Great write-ups, @Tainted Eclipse. I'm glad you give some love to BJ. I had forgotten about his work in the Field of Honor. I liked his match w/ Samoa Joe more than probably everyone.
Is there a reason you skipped War of the Wire? All I remember from it is the Cide/Corino rematch, but like you, I remember that BFSE match very fondly.
it just wasn't included in the torrent pack i downloaded, unfortunately. i do remember having watched the corino/homicide barbed wire match a couple years ago and thinking it was a big disappointment compared to their BFSE match, and looking at some of the reviews of the show it doesn't seem too hot otherwise, so at least it doesn't seem like we're missing much with that being the show left out.
Hopefully that one turns up as Thursday throwback 'cause I remember it being really loved at the time.
Today I watched (on youtube):
- Dominic Garini vs BJ Whitmer - AIW - Submit or Surrender match -- this was good, not great. This was Whitmer's farewell match and he maybe shouldn't have even worked it, he was so slow. I don't question the things he did in this match, he was just crippled looking and had nothing good to really add to the match. Garini on the other hand sells really well. He has a way of staying on his feet and looking hurt w/o just getting owned to look sympathetic. Garini wrestles barefoot and this match had thumbtacks. He also bleeds from a friggin railroad spike to the forehead. Garini came off as a better asskicker than Whitmer and this was a match where Whitmer competently kicks his ass for most of the match. The ending really made Whitmer seem like a bully who really didn't want to go down the road they took and that was a good way to go out. I didn't have the date on this...
- Brian Kendrick vs BJ Whitmer - AIW -- this was a great showing from both men. Again, I didn't have the date on this, but they say Kendrick is on his way to Japan and that Whitmer has been on a one year comeback tour. Whitmer holds down and cuts off Kendrick with mostly strikes, forearms and such, and convinceably does so. Kendrick hits all of his stuff (his leg lariat, enziguri, and two superkicks - one with the left leg that hits BJ in the face with the point of his toes: very nice, very nice) and nearly wins, but BJ has his own Claymore Kick that wins in convinceable fashion. I was suprised to see Whitmer look this strong against Spanks.
- Spanky vs Sean O'Hare - Velocity - two of my favorites and interestingly I never knew this happened and it happens to be from a period I never knew about where Kendrick wrestled in WWE as Spanky. O'Hare is huge and bullying but not really experienced enough to hold Spanky down the way he wants to; Josh Matthews compares him to both Piper and Vince, which is pretty high and damning praise. Spanky smacks him in the face with his leg lariat and it hits like a one legged dropkick. Another Velocity great from these two.
- I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. Hugh Morrus was an underrated big man. Damn good Moonsault. And that's "no laughing matter".
- Remember when the WWF gave Morrus a different finish for about 12 seconds on TV? A Reverse-DDT they called "The Punchline". He kept it after he started wrestling under his real name. So the name made no sense.
- I have no idea who Top Gun is. But he's on a highway to somewhere. I'll let you fill in the blank.
- Morrus ends Top Gun's flight early, with the No Laughing Matter.
- Total nothing match here -- Its babyface Jericho, just waiting for that heel turn to come, against Mark Starr.
- Except for one moment. Jericho works Starr into what's basically the setup for Christian's Unprettier finish, or whatever Chelsea Green calls her version of that move now -- but instead of driving Starr face down into the mat, he pulls Starr's neck over his shoulder and drops him in kind of a half-ass stunner/RKO thing. Weird.
- Jericho wins with a missile dropkick off the top. Not bad. This Jericho kid might have a future. Whatever happened to him?
- Remember when the WWF gave Morrus a different finish for about 12 seconds on TV? A Reverse-DDT they called "The Punchline". He kept it after he started wrestling under his real name. So the name made no sense.
I remember him using a sit-out powerbomb when he switched to his real name.
Watched Gallagher vs Nese this morning. Nese continues to be less douchey, more brutal, like his CWC match with Kendrick. Gallagher continues to change up his game. I'll probably jinx him by saying this, but I still can't guess when he's gonna throw in a headbutt -- he still surprises me. Gallagher spent most of the match on defense and he had no trouble getting into place for Nese's flurry of offense that the whole match seemed to be- he made it seem like he was just trying to get his breath everytime he moved into place. Gallagher's roaring elbow wins again so someone is actually booking this guy to win -- hopefully he keeps a steady edge on Nese if this turns into a series.
I miss Missile Dropkick finishes. Jericho, Riggs, and Booker. Even Paul Wight used a spinny one on big Ron Fuller...
For a guy with the size and muscle mass of Booker T, hitting somebody with a flying top-rope dropkick was the perfect finish. It'd be like getting hit with well-aimed small car. Everybody seems to forget how deceptively big Booker T is (and bigger in WCW in his younger days). He had a grace of movement and such incredible timing it tricked you into thinking he was smaller and more compact than he was.
Also, being partnered with Stevie Ray, who had all the size (and wrestling ability) of a small house didn't help the comparison.
Booker definitely had his moments. I need to see BookDust vs Jericho & Christian again. That match got so much love
Booker T's entire tag-team career was "moments".
Stevie Ray would get in and slowly bludgeon guys to death, there'd be a heat sequence on Stevie Ray that could usually double as a replacement for a sleep-aid, and then Booker T would get the hot-tag and like two minutes to shine before the finish.
If anybody had any good memories of Harlem Heat, it was all and only because of Booker T.
Haven't watched any wrestling in a while. About to watch Rising the Next Generation in Osaka Dome. The NJPW Osaka Dome show from August 1998
Watching the commercial DVD so the matches are out of order. First up on this watch is Tadao Yasuda & Takashi Iizuka vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Osamu Nishimura
Yasuda is also the most fun guy in this match. As one might expect this is a very mat based match, but it's very dry. Near the end Yasuda come in for a series of genuinely fun high spots until a very cool finish. Yamazaki has him in the cross armbreaker. Looks like Yasuda is going to do the deadlift powerbomb spot, but instead can't get him up and submits. Never seen it done that way.
