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[1980-12-12-Houston Wrestling] Harley Race vs Gino Hernandez


Phil Schneider

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Another true hidden gem. 2/3 Falls NWA title match, with Gino as the local heel challenging a heel champion. It was a pretty great performance by Gino as he turns the crowd over to his side by the end, kind of a devil we know better then a devil we don't situation. I am not the world's biggest Harley fan, but he looked pretty boss here, all of his offense was super nasty looking, his big headbutts looked like they smooshed skulls and he had this awesome looking big right hand in the corner. Gino was a total boss, jumping Harley at the bell, piledriving him on the floor, spraying blood as he goes for his giant back elbow. He was so good as the local heel, it really makes me want to see more Southwest Tully to compare them in those rolls. More Gino please!!

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When I immediately saw that Bruce was uploading this today I popped big. This was worked so smart. When Flair would come down to Dallas and wrestle a Freebird he'd be cheered. Here was different. In the 1st fall Gino was his normal dick head self and he was booed. Race wasn't loved by the crowd either. Race's punches were like jackhammers. Once Gino won the 1st fall the crowd started supporting him. Once he was busted open they got behind him. I loved once he was DQ'd in the 3rd fall the crowd left him remembering he's a rat bastard. Harley was really good here. Gino played his underdog role to perfection. He even got the crowd to get behind him. Gino's elbow from the top was boss. I also loved Gino's jumping up and down after he won the 1st fall.3 3/4*

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Very interesting match, being heel vs heel. I think this brought out some of Harleys' better qualities. The way he took over both in the first and second fall were both very gritty and effective. He gave Gino a lot, but it never seemed as over the top as you'd see in matches where he was putting over a babyface. Absolutely loved the paralled spots on the floor to set up the ends of the first two falls. I'm not sure if I buy into how much the crowd was getting behind Gino, but there was an element to that and ultimately a tragedy that even though he was basically doing everything right and on the level (even the chair shot felt warranted), he lost his shot at the belt due to no fault of his own. Then he had a temper tantrum and all the good work as a competitor he had done was washed away.

 

I do wish it had just a few minutes more to heat up the finishing segment, but the sudden nature of the finish sort of played into that feeling of Gino doing nothing wrong. We're lucky to have it.

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Hated the ending here, who came up with the over the top rope DQ? By Gino's reactions it was an accident. He should've got DQ'ed for the chair shot. But overall a nice little NWA title match which I was hoping for because it had been a while since one was uploaded. Gino continually to impress. They dont train youngsters like this anymore.

 

Also how many beers had Harley had? A bit big around the belly.

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  • paul sosnowski changed the title to [1980-12-12-Houston Wrestling] Harley Race vs Gino Hernandez
  • 4 years later...

1980-12-12
Houston Wrestling
Harley Race (c) vs Gino Hernandez
NWA World Heavyweight Title Best Two Out Of Three Falls Match
Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, USA
★★
Card

Interesting dynamic with two nominal heels going at it. Both usually work light and from underneath, giving a lot to their babyface opponents, but here they had to shake that up a bit. Gino took the initiative in the first fall, jumping Race at the bell, and the nail in the coffin for Race was when he ate a Piledriver on the floor. Race took the same approach in the second, suplexing Gino onto the floor on the outside to solidly put himself in charge and I liked the mirroring of both men using a similar tactic to deal a punishing blow to their opponent. After Gino was posted his forehead opened up something fierce and it was only a matter of time before Race put him away, which he did by actually hitting his diving headbutt.
The third was a see-saw affair, with a few moments where it seemed like Gino might have been able to pull it out, but an inadvertent suplex to Race which sent him over the top rope triggered an automatic DQ and the champion retained.
This was pretty nice. Gino was far more aggressive than he usually is, he bled well when called for and they teased a potential title change pretty well, but I really wished that Race had been more assertive. Much like his matches against Baba, he seemed quite content to work at a methodical slow pace, but his offense didn’t have enough oomph and the match relied a lot on Gino bleeding and selling to generate the necessary drama.

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