Don Kernodle & Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat

[10.0] "What an epic. I wish cage matches still felt like this. Gritty lighting. No meaningless spots. Just pure war and drama."

[8.0] "This was a great match. I'm not too familiar with the feud leading up to this match, though it's apparent that it was high steaks as not only was this a Steel Cage match for the NWA Tag Team Championship, but also if Jay Youngblood and Ricky Steamboat lost here, they would disband as a team. Now just to manage people's expectations, this took place in 1983 and wrestling was very different back then to how it was now. This match wasn't about high spots or crazy tag team moves. In many ways, this was a basic match in how it was done, but what made it work was the execution and the excitement of the fans in attendance. This was a slow burn match that eventually turned into a fight. At one point all 4 men were bleeding. Now there was one major spot in this match, with Sgt. Slaughter going to the top of the cage to deliver splash and Steamboat moved out of the way. The finish had Don Kernodle pass out from a Cobra Clutch by Youngblood, though Slaughter was able to make the save with a clothesline. He then put Kernodle on top of Youngblood for the pin, but as the referee was forcing him back to his corner, Steamboat place Youngblood on top of Kernodle instead and the ref counted the pin before Slaughter realized what was going on. I'll say the selling from all 4 men here was great, giving you the impression that they were exhausted from a battle. ****1/4"

[6.0] "It is a decent match but it is just a little too slow for me where the pace is concerned. Steamboat and Youngblood are very over with the crowd. Bob Caudle is a national treasure. David Crockett was no better than Vince McMahon at announcing a match."

[4.0] "There are moments in this match that are good and noteworthy, but this match doesnt feature the urgency required to be a main event.. The pacing is not there, and not enough happens. You can see the potential already apparent with Ricky Steamboat however."

[9.0] "Having the heels build the hot tag throughout the first quarter of the match was really well done and seeing Youngblood and Steamboat dismantle Kernodle made the crowd go ballistic and hold that energy for the rest of the match. But if that didn't do it alone, the bloodbath nature, Slaughter's cage dive, and the huge babyface struggle to victory sure did. Outstanding match."

[7.0] "The match for the NWA Television title was half as long, but it was quite fun and more eventful. This match, however, which went on for over half an hour, was very slow and boring, and although the big moves from, mostly Ricky, occasionally brought the crowd to life, then everything went back to normal and it felt like the match went on for ages. Anyway, the match started to get more interesting after the midway point. The moments involving the cage were impressive, the wrestlers' selling was top notch. The knee drop from the top of the cage looks amazing even now. Ricky and Jay winning the titles was a good ending to this bloodbath."

[9.0] "The one thing I love about Ricky Steamboat is that he can make a headlock exciting. There's apparently some kind of heated rivalry between these two teams. This era was a little prehistoric for me, but I remember really enjoying this match the first time I watched it about 10 years ago. I'll never understand why they have traditional tag rules in a cage match with no disqualification, but they do it here for some reason. But I may have enjoyed this match more the second viewing as it was a bloody brawl."

[8.0] "The storytelling in this match is great. The momentum shifts between teams is good enough to keep fans guessing on who it is. Lastly, the use of the cage in a traditional tag team match was pretty fun to watch. 8/10"

[9.0] "I do think they could have shaved about 5 minutes off this without losing anything, but I dug the energy of the match, the bloody mess of it all in the latter half, the big selling, the strong psychology, Slaughter jumping off the top of the fence like a mad man. Very good bout, particularly if you enjoy the style of this era, which I do."

[10.0] "If you look on YouTube there's currently a playlist put together of the entire build of this match, which really enhances it as so much of what happens here is playing off the themes in the storyline. Slaughter's kneedrop is one of the greatest spots of its era. ****1/2"

[6.0] "A little slow to start but the story is good with it being Kernoodle in the entire time trying to get the tag to Slaughter. Plenty of solid selling once it gets rolling halfway in. The story of Steamboat and Youngblood not being able to team if they lose is pushed hard by the commentating team and ties in great. Slaughter with a wicked spot missing a splash from the top of the cage. Everyone gets color and the ending is great. ***1/4"

[10.0] "One of the greatest steel cage matches of all time. Very long and starts at a very slow pace, but that more or less comes with the territory. Nice all-odd-against and must-win dual intersecting stories. *****"

[6.0] "I know this is from the 80's but dear God the beginning of the match is sloooow. I mean, headlock after headlock for 13 minutes slow. It finally kicks into gear halfway through and gets pretty bloody and intense. The version I watched has some kind of technical glitch and the final pinfall gets cut off (so I can't comment on that but I did see who won). Decent I guess, but twice as long as it needed to be and not something I'd ever really want to watch again."

[9.0] "This is fantasic from go. The story makes it so the Babyfaces have to win. which is great because the crowd is behind them! Slaughter is absolutely tremendous in this, as are Youngblood & Steamboat. Maybe this went too long, but it's still fantastic. ****1/2."

[9.0] "Just a great match with a great story. Steamboat and Youngblood had to win here, or else they could never team again. The crowd was firmly behind them. And they put on a tremendous babyface performance. They beat the crap out off Don Kernodle, who was a bloody mess. Great match, which was great for its time. ****1/4"