Loss

Last few minutes. Pretty okay action with lots of good selling. There's a ref bump and then we get TONS of run-ins. We start with Jimmy Hart. Savage manhandles him, and Flair comes behind and decks Savage with brass knucks. Luger is covering Savage but the ref is still out. Hogan catches Flair on the way back. He can't touch anyone because he's on probation. He's about to hit Luger, Sting comes in to calm him down, and he ends up accidentally punching Sting instead and they start fighting with Savage trying to make piece. Sting says Luger is just mixed up in the head and as his best friend, he's trying to help him get his head on straight. He says that they didn't give him a chance, which is why he turned on them. Some version of this plays itself out every week on Nitro for the rest of the year. Sting was already established as so dumb by this point that I guess making him dumb with Luger wasn't hurting anything that wasn't already established.

Gene Okerlund announces Ric Flair, who gets a superstar heel reaction. But first, Charles Barkley walks out and bows to Flair, who is ecstatic. He says he could never measure up to the Nature Boy, but Ric Flair is his man. Funny to see the crowd cheer Barkley like crazy, then boo him every time he mentions Flair. Flair's gloating is awesome.

This is a feature on Shawn's collapse ... what Todd Pettengill calls "the longest five seconds in World Wrestling Federation history." They speak with Shawn's physician, who announces that he has post-concussion syndrome. He walks through the side effects and says Shawn will be out longer than he expected. He says there are football players and boxers that never fully recover from these injuries, and since Shawn takes such huge risks in the ring, he won't be cleared until he's certain he can handle it. This is a very serious feature that I really dig. This segues to Vince, who says, "In the theater of life, we tend to place public figures on a pedestal. For an elite few, we reserve the mantle of superstardom. By doing this, we separate these individuals from the rest of us, bestowing upon them superhuman qualities that may or may not even exist. We tend to think about our superstars as different from us. Superstars are bigger than we are. They're faster. They're stronger. Why, they don't even think the way we think. They don't talk the way we talk. And they certainly don't feel pain the way we feel pain. Well, Shawn Michaels has unquestionably always been the very embodiment of what superstardom is really all about. But two weeks ago on Raw, the facade of superstardom was smashed in an instant when Shawn Michaels collapsed to the canvas. In that frightening moment, we realized that a superstar is really just like the rest of us -- a human being. They do feel pain. They're not invincible. Unquestionably, these athletes are driven by their insatiable desire to be the very best they can be. Here in the World Wrestling Federation, we cheer wildly as these superstars risk their bodies time after time constantly taking one step closer to the edge in an effort to thrill the crowd. Well, Shawn Michaels has been living on the edge and thrilling the crowds for quite some time. Shawn Michaels wowed us into believing that he could do just about anything because we've seen him do it. But now we find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of hoping he'll just be all right, all the while knowing we helped push him over the edge in our unquenchable thirst for excitement. However, like anyone who totally loves what they do, Shawn Michaels can't wait to get back in the ring, and believe me, he's even more anxious to get back than we are to see him back. But unfortunately, now there's a question as to when or even if Shawn Michaels should return at all."

Lawler interviews Backlund about a match he has against Bret on the next Raw. He snaps when he finds out it won't be a title match ("I HAD DREAMS OF BEING GOD AGAIN!") and they cut to a break.

I really thought the pacing and layout of this was pretty close to perfect. I understand why it's not pimped, in the sense that it doesn't really resemble the typical Toyota matches that get love. But I thought this was outstanding. Toyota is a terrific underdog. There are booking things I don't like about the WWWA belt in 1995 that are out of their control, but just focusing on the work in the ring, this is great. The way they work this, Kansai is mostly dominant while Toyota has spells of offense from underneath that get over strong. Kansai's nearfalls on Toyota get way more heat than Toyota's on Kansai for the bulk of this, which tells me the fans weren't expecting a title change. I like the dynamic of Toyota trying some of her moves that require some complex setup, and Kansai casually countering with a kick to the face. Kansai trying to settle for a KO victory is also a great moment. There are a few times that Toyota tries to counter a Kansai move and can't quite do it, but she does lessen the impact of the move she is about to take by getting out of position, which is a nice touch. Great finish too! As much as I've liked Toyota in 1995 compared to every other year, I look forward to going through her 1996 matches again at some point and seeing if maybe I was too tough on her the first time around. I usually don't see this match talked about as one of the best AJW matches of the year -- this was on here because of the title change. But it's definitely near the top.

He was the detail guy (along with Cornette) under Flair in '89, in what was the best drawing period for the company until 1996, when he was also booking. He did a great job of getting the NWO over. I think El-P summed his case up well. Not so much using the numbers drawn in '89 to make a HOF case as I am pointing out that he was a key guy in the two time periods of WCW that were the most successful. I probably wouldn't vote for Sullivan, but I think he's worth talking about.

