FUJIWARASMIRK

Considering the fact that I ran through most of the first half of this project before ever fully commiting to starting a wrestling blog, I figured that this kind of mid-year checkup would probably be a necesssity.

I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t LOVE the idea of doing a mid-year retrospective, especially in a year like 1980 where footage is so relatively scarce. I suspect that I would have a much clearer outlook on the goings on in wrestling halfway through 1990 if I chose to go that route for that year, but even then, I’m hesitant in commiting to that as a strategy worth adopting for the long-run. I worry that when the actual year-end piece drops, it will feel really redundant as I’d cover the same wrestlers, matches, etc. Regardless, I do plan on doing a big year-end piece for every single year I cover, including this one, which will expand upon the template I’m using to an even greater degree.

But enough of the housekeeping! Let’s dive right in to the best of the (mid!) year 1980.

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR:

3. Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW)

The problem with Portland in 1980 is that the footage largely revolves around Buddy Rose and the men that he either is allied with or opposes. There’s little in the way of available footage for the undercards of these shows, and what is available isn’t exactly the greatest stuff going.

The great thing about PNW, however, is that you cannot go wrong centering your promotion about Buddy Rose in the midst of his peak.

It’s truly a shame that we don’t have even more footage of the promotion, as we seem to be missing the hair vs. hair match between Buddy Rose and Roddy Piper that necessitates the facemask Rose is always seen with to keep his hair intact throughout the second half of the year. Still, what is available is tremendous, between the matches and the interviews on both sides of the ideological spectrum.

Portland is known for it’s reliance on 2/3 falls matches, but the promotion is still able to keep cards fresh both within and outside of that structure, with big multi-man tags, title matches and crazy brawls as a few examples. They even brought in NWA World Heavweight Champion Harley Race in to defend his prestigious belt in January, one of the few times we get to see it defended in full in this time period.

Add onto this strong two-on-two tag matches, in particular the feud between Martel & Piper and the Sheepherders, and Portland feels like an easy pick for one of the best promotions in the world so far.

2. Joint Promotions

Joint Promotions from January to June is the picture of consistency.

The high-end stuff can be very good, even great, but what really sticks with me is how-rock solid the average match is on the World of Sport shows. From technical greats like Jim Breaks and Johnny Saint to pompous shticky assholes like John Quinn, the wrestling on these shows are watchable at worst, and magnificent at best.

The World of Sport style is predicated primarily on technical wrestling, which is a style I know can be inaccessible for others but I personally have lots of time for. The flashy matwork the wrestlers employ could definitely come off hokey and showoffish, but I had little trouble immersing myself in these matches, from the undercard up to the very top. What’s more, the best guys within the style are able to add a certain level of energy and struggle to their matwork, making their bouts stand up to just about anything I’ve seen all year.

Really, the biggest issue with the promotion is the relative lack of footage (probably going to be reading this a lot!). It’s a lot more than, say, Georgia, or even Memphis, but you do wish that we got to see some of these athletes more frequently, to see a more accurate reflection of what the promotion looked like week to week. It’s an interesting thing to ponder, how high the footage we do have allows me to rank the promotion in the context of the year’s landscape, but I feel relatively comfortable calling Joint Promotions the second best promotion of the year so far for it’s easy viewing and consisently solid to great showcases.

1. World Wrestling Federation (WWF)

When WWF hits in 1980, it hits like no other promotion.

The obvious thing to point to is the Bruno/Zbyszko feud. This is, without a doubt, the best thing going on all year, from the build across the TV shows and big events to the promos to especially the matches. Nothing has felt quite as can’t-miss as these two going to war on WWF programming.

Even aside from that, though, there’s quality to be found from the likes of Bob Backlund, Ken Patera and Pat Patterson in their matches. Additionally, Tito Santana is notable for his prominent tag team with Ivan Putski, holding the tag titles until April. Even with Hulk Hogan, who is far from a finished product at this point, you can see where they’re going with him and his push, even if it doesn’t lead to the most exciting matches in the world.

It’s not a perfect promotion. Some of the talent being pushed arent the type I’m naturally predsposed to enjoying, and the TV is definitely weaker than most of the American promotions I’ve delved into, but these criticisms pale in comparison to the undeniably highest peaks of the mid-year.

