Dynamite Kid vs The Cobra
WWF Junior Heavyweight Title
02/07/84
Pre-IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title, the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title was one that was often contested in Japan only. With no junior division in the promotion in America, it was left to the affiliation between WWF and New Japan to see the title belt be defended at all. Even though the championship had been around since 1965, it was sporadically defended, vacated and redistributed on a whim it seemed. Though there had been an attempt to give it some solidity and kudos with title runs by Tatsumi Fujinami, Black Tiger and Tiger Mask, the belt would be vacated at different times. Reasons included moving between divisions (Fujinami), injury (Tiger Mask’s first and second reign) and retirement (Tiger Mask’s third reign). The title never seemed to catch a break.
No-one was willing to give up just yet, however. A tournament that included wrestlers such as Kuniaki Kobayashi, Black Tiger and Bret Hart amongst others would be decided by a three man round robin on the final night. The British Bulldogs, Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith, alongside The Cobra, would contest three matches with the overall points winner being awarded the title.
By the time the last match between Dynamite Kid and The Cobra came around, it was winner takes all. A double countout between Cobra and Smith had been followed by the battle of the tag team partners, a contest won by Kid. Having already competed earlier in the evening, it was all about who had enough left in the tank to pull out the final victory when it truly mattered. The advantage seemed to be with Cobra even though he needed a win – Kid had gone four minutes longer and second, giving Cobra a greater chance to rest.
Any sense of lethargy or tiredness in Kid was quickly dispelled by a kick, slap, dropkick, nip-up and second dropkick that just served to emphasise both his no-nonsense style and his crisp quickness. As the match was always going to be a shorter sprint after previous exertions, the trading of quick suplexes led straight into a Cobra submission stretch; everything seemingly happening on fast forward with barely room to breathe. There is even a sharpshooter teased by the faux-Ugandan, though he settles for a missile dropkick off of the top after failing to lock the hold on.
The first offense by Kid after his initial combination is a tombstone that felt as if it comes out of nowhere, especially as Cobra is back on offense shortly afterwards. As seems to be a theme, the cartwheel twisting senton to the outside would send Cobra dangerously close to the ring apron, though once again he just gets enough distance to avoid a crippling injury. As both men recuperated after a hectic sequence of moves, Davey Boy Smith made his presence known by jumping the barriers to cheer on his tag team partner.
Not content with just the first tombstone, the second one would at least lead to a pinning attempt and get Kid a nearfall. Frustrated with the ref’s counting, a distracted Kid himself would end up in a nearfall predicament following a Cobra German suplex. As Cobra sought to press home the advantage by heading to the top, Kid showcased his own uncanny athleticism by leaping up the turnbuckle and throwing his opponent halfway across the ring.
Having just been tossed aside like yesterday’s rubbish, Cobra’s vain attempt to grab a flash pinfall would only see Kid sit down and get one of his own. This only seemed to irritate Kid, who would get the three count seconds later with a backdrop driver into a pin. Having joined him at ringside, Davey Boy Smith is in almost as soon as the bell rang to celebrate the biggest title win to date of his partner’s career.
Rather than offer stability, Kid’s reign continued to leave the belt in limbo. The Bulldog’s decision to jump to All-Japan later in the year meant that the next time the title would be in action saw The Cobra finally getting his title victory – against Black Tiger. Less than a year later, the belt ceased to exist for good.
