Loss
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Everything posted by Loss
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I love all the basic matwork in this. They aren't doing anything flashy at all, but there's an unrivaled intensity and crispness to it all -- the sense that we're watching something with high stakes -- that makes every move and hold work. Everything counts when these two lock up. Deliberate, punishing and hard hitting wrestling. I can dig it. This match is super smart. Because they spend so much time on the mat not doing any highspots, Hashimoto's first big kick around the halfway point gets a massive pop. Tenryu coming back with the bootscrapes is awesome too, and suddenly, tempers have flared and the referee is having trouble controlling everything. Because of the history with these two, we knew that was going to happen, but they made us wait for it until they were ready to give us that moment because they're awesome and pros. I'm predicting that this is far more basic than just about any high-end match of '94 anywhere in the world. But two guys this good at the basics can pull that off. I think this is my favorite match of theirs. Outstanding match, and Hashimoto's triumph is one of those great emotional moments in wrestling history. -
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I thought this match was solid, but a little underwhelming at first. Then Liger starts taking quite the beating, and the heat builds every time he kicks out of something. They do a really good job of building heat and sympathy on Liger. But then they don't really do anything with it. Sasaki seems a little awkward as Power Warrior, but tries hard, and the Steiners feed him some great spots. Liger shakes off an extended beating a little too fast when they start working toward the finish. Sasaki has no intensity to go with the gimmick, but he's over doing it anyway. Lots of good and bad here.
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This is worked very similarly to Santo's matches with Heavy Metal in 1993. I don't think AAA ever quite nails the lucha title match, but this was still a good effort. Santo's arm work in the second fall is great. The problem is that he's carrying this match with his offense, and Psicosis' selling isn't really good enough to match it, which makes this match feel a bit disconnected. I love the face-first move he keeps busting out, almost like a cross armbreaker/facebuster combination. After a long feeling out period, Santo seems to have found his groove and does some nice arm work, but as soon as Psicosis gains momentum, it's immediately forgotten. Psicosis does a series of snapmares which are totally made by Santo's ricochet bumping. In the final few minutes, this gets really good when they start busting out the dives and nearfalls. Psicosis feels far more in his comfort zone when they are working like this, but the classic lucha style isn't really a strength. When he is put in a position to take big bumps, feed moves and time kickouts, he's much better. Psicosis is a wrestler I really like, and I'm usually one of his biggest defenders, but I think Santo came inspired and ready to give a big performance, and Psicosis, while not bad at all, is not at Santo's level here. The match was good, and I got what they were going for, but Psicosis couldn't quite live up to it. I haven't really cared for either their 1994 or 1995 singles matches, which is a shame, because I was excited about both of them before watching them. Psicosis is better working the younger, more spot-heavy guys, and he didn't bend enough here. Side note: Someone explain that finish to me. How did Psicosis win?
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I am generally for drug legalization and think wrestlers should be allowed to take steroids if they want to take them. But I don't like steroid use as a condition of employment or push, and wrestlers on steroids being marketed to children as the ideal body type is concerning. Vince clearly favors big guys over small guys in hiring and pushes, and probably favors pushing cut guys over non-cut guys, but some of that may be overblown. Vince loves big guys, but I think height and hair are two things he notices just as much -- if not more -- than muscles.
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Not sure if Hogan in WCW was a strong possibility this early, but Gene was probably referring to the semi-famous story of Hogan calling Flair the morning after the show and saying, "You made me cry last night, you old bastard."
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I think the reason you get that reaction on something like wrestling more than something like a movie or TV show is that non-fans think wrestling doesn't admit what it is and tricks people into thinking it's real. The only people who could be fans are those who fall for it. People are sheep, long story short.
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I think the biggest issue is that the audience clearly wanted to cheer Jericho when he returned. And they were so married to the angle they mapped out in advance that they thought that they knew better what the audience wanted, and tried to kill whatever positive excitement there was with Jericho's return. That worked ... a little too well. There's also the issue that it feels like an upper midcard feud despite being a world title feud because of Rock, Brock, HHH, Undertaker and Michaels all being around at different points. But then, you get into the problems with the angle itself. One of the biggest annoyances to me is that Jericho always interrupts Punk by Titantron and gives these canned promos that are missing something and needlessly complicate what should be a simple feud. I don't understand why Jericho hasn't interrupted by standing at the entrance ramp and cutting the promo in front of a live crowd. Then, there's the subject matter. Who cares if Punk's dad was an alcoholic, or if Punk takes a drink? Sure, Punk's motivation is clear, but why should fans care? I fully expect Jericho to have some expose post-Extreme Rules of Punk eating beer battered fish in that pub, or ordering vodka penne, or eating angel hair pasta in a white wine sauce. Jericho caring so much about this stuff is SO over the top that it's not really plausible. It feels too scripted and too much like a television story, and not enough like a wrestling angle. Also, I find it humorous that Jericho said for months that when he returned, he'd have a completely new character, and that turned out to just be "I'm the same guy, only with a shiny jacket." I don't even think he needed to reinvent himself, but his return has really been a mess. I think he has spent too much time as a heel. For whatever reason, he never gets pushed the same way as a babyface that he does as a heel, despite having a much stronger audience connection when he's a babyface.