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR:

3. Black Pair (Mami Kumano & Yumi Ikeshita)

One of the major highlights of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, Kumano and Ikeshita are relentless in their terrorization of Our Heroes as the dastardly Black Pair. They blitz any of the poor women that dare to oppose them, usually one of Nancy Kumi or Lucy Kayama, slamming them into the canvas with reckless abandon.

They are dominant in these 2/3 falls tags, eating their opponents’ space in a way that could easily be read as selfish, but instead serves to accentuate the intensity of their opponents’ comebacks. The way that they are able to just bully their opponents into having good matches is impressive, and the only real reason they aren’t higher on this list is for their relative lack of taped output.

2. The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams)

1/2 (or 2/4) of the best tag feud of the mid-year.

Two big, bruising, roughneck heels that happen to also be excellent stooges, Butch Miller & Luke Williams are always a highlight for me when diving into PNW footage. Their cutoffs and offense in control is purposeful and violent, drawing such effortless heat from the Portland crowd that already resent them due to general Buddy Rose osmosis. Their bumping for the faces is perhaps even more impressive, constantly entertaining in a way that always elevates the floor of their bouts. It’s remarkable the way that they can cower in the face of Rick Martel making a hot tag at the start of a match and then have you invested in him as the face-in-peril by the end.

With a face turn for both already well underway, it will be interesting to see if The Sheepherders can maintain their high standing this year in a role that I’m unfamiliar seeing them in. If it’s anywhere near the quality they’ve produced thus far, I would’t be too worried.

1. Rick Martel & Roddy Piper

The other half of the best tag rivalry of the mid-year!

Martel and Piper can work both ways. They often start their matches in control, much to the crowd’s delight, bringing a high amount energy for both the fans and The Sheepherders to feed off of. The way that they highstep in excitement to get the crowd engaged is simply some of the best shit all year, extremely my kind of thing. I do think that they can sometimes take control of the opening acts of their bouts too liberally, leading to heel-in-peril segments that can undermine the wrestlers we’re supposed to be rooting against, but their work in control is so good that I can’t be too mad at them, with the brutilization of Luke William’s left arm being a consistent theme across all of these bouts.

Then, when they’re on the sell… I mean, come on. These are two of the best babyfaces of the era, and they were born for these kinds of matches. They sell big, but never to the point where it feels overdone and melodramatic. Both are animated while standing on the apron, waiting for their partner to hit them for the hot tag. It’s nigh-impossible to watch one of the two sell on the mat or on the floor and not buy into them by the time the match reaches its climax.

So far, Portland is the place to beat as far as tag team wrestling, and there’s been no better tag team in that scene than Rick Martel & Roddy Piper.

MATCH OF THE YEAR:

5. Rick Martel vs. Buddy Rose (PNW 5/17/1980)

The Buddy Rose special.

Being that this is a title match in Portland, it takes place under 2/3 falls rules, and Rose and Martel take great advantage of it in much the same way they did in their April 26th match weeks prior.

Martel is a house of fire at the start of the first fall, with Rose bumping for him as only prime Buddy Rose can. Rose’s biggest skill is his ability to adeptly make an ass of himself whilst maintaining his credibility, and he’s at his best in regards to that here, stooging with aplomb for the young champion. Even when sitting in a headlock, he finds way to entertain the crowd, like when the two explode into a sequence of rope running that leads right back to Rose on the mat in the same headlock he just spent minutes trying to get out of.

The problem-solution wrestling on display is kept engaging through Martel as well, who is keen to wrench on these headlocks to punish the big guy. You see the same sense of struggle and desire to win when he’s on the backfoot, desperately countering a suplex attempt into one of his own and applying a sleeper hold to win himself the second fall in a nice bit of continuity with the headlocks he was quick to apply and re-apply in the first.

And speaking of Rose in control, simply some of the best work all year. As great as he is at stooging for babyfaces, the Playboy is even better in control, attacking with such ruthless effeciency that it’s hard to recall that he was just begging off moments earier. Once they transition to Rose being on offense in the first fall, he laser-focuses on the young face’s back until he can’t take anymore and surrenders the pinfall after a nasty backbreaker. Rose doesn’t let up in the second, either, immediately targeting the back once the bell rings with kicks, axe-handles, and stomps.

The finish isn’t GREAT, as the Sheepherders come out and attack Martel just as it looks like he’s going to retain, but that doesn’t stop this from being one of the most engaging matches of the mid-year. An easy recommendation for anyone looking to know where to start with either of these two men.

4. Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko (WWF on MSG Network, 3/24/1980)

It can all be so easy.

This match isn’t complex. Really, the storyline isn’t hard to comprehend either. Larry Zbyszko turned his back on his mentor in a fit of jealousy and resentment in February, and now the former WWWF champion is looking for revenge.

Even still, tempers don’t just boil over from the outset. Zbyszko stalls and backpedals as he is won’t to do, hesitant to really lock up with Bruno. Sammartino, on the other hand is completely self-assured and confident in his approach, walking arms outstretched, inviting confrontation from his former friend. He embarasses Zbyszko when he gets too brash and charges towards him, throwing the treacherous heathen around with armdrags, holding on to an armlock on the mat and picking him up in the air just to send him crashing right down, much to the MSG crowd’s aodration.

Bruno dominates these opening exchanges, and the irritation in Zbyszko’s body language is palpable. It never reaches the boiling point for him that it would in other moments of the feud, but the point really is to get across Bruno’s role in this feud anyway. And what a role that he plays, striking a great balance between vengeful asskicker and valiant, respectful babyface. His comeback towards the end of the match is powerful, the perfect distillation of the tough guy babface that WWF crowds grew accustomed to for the last decade plus. When it’s time for him to snap, he absolutely loses it, choking his protege turned rival with a fury that he may not even have known he had. He ignores both the referee and his manager as they try to pry him away from the bastard long after the bell rung for his disqualification; his vengeance would come, whether they liked it or not.

Larry’s role in this bout isn’t as important as the veteran’s, but he still excels at it just the same. He’s so good as this whining, miserable heel, upset at the fact that he cannot beat the man who taught him all he knew. All of his offense comes through trickery and shortcuts, like when he kicks Bruno square in the face from the ring as he tries to get up onto the apron. He revels in the crowd’s resentment towards him for beating up on their old hero as much as he withers from the former champion’s hulking up, daring the turncoat to hit him with his best shot. It’s Zbyszko’s overreliance on cheap attacks that makes it all the sweeter when Bruno just clocks him as he tries to run out of the ring right before the finish.

The feud continues on after this as Zbyszko wins by DQ, but Bruno sent a message in this match that pays respect to the story leading up to that point and underlines the rest of the feud going forward.

3. Bob Backlund vs. Ken Patera (WWF on MSG Network, 5/19/1980)

Given that this was a Texas Death Match, this is probably the match that feels the most like an out-and-out slugfest on this list.

Ken Patera comes into this a credible challenger, recently beating Pat Patterson for the WWF Intercontinental Title a month prior. He’s super swagged out here too, exuding a condescendingly disdainful charisma that feels immediately at odds with Backlund’s everyman aura. It’s not exactly Flair vs. Dusty here, but the men feel like they’re coming from two completely different places, and it’s only right that they do battle with these differences in mind.

This isn’t the most scientific match of the year. Not that it’s devoid of psychology, but it’s not a match I would call “psycologically perfect” or any like adjectives you’d wish to describe a great, sporting wrestling match.

What this is, is a bloody brawl between two big-time WWF heavyweights, and it lands so incredibly well for what it’s going for.

No one here takes control for any lengthy amounts of time, but I’m more than fine with this as it feels like the two top champions of the company are on relatively equal footing, and thus makes the matchup feel as big as possible when they duke it out. It also doesn’t hurt that everything they do to each other feels so unkind, constantly kicking and punching and throwing each other out of the ring and into the outside and at the turnbuckle in the ring.

Every movement they make feels hateful, playing right into the stipulation, and their selling of the big shots and bombs being thrown goes a long way to making the atmosphere as violent as it does. The way that Patera will stumble around after being rammed into the turnbuckle off of a bearhug attempt, or how Backlund whiffs on his wild punches as Patera swiftly dodges them, are some of the best moments in the entire thing.

And the blood!

Both guys blade here and it fucking rules, man. It especially rules because the other guy is intent and drawing as much blood out of the cut as humanly possible when they see it, and it just gushes out of both of their heads. There are moments near the climax of the fight where both men seem like they’re barely able to stand, but they continue to kick and punch and claw just out of pure spite for one another.

