Antonio Inoki vs. Dory Funk Jr.

[10.0] "For me this is the best japanese match from the 1960s. Even though it ended in a draw, this match had amazing wrestling and near falls. Oldest japanese five-star match imo. *****"

[5.0] "I think it's a shame that this had to go for 60 minutes due to probably the politics at the time. This could have been a very good match but you can tell they were stretching it out to see if they could go for the full 60 minutes. There were big drop kicks that weren't sold aswell, even though they were the most exciting part of the match."

[10.0] "This is the realest a real graps has ever real grapped. Such a beautiful, fun match. Such great moments throughout the match. Perfect dynamic and execution. I really long for the era of wrestling where the rules meant something and played into the drama--where the heels genuinely tried different tactics to get heat and manipulate the audience into rooting against them instead of impressing the audience on how great they are at playing a bad guy. It's so simple, I don't understand why modern wrestling can't grasp it. Yes, I know kayfabe is dead. But honestly, in this era of dead kayfabe, something like this might actually work and impress people even more--just in a different way. Viewers might be left wondering whether it's real or scripted. And if it was a work, everyone would wonder how in the hell they did it, because it felt completely natural. This is the oldest Dory Funk Jr. match I've seen, and as always, he delivered. I wasn't used to seeing him as a heel. At first, when they shook hands, I thought it might be a face vs. face dynamic--but no, Dory did a hell of a job as the heel (and so did Sr). Inoki, as always, had the entire crowd behind him. Man, some of the pops during face comebacks and counters were so loud they nearly broke my eardrums. Every time I thought, "It can't get more interesting than this, right? "--they followed up with something even better. And the climax was, as always, chef's kiss. Modern wrestling seriously needs to bring back time limits--and not just as a formality, but actually use them. It's such an amazing tool for building drama. Overall, this was so well done. I still need to check out some real deep cuts from the '50s and '60s, but I'll come back to that later. For now, this happens to be the last match on my Golden Age watchlist, and I can't wait to dive into the '70s and '80s."

[9.0] "Not perfect by any means as there were certainly a few periods that dragged and I struggled to stay engaged, but the technical prowess on show was beautiful at times and overall I thought these two nailed it. It was my first time seeing Dory Jr and he was great, while Inoki continued to show why he would be a mega star. As far as 60 min matches go this will certainly be one of the better ones you see despite a lot of it being grapple heavy. ****1/2"

