I was pleasantly shocked when I watched this match because there is this weird misconception that older things in sports tend to be slower or less skilled. It’s like when people say Magic Johnson wasn’t that fast but then you watch an 80s Lakers game and they’re doing more running and more meaningful defense than what critics give them credit for. Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens against Billy Robinson and Red Bastien has some of that sentiment going on. This thing fucking moves.

The champions barely finished protesting the surprise matchup before Bastien comes in like a shotgun blast and starts giving Stevens all sorts of trouble. He yanks Ray toward the center of the ring with a tight headlock. The kind where he’s dragging the head against Ray’s body and you can see Ray’s abject refusal and panic to be brought to the center. Red even does this cool thing where runs up the turnbuckles while maintaining his grip on Ray and then brings him down with a headlock takeover.

Bockwinkel tags in and fares little better but at least he has the presence of mind to push Bastien toward the ropes although it only slows down Red and Nick still eats a scoop slam. This opening stretch leaves a large footprint for the rest of the match. The champs are so blitzed and taken by surprise that they decide to play defense for the rest of the bout. They switch up their tactics and go guerilla mode.

Red then brings in Robinson, who greets Nick with a European-style uppercut and immediately goes for the pin. Stevens has to come in and kick Robinson in the head to break it up, giving Bockwinkel enough time to recover and drag Billy into the champions’ corner, where Stevens can take over. They do everything in their power to keep him from getting close to Red, because as presented in this match, they have no answer for him.

There is some very good stuff here between Bockwinkel and Robinson. There is a parity of scientific skill with both men that we only get a brief glimpse of, specificaly when they lock up. Bockwinkel looks to have the advantage in strength but Robinson manages to avoid getting trapped in a testing of power with Bock.

The champions eventually get a more substantial period of control over Robinson, and I thought this was where their tag-team work became especially good. Bockwinkel and Stevens are very opportunistic about using their corner, and they’re constantly looking for ways to interfere whenever Robinson threatens to recover his footing. At one point Bockwinkel punches Robinson out of the ring, leaving Stevens to continue the punishment around the apron while Nick occupies the referee. There’s a lot of nasty little business here, with Robinson getting his head knocked against the apron and having to deal with attacks that he can’t always anticipate because the referee’s attention is elsewhere.

I like how the champions use their proximity to each other to make Robinson’s life miserable. They also recognize when their partner is in trouble and intervene quickly enough to prevent the opponent from capitalizing. It’s good defensive teamwork, and the frequent interruptions become particularly important because Robinson is proving so difficult to contain whenever he’s allowed to get something going.

And the selling. Oh, the selling is exquisite here. I’m sure others will disagree, but I love the way these fellows bump and react to one another’s offense. Everything is snappy and sharp, and there’s this feeling of being awake. Bockwinkel is especially good at getting knocked around while remaining aware of the danger he’s in, and Stevens is perfectly willing to go flying whenever the babyfaces get their hands on him. I think some of this works because the bumps have immediate consequences for their positioning. Somebody gets knocked down, has to scramble back to his feet, or suddenly finds himself in danger of being pinned while his partner rushes in to save him. They don’t always spend much time selling the accumulated damage, and I can understand why some people might find that objectionable, but there’s so much urgency in their attempts to recover that I rarely feel like the attacks are being ignored. They’re taking punishment while trying to prevent the other team from exploiting the openings it creates.

Robinson eventually manages to fight his way back into contention, and a shoulder-tackle collision with Stevens leaves both men down long enough for Bastien to finally get involved again. Red comes in like he’s been waiting for somebody to give him an excuse to start beating people up, and I absolutely love the enthusiasm with which he goes after the champions. He throws some really good-looking, angry punches and starts knocking Stevens around with dropkicks. Red Bastien is a filthy beast here, and whenever he gets going, the champions have a miserable time trying to contain him. There’s a particular satisfaction in watching Stevens take all this punishment after spending so much of the preceding stretch helping Bockwinkel make Robinson’s life miserable. Bastien eventually hoists him up for a big atomic drop and scores the first fall.

The first fall really developed nicely. There’s enough conventional tag structure here to recognize the champions’ attempts to isolate Robinson and build toward Bastien’s eventual comeback, but the wrestling doesn’t settle into an especially rigid pattern. Robinson keeps finding opportunities to fight back, the champions continually interfere with one another’s opponents, and the referee has to work almost as hard as the wrestlers trying to maintain some semblance of order. The action has a wonderful restlessness to it, and I think the wrestlers understand that the presence of a second opponent makes even a seemingly secure advantage rather precarious. It’s also a pleasure watching Bastien come in and immediately change the complexion of the match after all the trouble the champions have gone through trying to keep Robinson under control. They’ve been wrestling this thing as a team out of necessity, and their first real failure to contain the opposition ends up costing them a fall.

The second fall is a breezy five-minute affair, and the champions are still having a miserable time trying to get anything going. Robinson and Bastien come out swinging again, with some excellent double-team work, including a catapult that sends Bockwinkel into Robinson’s waiting forearm. The champions keep having to interrupt pinfalls and submissions, and I love how much of their wrestling has become an exercise in damage control. Stevens breaks up a pin after Robinson catches Bockwinkel with a gutwrench suplex, and the champions eventually manage to get Billy trapped in their corner again, where they start roughing him up and trying to impose some order on the whole business. I think that’s what makes their performance so interesting. Bockwinkel and Stevens are accomplished wrestlers, perfectly capable of dictating a match when given the opportunity, but they’ve spent so much of this contest reacting to the problems Robinson and Bastien create that even their best attempts at establishing control are repeatedly interrupted before they can accomplish very much. They’re constantly having to deal with the immediate danger of losing, which is a hell of a predicament for the usually dominant champs.

The champions’ selling deserves considerable credit for communicating just how badly things have gone for them. Bockwinkel and Stevens are fantastic at receiving offense, sometimes taking these wonderfully exaggerated bumps that make Bastien and Robinson look like absolute killers, but I also love the emotional dimension of their performance. There’s a visible agitation to how they recover, scramble for position, and repeatedly turn to one another for assistance. They remind me of the Greeks in the movie Troy, in that one scene where the Trojans launch a nighttime raid on the Greek base. It’s all frenzied on-the-fly defense driven by veteran instincts and adrenaline.

Bockwinkel eventually gets Robinson into position for a piledriver, which ought to represent a significant opportunity for the champions to turn things around, but Billy fights his way out of it and the challengers are back to making trouble. Bastien returns with more high-energy offense before Robinson finally puts Bockwinkel away with a backbreaker. I rather like how decisively the whole thing ends. Red and Robinson start strong and end strong, soundly sweeping the champions.

I think 4.00 seems appropriate. There’s some terrific wrestling here, and I love how much personality these four men manage to squeeze into such a frantic contest. My only reservation is that the relentless pace sometimes prevents certain exchanges from breathing, while the abbreviated second fall leaves me wanting a little more. Still, there’s enough intelligence and craftsmanship here to make this an excellent match.

Goes to show that even in pro wrestling, things can go south in a hurry on any given Sunday.

★★★★ — 4.00 | Attempt at Olympus