The finish is really good, too, with Backlund using a chair introduced to the ring to help seal himself the victory and retain his belt, but it’s elevated by the post-match as Patera cries foul at the ref as if he himself wasn’t the one that brought the chair in the ring in the first place. Just peak bully asshole behavior, the kind of thing that makes you rejoice when Backlund dropkicks him and sends him reeling out of the ring. Hell yeah, man.

2. Jackie Sato vs. Tomi Aoyama (AJW 1/4/1980)

This match has gritty matwork, an amazing sense of escalation both in said matwork and in the bombs that are thrown in-between, and an incredibly invested crowd more than willing to make their voices heard for both competitors at all times.

In other words, this match is one operating on a much higher level than that vast majority of joshi wrestling 44 years later.

Jackie Sato is defending her WWWA title here against Tomi Aoyama, the current All-Pacific champion, and as such the match is worked relatively evenly, similarly to the Backlund/Patera bout. This also bleeds into the finish, in which they opt for a double knockout to protect both of their top champions.

Dissapointing? Sure, maybe, but it really is just a footnote to me in the grand scheme of such an awesome clash.

What these two lack in terms of a heated, furious rivalry they make up for with sheer intensity and determination in their wrestling. Aoyama in particular is so zeroed in on attacking Sato’s leg, wrenching on her submission attempts and applying so much torque to the limb. She always feel active in her attack, and more than a little mean-spirited in that approach, refusing to let go of a figure four attempt when Sato reaches the ropes in an almost heelish manner.

Of course, Sato rewards her opponent’s great work through her exceptional selling both in the holds and when they stand back up after a rope break. She knows exactly how to properly convey the feeling of anguish that one might imagine when Aoyama applies her holds in such vicious fashion, always straining her face in pain as she struggles to fight out of it. When they reset, she limps gingerly on the leg. When she hits a big boot after minutes of limb work, she shakes the leg before letting it hit the ground, just to let you know it’s still affecting her.

It’s not like she’s exactly uncomfortable on the mat, either. While Aoyama undoubtedly controls the majority of the technical exchanges, Sato’s no joke in that department, either, transitioning with a head scissors on the mat or expertly turning Aoyama’s body scissors into a Boston crab. The technical wrestling on display from both women on here feel more advanced than just about everything else going on around this time, and probably for years to come.

However, while both are more than game to take each other down and work through submissions, Sato is more comfortable going through her arsenal of bombs on the feet, and what an arsenal she has. At one point she puts Aoyama in a jackhammer position and then just drops the challenger’s neck onto her knee, which feels inventive in 2024, let alone 1980. All of her offense is as nasty and painful and innovative as her opponent’s holds, like her use of the ropes to drop Aoyama right on her head on a backdrop suplex. Aoyama’s definitely no slouch on her feet, either, with the beautiful dropkicks she stuns the champion with at the start, but the roles feel clearly defined; Aoyama will win if she keeps it to the submissions, Sato will win if they engage in her domain of offense.

Both women look so exhausted by the end that, as much of a cop-out that it is, the idea that neither women were able to stand up to beat the referee’s count makes sense. It’s telling about the the work of both women that they were able to make a fuck finish like this feel not only inoffensive, but arguably logical in its execution. Breathtaking match, easily the highlight of AJW so far.

1. Jim Breaks vs. Young David (Joint Promotions World of Sport, Taped 2/13/1980, Aired 2/23/1980)

If someone said that this was Davey Boy Smith’s best match ever, I wouldn’t argue with them.

In fact, I think I might even be inclined to agree with them.

As a scrawny upstart, this is far from the heavily muscled Davey Boy that made his name on WWF television, but it’s easily the most invested I’ve ever been in him. From the outset, he looks every part of the underdog babyface to Jim Break’s cocky, arrogant heel, staring nerviously down at his shoes during introductions and beaming up when his own name is announced.

Once the bell rings, he really gets across the idea that he can take it to Breaks, getting the better of the champion in the early rounds of the bout and properly flustering him. His moments in control are brief, but they have a lot of energy to them, such as the short punches he gives Breaks in a headlock during the seventh round. When he’s asked to be sympathetic, which is the majority of the match, he’s great there as well, exceptionally selling the damage his opponent’s inflicted on him over the course of half an hour. There’s always a sense of struggle for him to regain the advantage, constantly going to facelocks to break out of Break’s control.

