Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Match # 83: Tommy Rich vs. Moondog Rex (4/22/85)

Lou Thesz on the mic at ringside with Lance Russell. Very cool for me as a fan who read the guys book and respect the history of wrestling. This is a rugged old school southern match up and even the lock ups are stiff. I’m a fan of Rich vs Rex right away.

Rich stays on Rex’s arm with wrist locks and hammer locks. He adds some strikes in there to control the bigger opponent. The commentary hear is really solid at getting over the match up differences between the two and what Rich will be doing. Rex takes over with his bullying style. Simple low impact stuff that looks really good. Nothing flashy.

They’ve got a new blue mat, I’m guessing to hide how dirty looking the white mat was.
Rex holds a chin lock on Rich for a bit, and the crowd does come back with Rich before Rex cuts him off. I get the sense this isn’t going to go much past second gear. Still, the announcing holds my attention in the dull parts.

It picks up with a slugfest Rich wins. He drop kicks, back body drops, and punches his way through Rex. Rich wins with the Thesz press in homage to Thesz at ringside. The camera cuts early from the pin, which was probably covering a mistake. Match was fine, but nothing really high level ballot-wise. 2 ¼ and 4/10.

Match Discussion Here