PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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There's some stuff here that I *should* hate, like the use of insider terms and the cheapening of real-life injuries as have occurred and will occur in the future, but in the end it's the performance of Jim Ross that carries this. It's not as overall effective as the backstage NWO attack at Disney, but it does work--at least for now. I like that they gave us more or less a full match before the Dumpster angle--there's not much we haven't seen before but the action is good. And any falls-count-anywhere match with wrestling spots on the floor--here Funk turns a suplex onto a ladder into a small package--is never going to be all bad. Use of "over" aside, no one really compromises their characters here--even Mero and Savio being out there, despite being heels, is understandable and well-explained by Ross--"they all have families to feed." This was the first time the WWF had run this angle in the middle of a program as opposed to the end and this kind of show-stopping, format-destroying angle that Russo was never afraid to write. It didn't always work but I don't think it's something that WWE has really attempted in years, though doubtless they wouldn't carry out a fake injury angle to this extent these days. -
Really strong segment with two dynamic personalities going at each other, after being kept apart for months. DX are campaigning for Austin to fight Tyson at WM, but Austin quickly sets the record straight--whether it's at WrestleMania or not, he's still coming for Michaels and still coming to take his title. Finally DX have met their match in an opponent, both in-character and in real life.
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What's the over/under on how many times we utter some variation of this line in 1998? On the other hand, last week we all agreed that Hogan was undermining the Outsiders by making the Savage conflict all about them, so in this instance, I have to side with Nash looking out for Nash. This was a good promo and I can totally see Kidman doing the tiger driver on his own and WCW having to scramble to cover it.
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This was okay, but I think soup has it nailed--a lot of lucha matches start slow with perfunctory opening falls and then get better as they go along. This started off great and then trailed off, without much of a story being told through the falls and some nonsensical stuff like Venum Black constantly picking Super Crazy up when he has him beat. Panterita del Ring also dragged this down pretty badly every time he was in--he came off as older and clumsier than everyone else in the match by an order of magnitude. They attempt to push this into semi-epic territory by having everyone get eliminated in the third caida until it's down Juventud and Pantera, who both eliminated multiple guys. Juventud boots Pantera in the groin to set up the win. I thought Aguila was the standout guy here with some amazing high spots and execution. All in all, it was worth it to finally get a look at Promo Azteca--the atmosphere isn't bad but it definitely feels a bit more minor-league and less heated than CMLL or AAA and you miss the usual Galavision announcers. And getting a look at Super Crazy is significant as well, though he sort of gets lost here.
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A strong TV match with a lot of inventive team spots crammed into 7 minutes, including a teased double-pin foiled by Malenko blocking the frog splash with his feet. It is kind of telling that Lee rattles off all these Cruiserweight title reigns for 3 of the 4 guys, and Malenko and Eddie have a U.S. title apiece, and then Benoit can simply "contend for any title."
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Hall is still sporting the Syxx t-shirt, which may have been an act of open rebellion for all I know. The Mid-South Coliseum is pretty pro-NWO tonight, though there are plenty of boos for both. Hall then complains about how he's being left out of the title picture after WW3, and makes threat toward...Roddy Piper. Can't wait for that one. Dusty does his best to try to make sense of this stupid turn, by blaming the corporate takeover of WCW for killing wrestling tradition and shunting him to color commentary where he had to carry Tony Schiavone. He throws in a nonsensical swipe at Internet smarks too--ooh boy, he used shoot terms, I'm interested now. I might like Heel Dusty better if he changed anything about his delivery, but as it is this is all just dumb and not really any better than Shane Douglas' shooty-shoot crap, just a way for Dusty to try to leech off of something hot the way he always did when he was a booker and to possibly try to settle some grudges that the fans at large don't give a shit about. I mean, what the hell was this building to? Dusty vs. Larry in a match? I would have loved to see Larry respond to this by bringing up those mysterious old photos again. Hey, it wouldn't have been higher above the fans' heads than half of this promo was.
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Everything the Triple Threat does is a DAMN SHOOT. Oh, shut up. Van Dam sets a new record in the "Van Dam lift," which gives me a cramp just watching it. Bam Bam confronts Taz in the parking lot and gets him to team up against the Triple Threat, with a future TV title match between the two upcoming.
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And even so, it's still an improvement over the mess that was the build to the WM13 main event. Getting the Tyson/Austin program over is the priority--there's still 6 weeks until WrestleMania and there'll be time enough for Austin/HBK heat, since at least that match is set in stone (barring the possibility that HBK would be forced into retirement or try to use it to get out of doing a job, which had to be strong in the coming weeks).
