Rocco vs. Jones '78

Rollerball Rocco vs. Marty Jones WOS 9/13/78

ER: A fun title vs. title match that I thought was a real great Rocco showcase. I know he gets his criticisms but I think most of those revolve around him shrugging off damage to get in cool spots, and those criticisms don't apply to him here. Rocco savagely goes after Jones' knee (and it's Jones who is the one who acts like that never happened), perfectly times the action to peak for Jones right at the end of each round, and then goes down in a blaze of glory in the 8th round. Rocco gets dirty early by tying Jones' leg in the ropes at the end of the 1st, and then starting the 2nd by kicking him right in that leg and then again in the knee. I really dug Rocco's legwork, hyperextending and rolling effortlessly into kneebars, at one point working almost a short arm scissors with Jones' leg. And I dug how he would shift his head and face while Jones tried to elbow him loose, or even better when Jones had his whole boot smooshing Rocco's face (great camera shot). 

I loved how the rounds would peak in Jones' favor, and Rocco would escape without much damage right at the bell, even cheapshotting Jones in the gut one of the times. And Rocco is very generous selling for Jones' eventual comebacks, going down fast on payback kicks to the leg, and the 8th and what turns out to be final round is all Rocco flying around the ring. He tries to jump Jones on the apron to start and it backfires, and then it's Rocco bouncing all around the ring. He eats a nice missile dropkick, takes his awesome upside down bump into the buckles (such a cool bump, flying in perfectly upside down without dropping vertically onto his head), getting monkey flipped into the ropes, and then ending the match taking one of the more spectacular bumps to the floor that I've ever seen. Rocco gets tossed far over the top and lands flat on his back, obviously getting counted out, old ladies in long coats watching watching this man splat out of the sky. If you need to show me a man incapable of beating a 10 count, Rocco's fall something I'd believe would do it. And yet it still had the same grace as any of his in ring spills.

MD: So, the bugbear with this one is Jones shrugging off the legwork in Round 5. Part of it, I can actually go for. I can buy the idea that Rocco gets Jones so angry that he just pushes past it. The problem is that he pushed past it three times in a minute span: the initial damage, the redirected bump over the top, and then the missed leap into the ring. It's doubly damning because a sort of redirection over-the-top bump is the finish to the entire match, one that prevents Rocco from getting back in. It's the thing that ends a title-vs-title match, and yes, it's a hell of a bump and a hell of a visual, but so was Jones' and it was shrugged off like it was nothing. If you're going to set up a finish like that, you don't do it by crapping on the very idea of it earlier in the match.

I agree with Eric that most of the usual Rocco criticisms don't apply here. There are times where he doesn't let things breathe, but they're because he hadn't taken enough damage yet or because he's harrowed by the count (and getting over the count IS important in this one for the reasons mentioned above). It's near comedic at times, though. He's the only person I've ever seen that hits elbow drops where he's already rolling back to his feet to do whatever's next. I much prefer him on offense, to be honest, because that alarcity really does benefit the break/up British rules. He's constantly ready to hit the next thing and not allow for even the slightest momentum shift. He's able to portray himself as a craven, underhanded villain as well as someone like Breaks with tantrums and matter-of-fact hairpulls, but is such a dervish of energy that he still comes off as distinct. He definitely wrestled this match exactly as he should have.