NMB Wrestling Archive

Jushin Liger & El Samurai v Wild Pegasus & Tokimitsu Ishizawa - 03/09/96 What this match lacks most of all is an interesting beginning. The first half of this match was largely useless and is sort of a snoozefest, which is strange considering the participants. The second half of this match sees them pull together something a little stronger, but the greatness is really only in spurts; it's not consistent. Liger and Samurai are definitely the most established and most over team, and Benoit and Ishizawa do little to challenge that, ignoring the crowd and not really putting sympathy on their opponents. Liger and Samurai dominating Ishizawa for such a long stretch…

This match was missing a lot, but one thing it certainly wasn't missing was athleticism. Some of the sequences are breathtaking in both pace and scope, and that seems to be their calling card, to a point where it's a fault of the match. They're unable to create any type of engaging story that can sustain itself, instead keeping the focus on how many moves they can pull off and how fast they can wrestle. The good thing about that is that while they teeter on the border of being indy-ish in match layout, they never go in that direction completely, simply because Liger and Eddy are two of the best highspot artists of the era. They have trouble sustaining heat whenever they t…

El Samurai v Shinjiro Otani - NJPW 01/21/96 One of the keys to a great wrestling match is that the holds are earned, not given, and that definitely applies in this case. There is a struggle for every move and every counter from the very beginning until the very end, with both having a clear strategy -- destroy one part of the opponent's body, and refuse to let up until the goal is accomplished. This was the start of a great journey for Otani in 1996, a journey that wouldn't see him catapult himself to The Man status within the juniors division, but the reasons for that had absolutely nothing to do with the booking not pushing him in that direction. The intended subtle…

Jushin Liger v Koji Kanemoto - NJPW 01/04/96 This match never seemed sure where it was going. One can argue that it was an attempt at making Koji look good, as he controls the early stages of the matwork and dominates most of the match. However, with Liger winning, that sort of defeats the purpose of the build. One could also argue that this was an attempt at making Liger sympathetic, but Liger, in 1996, was the kingpin of the division, with or without the belt, and Kanemoto taking it to him without Liger getting much in the way of offense isn't fooling anyone. That's not say Liger's selling is bad, but it is ineffective -- the match suffers the same fate that many ju…

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Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

Anyone who knows me knows my liking of Jim Ross from 1986-1993 as the greatest mainstream announcer ever. I still think this though after hearing Lance Russel so much recently, he is close to Ross in delivering the same greatness in getting over characters and stories. Ross probably had more emotion (Russel wasn't dry but he also didn't go over the top like Ross woul occasionally when the crowd was going nuts). Bob Caudle was a great side kick for Ross, in being able to put over moves while Ross put over everything else. Gordon Solie is over rated for me. I'm bored with straight announcing of moves. Solie did that well but he could never match the atmosphere, pas…

http://www.wwe.com/inside/unlimited/matchj...x/may/index.jsp Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji in "Fuji Vice" Approx. run time: 9 mins. Although Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji had made a comfortable living for themselves as WWE Superstars, they also had acting aspirations. Fuji Vice was Muraco and Fuji's attempt at trying to re-create the magic of the highly-successful series Miami Vice. The acting abilities of Muraco and Fuji have to be seen to be believed! I might just have to subscribe this month.

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Chris Benoit v HHH v HBK - WWE Backlash 2004 So, this was Benoit's first high-profile title defense, eh? Edmonton seems to be quite thrilled that he won the gold, and so does Benoit, as he puts the belt in both Hunter and Shawn's faces, probably realizing the chances of him ever doing *that* again wouldn't be in this lifetime. The match starts off with HBK and Benoit, before HHH pokes his nose in things so he could have his say. HHH sucks in this match, by the way. The largest part of this sees him almost completely ignoring the crowd, but to his credit, the best thing he did for this match was stay out of the way for most of it; the story plays out more of Shawn gett…