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Ron Wright gets the hero's welcome before the match gets started. Seeing him *walk* to the ring feels like Cornette is trying to recreate the Magnum TA moment, but maybe that's just me. Not really a good chain match, but a hot one with some nice payoffs, and Wright and Tammy at ringside definitely add a lot to the heat. DWB wins the SMW title, which was pretty expected in advance of this since he made the Pro Wrestling Babyface Promise.
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Nice, action packed match. These two are working at a harder pace than anyone I've seen in SMW, but they are still working a really sound match. Really feels like the type of match WCW should have been putting on TV on a regular basis during this same time period, but far more heated than it would be if it took place in WCW. Candido busts out some really nice highspots, and Smothers take some solid bumps around ringside. Because SMW had a lot of guys whose best days were behind them, these guys stand out more because they are working a more athletic match than most SMW matches during this time period. Candido has picked up on the nuances of being an effective in-ring heel pretty quickly, and Smothers is a guy who could have been near the top of a thriving territory in a different era. I like that they keep the pace up, but still sell the impact of the moves. If there's a weakness here, it's that they probably do about 20-25 minutes of match layout in a 12-13 minute match, so this feels a little bit rushed, but it's not a glaring thing, and overall, that's a small complaint. Morton/Snow is still my favorite SMW match ever, but I could see something from this feud surpassing it as I continue going through the '94 yearbook.
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Guadalajara feels like the Fort Worth, Texas of lucha libre -- a brown tinge to everything and a little off the beaten path. The rudos unmask Santo and he runs away from the ring, leaving Azteca to fend for himself and making him easy prey for a pinfall in the first fall. The second fall has Fuerza and Psicosis enjoying their advantage for a few minutes before Santo makes his triumphant comeback and seeks revenge. Psicosis gets thrown around ringside like a ragdoll and eats a few chairshots for his troubles while Azteca and Fuerza battle it out in the ring. Santo goes nuts and drags Psicosis around the ring by his mask, which gets a huge reaction from the crowd. Psicosis ends up running away in shame, but comes back vowing for revenge. He looks really odd with no horns on his mask. I presume this is all to set up their singles match a few days later. Lots of fun, but too short, and more angle-driven than a match, really.
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Ted Turner is at Center Stage! Flair does an absolutely spine-chilling promo -- seriously, it's awe-inspiringly great and probably one of his best ever -- which is hurt by the Center Stage crowd being very obviously prompted to maintain cheers the whole time. So the emotion and heat this should have generated gets negated by the non-stop cheers. Oh, WCW.
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Terry Funk does an awesome, bloody, tear-filled promo putting over the 60-minute draw and throwing in shots at the WWF and WCW, which is bullshit, but effective and emotional bullshit. Funk is proud to be ECW champ -- he's an old man, but he's making his stand. All the other organizations can go to hell. Paul E. and Sabu are next at the "press conference" and Sabu can't be controlled, of course. Heyman isn't as overcome with emotion as Funk, going into a tirade (which is delivered weirdly) about how Sabu was robbed of a rightful victory. Finally, Douglas and Sherri are here. I LOVE this Douglas promo. It may be the best thing I've ever seen from him. This was in the early stages of this gimmick before he became so long-winded, I guess. Funk interrupts him to try to be a voice of reason, and takes offense to Douglas calling him an old man. Things get heated and a brawl breaks out. This is officially one of my favorite ECW moments ever. Douglas was seriously perfect here. Absolutely perfect. I have never seen him so good.
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Bob Caudle: "Ricky Morton has fought a valiant match, but he hasn't really fought a smart match." Dutch: "That's 'cause he's stupid." -- SMW TV 02/05/94
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The Bodies are supposed to face Dave Meltzer and Wade Keller, but instead, the Rock & Rolls come out, to the surprise of the Bodies. Dutch makes some jokes about Wade and Dave throughout the match, including one about a credit card scam in Louisiana that goes way over my head. Good impromptu action, and the Rock & Rolls get DQd for using Cornette's racket. Dutch is a riot on commentary here. Bob Caudle: "Ricky Morton has fought a valiant match, but he hasn't really fought a smart match." Dutch: "That's 'cause he's stupid."
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They show Brian Lee and Chris Candido running in to help Killer Kyle do a number on Dirty White Boy before Tracy Smothers makes the save. Smothers doesn't fare much better, but DWB gets the chain and it's the great equalizer. Lee gets hung from the top rope with the chain. DWB and Kimberly are the guests. They cut to a taped promo from Ron Wright, who can walk again and is a surprisingly good serious babyface promo. MISS FYTCH BITCH! Great interview recapping all the dastardly things Brian Lee has done to him, vowing revenge at Sunday Bloody Sunday, and raising his hand to God to promise he will win the SMW title. Best interview of the year so far.
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Todd Pettengill, who is so Hip And With It that my impressions of the WWF go through the roof, pitches to Stan Lane to recap Lex Luger's Wrestlemania journey, starting with Yoko being slammed on the USS Intrepid. Bret also does a brief promo to discuss his match with Owen and later match with the WWF champ. I'm a broken record, but I like Bret promos because they seem so genuine, even if he's not a witty speaker every time out. We're reminded that there will be surprise guest referees in both title matches, and Savage/Crush is also announced for the show.
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This is great! Super Delphin is the world's most awesome stooge in this match, and Togo is amazingly athletic. Really, everyone is great, but those are the two biggest standouts for me. Not a lot to add to Phil's review, but outstanding match. Easily the best pre-1996 MPro match I've seen.