Bill Robinson vs. Giant Baba

[9.0] "Baba still looks pretty solid here and Billy sells and bumps really well for the big man. First two falls are pretty good, but it really steps up during the last fall, the match feels very modern in execution despite the three falls, and I think it works out for the better in this case. ****1/4"

[10.0] "Incredible stuff. Worked at a powerful rate, no wasted time, which is never a common thing regardless of era. These guys want to put on a great and exciting match and they do. You get Robinson working holds and escapes, and Baba - with some help - keeping up with him. Robinson is so charismatic, so crisp, so great at contesting work. Robinson wants to ground Baba, wants to work his knees, but Baba is able to work around that enough to win. Robinson bumps and sells so well, and they strike each other so hard - Baba's strikes for once are legitimately good. Baba is still fairly quick and he is so magnetic, so engaged. This has all sorts of paces and modes and moments and it's only 21 minutes. It's also a decisive, clean finish! Great, great stuff, one of each man's career matches. 5/5"

[8.0] "Very good match. This is a typical 70s AJPW title match, but instead of going 60 minutes, it's condensed into a tight 25. The result is the same excellent standard of work but at a much higher pace. There is very little in terms of "restholds" and down time, it's feels and plays out like a much more modern match. You do lose some of the sense of struggle and sense of scale with the shorter runtime, but the increased excitement and pace more than makes up for it. The work is wonderful and while there is some really nice technical wrestling, this is much scrappier than you'd expect, they start throwing chops and punches in the first fall. This is full of really nice storytelling touches and beats: Robison targeting Baba's knees from the start, which pays off in the second fall; Robison selling the effects of the backdrop and playing the wounded animal for most of the second fall, Robinson taking a bump in the third fall and selling his head once again, much like he did the backdrop, like he got rocked again. Like a lot of matches from this period, the finish just sort of happens but it's a decisive finish and it comes after a pretty great match"

[10.0] "This is like a 25 minute sprint over 2/3 falls. Terrific match and contender for match of the decade. I went in expecting this to be a chess match on the mat, but this was a fucking fight, full of stiff slug fests and big throws. Robinson even does a plancha at one point."

[6.0] "I enjoyed Robinson's offense. Some of this stuff I'd like to continue seeing today: the jumping spinning elbow, the dive to the leg taking both of them outside. Cool stuff. This is a better Baba match."

[7.0] "You'd think with these two competitors, it'd be the matwork that makes this a classic bout. There's some good stuff on the mat here, as Billy Robinson navigates his way around the 6'10 Baba, but it's the striking that really steals the show. There are a few moments in this match where everything clicks and you feel like you're watching a classic match, but there are other times that are a bit awkward that I think hold this bout back from being a truly memorable encounter. These are both great workers and I feel like they were so close to cooking up a genuine classic in this match, but for a few reasons, it falls short."

[8.0] "This is a real strong title match with a strong challenger in the famously dangerous Billy Robinson. Baba is able to take the first fall after stunning Robinson but Robinson does shine with his submission holds and general all-round skill in the ring. He? s a bit more than a technician. He threw some great strikes and dropkicks to break his wrestling up. I like Baba. But he does a whole lot except throw chops and follow Robinson? s lead. At least his strikes looked good in this match. ***3/4"

[7.0] "Fantastic match with a superb pace. Robinson might very well be the greatest wrestler in the world, and this was one of Baba's finest performances. 75"

[7.0] "The best Baba match I've seen since Fritz Von Erich. A bit slow in the beginning but it is the 70s what do you expect, right. The falls were actually pretty fun though, which was nice, since most old 2/3 falls matches would have falls just end abruptly out of thin air."

[10.0] "Billy Robinson did a great job carrying Giant Baba to a great match, but Baba deserves credit for his hard work. This match had great wrestling psychology and was a precursor to the great AJPW matches of the 1980s and 1990s."

[8.0] "Considering that this match happened in 1976, I think it's fair to say that it felt like it was ahead of its time in terms of action in bo3 falls matches. Story was simple, but the way how this match was structured has things that you can see even today. Robinson's performance was just marvelous."

[10.0] "Robinson reminded me a lot of Fit Finlay in this. He has a very European way of doing things. The opening exchanges don't go anywhere, but they do a terrific job of putting over Robinson's suplexes as a threat. Robinson has all kinds of ways to both put on a hold and to escape one. At one point, he uses his own head to wretch on Baba's leg! This is a Robinson carry job, but Baba knows when to bring out his big chops and boots to enhance the action. Perhaps it was the three falls breaking apart the action, but this match flew by and it's essential viewing to anyone who wants a taste of 70's AJPW, a very underrated decade for the company."

[6.0] "Pretty solid match, one of Baba's better singles matches. Robinson is just such an awesome wrestler to watch, crisp and amazing when to chain wrestling and he was able to carry Baba to something very watchable. It also didn't outstay its welcome and there wasn't a lot of downtime here either."

[6.0] "Solid technical match with a surprising pace and a convincing effort by Baba (still watchable, then). Robinson is like the best thing for a chain-based match, despite being so simply, this match is still enjoyable. **3/4"

[9.0] "It might not be as iconic as Billy's match with Inoki from the previous December, but I think it's great in its own right, and in some sense it might be a precursor of things to come in AJPW. Of course this was Baba and Robinson's first encounter, but they were able to use the 2/3-falls structure to set up something like three matches in one, and the way that sequences in later falls build upon earlier ones was eyeopening for me, and I definitely thought of matches 15+ years forward. Robinson is such a fantastic performer, and his bumping here is excellent. And Baba's not at his physical peak, but he definitely still has gas in the tank. I loved this match, though I do think that it could've become an all-time classic with an extra five minutes or so. ****1/4"