Superstar Sleeze

WWE Champion The Rock vs Brock Lesnar - WWE Summerslam 2002 Really interesting crowd dynamics. Big Rocky Sucks chant early. Lets Go Lesnar when Lesnar is in the Sharpshooter. When Rock breaks out of the bearhug, big Rocky chants and as they push to the finish Lesnar sucks. Almost Japanese like in how they would cheer for the underdog of different points in the match. The match is an entertaining main event, but it is just a hodgepdoge of the best hits of each and really does not have much rhyme or reason. Lesnar tried to be sensible in his approach, but Rock was all over the place. They start the match with Lesnar as the monster heel ala his Cena performance in 2014 where he throws Rock around and Rock looks like he has no hope. They have this injured ribs story that Lesnar goes back to, but Rock does not seem to give a fuck about. Then Rock is like fuck it lets do Clash of the Titans. So Lesnar does that. Then Lesnar goes into cheating, big bumping heel mode, but also does a monster bearhug. Early Lesnar is one of the most impressive bumpers ever. Rock starts to work underneath and then he is like fuck it lets do Attitude Era brawl spot. Lesnar takes a fucking ridiculous bump off a Rock right hand over the top rope and then catches wicked air on the catapult into the post. Rock puts Heyman through the table which was awesome. Finish sequence time. I forgot this was the height of finisher stealing so we get the Brock Bottom after a Rock Bottom. I liked the teases before we get the F5 to crown Brock as the new champ. Rock is selfless in the ring and did the job clean as a sheet in the middle. This match was all over the place. Still entertaining. Brock is just awesome to watch. ***

Parv, I am doing 2002-2004 myself. I needed something to shake it up from the 70s and 80s. There are a lot of fun TV matches on Smackdown in 2002-2003. Brock and Eddie is one of my all time favorite matches. My defense for Eddie vs Rey Rey is that Rey Rey cant match Eddie's violence and never could. So why play into Eddie's hand. On the biggest night of his life with his mask on the line, he has to employ what brought to the dance and that is his aerial assault. I don't think these were overly fancy moves. These were moves that made sense in the context of the match. These were treated like high-risk moves because on more than one occasion Eddie countered them and really made Rey pay with some badass offense. It is one of the most superb matches from an execution standpoint. Everything is just so fucking crisp. I could go either ****3/4 or *****. I love that match. To aid you in your Eddie vs Someone Else quest. There is a great, hard hitting Nitro sprint between Eddie and Benoit in late 97 that is must see.

WWE IC Champion Randy Orton vs Cactus Jack - WWE Backlash 2004 Street Fight Never seen this one before, but remember it getting raved about even from those that hated Orton though they pinned it all on Foley for carrying it. This was a pretty awesome violent spectacle. This is just great old school booking putting the young pretty boy against the maniacal sadist to prove his mettle to all the fans that he is a man. The crowd was clearly cheering for Foley and Orton is a great obnoxious douche tool, but this match was clearly crafted to get Orton over as a babyface, which within four months he would be the babyface World Champion (way too soon, one of the more boneheaded decisions). Pretty much the whole match was wrestled with Orton taking heat and building sympathy for him against the crazed lunatic. Foley comes out swinging that crazed barbed wire wrapped baseball bat and Orton learns quickly if he does not fight back that he will be killed. This is Foley's domain and he weathers the three brutal trash can shots to keep moving forward. Orton blades and there is something about the blood flowing on his very young, smooth face that is very disturbing. You really garner a lot of sympathy for him. Jack is playing to the crowd, but in a lot of ways he feels like the Cactus of the early WCW shows that is just absolute violent psycho. Foley is looking svelte and I don't think I have seen his normally huge ass so skinny. He is moving well. Foley takes two of his patented back of the head cracking against the steel bumps that always sick and shows Orton is willing to fight fire with fire. Foley is the horror movie monster that keeps coming back. The most famous part of the match is the Orton thumbtacks spot on the failed RKO. It was pretty nasty finally seeing it. I remember this earning him a ton of street cred, which was clearly the point of this match was to build him into the next big face. Orton trying to get the hell out of Dodge plays more to his heel tendencies and natural inclination to abandon the mission. Cactus's false finishes are Cactus Elbow from the ramp and the Double Arm DDT in the ring. The crowd bit hard on both. I really liked the RKO out the Mandible Claw and thought that should have been the finish. The RKO onto Barbie was fine but the point of diminishing returns had been reached. This was great old school booking proving Orton was not just another pretty face that he could some serious punishment and earn the fan's respect. Jack was awesome and had a real old school performance in him. Orton needed to prove that only could take the punishment but he could dish out and I think one big run of offense would have helped. The one-sided ultimately was counter-productive and hurt the match, but still one of the better matches of the era, ****1/4

I have only seen the London match and I stand by the hype, but I know how controversial and polarizing the match is. Oh Magpie, yeah when I am excited I tend to say Fuck quite a bit. I am very rarely angry. So no I was not angry. They are happy Fucks not angry Fucks so I hope that mollifies some of your concerns.

