Loss

Arn tears up the old WCW Magazine, saying he is really tired of talking about used-to-bes. Funk mentions that nothing can be done to him that hasn't already been done to him, but warns Paul E. that if he brings his family into this, he'll do some things to him that have never been done. I enjoyed this.

Some Joe claims to have seen the Undertaker.

Feature on John Tenta's sumo career -- him talking about his time in the sport while Disney-fied classical music plays, which is amusing. This was cool.

So based on the Savage bio in the WON, we know the backstory is that Bret and Savage wanted to do a long, classic match since they never really had the chance to face each other, and they were told by the road agents the day of this show that it wasn't to be, and that they only had about 15 minutes for their match. And this is pretty disappointing as a result. It feels like the build toward a strong match, but there's no payoff for it. I like the pacing, but it didn't have enough time to play itself out. Also, the match isn't really aggressive enough to get over in Japan the way it should. The big highlight is the guy filming mocking WWF catchphrases in his Japanese voice. "Haha, UNBELIEVABLE!"

Flair must be butter, because he's on a roll. Quite the promo. Arn interrupts to discuss reuniting the Horsemen. Flair says they'll discuss it as soon as he gets past the Steamboat match. That would have been interesting in the context of Hogan's return, but I guess they decided not to go forward with it.

Clip of the Rude/Sting match from the Fukuoka Dome.

I don't know how Jake was in the ring at this point, but he could have headlined in either of the Big Two just on the strength of his promos alone. Jake tells a story about how he always knew DWB wouldn't make it, and he's been proven right. He also quotes the Bible, but makes it seem creepy. Awesome.

Cornette cuts a promo on Randy Savage, who is coming into SMW. What a coup for SMW! They are at Total Fitness in Knoxville, where Bruiser Bedlam is prepped to bench press over 500 lbs. Then, we get Bedlam driving nails through a board with his bare fist and breaking beer bottles over his head. Cornette is outstanding narrating this, to a point where it may be one of the best things he has ever done. As a video to get over a new guy, this is also a fantastic piece of business, and the type of thing I wish we saw more of these days.

Highlights of a taped fist match from Mid South Coliseum. Looks like another brutal match with DM bleeding hardaway above the eye again. DM eats a piledriver on a chair and a few fistdrops. Jeff Jarrett runs in to attack Lawler and the referee and the heels do a number on Lawler. Billy Travis attempts a save and gets cut off. Good stuff, but the post-match goes a little long. I would have rather have seen more of the actual match, but that's Memphis.

One of my favorite discoveries going through these yearbooks has been the quiet career full of great matches from Naoki Sano. In this case though, Tamura is the star. I love the details, like raising his foot when Sano attempts a single leg to counter a waistlock. He seems to have an eventual counter for most things Sano throws at him. At one point, he seems to kick Sano a little low by mistake, but they shake hands and move on, which is a cool moment. Later in the match, you start seeing some of Sano's counters, like using jumping knees with his free leg to counter Tamura's attempted single leg takedown. That Tamura can work a Michaels-style kip up into this style of match makes him awesome. Sano locks in a Boston Crab to a big pop, but can't hold it for very long. Lots of awesome exchanges make this a really great match.

It's interesting how difference all the 5/5 death matches are. The Funk and Hayabusa death matches aren't really worked the same way as this one, and Kudo/Toyoda is something different from all of those. They tease big stuff way more than they deliver it, and both guys are charismatic enough to get a lot out of doing very little. Tenryu took one crash into the cage and Onita took two or three. The rest of the time, they work holds with dramatic teases of Irish whips and settle into a series of powerbombs at the end. I really liked this one, as Tenryu and Onita didn't do anything too ridiculous and still kept the crowd by keeping it simple. Great match.

I get a kick out of the way they show old magazine and newspaper clippings regarding the Dangerous Alliance to set this up, with Paul E. implying that Arn was always more of a Horseman than a DA member. Good stuff.

Funk is rambling and incoherent here, but Arn is really good.

First, we get Tommy Cairo and Peaches doing a promo from Sandman's house setting up the mixed tag match at When Worlds Collide. The Singapore caning thing has become such a wrestling trope that it's forgotten how topical it was at the time. Peaches is hilarious, as she seems really pissed off but she isn't really sure why. We cut back to Sandman with Styles at the ECW Arena. Both sides are acting like heels, so again, I am not sure who the babyface and who the heel is in this feud.

Last few minutes. I love Samu and Fatu as babyfaces. Samu getting hung in the ropes is always a wild spot. Why did Samu end up getting replaced by the Barbarian anyway? They put together a pretty elaborate sequence of events to lead the finish. The Headshrinkers win the tag titles. Big pop for the title change.

Last few minutes. Really funny to see how the Japanese crowd reacts to Sting and Rude not working anything resembling a Japan-style match. It seems like they should have done a little more than they did when in Rome. Rude wins with a kneedrop off the top rope, and his music is the infinitely superior 1992 pre-Slam Jam track! Rude walks out without a problem, so I'm not sure exactly when he got the injury that made this his last match.

I totally disagree with this. As Dave has said in the past, most people in a Hall of Fame in any sport aren't remembered, which is the point of having a Hall of Fame. The good candidates aren't always self-evident.