Very disappointed with that one. Though I was never the biggest fan of the black trunks/black boots era of NJPW juniors. Kanemoto and Wagner had no chemistry whatsoever.
I will say that when Otani's hair went it went quick. Got a full head of hair here.
Muta vs Kabuki is up next. In 1998. Not expecting a barnburner here.
Well that was more like it. They hit each other really hard to start. Hit each other really hard in the middle. And hit each other really hard at the end.
Been forever since I went plague watching, but I'm finally getting around to ECW's Big Ass Extreme Bash, which I've always wanted to see. It's available on ECW TV on the network.
Jericho vs Cactus is an epic encounter. Cactus is on his way to WWF here and he's already sporting his brand new Mankind boots. Jericho is new to ECW and wrestles like no one you've ever seen before. He's like a highflying Bret Hart or something. Total Ricky Morton with a dropkick but he's built like a British Bulldog. I can't remember these two ever working together again. Did they team at some point? Their chemistry is off the charts.
Taz vs Whipwreck is like a better version of the Kross/Ciampa match that just happened. I said that match would be a great battle of the egos and it was. Ciampa wouldn't work underdog, he just took a beating, mounted a comeback and then took a final beating. In this match, Whipwreck gets his handed to him but he shows a technical expertise and savvy that makes you think he's got more than one chance of getting the upset. And Taz totally annihilates him with some purty suplays.
I can't remember if I saw this 2/3 falls match between Juventud and Rey, jr. or if I just imagined seeing it. It was basically what I imagined and the previous ECW match these two had, the first 2/3 falls match, is shown in clips and appears to be something different than I imagined.
Juventud is really on form here. He busts out a springboard somersault dropkick off the top rope that almost misses but totally surprises. He also hits a really good short-arm clothesline and a gorrilla press fallaway slam that happens so fast, it again surprises, but I think Rey was the real master in this. He was either selling or slapping on a new frankensteiner variation, no time catching his breath or pacing. I always heard this was a 5 star match and I guess it is, although I thought the clips of their previous match seemed more interesting (Rey wins a fall with an electric-chair suplex and loses the match after a super-brainbuster - what was that for??).
Just watched a super boring hardcore match for the WCW Title between DDP and Bam Bam. I'd be surprised at how boring it was, but it did happen on Thunder.
Watched a Rey Jr vs Kaz Hayashi match that ended when roided up Randy and his harem ran in. The match before that was sadly nothing special. If I didn't' know any better I would have thought Hayashi was green as grass watching it. He seemed lost.
Just finished up a tv match between the Rock n Roll Express and Flair and Luger. Image the Rock n Rolls against Flair and Luger on tv in 1987. The match you are imagining is the match they had.
Last edited by Defrost; July 6th, 2020 at 10:55 PM.
I just watched that this past week. Totally killer gem of a tag.
Is there a better Faces of Fear match?
Haven't seen this one, but the Faces of Fear Vs. Glacier and Ernest Miller at World War 3 '97 was so much better than probably anyone was expecting. Was the opening bout that evening and probably the best match on the card.
Haven't seen this one, but the Faces of Fear Vs. Glacier and Ernest Miller at World War 3 '97 was so much better than probably anyone was expecting. Was the opening bout that evening and probably the best match on the card.
That whole show was solid.
Scotty Riggs had his best match ever against Raven. Disco Inferno had a fun match against Saturn. Ric Flair and Curt Hennig even recaptured some of their old magic and had a fun match.
Weirdly, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, which should have been a barn burner, was a sloppy, botchy mess.
And the 3-Ring 60-Man Battle Royal was probably the most fun it ever was.
Ric Flair vs Terry Funk from the 1989 Great American Bash. Awesome match. Sucks that Flair hated being a babyface and booked himself to go heel because he was awesome in this feud. Terry was always great. Post match brawl with Muta and Sting was great too.
Sting vs Cactus Jack from the Power Hour 11/23/91. This is a Submit or Surrender match. No DQs. Sting wins it after Mick cracks his head off the concrete after taking a dropkick from Sting off the apron to the floor. Then Sting puts the passed out Jack in the Scorpion and the ref calls for the bell because Jack is out cold. Hell of a brawl.
Sometimes it's easy to forget Bulldog spent time traning in the Hart dungeon. Regal kicks out of the running powerslam, Bulldog piledrives Regal, but the 15 minute time limit expires on the 2-count.
Been such a struggle that I haven't finished it yet.
Helmsley and Mankind in the final was ok. Shawn/Austin up next. I know this is the best match on the card, but finishes in a lame double dq. I expect dross from the 'Taker/Faarooq main event.
Helmsley/Ahmed and Lawler/King were nothing matches, as was LOD/Sid Vs. The Hart Foundation.
-- The ending on that Regal/Bulldog match was obviously kind of mistimed. I doubt there was actually a plan to have a heel in a mid-card match kick out of Bulldog's finisher. If I had to bet, I think it was supposed to come down to the final few seconds, Bulldog was supposed to plant Regal and 1-2-time runs out-3. But they bungled it.
-- Undertaker/Farooq isn't great. But it is the debut of the...
Undertaker dive on top of a bunch of mooks on the floor.
So, there's that. Also, it only goes like 12 minutes.