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Chris Benoit - Smackdown! 12/04/03 Holy shit was 2003 a great year for Free TV matches from WWE or what! The Mysterio match was awesome. I remember really digging HHH vs HBK on RAW from later this year. I need to refresh my memory on Angle/Lensar Ironman match. Benoit and "You Tapped Out " chants directed at Lesnar were wicked over. Why the hell did they switch Benoit to RAW for Wrestlemania XX? There was all this great build. Did they know Brock was leaving already? I am not going to complain because Eddie vs Brock is one of my all-time favorite matches. I really liked the dynamic of this match and I hate to start off on a sour note, but I think these two had an all-time classic in them. All the pieces are there it is just the transitions and the little things did not add up. Benoit is so great at struggle in his matches and he creates so much movement. Brock is never shy of bumping and shining up a face. Benoit just did not get the real awesome string of offense until late. It made sense because Benoit had wrestled Cena earlier in the night so Brock jumpstarted the match. Benoit got his licks in and even teased the Crossface (love finisher teases early), but Brock nailed him with a great hotshot to take over. Brock settled into a chinlock with a bodyscissors, which is my least favorite hold because it is hard to work it in an entertaining fashion. My biggest pet peeve in wrestling is when the hold is just magically broken and the victim just gets up and does the three elbows to the midsection. They did it not just once, but twice! Eye-roll! That was pretty annoying. Cole actually did a great piece of commentary reminding Brock guaranteed to force Benoit to submit so that justifies these shitty holds to an extent. I would say the Brock heat segment was kinda dud. Some nice power stuff, but the holds just did not do it for me. Once, they got to the stand up portion I thought Benoit was just awesome as a babyface always moving forward and Brock as the desperate heel. Benoit's diving headbutt and crossface were super over and great work into the crossface. Then we get the ref bump and Brock hits a shitty F5, but thats because he is selling the arm. Genius! So Benoit kicks out there is a huge pop, but the finisher is protected by the ref taking a while to crawl over, Brock not getting all the F5 and Brock having a hard time covering with the bad arm. Great stuff! Brock has to use a chair and then applies the Brock Lock. What an awesome visual! Way better than Kimura. Yes, I know the Kimura is super dangerous, but wrestling is all about visuals BRING BACK THE BROCK LOCK! Benoit passes out. Brock snaps and has been driven mad by "You Tapped Out" that he applies the Crossface and takes Benoit's hand and taps him out. Wow, I really wish they had a chance to blow this off. Not one of the best TV matches from a wrestling standpoint, but a great one in terms of building the program to the climax. That we did not even get! Great beginning and finish, but middle kinda drags. Still a very good match. ***1/2

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown! 12/11/03 I don't think there is a wrestler that has debuted after 2000 with a higher wrestling IQ than Brock Lesnar (maybe AJ Styles, but it is close). Brock just completely and totally understands pro wrestling. It is a total shame that he hates travel. He works a classic Ric Flair vs Hometown Hero match (they were in San Diego), but stays true to himself and updates the style to 2003 flawlessly. Brock is so selfless in that ring that what you need to be as a heel. He is a monster, but he is never afraid to show ass and shine up anyone including tiny Rey Rey. They do a great job establishing that size differential. It is freaky how much bigger Brock is than Rey Rey. He slings him around. I don't want to undersell Rey in this match as this is an all-time great babyface performance in front of a raucous hometown crowd. They do an extended track meet sequence that is awesome so Brock gets so frustrated he picks up the steps, but argues with the ref only to have the steps dropkicked into his face. Brock catches him at one point, but Rey just keeps moving. Then Rey is just busting all this great aerial offense. You totally believe Rey can take it if he can stay in the air and just totally suffocate Brock. Brock is just so great at selling that discombobulation of Rey coming at him from all angles so he punts in the balls. That is too sweet. This 300 lbs monster needs to take that short cut on a diminutive opponent. That is a money heel. He understands desperation and viciousness in a way no heel nowadays seems to get. I love Brock taunting Rey Rey throughout this and finally it gets him caught with a wicked kick. Brock does staggered selling as well if not better than everybody in history. 619 around the post. The crowd is going nuts and just like Flair in the 80s you totally believe Rey has a shot to win the title. The cherry on top is Brock catching Rey with a sitout powerbomb and then just falling to his ass Kawada-style. You really felt like Rey Rey had pushed him to his limit and Brock had just one last gasp and used his power to hit a home run. The Brock Lock, which was an amazing visual with the size difference, put Mysterio away. Even though Brock let Mysterio shine, he never lost his monster status. There was an impending doom that loomed over this match. Brock's hubris and frustration was getting the best of him, but at the end of day he did not have enough fire power. Brock was able to crush him into submission. Rey gave a great underdog performance and Brock wrestled as the best heel champion since Flair. He was scary good. ****

I really hate Akeem. Fuck I forgot about that series. Detour to Crockett or All Japan both before and after that series, may be necessary for my sanity, Kelly.

Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio - Summerslam 2002 Finally a raucous 2002 crowd! Long Island was rocking for this double hot opener. I can't believe I watched this match and did not remember anything from it. They ripped it up in there. I did think in the middle that was maybe because they going all Ultimo Dragon World War III '96, but this had a way hotter finish to it with Rey really looking like a champ. I like Rey jumpstarting the match early and his first flub being trying to Irish Whip Angle that is a great nod to the size differential. Angle going for the AngleLock early and Rey thinking 619 is one of my favorite ways to open a sprint. Loved Angle yanking Mysterio off the apron into a belly bump on the floor, nasty. Angle worked a focused heat segment on the lower back and had some really impressive throws and counter for Mysterio's hope spots. Mysterio was doing his job creating the movement and keeping the crowd alive with hope spots. The ref stopping Rey from following up sending Angle to the outside only to jump over the ref into a somersault plancha was pitch perfect. The boos into the massive cheers and chants of Holy Shit! That is pro fucking wrestling, right there! I was surprised Angle took the 619/West Coast Pop only to kick out. Does not hurt the match just surprised. They do the flub the intricate finish of Angle trying to counter a top rope Latino Frankensteiner (TM Michael Buffer) with the AngleLock, but he gets it for the win. Awesome sprint. Perfect opener. Loved the somersault plancha spot. Angle was on point as the cocky, jock bully and Mysterio rocked it as the underdog showing him up. Highly entertaining! ****

Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle vs Edge & Rey Mysterio - No Mecy 2002 WWE Tag Team Titles Here is an early 00s classic that I have never seen before. The Survivor Series Triple Threat made a DVD, but did not seem to get as much love as this did at the time. I will say this had a double hot finish stretch that in a very weak year for the wrestling world (guess I have not seen any ROH, but this is a weak Japan year) makes this a match of the year contender. I love the Angle & Mysterio interaction early and definitely need to rewatch their Summerslam match. Angle is great as the cocky jock and the look on Rey's face when he realizes he needs to stomp on Angle's foot to break the waistlock is priceless. Mysterio was great at showing up Angle with speed and Angle was bumping and stooging for him so well. Benoit and Edge was fine. Credit where credit is due, Edge actually worked a nice, tight heel in peril based on Benoit's ribs and laid in his stuff well. They did a good job playing off some Angle interference with Benoit selling the ribs on the first one, which led to Angle getting speared off the apron, but on the third go around Angle caused enough damage to get Benoit out of there. Edge is not particularly good at any one facet of wrestling, but in his defense he is not particularly bad at anything (I guess emotion is his greatest weakness). It is annoying that with Rey right there we get an extended FIP with Edge. I forgot about Angle's lame chinlock/bodyscissors. Angle and Benoit throwing Edge was fun. I know a lot of people don't like the rolling Germans, but I always dug them. Edge could have done more in the way of hope spots. The superplex is the transition of the heat segment and Little Rock does not give a fuck. REY IS IN!!! The crowd is awake. Rey is rockin n rollin. Didn't love the set up for the leg drop while Benoit was dangling, but it was pretty sweet. Benoit counters the wheel barrow by splating Rey and then going for the Crossface. That is perfect counterwrestling. Edge saves and Rey looks 619, but Benoit counters looking for shoulderbreaker and Edge hits a nifty missile dropkick. That should have been his finisher! Zack Ryder is crying somewhere. Angle overuses that pop-up belly to belly, but when timed right in a match, it is the perfect interjection and this was one of those moments. That sets up the Rey FIP. Double Face in peril, shades of AWA! Rey is so much better at selling than Edge. Loved Angle and Benoit throwing him around. Up until this point, I would say I watched a great match and the finish stretch does a great job to kick up a notch. I can see why action-oriented fans dig this match. Edge is a decent hot tag. He has lame offense, but at least he showed some energy. Credit where it is due, he did hit one of his best spear ever on Benoit during this run. Rey was great double teaming with Edge and giving this run a bit more pep. Edge goes for the cover sees Benoit diving headbutt and lets Angle take it. I have always liked that spot in all its variations. Though nobody ever loses to the diving headbutt and nothing changes here. In the spot of the match, Benoit has Edge in the Crippler Crossface and Rey hits an awesome 619 to break it up. I popped huge for that. Edge throws Rey Rey onto Benoit, before the usual Angle Anglelock reversalfest ends with Angle on top. The Rey stuff was really awesome. He had really good chemistry with both Angle and Benoit. Edge was alright. I thought the finish stretch was hot. Needed more of a story hook to kick it into next gear for me. Still a very entertaining bout, even if a little overrated. ****1/4

Eddie Guerrero vs Edge - Smackdown! 9/24/02 No DQ I have watched this match twice previously and neither time to leave much of an impression. Now I am going to record my apathy so I don't have to go back and watch it again. This is one of the most blatant carry jobs I have ever seen. I am usually the worst at noticing that or think people are exaggerating, but Eddie literally set up Edge for every single one of his big spots from the monkey flip to the powerslam to the Electric Chair to final Edgecution off the ladder this was the Eddie show through and through. I loved the amount of effort Eddie gave. I love his energy. It is totally infectious. I don't know how someone wrestling fan or not could not smile when Eddie is on camera. He is so charismatic. He was doing too much in this match and nothing really stuck in your craw. Early on the fans were really restless and he thought movement was the solution, but he was doing his offense and then bumping too so there was no real sense of story or momentum. He tosses out a superplex and then here is me taking an Electric Chair. It could be also that crowd was just waiting for the weapons to be brought out. Eddie looked mean and he was laying his stuff in but just way, way too much. It would have helped if Edge could contribute something. He is so fucking bland. Edge is the definition of mediocre. The spot of the match is clearly the Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the ladder. It was so weird not hearing "This Is Awesome" to follow that spot. It would be such an obvious trigger spot. I liked the paucity of highspots after that big move, it was Edge's counter and finish that took us home. That minimalism would be perfect nowadays. Definitely one of the most overrated match in WWE canon. Finish run and Eddie's effort brings this above average. I have no idea why this considered a WWE classic. ***

The year 2002 is the only year since 1997 that I did not watch any wrestling at all during a calendar year. I was still smarting from the WCW buyout and the pathetic Invasion. Even bringing back the NWO did not get me to give a fuck about wrestling. I have gone back and watched a handful of matches from 2002, but I thought I look at the 8 or 10 best. This period of time will be crucial for how I rank Benoit, Mysterio and Guerrero for GWE. Chris Benoit vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown! 10/3/02 This was a tremendous TV bout! It is amazing that this is pretty much their signature singles match. For all the time spent in WCW and WWE, they very rarely crossed paths in a singles setting. They had tag feuds in WCW 99 and as part of the Smackdown Six, but this match represents their most famous signature encounter. It is even more surprising because they were both signature Smackdown stars during the Brand Split era. Guess you can chock it up to them both being babyfaces for the majority of their runs. Hearing Tony Chimel's voice took me straight back to high school. That was crazy. This match needs to be shown to the entire modern day locker room. This is the blueprint for an action-packed match where storytelling and selling are still critical aspects to the match. It is clear that Benoit and Mysterio are huge influences on today's wrestling, but I think a lot of wrestlers/agents have the wrong takeaway from matches like this. Yes, there are a lot of moves and the moves are over, but the characters, context and motivation around the moves are really what gives these moves their impact. I love how all of Benoit's cool moves are counters to Rey Mysterio getting a little too cute. Rey due to his size disadvantage needs to use speed and finesse. I am not trying to demean this technical acumen, but when compared to the cold, rigidity of Benoit's straight-forward assault, these are very cute moves, but they are effective. My main point is Benoit is robbing you of seeing Mysterio hit his cool armdrag, wheel-barrow, and 619 and Benoit is countering with badass impactful moves like backbreaker, wheelbarrow suplex and shoulderbreaker. Since Benoit is robbing of these moments, he and his moves are not getting over like a babyface, but instead it is putting him over as a badass heel and Mysterio as an underdog face. Another credit to this match is the beginning. I have been all over the extinction of the babyface shine from pro wrestling. I think it is incredibly crucial in getting a crowd invested in a babyface before the heat segment. I think it is 100% essential when a wrestler is new or not that over. Nobody wants to cheer for a loser. An unestablished babyface that goes into a heat segment without a shine is an almost guaranteed death sentence. Not does Rey Rey necessarily need a shine no, but I think it is a great way to get a crowd going. I love how this shine plays out with Benoit firing all cylinders early really laying in his shit early only to have Rey use his finesse to counter and then setup 2-3 really slick high spots and I loved the somersault splash to the outside. That was a perfect punctuation on a great shine. Now when his fancy armdrag gets countered into a vicious backbreaker, I am spending the heat segment cheering to see more cool Rey offense and see his bully get his comeuppance. That is why the shine is important. The finish sequence was very nicely done. Rey was able to set up the 619, but Benoit countered into a nasty shoulderbreaker. From there, it was the typical Benoit full court press with the diving headbutt and Crippler Crossface (too close to the ropes). Rey is able to use movement to create opportunities for an awesome legdrop onto Benoit that was quickly set up and totally credible into the 619. Angle, who was Benoit's partner that did not like Benoit, interferes to set up the Latino Frankensteiner (TM Michael Buffer) for the Rey Rey win. One last point, Rey Rey's strikes were on point and he surprisingly had not problem going blow for blow with the heavy handed Benoit. One of the best TV matches I have seen in quite some time. Really well-executed. A perfect, action-based, movement-oriented match that stayed true to face, heel dynamics. ****

