Loss
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This was tremendous. I love how simple moves like backslides and reverse chinlocks seem like life or death because it's Vader. Also, what makes these matches so great is always seeing what new spots Sting is going to roll out on Vader. Late entry MOTYC. One of the best thing about these matches is that Sting tries to cover up when Vader is throwing the punches at him, which isn't something most people in wrestling do regularly. Of course, Vader's shots also look great. I have to think more about what I like better between this and the Bash. -
I cracked up at the "Dustin, if my groin was hurt, would you pin me?" sign in the crowd. This match didn't do as much for me as it has in the past for some reason, but it was still really good. But not "WCW Top 20 of the 90s" good, which is how it's usually considered. It was impressive how they woke up a completely dead crowd. I was feeling bad for them early on because the crowd was not just responsive to anything. This is probably the best Shane Douglas match ever.
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I thought they tore the house down. Flair was not as consistent in 1992 as he had been in years past. He wasn't bulletproof anymore, and he needed a little booking help to present him the right way. Put him against Tenryu in Japan and he looks tremendous, on both occasions. Let him do promos in a suit where he's given some freedom to get the point across and you'll get results. Put him in an overly controlled environment where he's working against his instincts and you don't get the best of Flair. So that's probably why the more relaxed atmosphere of house shows showcases him well. Over focus on the "whoo", wearing the robe everywhere he goes and being accompanied by Heenan and Perfect wasn't really him, and didn't connect for me. In the 80s, Flair was the guy who could get just about anything over to some degree. In the early 90s, he still had something to offer, but was more limited. I think working under Watts in WCW would have served him well, as he would have been pushed in a way that would play to his strengths. If the Ironman match tests your patience, you might like this match more. It's essentially a greatest hits version of that match. For me, it's not quite at that level because it is so abbreviated. There are a lot of fine points they have time to really run with when they have an hour. But they can still accomplish quite a bit with half the time. While enjoyable, this is a step down from late 80s Flair matches. WWF matches just don't build heat the same way. Spots like Bret using the figure four in the opening minutes usually work better later in a Flair match. Here, they did them early. But these are two guys willing to sell who have a strong sense of timing kickouts for maximum effect, so this is good. I'd say it's Flair's best U.S. match on this set, and in the top handful for Bret too.
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What he said was that Hall and Nash had favored nation clauses. Bret got a better deal than they did. Bischoff came to them and said he couldn't pay them what he was paying Bret, but he could give them raises. Pretty sure the WON has confirmed this too.
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The absolute definition of a house show match. Lots of stalling and comedy, which I'll cop to enjoying. Much better than the Shawn/Perfect handheld on the '93 yearbook, which was pretty terrible in every way I can think of, but not at the level of their match earlier in the year post-Mania with Savage selling his knee injury from Wrestlemania. Truth is, Savage was wandering without a purpose by this point, and it's hard to pin down where they wanted to place him. I'm not sure if I could say Michaels had surpassed him by this point, but they had definitely switched places in that Shawn was a bigger part of future plans by the end of the year than Savage was. I've always wondered what specifically prompted that decision, especially when a heel turn and program with Bret would have been a much better bet going into Mania than anything else they could have put together. They also needed big names in the top mix desperately with Hogan out, Warrior out and Flair on his way out. So the biggest contrast between this and April is that the April match was a heel on the rise against the biggest star in the company, and this match is one of the top heels against a guy who fell pretty hard after dropping the title back to Flair. The match doesn't have the excitement or intrigue of the April match. They're just going through the motions. Interesting not so much for the match itself, but because it really demonstrates how differently Savage was positioned by this point.
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My point is that I don't think Dave cares very much about work anymore, and hasn't since UFC got big. He rarely talks about it. He talks about television ratings and PPV buys and house show attendance far more than match quality. That wasn't always the case. The modern Dave would make the case that Benoit, while a great worker, was never a draw and shouldn't be in. To paraphrase him recently on the F4W board, he said he hasn't been a wrestling purist since 1989. He's a business purist.
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I can't even imagine what type of heat Buddy Landell as the NWO's Nature Boy would have drawn. Wooooow.
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Look at how he has covered CM Punk -- liking it on a certain level and trying to talk himself out of liking it on another. Once upon a time, he might have mentioned in passing that it wasn't moving the needle, but he wouldn't be so obsessively focused on it. Also, I suspect the reason he doesn't write about that stuff as much as he once did is because business is down, not because he doesn't enjoy it as much.
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Maybe at one time, but there has been a change in Dave the past few years, to a point where I would call him an extremist on only caring about what is good for business. I think there was a time that if his fandom and his instincts for what would work were in conflict, his fandom would win out. I don't believe that to be the case anymore. 2011 Dave would not have supported Benoit going in the HOF (even if the murder/suicide never happened).
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Yes, Backlund still thinks he has a big run left in him.
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This is where everyone should focus their attention next. This will be the next set after 1995. Have at it!
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And ... that's a wrap.
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What's available will make the yearbook, but I'm pretty sure it's only available in clipped form.
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This is awesome stuff. There's not a ton of Takada on the '92 set, but this is my favorite match of his all year. I love Sano being prepared for all of his best strikes and having an immediate counter in mind. Despite being the bigger star, it's Takada who ends up getting desperate, and his win almost comes across as a fluke. Cool dynamic.
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Actually, for some real talk, it had to drive Vince crazy that he couldn't do Hogan/Luger, a surefire big money match, despite having both under contract, for reasons out of his control.
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Simmons is in a sailor's hat for some reason. Could "Sailor" Ron Simmons have been a winning gimmick? A shame this run on top didn't work, but I think one of the big problems is that the push felt cynical -- even by wrestling standards -- and he wasn't built up enough first. They should have spent a year getting him ready. And Simmons can be a really good interview, but this isn't an example of that.
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Cornette is in workout mode. "Brother, I am stocking up on those carbohydrates." He tries to rip a phone book to show his strength to disastrous results. Later in the show, the Rock & Rolls are out for a promo and Cornette comes out and gets in the ring and challenges Ricky Morton to a fight! It's all a distraction to beat up Morton and Gibson and Cornette ends up socking Morton with his towel, which has a soda can inside. Cornette has a funny response about Ricky Morton having a coke problem. All of this leads to an impromptu match, and the show goes off the air before the finish, but we get the rest of the match anyway, and there's loose involvement from the Stud Stable. Fun all around.
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