I think I thought when going through matchlists that this was the upset match, not the Challenge match.

April: #1 - Steve Williams vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/16/94) ****1/2 #2 - Chris Candido vs Tracy Smothers (SMW Bluegrass Brawl 04/01/94) ****1/2 #3 - Great Sasuke vs Jinsei Shinzaki (Michinoku Pro 04/29/94) ****1/2 #4 - Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup 04/16/94) ****1/2 #5 - Wild Pegasus vs Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup 04/16/94) ****1/4 #6 - Rock & Roll Express vs Heavenly Bodies (SMW Bluegrass Brawl 04/01/94) ****1/4 #7 - Stan Hansen vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/10/94) **** #8 - Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat (WCW Spring Stampede 04/17/94) **** #9 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Stan Hansen, Giant Baba & Takao Omori (AJPW 04/16/94) **** #10 - Dustin Rhodes vs Bunkhouse Buck (WCW Spring Stampede 04/17/94) **** #11 - Jerry Lawler vs Dream Machine (USWA Mid South Coliseum 04/25/94) **** #12 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/11/94) ***3/4 #13 - Sabu vs Terry Funk (ECW TV 04/19/94) ***3/4 #14 - El Samurai vs Great Sasuke (NJPW Super J Cup 04/16/94) ***3/4 #15 - Vader vs The Boss (WCW Spring Stampede 04/17/94) ***1/2 #16 - Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/15/94) ***1/2 #17 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/14/94) ***1/4 #18 - Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs Nasty Boys (WCW Spring Stampede 04/17/94) ***1/4 #19 - Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/11/94) ***1/4 #20 - Stan Hansen vs Steve Williams (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/14/94) ***1/4 #21 - Vader vs Cactus Jack (WCW Worldwide 04/30/94) ***1/4 #22 - Stan Hansen vs Akira Taue (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/11/94) *** #23 - Rock & Roll Express vs Brian Lee & Chris Candido (SMW TV 04/02/94) *** #24 - El Hijo del Santo, Lizmark & Tiger Mask vs Blue Panther, Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine (AAA 04/02/94) Overall thoughts: Loaded month, obviously. I wish I could include Flair/Regal in this somehow, but it would have a big asterisk if I did. If it could count as one match, I'd have it at #7 overall for the month. I expect this to get the most "WTF?" reactions of any of my month rankings so far, because there are so many famous matches here that people feel strongly about. To clarify, first, I did re-think the AJ six-man, and there are a few matches from the Carnival I'd put above it, but it is still in the top handful. Also, I have to say that especially compared to '95, I was pretty down on this Carnival. Plenty of good matches and a few great ones, but not at the level of the year after. Plenty of really good matches though, so while it wasn't quite as good as I hoped it would be, that shouldn't be read as an overreaction. The J Cup matches were also interesting because Pegasus/Sasuke is the match that typically gets the most love from that show, but I do think Liger/Sasuke holds up better, even though both are great. Is Liger/Sasuke a match people talk about as one of the best NJ juniors matches, because they really should. Really though, my biggest takeaway from April 1994 is that for that month at least, WCW was the best wrestling promotion in the world. Spring Stampede had more variety in match styles than anything anyone else was doing at this point -- two very different types of brawls, a superheavyweight spot-o-rama, a standard U.S. pro title match, and a rematch from a really heralded series a few years earlier. I have also really enjoyed the angles they have done for the most part. They really did seem to be a promotion that was finally getting it during this time. We know that things will start crashing down soon, and I'm sure it will hurt inside.

The Guardian Angels ask to speak to Ray Traylor (who's being billed as such). They offer him the chance to come train to be a Guardian Angel. Ray takes them up on the offer.

Regal is ready for his apology from Zbyszko, but Larry isn't willing to provide that apology. Sir William pokes him with the cane as he walks away, and Larry decks him. He also ends up tearing Regal's suit up. Good stuff.

Bockwinkel explains why he made the decision that he made at Spring Stampede. Flair is upset at the idea that he didn't successfully defend his title at Spring Stampede, and gives the belt back if anyone has a problem with it. He and Steamboat get in a pretty heated argument and Bockwinkel promises a decision surrounding the title by the end of the show. Good segment.

The Thrillseekers cut a promo in front of a SMW crowd for the first time on the yearbook. They suck up to the crowd, and Storm accidentally calls SMW "Rocky Mountain Wrestling". Well Dunn interrupts them to challenge them to a match and do a little bitching and moaning. They insist on music videos, big contracts, entrance music and interview time. Jericho asks if he's Beavis or Butthead, and then says they aren't working hard for what they want. They want a match next week. Jericho is doing most of the talking and is obviously the more charismatic of the two, which shouldn't shock anyone.

Bob Armstrong mentions that Randy Savage is on his way to Knoxville to take on Bruiser Bedlam! He also mentions that Jake Roberts is coming in! They cut to a video of Jake at home doing a really good promo, recalling the things he has done to Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, Rick Rude and Sting, pointing out the WWF wouldn't put him in the ring with Hogan and that he invented the DDT. We cut back to Dirty White Boy with an eye patch.

Of course, I have to mention Flair's post-match promo, which is great, as he shoots on the Worldwide crowd for cheering based on cue cards and throws a few digs at Hogan. Awesome.