Loss

Lawler introduces a kid whose wish was to come to USWA wrestling and meet the wrestlers. He gets a USWA t-shirt and some WWF merchandise too. Classy moment.

I knew Tracy Smothers was renamed Shaquille Ali during this time, but I didn't put two and two together that it was because he joined the NOD. Awesome. Really fun match that I think fans of both guys will really enjoy. Very much worth checking out. Two guys who people love to watch do their doing doing their thing. This is a heated studio crowd. Lots of crowd-pleasing spots and strong heel work from Tracy. Wolfie D runs in after a ref bump to attack Lawler with the belt, but Brian Christopher runs in and attacks Smothers before the ref is revived and can count. A second referee comes out and counts the win for Lawler, but the original referee spotted the Christopher interference and reversed the decision, giving the win to Smothers by DQ. I think the ref was Downtown Bruno.

This just blew the door off of all the matches I've ever seen in this style. Sublime match that's a brilliant display of mat wrestling and yes, showmanship. Some of Han's holds, especially the ankle bending, are mind blowing. Fujiwara's mental chess game against Takada in October 1990 is the only thing I've seen that's in the same league as this. That match is probably a better psychological display, and this one is a more phenomenal athletic performance, so it's a toss-up between the two. This is a high-octane adrenaline rush of matwork that I can't say enough good things about. I think there was a lot to learn from RINGS, and other groups should have tried to incorporate some of this matwork into their own style so it would still feel fresh but also be sustainable over the long haul.

