Otto Wanz Upload Challenge 3: Slaughter

Otto Wanz vs. Bob Slaughter CWA 12/18/82

MD: This dropped a few months ago but I'd been hesitant to watch a 54 minute video. This initiative got me over that hump. The match is closer to 45 with round breaks as well. That said, any match that goes long has to justify the time. What can be accomplished in 40 minutes that can't be in 20? Is it just to make it seem more impressive/epic, to give the fans more value? There's a huge celebration at the end of this so I think that's part of it, that this was the culmination of something bigger, being a tournament or whatever. The narrative of the match itself didn't entirely make it work. There were repeated themes, such as Slaughter taking advantage out of the corner and beating Wanz around the ring, or Wanz damaging Slaughter's leg or back and keeping control that way, more than a general sense of build and escalation. There was an excellent fifteen to twenty minute match in the start which would have ended with Wanz, who had been beaten around the ringside area, no selling a few jabs and coming back, and some exceptional bumping and limb selling from Slaughter later on, but I'm not sure it ever came together to be more than the sum of the rounds. Wanz took too much of the back half too as Slaughter's control segments seemed to be shorter and shorter. The fans were happy with this and Slaughter kept it interesting from underneath with his bumping, stooging, and selling, but that doesn't make for the most compelling story. I did like the finish, as Slaughter's back ended up damaged and he got caught on a dropkick and turned into a crab. This has given me hope for the shorter 83 match at least. 

Otto Wanz vs. Bob Slaughter CWA 7/9/83

MD: Great slugfest, almost a sprint really. This had no rounds for some reason and had an ebb and flow to it but they went at it hard right from the get go. Lots of brawling on the floor, with Slaughter taking at least half of it and Wanz bleeding big. There was an air of inevitability in the back half as Otto hit some big clotheslines and Slaughter bumped out, to the point I thought it might end on a clothesline, but they brought it back in for a pretty good finishing stretch. I'd say it escaped the Wanz formula we've seen so far and stands better as its own entity than almost all the other matches. It might not feel as important as the longer match but it's easier to swallow and probably more enjoyable.

ER: I thought this was pretty incredible. A big powerful match with an Austrian crowd that kept roaring like a thunderstorm. Watching this made me feel that Otto Wanz must have been the biggest pro wrestling star in the world. Few wrestlers in history have played to reactions like this one, and that's something that moves me. Slaughter is a big guy, and he flies around this filled Graz arena in a way that makes Wanz come off like a real superhero, while making sure to take plenty of opportunities to punch Wanz right in the head. They start with some long lockups, all building to Slaughter taking bigger and bigger bumps as he's propelled away from Wanz, including an absurdly high backdrop bump. Slaughter begins to avoid Wanz, collecting himself on the floor and breaking counts in the teens, and this just makes the crowd swell louder with joy every time Wanz sends Slaughter pinballing into the ropes and onto the floor. Slaughter finally punches his way to control, sends a couple of short headlock punches into Wanz's head to finally slow him down, punches him in the ropes and chokes him over the ropes, using his large weight against him. Slaughter grounds Wanz with a nice side headlock, and the roar when Wanz started to power up out of it and finally turned it into a hammerlock was like sweet ambient noise washing over. 

We build to some great brawling on the floor with Slaughter throwing Wanz hard into the ringside barricade a couple times, throwing him into the ringpost, and throwing more and more hard punches at his head. Wanz gets busted open and it all makes the crowd wilder still for him. This was worked like a Texas Death Match, with both men having to answer a count every time they were knocked down, and the home stretch is this great drawn out back and forth with both men getting closer and closer to being down for the count, with a long run of Slaughter barely hanging on. Wanz hits his rolling cannonball and big clothesline, Slaughter punches back and hits a heavy ass bodyslam, and it all comes off very dramatic and important. I really thought this whole thing was tremendous, feels like it should become one of those matches with a legendary crowd reaction, deservedly so. 

MD: I think that covers most of the recent uploads. I can see myself coming back for some of the greatest hits (Andre, Funk, Murdoch, Bock, Vader) at some point now that I have a very clear baseline. And hey, if there's anything specific anyone ever wants me to look at, just leave a comment.