Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 50: Rock and Roll Express vs Dirty White Boys 4/15/85

The Dirty White Boys consist of Len Denton and Tony Anthony. Big rugged brawler types that look like Ted Dibiase’s unkempt older brothers. Very southern guys who fit the gimmick, and of course, they are the heels. We all know the Mid South tag champs – sellin’ Ricky Morton and the invisibly man, house of fire Robert Gibson.

I can never get over not only what a different world the mid 80s and territorial wrestling were, but the south itself as compared to my upbringing in a much more urban Northeastern City. Watched some matches from the set, including this one, with a friend who lives about half and hour away in a much more rural section of Pennsylvania. He was going over the finer points of marketing Jim Duggan and Magnum TA with me and it’s amazing what he saw in it and how he could see it get over. You know from history, but to talk to someone with a little more real life application to the cultural differences, you realize how well Watts knew his audience.

Match set up and layout is typical of Mid South and very typical of RnR Exp. Matches. Morton shows up the heel early. Then they do an entertaining segment where the heel (I think Tony Anthony) cheats during a head lock. Lots of slight of hand/misdirection. A part of me loves the story and execution within the early match body. I like the old school heel pulling the hair, lying, and then later saying the face did it to him. It does seem though that the ref in this match is really trying to be a part of it a bit to much. He’s running around the holds in an attention grabbing way, being very talkative with the wrestlers, and constantly engaging the crowd. Some of this enhances the match, but other times I’m wondering why this why is being so dramatic and stealing the attention.

Gibson is in long enough to mess up a headlock takeover. Morton back in obviously for the heat. I liked the way they got to the heel advantage. Morton clocks the heel on the apron nly to get a running knee to the back. Heels go to work on Morton’s back. I immediately realize how much bigger these guys are than Morton, which I think is a plus because they still move well. The fans are irate at all the heel work, so I guess it services it’s purpose. Some of it is high impact stuff where Morton does the leg work and then gets smashed by the powerful DWB. The rest is simply a bear hug and abdominal stretch in the middle with the heels cheating on all accounts. Both work the back, both cases involve Morton facing his partner, and both have the DWB working well in cutting off the ring and helping each other.

I’m realizing that the time announcements work like cues in the match. At the 5 minute mark Morton gets the selling going, and now at ten he gets a reversal and puts the ab stretch on the heel. Just a hope spot. I’m left wondering how much time cues were used in the territories and what the ring announcers knew about the matches themselves.

Hot tag to Gibson actually misses his hand, not that it matters. Gibson in and as usual it signifies all participants in the ring and the end of the match. Gibson for some reason feels this is the moment turnabout is fair play. In the chaos he locks on and abdominal stretch of his own, and while poetic justice, it’s pretty worthless in a brawl when the man’s back/abs aren’t weakened. This gives Tony Anthony (I think, don’t know who is who) time to get a chain out of his boot and take down Gibson hard from his throat to a back bump. The legal DWB pins him for the win. A satisfying heel victory to further the story. I guess it was non-title.

A very basic nuts and bolts tag match from the era. Perhaps this is a victim of personal or cultural leanings, but I was more a fan of the hardnosed and psychological character based stuff when the RNR faced Jake Roberts and Steve Williams. These matches back to back gave a fun comparison of styles, and neither is that far off from the other for entertainment value. This is a slight step down my taste chart, but a good match I liked watching. 3 and 6/10

More match discussion here