Young David gives a genuinely great performance, all the more impressive given the fact that he’s only 17 in this bout, according to the announcer. It’s the kind of performance that makes you understand how, 12 years later, he would be main eventing SummerSlam and winning singles gold in the WWF. Definitely to hang your hat on as a young wrestler in a pool full of much older, expertly talented technicians. A commendable thing.

However, and I cannot state this strongly enough, this is almost entirely the Jim Breaks show.

Jim Breaks is fucking unbelievable in this match.

It’s maybe the best performance anyone has given all year. He’s such a smarmy prick in this, never feeling even remotely sympathetic as he tortures this poor teenager. He immediately establishes his true colors at the end of the first round when he cheap shots David after the bell’s rung, and for the next eleven rounds he shows no signs of contradicting this asshole persona.

Breaks here is more akin to a shark in water than anything resembling a wrestler, constantly swarming Young David and attacking the limb he thinks is going to give him the best chance of winning. In the early rounds, it’s the left leg, and he goes to town on it, stomping away as David hides his face in his hands in agony, kicking it after the round’s ended, twisting and contorting it in unnatural positions on the mat. When that doesn’t work, he shifts to his arm on the same size, bending it backward and forward in ways that look excruciating. One spot in particular in the ninth round where he interocked the arm with the top rope and then wrenched it back shocked me in its sheer violence and evilness.

Even aside from his brutal control segments, it’s the things he does outside of that that make you hate him even more. It’s the way that he jaws at the fans to rile them up in the fourth round. It’s the way that he jumps up and down with his fists in the air when the decision to award David a pinfall is reversed because he was under the ropes, as if he did something impressive. It’s the way that he puts his hand out to bait his young opponent into trying to shake. It’s the way he argues with the ref over perceived hypocrisy towards him.

Everything Breaks does in this is designed to get heat on him and sympathy on David, causing the crowd to go into a frenzy in the last round when the kid feigns an injury and rolls the champion up to tie the falls, leading to a draw that almost feels more triumphant than if he just won both falls. An extraordinary achievement, and exactly the kind of wrestling that stands out in this year and really any year. The best match of the mid-year.

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR:

5. Bob Backlund

I don’t love it.

There are a few choices I could have went with for this pick, and all of them have one or a few signifcant flaws on their resume. I considered Jumbo Tsuruta, who has had some great matches between January and June, but doesn’t really feel like THE guy driving these matches. Jackie Sato and Terry Funk have both looked all-world great in practically everything I’ve seen from them, but the volume simply isn’t there. Hansen and Inoki feel too inconsistent; the folks in the British scene simply don’t show up enough on tape to get a good enough feel of them yet.

Backlund maybe has the most glaring flaws of any of these candidates.

I hate the Hogan matches from this year. I don’t know why these were so abnormally bad compared to the rest of his output this year, but they’ve been some of my least favorites watches over the course of this project. The April match was particularly egregious, with both men content to lazily lie in holds for minutes at a time, refusing to offering any interesting escalation in their matwork. It is especially frustrating with the knowledge of Sammartino and Zbyszko also being on the card, offering a great match packed with all the drama and action that the world champion is denying the fans.

However.

What Bob Backlund’s output lacks in consistency, it more than makes up for in its peaks. Backlund probably has the most amount of matches I would consider genuinely great of anyone that isn’t my #1 pick. Both the Patera bouts are awesome, with the Texas Death Match in May being the crown jewel of his year and a ridiculously great performance from him in particular. He had a surprisingly great match with Antonio Inoki on a CWF show, of all places, as well as good stuff in New Japan both alongside and against Tatsumi Fujinami.

When he’s on, few people looked better than Backlund this year, and it’s for that reason that he gets up to #5.

Recommended Matches:

• vs. Bobby Duncum (WWF, 1/12)
• vs. Ken Patera (WWF, 1/21)
• vs. Antonio Inoki (CWF, 4/16)
• vs. Ken Patera (WWF, 5/19)
• w/ Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dusty Rhodes & Stan Hansen (NJPW, 5/23)
• vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW, 6/4)
• vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW, 6/5)

4. Rick Martel

It shouldn’t be fair for Rick Martel to be as good as he is this year.

The guy’s so good in the mid-1980s, that you would almost expect him to not look as good so early here as a relative youngster in the business..but he does. He feels like Rick Martel already, just like his tag partner already feels like Roddy Piper, and it’s reflected in his output.

