Irishstunner

I enjoyed this match up for what it was, the opening minutes of it honestly was the best part. The quick slam by Martel on Race set the tone for what I would've thought would be a faster pace match than most of Race's NWA Title defenses. Harley takes the huge over the turnbuckle flip and sells hard for Martel. Unfortunately the bulk of the first fall was spent with the challenger cranking on Race's left arm in vice like fashion. Bonnema on announcing does his best to sell the idea that Martel is working the arm because he is smaller than Race, but that is a bit of stretch. The element of the Portland Sports Arena (a converted bowling alley) came in to play with Race going to the top rope, only to be slammed by Martel. The low ceilings of the PSA are always something that I enjoyed seeing how the wrestlers would work around. People complain today about a lack of selling and big spots becoming transitions, this matches first fall was as "spotty" a finish as any match up today. The finishing sequence that sees Martel kick out of the "hot shot" across the top rope, followed by a piledriver then a vertical suplex/brainbuster finish in my mind is major overkill. Suspending disbelief is one thing, but with Race as champion that piledriver should've sufficed. Martel winning the second fall with the sleeper was fun, as I always enjoy seeing the babyface "waking up" his opponent post finish. By the time we get to the 3rd fall we know we are stretched for TV time. So the time elapsing finish was a bit predictable, but it's effective. Race is a guy who as I have gotten older I've enjoyed more, but this match isn't one of his standouts. It served the role of simply being NWA traveling champion trying to make the local young babyface look good.