PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Lots of red flags for Spicoli leading up to this, sadly. This would be followed by a rather infamous moment later on, where Zbyszko refused to break character when talking about him, saying only that he wouldn't say anything at all "out of respect for his family." Huge, huge amounts of online criticism to Larry Z for that, mostly justified. This wasn't 1981 where it was vital to maintain kayfabe hatred for Bruno in and out of the ring. -
A pretty decent to good match but it feels like it be a really kickass TV main event masquerading as a PPV headliner. The structure is a little goofy and it ends too suddenly, and there are numerous cringeworthy-in-retrospect head shots here, but it ultimately accomplished its rather modest goals of teasing us of the big WM matches and giving the fans a satisfying payoff. Chyna getting attacked for the first time was a bigger moment than anything in the actual match--normally male babyface on heel woman violence isn't something that should be cheered, but they'd spent a full year establishing Chyna as being as tough as any male wrestler, so I'm okay with this.
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This was a good segment once the opening formalities were out of the way--Hogan calling out Bret Hart for the first time doesn't get anywhere NEAR the reaction it would have a month earlier. Go figure. Still, Hogan pretending that he was going to apologize to Savage only to turn it around and say that Randy owed *him* one was pretty good, as was Savage's reaction. Looks like Randy is pretty much a babyface again...and yet he and Hogan are scheduled to be partners on Nitro. Intrigue!
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I get the idea behind not making Credible a heel who ends up getting cheered, but he continues to look SO low-rent and indyriffic. He doesn't have 1/10 of the panache of the Big Boss Man, who was in a similar spot almost two years later but was able to (well, sort of) make it work and also not be remotely "cool," either. Really, in about two months Vince McMahon is going to give us all a lesson in how to be a top heel without any cool factor, and it's going to leave Mr. Montoya in the fucking dust. I wasn't offended by this either per se, even though Dreamer's grandfather dying was a shoot, but it does seem more than a little desperate and a rather pale imitation of the Douglas-Pitbull halo angle. Credible's delivery of the big line isn't any good, either.
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Final hard sell for No Way Out, a throwaway PPV if there ever was one, but not without a bad main event on paper at least. Los Boricuas failed in their quest to find Austin and the belt, so DX are finally out to beg Austin to come to the ring. Austin manages to run off DX, but is quickly surrounded by them and the Outlaws. But we hear the sounds of a chainsaw as this is going on, and up through the ring apron come Cactus and Chainsaw, with Owen Hart soon to follow. Chyna manages to get the belt back during the big standoff. Big heat for this, and Austin vs. Michaels is so, so much fresher than anything WCW can offer in the main event scene.
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People had to be holding their breath all throughout this hoping Tyson wouldn't fuck things up, but he doesn't. He would later go on to be quite a talented comedic performer, but the WWF deserves a huge amount of credit for getting a guy who probably needed a LOT of guidance and downright hand-holding at this point to get through this whole saga unscathed. I can only imagine how badly WCW would mess things up if they'd gotten him instead. Tyson accuses Austin of being uncouth and not being able to get along with people in a funny moment. Austin and HBK have a pull-apart, and Tyson establishes himself as the enforcer in holding the two apart. Great segment all around. This really feels like the biggest WM main event since Hogan-Andre.
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I thought this was kind of silly and petty on Austin's part at the time and even a bit out-of-character, but looking back on it now I think it works. Austin didn't care so much about stealing the belt but more about making sure Michaels had a justification for coming to the ring so he could get some licks in on him after last week. Not only is Austin a match for DX, but DX is a much bigger threat to Austin than the NOD ever were--what we have are two diverse and commanding personalities pushing each other to something pretty compelling.
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Different strokes and all that but I still simply do not get how someone could find Sable more attractive, much less more talented, than Sunny. It might be just as well that Sunny be kept in these goofy little side skits because Russo would probably have no idea how to write a strong independent woman.
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Savage wipes out on an axhandle to the floor and lands on the guardrail in a brutal-looking spot, shades of Crush dropping him and cutting his tongue open back in '93. He makes a comeback, with a timely assist from Liz, and hits the big elbow only to get swarmed by the rest of the NWO and beaten down. No spraypaint but this is otherwise straight out of 1996. Hogan staggers away from the ring, but right as we're about to cut out, Savage breaks through the pack and attacks Hogan! THAT was cool. This is still the wrong feud to go with as an NWO breakup, but that was cool.
