10 Great Matches When Wrestlers Stopped Giving A Damn

5. The Acolytes Vs. Public Enemy - 07/03/99

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Unprofessional? Absolutely. A vile display of a culture that pro wrestling should have left behind? Without doubt. Reckless bullying in a public setting? 100%. The famous Heat match between the Acolytes and Public Enemy was all of this and more, as Faarooq and Bradshaw beat the ever-loving tar out of Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock.

It is clear to even the most naive of pro wrestling fans that the APA didn’t give a flying fudge about this match. They were sent out to beat the cack out of the newcomers, to send a message to the duo in the most pathetic way possible. This wasn’t about work, it wasn’t about art, it wasn’t about the company. It was a televised mugging, little else.

But holy smokes was it captivating. Hard to watch, without doubt, but who knew that Bradshaw and Faarooq worked their hardest when they weren’t supposed to care? The two big men are non stop throughout the three minutes, dishing out an absolute beating through perpetual motion and god-given physical dominance. It is the sort of match that makes you wish the Acolytes were a team in late-‘80s All Japan.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.