Tremendous Tirades: The Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Year Collection Vol. 1

Introduction:
Most people are familiar with The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, which is authored by Dave Meltzer. Every year the publication puts out the Wrestling Observer Newsletter year end awards; voted on by the readership for best wrestler, promotion, brawler, and of course the best match of the year among other awards. What I have is a collection of the WON Match of the Year winners from 1980-2005, over an 8-disc set. I will go through all of these and I hope that you enjoy them.

The Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Year Collection Vol. 1: 1980-1984

1980 – TEXAS DEATH/WWF TITLE MATCH: Bob Backlund (WWF Champ) w/Arnold Skaaland vs. Ken Patera (IC Champ) w/The Grand Wizard (5.19.80 – Madison Square Garden) (WWF)

They circle to begin things, Vince is on commentary and puts over the no rules aspect. Backlund is tossed to the floor after a big right from Patera. Patera celebrates and then slams Backlund’s face to the apron. Backlund trips him, pulls him to the floor and unloads with rights and kicks. Head butt by Backlund and back to the ring he goes. More rights by Backlund, but a head butt and then uppercut by Patera. A knee by Backlund and then elbows to the top of the head follow. Patera rakes the eyes again, and slams Backlund to the corner. Patera works a front facelock, Backlund escapes but Patera gets a rear chinlock. Backlund to his feet and snap mares out. Shoulder block does nothing. He tries another and misses, nailing the steel post. Full Nelson by Patera! Backlund is able to slam him to the corner, lays the boots to him and Patera back with rights. They both throw rights now, off the ropes and Backlund tossed over the top to the floor. A slam on the floor by Patera and Backlund is down. Patera tosses him back in, Patera up top and a double ax smash connects. Elbow drop and a cover for 1. Head butts by Backlund, but a back breaker by Patera gets 1. Patera locks in the bear hug, and Backlund with rights to the face but cannot escape. Backlund escapes with an eye rake, grabs the leg and nails Patera with a right. Backlund gets the running atomic drop and Patera falls to the ring apron, saving himself. PILEDRIVER by Backlund connects! 1…2…NO! Small package by Patera gets 2. Stalling suplex by Backlund, 1…2…NO! Patera gets the tree of woe, and now chokes out Backlund. Patera covers for 2. Off the ropes and a clothesline by Patera. Stun gun by Patera and another cover for 2. Back to the choke by Patera, Backlund with a knee escapes that. Off the ropes and Backlund sneaks a roll up for 2. Patera lays the boots to Backlund now and covers for 2. Suplex by Patera connects, cover for 2. Irish whip, reversal and the abdominal stretch by Backlund is applied. The crowd pops huge for it too. Patera makes the ropes, and then hip tosses Backlund to the floor. Patera follows, gets the title belt and beats on Backlund with it. Patera back into the ring and Backlund is down on the floor. Backlund is busted open and Patera to the floor and works to open the cut more. Patera tosses Backlund back into the ring and then lays in a ton of rights to Backlund. A slam by Patera, and then kicks Backlund back to the floor. Patera lays the boots to Backlund as he tries to get back into the ring. Back in and knees by Patera. Backlund can barely stand and finally in knocked down and covered for 2. Off the ropes and a boot by Backlund and both men are down. Backlund up and grabs Patera, and tosses him to the floor. Crowd is rabid now. He follows and slams Patera to the steel railing and then to the post! Backlund back into the ring and Patera is now busted open and the crowd pops huge! Rights by Backlund now, tosses him back into the ring. More rights by Backlund. Patera is down and Backlund continues to fire away! LOW BLOW by Patera! Patera up top and Backlund slams him off the top! 2nd rope right by Backlund and Patera is down. He covers and gets 2 as Patera gets the ropes. Knees by Patera and tosses Backlund to the floor. Backlund slams him onto a chair, but Patera blocks and nails him with it. Misses a chair shot in the ring and Backlund grabs it, nails him and then again! He covers 1…2…NO! Backlund up top…cross body gets the win and a HUGE pop!

Winner: Bob Backlund @ 22:31 via pin
VIDEO QUALITY: Quality is what I would call “good.” Sound is fine, you can see everything well, it just looks old, but fine.

