Loss
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Everything posted by Loss
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This doesn't really hold up well, but where it does hold up is that Cactus was able to get something out of Van Hammer. Hammer pulled off some great spots, like the dive into the ring to start things out and the powerslam on the ramp. I'm sure Cactus was calling everything, but it remains impressive. Missy Hyatt in the water reminds me of the story in Foley's book, which was that Missy had no idea that was going to happen until it happened, which in the January outdoors is kind of a shitty thing to do. -
Hot segment that would have me feeling optimistic about WCW's future. Jesse Ventura debuts and puts over WCW big. K. Allen Frey is announced as the new guy running the company. Sting vs Luger is announced for SuperBrawl, a match on paper that you'd think would have money drawing appeal and for whatever reason never did. Frey didn't last long, but he's obviously a guy who knew WCW needed to rebuild after a really lackluster 1991, and that's what he tried to do in the short amount of time he was in charge. I should also mention that Tony is really good in settings like this, and that it's weird to see Jim Crockett standing in the background.
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What you have here is a bunch of guys who really wanted Frey's $5000 bonus. Good Lord. This is way better than it had any right to be through sheer will. Pillman, Smothers and Taylor are all terrific, and Bagwell shows good timing on some things and is sloppy on others. They got this crowd super hot in less than 10 minutes and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I don't think I'd seen it since it aired.
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This is awesome before any real action takes place. Kawada tries to catch Jumbo off guard by kicking his legs, Jumbo gets annoyed and slaps him hard enough to KO him. He lands a really stiff lariat and almost gets the win that quickly. Kawada is persistent in targeting Jumbo's legs, but can't string together any offense at first. Since Jumbo is a hard hitter, Kawada has to duck and run when he's on his feet, and try to keep him grounded. The whole match is wrestled that way. Kawada's Cactus Jack elbow to the floor on Jumbo is another highlight. Later in the match, Kawada wins a slugfest with Jumbo, gets a little overconfident, and again Jumbo knocks him to the ground. And almost just to make a point that if he wanted to, he could ground Kawada and beat him there too, Jumbo takes Kawada down with a sleeper. This leads to Kawada coming back and making great headway, including a beautiful slo-mo German suplex that gets a tremendous nearfall. Down the final stretch, neither can powerbomb the other, but Jumbo finally gets Kawada, but Kawada kicks out. He does the same after a DDT and even a backdrop driver, and that was a kickout that shocked me. A second backdrop driver finally does the job and Jumbo takes the match. In just about any other promotion, this would be far more remembered. In WCW, it would be a top 20 contender for the decade. In All Japan, it's just another match on a list. I realize the 10/91 match is the one that has always gotten more attention, but this shouldn't be overlooked. Match of the month at this point.
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In some ways, this may be the pinnacle of the era. This is possibly the most star-studded match in wrestling history. It's not really something I'd call a great match, but that's really irrelevant -- it's everything it needed to be. It hit every note perfectly. Heenan almost worked as hard at the booth as Flair did in the ring. Flair's post-match promo is a classic.
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Interesting that they showed footage of the Mountie beating Bret to win the IC title. I don't think I've seen that before, and they didn't show it in the Update on Superstars. I can never keep the story straight with Bret negotiating with WCW and there being rumors of him showing up at the Clash with the IC title, because there are so many versions of the story. I've heard that it both did and did not play into the decision to take the belt off of him. Agreed that the match isn't much, but yes, the post-match celebration is a memorable feel-good moment.
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This was a spectacular match! The best match so far. Nice blend of American, Mexican and Japanese styles. Tremendously rhythmic. Clever athleticism. Call it a spotfest with soul. Watching Wagner and Caras work sequences against each other was a pleasure because they did so many cool things that were equally funny, smart and athletically impressive. Jerry Lynn is a Chris Benoit clone at this point, which I find interesting considering the path he would later end up taking. He really does some great stuff with Los Cowboys toward the end, including a spot where he walks the middle rope to counter a double team attack. Lightning Kid shows that he might have been a star in Japan eventually had he wrestled there consistently. He's really good at the mat wrestling early on, and busts out a terrific somersault dive later in the match, even if it doesn't really get sold. Fantastic all around. Hamada's UWF being compared to Michinoku Pro seems like a logical comparison, but it's not that simple. The lucha influence -- at least in this match -- is far, far stronger than in Michinoku Pro. And while there are some high-flying moves that look great, the wow factor here is in the pacing and the ability everyone has to think quickly on their feet more than it is the highspots themselves. See this, see this, see this.
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The Brad Armstrong one too.
