The Wrestling Framework 01.15.12: Unification

MATCH: Bob Backlund vs Harley Race

Psychology: 2
Work Rate: 2
Crowd: 2
Spots: 2
Finish: 2
Overall: 10

Psychology: The psychology between the two is the embodiment of old school psychology. Two champions squaring off to be the one that is THE champion. To some, it may come off as boring. To me it came off like both men were fighting for something huge. This was a fight for something huge. Two of the biggest titles in the world were to be unified under one of them. The tenacity and fight in both men was made evident with every little thing they did. It was like watching magic. Okay, maybe not magic. That’s overdoing it a bit. But the story was quite evident because both men busted their ass to make sure that they got the point across. The selling was decent and the continuity was there. It was really fun watching the chemistry between these two men unfold to give us the awesome match that it was. Not only that, but they made sure that what they did pandered to the fact that it was a high profile match and made it feel like it was a match that would become a legendary classic in the future. The current state of wrestling desperately needs guys like Race and Backlund. And I have an idea of some guys who are coming up the ranks that show promise.

Work Rate: The work here was excellent. While to some people it may have seemed like it was the same thing over and over again with Backlund throwing Race in to the headlock, Race escapes, Race gets body slammed, Race gets put in headlock with a few times with Race getting some random offense in. I was starting to think it myself, but I’m always subjective enough to try and figure out if there’s anything deeper. And there was. The work rate in that ring was the way it was to help advance the story. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with Backlund’s work in this match. He really showed just how amazingly talented he was. And he showed off how strong he was. And able to show off his amateur wrestling background. As for Race, man he just looked like an all around badass. Just a big, mean, hard-hitting son of a bitch. I would not want to be in Race’s sights when he’s pissed. Well, these days there’s not much to worry about, I wouldn’t think. When I saw him last year, he looked to be in pretty bad shape. But regardless, he’s still a mean SOB. The work rate here was top notch in my book.

Crowd: This crowd was nuts. It was definitely a main reason for making this match feel like it was a big deal. Not saying that it wasn’t, but again, this is another perfect example of how a crowd can help elevate a match. The crowd was buzzing throughout the entire match. And every little thing that Race and Backlund did had them popping like crazy. These are the kinds of crowds that I really wish I could have been there live as a part of the crowd to really get a full feel of the electricity that I can only imagine was coursing through that crowd. This crowd was crazy like a Denver Broncos crowd watching Tebow do what he does best. Actually play for half a quarter. Sorry, I had to throw in some Tebow here. Had to give him a little bit of recognition considering that the Patriots are going to beat the Broncos. But enough about that, this crowd was white hot and they didn’t miss a beat. They continued to be loud and exciting throughout the entire match and that, my friends, is just plain awesome.

Spots: This match had a lot of the classic old school spots. They didn’t really get to do the dynamic brawl on the outside, but there was enough offense that you even got to see Race get bloody. Granted, this shitty copy of the match greys out when you see Race up close and you can’t really make out the blood, but I’m pretty sure he’s bleeding. I’m guessing the grey out is because it was on the WWE OnDemand or whatever and it’s their little thing that they don’t want to show blood or something. I want to point out that Backlund also was the reason for some spots that were not so old school. Like that little bridge he did when Race was trying to get out of the headlock and instead Backlund pulled him right back in. That was fantastic! And the crowd ate it up like it was a crazy flippy move off the top rope. One thing that almost got the spots score reduced a bit was the amount of near falls from the headlock. I was a little annoyed by it at first but then realized that it made the match a little more exciting. You didn’t know if that certain time that Race had his shoulders on the ground was going to be the end or not. It was definitely a great dynamic added in to the match to make it exciting and keeping you on the edge of your seat.

Finish: That finish was a picture perfect way to keep both men looking strong. There was no decisive finish and no decisive loser. I was a little put off when Race got DQed, but then I watched it again and somehow the first time around I missed the ref kicking Race’s hand away from the ropes. I think my wife was talking to me at the time and you know how women can get when you don’t give them your full undivided attention. But it’s okay, I love her. But with that in mind, it made the end a lot more special. The ref was in with Backlund. He didn’t want Race to win. He was a regular ref, too. He wasn’t a special guest referee. That made the whole ending controversial in a good way. And boy was Race pissed. The one thing that I thought was really funny was when Backlund looked like he was humping Race. I don’t know what that was all about. Maybe he was trying to make it look like he was cranking on the headlock, but it didn’t look as mean as it was supposed to. It looked funny as hell. Some of you may disagree with me on liking the end, but this is a great way to do a DQ finish. Make it look like the loser is getting screwed. No better way to make the loser still look strong and continue a feud.