Now the old school match may not be for everyone, but this was so great in its simplicity. They hated each other, went into this Death Match and about killed each other. Patera did anything he could to win, Backlund played to survive and then eventually went to Patera’s playbook for the win. Great stuff. The runner up this year was the Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko (Cage Match)(WWF, 9/8/80), which I actually prefer. ***¾

ALLEY FIGHT: Pat Patterson vs. Sgt. Slaughter w/The Grand Wizard (4.21.81 – Madison Square Garden) (WWF)

No ref, no holds barred. As soon as Sarge hits the ring they start brawling! No wrestling holds here bitches, just fists of fury! Patterson lays the boots to Sarge with the cowboy boots. Patterson with the choke now, Sarge escapes, and misses a right. They brawl onto the announce table and Vince has to move. Patterson removes his belt to humble Sarge, I mean to whip the shit out of him and the crowd is electric. Patterson chokes him with the belt now, and then whips him with the belt. Patterson whips him in the side of the head numerous times, that’s nasty! Sarge rakes the eyes and gets the belt. Off the ropes and clotheslines Patterson with the belt. Sarge whips Patterson now, and then chokes him out with it. He then wraps it around his mouth and then delivers rights. He rips off Patterson’s shirt and uses that to choke out Patterson. Patterson runs towards the ropes and ducks, tossing Sarge to the floor. Sarge goes up top…and MISSES a boot to Patterson. Boots from Patterson, a slam and Patterson to the 2nd rope…knee drop connects on Sarge. Another slam and to the 2nd rope again, and another knee drop to Sarge. Knees to the back of the head now, and then Patterson BITES HIM on the head! Sarge rakes the eyes to escape, and then kicks Patterson in the head. Stomp to the head now and then a knee drop by Sarge. Jesus Sarge just kicks him in the face, and then tosses him over the top to the floor. Sarge up top , but Patterson moves and he retreats to the mat. Rights by Sarge, and he now pulls him in the ring, but Patterson catapults Sarge who flies over the turnbuckle, hits the post and does a tremendous blade job in the air, bless that man. He is bleeding like a stuck pig! Forget your precious MUTA scale, Patterson fires up and unloads with rights on Sarge! LOW BLOW by Sarge stops that, but he is a bloody mess as it pours from his head. Sarge has KNUX now and stumbles to his feet. NAILS Patterson and he is down. Patterson blocks a shot and rights to Sarge. He tosses him to the post again! Sick amounts of blood now. Patterson has one of his boots and levels Sarge with it! Slams him to the post yet again and another boot shot follows! Another shot to the post and then another boot shot and Sarge is a mess! Slams him to the post yet again and Sarge falls to the floor. He tries to climb back in and eats 5 more boot shots and the Wizard tosses in the towel! Patterson won’t stop and keeps unloading with the boot and the bell rings and that is all as the place goes wild!

Winner: Pat Patterson @ 14:58 via towel thrown in
VIDEO QUALITY: Excellent

This is epic shit right here kids, a true definition of a blood feud here. The blade job by Sarge is nothing short of sick and or tremendous, it just depends on taste. They made you believe that they hated each other and that they would kill each other; that’s just beautiful. A simple feud built on hate and taken to the extreme where they deliver, I love wrestling. The runner up this year was Dusty Rhodes vs. Ric Flair (NWA Title)(9/17/81), which I also love but this match would have gotten my vote, and I LOVE Flair and Dusty. ****½

1982 – Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8.05.82 – Tokyo) (NJPW)