New matches in blue. Will continue editing throughout the set. January: Shinjiro Otani vs Yoshihiro Taijiri (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/97) Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW Tokyo Dome 01/04/97) Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Stockton, CA 01/04/97) Eagle Sawai, Michiko Nagashima & Miss Mongol vs Michiko Omukai, Mitzuk Endo & Rumi Kazama (LLPW 01/05/97) Megumi Kudo vs Shinobu Kandori (LLPW 01/05/97) Owen Hart vs Mankind (WWF Monday Night RAW 01/06/97) Cicloncito Ramirez vs Damiancito El Guerrero (CMLL 01/07/97) Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (WWF Anaheim, CA 01/11/97) Sonoko Kato & Meiko Satomura vs Chihiro Nakano & Makie Numao (GAEA 01/12/97) Eddy Guerrero vs Dean Malenko (WCW Monday Nitro 01/13/97) Dick Togo, Mens Teoh & Shiryu vs Great Sasuke, Super Delphin & Gran Hamada (Michinoku Pro 01/14/97) Reckless Youth vs Don Montoya (GLW 01/17/97) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 01/20/97) Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa (AJW 01/20/97) Aja Kong vs Kaoru Ito (AJW 01/20/97) Kyoko Inoue vs Takako Inoue (AJW 01/20/97) Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 01/20/97) Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda vs Yuki Ishikawa & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 01/21/97) Lex Luger s Scott Hall (WCW Clash of the Champions XXXIV 01/21/97) Volk Han vs Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 01/22/97) February: Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Koji Kanemoto vs Jushin Liger, Norio Honaga & El Samurai (NJPW 02/02/97) El Hijo del Santo & Bestia Salvaje vs Negro Casas & Super Astro (CMLL Japan 02/02/97) Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani (NJPW 02/08/97) Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka vs Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano (JWP 02/09/97) Jushin Liger vs Shinjiro Otani (NJPW 02/09/97) Daisuke Ikeda vs Carl Greco (BattlARTS 02/20/97) Konnan, La Parka & Villano IV vs Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo & Ciclope (WCW SuperBrawl VII 02/23/97) Rey Misterio Jr vs Juventud Guerrera (WCW Monday Nitro 02/24/97) Ultimo Dragon vs Dean Malenko (WCW Monday Nitro 02/24/97) March: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (AJPW 03/01/97) Owen Hart vs Davey Boy Smith (WWF Monday Night RAW 03/03/97) Jushin Liger, El Samurai & Wild Pegasus vs Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NJPW 03/05/97) Akira Maeda vs Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 03/08/97) Yuki Ishikawa & Naohiro Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda & Shoichi Funaki (BattlARTS 03/13/97) Ricky Morton vs Tommy Rich (Gilbert Memorial 03/13/97) Megumi Kudo vs Shinobu Kandori (FMW 03/14/97) Ultimo Dragoncito & Cicloncito Ramirez vs Damiancito El Guerrero & Pierrotito (CMLL 03/14/97) Akira Hokuto & Sonoko Kato vs Kaoru & Meiko Satomura (GAEA 03/15/97) Bison Kimura & Alda Moreno vs Lioness Asuka & Ryuna (Jd' 03/15/97) Taka Michinoku, Mens Teoh, Masayoshi Motegi, Dick Togo & Shoichi Funaki vs Great Sasuke, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa, Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji (Michinoku Pro 03/16/97) El Hijo del Santo, Shocker, El Texano, Mr. Niebla, La Fiera, Dr. Wagner Jr. & Mascara Magica vs Negro Casas, Black Warrior, Felino, Mano Negra, El Dandy, Scorpio Jr. & Silver King (CMLL 03/18/97) Manami Toyota vs Kaoru Ito (AJW Queendom 03/23/97) Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (WWF Wrestlemania XIII 03/23/97) Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW Championship Carnival 03/29/97) Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW Championship Carnival 03/30/97) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW Championship Carnival 03/30/97) April: Yoshihisa Yammamoto vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 04/04/97) Rey Misterio Jr vs Ultimo Dragon (WCW Spring Stampede 04/06/97) Megumi Kudo, Shinobu Kandori, Michiko Omukai & Kaori Nakayama vs Shark Tsuchiya, Eagle Sawai, Sayori Okino & Miss Mongol (LLPW 04/07/97) Dynamite Kansai vs Hikari Fukuoka (JWP 04/08/97) Mayumi Ozaki & Rieko Amano vs Megumi Kudo & RIE (JWP 04/12/97) Yuki Ishikawa vs Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 04/15/97) Megumi Kudo vs Mayumi Ozaki (FMW 04/18/97) El Hijo del Santo, Felino, Black Warrior, Silver King, Dr. Wagner Jr., Satanico, Kevin Quinn & Scorpio Jr. vs Ultimo Dragon, Atlantis, Negro Casas, El Dandy, Shocker, Mascara Magica, La Fiera & Brazo de Oro (CMLL 04/18/97) Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 04/19/97) Lioness Asuka vs Bison Kimura (Jd' 04/20/97) Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (WWF Revenge of the Taker 04/20/97) Juventud Guerrera vs Syxx (WCW Monday Nitro 04/28/97) May: Shinjiro Otani, Koji Kanemoto, Mens Teoh, Dick Togo & Hanzo Nakajima vs Great Sasuke, Super Delphin, El Samurai, Norio Honaga & Gran Hamada (NJPW 05/03/97) Hayabusa, Ricky Fuji & Ricky Morton vs Mike Awesome, Hisakatsu Oya & Mr. Gannosuke (FMW 05/13/97) Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Takao Omori vs Kenta Kobashi, Johnny Ace & The Patriot (AJPW 05/18/97) Koji Kanemoto vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NJPW 05/20/97) Kiyoshi Tamura vs Nikolai Zouev (RINGS 05/21/97) Toshiyo Yamada, Sonoko Kato & Meiko Satomura vs Akira Hokuto, Toshie Uematsu & Maiko Matsumoto (GAEA 05/25/97) Chigusa Nagayo vs Kaoru (GAEA 05/25/97) Koji Kanemoto vs Gran Naniwa (NJPW 05/25/97) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama (AJPW 05/27/97) Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs Steve Williams, Richard Slinger & The Lacrosse (05/31/97)

Last few minutes. Luger is working really hard in this match. He's not the smoothest wrestler, but he's trying. Scott Hall loved to feed Luger way too many atomic drops in a row. Kevin Nash and Syxx interfere when Luger goes for the rack and Luger keeps him both down. They are teasing the DQ finish forever before they finally deliver it. Great stuff. I actually want to see this whole match now, which surprises me. The NWO starts beating on Luger, but it doesn't last, as The Steiners make the save and we have a big brawl. I'm surprised at how good everyone involved in this looks.

