TYWGIGB is a series where Sam breaks down the wrestling that was in 1984 week-by-week. Always expect match of the week but a grab bag from there.

Match of The Week

Hacksaw Duggan, Junkyard Dog &Tito Santana vs. Butch Reed, Nikolai Volkoff & Krusher Kruschev (Houston 1/27/84)

Let me tell you about Butch Reed…darn good professional wrestler right there. An NFL EDGE Rusher sized wrestler, shouldn’t also be a great at playing a stooge. It is against certain laws of nature. Yet, for Butch Reed, it is a Friday (factual to the date of this match as I do my research). Not trying to say Duggan and Tito also aren’t very good in this, but 1) Butch is the glue for an otherwise ho-hum heel squad and 2) it will never not surprise me.

This is a fun match that turns into a delight after Tito eliminates Nikoli by dragging him into an elbow drop from Krusher. It doesn’t look pretty (frankly sloppy as all get out) but conceptually I like how Tito is being pinned down to the mat and still comes out on top (not literally). Also, importantly, I had no idea it was an elimination match until that point. All these files for 1984 mean nothing to me, length doesn’t tell me how long the actual match is, its all a mirage.

That elimination leads straight into Tito fighting with Nikolai on the outside, spirited brawling, eliminating Tito. It feels backhanded to say that the match gets quickly better when Tito gets eliminated but in his defense, it is his brawling that ramps up the tension. In a way, sort of has to get eliminated to dial things up and add some increased stakes to the whole thing. I don’t always want to be talking shit about Tito, that isn’t fair, he’s good, just not great.

The real joy post the eliminations is you get more Hacksaw and Butch time together. Part of me wanted to go on a diatribe about how they are both football players so they have a more intimiate knowledge of each other’s potential physical tools. But that is hogwash here. They both bring “play it to the rafters” energy and that helps gets things done. Duggan particularly, starting to wonder where his punches rank all-time. Not entirely sure how he threads the needle of entirely over the top and completely believable. He punches like Tim Tebow throws a football and does it hard as hell. It is a great weapon as despite the eliminations he ends having to fight the numbers game towards the end of the match. And it is a joy to watch him sling those hamhawks around.

SUPERFLUOUS OF THE WEEK

Best Championship Win

Angelo Mosca Jr. vs. Ivan Koloff (JCP 1/25/1984)

Hogan versus Iron Sheik sucked shit so bad I wanted to create a category to talk about any other match. Hand to god, the more I watch of this brief January period of Hogan I say to myself “Oh, I’ve been lied to the other way”. When you cherry pick the good, you see all the potential, all the joy that can be had. But watching these random matches…where is the juice? Now, January 1984 WWF, might just be a dreadful promotion that doesn’t deserve the attention I give it. That is fully on the table, I get that. But c’mon…he can’t be one of the 100 greatest wrestlers ever, right?

Immediately on coming upon this match I questioned what the hell I was doing. I’m not a Koloff guy and I’ve never seen a match from Mosca Jr., but for some absurd reason I felt compelled. It is a complete championship match from 1984, if I do not persist, aren’t I just a huge loser? Couldn’t be me. They had a match a couple weeks back which was fine but ended in a time limit draw.

Shocked how good it ends up. We aren’t talking MOTYC or something but certainly something I can recommend without feeling ashamed of the decisions I’ve made in life. Crowd is absolutely juiced up. Mosco hits a sunset flip early on and they are going apeshit. A totally different environment from the previous match, always nice when the crowd doesn’t shit the bed for a “big moment”.

Ivan is properly rough and tumble in this one. Even a claw to the ribs has me buying in to a degree that I’m slightly uncomfortable with. It is a move that is factually crap looking. There is a look in both their eyes that sells the whole thing. I suppose that is a huge part of it, Ivan puts his weight into front facelocks and such, but Angelo carries the weight. He constantly is showing that anguish in his face in those moments.

I’m not too big of a man to say the crowd created a shortcut to me believing in the babyface. I don’t prescribe the crowd needs to be hot for a match to be good or that a crowd being hot makes whatever work the wrestlers do justifiable, but if me and the people of 1984 are on the same page it can certainly bridge some gaps.

The dropkick Angelo hits near end of this thing, they all seem to know that the payoff was coming and they couldn’t wait to see the son of a hero win it all. Almost like screaming as you are cresting the top of a coaster, haven’t even felt the wind hit your face but the energy is too high. For clarity, I find the idea completely baffling. I wouldn’t even consider the dropkick a particularly timely comeback. As soon as it was hit though, the crowd saw the big red applause sign above the ring. And good for them. What I wouldn’t give to have such confidence that the joy I’m feeling in a given moment is going to last and end with outcome I wanted.

Other Notes

WWF’s MSG Show is a Nightmare

Immediately suck your own butt if you want to talk box office. I would not recommend a single match on this show. Not even in a “This was kind of fun” way. There is no value to be had here. The Hogan win is the big moment but, and I will repeat myself, it sucked shit. A show that provides purely “historic value” is not worth giving your attention to. Watch 30 seconds of Hogan entering, winning, and celebrating. That is all you need here.

The Don Muraco and Tito Santana match is dryer that dirt. Masked Superstar versus Chief Jay Strongbow is a hard watch. Strongbow does not got it. I wanted to enjoy Eddie Gilbert & Tony Garea against Mr. Fuji & Tiger Chung Lee but there is zero juice. Three of these folks can be good, but for whatever reason they phoned it in beyond belief. Then I guess the Andre and Tito tag team is a nice idea but once again, nothing doing. Could be a fun team…but not here where they go through the motions quickly.

Itsuki Yamazaki puts Noriyo Tateno through hell

Almost my MOTW. What Itsuki does to Noriyo does at times feels criminal. There is this moment Itsuki is in a typical chin lock position but she does like a reverse pie face with maybe a fish hook? It is rude as all get it out. There are moments later in the match where Itsuki is trying to slam Noriyo through the mat. Sure, she gave her 10 seconds of offense but honestly, feels cruel to get her hopes up like that. I need to spoil the finish because it prevents it from being MOTW. Noriyo wins. That is is. Didn’t deserve it. Looked like a worm under Itsuki’s boot for most of this and yet she gets the pin. Can the bad ass not just be a bad ass? Does she need to lay down for the soft as Charmin babyface? I say no.

I‘m not perfect. If I missed talking about any matches, let me know. Send them to @concrete1992.bsky.social on bluesky.