Demolition vs Killer Bees - 5/18/87 - MSG
Killer Bees vs. Demolition
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VR: Been putting off watching this. Not the biggest fans of the Bees and 87 Demolition usually feels off. But I decided to watch.
Demolition don't have Fuji with them for this. Killer Bees dominate the first half of the match. Its that supposed bizzaro heel in peril format certain types gripe about. But its good solid tag work from the Bees. First working over Smash's knee before Ax tags in
and his knee gets worked over. Ax does a great job selling his leg being hurt. While B.Brian Blair does a nice looking figure four. Ax can't even walk at this point.
This is very unusual for a Demolition match as they did not put up with this nonsense by the end of the year. They get the advantage when Smash drops the big elbow on Blair while he keeps Ax in the figure four.
Now Demolition are firmly in control. But its still not quite Demolition. Very little clubbering. Just keeping Blair grounded with a head twist and a painful looking Chin lock. By 88 Demos really mixed it up in matches.Ax has a look of sadistic glee once he gets back in the ring.The good thing about the old WWF was they had a great tier system where guys had time to figure out what works and what does not. Before getting the really big push and without getting labeled a jobber.
Really neat spot where Blair leap frogs over Smash and does a backslide. Going with this thing where Blair keeps trying to get the quick win instead of the tag. Great sequence of Demolition working over Blair.
Blair takes a page out of Tito Santana's book with the flying Beerito and tags in Brunzell. Brunzell hits the best dropkick ever. A dropkick like that should be a finisher. He rolls up Smash but gets kicked in the head as the Demos switch places for the win. The Bees are hoisted by their own petard.
Demolition are still a work in progress at this point. Lots of unDemolition stuff here. Not much clubbering and too much faces on offense. Later in the match it bugged me how often Blair was whipped into his side of the ring. Something prime Demolition would ever do.
Still a really solid tag team match.
MD: This is one weird match and I can't say I love it as a whole. There are some specific parts that I think are great though and I want to talk about those. Yes, the Bees are on top for the first half of the match but it doesn't bug me in the least. In this case, it's not just just formula or "warming the crowd up" as people sometimes claim with WWF tags from the 80s. It's actually the story of the match and it's a smart one. The Bees come in with a killer strategy. They're going to work on the legs of Demolition. And when Smash makes it out after they work on his legs for a while, they immediately put Ax in a double spinning toe-hold and it's completely believable when the legwork continues. I do wish that it played a bit more of a role in the second half of the match, though. In general, though, of all the heel Demolition matches I've seen so far, there haven't been many where the faces really went after a bodypart like this. Once again, Demolition works a completely different style of match. I shouldn't be surprised at this point.
They did a great job of wearing down Blair in the second half of the match though there's some stuff like the extended chin lock that you don't usually get out of Demolition matches. The finish is great as the Demos do a switch of their own with Ax keeping his face buried in the mat so the ref can't tell he's not Smash. A taste of the Bees own medicine.
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