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King is a natural fit for wrestling--too bad he was a big enough scumbag to make your average wrestling promoter look like a choirboy. Don reveals that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has ruled that Tyson's suspension applies to wrestling as well...which actually was not true, as the head of the Commission was a wrestling fan who didn't see this as any different from Tyson appearing on any other TV show. But it works for storyline purposes. There will be an Austin-Tyson confrontation, it just may or may not be in the capacity of a match.
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The switch from Owen back to HHH is no prize, either. Okay-ish match but it's getting harder and harder for in-ring action to mean anything...and I'm trying not to be a broken record with this, and with the WWF's rash of injuries around this time it's even the smart thing. But it is what it is. I do admire Dustin's attempts to use HHH's knee-centric offense and I liked Luna in a black wig standing as a stone-faced, ersatz Chyna.
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Not much of a match--nothing terrible, but yeah, the NAO aren't much yet outside of their catchphrases and the heat isn't really there. Cactus and Charlie go nuts with chairs and get disqualified, which earns Jimmy Korderas a mandible claw. Road Dogg is buried under chairs and is hit with a moonsault for good measure. Afterward the Legends get jumped in the interview area by DX and the Outlaws to put hype on the 8-man No Way Out main event. I was actually surprised to hear Ross tease possible Owen-Austin dissension during the match, as I recall that being pretty much wiped from history after Montreal until Owen turned again.
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Same here, though Spicoli making sure to hit a DVD and asking for a cover after Juvie's been massacred was pretty funny, as was him trying to gladhand Savage. I saw a touring version of The Book of Mormon today and Spicoli's character would have fit right in with the other Elders. Savage wants Luger again but doesn't want any help from the NWO. Bischoff attempts to make peace, but Hogan and Savage have words, with Hogan saying the NWO had to try to bail Savage out and Savage responding that Hogan doesn't look as good without the big gold belt. Totally agree that this should have ended up being MegaPowers vs. Outsiders, and that this reeks of Hogan trying to marginalize Hall & Nash. Hogan vs. Savage just isn't a match-up we need to see yet again.
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Yeah, Nash isn't trying to be cool here--he's just a disingenuous little shit. "Being the SPORTSMAN that I am--!" Nash's commitment to this crap actually makes this funnier than your average Nash promo. Nash dubs himself Big Sexy the Giant Killer. Pointless Chris Farley reference at the end aside this was an amusing promo.
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JJ delivers some remarkably prescient talk about how other sports have passed rule changes designed to mitigate the bigger, stronger athletes of today. This isn't a terrible idea in a vacuum, but a.) Dillon was completely emasculated from day 1 on WCW TV and has absolutely no credibility, b.) WCW had ignored and flouted its own internal logic for so long, sometimes by design and sometimes not, and c.) We were past the days where a guy like Bill Watts could really get this angle over *and* have the necessary quality-control for his announcers to get it over, d.) Late-'90s wrestling was all about breaking the rules, not getting heat by doing it. Dillon threatens criminal prosecution toward Kevin Nash if he uses a power bomb, to a chorus of boos. Just more stupid, convoluted shit in the main event--I don't recall if this ruling ever got resolved or if it was just forgotten about like a lot of things in WCW. The only other positive to this is that it is at least something different, in a main event scene that's been very same-old, same-old for the past several months.
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Back in the '95 Yearbook I wondered if Brad Armstrong had ever worked heel--as himself--outside of the SMW-USWA feud. Well, I've gotten an answer. Goldberg is officially a mega-face now--really, anyone who's pushed as invincible for a period of time is going to be seen as a babyface. From the Road Warriors, Hogan, Undertaker, and Kane to this.
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What I liked about Akiyama here was the sheer *number* of brand new movez he threw at Misawa in an all-out attempt to get the upset win. We get exploders and high knees and blue thunder bombs and your usual Akiyama shit, but we also get some different suplexes, a brain buster, a tombstone on the floor, and some other unique offense I can barely even describe. Misawa's control segment was fairly restholdy and dragged this down quite a bit, but they picked this up again with a darn good closing stretch. Intentional or not, I liked the touch of Akiyama busting out "new" offense all throughout the match only for Misawa to respond with a new move of his own to seal the win. I wouldn't vote for it for an AJPW Best of the '90s list either but I enjoyed this way, way more than a number of pimped '97 matches. Post-match, hype for the big first AJPW Tokyo Dome show is officially on. Don't know if Kawada was named as the challenger yet but it doesn't sound like his name was mentioned.
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Underwhelming action during and after the finish, and for fuck's sake, if Hogan and Nash want Savage gone, why not just fucking punk him out already? I don't get why all of a sudden the NWO is acting passive-aggressive for the first and only time, other than to draw things out cuz ratings. Seems to me Savage as a crazed lone wolf fighting everybody instead of being the most emasculated part of the NWO would be quite the ratings draw, but what do I know.