Showing up exclusively in Portland footage, he is undoubtedly the benefit of being in the orbit of Buddy Rose, who is one of the best guys in the entire world. I definitely wouldn’t deny that. But even aside from that fact, he has maybe my favorite Harley Race bout of the year so far in January, a title defense where Race lets the kid show what he could do for the majority of the match, and he shines in it. His performance really brought the whole match to life, whether it be working on Race’s arm in such a varied and interesting manner on the mat to selling the NWA champion’s offense like death when called for.

Outside of that, him and Piper consistently have good to great matches with the Sheepherders over the course of the year, amounting to the strongest run of any team in the world. The energy Martel brings in these tags is infectuous, high stepping in excitement at getting the opportunity to sock one (or both!) of these rotten motherfuckers in the face. And he’s equally as great on the sell, too, providing an excellent face-in-peril for the heels to dominate before Piper can make the hot tag at the end.

All of that, and he still has the Buddy Rose matches to talk about.

These two genuinely have a magnetic chemistry that it’s impossible to look away from. I mentioned the May match earlier, but the match in April is every bit as good in my eyes, with Rose just going to town on Martel’s leg in the first fall, and the French babyface selling the damage exceptionally over the course of the next two while clawing his way back in it.

These matches have a sense of danger and intensity in them that is rarely topped by anything else across the world. Sure, you can say that Martel isn’t the best guy in them, but he brings more than enough to these bouts that I’m confident in my assessment that he’s been a top 5 worker so far in 1980.

Recommended Matches:

• w/ Dutch Savage, Roddy Piper & Stan Stasiak vs. Butch Miller, Luke Williams, Buddy Rose & Sam Bass (PNW, 1/5)
• vs. Harley Race (PNW, 1/12)
• w/ Roddy Piper vs. Butch Miller & Luke Williams (PNW, 1/26)
• vs. Buddy Rose (PNW, 2/9)
• w/ Roddy Piper vs. Butch Miller & Luke Williams (PNW, 3/15)
• vs. Buddy Rose (PNW, 4/26)
• vs. Buddy Rose (PNW, 5/17)

3. Larry Zbyszko

As you’ll see in the recommended matches, the vast majority of Larry Zbyszko’s case comes from his feud with Bruno Sammartino. For many, this would be seen as a mark against his case for one of the best in the world. After all, how good can you really be if you’re only having good stuff with one person?

However, and I cannot stress this enough, the Sammartino feud fucking rules, and Larry Z is such a big part of it.

The first match, while great, is more notable for the angle that comes out of it, but what an angle it is. Zbyszko’s frustration at getting outclassed by his former mentor eventually boils over and he viciously and mercilessly attacks Bruno, busting him open with numerous chairshots to the face. It’s quite possibly the most violent thing I’ve seen in the year so far, and it is absolutely wonderful.

This sets the stage for the multiple matches that they have throughout the first half of this year, all really great in their own ways. Zbyszko is real mean in these bouts, really getting across the anger and jealousy he feels for his former friend. It certainly doesn’t hurt him any that the crowds for these matches are constantly the loudest I’ve heard all year, often coming to a fever pitch when Bruno starts going into his comebacks while Zbyszko bumps expertly for him.

Zbyszko’s year may be sparse in terms of diversity, but the quality of his work is too undeniable for me to not rank him. The bastard cheated, stalled, and stomped his way into the top 5, and considering what’s awaiting the second half of his year, I would be shocked if he didn’t remain there. The best wrestler of the best promotion of the mid-year.

Recommended Matches:

• vs. Hussein Arab (WWF, 1/12)
• vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWF, 2/2)
• vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWF, 3/3)
• vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWF, 3/24)
• vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWF, 4/12)
• vs. Bruno Sammartino (WWF, 4/21)
• vs. Dominic DeNucci (WWF, 5/19)

2. Buddy Rose

The sentimental favorite.

As someone that’s watched all the Portland footage that’s available from 1977-79, we are clearly in the midst of Buddy Rose’s peak, which seems to have really started the previous year. The case for Rose is what it always has been, which is his versatility. There’s not a guy in the world that has the level of variance in their performances as Playboy; he’s just as likely to offer a brilliant stooging comedy performance as he is to offer a vicious heel performance, zeroing in on a body part and going to work until he wins the fall. The immensity of his ability is such that this contradictory nature can showcase itself within the same match, really speaking to the near unmatched level he’s operating at in the first half of 1980.

