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Magnum T.A. was a fantastic wrestler, and would probably still be remembered today as an all-time superstar if an unfortunate car accident hadn’t ended his career in his 20s. Tully Blanchard is remembered as a legend, an original member of the Four Horsemen and close ally of Ric Flair. In 1985, Tully and Magnum were both in their prime, and they just about stole the show at Starrcade 1985, despite Dusty Rhodes putting Hard Times on Ric Flair in the main event. After months of an increasingly vicious rivalry over the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, an I Quit match inside a steel cage was the only way to settle their differences.
What happens inside that cage is as bloody and brutal a brawl as Jon Moxley has ever had. The hatred between these two is so palpable it’s impossible not to get invested, even if you’re watching with modern eyes and not much context. Magnum and Tully never let up on each other, constantly using the microphone as a weapon. When Tully’s valet, Baby Doll, throws a wooden chair into the cage and it breaks into pieces, a jagged fragment of the arm becomes an even better weapon. Tully tries to drive the wooden shard into Magnum’s face, which is exactly the sort of thing a heel like Blanchard could be expected to do. When Magnum escapes Tully’s grasp and ends up holding that same piece of wood, however, the fan-favorite babyface makes a dark choice. Deciding he has to stoop to Tully Blanchard’s level to defeat him, Magnum attacks his opponent’s eye with that piece of the chair, until Tully screams “I quit.” Magnum T.A. wins the match and the U.S. Title, but it’s clearly not a victory he feels great about, because he had to compromise his values to achieve it.
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