Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 68: Tommy Rich vs. Masao Ito (7/9/84)

This match is joined in progress, but thankfully only about a minute or two are clipped. I’m a mark for head lock to pin and back combos, and that’s how this starts. It’s worked very light, but I mean that in a good way. No need to kill yourselves ever time you get out there. This has some art to it.

Rich is starting to look like Jack Victory out there. He’s getting heavy. Ito is (or is pretending to be) Asian, so naturally they’ve attached him to Tojo Yamamoto. He’s doing a karate/ku fu gimmick, which never captured me, and seems to work similar to a Samoan.

Ito beats down Rich and after a few minutes Rich comes back with punches that rile the crowd. Rich’s double knee to the head is great. Ito comes right back because he’s not selling any head shots. Lots of thrust shots to the throat. Judo-CHOP!

Rich has another come back with a flying elbow. They clipped it again because these guys are both and forth dripping sweat. The comeback is quelled again, but showing good flow the comeback comes sooner than later.

Boy, do the distraction spots in these matches look bad when Paul Morton is refing. People gave Tommy Gilbert hell on ther Mid South set, but this is just as bad. Yamamoto is there, but strangely enough he’s with Gilbert because we have to have Jimmy Hart manage EVERY heel on this set. Hart interferes twice but there’s a slow kick out near fall twice. Then Tojo gives Rich a fist full of something (salt), he uses it on Ito, and wins with a flying press. New International champ, for those keeping score. Better then I’d think match, but nothing to special. 2 ½ and 5/10.

Match Discussion Here