So I decided to see what IWTV has done lately. These 2 stood out so I watched them:
- Malakai Black vs Davey Richards - Prestige -- Richards seems a little more chiseled than in his younger years, and I already like aging Richards more than his past incarnations. Black is getting House of Black chants and it seems really unfair. I think Black thought so, too...The match is worked around Richards left leg getting hurt and he even tries to take out Black's leg in response. At times, Richards is really convincing and his facial expressions got me realizing that the last thing this guy needed was to lose a leg in this ... but it turns out he was faking! Or no, it just got better as the match progressed. But the ending was great and it did include some more great selling from Davey Richards leading to an unexpected House of Black (that's what it's called, right?). Thanks for not forgetting your leg hurt when it counted, Davey. That finish was *chef's kiss*
- Matt Makowski vs Tom Lawlor - Black Label Pro -- was this the greatest match ever? It certainly contained the best wrestling. I know, other matches contain greater spots, storytelling, etc.; however, I wonder how many matches are so progressive that the first move in the match is a figure-4 leglock? I remember in the SmackDown Six era, Kurt Angle was seen on Confidential making comments about how only Benoit, Eddie G., and Brock were on his level and how we may someday, somehow, see them usher in a brand new style of wrestling. This Lawlor/Makowski match had to be that style of wrestling and at the same time, something Kurt Angle never imagined. I wish I knew what Tom Lawlor's current likeability was supposed to be; I get that he's the champ in this, which was probably enough, but the crowd acted like they would rather boo him. They didn't though and for whatever character dynamic these two had going in, I wish I knew, they were obviously as real as they needed to be. Is Makowski still in Lawlor Club? If so, this match was wanting nothing.
- Malakai Black vs Davey Richards - Prestige -- Richards seems a little more chiseled than in his younger years, and I already like aging Richards more than his past incarnations. Black is getting House of Black chants and it seems really unfair. I think Black thought so, too...The match is worked around Richards left leg getting hurt and he even tries to take out Black's leg in response. At times, Richards is really convincing and his facial expressions got me realizing that the last thing this guy needed was to lose a leg in this ... but it turns out he was faking! Or no, it just got better as the match progressed. But the ending was great and it did include some more great selling from Davey Richards leading to an unexpected House of Black (that's what it's called, right?). Thanks for not forgetting your leg hurt when it counted, Davey. That finish was *chef's kiss*
Yes this.
Folks were GUSHING over this match, and yeah it deserves so much more attention.
Yeah, I know Davey didn't completely no-sell the leg and we've seen him hulk through that sort of thing in the past, but it was really awesome seeing him sell Malakai like something he'd never encountered before; the facial expressions, the crumpling to the mat due to the leg or being to slow for Black. It's actually really something fresh, Malakai Black's sort of wizardry and following must be what it was like to see The Undertaker supernaturally no-selling once upon a time (just like Wednesday at AEW, seeing Penta's entrance and the long intro to the tag match gave me the sort of chills like I've never seen darkside on darkside before).
Also, I forgot to mention it, but there's already a clip on IG of Malakai hitting his high-knee strike straight to Richards' face. That shit was rare, Davey could retire after that match just based on that shot. I felt bad for him, I think he kneeled and hid his face like he could have been crying. This was Jimmy Snuka at WM level of burial. Wouldn't mind seeing Davey join House of Black now. No way does he have a chance against Black, but he may be good enough to be their job-guy.
This is the last episode of Nitro in January 1999.
I chose it because the graphic on Peacock was of Hall and BamBam having their ladder match. I thought at some point there was a 3-way ladder match (for the taser) between Hall, BamBam, and Goldberg, but it turns out Hall just had individual ladder matches against both Goldberg and BamBam...this episode of Nitro turned out to be so much more, though.
Show opens with unseen backstage segment from the previous episode of Thunder. It's Virgil with the nWo B-team in their lockerroom and Virgil is saying he doesn't wanna be called Vincent anymore, he demands to be called "Vince!" from now on. No one is into it, not even Stevie Ray in his snazzy black-n-white pinstripe wrestling gear. (If you follow Virgil on IG, you probably know that he claims to have invented the Royal Rumble, among other things, so this segment kind of makes you wonder...he seems eerily confident that he's the one guy who can pull this ridiculous shit off and it makes it that much funnier to see today). As the dudes leave Vince alone, he goes to his locker, opens it up to reveal a glass of egg-yolks and two cartons of eggs stacked in the corner; although he tries to guzzle it, he fails and notices a hidden camera. We see nWo wolf-pac guys watching from their limo and shaking their heads as Virgil repeats, "hey guys, we're being filmed" to an empty locker room. Seriously gotta wonder who could have come up with this crap but Virgil, but it's already the coolest into a wrestling show that I can remember seeing. Even the sound of static feed from within the limo gives it an eery whats-really-going-on/who-would-do-this that makes Virgil's b-level acting actually intriguing.
Then, we cut to the arena and Mike Tenay is doing his best to refer to dude as Vince!, and it's obvious they were totally into this idea.
More great acting from the nWo B-team earlier in the day. Stevie Ray is concerned and Curt Hennig is saying he's been suspicious for months, hasn't been sporting colors for months. Stevie Ray turns to the dudes (Norton, Adams, and Horace) and says he's going to the Black-and-Red and give em a piece of his mind. "What's with the $500 shirt?," quips Norton. This sets up the dramedy the nWo would bring to this episode of Nitro.
Next, another segment from a period we don't hear enough about these days: when Ric Flair was President of WCW. This episode he's forcing Bischoff to sell merchandise. Bischoff does his best to stay in character but at times, you can see it in his eyes that Flair is doing a great thing humiliating him the way he is. Wasn't 'Flair for President' a thing for a long time or was I dreaming?
Show intro happens and we see Scott Steiner's detestable harrassment of the Nitro Girls. I guess he and DDP were set to feud? I don't remember this, tbh.