Even more impressive is his ability to work with practically anyone. His year is predominantly centered around feuds with stalwart babyfaces Roddy Piper and Rick Martel, but he gets solid to good singles out of guys like Frank Dusel, Stan Stasiak, and Steve Pardee. Additionally, he adds to his case after the Sheepherders turn on him halfway through the year, putting on multiple strong matches with Butch Miller.

Rose simply has a Midas touch that it’s hard to overcome. He’s great at putting a babyface over as tough, great at making that babyface work for their heat, great in singles, tags, straight matches, 2/3 falls matches, gimmick matches, etc. He really feels like the quintessential heel of the early 80’s, even moreso than what Ric Flair will as more footage of him pops up, I have to imagine.

The centerpiece of PNW comes at #2 at the mid-year, and as long as footage persists, he has every bit a chance to at #1 by the end of the year.

Recommended Matches:

• w/ Butch Miller, Luke Williams, & Sam Bass vs. Dutch Savage, Rick Martel, Roddy Piper & Stan Stasiak (PNW, 1/5)
• vs. Stan Stasiak (PNW, 1/19)
• vs. Frank Dusel (PNW, 2/16)
• vs. Rick Martel (PNW, 4/26)
• vs. Rick Martel (PNW, 5/17)
• w/ Butch Miller & Luke Williams vs. Dutch Savage, Rick Martel & Roddy Piper (PNW, 5/24)
• vs. Butch Miller (PNW, 6/7)

1. Tatsumi Fujinami

Tatsumi Fujinami has the felt like the correct choice here from the start, if I’m being honest.

No matter if it’s as a junior or as a heavyweight, Fujinami comes across as a truly elite worker, especially in a promotion like New Japan that feels hit or miss outside of him. Choshu doesn’t feel like Choshu yet, and Inoki and Hansen’s feud over the course of the year feels like it doesn’t quite hit the marks you would hope for, given the participants involved. Fujinami, though, feels like appointment viewing no matter where he is on the card. Even when the likes of Dusty Rhodes and Bob Backlund are brought in, their best work is often when Fujinami is in the mix.

I think, even moreso than the standout work, his floor is truly exceptional in comparison to his peers. Few of his matches ever reach below even average, and every singles outing has been solid at the very least. Even in the (unfortunately) clipped footage we have of him outside of Japan, the matches look worth watching if for nothing else than the effort he’s putting in to make them good.

And don’t even get me started on the good stuff.

Just in general, Fujinami is an interesting wrestler to me in that he feels almost like a jack-of-all trades. It’s easy to distill a wrestler like his successor, Shinya Hashimoto, or even his peer in Riki Choshu, to their bare essentials, but I don’t feel like Fujinami can really be put in a box in that way. He’s very good on the mat, showcasing a willingness to keep things moving in a natural fashion that’s almost as exciting as his high spots, which are as dazzling as anything you’re like to see all year. He’s an exceptional seller. He can even brawl when pushed to, but his composure usually remains level in a way that I find compelling now where I was less enamored in the past.

It’s really his intensity that stands out the most to me, though; it doesn’t matter if he’s hitting a dive onto Dynamite Kid on the outside of the ring or going hold for hold on the mat with Bob Backlund, he puts so much effort into what he does, fully commiting to putting across a match as a sporting contest. In practically every match I’ve seen from him he’s doing something interesting, and it actively adds to the matches.

The junior ace of New Japan takes his rightful place at #1, and he has every chance of retaining his position with all the footage that’s left in the second half of the year.

Recommended Matches:

• w/ Antonio Inoki vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (NJPW, 1/11)
• w/ Kantaro Hoshino vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (NJPW, 1/18)
• w/ Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen & Steve Keirn (NJPW, 1/25)
• vs. Dynamite Kid (NJPW, 2/5)
• vs. Steve Keirn (NJPW, 2/8)
• vs. Ashura Hara (NJPW, 4/3)
• vs. Mike Graham (NJPW, 4/4)
• w/ Bob Backlund vs. Dusty Rhodes & Stan Hansen (NJPW, 5/23)
• vs. Antonio Inoki (NJPW, 5/30)
• vs. Bob Backlund (NJPW, 6/5)

For those of you still here, thank you for reading! This was my first attempt at a comprehensive list, and I tried to do justice to all of the great footage I’ve been watching for the past three months. I appreciate the support, truly. Until next time!