"The first kickout we've ever seen from a bathroom!" -- Tony Schiavone Sullivan doesn't even want to waste time in the ring. He wants to go in the crowd right away. Bobby Eaton is working security! Dusty's use of the term "domestic disturbance" cracks me up. Chaotic scene with all the fans getting involved. Benoit takes a frightening bump down the steps of the building. This is a really good time capsule for seeing how excited WCW fans were at this point in time, as much as it is a match worth watching for its own merits and flaws. Woman smacks Sullivan with a chair, leaving Benoit to cover Sullivan for the win.

Darker lighting and a crowd that cared, but less so than usual.

As great as the production was on those NWO segments, the production for the WCW guys was much less so. Giant talks against a backdrop of gray with neon stripes, which looks pretty 80s. It's a good promo, but I wish they would do more to make the babyfaces look cool. Decent promo from Giant though.

Dave gave this ****3/4, which is nuts. Even though the match is worked very well and has some great action, it was also pretty tone deaf, which is what keeps it from getting to the next level for me, even though they really were going all out. The crowd really wanted to respond to the USA vs Foreigner stuff, and the match was worked to build sympathy on Ultimo with Dean as the aggressor, leading to Ultimo's highspot-based comeback. Dean does some really excellent limb work and looks really good as an asskicker, but I'm not sure that was the right approach for this crowd. Dean regains the cruiserweight title that he lost at Starrcade. Ultimo has gone from having nine belts to none in a matter of weeks. Poor guy.

There are stars, then there's Hulk Hogan. He's having the time of his life heeling it up in front of a rabid United Center crowd. The Giant quickly interrupts but is held off by security. Nash, who is at the announce booth, said he would go down but he has a gas bubble. The show goes off the air right as Giant breaks through security to get to the ring.

Bischoff does a paid NWO promo spot talking about what it's like to be king while Liz films.

Hugely memorable angle for me. Randy Savage returns to WCW after being absent since Halloween Havoc. He puts a chair in the middle of the ring and says he's been blackballed. He's not leaving until he speaks to someone with some power, so he stages a sit-in and tells Eric Bischoff to kiss his ass. Chavo comes out for his match and pleads with Savage to get out of the ring for a few minutes before finally getting beat up for his troubles. Maxx Muscle follows and meets the same fate, as does referee Mickey Jay and even Doug Dillinger! Alex Wright too. Who would dare hit Alex Wright? The crowd is going crazy. Finally, Sting descends from the rafters and confronts Savage. After a few mind games, Savage leaves through the crowd with Sting. This was a really cool, outside-the-box angle.

Last few minutes. Crowd is really into this. Vader runs in for the DQ, but eats a chokeslam from Undertaker and we've got ourselves a four-way brawl. Hot show, this.

Gorilla gets some boos. He's saddened that Bret quit the WWF, but he also tells Austin no way is he going to WM to face the champ. He sets Bret vs Undertaker vs Vader vs Austin for Final Four, if Bret will accept the invitation. The winner will face the champ at WM. Austin is out and cuts a scathing promo on Monsoon and wants to fight him, but Vince intervenes. Bret returns through the crowd and accepts. He and Austin then duke it out. Great stuff that was really groundbreaking at the time in terms of the television format. This feels like the first night the WWF started taking steps in the right direction.

Bret is none too happy with the results of the Royal Rumble. He starts rattling off conspiracy theories involving Shawn Michaels, and it still shocks me on that Montreal timeline that Bret wasn't even approached about turning heel until March 10, because he's awfully whiny here. He's upset that he can't get any justice, and says he's been screwed by Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, the WWF and even Vince McMahon. Therefore, he quits. Vince pleads with Bret to stay as he exits through the crowd. They are still on his side at this point, chanting "We Want Bret!" Steve Austin is out with a few things to say about this, but his mic isn't working. Austin gets some cheers and tells the fans to knock it off. Austin was supposed to face Sid tonight, but he's home nursing a concussion. He wants to tell Gorilla Monsoon where to stick bananas and says he's happy to face Undertaker tonight. This is a hot promo.

