Loss
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Everything posted by Loss
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Ricky Morton has Al Snow's tape player and is about to make quite the reveal when Bob Armstrong comes out and starts mentioning writ of habeas corpus. Morton has to return the tape player. Bob Armstrong ends up setting up a match between the two teams, and the Rock & Roll Express promise to leave SMW if they lose. Snow is pretty great during all of this. -
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If you go in expecting a classic, I think you'll be disappointed, but if you go in expecting a really good, fun match with them doing spots and limb work that no one is really doing in AAA, I think you'll like this. These aren't Rey/Psicosis highspots, but they are still impressive highspots, and the pace is slowed down slightly so that all the big stuff has more time to sink in, even though they still cut a really good pace. Feels more 80s than 90s, but maybe that was standard operating procedure for CMLL in 1995.
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Yeah, this blows away Wrestlemania VIII. Blows it out of the water. I don't think Flair still had it on a nightly basis at this point, but in this match, he looked closer to the Flair of old than in most of his other big 90s matches. Excellent performance from him, and Savage's bloody nose adds to this too.
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And Fuercita Guerrera wins the award for having the wrestling style that most closely resembles the wrestling style of the regular-sized wrestler. Pretty spot on, although La Parkita gives it a go too. Espectrito is always awesome, and Mascarita Sagrada being even smaller than the other minis makes him a great underdog. This is some pretty beautiful, fast-paced wrestling. The Fuercita/Octagoncito exchange in the first fall is tremendous. There is a nice snap to all the bumping. The pacing of this makes it something I think Michinoku Pro fans should check out, as they'd love it.
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I didn't really care for this. It's a pimped match, but I don't really get it. It's like the elements are there of a great match, but they don't really happen. I also don't really get what it is that these two do well. The brawling isn't that great, the matwork isn't there, and the flying is fine, but done better by tons of other guys. They pace the falls well and structure this well, but like I said, the skeleton of a great match is there, but something is lacking. Marabunta is a pretty liked guy in some places, but I just don't get the hype. About as middle of the road as middle of the road gets.
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Just an incredibly violent, stiff spectacle. The '93 match is my favorite UWFI match of all time and a lost classic. This is dangerously close to it. I need to seek out other Anjo/Sano matches, as these two are matches that should be talked about as all-time classics on the level of any other all-time great rivalry you want to mention. The traditional pro wrestling selling and facial expressions mixed in with the top notch matwork and tremendous kicks make this one for the ages. Anjo's front facelock is incredible, and Sano's deadlift suplex to get out of it was pretty great too. Anjo is a guy who I had never really had the chance to watch much prior to the yearbooks where I've now become a huge fan. Sano is Sano, and while he's famous for the Liger feud, I think this is a better series if these two matches are any indication. There is not a single wasted movement in this match. Phenomenal.
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This is pretty decently worked, in the sense that running into the ropes is the equivalent of a nearfall in a non-gimmicked match. Cactus takes a stomach first bump on the barbed wire that I would hesitate to call smart, but at the same time, the barbed wire falls and it does clear the way for them to get in and out of the ring quickly so they can keep things interesting in ways other than slicing themselves to death. Cactus ends up using a cheese grater as a weapon, which may have been the first time for that. I haven't seen any garbage matches in '95 that have touched Cactus/Funk from Duel of the Wilds, but I liked this more than I expected to like it. Seeing Cactus' hair tied up in the barbed wire looks more painful than some of the arm/face stuff. Cactus wins the ECW title, which I knew would somehow be reversed by Bill Alfonso (who points out that titles don't change on countouts). Sandman then chokes Cactus out with the barbed wire, then Alfonso stops the match because Cactus is unable to continue, meaning Sandman retains. I love this booking, especially with Todd Gordon eating a (horrible) Alfonso clothesline.
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Quick angle more than a match. Richards hits Luna with a chair from behind to give Beulah a quick win. Raven then DDTs her from behind and loads his boot to stomp here right in the head. Dreamer tries to make a save and eats a chairshot and Raven breaks his hand. Raven is about to hit her with a chair after handcuffing bot of her hands to the ropes, but Dreamer intercepts and takes the shot. What do you know, it's a Raven angle and I liked it!
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SULLIVAN. SULLIVAN. Anyway, Sullivan says NO ONE can beat Hulk Hogan and he doesn't know what else to do. After a sudden burst of fire, Kevin Sullivan is wearing a red and yellow robe, has a face paint design and is called The Taskmaster. We see someone lurking in the shadows. Is that supposed to be Hogan spying? I couldn't tell. Pro wrestling.
