Loss
Admins
-
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by Loss
-
Vince at times, especially before they went national, but otherwise, not really. (I say that not to declare it to be true. I don't have that power. I'm just stating my viewpoint, obviously.) There are many things the WWF has usually done well. Announcing has never really been one. Of course Gorilla is way better than Cole. -
Every tournament has one. In this one, Ultimo is the one to wear something different in every match. Good for him. This isn't as copied as the Tokyo Dome match these two had in '93, but there are quite a few sequences I've seen borrowed on U.S. indies from this match. But these two execute them way better than those they influence. Liger finds an opportunity to go after Ultimo's knee, so we get a few minutes of that until Ultimo finds a way to turn the tide and do the same. This leads to a cool moment where both are hobbling around trying to lock up. Liger is much better at selling than Ultimo, as Ultimo just turns it on and off at will to execute his highspots (which are admittedly pretty awesome). I almost wish they'd focus on the arm or something in juniors matches from this time period, if only because executing signature offense requires them to stop selling too much. But what this match does best is all the excitement surrounding nearfalls, and the back and forth action in the final few minutes. It's pretty great in that regard. But even though I like this -- an awful lot at that -- it always feels like Liger and Ultimo never quite have a match that meets their potential. Both guys match up better with Otani and Samurai.
-
This started out pretty frenetic and never really let up. Otani's dropkick from the apron to the floor was sick. I'd really like to watch this as a lead-in to the J Crown sometime, because that match is so counter and reversal heavy that there have to be some callbacks. This is Otani taking the fight to Ultimo and working not from underneath, but as the underdog for most of this. Ultimo is the favorite, Otani is the guy with something to prove. There's also something to be said for Otani doing the Dragon suplex on Ultimo for close nearfalls. The best match of the J Crown to this point for me. As much as I liked Taka/TM from MPro, this was about the same amount of time, told a better story, had more action and didn't feel rushed at all. Great stuff.
-
-
Very good match. I love the spot in the first few minutes when Naniwa tries his walk-the-ropes spot and Liger keeps rolling so he has to keep going and going. Pretty funny. This is your typical Liger-beats-up-a-guy-lower-than-him-on-the-food-chain-and-mocks-his-signature-stuff match, which I always enjoy.
-
-
-
This starts with Austin/Mikey. Austin has cut his hair now and is starting to look like a star, despite getting heckled over it by the crowd. The crowd is bored by it, but I enjoy the chain wrestling with Austin and Mikey early on. They're having a pretty good match, then the Sandman's music starts, and I worry that the match is going to go to hell from here, but it doesn't! Sandman's drunken brawling is pretty fun and he and Austin go after each other pretty aggressively. From here, the match is Austin/Sandman with Mikey as a spoiler, which works. There are some pretty creative spots here -- a little hokey, but still fun. This was lots of fun -- totally blows away the more heralded 4-way from Heat Wave '96, which is a horrible match in every way I know how to express.
-
This is awesome! Hogan gets possibly the biggest heel heat of anyone on the entire yearbook -- coming out to LOUD boos, a "Hogan sucks" chant and fans ripping up his merchandise on camera! This is a pretty good match, but I can't get over the crazy crowd! Luger racking Hogan on the outside gets a big babyface pop. I guess in old NWA country, with Flair, Arn and Luger all against him, and Sting as a partner that is annoyed by him, he didn't have a chance, but it's still funny. The hot tag to Hogan gets absolutely no pop, and the reaction to the Hulk Up makes me wonder if we're going to see a riot. The post-match is good, with Pillman going after Sting and Luger making the save but letting Hogan fall by the wayside. Savage gets in Sting's face and gets punched for it! The crowd is totally on his side. Sting and Savage seem to be working out their issue and the crowd is reacting strongly, but Hogan is just KILLING this. Surreal all around, and probably one of the biggest must-sees on any yearbook.
-
They're in Charlotte, and the Horsemen are out. They mention that Benoit is in the Horsemen, but he's not there, I presume because he was in Japan getting ready for the J-Cup. Pillman is obviously having fun as a Horseman, and I like his promo. But he goes on way too long, which annoys me at first until I realize it's the whole point. When Flair starts talking, the crowd goes crazy. Orndorff takes exception to Pillman's comments, saying he respects Flair and Arn, but he's got a beef with Pillman. They end up brawling, and Flair and Arn end his career just to make a point with a spike piledriver on the floor. Pillman I think was originally trying to be the new Tully Blanchard before evolving into the Loose Cannon. Good segment.
-
What stands out the most here is how much of an afterthought Bret is. I wouldn't say he's being buried, but Shawn is obviously the star of the promotion -- even while on the sidelines. Bret's entrance is cut short and Vince isn't going as gaga over him as he normally does. This arena is crazy dark, to the point that this looks like a Capital Centre show in 1982. Diana Smith's constant dumbfounded look is always funny to me. Too many things surrounding the presentation of this match for me to notice the quality of it all that much, but I don't think I missed much. Davey Boy runs in for the DQ, and I have no idea why Backlund is being so protected. But Bret is absolutely not being portrayed as a red hot champion.
