Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 34: Brick House Brown/Master Gee vs. Reed/Ladd ( 10/21/84)

I love the idea of Reed & Ladd teaming. It has that officially passing the heel torch feel. Both are good in their own ways. I remember Brown fondly as a face from late World Class/USWA, including an angle where he was knocked out and dressed like a lady in the ring. No idea who Master Gee is, but some of these men have not been following the wellness policy.

They establish right away that Ladd is the wily vet who runs his team. In fact, Ladd’s work/facials/talking make the first few minutes. It’s not great. Its slow motion, the faces stink, and Reed doesn’t get together with them well on running in. But Ladd works smart and takes a few key bumps. Ernie Ladd was an intellectual worker.

Reed gets a tag and that bulky HHH moment where you know he’d be pretty good if he didn’t carry so much muscle. Contrarily, it’s his mouth that makes his selling and ring presence great. He has to do little as the people bought in long ago.

My praise for the heels aside, this match sucks. It’s great in an old school psychology way. If you love wrestling in territories, or you love the thought process to laying out matches and being great territorial heels, it’s worth the view. But the babyfaces are paint-by-numbers crap being lead through a match. It isn’t like Reed & Ladd’s stuff is on par physically or stylistically with the midnights or Dibiase.

Back and forth test of strength stuff till Ladd gets the heel heat with a ‘well placed” knee to the back. Brick House Brown projects a pretty good babyface in peril selling, so it got better with this structure.

Brown almost gets a hot tag, but Hacksaw Reid throws an awesome All Japan-esque suplex. He follows with a great swinging neckbreaker. Reed could have been great under different circumstances. If only wrestling did reward size and often lead to substance abuse. Then again, that’s like saying if football was played with a basketball, Michael Jordan would have been awesome. Also, Ladd’s leg drop was amazing.

Hot tag to Gee, who only has a drop kick going for him. Wait, he has a good, but slow as all hell, roll up pin too. The refs looking right at this and not counting! Beck breaks it up so Ladd can get the pin.
Every Mid South house show match had the exact same layout for tags. This was on the less impressive end. 2 ¾ and 4/10