More pyro and Schivaoni welcomes us to a 3-hour episode of Nitro.
Next we're in the parking lot and Stevie Ray insists that he's gonna do the talking to Hollywood, but it ends with a comment about his shirt...
First match is Disco Inferno vs Al Greene. Disco as nWo member was insufferable for me as a kid, but I now see that he actually made the transition from obnoxious to annoying and Disco in red-n-black is actually not so bad. He's still a curtain-jerker, but his dancing backed with confidence is really a sight to see.
At the airport with nWo B-team and they're bitching about the limo and their two Ford Tauruses as the jet/plane pulls in. Inside the jet/plane, they're discussing the B-team and Hollywood opens the door to a, "Let's take care of business," and Hall is saying it's time to "trim a little more fat"... Stevie Ray, who is waiting for them as they exit the plane, goes straight into sucking up to Nash and badmouthing Vincent ("someone needs to talk that guy~"). He then tears into concern about Curt, saying he tried to give him a rednblack shirt and a black-n-white shirt, and it was his own one shirt, that's why he wasn't sporting colors at the moment ("that's why I have this $500 shirt on right now, and you KNOW I don't wanna have it on out here!"). Dude is nearly in tears, it's great. Hollywood gives him a pat and the wolves take to motion as you can hear Hall repeating the phrase "trim a little fat" ... they approach the B-team in their Ford Tauruses and we see more excellence in the writing of this villianry. Hollywood walks between the two cars and says, "What's up? I thought this thing was for life?" ... all of a sudden, we hear Hennig says, "I got him! I got him!" from the backseat where from behind he's choking out Vincent in the passenger's seat. Steiner pulls Hennig out of the backseat while beating the shit out of him, and we see Hollywood with his arm around Vincent as Nash watches and smiles. Hall, Steiner, and Bagwell are kicking the shit out of Hennig behind the Taurus as Brian Adams says, "What's going on here? Curt's like a brother to us!" Nash tells him it's just business (I remember seeing this live; cannot erase this or those words from my memory). Adams immediately goes to hugging Hennig with one arm and delivering body shots with the other as the B-team joins in on the beatdown...Curt has a look of regret as he props himself up with the car, but he never leaves his feet. Gang life never seemed so real as Hogan finally throws in a "you ain't nothin'!" as he lifts a boot to Curt's midsection... they walk away talking shit, even about the rental-cars (Hall kicks a visible dent in one, saying "you got a dent in it now" as he smiles). Hogan says, "do me a favor, run over him," which seems to elicit a genuine laugh from himself...Hall gets the honor of entering the limo before Hogan. Damn straight... oh yeah, and Stevie Ray still has to ride in the Taurus ("get over, Vincent!...man, I thought I was riding with them guys! I don't ride in no Ford Tauruses! I'm tired of this B-team crap!")...
we're still just 18 minutes into the show.
We see the nWo (all of them except Disco?) walking through the backstage hall to their dressing room. They get in and Stevie Ray, the last to enter, has to change his shirt; Vincent had one for him, and he even gets a hug from Hollywood ("we're real proud of you"). Steiner gets to step up and be a jerk, "get rid of that shirt! It looks terrible!" Stevie Ray has to walk past everyone haranguing him to find room to change his shirt and finally Nash makes fun of his "$50 slacks" which prompts Hogan to say, "Liz! Rip the slacks off him, Liz!" Bagwell: "he's got his church-shoes on, too." Nash: "you're slackin'!"
Next, we see Bigelow carrying a ladder to the ring. Challenges Scott Hall to a ladder match for intefering in his feud with Goldberg. Bigelow makes cool references to electricity and being "extreme" ... nWo are seen making fun of Bigelow which is minor, except someone, I think Nash, quotes David Lynch's Elephant Man, sarcastically saying "I'm not an animal, I'm a human being" ... this is the greatest wrestling show on earth. It gets better.
Skeezy Bischoff rips a nice lady off from getting her proper change, claiming the only $20 he has is his own $20 in his pocket. Really Bischoff makes up for sucking the life out of wrestling by performing these acts of community service for President Flair. Really.
Flair does an in-ring interview with Mean Gene, announces the matches for tonight's card. It's Presidential Flair. The best possible Flair. He fuckin loves being the president. Oh what could have been in America, smh...
We see clips of Scott Hall falling on his ass after tasing both BamBam and a fallen Goldberg at Souled Out. Unbelievable violence...Disco and Hall come out carrying a ladder together. They set it up in the aisle and climb each side at the same time as the Never Turn Your Back in the Wolfpac hip-hop song plays. Hall answers the challenge from BamBam, claims to be more handsome than 10 moviestars, "don't sing it, bring it" ... BamBam comes out, still doesn't have entrance music. These two fought many years previously in WWF, so it's cool to see them again with different face/heel dynamics. Disco gets sent away for interfering (by old Billy Silverman!) Bam Bam throws the ladder on Hall when they were out in the aisle and it looks painful as fuck. It's not the heaviest ladder, but it flies even faster and you can see Hall needing a second to react. Bigelow does it again in the ring, this time while Hall is face up where the ladder gets dangerously close to hitting him in the head...Hall does a cool teeter-totter spot with the ladder, hitting Bam Bam when it starts getting scary for him. Hall raises the ladder high above his head and gets BamBam back for the earlier ladder throws. He forcefully almost slams the ladder onto BamBam's back and ribs, and rebounds off the ropes to stomp the ladder over Bigelow and it gave me a chuckle 'cause he did it so hard. Unfortunately we hit a commercial break just as Hall is slamming Bigelow's leg in the ladder...cool exchange happens when we return: BamBam returns a bodyslam, hits a diving headbutt from halfway up the ladder, but hurts himself in the process so Hall rises first, and does a Jeff Hardy style leg-drop on Bigelow's crotch, he proceeds to climb the ladder, but Bigelow grabs his leg, gets kicked down, and Hall immediately drops an elbow from up on the ladder. This entire exchange is so seemless, it's like watching kids wrestling with pillows rather than with uncooperative others. Hall again climbs the ladder but Bigelow brings him down with a back suplex. Hall dropkicks the ladder and Bigelow falls flat on his back from like 4-ft up. Hall crosses himself before climbing the ladder but for the second time, Bigelow lifts the ladder from underneath and Hall falls to the mat. In an awesome finish, Bigelow is able to grab the taser, but Hall is behind him with a low-blow. Bigelow still has the taser, but the low-blow gives Disco enough time to run out and give Hall a taser of his own. Disco's stupid ass backs up the aisle, cheering, only to turn around just in time to get a spear from Goldberg. Goldberg gets in the ring and double spears Hall and Bigelow, takes their tasers, and tases each of them until Scott Norton (Goldberg's opponent this night) knocks him down from behind. In a hilarious anecdot to close this part of the show, Norton pulls out Hall who is able to grab his taser and electrocute Goldberg through the ropes even though he can barely stand. Goldberg hardly sells the tasing and Chuck Norris can be seen clapping in the front row. This was another night when Goldberg had a weird scab on his forehead.