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The debut of GENERAL JIM CORNETTE, dressed in military gear and flanked by The Punisher and Buddy Landell. The Punisher is dropping people faster than OJ Simpson jurors. He announces someone else joining the Militia, "Freebird" starts playing and out comes Terry Gordy. I'm not a fan of this Cornette gimmick -- like, AT ALL -- but I do like him managing a stable as opposed to just a tag team. Gordy is a good pick for a territory like this where he can get by without having good matches based on rep.
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Snow and Unabomb are live, and the Rock & Rolls are elsewhere with the tape recorder stolen from Snow's bag, saying if Snow wants it back, he'll give them a title shot. Snow accuses them of resorting to criminal behavior to get a title shot, which is a pretty valid point.
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Tommy Gilbert accepts induction into the Hall of Fame for son Eddie (I think) in a nice moment. I was half-expecting an angle because this is Memphis and Eddie wouldn't have been above it, but I'm glad we didn't get it. Phil Hickerson, Joe LeDuc (who still gets booed and stays in character after all these years), Billy Wix and Jackie Fargo are the other inductees, with Fargo being pushed as the star. Stan Lane standing in wrestling gear in the background and Jerry Jarrett in a solid white tux are both LOL worthy.
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I think the best way to describe this match is "complex simplicity". The stuff they're doing -- particularly Han -- doesn't look that hard, but if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it. So that's a credit to him for making it look effortless. I have loved some other RINGS matches, but I felt like this was the first match where I truly understood the genius of this stuff, to a point that when I'm ready to rewatch things for the whole decade, I want to give some stuff I panned before another chance. I'm convinced Han has the counter to moves that don't even exist. I agree that Yammamoto is solid, but hasn't hit his peak yet. Still, Han "gives" him enough that he looks like a peer. It's often said that a wrestling promoter will never go broke underestimating the intelligence of his fans, but the way the audience pops for nuance and subtlety here tells me that wrestling fans can be educated to accept pretty much anything if it's presented as important, sold properly, and produced/presented well. I find what causes a reaction in RINGS every bit as fascinating as the style itself. This is spectacular.
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It took some time for things to really get a rhythm going, but when they did, the match was really good. It's a step below the April match, but it's still a terrific match. Rey's armbar/abdominal stretch combo thing to close things out was terrific. Juventud did a great job pacing this, as this is not really wrestled the same way their traveling showcase match typically was. It's still pretty fast-paced, but there is more time between spots, which is nice, because it gives everything a chance to sink in and get over. Juventud's middle rope powerbomb to counter Rey's attempted rana was the spot of the match. I also enjoyed Marabunta's very blatant interference in one spot.
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JIP but we get a good 10 minutes or so of action. Great drama and heat with Tenzan bleeding. Muto pins Tenzan after a moonsault to retain the IWGP title. I wouldn't mind seeing this match in full sometime, considering that this was a big year for both guys, but it was a long one and we had to trim it down. Supplemental pick for sure.
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Typically great Cactus promo. Him temporarily wearing the barbed wire around his head making him look like Jesus is probably an intentional image. Then, we get a Cactus video, which I think is a slightly updated version of the one earlier on the set, to "Born To Be Wild", again with the horrible cover instead of the original.
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Pretty exciting match. It's not as chaotic as the other Tenzan matches earlier on the set (which are angles as much as they are matches), but it's the best laid out match so far. Lots of crowd-pleasing spots with Tenzan and Chono getting their due in the beginning, and I always love Chono's ability to sneak in a low blow. Chono has come so far in charisma and presence from the 1992 and 1993 sets. Tenzan's string of offense on Hashimoto down the final stretch is awesome, especially the Samoan drop, diving headbutt and moonsault. Hashimoto has a nasty nosebleed (pretty common for him thus far in 1995) and takes a great beating while still toughing it out. Chono pinning him was a surprise result for me -- not that his team won, but that they gave Chono the fall. Watching this after 6/9, I agree with Ditch that it's not at that level, but because of the match length and all-action format, it's much easier to watch.
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Excellent match. One thing about wrestling that is always weird when long-time babyfaces go heel is that they suddenly can't win anything fairly. This doesn't fall into that category. The Rock & Rolls do outwrestle PG-13 at times and they take their licks, but this doesn't feel the slightest bit heavy-handed by Morton and Gibson being heels. Morton is a guy who can do anything. He made his name and career as a babyface, but watching him eat babyface offense is pretty fun too. There is lots of neat tag team offense on both sides, and I like seeing all the stuff the Rock & Rolls can do when they're given time to dominate and not just sell. There are some outstanding finish teases down the final stretch -- not just near falls, but plays on typical tag team finishes. They tease about five screwjobs that don't happen. The post-match angle is lots of fun too.