Glass Hand Dissolving: Nick Bockwinkel & Masa Saito

 

vs The Fabulous Ones 10/18/1984

Bockwinkel starts off isolating Kiern in the corner, and he and Saito work him over for the early parts of the match. Gene Kiniski is the special guest referee, and he's already on Bock's case. Despite Bockwinkel's best effort, Kiern can crawl over and tag in Stan Lane. Lane is out for revenge, smashing Saito's head into the turnbuckle, side-kicking everybody. He tags back in Kiern so he can get his pound of flesh. The Fabs take over from here, first Bockwinkel and then Saito, both of whom don't take too well to having the tables turned, and you can see the frustration on both.  When Bockwinkel gets in there, he's going to do anything to turn the tide, and so when he gets the chance, he gouges Lane's eyes, and then rakes them with his boot laces. Everything seems to be going in Bockwinkel and Saito's favor, but Saito gets a bit overeager, and Stan Lane schoolboys him for the win. A very solid performance from Saito, especially, but Bockwinkel too. This is a very good heel team, who work the match in front of them. 

vs Curt Hennig & Larry Hennig 11/8/1984

Curt and Bockwinkel start this out, which is an interesting pairing. Young Curt gets an advantage early, but the wily Bockwinkel eventually takes over with an armbar, and then tags in Saito, who works the same arm. They trade off again, and this time, Saito gives up on the arm and just wants to beat up Curt for a bit. When Bockwinkel gets back in there, he's content to grind Curt down with a headlock. Larry is really good on the apron, watching his son get dismantled, trying and failing to intervene. Eventually, Curt tags in his dad, who is out for revenge. Larry turns the momentum back to his team and tags Curt back in. Curt works on Bockwinkel's leg, but Bockwinkel gouges his eyes and can tag in Saito. Saito takes it to Curt, who tags in The Axe, and Larry can't gain any ground on Saito either. Bockwinkel tags back in, and Larry takes over, and then tags in Curt, who gets a third run at Bockwinkel. Curt goes for a couple of covers, but only gets two counts. Curt goes for a big atomic drop, but he stalls at the top too long, which allows Saito to hit him with a cheap shot from the top rope. Bockwinkel gets the pin, and this is over. This is pretty good. Bockwinkel carries the bulk of the match working with Curt, but Saito is pretty great here too, as is a young Curt Hennig. It had a good built-in story, and the teams delivered on that. 

vs The Road Warriors 2/9/1985

There isn't a ton here. The teams start off brawling. At some point, Saito gets thrown over the top by Animal, and The Road Warriors lose by disqualification. Saito looks so good fighting here, Bockwinkel is game, but Saito shines here, as much as you can shine in a match that never really starts or ends.

vs The Highflyers 3/7/1985

Gagne spends the opening parts of this working over Bockwinkel's arm, and then tags in Brunzell and hands him the arm. Bockwinkel fights up to his feet, and he knows he needs the tag and he'll do anything to get it, so he rakes Brunzell's eyes twice and tags in Saito. Saito takes it to Brunzell for a while, working the leg. Bockwinkel tags back in, and he also works the leg, but Brunzell valiantly punches his way out. Bockwinkel desperately grabs at Brunzell's ankle to thwart the hot tag, and it isn't working, but it buys enough time for Saito to get in the ring and help pull Brunzell back into the corner. Saito starts working a bearhug on Brunzell, and Bockwinkel takes over. Brunzell is fighting to stay alive, and he almost gets the tag to Gagne, but it isn't meant to be. After a near fall, Brunzell crawls through Bockwinkel's legs to get the tag. Gagne comes in and cleans house. Bockwinkel, and Saito to a lesser extent, is spent. He can barely stand up. Gagne eventually gets the sleeper hooked, and Saito can't get there to break it up, so it's The Highflyers getting the win. Another strong performance, but not what I'd call a strong match. I'd also like to see Bokwinkel offer some offense, and not be beholden on Saito to constantly save him. 

vs Greg Gagne & Verne Gagne 4/21/1985

The second father and son match, and the second match with Greg Gagne. Gagne, despite his performance from a month ago, gets beaten up for the beginning part of this before he tags in his dad. Verne throws a low kick to Saito, so it's not entirely a loss, and look, the people believed in Verne, but me sitting here watching this, I like Verne; he is one of the best wrestlers we have on tape in the 1950s, but I don't believe in Verne. I believe Saito would kill him in seconds. Seemingly, Greg and Verne can just go in and out whenever they please, because Greg just gets in the ring and hits offense after tagging out. Bockwinkel eats two drop kicks from Verne, but Verne is slow to get up out of the last one, and Bockwinkel is able to get up before Verne and tag in Saito. Saito and Bockwinkel start taking it to Verne, which is the highlight of this match so far. Bockwinkel tries to put away the old man with the sleeper, but Verne is able to escape and get a sleeper of his own. Saito has to break it up, and things devolve from there. The ref gets occupied with Greg while Saito and Bockwinkel beat down Verne. Bockwinkel tried to slam Verne, but Greg jumps in the ring, dropkicks Verne, and the momentum carries Verne into a pin, and the Gagne's win. This is the worst match of the set, it's not Bockwinkel and Saito's fault, it really isn't even Greg and Verne's fault. The Hennig's did a better version of this match; Greg was better with Brunzell.

Verdict

This is a very solid team, capable of having consistently good matches. They are hurt by the matches they were booked in, but they do everything in their power to make the matches they were given the best they possibly could be.