[6.0] "Parts of this were great, and parts of it were just what you have to shake your head at and excuse as being a product of a time when entertainment in general wasn't the dime-a-dozen thing it is today. The negatives are small in number but big in significance, since this was a 60-minute time-limit draw with a large chunk of the action consisting of what we'd unfairly demean as 'rest holds' if viewed with our modern eyes. This means this wasn't the sort of romanticised 60-minute draw we'd see from the top Japanese wrestlers from the 90s to the 2010s, where the focus wasn't "we need to make sure neither guy loses her because of inter-company politics" like it undoubtedly was in the 60s and 70s, but more "lets let these guys go as long as we can afford to so they can really show off everything they're capable of and give the crowd an awesome show". This match therefore ended up feeling slower than it otherwise would've if kept to maybe 30 minutes instead of double that, and it wasn't like there were moments of totally spectacular action in amongst those 'down' periods to totally make up for that long duration either. Now, while I prefer Okada-vs-Omega 2 about a hundred times more than I'd prefer this match, there's still plenty of stuff here that would be great to see in modern wrestling, both in terms of action and structure. Firstly, while the action was all very basic (as in, don't go expecting anything near a Canadian Destroyer or some no-selling and finisher trades), both guys did really well managing to direct that basic work towards effective little spots and sequences, as a big focus of the match was the story of just how consistent Inoki was in escaping out of or even countering Dory's various holds and pins. Sometimes he'd play the escape artist immediately, coming off as impressively scrappy, slick, and flashy, or sometimes it would take him a decent while to shake off Dory's control bit by bit until resetting to neutral. Either way, Inoki always carried himself with a clear flair every time he did so, which made him come off as a total star by being capable of shaking off the NWA World Heavyweight Champion's best efforts. It was pretty sweet whenever they were more quickly chaining their grappling holds and counter holds together one after the other, since it was enjoyable to see that flow of action but it thankfully never felt overly showcase-y. It's a tired point but it remains true with old wrestling: they were trying to make it look like a fight here, as they both actually resembled two athletes with advanced physical skills who were then trying to get the better of each other. There was no 'pageantry' or artificiality here (even if I can enjoy those in my wrestling at times), and it wasn't even simply a guy grabbing a hold because they needed to "slow the match down", to catch their breath, or to think about what epic spot was next; it was just two guys trying to wear each other down with holds that were intended to actually limit the other guy's movement and also, of course, to generally inflict pain/damage. In a wrestling world where we really only care about grappling to the extent that we care about submission finishers (which is maybe only because these submission finishers are kayfabe strong, not because they actually look convincingly painful), it's pretty cool and charming to see a wrestling match that resembles two wrestlers trying to actually out-wrestle each other. Even in their extended 'rest hold' sequences, both guys still did well selling that they were fighting hard but also intelligently for control, especially as they appeared to be using a lot of energy for their various isometric holds. All these 'down periods' of trading holds also just made the two wrestlers' later bursts of energy and any developments in the action come across as more interesting by contrast to that baseline level of all the rest holds. Inoki notably did really well whenever he picked up his selling in the 2nd half in response to Dory's increased brutality, which again did well making this match feel like a fight. It was also generally pretty impressive how they wrestled for 60 minutes but made sure to never repeat the same big spot twice and to almost always rely on different moves to set-up their extended sequences (e.g. whichever hold either of them would fight over for a while). I've given a lot of praise here, and I mean it all, but it sadly still remains that I've been too spoiled by all the amazing wrestling I've seen from the 90s (plus some of the 80s) to the current day, so while I can appreciate a lot of stuff here, it did remain a pretty big hurdle for me that the action still didn't resemble someone getting destroyed by a lariat or powerbomb, or that the moments when the pace and intensity picked up were so rare. If this was kept closer to 30 minutes and had a slightly better focus on a few 'sprint periods' then I'd be a good bit higher on this. Or maybe if their work here was actually only 30-50% of what they did, and the rest of the match was more aggressive, hate-filled, and generally more spectacular, then I'd think this was an awesome match, because what we saw here was really great more so as the 'foundations' or 'valleys' of a match rather than as making up the entirety of a match. As it is, I have to consider this one of those matches where I 'appreciate' it more than I actively 'enjoy' it. ***"

[9.0] "This was quite good. Inoki and Dory worked a 60-minute broadway almost to perfection, with an early emphasis on scientific wrestling before Dory chooses to mix things up a bit by dragging Inoki steadily into an outright brawl. Very few lulls and the ones that exist in this match don't drag things down too much. In terms of 1960s wrestling, this is a great example and can be used along with the likes of Inoki vs Brisco as a great overall example of a wrestling classic. ****1/2"

[6.0] "I appreciated some aspects of this match, but this overall wasn't that strong of a Broadway draw for me. I appreciated Inoki going to Dork Funk's arm whenever he had a hold in most of the match which was nice to see. I will say that the crowd reaction for this match was great, and they accomplished their goal of getting it over with the live audience.***"

[10.0] "We have Inoki, who is the fast babyface boy against Dory, the smarter heel one that finds a solution for Inoki's traps. This match has some ideas that's quite different in 1960s wrestling. It has a very good matwork, which I think is the basis for heel-face work, which is not bad, but I think it dragged a little bit, especially that it was 60 min draw in 1 fall ! , but with that heel-face dynamic, especially from Dory , it made the match more interesting and represented how good Inoki was ****3/4"

[8.0] "I'm not that familiar with late 60s wrestling, but I've enjoyed this one, a very solid match. It kinda dragged a little bit during the mat work which is understandable, but in general I think it was ahead of its time. Great response from the crowd which was super hot during a few spots. Good heel work as always by the Funks."

[9.0] "That's a great match, but those time-limit draws almost always feel dragged out to me and this one is no exception. But still, entertaining ground game, nice heel work from Funk and his corner, nice babyface fire from Inoki, plenty of big moves. So still a very good match."

[9.0] "In 1969, Antonio Inoki starts to become a singles star, after winning the World League in May, he gets a shot to the NWA title. The match ends in a 60-minute draw, and shows all Inoki talent that would make him the face of puroresu. (****1/2)"

[7.0] "A very enjoyable match for its time, I enjoy the intensity of the match, you can feel the heat form the crowd particular directed at Dory Funk Sr, even if the wrestling is basic for modern times, it still holds up very well."

[8.0] "A fantastic match for its time. While obviously it has a more simplistic moveset than a modern wrestling fan would be used to, there's a slickness and intensity to the match that stands up with any modern day strong style match, and it's easy just from watching this to see how much Antonio Inoki influenced Japanese wrestling history. The crowd reactions are stellar and there's a gritty reality to go along with everything they do, even if it sometimes comes across as sloppy or messy, that almost seems to add to the atmosphere. It's even a well-earned draw, a sometimes difficult ending to accomplish. If this match happened today, it wouldn't quite stand out the same, but for its time? A classic."

[9.0] "The heat for this is unbelievable and something to marvel at. Even compared to other matches from this period it's quite special seeing people mark out for a boston crab 30 minutes in and regularly throwing garbage at Dory Sr off-screen. I found the matwork in this more competitive and interesting than usual for the time period, Dory added innovation and Inoki added grit and struggle. It's a really good performance from Inoki, maybe he worked better when he had more to prove. Watching the match between Dory and Baba that would happen a day later really highlights what Inoki could bring. Great match."

[8.0] "High quality exhibition of technical wrestling with neither man seemingly able to gain an advantage for the entire hour of the match."

[6.0] "A classic 60s style bout for the NWA heavyweight title. Inoki overpowers Funk early with deep armdrags and shoulder tackles. Funk eventually avoids the running shoulder and takes control with a beautiful drop toe hold. Dory continually looks to lock in a modified STF as both men jockey for control. Inoki retains a hold of the arm on a Funk snapmare by rolling through. There is great body discipline shown by both men. Inoki locks in a body scissors which dominates the next portion of the match as Dory attempts every escape possible. This crowd is hot for every move. Funk manages to pick Antonio's ankle again but a rope break stops him short. Not one for rules, Funk digs a knee into Inoki's left leg on the way up as the crowd reacts strongly. Dory Sr. 's interference causes some light showers of trash in the ring. They do a nice job sectioning the match off into various holds eating up crowd reactions. Funk is working an arm lock and looking to force a pin. Both men looking to hit a boston crab followed by some unsuccessful pinning combinations. Dory once again looks at a rope break to take advantage driving a knee into the challenger's jaw. Another terrific moment where Inoki jettisons Funk into the corner only to have his dad block the buckles to save Jr. from taking any impact. Some back and forth, Inoki gets in some dropkicks exciting the crowd but a snapmare settles it back down before Inoki hits a backslide for a good two count. Double underhook suplex by the champ gets a two. A collission knocks both men over. Dory is up first and delivers a top rope knee drop that Inoki sells excellently. Another rope break, another Funk knee into Inoki. Inoki brings a phone in the ring that Dory ends up using before they head outside to brawl. They get back in the ring and a vertical suplex gets two for Inoki. Some more back and forth before times runs out with Inoki's abdominal stretch locked in and we have a draw. RATING: ***1/4"

[6.0] "This is a match that does have some strong points, but I don't think I can agree with others that it has aged all that well as a classic. This is mostly matwork, some of which is very good, but some of which is very basic and seems to be filler. There are also a couple of nice throws and strikes, but they are pretty far between. Must have been amazing at the time, but it's a little tedious watching almost 50 years later."

[8.0] "This match was really good, with a hot crowd, plenty of action but also some major weaknesses. Both wrestlers show some nice counters and mat-wrestling; I also love Dory Funk Sr. heel work, but the match somewhat falls apart at the end (40 minutes were more than enough, but they had to reach the time limit I guess) and it really lacks any clear structure or story."

[8.0] "1969 is the first year that Inoki starts to branch out and become a singles star, after winning the prestigious World League earlier in the year here he gets his first crack at what was then the most prestigious title in the world the NWA World Heavyweight title and shows the kind of talent that would make him the face of NJPW. I really think he out-wrestles Dory here in what is for me the second best match of 69 behind the Giant Baba vs. Destroyer match from earlier in the year."

[10.0] "One of those rare classics predating 1983 that you really should watch. Antonio Inoki is a legend, arguably the first REALLY consistent in-ring performers, and Dory Funk, Jr. was damn fantastic too. You could argue that whole "today's standard" bullcrap all day, but regardless, you cannot deny that this here is a must-see contest. *****"