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Benoit and Malenko and Eddie, of course, though they weren't top guys either. This goes on too long and was too much too soon, but...I liked this. Goldberg blows a few things down the stretch but nothing too egregious and nothing that looks noticeably fake or contrived, and his takedowns and submissions are still pretty cool. This maybe would have been better off as a semicompetitive 3-minute match instead of 5, but for awhile there Regal, contrary to the popular story, seemed to be making Goldberg look *better* instead of showing him up.
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This was a pretty good segment in isolation, and Savage's line about beating Hogan from El Paso to Juarez was great, and gets a monster pop. But yeah, this is a little much to be giving away on free TV. These past two weeks feel like WCW is panicking a bit which isn't necessary--the WWF ratings shot up for Tyson but they still didn't beat Nitro and they went back down to the usual levels the next week. I don't remember where this goes but I wonder if this isn't actually a SWERVE and they'll delay the Savage/NWO split for awhile.
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Then everybody QUIT FUCKING AROUND AND UPLOAD THIS ALREADY. Holy shit, this could be a legit MOTYC if I can find a full version because the closing stretch is just heart-stopping. Liger levels Otani with a supah fisherman bustaaaa...for two. One of the great near-falls of these Yearbooks, had me totally roped in until Otani got the shoulder up. He does a great sell afterward, Hulking Up but also continuing to put over the move as he constantly backs away from Liger, partly as if he's trying to buy time and partly because he seems concussed and doesn't know where he is. This takes another 2 or 3 twists after *that* and even after only 9 minutes this is exhausting just to watch.
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Like the vast majority of Shane Douglas promos, this has enough false finishes that it feels like an overindulgent ROH match, or Dudley Moore parodying Beethoven. Still a decent one, and Candido's around to keep Douglas grounded and this from getting too self-serious. I think the explanation for all this was *supposed* to be that Rick Rude was the guy who turned Bigelow against the Triple Threat, and he's no longer there to hold any influence over Bam Bam. It's the best I've got.
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Well, if I were making a stable, I'd take Bigelow over Lance Storm, wouldn't you? Not sure what's in it for Bigelow but we'll see. This was decent enough, the Kevin Dunn Shaky-Cam was in full-force and you can actually see the cameraman doing it when they go back to the wide shot. Francine is also uncomfortably, downright dangerously skinny here. She can't weigh more than 90 pounds.
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Think I liked the Tanaka match a bit more because you got the sense that he was constantly threatening to end it with either the cross armbreaker or a deadly kick, whereas Gedo doesn't have as many weapons. He does nicely focus on Tajiri's arm and shoulder, though, and this is an effective enough, basic heel-face match. It's nothing to change the world but it is an enjoyable fundamentally sound match.
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They packed a hell of a lot into 8 minutes, with Tanaka working a hard-nosed BattlArts style and Tajiri working as a more typical Japanese junior with a few lucha flourishes--not to mention the Yearbook debut of the Tarantula. As far as 8-minute junior matches go I thought this smoked the Thunder tag, and that was pretty good in its own right.
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Match ends as soon as it begins as Billy Gunn runs in, followed by DX. An iconic (or should be iconic, but it seems only people like us remember it) image follows with Austin tied in the ropes with Michaels taunting him with the belt and Austin shooting daggers at Shawn with his eyes. The save is made by a returning Cactus Jack and Terry Funk...well, it did kill the angle, as Foley outright said in his first book, but it somehow feels less exploitative for them to come right back that night, so call it a wash. Also good foreshadowing before the match as JR notes that two ambulances have arrived again at the arena. Speaking of political bullshit on Nitro, note that Owen Hart is nowhere to be found here. Still, a super-hot closing segment and Shawn vs. Austin officially has heat to it.
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Is this the best Billy Gunn singles match ever? It's nothing great but as a TV match go and as Gunn matches go, it's pretty good, with Gunn executing okay and Owen working really hard. Despite being emasculated over the past month, Owen is still over and the crowd still pops for the Sharpshooter teases. Eventually Owen is beaten down 5-on-1 by the NAO and DX, and Shawn & Hunter encourage the Outlaws to toss him off the ramp, too. It's broken up by officials (as the crowd boos, heh), as DX keeps encouraging the NAO to push the envelope and fight for those ratings. Yes, this is definitely an episode that made the Outlaws as they're more or less the centerpieces of the entire show with almost every segment revolving around them at least indirectly.