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Kind of odd to see Benoit led by anyone in the ring, but Casas is clearly leading him through double team spots. Benoit also seems to be really pulling his stuff for fear of working too stiff. Odd. The Santo/Casas sequences are outstanding. Santo looks good, but again Casas is the reason they come together. Benoit and Casas kinda blindside Santo and get a quick, easy first fall win, but Santo comes back and finishes off Casas with a surfboard in the second fall, the highlight of which is Villano III punching Casas in the face while he's in the surfboard position. Casas missing the cartwheel-to-jumping elbow spot is awesome, and then Santo catches him with a stunningly graceful dive outside. The finish sees Villano pin Benoit after Benoit misses a diving headbutt from the top rope. Good match, but kind of uneven depending on who is in the ring. Side note: Jericho looks way better in Mexico than Benoit, if this match is any indication.
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HOT six-man tag. They build to Rude and Sting finally hooking it up for the entire match, and the heat is through the roof when they do. I also like that they cover for Bagwell only having a few basic things to do by pointing out that Sting has been working with him on improving, along with many other WCW guys. Ross goes a little over the top by saying he's able to do this despite his problems with the Dangerous Alliance and many commitments to children's groups. Austin doesn't have the presence of Rude -- or even Eaton really -- at this point, but he's keeping up with everyone and I have a feeling we'll be able to track his improvement throughout the '92 yearbook. Very good match.
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Another wild, stiff brawl with lots of hard table and chair shots. Richard Lee ends up helping the Moondogs retain the title after about 6 minutes of footage from Mid South Coliseum. Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett bring out jobber Ricky Hutchens, who the Moondogs have destroyed and who has lots of scars from a Moondogs attack. Lawler says the Moondogs have always been able to walk away no matter what gets done to them, but this time will be different. Awesome until Jarrett starts getting stuck on his words, but Lawler steps back in and saves him.
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Bret Hart has lost the IC title to The Mountie. He wrestled with a 104-degree temperature against doctor's orders. Bret is still not healthy enough to wrestle at the Royal Rumble, so Roddy Piper will now be challenging the new IC champ. Then, we get a set of promos from both of them. Piper frames it as going after both major titles in the WWF in the same night, which is a cool touch.
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The American Legion Building in Kennett, MO, will never be the same again. One of the damndest fights you'll ever see, as they brawl all over the building, making a huge mess, and leaving Jarrett in particular with some nasty gashes down his arm and on his back. Lawler attempts to shatter one of the Moondogs with part of a broken glass, and they hit each other with everything else that's not tied down. You know when Lawler is brawling, Coca Cola stuff gets damaged and he doesn't care that shit got real. Stiff as hell too. Total chaos. Let's hope they clued in the building owners ahead of time. About 10 minutes of footage.
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This was better than every single PWFG match in 1993 from where I sit. Feels more UWFI than PWFG at times due to the hot crowd and more dynamic style. I love Sano driving his forearm into Flynn's face, and also somehow maneuvering him into a sharpshooter in a great spot. During a standoff, Flynn gets a great kick right in Sano's face. Sano is mostly outwrestling Flynn, but Flynn is bringing the awesome kicks, before Sano finally takes him down with a half crab, almost like he wanted him to kick him so he could catch him off guard. Great match!
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Not the best 6-man, but a good one with some good moments. The match is about 10 minutes and is all shine on the babyfaces for a good six minutes of it. There's sort of an FIP with Simmons, but the camera misses the hot tag to Dustin. I love some of this stuff though, especially the spot where Arn and Zbyszko were each pulling on one of Simmons' arms then ended up crashing into each other. Bobby Eaton gets incredible height for his Alabama Jam, which they wisely do after the finish. The finish really is pretty cool, as Zbyszko holds Dustin on him and eats the pin because he's in a perfect position for Eaton to attack him right after the bell anyway. There are way better matches with these guys, but this was really fun.
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About 2 1/2 minutes of really good highlights of their recent Mid South Coliseum match, followed by a Jarrett/Fuller interview. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with Jarrett as an interview, but talking is just not his strong point. Fuller, on the other hand, is tremendous. How 'bout the R.I.P. Richard Lee customized chair?
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Fun watching Lawler and Backlund do their thing, but that's really all this is -- two guys doing their thing. It never really kicks into second gear and becomes a back and forth match. I love Backlund, and one of my favorite things about him was that in 1992, he was still stuck in his 70s style. Lawler still wrestled a 70s style himself, so you'd think it might work. But it didn't. These two aren't really a good pairing. Lawler heel formula usually has him dominant a large chunk of the match, and usually the early stuff in a Backlund match is the best -- strength spots and weird matwork. Lawler is of course a notoriously slow starter. So chalk it up to a styles clash, but it's still an interesting match to watch.
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Absolutely. The things the WWF did well they did really well. I don't know that their booking was ever *great*, but it was pretty organized and disciplined when it was Vince and Patterson.
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I hate asking this, but does anyone know what week the masturbating midget in the trash can was?