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Atlantis vs. Emilio Charles Jr. (8/12/88)


Phil Schneider

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  • 1 month later...

Damn good title match.  Opening mat work is nice, smooth stuff.  Not the level of some of the best matwork on the set but it's still very good.  Charles wins the fall and dominants at the beginning of the segunda; Atlantis' comeback is really great, hitting two of those spinning arm drag things that he gets unbelievable air on, a corkscrew front flip followed by a splash for the win and even front flipping out of the pinfall triumphantly.  Atlantis dominants the beginning of the third fall but Charles turns it around with a really forceful whip into the corner -- from then on the big, extended end stretch kicks and and it's top notch workratey title match action, an awesome roll up series, some great back and forth, a big dive from Atlantis and a really great ending.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I really like Emilio Charles Jr. and I'm really excited about all of the Emilio Charles Jr. coming up on this set. It's crazy to see him so young and not nearly as hideous as he would one day become. This isn't the best match he ever had with Atlantis but it is still pretty spectacular. The early matwork is simple but worked really well. I love their standoff after one of the faster early exchanges when Atlantis flips to his feet and Charles quickly stumbles to his own feet. That's a cool visual to demonstrate a rudo being momentarily outclassed by a tecnico. Emphasis on momentarily as Charles is right there with Atlantis for most of this match. We get to see more of the spectacular Atlantis offense that made up his arsenal at that time and not to be outdone Charles has some beautiful looking offense of his own including a great looking tope con giro. This is one of the most satisfying matches on the set and one that I think will do pretty well with a lot of people even if it's not an top tier match.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It has been great watching Atlantis grow into his character and I've never seen Charles before. Opening matwork is a treat and the aforementioned flubbed kip-up from Charles gets a good reaction. Atlantis sells these spinebusters like a champ, writhing in agony on the mat. Charles uses these to slow the pace and he's just methodically beating on Atlantis, who counters by rope-running to pick up the pace and get the jump on his opponent. Now it's Charles' turn to sell like death on the mat. We go into about two dozen pinfalls and both guys are acting drained from the effort. This doesn't stop them both from diving (Charles does the Cactus Jack Crack Smash off the apron). Tremendous reversal-into-submission finish here. These guys seemed so evenly matched the entire time and I love how the wear of the match got to them down the stretch. Really enjoyable and I look forward to more Charles for sure. 

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  • 9 months later...

Opening matwork was quite solid.  I always enjoy the flippy head-stand escape from leg-scissors that Atlantis performed.  I loved Charles's attempt at a kip-up to match Atlantis, and the crowd's reaction.  Charles's spine-busters and armbar take-downs were pretty brutal.  I really liked Charles's backwards bump to the floor after the spinning backbreaker from Atlantis.  There are a lot of near-falls during the third fall that are not quite as exciting at times as I hoped they would be.  Toward the end, Atlantis hits a nice dive through the ropes, and Charles hits a good somersault from the apron.  The final submission on Atlantis is a but surprising, with a great reversal, and it is a good conclusion to the match.  Charles was especially fun to watch, and I think this was a very solid match.  The lack of heat and hate may not make it a top-tier match for me either, but it should end up pretty well into my top-half of matches.

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  • 2 months later...

This seems to have done less for me than everyone else. I liked the dives and REALLY dug the finish but this seemed to really lack a "sense of urgency" at times. Even the near-falls at the end just weren't that exciting. Charles working really slow and methodically while in control for parts of the second fall in particular was an issue for me.

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