April 1993

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This had a slow beginning and Team FMW simply wasn't very interesting, and outside of her big fat plancha Toyoda still isn't. Other than that she contributes very little to this. I should be a fan of a team slowing the pace of a joshi match down, as they did here, but it didn't really work. This turns into a good to very good match, but it strikes me as a Toyota/Yamada carryjob--it's amazing how Toyota has been carrying herself as a grizzled veteran in these bouts, having a real knack for timing and building up to the big spots. The whole layout really seems to be dictated by the AJW team. On top of that Toyota decides she's going to murder herself getting the FMW ladies …

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Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara - WAR 4/2/93 In the midst of the NJPW vs WAR feud dominated by Tenryu vs Hashimoto in Co. there was the junior analog to the feud with Jushin Liger facing off against Ultimo Dragon. Their big singles match happened at the 1/4 Dome show but was marred by a dead crowd and botches. Here the crowd was electric everytime these two men squared off the ring. Often, Liger is so head and shoulders more over than his opponents it was nice for him to be in there against an equal. Liger was on fire in this match. He just brought an insane energy to this match. He had so much pep in his step. He was kinda dick …

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As Crush enters the arena, he looks like the dog's bollocks and you're left scratching your head wondering how such a specimen never became a huge star. Then the bell rings and you realize why. He beats Doink all over the place and looks lost and awkward. Luckily Matt Bourne is a good hand and is able to stop Crush from completely shitting the bed on his first ever singles feud. I know it's not to everyone's tastes, but I dug the finish. After a ref bump, a second Doink appears from under the ring and lays into Crush with a prosthetic arm before returning back to his a hiding spot. After the bell, a second referee comes down to argue the result with the first ref, but the…

Gonzales at least tries to make an effort when he's selling Undertaker's big soup bones, but he's still the drizzling shits. He only takes one bump in this and that was after the bell! They awkwardly brawl around the place until Gonzales is disqualified by using a towel soaked in chloroform to incapacitate 'Taker. They do a post-match stretcher job, but Undertaker rush back out to clean house. Easily Undertaker's worst streak match, but at least the fans seemed into this. DUD

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Perfect himself said he had an off-day and fucked up this match and it shows. It's completely uninteresting, although that could just be as Luger is leading the match and Perfect character doesn't exactly allow him to work as a face fighting from underneath. Luger's entrance with the bikini-clad women and mirrors was great, as was Perfect flubbing his words in the pre-match promo and accidently calling his opponent 'the Lexissist'. This went on for ten minutes and felt like twenty. I'm sure if the heel and face roles were reversed, this would of been a great showing. ★¾ 

If you had never seen Bob Backlund before this, you'd be forgiven thinking he was an aging journeyman. The commentators never mention that he's a former world champion and the crowd give him zero reaction. This had solid fundamentals, Razor throws good punches and Backlund sells them well. Unfortunately that's all the good I can say about this. It's short and had no build-up. Razor rolls up Backlund for the win. As Backlund wasn't presented as much of a threat, this made Razor look bad as he was only able to escape with the skin of his teeth against a much smaller and older opponent. ★½

This was worked like something you'd see at a house show until the finishing stretch kicks into gear. Michaels already looks like a pro as he controls Tatanka and leads the match. Tatanka is an average worker, with a brilliant comeback. Michaels has ditched Sherri for Luna, but Sherri decides to show up and root for anyone not named Shawn Michaels. The women don't get involved much until the post-match. The finish is designed to keep the belt on Michaels without destroying Tatanka's win record, so they come up with a bullshit ending which sees Tatanka win by countout after some shenanigans. Crap finish aside, this was a satisfactory opener. ★★★

Even if this is a throwaway undercard match, these two teams aren't afraid to go hard on each other. Scott Steiner nearly kills himself after an over-powered Stun Gun sends him headfirst to the outside. The Headshrinkers work over him until he is able to get a hot tag after Samu misses a huge top rope splash. Rick clears house and is able to counter a Doomsday Device with a powerslam! Like many other Steiner Brothers matches, this was reckless and dangerous, but I can't say I wasn't entertained! ★ ★ ★

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