Overall: I have to give props to Mark for continuing to bring me some great matches. I was going to use a more current match from NJPW that had Kurt Angle and Yuji Nagata taking on Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko. Good thing I didn’t use that. Not saying it wasn’t a good match, it was. But I think I needed a good classic like this to get the Framework rolling again. That’s one of the reasons you guys read it, right? Loved this match and it made me remember how much I enjoy watching guys like Backlund and Race. Backlund, especially. He’s always been a favorite of mine. And like always, I’ve got an open invitation to all of you readers to send in matches you’d like me to break down or send in your own break down to be posted here. Hell, you can even send in a Past vs. Present you’d like me to do and even include your own little blurb about it. It’d be cool, I think. And don’t worry, I wont post anything that would make you look bad. I’m not an asshole.

WINNER: BOB BACKLUND

COMMERCIAL BREAK

A tribute to a great guitarist and part of my favorite band.
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PAST VS. PRESENT

Chris Jericho

VS.

Nick Bockwinkel

THOUGHTS

I should start off by saying that I’m comparing Jericho in his last run to Bockwinkel. And I should also state that Jericho said it himself that he was basing his character off of Bockwinkel. Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t know a whole hell of a lot about Bockwinkel. So I had to do my research. And after watching matches and promos with Bockwinkel, I have to say that I’m 100% behind this one. Jericho did a great job in integrating Bockwinkel’s style in to his own with out being a carbon copy. Jericho took the smooth, methodical talking style of Bockwinkel and took it to a whole other level. He took his style and made it modern and better. Not trying to discredit Bockwinkel at all, in his day he was the bee’s knees. But Jericho took what Bockwinkel did and made it better. I think a lot has to do with Jericho’s all around talent for performance. Jericho was born to be a performer. I’ve seen Fozzy live and I have to say that it is still one of my favorite concerts. Jericho has such a way about him that he can take pretty much any role he’s given and make it great. A lot of people call him overrated, and I just can’t see why. Maybe it’s because they’re just jealous that the man can take on things he wants to do and succeed. And the people berating him will never be anything they want to because they don’t have the drive that he does. Or possibly the talent.

Now let’s take a look in to the in ring work. I noticed Bockwinkel was a thinker. He was deliberate and didn’t do anything without reason. Jericho was the same way. Another testament to Jericho’s talent is in how he took Bockwinkels wrestling style, melded it with his own, and created something better. He improved himself by taking something that worked in the past and mixed it with what he was doing. It was the perfect way to re-invent himself. There was a lot more methodical and thought out offense in his arsenal. And I’m just overly impressed with how much he emulated Bockwinkel without being an evident Bockwinkel copy. What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Do you think he matches up with someone different? Or are you one of those guys who just don’t care for Jericho for whatever reason? Let me know.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Heh, this was being aired the year I was born. If I could find a copy of this, I think I would buy a VCR to play it.

B-B-B-BONUS ROUND!

In this weeks bonus round, I’m a little late on the idea, but I wanted to talk about what I think about Brock Lesnar coming back to pro wrestling.

In my opinion, I would not mind seeing him back in a wrestling ring. The guy is huge and he has some serious talent. He’s not just a big muscle bound meat-head that would slam his opponent around like a rag doll. He has a very impressive amateur wrestling background that is a serious help when it comes to in ring work. I think that if Lesnar really tried, he could reinvent the big man. Think about Lesnar going out there and WRESTLING. I’m talking Benoit style technical wrestling. Going out there and really using his wrestling and even MMA background to show that big guys in the WWE aren’t just brutes with limited move sets. When he did that Shooting Star Press, regardless if he botched it, it was impressive. To think that a guy of that size could pull off something like that blew my mind. WWE would have you believe that every big muscle guy is all power and no agility. But that just ain’t true. How awesome would it be to see Lesnar come out and clobber his opponent, then start throwing in some impressive suplex and finishing his opponent off with an aerial maneuver? That would be ridiculous. It would make everyone realize how boring guys like Mason Ryan and Big Zeke really are.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, this week was harsh. Had to couple this with two papers on food borne illness and chronic disease. That was fun. But I hope you enjoy this week. I’m trying to get more reader interaction. I think that would take the Framework to the next level. So if you guys want to be a part of the Framework, you know how you can.

For you football fans, the playoffs are in full swing and it seems that by Monday we will know our NFC and AFC championship games. Most likely see Pats vs. Ravens in the AFC and Green Bay vs. San Francisco in the NFC. What I hope to see in the big game is Ravens vs. 49ers, but most likely is going to be Pats vs. GB. While it’d be a great game, I would rather see a team who hasn’t won a SuperBowl in the last decade there. Granted Baltimore won in 2001, but still, the Pats and the Packers have both graced the big game in the last 5 years.Well, folks, until next week…

PARTY HARD!