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race vs Giant Baba - AJPW 10/31/79 Having seen a handful of Harley's matches from the 70s and another dozen or so from the 80s, I think his entire wrestling psychology can be captured by one particular bump as he takes a huge flat back bump off a Giant Baba chop but still maintaining his forward momentum. It looks ridiculous and awesome at the same time. Race believed in bumping big, always keep the action moving and the babyface is always right. This has led to some less that stellar matches that ought to have been classics, but on this one night the stars aligned Harley Race pulled off his personal masterpiece. The beginning of the match was what you would expect Baba working a headlock, Race working an angle up against the ropes not giving the clean break, but ultimately when he tried to create movement succumbing to the headlock. You get great bumps off a big boot or a back drop out of the piledriver. It is established that Baba is a better wrestler and it is a consistent thread. Eventually, Race is able to combine some offense off work in the ropes working the neck with a swinging neckbreaker, piledriver, knees to head and neck and then a head crank. This has been a drawback of Race is his ADD in the ring where he will just throw out spots and bumps willy-nilly. Here was working more focused and more vicious as we will see. Going for the gutwrench suplex was a deviation from strategy and Baba made him pay with one of his own. When Race put his foot on the rope, Baba came back with a huge double stomp. Race takes a great tumble over the ropes remsicent of HHH (so thats where he got it from!) and then takes a back drop on the outside. Baba misses a dropkick, which is a favorite Race transition move. Race unloades heavy knees to the forehead and busts Baba open who rolls to outside to escape the punishment. Race works the cut efficiently with fists and even diving headbutt, but Baba rolls out again. Baba bleeding profusely, This time, Baba slams Race's head into the post and busts him wide out. DOUBLE JUICE! Race is bleeding all over his arms. Baba swats him multiple time with huge double chops which Races sells like gunshots! Awesome! The violence of this match is really carrying the day over the usual Harley Race spotfests. Harley Race gets one more hope spot, but is press slammed off the top. Baba riles up the crowd, running clothesline for the 1-2-3 and crowd goes wild as Baba wins the World's Heavyweight Championship for the second time. Harley was able to focus his offense more and the blood helped him ratchet up the violence. A lot of his matches will feature a lot of throws without struggle so by focusing on one body part and working a cut it lent itself to more drama. Baba is a great opponent because he is so large and such a force of nature that you can buy all of Harley's ridiculous bumps. The finish stretch brought this match way up, but still could have used more struggle, right about the level of most the top tiered All Japan stuff from this era that I have seen. ****1/2

Fujita Jr. Hayato, awesome 08-09 M-Pro, hope this leads to more recs for matches more recently in his career. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/22035-koji-kanemoto-vs-fujita-jr-hayato-njpw-super-j-cup-122209/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/22013-fujita-jr-hayato-vs-ou-kobushi-michinoku-pro-090509/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/21998-fujita-jr-hayato-vs-great-sasuke-michinoku-pro-061909/ Katsuhiko Nakajima, the boy wonder, I wonder if he has petered out since his hot start. If anybody has any match recs for 2010 & after he could make my big board. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/21760-kenta-kobashi-go-shiozaki-vs-kensuke-sasaki-katsuhiko-nakajima-noah-3rd-great-voyage-110505/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/21825-shuji-kondo-vs-katsuhiko-nakajima-ajpw-excite-series-021707/ http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/21968-kenta-vs-katsuhiko-nakajima-kensuke-office-021109/