Mean Gene Okerland interviews Bret "The Hitman" Hart. It is the funniest interview Bret Hart ever did. Maybe the best comedic heel shit ever done on the mic. Bret claims to be a "jam-up guy", says Ric Flair has a grudge against him and that Booker T (who Flair scheduled him to face) is a loser. Mean Gene corrects him that Booker T is not a loser, and without skipping a beat, Bret averts his attention to the camera as he assures everyone "he's a looooser." Bret lays down some lines of intimidation for Booker T that are more to the point and hilarious than anything you hear these days. Some of it doesn't even make sense. This is, of course, the famous interview where Bret talks up El Dandy and Psicosis as worthy contenders for his U.S. Championship. This also cements Nitro as the greatest show ever. Fuck you. Bret Hart has a groin injury the likes of which Dean Malenko has never seen. We need this shit. Eternally relevant. It ends with a genuine, absolutely genuine, "whatever" from the Hitman. This is some hard-to-find greatness of the highest magnitude. January 25, 1999.
Next, there's a tag team tournament bout which Ric Flair said would be surrounded by WCW guys to ensure the nWo do nit interfere. So first we see Hippie Van Hammer and behind him Kenny Kaos is talking to Rey-Rey as Rey nods his head. Everyone is out there. Jerry Flynn, the luchadors, Chris Adams in a karate-gi. But it gets better. Match is Faces of Fear versus Finlay and Taylor. What is this? Christmas? We see clips of nWo tasing Meng the week before. Shit that will shake you to your core. These teams basically elbow and chop the shit out of eachother for a decent amount of time, but there are some highlights. Finlay has the edge over Barbarian to start, but Finlay is having trouble with Dungeon of Doom at ringside. Dave Taylor does a headscissor takeover on Meng, but he hangs in the air for a second and before flipping the big man. Really lets the match breathe. Meng stomps Taylor in the forehead with the heel of his boot. It's sick. Finlay hits a hard shoulder in the corner on Meng, but rather than hitting the midsection, it hits high on the ribs and sternum and looks incredibly stiff. Finlay gets Barbarian with some stiff clubs in the corner, so Barbarian hits him with an overhead palm strike to the forehead. Beautiful. I've always wondered about how much a diving headbutt really hurts, but there's no question when it comes to Meng and Barbarian doubling the move from opposite corners of the ring. Even if it's just from the middle rope, I don't ever want that ti happen to me. Match ends with a back body drop into a sitout powerbomb on Taylor, but it doesn't go so smoothly, so Barbarian has to power him up and land him HARD for the victory. I wonder if the fans in Dallas realized they were witnessing the birth of Christ this evening?
We see clips of young Chavo and Kidman against Adams and Horace. Kidman reverses a powerbomb into a facebuster. Wish you coulda seen it. I don't remember Adams wrestling without a top, or Stevie Ray in his pin-stripe gear, but Vincent using ghe slapjack is a great way to treat Kidman. He was a glory hog.
This is when Saturn had to wear a dress and he liked it. So again, greatest show ever, greatest era of the show ever. It's Norman Smiley versus Perry Saturn, but Norman is not yet Screamin', he's just getting the Big Wiggle over. Can you imagine that? It was 1999 and the Big Wiggle was new. Perry Saturn is in a red-dress and on his way to the ring, Bobby Heenan whistles and says, "Hey sweetheart!" (amazing what Heenan would say even if not a total heel in the nWo era). Incredibly, we barely get a chance to take a breath when Saturn growls to the camera, "Smiley! You're not gettin' jiggy with me!" The match goes long although it's not bad by any means. You actually wish these two had fought a lot more. It's just weird that Saturn in the dress is the Saturn that seems to be on showcase. I don't remember seeing Smiley in any long matches either. Heenan gets inappropriate about Saturn: "I can see his panties." Schivaoni: "they're wrestling trunks, lamebrain." Heenan: "if you're wearing a dress, they're..." I still think Saturn is underrated. He had one of the best movesets at the time. He even does a little bit of Big Wiggle in this match.
Referee Scott Dickinson is suspended for helping Jericho but he's got a front-row seat. He does an intentionally awkward interview with Mean Gene. He closes his eyes while talking and he's supposed to be wearing glasses but he refuses to talk about it over his "bogus suspension." In a moment of subtle brilliance, he sits back down before the interview is over, and by the time Mean Gene has agreed to talk to someone about his plight, he's up and leaving accompanied by Event Staff. Scott Dickinson looks like he's related to Stephen King btw...
The Bret Hart/Booker T non-title match is dope shit. Feels just as much like a Booker T match as a Bret Hart match. Hart eats a beating early on with disbelief. Booker is stiff and explosive and mean, overpowering, stepping on Bret's hands. Bret gets him back on the outside, not only choking Booker with an electric cord, but wrapping it around his neck several times and leaving him breathless on the floor. Match goes to a commercial when Booker is reversing a figure-4, but when we come back, Bret is re-applying a figure-4, so it feels like God was watching out for us, he knew what was in our hearts, the story we were invested in. Also, at some point Bret lands a great atomic drop. I don't like that move, but I'm always paying attention for a good one and Booker takes one by Bret best. Booker nearly hits a Harlem Hangover close to the ropes, but when Bret tries to smash him with the US title belt from the second rope, you should see how his head shoots back from eating Booker's boot. He looked like an accidental idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. You should see it. Booker gets out of hand with the revenge spot, choking Bret with any electrical cord within reach and I didn't see the finish coming. Absolutely awesome performance by both guys.
We see Scott Steiner harrassing the Nitro girls, mainly Kimberly. He tells her how he beat her man like a dog. Also follows her into their dressing room and tells her she needs to treat him like a man. How he has a great body and she needs him. He repeats that he has a great body, so ... maybe we all need him? Not a great dude at this point, but he surely does believe in his vessel.
Jean Claude Van Damme is also in the front row, seated next to a real cutie.
Bischoff is walking through the stands with an armful of foam-fingers, upsettedly asking, "do you have any money?" Apparently he's wearing a wig underneath his backwards ballcap.
Next is Norton versus Goldberg. Norton assures us Goldberg is going down. I love heavyweight wrestling and this is just about as heavy as it gets. Goldberg is so strong he almost throws Scott Norton on a powerslam, he has to shift mid-move and carefully land him. On the outside, Norton is chopping the shit out of Goldberg who starts to hulk-up for a second, so Norton headbutts him. That sort of ready decision-making is ultimately all that a wrestler has to master to be a good wrestler. Goldberg has a little bit of time, so he does on an elbow-drop on the outside of the ring. Random beauty. And they say Goldberg had no moves. Fuck em. Well, Goldberg does aimlessly irish whip Norton on the outside, which Norton is visibly perturbed about, so he takes the opportunity to teach Greenberg a thing or two about fighting. He falls into an awesome, heavy short-arm clothesline for some much needed rest. This is the greatest match-up possible. "Combat" as Mike Tenay tells us. Norton lands are far-reaching shoulder tackle off the top, but it only gets a one. Could have been much hurtier. Another backdrop and short-arm clothesline and the Goldberg chants start up. When Norton goes for a powerbomb, Goldberg looks like he wants to drop an x-factor but instead he runs to the ropes and hits a spear. Goldberg is a Billy Kidman wannabe. nWo B-team is out to make short work of Bill, but it's pointless. THEN, Norris, Van Damme, Herschel Walker, and some NHL guy enter the ring to get hugs from Goldberg and eachother, which is weird, but I like weird. This is still the greatest show on n earth. Goldberg holds the ropes like a gentleman for these gentlemen and they walk to the back together, presumably to get hammered drunk.
Big Poppa Pump is at the announce booth, sitting against the table and stoicly watching the Nitro girls through tinted shades. He looks to be so horny it's hurting him at this point. He believes in his body, why can't they? Too bad this was the real Scott Steiner at one point, but I mean, he is a genetic freak with the keys to nirvana.
This was after they whipped David Flair and spraypainted him for being yet a brunette though he claimed to be a Flair.
Main event is a 6-man tag match, Flair, Benoit, and Mongo versus Hogan and two partners of his choice. And there's like 25 minutes left to go (holy shit, bear with me). This is my first time watching Benoit in almost 15 years. Hogan is walking to the ring saying, "You don't mess with Hell's Angels! You don't mess with Chuck Zito! You don't mess with my homies!" Apparently, he's chosen Steiner and Nash, so 4 Horsemen have literally no chance. In the prematch promo, Nash hands Steiner the mic and Steiner has to shake it off a couple times (uhh...)... Hollywood says WCW/4 Horsemen fans "stink...real bad!" He also badmouths Ric Flair, how he beat his child in the center of the ring and Eric Bischoff kissed his wife. Poor Ric. Not the greatest Hogan promo, but the words he says are true...4 Horsemen guitar-shredding song is better than "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and even Flair knew it on this night. Match opening brawl is sloppy, no one wants to sell for Benoit. Hogan thinks raking the eyes will save him. Steiner clears the ring for his homies; get the man a prostitute. Still can't imagine from looking at Benoit that he would do what he did. He and Steiner are gonna start things off and Steiner looks like he got seated next to the smelly guy on the bus, but maybe he's just got blueballs. Benoit sells so Steiner can flex. It's kinda sad, but yeah, I wish there was more of these two together. Nash tags in, but Benoit stays in, which is admirable. Mongo is wrestling in a shirt for some reason. Wish there was more Mongo versus Nash, but Benoit comes back in with a diving headbutt on Big Kev, which is cool with me. Steiner cheats and Benoit has to eat a big boot, which is a thing of beauty in this context. Hogan comes in and punches the shit out of Benoit, then back rakes him. Just ruthless. Absolutely ruthless. He runs an axe-bomber and spits at Flair only to skip away in a hurry. They're extra mean to Benoit, probably because he does snot-rockets and they're busy entertaining HA's and shit. Hogan pulls out a high back-suplex on Benoit and we go to a commercial. What did Dallas do to deserve this night of entertainment? Benoit gets a chop and a punch on Hogan, but Steiner is quick to interfere (from the apron) when he thinks he's allowed to kick big Red-and-Yellow. Hogan chops him back, runs him to the corner, and lands a huge clothesline, so big he smiles at Benoit while Benoit falls to the mat. Hogan was already crotch-chopping at this point in history which I didn't remember; I figured it was a habit he picked up in TNA. Flair still hasn't tagged in and Benoit looks like he just shat himself when Nash hits him with a scoop slam from 4-ft in the air. Good God, they played with this dude. They even put him in their corner for a Tree of Woe. Kevin Sullivan book this shit? Fresh out of the Tree of Woe, Hogan takes off his belt and whips Benoit on the back of his head/neck. No wonder Benoit would be WCW champion in a year's time. He earned his stripes this night. Literally. Hogan puts his belt back on and rakes Benoit in the eyes. Then, he goes for a pin. Big Hogan vertical suplex, but Benoit is too short to land on his back by the time Hogan falls so it looks for like a brainbuster. No lie. He lays over Benoit and looks genuinely concerned when the ref doesn't initiate a fast-count. I mean, why the fuck not, ref? Finally Nash misses a big boot in the corner, but Benoit still can't make it to his corner; Steiner is back in. He puts Chris in a bearhug, but Chris is too proud to stick a thumb in his eye before it turns into an overhead belly-to-belly. Hogan tags back in just to go for a cover. He misses a legdrop! Flair with the hot tag and all hell breaks loose. Even Benoit is on his feet and taking his turn on Steiner. Bischoff enthusiastically selling foam-fingers at ringside all of a sudden, hands one to Nash as Flair locks a figure-4 on Hollywood. Not sure why it hurts, but it breaks on Flair's back and thevmatch ends in a DQ. Bischoff threatens hair-clippers and Chavo is the first WCW lumberjack to hit the ring, then it's Hugh Morris, Damian, and La Parka. nWo and WCW in the brawl of all brawls. La Parka helps Flair to his feet. Not a hair on his head was harmed. WCW clears the ring. They've got the numbers game. Kaz Hayashi and Scotty f'in Riggs. Silver King and Glacier. La Parka is perched on the second rope like a night watchman. nWo back up the aisle into Goldberg. Show ends as he's killing them on the stage.
What the fuck did I just see?
I understand that someone in WWE must have seen this episode and said, "We need three hours!" But this will never happen again. January 25th, people. I guess the next episode opens with Curt Hennig and Barry Windham arriving at the arena with their luggage, talking about winning the tag team title tournament. Holy cow...
Last edited by Horatio; March 23rd, 2024 at 3:58 PM.
Reason: the longest post of all time
I just watch'd The Rock vs Triple H, from both Backlash and Judgment Day 2000.
I had beene wondering what Triple H's best match is ever since the Dustin of the Day thread popped up at the green board. Well, needless to say, I found it.
The Backlash match is a terrific set-up for the Ironman match. It shows how evenly both men are match'd; that is to say, they are not quite evenly match'd, and we see it by the expressions of Triple H's tenacity tainted by a glum defeatist tinge. He knows Rock is bigger-larger-better, but he has to prove he's at least worthy of going the distance with him. This one is a great American pro-style match, one of the best of its kind; almost the poster version of the WWE PPV main event for this era. It comes to a climax with an incredible double-Rock Bottom through a table (perform'd by The Rock on Triple H and Shane McMahon). A spot like that is almost worth the price of admission. I mean, it's a really classic high-spot that should have beene replay'd on Titan-Sports mix-tapes throughout the years but I never saw it before. To Triple H's credit, I remember his verticle suplex being tremendous and I'll say that the match is only bland in hindsight; while watching, it was thoroughly intriguing.
The Ironman is a different story as Triple H put on the performance of his career. He basically dies for The Rock with every bump and bit of defense that he has to perform. Even when he gets his leg post'd in the corner, the first time Rock slams it into the post it's one for the ages.
The match kind of makes one wonder about if it's a work or a shoot with the ring-psychology. The detail is just so careful, it's hard to imagine how the countout fall was planned to be so satisfying in the story arc. In this match, The Rock is clearly the better man, he wins the first fall by surprise about 10 minutes in, but then, 26 minutes in, he gets surprise'd by a Pedigree and mix'd with fatigue, he has to start playing smart. He acts dazed and defeat'd only to surprise Helmsley with explosive comebacks. And like I said, Triple H basically dies with every bump and its incredible to see. The Rock always looks too big to bump the way he does, and it's always kind of alarming to see him hit the mat/floor considering his size and the fact that there's not a lot of room for a man his height to just bounce around; however, Triple H comes into these matches a little thin so that he can fly into the mat like he's being guide'd by some giant, divine fly-swatter. And seriously, every bump he takes in this match is the sort of bump that would make a curious wrestling prospect wonder if it can be done on the regular... Bravo, Triple H. After 21 years of letting you anger me by sucking, I finally found out when, if not why, you don't suck.
Basically, this match is for people interested in the truth behind spiritual things. Not spirituality in general, but spiritual things like, the Bible and the truth, and are they the same thing, and does one take the backseat to the other, and so forth.
- The reason I say this is because it's like watching Atreyu vs Peter Pan, or more specifically: Jesus vs Little King David.
