Butch Reed vs. Dick Murdoch

[9.0] "I think this went too long, but I think that's more on the constant stops & starts of the referee for every little infraction rather than the pacing of the work Reed & Murdoch put together. They milk every sequence, every hold, for as many tweaks and nearfalls as they possibly can. Murdoch keeps taking shortcuts but he's the one more exhausted by the final stretch, while Reed is resolute as ever. A really excellent effort that's a bit less than the sum of its parts. ****+"

[9.0] "Was this too long? Yes, it was, but everything else about it was really great so I can't complain much. There was an awesome sense of struggle all through this, and the way they sold exhaustion in the final stretch was tremendous. Both guys were rough and highly physical, and it was just damn fun to watch them hammer on each other, even with the countout ending."

[10.0] "So, obviously this isnt going to be everybodys cup of tea. Its a 45+ minute Dick Murdoch match which could be what would turn someone off from watching this match, but lucky for me I love watching Dick Murdoch wrestle so I was excited to watch this one. Glad to say they absolutely exceeded expectations for this one. Absolutely wonderful pacing and structure, beautiful selling from both men and maybe the finest performance from Dick Murdoch Ive seen. Up there with the best long world title matches from the 80s, and honestly of all time. Not one time during this did I feel as if they were trying to kill time, they kept things engaging and interesting throughout the entire runtime. On top of the already incredible 35-40 minutes they top it off with an immaculate 5-10 minute final stretch and great post match that really put this in the upper tier for me. Something I could see myself ranking high, somewhere in the top 50 maybe even top 25. Truly impeccable stuff from these two."

[9.0] "This was great. Perhaps a little long for my personality liking but the grappling was done super well. You could feel the toll it takes on both. Murdoch isn't spritely on his feet but he knows how to wear down Reed with all of his strength. He had a ton of cool techniques as well like his hammerlock from the front, with the occasional body punch to make it more painful and uncomfortable to be in. Reed's selling was excellent and his surging comeback was terrific. A great tease for his eventual title win next month. ****1/2"