Bret Hart is with Kid, and gets tossed to the back since he was acting like a punk. Knuckle lock and a takedown by Kid, Tiger Mask up and counters, off the ropes and kicks by Tiger Mask take Kid o the floor. Kid back in, cross body by Tiger Mask and a cover for 2 as he gets tossed to the floor. Lock up, go behind and then a hammerlock by Kid. Escape and hip toss by Tiger Mask. Lock up, arm bar by Kid. Tiger Mask rolls out and gets an arm bar of his own. He works the arm, Kid to his feet, head butts follow and then chops. Clubbing forearms by Kid, and then knees to the gut. Off the ropes and a knee by Kid. Snap mare and a headlock follow. Tiger Mask escapes and gets a hammerlock, Kid up and to the ropes for a break. Chops to Tiger Mask, forearms and elbows follow. Off the ropes and a leg sweep by Tiger Mask, misses a splash and a monkey flip by Kid countered and more reversals and to the ropes they go. So fast. Single leg trip by Kid and into a reverse figure four. Tiger Mask works to free himself, hey, Inoki is on commentary! Tiger Mask escapes and reverses the pressure. Kid lets him out, tosses him to the floor and then gets a snap suplex. Back in, head butts and a gut wrench suplex by Kid gets 2. Elbow drops by Kid and a cover for 2. Kid works the head scissors now, Tiger Mask rolls and kips out and rapid fire kicks to Kid. Off the ropes and a spinkick connects. Tiger Mask SUPLEXES KID TO THE FLOOR FROM THE RING~! Tiger Mask tosses Kid into the railing. Tiger Mask in the ring, Kid in as well and a DDT gets 2. Gut wrench by Tiger Mask gets 2. He works the head scissors now, Kid rolls and headstands but Tiger Mask slams his head like a piledriver to stop that. Rolls the hold for a 2 count. Stomps and then a leaping piledriver by Tiger Mask gets 2! Off the ropes and a shoulder block and then dropkick by Kid. Off the ropes and Tiger Mask backdrops him to the floor. Kid on the apron and Tiger Mask misses a dropkick. Knee drop by Kid, Irish whip and a backdrop and then elbow drop. Chinlock by Kid now, and back to the head scissors. Tiger Mask headstands, but then cannot escape. He slides out then and gets a reverse figure four deal, which looks painful as hell. Bow and arrow now by Tiger Mask, lets go and locks in a rear half nelson. Rolls Kid and covers for 2, as Kid was in the ropes. Lays the boots to Kid, and then quick leg kicks by Tiger Mask. Off the ropes and Kid sidesteps a kick. Lock up and a single leg takedown by Tiger Mask, but they are in the ropes. Knuckle lock now, single leg by Tiger Mask and gets a the single leg crab. He switches to a figure four variant, but Kid rolls and gets the ropes. Chops to the throat by Kid, and then head butts follow. Piledriver try by Kid is countered and a standing leg drop and then senton by Tiger Mask gets 2. Off the ropes and Kid sidesteps a cross body try. Tombstone by Kid connects! Kid up top…SWANDIVE HEAD BUTT CONNECTS~! 1…2…NO! Kid charges and is backdropped to the floor. SICK SUICIDE DIVE BY TIGER MASK~! Tiger Mask gut wrenches him into a tombstone, goes up top and gets the twisting splash and that will finish this epic match.

Winner: Tiger Mask @ 15:50 via pin
VIDEO QUALITY: Very Good.

This was state of the art shit in 1982, and the sick thing is that it is better than almost anything you’ll see TODAY! This is the greatest thing I see all time, all my life, if you haven’t seen it you are doing yourself an injustice. Also, if you have never seen vintage Dynamite Kid in singles action, you never really appreciate how Benoit is his second coming. And to think they would do it again next year. Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka (WWF Cage Match, 06/28/82) was the runner up this year, good stuff but not enough to pick over this clinic. *****

1983 – NWA TITLE CAGE MATCH: Harley Race © vs. Ric Flair w/Gene Kiniski Special Referee (11.24.83 – Greensboro) (NWA)

Bob Caudle and Gordon Solie are great on commentary in this match. They do a good job early of telling the story of Race, the bounty, the Flair injury and how they got to this point. Flair gets a headlock takedown, rights and then a warning from the ref. Lock up, rights by Race, Flair back with elbows and the headlock. Race tries to work a bear hug counter, to the ropes and knees by Race. Kiniski pulls him off and warns him. Lock up and to the ropes, knees by Flair and elbows. Snap mare and a rear chinlock by Flair. Moves to the side headlock now, off the ropes and the classic Race high knee. Misses the head butt as Flair rolls. Chops by Flair, Race is down and a cover for 2. Side headlock takedown by Flair, I like the little things like Kiniski looking if his shoulders are down and Race keeping moving to keep them off the mat. Race battles to escape, Flair rolls him and gets a cover for 2. Race to his knees, his feet and then counters with a SUPLAY~! Race misses an elbow drop, slam by Flair countered and Race covers for 2. Standing knee drop by Race, and then chokes out Flair with the knee. Kiniski pulls him off and then Race slams Flair to the corner. He rakes the eyes, and then a knee drop to the throat. Race grabs Flair, PILEDRIVER to the previously injured neck of Flair. Elbow drops by Race and a cover for 2. A spinning neck breaker connects by Race and a cover for 2. Race sends Flair head first to the cage. A tombstone by Race and another cover for 2. Flair back with rights, and then a head butt by Race stops that. A falling head butt connects from Race. He slams Flair to the cage again! Flair fires up with boots to Race, but Race tosses him to the cage again and Flair is busted open! Lefts by Race connect as he works on the cut. He slams Flair to the corner, Kiniski pulls him off and Flair gets a right as Kiniski held him back. Elbows by Flair and Solie drops the CRIMSON MASK liner! Head butt by Race and Flair is down. Flair slammed to the corner, Irish whip and a reversal and Race hits the cage! Race is now bleeding and Flair slams him to the cage again! A snap mare by Flair, off the ropes and the knee drop connects. “YEAH…WOOOO!” Boots to the head by Flair, and Flair gets the PILEDRIVER~! 1…2…NO! Flair rips at the neck of Race in a fit of vengeance. Butterfly SUPLAY by Flair gets 2. Chops to Race, and then Flair slams him to the cage. And again! Flair and Kiniski argue and Race head butts Flair in the gut. Race grates Flair’s head off the cage now. Race tosses Flair to the cage again, but Flair back with chops and a head butt by Race drops him. Flair fires up and drops Race with a chop and covers for 2. Elbow drop by Flair and then mounted punches to Race. A back SUPLAY by Flair connects, he gets the figure four now! Race fights and reverses it, Flair turns it and they get the ropes. Another head butt by Race and Flair is down. SUPLAY try by Race, but his knee buckles and Flair covers for 2. Race to the 2nd rope now, head butt connects on Flair and Race covers for 2. SUPLAY by Race connects and a cover for 2. Race pounds away with lefts and Flair bleeds more. Standing knee drop by Race connects. More stiff lefts by Race and then sends Flair into the cage again. Race lays the boots to him, he chokes Flair and Kiniski pulls him away by the hair. SUPLAY blocked by Flair, and then he gets the stalling SUPLAY. Elbow drop misses by Flair, Race grabs him and Race accidentally head butts Kiniski. Chops by Flair, up top…CROSS BODY by Flair, Race trips over Kiniski, 1…2…3!

