Baba’s limbwork isn’t nearly as enthralling but Destroyer makes the struggle and eventual escape really fun to watch. There’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between the two as Destroyer keeps getting caught with Baba’s leg scissors after each successful escape. At one point, Destroyer cackles in freedom, only to get trapped yet again. There’s an awesome moment where Destroyer tries to attack the arm again and Baba counters with the leg scissors.

The narrative throughout this first fall is clearly Baba thwarting Destroyer with those lanky scissors holds. Destroyer then starts playing dirty, rubbing shit in Baba’s eyes, busting him open with a loaded mask headbutt, using a “mystery weapon” from his trunks to bloody Baba even more. This only pisses Baba off and after coconut crushing him, Baba picks up the first fall by using his weight to counter the double leg cradle. Destroyer starts the second fall by biting Baba’s face! True heel! They keep teasing the figure-four leglock as Destroyer continually works over Baba’s leg and when he finally gets it on, Baba quickly submits. But everything falls apart in the end as Destroyer’s American cowboys get involved, resulting in the referee getting socked and Baba winning via DQ. Shit finish but Destroyer ruled this match and Baba more than held his own with those big ass leg scissors.

Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino (JWA, 8/7/68)

Compared to Baba, Bruno Sammartino is an Italian terrier with a bite, backing a defenseless Baba into a corner, aggressively sinking his teeth into Baba’s arm, using his boots, elbows, and knees to strike at him, before a peeved Baba ragdolls Bruno across the ring. Terrific psychology throughout the first fall, with Baba targeting the leg and Bruno really selling it as he hobbles from ringpost to ringpost. Again, the simple nuances are what really elevate this. For example, there’s a part where Baba is working the leg and Bruno starts fighting back with strikes, so Baba traps the arm but in turn, Bruno begins to assert control of Baba’s previously worked over arm and Baba has to bail out to his feet when Bruno nearly has it. Awesome stuff. Bruno wins the first fall with an impressive over-the-shoulder backbreaker rack and throughout the second fall, he keeps going back to the bear hug, which Baba is able to avoid, ultimately evening the score with a dropkick. At the start of the third fall, Bruno is still selling the leg and Baba takes notice, going back on the attack. In a great moment of stubborn determination, Bruno tosses Baba to the outside and does everything he can to prevent him from re-entering the ring, to the point where Baba has to chop his way back inside. The finish was underwhelming but played into both guys trying to get the win via count out -- Baba succeeding with a little help from a foreign object at ringside.

Giant Baba vs. Gene Kiniski (JWA, 8/14/67)

The atmosphere of this match is incredible, with the outdoor seating, fans puffing cigarettes and fanning themselves off as two dudes sweat for an hour inside a small wrestling ring. It’s the kind of match you put on in a dingy hip bar somewhere and let play without any context or explanation. The no good cheatin’ Gene Kiniski against the surprisingly more aggressive Giant Baba. On a whole, this match isn’t going to burn any barns down but there are a lot of neat nuances dashed throughout, like the way Baba uses his long legs to hammer the back of Kiniski’s neck while he’s got him in the leg scissors, repeatedly pushing his own knee into Kiniski’s face. The little extra mustard behind Baba’s kicks and stomps, or how Kiniski immediately puts his knees up after a scoop slam to counter the pin attempt -- cool shit bits like that. Baba wins the first fall with a dropkick, Kiniski the second with a diving knee drop, and during the third, the two unload on each other in desperation, with plenty of brain chops and big boots from Baba, sold really well by Kiniski. After time expires, they’re given five more minutes and the lanky Baba comes out dropkicking. Kiniski delivers a backbreaker hold and a diving knee but when he tries for the coup de grâce kneedrop, Baba rolls out of the way. Smelling blood, Baba attacks Gene’s leg, trying to submit him with the single leg crab before the match ends in a double time limit draw.

Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino (JWA, 3/7/67)

Going way way back to 1967 -- a very solid contest with plenty of dedicated work from both guys down the stretch. Great first fall with Baba rolling around the mat, trying to shake Bruno’s arm control before turning the game around on Bruno. Sammartino has some nifty escapes and at times, nifty Logan-esque hair. At one point, he goes for an arm drag and Baba just deadweights him to counter, reasserting his control of Bruno’s arm. The crowd digs the sportsmanship as the two go back-and-forth targeting the arms, trying to weaken their opponent’s respective offense – Bruno with the bearhug and Baba with his giant chops. After Baba tosses Bruno around for a bit, he picks up the first fall with a knee drop. They stay with the arm work for the second fall as things settle down. The match feels sluggish and repetitive at times, and the execution isn’t quite as smooth as the early goings. Bruno starts with the bear hug attempts and Baba is quick to chop his way out of harm’s way. After evening the score with a running body press, Bruno starts unloading on Baba during the third fall. Good strikes from Bruno, especially with the knees. By the end of it, they’re both past the point of exhaustion, with Bruno desperately lunging after Baba with the bearhug attempts and Baba trying to end it with chops, but due to all that prior hard work, neither is effective as the time runs out.

Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino (JWA, 3/7/67)

I prefer their match the following year but this was still a solid contest, with a lot of dedicated work from both guys down the stretch. Great first fall with Baba rolling around the mat, trying to shake Bruno’s arm control before turning the game around on Bruno. Sammartino has some nifty escapes and at times, nifty Wolverine hair. At one point, he goes for an arm drag and Baba just deadweights him to counter, reasserting his control of Bruno’s arm. The crowd digs the sportsmanship as the two go back-and-forth targeting the arms, trying to weaken their opponent’s respective offense – Bruno with the bearhug and Baba with his giant chops.

After Baba tosses Bruno around for a bit, he picks up the first fall with a knee drop. They stay with the arm work for the second fall as things settle down. At times, the match feels sluggish and repetitive, and the execution isn’t quite as smooth. Bruno starts with the bear hug attempts and Baba is quick to chop his way out of harm’s way. After tying things up with a running body press, Bruno starts unloading on Baba during the third fall. Good strikes from Bruno, especially with the knees. By the end of it, they’re both past the point of exhaustion, with Bruno desperately lunging after Baba with the bearhug attempts and Baba trying to end it with chops, but due to all that prior hard work, neither is effective as the time runs out.