Everything posted by PeteF3
-
[1998-04-13-WWF-Raw] Steve Austin and Vince McMahon
I was so geared up for this episode that I skipped ahead and watched it on the Network a few weeks ago, then talked about it some more in the Best TV Episodes thread, so I don't have much to add. At least until the ending, it's about an hour and 57 minutes of utterly brilliant television and the aesthetically perfect way for the WWF to break the ratings streak.
-
[1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] Sting vs Kevin Nash
Uh...why is Savage helping Nash? Doesn't he fuck himself out of a title shot if Nash wins? Weren't they in conflict before the focus moved to Savage vs. Hogan? This is the kind of shit that the WCW brass just weren't thinking about it and it was hurting the product badly even if they didn't believe it was. Still, the cast shot makes for a GREAT near-fall, one of the very best of the year. Nash hits the power bomb, but Bret yanks Charles Robinson out of the ring to save the title with a DQ. Sting is an afterthought and Bret is pushed strongly, but yes, he's been cooled off so badly over the past 4 months that it doesn't really matter, and again the Big Guns of the NWO aren't here. Without Hall, and really even before Hall left, Nash has felt so isolated, like he's barely a member of the group at all. It's been weeks since he's even worn NWO merch.
- 4 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 13
- 1998
-
+3 more
Tagged with:
-
[1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] DDP vs Raven feud recap
I dunno, I think they did a good enough job of giving Raven some focus for this feud, drawing on his past with DDP, and whining about how DDP didn't do enough for him. It gives him a bit of motivational edge but also makes it clear that he's being whiny and unreasonable in expecting Page to carry him to new career heights. And the promos have been more about making DDP pay and less about gobbledygook and song lyrics. Still, the WWF would have done 100 times better with this video.
- 4 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 13
- 1998
-
+2 more
Tagged with:
-
[1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] Goldberg vs Rocco Rock
Rocco goes balls-out putting Goldberg over, and even the little spot outside where Rocco gets a brief advantage was fun. Rocco ends up eating a spear through a table that looks great and draws a monster pop--we've seen Goldberg against shooters, against mat-based wrestlers, against other brawlers, and now against garbage workers, so yeah, the variety they're giving him in these squashes is pretty impressive and a good use of the huge roster. Raven and Saturn distract Goldberg afterward, but an attempted sneak attack by Kidman and Sick Boy is unsuccessful.
- 6 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 13
- 1998
-
+2 more
Tagged with:
-
[1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] Bret Hart feature
Bret Hart talks about respect for Chris Benoit, respect for the Giant, and respect for DDP. Respect. He has the most respect of all--respect, that is--for The Sting. Is it a British Commonwealth thing to add superfluous "the"s to names that don't need them? Davey Boy was fond of it, too. Or at least had respect for it. Bret COMPLETELY SUPPORTS STING IF HE EVER NEEDS HIM, so we at least we know that twist had some forethought to it.
-
[1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] Kevin Nash and Sting
Yes, it's like they're actively trying to undermine Dillon in every on-air segment he's in. It's weird, even for WCW. This is a hot segment but there are a lot of logical holes here. Why should Nash be surprised that Savage isn't here? Granted, this is just a snapshot of the entire show, but should we expect Savage to be here after he got hit by a car on Thursday? Sting is good here but I'm not sure why this, of all things, is the event that sets him off so much. He swears on the mic, gives Nash a title match, the bat, and the power bomb, and throws a bunch of crotch chops at him. What caused this turnaround for a guy who was completely stoic for a year and a half? In any event, they gussied up this match enough that it carries some intrigue even if it's a repeat of last week.
- 5 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 13
- 1998
-
+2 more
Tagged with:
- [1998-04-13-WCW-Nitro] Interview: Roddy Piper
-
[1998-04-11-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama
Yeah, this is a low-level MOTYC, or it would be in most other years--here it may finish strongly. It's a hell of a match and Akiyama feels like a winner just for withstanding Kobashi's final assault. There were at least 4 or 5 kickouts that blindsided me, and yet the match never felt overindulgent. 3/4 of this is similar to the Misawa TC match earlier in the year, but Kobashi actually appears to be in danger at times before his big comeback, and said comeback isn't entirely successful, so all in all this makes for a better match.
-
Podcast Length
I agree that podcasting and Internet broadcasting in general shouldn't be stuck in timeslots like TV and radio. That said, I have great admiration for the Squared Circle Gazette Radio guys because their podcasts are so efficient, to an almost ruthless degree. They're not necessarily short but there is absolutely no downtime or bullshit. Of course to some people and in some situations bullshit is a feature and not a bug.