-
Todd Pettengill gloats over Shawn to a point that even Shawn pokes fun at him for it. I can't figure out if Shawn is trying to act like he's hiding something or not. Todd finally asks him if he's started contemplating retirement, and Shawn snaps at him, wanting to know what this is all about, and saying this whole interview wasn't about being concerned about him, it was about exploiting his reaction for the cameras. Well duh, it's wrestling.
-
I liked their previous match, but this one is even better -- probably one of Koshinaka's best singles matches. These two just complement each other really well. Nice in how it fits into the big picture too. Muto ate a loss to Koshinaka at the G-1, which gives Kosh some cred here as a challenger, and Muto keeps going back to the figure four, on the strength of Takada submitting to the move in October. Muto sometimes overdoes the dragon screw leg whip in his matches -- I like the move, but I don't need to see it a half-dozen times in one match -- but other than that, this is the bees knees.
-
Hash treating Tenzan with such disgust is great. I also like Chono trying to do sneak attacks behind the referee. This is a really good match that I think nicely shows off everything great about Hashimoto. Everyone contributes to this in their own way, but he stands out the most in the reaction he gets and how he times everything he does so well. Chono is such an asshole, sneaking in a low blow at the most unexpected time. I love it. Great finishing sequence, with Tenzan accidentally clotheslining Chono, making him prone to a Hirata pin. 1995 has been a fun year for New Japan.
-
The way Dave has described AWA Gene is that he had no idea how good he was, and that it showed on camera. He came across as someone who knew he was good in the WWF and wasn't as fun. I don't even know what that means, but it's interesting.
-
My post was about announcing and yours was about wrestling style.
-
I've always heard Gene was at his best in the AWA. Dylan, khawk ... confirm/deny?
-
http://pwchronicle.blogspot.com/2005/12/hi...ert-shoots.html Here's a good starting point.
-
I think you laid out a very good case. I need to think about it a little more -- maybe troll Dave into talking about how important he was perceived to be within the WWF at the time, because I'm not sure I know. He was paid well and Vince featured him heavily, so I tend to think he was strongly valued. I also think the PPV rundowns he did of major WWF shows were among the best hard sells ever. I'm close to saying he should be in the HOF, but I'd like something to go on other than just fan perception.
-
Where the November match was more of a showcase, this match was more competitive and also contains quite a bit more matwork. The other match was fun, but I really prefer this one because it's a better indication of what they can both do, and it's an angrier, more desperate match to boot. Taka works over TM's leg convincingly and the match gets really aggressive, as he slaps TM around between moves, does a nasty knee to the face, then catches him from behind with a missile dropkick. Taka also takes an amazing bump to the floor before eating a plancha from TM. TM's comeback happens a little too soon and in some ways, they are trying to cram 30 minutes of match into 15 minutes, but this is still excellent. This is unique in that I can't recall another juniors match I've watched on any yearbook that I thought needed double the time it got, but these two were aiming high. Opening matwork --> tempers flaring --> opening to work on knee --> spirited comeback --> irony of Taka ending up in the same position and TM doing all of the same stuff to him as revenge --> both guys throwing out whatever else they can muster while the earlier damage they did to each other catches up and slows them down is more a main event layout than a juniors layout. Great match though, I just wanted a lot more of it.
-
Chono, Kanemoto, Sasaki, Liger, Nakanishi, Saito and Otani are in suits (except for Liger, who is in a jump suit) while Sonny Onoo gives them all a pep talk. He's horrible, by the way. I take special joy in Liger's sarcastic approach to this -- it seems he has figured out that he is being portrayed as a total stereotype, so he's being purposely stupid.
-
Flair points out that after a year, he's FINALLY back in the title picture. He says people say to him that he's done it all and ask him what is left to do, and he says the answer to that question is WHATEVER HE WANTS. He does a great job of hyping the triangle match with Sting and Luger at Starrcade, and it's good to hear him talk about the title and being a 60-minute man again.
-
Bob Armstrong comes out right after they finish their promo and asks PG-13 to come back out. He's an honorable, peaceful man and would never do anything behind anyone's back. He has nothing but good to say about PG-13, but based on their actions toward Downtown Bruno, he is firing them both. Quickly, Randy Hales is out to reverse the decision since they didn't agree on it.
-
Agreed with the earlier comments. There's nothing wrong with this match, but this is the least of the Four Corners tag matches I've seen to this point. It's a match almost any other four wrestlers in history would be proud to have, but the match feels a little tired at this point (and I say that without having seen the '94 stuff). It makes sense why they decided to move Akiyama up around this time.
-
Dreamer is bandaged up having a conversation with Terry Funk. They're acting all emotional, but I have no idea what they're talking about because the audio is so bad. (Not a yearbook thing, an ECW production thing.) We close out with the Funk video to"Desperado", which is always good to see.