Midnight Rockers vs Buddy Rose & Doug Somers - AWA 12/25/86 To paraphrase Prince, “Excuse if I get excited, I was watching a badass Shawn Michaels shine.” This is a very controversial and your thoughts on it probably tells a lot about who you are as a person. As a person that is a bit of a ham that loves things over the top and outrageous. I love this shit. Where other people may find Shawn Michael’s to be a douchebag in this match, I saw a person that was excited to be kicking the ass of the men that had been keeping them away from the titles for months and had bloodied him on two occasions. Shawn Michaels as the serious asskicker in the beginning would have been fine, but it wouldn’t be Shawn Michaels. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he is going to let you know that “Fuck Yeah! I am kicking these pricks’ ass”. I was vibing off that positive energy and it really sucked me into the match. Now, if you don’t like it, you are just a different person and that is cool, but I think this is all-time great shine. I will never get down on someone that is that invested in the match. In addition, I thought the match told a great coming of age tale. In the 80s, it was commonplace to take a pretty boy babyface tag team (blowjob tag team, if you will, not a term I particularly fond of) to put them in a nasty, bloody brawls to prove their mettle and they were not just some pretty faces. It was seen with the Fabulous Ones & Moondogs and Fantastics & Sheeperherders. With Rockers leading up to this cage match, we have seen Rose & Somers bloody up Shawn Michaels on two occasions. This is that coming of age tale to demonstrate to the crowd that Rockers have an edge to them and that they can fight. This cage solidifies this position. Rockers kick their asses from pillar to post busting Rose open immediately. Shawn Michaels kicks the ever-loving shit out of them. Somers takes some ridiculous cage bumps. Shawn is all fired up. You can really feel that he is becoming a man by taking it to these two grizzled veterans and dominating. Sherri’s hysterical wailing never ceases. There is lots of great stooging and delayed bumps and staggering. The Rockers giving the Rose & Somers a taste of their own medicine, gnawing at the cuts. I love the crazed Somers cage bumps. Rose is beaten senseless on apron and is selling like a chang. Shawn is revved up on the top turnbuckle and I am going wild here in 2015 in my kitchen. Jannetty slams Rose’s head in the back of cage until he just slumps down, DAMN! Shawn yells no mercy. He goes for double noggin knocker, but Rose rakes the eyes and sends him into the cage. Rose looks to go up top, but Jannetty cuts him off and crotches him and A HUGE POP! Repeatedly sends him head first into cage. Somers breaks it up and Somers beaten up slumps down. Rose low blow! Shawn breaks up and sends Jannetty into cage and he no sells. I will say for as much shit Michaels gets in this match. He punches away on Rose and pulls him up at two! I thought Jannetty was more egregious in his dumb decisions pulling up Rose & Somers on two occasions and no selling cage shots. Somers is fucked up in corner. Rose is sent into Michaels fist and falls all the way back into his corner and tags out. Michaels hits an elbow drop and pulls Somers up. (Michaels isn’t perfect) Somers headbutts Michaels low. Somers crawls over. Buddy Catapults Michaels into the cage. Shawn is bleeding. Buddy throws him into the cage. Rose DDT. Rose pulling him up now as a dick move to show up the faces, which I like as a way to play off the earlier pull ups. This is a strong, short heat segment. With Rockers fatigued from their shine and nastiness of Rose & Somers, you believe they have weathered the storm and that Rose & Somers could pull this out. Michaels with his staggered lunges and Rose gnaws on cut. Fans cheer for Michaeks. Rose rakes his head across cage. Somers suplex and tags out to Buddy. Shawn back body dropped into cage (great bump) and then straddled on ropes. Shawn fires back from his back, but trips over Somers and almost pinned (really cool). Shawn hits a tremendous kneelift! Tags in Marty! Everybody into the cage! Rose tries to get out and they fight on top of the cage and Rose tumbles towards inside cage. Jannetty with a huge cross body to win! WAIT! What oh it is non-title Rose and Somers lock cage to do a number on Jannetty. An all-time great cage match that is never dull and just constant excitement. Add in the controversy, definitely check it out and make your voice heard! ****3/4

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 6/11/77 Two out of Three Falls Wow! Harley Race is a vast departure from Jack Brisco and even Terry Funk in his style of work. This is a total bomb throwing sprint. If you are going to have a bomb throwing sprint, Jumbo dishing it out and Harley eating the offense ain't too shabby of a pairing. The coolest spot was definitely hitting a backbreaker to get out of an armbar. Overall, it was a lot of slam trading with Jumbo mostly on top working the armbar and Harley creating that movement. Jumbo's armdrag is not as smooth as a Brisco or a Steamboat, but it seems more violent. Like you have no choice, but to go with him. Harley tries to use headbutts to midsection to gain an advantage, but Jumbo unleashes two wicked high knees. The second high knee is something to behold. After trying so hard to get the butterfly suplex early in the fall, he finally unleashes that beastly suplex to win the first fall. Jumbo definitely comes out of the gate strong, but he has a hard time finishing. Let's see what happens here. Jumbo 1-0. 1977 Spotfest baby! Harley just picks Jumbo up shoulderbreaker and then piledriver. Jumbo counters with gutwrench suplex. They settle down start to struggle with Jumbo throwing some nice European Uppercut and Harley throwing the best, most violent kneedrop this side of Misawa. Harley works the front facelock (Kelly would be pissed if we were reviewing this match). Jumbo sits out to get a nasty chickenwing and works hard to get a pinning combination before going into the standing surfboard (complete with foot in the back, which impresses the hell out of me). The one thing that has been dragging some of these 70s matches down for me is that they arent laying their shit in all the time. Jumbo and Harley just smacking the shit out of each other, which makes me happy. Shout to those Harley kneelifts to the head! YOWZA! Jumbo gets overzealous and runs into the turnbuckles. Harley looks to have trouble with the figure-4, but uses a reverse figure-4 with him falling back and Jumbo selling the hell out of it before finally succumbing. Selling is definitely not Harley's strong suit. Jumbo can go bomb for bomb with him, but is keeping the match together by adding selling and struggling. Tied 1-1. To be continued, going to go see Motley Crue for the fifth and final time! SHOUT AT THE DEVIL!!!! Back, I FUCKING LOVE MOTLEY CRUE! Lets finish this bad boy off before bed. Once again, the NWA Champion has the momentum going into the deciding fall and Jumbo is left playing catch up ball. Great selling by Jumbo and smart work by Race try to go back to the same hold to win early after that it just becomes a total spotfest. They really like the running the ropes head collision spot in 70s All Japan, but man I don't. Jumbo should have known Harley always sidesteps the second dropkick by watching the '75 Baba match. Gotta do your homework, kid. Great first dropkick! Harley takes a press slam off the top rope. Jumbo really commits to the missed high knee, which I love. So many wrestlers when they know they are going to miss a move half-ass it or do it safely to protect themselves. Not fucking Jumbo on this night he went for that high knee and crashed and burned. Harley nice small package to retain the title. Again, Jumbo takes that early lead, but can't put the champ away. Is he a choker? He does have the '76 win over Brisco. Total Harley Race spotfest with Jumbo going move for move. Jumbo brought the selling and kept the struggle alive. Better than your average spotfest because they were working towards a victory and there was still some sense of struggle. Still not as great as the other 70s matches. ****

If it was Funk & Slater vs Hansen & Bass that would have been too rich. For shame, it wasnt.