- [1992-11-21-SMW-TV] Heavenly Bodies & Jim Cornette vs Rock & Roll Express & Ron Garvin
-
[1998-04-09-WCW-Thunder] Interview: Chris Jericho
Tony Skeeavone stands by with Chris Jericho, who makes an amusing reference to the fan run-in on Raven. Jericho is incensed that the fat and out-of-shape Prince Nakamaki is getting a Cruiserweight title shot despite weighing more than Jericho's slim, trim 224 3/4 pounds. Iaukea weighs in at 218 pounds, but Jericho determines that the scale wasn't calibrated properly, and does so over Nakamaki's head.
-
[1998-04-09-WCW-Thunder] Raven promo
This was actually shaping up to be an effective promo but that fan run-in killed everything. We get a surreal promo afterward with Kidman scratching and complaining his way through a plug for Movies for Guys Who Like Movies.
-
[1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] More DX and DOA
DOA still has a bit of a ways to go, and I think Skull & 8-Ball lasted longer than Chainz because they had the whole LOD feud with Ellering as their manager. In any event, HHH pins Chainz and Gunn drops him with a piledriver onto a chair after the match. Chainz gets handcuffed to the ropes like Funk the previous week, but LOD 2000 make the save. Sunny finally is managing again but doesn't have much more to do now than she was doing commercials.
-
[1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] Val Venis vignette
I think the big appeal of Val was how it encouraged people on places like RSPW (where he was over huge) to come up with their own double-entendres, fake movie titles, and fake team names.
- [1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] Steve Austin and Vince McMahon
-
[1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] Cactus Jack promo
Really good promo that harkens back to his best ECW work, though the fans don't have much patience for it because he's not regurgitating catchphrases. One other neat bit of detail was how they made sure to explain and show, in the recap video, the fans chanting for Austin after hearing that he was out of jail, giving some context to Cactus' comments that we didn't get on the show last week. JR plays this 100% straight, which is the right move--Cactus legitimately appears to be gone for good.
- [1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] DX and DOA
-
[1998-04-06-WWF-Raw] Vince McMahon promo
Austin has learned his lesson, and he learned it the hard way. I believe him! I do like this slow build to McMahon finally losing it several weeks into this program, going from doing what he thinks is right for the company to being a complete megalomaniac. He's not quite there yet, but he's inching closer.
-
[1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] Kevin Nash vs Sting
People still aren't clear about the rules of the power bomb, as Nash gets disqualified right after he was going to get disqualified anyway. That aside, as uninspiring as WCW's main event scene has been, they've got a genuinely intriguing subtext to the upcoming Bat Match with Hogan and Nash having to team up despite being at odds. I was starting to watch less and less of Nitro in 1998 and gave up on it entirely after the Fingerpoke of Doom so some of this is either new or just forgotten, so they actually have me curious as to where this goes even though it will be an inevitable disappointment.
- 4 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 6
- 1998
-
+3 more
Tagged with:
- [1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] Chris Jericho promo
- [1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] Randy Savage T-Shirt Commercial
-
[1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] Interview: NWO
They tease that Savage was either hit by a Dodge Viper or thrown out of it. The Disciple gloats because God forbid we go one segment without him. Hogan brags about running over a speedbump on the way in. This NWO looks considerably less intimidating without Nash or Hall or Savage or Bischoff. I'm also amused by Hogan clearly not knowing the name of the next PPV, referring to it solely as "the pay-per-view." Oh, Loss already pointed that out.
- [1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] NWO Feud Recap
-
[1998-04-06-WCW-Nitro] Randy Savage injured
"This is the last thing in the world we expected!" Isn't this the 3rd or 4th time they've done this exact angle with Savage?
- 4 replies
-
- WCW
- Monday Nitro
- April 6
- 1998
-
+2 more
Tagged with:
-
[1998-04-04-ECW-Buffalo, NY] Rob Van Dam vs Bam Bam Bigelow
Yes, very good match--easily RVD's best to date, thanks to Bigelow reigning him in and making his high-flying look like the only strategic weapon available to him rather than just being masturbatory. There's also good build to simpler spots like RVD hitting the huracanrana at a pivotal moment after Bigelow blocked it the first time. I didn't care for the ref bump and I don't quite get why Sabu was even helping out if he didn't want RVD to win the title, but whatever--the work was outstanding.
- 7 replies
-
- ECW
- April 4
- 1998
- Rob Van Dam
-
+3 more
Tagged with: