[8.0] "The comment from the guy who gave it a 5/10 is exactly what's wrong with modern wrestling and modern fans. What do you even mean by "rest hold mania"? The more days go by, the more I grow to despise that term. Whoever coined and popularized "rest hold" has done serious damage to how fans perceive professional wrestling today. Now everyone thinks holds are just filler, something to transition between big moves, or a chance for wrestlers to catch their breath. But the truth is--the HOLD used to BE the move. The high spots were the transitions. If holds don't engage you, then there's no shame in admitting that maybe you just don't like wrestling at its core. Because the hold is the wrestling. Everything else is just extra. People like to call the shift toward nonstop action "evolution, " but to me, it's more like devolution. Saying that holds are just filler while high spots are the real content is like saying promos are the real point and matches are just filler--basically a Vince Russo mindset, just on a different subject. Now, about the match. I'll be honest--even though I love holds, the first fall did feel a bit dragged out and wasn't the most engaging. That's a fair criticism. But if you're using illogical terms like "rest holds" to make your point, then your criticism loses all credibility--because it shows you don't even understand what you're criticizing in the first place. But I don't believe the 1st fall section was done just to "build anticipation" for the second and third falls either. That's not the purpose of holds. Despite the slower pace, the first fall was still solid. At its core, wrestling--physical wrestling--is about one person putting another in an inescapable position, and the struggle to escape it. That's the drama. That's the heart of it. Up until the first fall, I'd say it was a strong 7/10, but the intensity and storytelling in the second and third falls really elevated it for me. Overall, it was a pretty solid match--very much in the 1970s style. Sorry if most of this review turned into me ranting about the misuse of terms and modern fan mentality, but it had to be said. There's not much else to say about the match itself--it was just solid wrestling."
[9.0] "Traditional 70's NWA Title match. See a lot of complaints over rest holds but those were the high spots and the regular maneuvers of the day. Loved Jack's selling. Dory's splash on to Jack's neck looked viscous. Almost 40 minutes to the first fall. Second fall now has some much needed urgency, love that every move matters. Jack gets the second fall with a figure four. We get a little silly in the third fall with the roll up sequence both for comedy and to put over how desperate they are to win at this point. Dory locked in the Spinning Toe Hold and Jack survived to a draw. It is a very acquired taste, and it's not for everyone especially people who grew up on a modern wrestling/WWE/AEW palette. But this is old school as it gets, first fall is a little slow and long for my taste which knocks it down a bit. ****1/2"
[9.0] "This begins with a slightly quick pace with quick lock-ups with both getting the better of each other. There was an excellent hammerlock reversal exchange where Funk seemed to out manoeuvre Brisco with a quick step, only for Brisco to shift and spin out of it and apply his own before Funk adjusted on his end too. Jack Brisco found a smart strategy to work with, working Funk's shoulder and arm joints which was able to keep Funk somewhat subdued, while keeping him in his range. Even when Funk attempted to speed up the tempo, Brisco brought him back to earth thanks to that weak point. Likewise, Funk began working Brisco's knees, even hooking in a slight proto-version of the STF, before expertly taking the back with body scissors, even knocking Brisco's arms out from under him to break an attempted escape. Brilliant spot. I can see why some might find this sort of match monotonous, but I think they always keep it interesting and hook the crowd into very simple things like a boston grab attempt or a bearhug (which is sold well by Brisco) and even simple lock ups. They commit to making everything an effort and a contest through their performance. And I think it takes them nearly 40 minutes before they do a move that's even slightly sloppy, which turned out to be an awkward transition into a cobra twist by Brisco. Brisco seems to have gotten the better of Funk in this portion of the match, dominating Funk enough that Funk is sort of more defensive and less active than earlier in the match where it was like a game of tennis, but finally Dory Funk is able to pull something completely unorthodox to beat Brisco. He jumps and lands like a splash into a seated Brisco's neck. Gross. That's the first fall done with. Terrific wrestling. Brisco came out more fiery, throwing more mean uppercuts and forearm strikes, which Funk is more than happy to oblige but it almost costs him a fall after Brisco is able to pin him down for a close two count on a backslide. Brisco finally gets a fall after an excellent figure four leg lock sequence. Dory is left stranded and has no choice but to concede. Only now Brisco has 7 minutes to repeat it. And Brisco knows this, so he goes right for the legs and strikes once again. Funk, like a boss, just hoists Brisco up with his legs and throws him, and almost himself, over the top rope to create space. As the drama should reach its point, they do opt for a comedy small package spot, which was an odd choice. But desperation seems like a key attribute here, more than the comedy. And that's it for the rest of the match. This was a rare full match by the true masters of the sport, but it delivers to a high level. Not truly as transcendent as Inoki vs Robinson, which had more drama and entertainment, opposed to the stronger nuts and bolts in this, but it's a glorious match. ****1/2"
[9.0] "Absolutely fantastic match. At 43 minutes, the first fall is long, even for 70s NWA world title match standards, and can drag a bit but it sets up the fantastic ending sequence and the rest of the match. When Funk survives the onslaught and comes back to take the 1st fall the audience is molten for him and the rest of the match is an absolute masterclass in physiology. Even I, watching it 50 years after the fact and knowing the outcome, couldn't help but get excited and root for Funk to win. The work is stellar throughout, as you can expect given the participants, but when they kick into a higher gear for the last 20 minutes the match ascends into a whole new level. It's not a 10 because I do feel the 1st fall goes on for too long, probably because they had 60 minutes to fill, and you could shave a good 10 minutes off it. As a side note, I see a lot of mention of "restholds" in the comments for this match, as if the term makes any sense for a 1970s match. The term resthold implies that it's just something you do in between meat of the match, which may be the case now but not 50 years ago. In a time when pro wrestling resembled a lot more a legitimate catch wrestling contest, the holds and counters ARE the meat of the match. The two guys wrestling for position and leverage, putting each other in holds, wearing each other down, etc is the whole point of a world title match in the 1970s. It's like watching a boxing fight and complaining about everything that isn't a knockdown or KO, it's missing the whole point of what you're watching"
[5.0] "WELCOME! TO RESTHOLD-MANIA! The magic here is in proving how if you give them nothing for half an hour they will pop huge for a hip toss or a kick out. The question which needs asking is why that is a point that needs proving to begin with because the fact of the matter is that all they do after those opening 40 minutes has very little to do with what comes prior to it, and even if you want to convince yourself that it does, it certainly doesn't achieve a thing in that time it would not have accomplished equally as successfully trimming that first fall down by 20 minutes. Still, the final 20 minutes are strong, Funk's splash across the shoulderblades the highlight, and the ending a great use of the submission finish."
[7.0] "Jesus god in heaven that splash onto a seated Jack Brisco's shoulders was one of the most painful things I've seen. Every disc getting chucked out of his spine like a frisbee."
[7.0] "This is the most quintessentially 1970s World Championship match of all time. Wear down holds, long technical sequences and a non finish. If you're looking at this from the perspective of two men trying their hardest to emulate a real grappling contest it doesn't get much better. That being said, the match can get a bit dull with soe of the holds being stretched out for minutes. But if you want to know about 1970s wrestling this is the match for you."
[4.0] "I'm going back and watching whatever I can from the history of All Japan, and this match almost put me to sleep. I know, I know. I'm looking at it through a modern lens, but even with that in mind, I was more entertained by the first Giant Baba and Destroyer match. The non-finish to this just felt anti-climactic, and I felt like I could have gone to the next room and made myself a tea or coffee with how long some of these hold sequences were. Some of the moments in the match were nice, though, and the final 10 minutes got relatively intense. That said, I'm so glad pro wrestling evolved past these headlock endurance fests."
[4.0] "This is a classic match. Don't ask me why though - I'm actually more confused about the reverence for this match after watching it. You get your 60 minutes of technical wrestling, but that was hardly a rarity back then when the NWA world title was involved. A lot of the workholds look like restholds, the pacing is hardly ever quick enough and most of the match is done in front of a silent crowd, making it that much harder to invest in. They both fill the hour of time available shifting their offense to different body parts rather than honing in on a specific target throughout. It's not a broken rule or anything; plenty of wrestlers in the 70s/80s would work this way to great effect, but I think it really depends on how both guys will register the earlier work done on them for the remainder of the match. We get some of that in the last 10 or so minutes: Jack shows some great groggy selling and Dory is keenly avoiding any attack on his legs to the best of his ability, but far too much of the prior 50 minutes was a chore to watch them trade control segments with little reason to care. A good finishing stretch can only redeem so much. **"
[6.0] "Good match, starts out really slow and methodical with some exiting sequences sprinkled throughout. About halfway through the stakes start escalating with each men scoring a fall, culminating in a good finishing stretch with both wrestlers trying to finish the match. However, this didn't need to go for 60 minutes and the match suffered because of its glacial pace. (* * * 1/4)"
[8.0] "Excellent hour long match featuring sound technical wrestling mixed in with submission attempts and an exciting finale as both men attempt to finish their opponent."
[6.0] "This is legendary match for... some reason... to certain crowds... aaaaaanyways. It's not a bad match at all, and it is fascinating that this kind of seemed to set the stage for the elaborate epics of the 90s, as this is basically a series of control segments with increasingly complex cut offs, even though the body of the match doesn't have a great arc. Some of the matwork holds up and some doesn't. I've used Dory Funk, Jr. as a dartboard before and this match... will never convince me to change my opinion on him as he was full swing in his dullness. There was a huge difference in the depth and gravity that Brisco was able to convey with his selling compared to his robotlike opponent. There is also some armwork even though both guys focus on leg based submissions. I won't call this a snoozefest but it's striking how much below the british style this is. If anyone brought the NWA titlematch style wrestling to it's peak it was Terry Funk."
[10.0] "One of the greatest hour long matches I've ever seen. Two legends in this business, two all time greats. I believe these two could have gone two hours, that's how good they were."
[8.0] "Two legends of the business have what is one of the better versions of their 60 minute draw, although you can clearly tell that neither man is going all out"
[7.0] "Wenn man Fan von 60 Minuten-Matches ist der alten Schule, dann wird man hier definitiv auf seine Kosten kommen. 60 Minuten langes pures Wrestling. Restholds, Konter, technisches Wrestling wie man es heute eigentlich gar nicht mehr sieht. Das Problem, was ich habe, Dory Funk ist einfach langweilig. Brisco hingegen ist so viel besser in Selling und auch in der Ausführung der Moves, Funk agiert, als ob es kein Publikum gäbe, die selbe langsame, "unspektakulärere" Art. Funk würde, egal ob 100 oder 60. 000 Leute gleich wrestlen und ich mag es einfach nicht. Leute wie eben Jack Brisco, Terry Funk oder Ric Flair haben den selben Stil, sind aber dabei so viel besser und das Zuschauen macht auch Spaß. Trotzdem gibt es hier immer wieder Sequenzen die Klasse sind."
[9.0] "Awesome match. Great limbwork throughout the whole match by both men, and their selling was on point too. And I especially loved the final ten minutes were both guys desperately were trying to make the last fall. And they did some nice comedy in the final minute, making the Japanese audience laugh. ****"
[8.0] "Der Stil, der bei z. B. bei einem Osamu Nishimura oft aufgesetzt, wie eine Imitation und gezwungen wirkt, wurde hier, in seiner Zeit, gelebt. 60 Minuten langsames, methodisches aber immer starkes, nie langweiliges und hochgradig "glaubwürdiges" Wrestling von zwei Wrestlern, die man heute ohne Übertreibung als "alte Meister" bezeichnen kann. Ein echtes Juwel und ein Leckerbissen aus dieser Stilart."