Last few minutes of Kyoko's first major title defense with Big Red. Surprisingly little heat for this. They pop for the nearfalls, but that's about it. I liked the spot where Takako was about to go up top for a third time, but just stopped, changed her mind and decided to do a quick pin attempt instead. I like what we see of this match and would like to check it out in full sometime.

Last few minutes. Looks to be a decent match, slower paced with more selling. Kong does her own top rope double stomp as a revenge spot, which is interesting. Even before the talent exodus which would come later, this feels like a dying promotion compared to the glory years. Match goes to a 30-minute draw after Ito powerbombs Kong from the top rope. I'm not sure if I'd like this match if I saw it in full or not. I could see it going either way. This was included to show the Ito push really beginning.

No.

Fans had no basis of comparison before because most only saw one type of wrestling. With cable, they see a show with bigger stars, better production and more glitz and glamour. The local guys can't compete with that because they don't have the financial resources to do so.

Vince signed the biggest draws in those towns, then ran shows with them as headliners under the WWF brand. Without looking anything up, if the WWF outdrew Mid South in New Orleans, it's probably because they were running a show with JYD on top. Territories were doomed to fail because of cable television, but I do think at one point there were enough wrestling fans to support 2-3 national promotions that could all do reasonably well. In many ways, JCP is the biggest tragedy of all, because they had a fiercely loyal fanbase and while it was a declining company, WCW still had a good base to work from but scared most of them away. There are huge numbers of wrestling fans out there that didn't jump to Vince. They just stopped watching wrestling all together as he swallowed things whole. That extends all the way to 2001, when we still don't have any idea where the 2.5 million fans that watched Nitro every week went when WCW died.

What's your opinion on Kuzumi, FLIK? Is she not a remarkable worker, or is this just not a standout performance?

We cannot find anyone who has Music City TV. We'd like to include it, but no one has it, or if they do, they aren't sharing it.

I wonder how many Designing Women jokes Dixie Carter has gotten throughout her life.

Megumi Kudo vs Shinobu Kandori (LLPW 01/05/97, Street Fight) It's the first leg of Kudo's retirement tour, all culminating in her retirement match at Yokohama Arena on April 29. Kudo has a really stronger US sensibility in how she works than most of her peers, where getting everything over takes precedent over simply getting everything in. I thought this was great because the brawling had some hate behind it instead of just seeming arbitrary, and while they brawled all over the place, every spot had meaning and some were teased and paid off later, like Kandori's attempted suplex on the ringside table. ("You don't want me to suplex you. No problem, I'll powerbomb you later instead.") I also loved that the heat was really out of concern for Kudo more than cheering of the spots. Kudo's selling of the hangman chain spot is frightening. I'm used to seeing Kandori as more of an asskicker, and she's that here for sure, but she also sells a lot and looks great doing so. It reminds of me of Dandy/Satanico in how they go to wrestling moves instinctively and out of desparation in the middle of a brawl. Kudo's pin attempts were her just throwing something at the wall to see if it would end this match. They do a long tease of someone getting thrown over the balcony to the horror of the crowd, with Kandori even wrapping Kudo in chains so she can't fight back, perhaps in the hopes of ending her retirement tour a little early. I didn't quite get the finish -- I'm assuming Kudo threw in the towel to save her life, but I'm looking forward to their FMW rematch in August. Quite an amazing spectacle. This would definitely fit in with ECW, but it's a level or ten above your typical ECW brawl -- deep down, the craziness is just noise, and at its core, this is just a well-worked wrestling match.

Thanks, I wanted to watch as much as possible today since I have company for the next few days and won't be able to watch anything at all. We're not only entering a period that I remember well, but we're also entering a period that doesn't feel like it was that long ago, even though it really was.