No, this is more for the history of hardcore wrestling fans. Feel free to start a thread about that topic, though.

Lawler is out in a Browns jersey with his name on it and a pair of crutches. He plugs the hospital, clinic and physician that treated him for his injury (which happened in a match against Brad Armstrong). He's missing four weeks of action, then he'll be back. Lawler could read the phone book and make it interesting.

Bob Backlund attacks Jim Ross for calling him "Bob" when trying to interview him. I really think if an announcer is going to take a bump in an angle, it shouldn't be wasted on something outside the main event, but that's just me.

"My heart goes out to my attorney" ... "Journalistic stalking" ... "Keystone cops" ... "Incestuously joining forces" ... "Yellow journalists conspiring with federal officials" This is Vince responding to the Phil Muchnick article in the NY Post suggesting witness tampering in the steroid trial and if Hogan was the most delusional person in wrestling in November, Vince is giving him a run for his money in December.

November: #1 - Hayabusa, W*ING Kanemura & Masato Tanaka vs The Gladiator, Hisakatsu Oya & Super Leather (FMW 11/11/95) **** #2 - Bret Hart vs Diesel (WWF Survivor Series 11/19/95) **** #3 - Masa Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 11/25/95) **** #4 - Eddy Guerrero vs Chris Benoit (WCW Saturday Night 11/18/95) ***1/2 #5 - Brad Armstrong, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW TV 11/25/95) ***1/2 #6 - Ricky Morton, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW Thanksgiving Thunder 11/25/95) ***1/4 #7 - Taka Michinoku vs Tiger Mask IV (Michinoku Pro 11/23/95) *** #8 - Rey Misterio Jr vs Psicosis (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95, Mexican Death Match) *** #9 - Shawn Michaels vs Owen Hart (WWF Monday Night RAW 11/20/95) #10 - Hulk Hogan vs Sting (WCW Monday Nitro 11/20/95) #11 - Ricky Morton, Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy vs Heavenly Bodies & Robert Gibson (SMW Final Show 11/26/95) #12 - Diamond Dallas Page vs Johnny B. Badd (WCW World War 3 11/26/95) #13 - Steve Austin vs Mikey Whipwreck (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95) #14 - Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki vs Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru (GAEA 11/25/95) #15 - Jushin Liger vs Barry Houston (WCW Pro 11/18/95) #16 - Skip, Rad Radford, Tom Pritchard & 1-2-3 Kid vs Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly (WWF Survivor Series 11/19/95) #17 - Cactus Jack & Raven vs Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk (ECW November To Remember 11/18/95) Overall thoughts: There are a few interesting things going on, but AJ/NJ/AJW not having a lot going on made this a slower month than normal.

Stevie Richards has a ' "Oh, pardon me. I seem to have gotten some watercress sandwich stuck in my teeth. Does anyone have some dental floss?" made me laugh out loud. Mick could be pretty funny.

Savage is quickly interrupted by Hogan (go figure ...), who demeans his title win by pointing out -- again -- that he was never eliminated. I always thought babyfaces were best served to not make excuses and let the announcers do the leg work for them. Hogan is pretty whiny here. The Giant finally comes out to attack them both, quickly taking bit player world champ Savage out of the picture and doing most of his damage to Hogan. Sting makes a save, but it only serves to distract Giant long enough for Hogan to make the comeback, because God forbid another babyface help him out. I'm not a Hogan hater, but these segments make it painfully obvious why the audience was sick of him. This was all about putting the other top guys in their place.

Brother Love returns, which was emblematic of the WWF attempting to recreate a previous era instead of embarking on a new one. His guest is Bret Hart and they mention the Davey Boy match at the next PPV. He asks Bret a series of questions and pulls the mic away every time he starts to talk. I always enjoy Bret Hart interviews because he's so convinced of what he's saying that he convinces me. Bob Backlund ends up attacking Bret from behind with the cross-face chicken wing to close things out, and I have no idea why. There is a cameraman standing right in the middle of the chaos that is in plain sight of the camera, which is a pretty amateur oversight and not something the WWF would ever do normally, so that was weird.

Just last month, Luger aligned himself with Giant and now he's teaming with Sting to take him out of the ring, which makes no sense. Hogan of course has to get screwed in the finish and make Savage winning the title all about him, but you can say that for almost every world title win Savage ever had. The crowd seemed to be with him until he started this crap, then they turned on him. It's amazing that he couldn't figure out how the overbearing act worked against him even when he was playing to a crowd that was predisposed to be friendly to him (a rarity for Hogan in this area of the country during this time).

This, the Havoc match and the SuperBrawl VI match have many of the same spots and a pretty basic layout, but I like them all as fun matches with two limited guys having smartly put together matches. I don't have much more to say about them than that, and this isn't something I'd call anything more than decent at best, but it's worth checking out.