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Buddy Rose –Philly 11/25/82 Lumberjack Match It was the year of the lumberjack matches, I got to say I prefer cage and Texas Death Matches to the lumberjack match. The Playboy cracks me up asking where Bob Backlund where his women are. I know Bob has a wife and even has a daughter. Bob Backlund interacting with a woman to me is just plain hilarious. WellYouSeeMissIThinkYouAreKindAndVeryATTRACTTIVEAndIAmAGentlemanAndASportsmanAsSuchIWouldLikeToTakeYouOutToDinnerSometimeMaybeAfterwardsWeCouldDoTheHarvardStepTestTogetherIfYouAreSoInclined. Backlund having carnal relations is even more ridiculous to me. They follow suit with other lumberjack matches with Rose establishing he has nowhere to hide. I feel like this shine segment went even better because Rose went out of his way to create ridiculous spots to bump for Backlund and the lumberjacks. Backlund zeroes in on the arm while Rose creates movement off that base. Backlund keeps bringing him to heel with the armbar. Even in late 82, the Philly crowd loves Backlund arm rowing counting along with him. Rose finally nails a dropkick to score an advantage. Rose expertly positioned Backlund towards the heel half of the ring to gain a further advantage. It is bombs away with suplexes galore and the Robinson backbreaker. Backlund is getting some hope spots, but Rose looks to be in control with five rapid fire elbows. He goes for the Robinson backbreaker again, but Backlund applies the Crossface Chickenwing. Rose fights and tries to back him in the corner, but eventually succumbs to one of the most painful holds in wrestling. Right up there with the Adonis Lumberjack match (I’d say a hair better) as a great Backlund match. Rose and Adonis are pretty similar wrestlers, big bumpers with tons of firepower, which works well with Backlund. Very entertaining bout. ****1/4

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta 6/11/76 Two out of Three Falls There may be nothing more frustrating about footage gaps than the lack of Terry Funk in the 70s. Yes, towards the end of the 70s, we get plenty of tags with brother Dory, but if this match is any indication we are missing out on some absolutely fantastic wrestling. For instance, I believe this is the only full NWA World Heavyweight Championship defense we have from his year long reign as champion. I enjoyed him moreso than Jack Brisco or Harley Race in this one outing. The first fall features probably the greatest surfboard struggle spot in history. It really felt like they were shooting over who win control over that surfboard. It was just so compelling to watch to see who would come out on top. I loved the beginning amateur work and Funk's arm work was superb. Unlike some other 70s wrestlers, he is not afraid lay it in there and we get hear the smack of flesh on flesh., Even with Funk on top, Jumbo looks good being able to pick Funk out of double wristlock and then setting him down on the top rope or the top wristlock into a bridge. Holy shit, Terry Funk was so smooth setting up that top wristlock! The match was a perfect representation of babyface control with the heel creating movement only for the babyface to thwart him by restoring order back into the original hold. The best part of this sequence was Jumbo not letting go of wristlock when Funk lunged for the outside and then Jumbo yanking him back in over the top rope. Funk creates more movement, but Jumbo takes advantage with a barrage of pinning combinations scoring the fall with a sunset flip. If Jumbo worked the armbar harder, this would have been a pitch perfect fall. Jumbo 1-0. Fucking awesome second fall!!! This match is living up to the hype. Funk gets a quick handshake and starts throwing wild rights to upset Jumbo, which works. Terry wrangles a neckbreaker and never looks back. He drops all his weight onto Jumbo's neck, while Jumbo is in the sitting position. Damn, that spot needs to be cribbed. I thought the piledriver was going to knot this up in short order, but ain't to be. Funk hurls Jumbo to outside and dropkick and posts him. He looks to be in total control then Jumbo wakes up with a wicked European Uppercut. He throws Funk into the buckles who bumps big and then bumps even bigger over the top rope for a Jumbo right hand. Jumbo is much better working from underneath and facing adversity. It gets him going. Great struggle over the ab stretch (one of my favorite 70s/80s spots) into a Funking Rolling Cradle!!! Funk ties it up at one apiece! In six minutes, Terry Funk showed why he is awesome on offense, bumping, selling and psychology. Loved the rolling cradle finish. Tied 1-1. You can tell Jumbo is pissed at himself. At this point in his career, he has that confidence where he believes that not only can he hang with the Funks, Brisco and Race that he can beat these guys. He is frustrated with himself for not being able to put Funk away and letting his lead slip away. He starts throwing wild rights and things are getting chippy. Jumbo just goes full fucking bore: wicked ab stretch and suplexes galore. The struggle over the gutwrench suplex was excellent. Jumbo is fucking crazy strong; he deserves more adulation in that regard. He has been dead lifting dudes all over the place. Funk looks absolutely done. Jumbo is feeling it and you really feel like he believes he is going to win. I don't want to say this begins the long standing feud of Jumbo vs. The Hotshot, but this is the first time I have seen it, but it must have been one of the first instances of him going in for the kill, but succumbing to the hotshot. Funk is able to retain his title. Absolute classic. Funk demonstrated how smooth he could be on the mat, vicious during a heat segment and sold huge in the third fall. Jumbo is definitely better coming from underneath in these 70s matches. When he works those face control segments early he has a tendency not to work the hold and be a bit cold and that keeps this from being a perfect match. Definitely the best 70s match I have watched so far, the whole way through you just believed these two were totally invested in winning the world championship. ****3/4

PWF Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba vs NWA Missouri Champion Harley Race - AJPW 12/9/75 Harley Race is still in Handsome Harley Race mode with his bleached blond hair. During one of the long headlocks early, I was thinking about Race's tattoos and how unique they are, but do they depict exactly? They just look dark blobs on his arms. The first half of this match is dullsville. Baba works the headlock well and anytime Race gets up it is usually chop, throw, and headlock. Race is able at one to get a kneelift to set up a chinlock, but it is not sustainable. They establish Baba's dominance especially in terms of stand up over Race. The match gets good once Harley takes over. It develops into actually the most heated 70s puro match yet, which offers an interesting departure from the consistently great Brisco matches and the escalation towards a hot finish. Harley is able to turn Baba over on his side in a headlock and bury the knee thus negating the stand up advantage. Harley gets a pair of kneedrops to head, his headbutt and a piledriver to set up a wicked headscissors. They both worked really hard in this hold and the struggle of Baba to get out between Harley's thighs was compelling as it was a bit funny. When he came up gasping for breath and discombobulated, it was amusing. Baba sold disoriented well and they end up doing the best head collide spot yet. Harley picks up and slams the Giant, but Baba comes back with the big boot and then stands on Harley and jumps on him. Throughout the match, they used rope escapes well to protect finishes. Harley throws a beautiful suplex. Harley was definitely a trend setter. He follows Baba to the outside, which was a bad decision as Baba throws him into the post and he is left bloody. Baba tries to finish off with a pair of dropkicks, but Harley hooks the ropes on the second one and he is bleeding a gusher. Again, Baba is using the chop to set up his offense like t]he Russian Legsweep which won a fall over Brisco and then the backbreaker. He is pouring it on, but Harley comes back with punch to throat, second piledriver, a pair of headbutt and now seeing this is his best chance goes for the top rope headbutt, but crashes and burns! I totally bite on this being Baba's opportunity to win the match. He starts throwing awesome overhand chops to the cut. Baba is frustrated and Harley is hanging on for dear life. Baba nails a big boot, but it is too late as time has run out. This match definitely had the hottest finish of the 70s puro matches I have watched so far, but the first half of the match was pretty dull. I thought they did an excellent job with the headscissors, which sadly would be an anachronism in today's landscape. Harley was definitely a forward thinking wrestler taking the press slam off the top, blading and throwing suplexes and slams at will. His piledriver is not Backlund piledriver. Baba is great as hero and giant of All Japan. He uses his size well and throws a mean chop. The last half is really high quality stuff so check it out for that. ****

