The January 12th, 1980 Pacific Northwest Wrestling show featured contrasting matches: a disappointing tag team bout with King Parsons and a masterful main event between Harley Race and Rick Martell. The show suffered from lazy booking decisions, including repetitive time-limit draws and poor finishes, ultimately weakening the promotion's credibility despite some standout performances.
Pacific Northwest Wrestling's broadcast on January 12th, 1980, presented a fascinating mix of wrestling performances and booking decisions that showcased both the strengths and weaknesses of the promotion during that era. This article delves into the matches, storytelling, and booking choices that defined the show.
The show opened with a tag team match featuring King Parsons and Matt Bourne against Buddy Rose and Chris Colt. The match began strongly, with Rose, Colt, and Bourne demonstrating exemplary tag team wrestling fundamentals. Their teamwork was tight, and they effectively built a story centered around working over Matt Bourne's arm. Quick tags and sharp double-team maneuvers kept the action crisp and believable, embodying the style Portland wrestling was known for.
Every time Bourne attempted to fight up from an armhold, Rose and Colt pushed him back down, feeding him into the next spot seamlessly. This segment of the match was a textbook example of how to tell a story in the ring through pacing and teamwork.
However, the dynamic shifted dramatically when King Parsons tagged in. Despite having wrestled for over a year, Parsons' in-ring skills appeared unpolished and unready for television. His punches and headbutts lacked impact, and even with Rose and Colt's efforts to make him look good, the match's quality deteriorated.
Chris Colt's over-the-top bump into a pole was an attempt to sell Parsons' offense, but it only made the match appear more like a staged work rather than a competitive contest. From a booking perspective, this performance would likely have been marked as a strike against Parsons.
When Bourne returned to the ring, the match regained some momentum, but Parsons' subsequent return again dragged the pace down.
The match concluded with one of the poorest finishes imaginable for television. Parsons covered Bourne, and Sandy Bar counted to three, but the bell rang prematurely at two, employing an old-time "ran out" finish. This ending was cheap, confusing, and misplaced the heat on the promotion and timekeeper rather than the wrestlers. It ultimately benefited no one involved.
In stark contrast to the opening bout, the main event between Harley Race and Rick Martell was a masterclass in pacing, psychology, and storytelling.
Both wrestlers were smooth, patient, and deliberate, allowing the crowd to absorb every moment. The match opened with Harley Race communicating his expectations to the referee, only for Martell to respond with a punch and a body slam that sent Race to the floor. This sequence was designed to establish Martell's credibility early on.
The match then settled into a pattern of armwork, with Martell working over Race's arm and Race countering effectively. The storytelling was methodical: spot, reset, armwork; spot, reset, armwork. This approach allowed the story to breathe without overwhelming the audience with constant high-impact moves.
Race found an opening by dropping Martell throat-first across the top rope, letting the impact sink in before hitting a pile driver. Martell kicked out, leading to a neck breaker and another kick out. Race followed with a headbutt drop for a two-count, and finally, a suplex secured the first fall after approximately 18 minutes.
Race attempted to maintain aggression, but Martell shifted the focus to Race's back with an abdominal stretch. After several counters, Martell executed his own pile driver, but Race saved himself by placing a foot on the ropes. The action continued with Martell hitting a body press off the second rope, which Race dodged. Race then attempted the suplex from the first fall, but Martell countered with a sleeper hold, putting Race out to win the second fall in about five minutes.
The final fall featured compelling storytelling. Race fought back, but Martell locked in the sleeper hold again. Race staggered to the ropes and fell to the floor with Martell still holding on. Outside the ring, Race attempted a pile driver, but Martell back dropped him onto the concrete. Both men barely beat the count.
Race got on the apron, and Martell pulled him back inside instead of letting the count-out finish occur. After missed moves from both wrestlers, Martell locked in the sleeper once more. The bell then rang, resulting in another time-limit draw.
Between matches, Buddy Rose delivered a promo about putting his hair on the line, with sponsors offering $1,000 to anyone who could beat him and shave his head. Although the logic behind this challenge was questionable, Rose's promo skills made it effective. It also provided the promotion a way to mention sponsors, serving a practical purpose.
Looking at the entire program, the booking decisions were almost unbelievable in their lack of creativity and impact. The show featured two time-limit draws ending in the exact same manner, with the babyface appearing close to victory before the timekeeper prematurely rang the bell.
This repetitive finish made it seem as if the timekeeper was turning heel and becoming a manager in the coming weeks. However, it was not a storyline or a clever swerve but rather lazy booking.
The "protect the talent" mentality, which aimed to avoid definitive losses for wrestlers, ended up hurting the promotion's credibility. Instead of elevating the babyfaces or strengthening the heels, these finishes weakened the overall product.
The identity of the booker remains uncertain—possibly Buddy Rose, Dutch Savage, or Don Owen himself. Regardless, the decision to put King Parsons on television and to book such uninspired finishes warranted serious reconsideration. The booking was lazy and uninspired, ultimately damaging the promotion.
The January 12th, 1980 Pacific Northwest Wrestling broadcast serves as a case study in contrasting wrestling performances and booking philosophies. While the main event between Harley Race and Rick Martell exemplified excellent storytelling and pacing, the opening tag match and the show's booking decisions highlighted the pitfalls of lazy booking and poor talent utilization.
For wrestling promotions, this show underscores the importance of thoughtful booking that elevates talent and maintains audience engagement rather than relying on repetitive and confusing finishes that erode credibility.