Talk about it here.

The famous interview where Hogan burns a copy of the Observer on a pay-per-view. The height of Hogan delusion. "Observe this, brother ... The Internet has got the scoop ..." and so on.

The body of the previous night's match was better, but this one was still fun and had a more satisfying finish. Plus, it was the end of SMW. Again, the Morton/Gibson interaction isn't nearly as played up as it should be. Morton pins Gibson to win the match for his team, and we end with all six wrestlers from both teams taking turns beating up Cornette, which is lots of fun, but happens in front of such a small crowd that it is -- quite simply -- time to move on. Unless '94 is better, the last year of SMW was the best year of SMW. And with that, the Little Promotion That Could closes shop. Godspeed.

Yes, but the goals of sports announcers and wrestling announcers are different. Wrestling announcers aren't supposed to be honest, they're supposed to make everyone who the promotion wants to look great look great. Bret Hart was a key guy in the early 90s, and getting criticized for not hooking the legs during the Five Moves of Doom pin attempts -- even if it didn't *bury* Bret, it didn't point out anything particularly useful either. Again, I don't think it's a big deal to point out those things if it's not part of the house style not to do them. NWA announcers would point out things like babyfaces letting their emotions get the best of them, but the focus was then more on how smart the heel was for luring the babyface into the false sense of security. I agree with Dave that pointing out that no one ever submits from an abdominal stretch is a bad call ... but only if there's no further explanation. I remember Jim Ross selling the side headlock by saying Sting wasn't going to beat Flair with this hold and he knew it, but he was going to wear Flair down and keep him in a compromised position for as long as possible. The hold gets over, the wrestler gets over. These things have a trickle down affect on everything from the perception of the wrestlers to the heat holds get in the arenas. I strongly believe that a wrestling promotion can educate its fan to accept just about anything as important if they present it as such. No promotion more strongly proves that than the WWF. I should clarify something about Gorilla and Jesse that maybe we can all agree on -- I think they were good WWF-style announcers, meaning what they did nicely complemented the direction the WWF was taking, and they did a good job of doing a generalized selling of that direction. They were memorable, dynamic personalities and they are far from the worst announcers ever. On the specifics of wrestling talk, I think they were muddy at best (even Heenan, who was a riot). I realize the WWF's goal wasn't to present wrestling in a traditional way, but I thought we were debating these guys on the merits of their ability to traditionally call matches. If we're not, let's clarify that so I understand the battleground. I don't completely hate 80s WWF. It's far from my least favorite style of wrestling, but it's pretty far from my favorite as well. But I don't think I'm over-simplifying in saying Hogan and Vince can share 100% of the credit and/or blame for all the successes of that era. The WWF was not like other successful periods where there's a successful formula and everyone plays a role. This was Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan and no one else that was on camera was critical to the company's success, meaning that they wouldn't have skipped a beat if they weren't around. I hope that explains my disagreeing with the idea that Vince and Jesse "sold" people on the WWF, because from what I could see, Hogan sold people on the WWF, and everyone else was lucky enough to be part of it. As Jerry said, some were in the right place at the right time and capitalized on it to become stars in their own right (Think Randy Savage) and some are pretty forgettable. I'd say Jesse and Gorilla are somewhere in between Savage and S.D. Jones on the not Hogan scale. There's nothing wrong with that, but there are quite a few people in that area.

Sure, it made sense to those watching at home, as long as they're not thinking, "Wow, the Red Rooster is an idiot. No wonder he can't beat Mr. Perfect. I would remember to do that if I was in the ring, why can't this goofball?"

Morton returns from the abyss and is on fire! I wish a bigger deal was made out of Morton and Gibson locking up, as there wasn't much difference in how he went after him compared to the other heels (there was, I just wish it was even MORE pronounced), but this was otherwise an excellent match. The promotion is closing shop the following day, so the finish was abrupt and unnecessary. Someone could have done a clean job. But the match was really good and had lots of fun stuff, warts at all.

I don't think in a traditional sense it does hurt anything. I do think when the wrestlers are deliberately being told not to do things the announcers are criticizing them for in the booth, I can see how some wrestlers would interpret that as the announcer trying to make himself seem smarter than everyone in the ring, whether that was the intent or not. That's the point here -- that the company produced them not to do certain things in the ring, yet the announcer spotlighted those things to draw attention to them. In fairness, I suppose there's an argument that hooking the leg was intended to be a key thing, so Gorilla was putting that over as the key to victory, but we all know the WWF didn't think about wrestling action in such a granular way, and it's foolish to pretend they did.

Saying that the announcers must have done something right because the WWF was successful is like saying Uncle Elmer must have been better than Ric Flair since he was part of a more successful company.

I said Kobashi and Joshi, not sure why you're both pointing out that you disagree with me when you said something to back me up.