Terry Funk vs Crusher Blackwell - AJPW 9/82 OH HELL FUCKING YEAH! Big ups to Matt D for finding this and Parv for disseminating the info. Awesome match between two of the all-time greats. A perfect exhibition of what makes Blackwell awesome within the first half he shows he has a size advantage, deceptively agile (dropkick, techincally proficient (drop toehold), punches like a champ and is ruthless. With those five tools, he is formidable opponent for anyone, but All Japan's hero, Terry Funk was not backing down. Funk was massively over. When he balled his fists up to get to work, he crowd went wild. The match really kicked when they busted each other open with short nasty headbutts. Funk is fucking crazy and Blackwell took glee in all of it. Absolutely killer boxing match breaks out afterwards. SInce, I don't know how well circulated this match is, I won't spoil the ending. I will leave it like this can Blackwell finish the injured and bloody Funk off or will Funk find a way to take the big man off his feet to apply the Spinning Toe Hold or get the pinning combination? ***1/2

Jumbo Tsuruta vs Jack Brisco - AJPW 8/28/76 NWA United National Heavyweight Tournament Final This was actually the match that revived the United National Heavyweight Championship after JWA closed and became an All Japan belt, first Jumbo's belt, then Tenryu's belt and ultimately as a part of the Triple Crown. Brisco was no longer the World's Heavyweight Champion relinquishing that position to Mr. Terry Funk. This is a two out of three fall match. The first fall features Jumbo at his offensive best. He is laser focused on Brisco's back and ain't never going to let up. Brisco actually had an early advantage countering into a crossface/deathlock and applying a bearhug, but after Jumbo hiptossed out it was all Jumbo. Tsuruta scored two backbreakers (one out of a headlock, a nice counter) and was working holds like the Camel Clutch and Boston Crab. Brisco for his part sold being overwhelmed very well, but still having his wits about him to avoid the butterfly suplex and try to punch his way out of trouble. His best hope was a sunset flip that everyone in 1976 and I bit on. Alas, it was not to be as it was little too late as Jumbo rattled a string of dropkicks and a very impressive overhead belly to belly suplex to go up 1-nil. If the first fall was all about Jumbo on Jack's back, this fall was Jack targetting the leg of Jumbo to yield a submission. The fall began with Brisco trying to buy time by sticking his body through the ropes, but Tsuruta was relentless and Bisco ends up tried up in the ropes hanging upside down by his waist. It is a crazy spot and needs to be cribbed. Once Brisco gets free, he uses the ref admonishments to pick the ankle and go to work on his legs. He wraps it around the post. Jumbo tries to mount a comeback but he succumbs to the kneecrusher/figure-4 combo. The final fall begins as the second fall ended with Brisco destroying the leg of Jumbo. Both men are obviously fatigued, but Brisco is compensating by being extra nasty. Jumbo is fighting valiantly but it looks like he is in too much of a hole as Brisco is always able to go back to the knee to keep Jumbo at bay. Brisco is very close to applying the figure-4 in one of the more dramatic moments in wrestling right before he sits back Jumbo punches out of it. Both men knock heads and the playing field is levelled. Brisco up first misses a kneedrop and this Jumbo's chance. Can't wrangle the Boston Crab because Brisco hooked the ropes, but he lifts him for the butterfly suplex, but Brisco lands feet first and by not taking all the impact on his back he is able to kick out. Brisco hits a back suplex late in the game to set up this devastating figure-4, but Jumbo reverses into an inside cradle for the biggest win of his career up to that point. It does not get much bigger than beating the former NWA World Champion for a new championship. Unfortunately for the Japanese they were forced to leave their world championship matches empty-handed because of the nature of the beast. So for Jumbo this early in his career to defeat Jack Brisco in singles clean to win the United National Championship, I think only the bigger victory would have been over Terry Funk for the World's Championship. Excellent match and we really get to see a fully dynamic Jumbo performance. Tsuruta is one of the all-time great offensive wrestlers as displayed in the first fall, but in the second fall we see his mettle as he fights back from adversity to take the match. He sold great in the second fall and you really believed damn, it is just not the kid's night. Jack is just too ruthless and too experienced. The kid is on the cusp, but he is just not there. He keeps plugging away and he is hanging in there and just when you think he is finish he snags the inside cradle for the win. An awesome, dramatic match! ****1/2