- The Bible is basically a story of 2nd place. Jesus is second to God, but they switch places. Archangel Michael is match'd by head-elf Gabriel. Employee of the Month Simon-Peter learns humility by watching Apostle Paul survive poisonings. Even in the Old Testament, it's a long line of men coming in second place to God - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Daniel, and the biggest #2 in the whole book: Davey Boy (son of Uncle Jesse). The Bible teaches there is no Won without the Zero, so you're always getting bronze at best with mom and dad coming in tying for first before you were even born. Even the father of Jesus, Joseph, wasn't his real father, and in the Old Testament, Joseph the Prince of Egypt was actually just a really important guest in a foreign palace - not an actual prince. So, The Bible wants us to accept that we're always coming in second place as nothing is really permanent in the World of Pro-Wrestling. The greatest cruiserweight in the world - CIMA, is never going to be able to prove he is better than Darby Allin unless he can do it here on AEW Dark in utter insignificance after both guys died in The Promise'd Land thousands of years ago... You have Wikipedia. Look it up...
CIMA basically learn'd to stop being a rookie by whoop'n all of Ultimo Dragon's students one or more at a time in dark Toryumon/Dragon Gate dungeons, did he not? Meanwhile, Darby goes straight from defeating Goliath to challenging God, or the son of God anyways, who is CIMA. How do I know that? Because, who leaves Japan to do public-relations wrestling in China of all places? Only a saint. A saint like CIMA, who is basically the greatest wrestlers I've ever seen, until this match, where he takes second place to the fastest wrestler I've ever seen, Darby Allin.
Darby headbutts his quadricep while he's the Tree of Woe. He runs, spins, and back-elbows said quadricep. He DDTs his ankle to further stretch the Lord's quadricep. CIMA still entertains. Nothing can stop CIMA from entertaining. Nothing at all. Never has. Except maybe whatever is keeping CIMA away. Thoughts and prayers, CIMA. What more could we have ever ask'd of you? I'll venture to say: set-up a Coffin-Drop with a Code-Red. Freak'n awesome match. Best match of all-time if all-time could be contain'd in about 8 minutes. I want to see more CIMA even after seeing the greatest CIMA match of all time, BUT, I have to also say Darby is even better in cruiserweight matches than he is playing the underdog against anyone on earth. What do we learn from the story of CIMA vs Darby Allin? That can be found in the only book-of-philosophy in the Bible wherein it states: Time and Chance is the Fate of Every Man. In the Passion of the CIMA, we find out that King Darby is a ruthless warlord, and ruthless after all.
Last edited by Horatio; March 30th, 2024 at 7:14 PM.
Basically had to get to watch'n TJP because he's the greatest wrestler of the 21st century. I realize'd that early into viewing TJP, and thusly, he became my favorite wrestler. He was so good I forgot about him entirely after every match I saw him in. Disappear'd like a ninja, almost on cue..
so, I was pleasantly surprise'd to see he seemingly recently wrestle'd the greatest mat-wrestler of the 21st century, Tom Lawlor. It's easy to say Tom Lawlor might be the greatest indie wrestler of all-time. He's train'd in MMA and was successful in MMA sports, but he's also indie-rific as all get-out. There's things he does in his indie appearences that just wouldn't fly in any sort of major (even in MLW - he goes major by proving he can black an eye with a finger-poke which appear'd to do be done as a dare - see his match versus Davey Boy Smith where the match has to continue awkwardly even though the story is clearly that he was challenge'd to black Davey Boy's eye with a thumb-poke, and surely enough, Davey Boy's eye turns darkly bruise'd within seconds of a random thumb-poke in mid-match; the two are now, not surprisingly, partners).
This match with TJP though, it kind of does a rare thing in exposing Lawlor's only weakness, and that's in setting up spots for a cruiserweight. Just a couple of times in this match, he seems a little too faking-it to wait for TJP to hit his major-highfly flow-style babyface spots. On one hand, it's good to see him selling for the greatest wrestler in the world who seems to be going full-force as a mega good-guy in Relentless. On the other hand, this is Tom Lawlor, and he could have been meaner and force'd TJP to hurt him a little more to set up the high spots.
- That said, this is a great match. If you enjoy the greatest wrestlers in the world and don't mind seeing them fail at doing the impossible (having the greatest match in the world with eachother - although they're hardly an equal match for one another), check out this match for the fun of it. I give it **34 because in hindsight, it wasn't too memorable and like I said, Lawlor's indie-leanings kind of expose'd the greatest wrestler of all-time and made him look cheap for like 2 seconds, so I'm not okay with that, but I still love'd this match and would watch it again.
I'm going to review the other matches in my blog since I am a sick person who says too much than is decent to say about single wrestling matches on the internet.
Last edited by Horatio; March 30th, 2024 at 7:12 PM.
Some matches I've review'd on my blog that I would put in this thread if they weren't sum'd up at the one-million word-count.
Owen, Bulldog, Vader vs. Shawn, Ahmed, Sid - 1996 (basically awesome)
Shayna vs. Liv - 2022 (MOTY)
Jake Lee vs Takashi Sugiura - 2023 [****1/2 - find this one and watch it; one of the greater old man performances from Sugiura and something truly unique in Jake Lee in from All Japan kind of like a young Keiji Mutoh in from New Japan in Pro-Wrestling NOAH (they even DRESS THE SAME~~)]
Also just watch'd Jake Lee's GHC title defense against Marufuji. Holy cow, that was awesome. Marufuji only kick'd him in the face like 27 times, but each one happen'd to land squarely on the face and make those sick slapping and thudding sounds. Jake Lee's thing is that he doesn't get to land all of his stuff throughout, but everything he does land hits so hard that his opponents can't take his stuff for very long as he's seemingly in his prime as a big young buttkicker. But, hey, watch Marufuji knee him in the face and tell me there's nothing Marufuji-ish about it. Check it out on youtube while you can; it's 26 minutes of absolute perfection (Keiji Mutoh on commentary~).
Last edited by Horatio; April 6th, 2024 at 10:32 PM.
Originally Posted by Spudz Mackenzie
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