1. Magnum TA Vs. Tully Blanchard - "I Quit" Steel Cage Match (Starrcade 1985)
The basic format for a pro-wrestling blood feud is as simple as storytelling gets and hasn't really changed much over the years. Even still, it's amazing how many times the execution of that plot is ruined before the final act is over. Or maybe it just feels like they have all failed when weighed against the I Quit match between Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard. For what it was trying to accomplish, everything about this match is perfect. You had the ultimate heel Tully Blanchard manage to escape the perfect babyface Magnum TA in the most frustrating ways possible as the later pursued Blanchard's United States championship. When Magnum TA sniffed a bit too close to victory, Blanchard upped the violence to ward him off. It all came to a head in this match that was as much about Magnum TA getting revenge as it was the US title. The raw intensity of this contest and the way that the crowd ate up every second of it is unparalleled. In truth, it isn't much more than an elongated beat down of Tully Blanchard that sees the champion manage a few dirty bits of offense, but that's exactly what it needed to be given the build to that point. When Magnum TA takes a sharp part of a wooden chair that Blanchard's escort introduced into the cage and presses it against the open head wound of Blanchard, you will barely have time to catch your breath before screaming in joy just as Blanchard screams his surrender into the microphone. Do yourself a favor and never try to compare another blowoff match to this one again. Otherwise, you run the risk of never being fully satisfied with pro-wrestling rivalries again.