Crash Holly vs. Headbanger Mosh vs. Headbanger Thrasher Funtime USA! Smackdown! - 3/16/2000 In this match we see quite possibly the defining moment of Crash Holly's 24/7 reign with the WWE Hardcore Championship. Mosh starts the match assaulting Crash Holly and gets the pin, except Referee Earl Hebner is missing. Crash counters by throwing plastic balls at Mosh, and escapes down the slide. At the end of the slide, Thrasher hits Crash with the garbage can, but Mosh breaks up the pin. The Headbangers beat up Crash downstairs. Mosh sets up Crash at a mallet strength game, and while Thrasher grabs the mallet, Mosh attempts to sneak in a quick pinfall. Crash runs…

Ric Flair v Hulk Hogan - 08/18/94 (WCW) This wasn't a dream match at quite the magnitude it would have been headlining Wrestlemania in 1992, but it's still special seeing Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in the same ring, considering that they were both the top stars of their respective companies for a decade and for years before they finally met up, fans always wondered what would happen and who would win. They were the ultimate contrasts to each other in so many ways, and they had a long-running unspoken rivalry. Hulk Hogan showed up in the company two months prior and just a month previously had defeated Flair to win his first WCW World championship; it was the first high-…

From the 10/28/96 Nitro ... Steven Regal v Juventud Guerrera This was about as good as an overbooked three minute match could be. You have Sean Waltman popping up in the middle of the match to talk about how great he is, you have NWO picketers in the crowd and in the ring, you basically one steady chain wrestling sequence that lasts about 2:30. It's nice the way they flow from one move to the other, but it doesn't really matter, does it? Meltzer always seems to try to paint the picture that the undercard played a part in WCW's success in the late 90s, but it didn't, and if this match doesn't explain the company's downfall in bite-size format, I don't know what doe…

Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair ?I Quit Match? (Clash of the Champions IX ?New York Knockout) Blood feuds. If you have spent just a few hours watching wrestling, you are bound to come across a match that either begins or ends a blood feud. We talk about them constantly. ?Did you see how Magnum just jammed that spike in his eye?? ?Eddie brought the hate against that racist son of a bitch? ?Austin never quit! Austin never quit!? ?Lawler punished Idol.? They are there for us to witness, to revel in the hate, to see the two mortal enemies do everything in their power to inflict pain. When you want to sell a few more tickets, give the impression that the vampires will see blood.…

1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly v Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka - WWF Royal Rumble 1995 This was the final round of tag titles tournament, with Kid and Holly as the major underdogs. Considering that 50% of the participants were pretty good around this time when the planets were aligned properly, and another 25% had his moments as well, I was expecting this to be decent, especially since I'd seen it called "good" in some circles. This was actually a horrible match, brought down almost entirely by Tatanka. The announcers refer to Kid losing to Bigelow on Action Zone in the weeks before the show, and I wished I was watching that match instead, because it has the potential to b…

After we finish first-round voting, we'll start on this bracket. I'll be updating this one as the results continue to come in. Bam Bam Bigelow Ultimate Warrior Taka Michinoku Chris Jericho Demolition Smash Randy Orton Bob Backlund Jeff Jarrett Marty Jannetty IRS/Mike Rotunda Rey Misterio Jr Rick Rude Sid Tully Blanchard Val Venis Sgt Slaughter Arn Anderson Big Show Booker T Chavo Guerrero Jr Tito Santana Terry Funk Demolition Ax Greg Valentine Goldust Jake Roberts Jeff Hardy Kane Ricky Steamboat Matt Hardy Dynamite Kid Andre the Giant Second round: Ultimate Warrior Mr. Perfect Chr…

Vote for the wrestler that you think had the better career in WWE (whether you base that on impact or match quality is your decision), from 1985 to 2005. Voting will end Tuesday morning. Please give the wrestler's name first and any explanation thereafter. Thanks.

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