Winner: and NEW NWA CHAMPION Ric Flair @ 26:00 via pin
VIDEO QUALITY: Excellent

This is not for everyone. People these days watch Race and don’t seem to think much of him, but the fact is that during his NWA Title runs, he was the man and put on damn fine matches. The build to this match was great, it had great heat and a very well put together brawl, which delivered blood and for the time and this event, it was the homerun that they had hoped for. Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (NJPW, 04/21/83) was the runner up this year, and considered by many another ***** classic, but I would assume that not enough people saw it to pick over Flair vs. Race. Also, while it may have been *****, it wasn’t nearly as important to NJPW as this match was to the NWA and the initial Starrcade. ****¼

1984 – STREET FIGHT/WCCW 6-MAN TITLE MATCH: The Freebirds (Gordy, Hayes and Roberts) vs. The Von Erich’s (Kevin, Mike and Kerry) (7.04.84 – Ft. Worth) (WCCW)

They start brawling during the announcements with belts and fists a flying. They pair off as this is for the “held up” 6-man titles. Kerry has a belt as do all the Von Erich’s and he and Gordy pair off. Crowd is completely wild as Mike is tossed to the floor. Kevin runs wild on the birds and Mike is back in. Kevin takes off the boots and uses them as weapons. Hayes takes it and nails him with it as Mike takes over on Gordy. LOW BLOW by Kevin on Gordy. Boot and belt shots by the Von Erich’s all connect as they have control. TRIPLE DROPKICK on Gordy and they have cleared the ring. Gordy rushes back in and they get a double backdrop on him. Hayes brought back in and a low blow on Kevin. Kerry ties up Gordy in the ropes and beats him down with a boot as Mike chokes out Roberts. CLAW by Kevin on Hayes! Gordy starts killing Kerry with a boot as Roberts beats down young Mike. Gordy breaks up the claw on Hayes but Kerry is back and beats down Gordy! Crowd is MOLTEN~! Roberts chokes out Mike with a belt as Gordy tosses Kevin. Hayes stomps away on Kerry and then brawls with Mike. Kevin tossed to the floor and he is busted open. Kerry is tossed and Kevin drops down and Gordy hits Roberts with a belt shot. RANA by Kevin to Roberts and he falls to the floor. KILLER KHAN is out and NAILS Kerry and Hayes covers for the win!

Winners: The Freebirds @ 7:00 via pin
VIDEO QUALITY: Quality is what I would call “good.” Sound is fine, you can see everything well, it just looks old, but fine.

Holy hell I forgot how WILD the crowd was for this match. This is one of those things you rate on a different scale, taking into account the wildness of the brawl and the crowd heat, which is absolutely off the charts. The runner up this year was the Sgt. Slaughter vs. The Iron Sheik (WWF, Boot Camp Match 06/16/84 – MSG), which is a tremendous battle and right up there with this match as far as craziness. I would actually pick the runner up this time, but this was great shit and WCCW was so hot at the time, it was amazing. ****

If you are interested in picking up this set, check out the “shills section” of deathvalleydriver.com, or send a Private Message to “ keith_h” over at deathvalleydriver.com.

The 411: First of all Keith has done a wonderful job with the DVD’s. They all have full menus on them, which is a pleasant surprise. This is a must have for any fan, everything on here is kick ass and Dynamite vs. Tiger Mask is nothing short of amazing.
Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]