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW 1/30/74 2 out of 3 Falls Check out those sideburns on Jumbo! This is baby Jumbo Tsuruta who just debuted earlier in 1973 and was only recently dubbed "Jumbo". He does not look out of place one bit against the NWA Champ Jack Brisco. I just love these sports-feel world championship bout: great tie-ups, leg dives and struggle for every move. Basic, fundamentals-oriented layout let the rookie shine with strong holds and coming back to that hold, lose control due to an underhanded tactic, a nice hot run up to the close of the first fall before Brisco puts him away. Jumbo's home base was an armbar. Every time, there was movement Jumbo was able to wrangle it back on using some great armdrags. I loved the Brisco hiptoss into a Jumbo armdrag! Brisco was great at shining Jumbo up with verbal selling and the desperation to not get hit by the butterfly suplex. I am a big mark for tests of strength and there was some great top wristlocks coming out of the armbars. Eventually, Brisco uses the hair to bring him down into a vicious headlock. Jumbo is able to comeback into a crossface chickenwing, which Brisco uses a great drop toehold to transition into a deathlock with great strikes into the ribs. Jumbo was eventually able to catch Jack riding high into a facelock, but Brisco was in the ropes. Tsuruta sees his opening and just unloads bodyslams (not his badass body slams, but still very good), but he misses one elbow drop. Brisco gets a Robinson backbreaker to win the first fall. Brisco 1-0 Awesome, awesome second fall. Wow! Just a great barrage of Jumbo Tsuruta offense throughout the fall. Brisco works a tight headlock, but Jumbo grabs a kneecrusher and never looks back. He works a great fucking bridging toehold and Brisco sends him flying. He is hobbling and tries to meet him on apron, but Jumbo gets sunset flip into a drop toehold into a great deathlock. Brisco escapes to the floor and JUMBO IS FIRING UP! He wants Brisco in the ring, BABY! Jumbo applies the Boston Crab and is working the back. Then he just throws Brisco around with a butterly and just an incredibly overhead belly to belly that was just an incredible feat of strength. I loved that suffocating run of offense to finish the fall. Tied 1-1. Third fall was killer. Jumbo stays on the back and is jazzed. Brisco is selling it like he is absolutely done. Jumbo applies a abdominal stretch. You actually buy it as a finish given it is 1974 and Jumbo is so excited. This converted into a hold on the ground into an amazing, amazing Jumbo bridge into a bodyscissors working that back! Bearhug! I have never popped for a bearhug until today. Jumbo is fucking awesome. Brisco looks dead. Brisco is desperate and is just like fuck it. He throws a wicked closed fist. I have been disapointed by Brisco working punch, which misses by a mile, but damn that was good. Brisco throws a nasty knee to head in the corner. He hurls Jumbo in a butterful suplex, damn! Robinson backbreaker KICK OUT! JUMBO BACK DROP DRIVER!!! Head collision. Jumbo dropkick he gets up to Brisco's but kinda wiffs and then he actually misses because Brisco averts it. A reversal of O'Connor Roll with Brisco ends up on top to win. Wow! That is how you make a rookie a star in one match. Just amazing work. Jumbo ripped it up this match. He was excited and just kicking ass. He never looked out of place. Brisco was totally selfless in this match. It was a bit too lopsided to be a contender for greatest match of all time, but it was an awesome display of both talents. I have it ahead of both the Baba matches because it had more energy. ****1/2

Having went back and looked at a bunch of Model matches today in order to determine an answer to this question, I came to the conclusion that Rick's performance was lacking in the most peculiar of heel mannerisms, namely looking 'like a bitch' or stooging. During his tenure as The Model, Martel did indeed demonstrate arrogance (both the quality and the bottle of perfume) and a certain willingness to thumb a guy in the throat which tended to be his go-to in terms of being a heel. However, what he never seemed to give the crowd was the sense of comeuppance that comes with acting the fool. The point in the match where the arrogant heel is hoisted by his own petard such as when Arn Anderson points to his brain only to turn around and get punched in the face or Vader misses a sit down splash off a sunset flip counter (I use that example to illustrate that even monster heels have these moments). Rick's performances lacked that moment in virtually every one of the matches I saw. Sure he would lose or miss a cross body out of a corner, but you never got him reacting to the miss or the loss. He was missing that part of the theater performance when Wile E. Coyote would look at the camera a moment before gravity made him pay the price for chasing the Road Runner. This is a really good point and something I never thought about. It is totally spot on!

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Bob Orton – Philly 6/82 Lumberjack Match Backlund has the exact same strap from the last match. After the ass kicking he got the last time, there would be no way I would want to be in the ring with angry Bob Backlund. Backlund is whipping, choking and even throwing Orton using the strap and Orton is stooging and bumping like a change. Orton is discombobulated trying to escape but it is a lumberjack match BABY! He rakes Backlund’s eyes with the buckle. ORTON OFFENSE! Backlund dropkick and PILEDRIVER~! Well that was short-lived. Orton does manage to string some offense together in form of a reverse atomic drop and his awesome working punch. Backbreaker, but only gets two and he jaws with a lumberjack, which in retrospect was probably Ivan Putski given the finish of the match. Back to bumping, Orton does the Slaughter bump, which leads to the press slam off the top. The best part of the match was how Orton sold Backlund’s straight right to his nose. Just tremendous! Orton is looking superplex and instead we get a super Thesz Press from Backlund! Orton is tripped by Putski for the anti-climatic Backlund victory and this leads to an Orton/Putski brawl post-match. I realize I have never seen Putski before and the dude is a shorty. Again, this is a good match, but that is disappointing given how good these two are. Another bad finish really mars the match overall. Same level as their previous match just good, not a bad way to spend 15 minutes. ***

WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund vs Bob Orton – Philly 5/22/82 Tremendous Backlund shine! Seriously, one of my all-time favorite Backlund offensive sequences and just shows how crazy athletic Backlund was. I believe the feud is predicated on Backlund ducking Orton in amateur matches so early on we get some great amateur sequences, which I was always lap up. From there, Backlund just goes into one awesome highspot after another first a great monkey flip/bodyscissors sequence out of a test of strength. In a different body scissors, there is just a crazy series of bridges. These are the more nuanced strength/athletic spots that I mark out for more than a modified slam/suplex that is en vogue in the 21st century. When Orton breaks out of the bodyscissors, he is on his feet trying to attack Backlund, who is on his back, but Backlund is an early practioners of BJJ and is able to ward him off and flummox Orton. I will say the disappointing thing about this match is that a true, blue heat segments does not materialize. I finally got to see some Orton in 88 against the Rockers in the AWA and he lived up to the hype as a offensive dynamo, but he is stooging and bumping from Backlund even taking the Slaughter bump in the corner. He is trying to score something but the superplex is blocked. Hell, Backlund sold his own piledriver more than any Orton offense because there was not much in the way of Cowboy Bob offense. Ortonbomb eats knees, even as a Backlund fan this is a bit excessive. Orton eventually has enough of this and turns tail to run, but Backlund ain’t done yet. Orton finds a strap and chokes Backlund out to win by countout! The fact that Orton won that match is hilarious. He got his ass handed to him. It was a bit silly to give Orton the win given that layout. If you are a fan of Backlund, you will find plenty to love. If not, this will be Hell on Earth. Not a great match, but more of a fun Backlund performance. ***