PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Dead crowd--I wonder if this was sort of like Sting in '90 in that fans never really got a chance to miss Liger so his return wasn't seen as a huge deal. Of course these are wholly different scenarios, a long knee injury vs. a miraculous recovery from brain surgery, but still. There are some well-done spots, but this is another match showing Benoit's major bugaboo during his career, which was a lack of passion. Maybe "passion" isn't the right word, but a lot of this feels very cold and mechanical. -
Loved Hash daring Koshinaka to take a shot at his seemingly-healed knee. They had a very interesting way of setting up the finish, as Hash takes the butt-butt and falls backward into the ropes and sells like he's knocked out. In fact he does it so convincingly that Koshinaka falls down and starts selling a knee injury--either Hash was legitimately knocked loopy or they crafted this to flagrantly make it look like he was shoot injured and Kosh was buying time. Not sure which is correct or if I'm just reading too much into things. Hard match to rate as it seemed like an extension of the G-1--part of a larger story--rather than a match in its own right. It was another gasp-out-loud finish, though.
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You know what...this time around, to my own amazement, the DQ finish didn't really bother me. Actually the biggest problem is Vader was late hitting the ring (though not to a Papa Shango degree, thankfully). The false finish, of Shawn doing an Air Sabu and kicking the chair into Mankind's face, is a great one on its own. But the lack of official pinfall keeps Mankind strong, as they were going to have to sell the next IYH PPV with Mankind-UT instead of a WWF title match. So I get it. It's not 100% ideal, but I get it. And the post-match chaos is fun, with a bunch of twists and turns in its own right. I'm almost sorry to admit that I marked out for Undertaker appearing in the casket--that totally caught me off-guard even though I knew UT had to show up at some point. Well, we have one more big one to go, but this is definitely the WWF Match of the Year and the "best WWF match ever", at least through '96, is definitely a plausible label. I think if pressed I'd still go with the WM7 career-ending match, but this is in a fight for the top 3-5. It's amazing how on the same page these guys were, and how well they feed each other for each spot. I guess that shouldn't be too big of a surprise with two pros, but with HBK's selfish reputation and the fact that this is the first time I think they ever worked each other, it's still noticeable how smoothly they run through each transition. This is basically the HBK-Diesel GFBH template ramped up to 11, with even more intensity, better psychology, and more twists and surprises. Even the shoot undertones from that earlier match remain, with the neat "worked botch" that manages to work on both a smart-fan and casual-fan level. Also, I always love it when Foley busts out the mat skillz, like his body scissors and that weird amateur-style pin attempt. Just a spectacular combination of '90s hardcore action with some WWF-style character work. This is a legit top-ten MOTYC on a worldwide level, something the WWF hasn't seen in some time.
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Pillman is wearing a t-shirt with a gun captioned "I DON'T CALL 911." Foreshadowing! Brian offers some choice thoughts on the cesspool of drug abuse, battered women, and welfare recipients that is Philadelphia. This Bret-Pillman conflict is kind of weird, considering where Pillman would be in just about a month. Owen gives a pretty funny interview talking about how bitter and senile Bret has become in his old age--he and Pillman have some good chemistry. Bret is afraid of Austin, a position that Stone Cold comes out and supports. Vince, who has improved as an announcer by an order of magnitude already, has some great uncomfortable responses to the more off-color lines of both Pillman and Austin, including the great Austin quote above.
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I preferred the first match between these two, but this is every bit the chunky potato-fest you'd want between these two. Regal looks like about the gutsiest bastard in the world, doing a quasi-Hulk-Up for Hash's kicks. I also dug how much the announcer marked out over the Regal Stretch--you actually felt like Hash was in danger.
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Oya decides to spend the opening minutes working like a stalling Memphis heel, which is...interesting. I had trouble getting into this--basically Oya did some stuff, then Hayabusa did some stuff, then Oya did some stuff and won. It felt very disjointed--no real swings in momentum, it was just time for the opponent to take over, so they did.
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An unnamed former WWF wrestler had appeared earlier in the crowd disingenuously showing disappointment over WCW's WarGames loss, before pressing a button that dropped pro-NWO fliers all over the crowd. Now he's celebrating with the NWO in the parking lot. As they signed off, they'd reveal his new name as Syxx. Here, Giant plays a tape of Sting's rant that was played from the limo the previous week. I don't think the Giant was ever really a good fit for the NWO at all, but they promised a 5th member before having either Davey Boy or Waltman signed, sealed, and delivered, so they were desperate to do something. It did allow him to show off some more of his natural comedic personality, at least, instead of being BIG GROWLY MEAN WRESTLER. Still, it wasn't that much of a shock that he was also the first guy to get drummed out, and the awkwardness surrounding his turn and his ill fit with the group actually enhanced his split, by accident.
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Sting raises a lot of good points even if I don't get the logic behind "going into seclusion" after the previous Monday as anything other than a plot contrivance. Of course this sort of thing was a lot easier in the days before social media, cell phones as anything other than a rich businessman's toy, and text messaging. That said, he's right about all the times he gave Lex the benefit of the doubt and carrying WCW. Effective promo, and now all really does look lost for the company.
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Good TV match, though it must be noted that the heat machine was out in full-force for this, another Owen/Mero match at the end of a long taping cycle. Plus the match got overshadowed by 9 million people on commentary, including interjections from Pat Patterson and Gorilla Monsoon as there was as much focus on the "return" of Razor & Diesel as on the match. Mero looked really good here
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Terrific match! Probably the #2 GAEA match of the year so far. Uematsu has fully taken over Sakie Hasegawa's spot as joshi's Ricky Morton, except she's already better offensively than either Morton or Sakie. Just full of energy. The pace is pure joshi but the layout is almost Crockett-esque, between the babyface double-teams and heel cut-offs, cheating, and double-teams of their own. There's also a crowd-brawling segue in here where Uematsu even gets to show off a bit of a mean streak, so maybe she's joshi's Brian Pillman instead. Loss mentioned that GAEA didn't make the set because they couldn't find a Lorefice/PUNQ/whoever rating higher than ***1/2. That's perfectly fair, as that's about where I'd top out on my ratings of the best matches of '96. It can't touch AJW's highs, but the young talent in the promotion seems to have lots more promise than AJW's, the crowds are hotter, and the action is more consistent if not nearly as high-end.
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No idea who the other ladies are, but they actually take most of this. One of them (sorry, no indication given as to who was whom) does a lot of cool takedowns and leg work, and oddly enough KAORU has a greater advantage when both opponents are in together. Eventually they resort to actually shoving the referee on near-falls in lieu of doing traditional pin saves. KAORU looks to be on her way to putting one of them down with a la majistral, but the partner tips the cradle over and the handicappers actually pull off the upset (???) win. Hardly essentail viewing but a fun match with a surprise finish, which you don't always get in joshi.
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This was on FLIK's recommended GAEA list and you can see why, as it involves a major joshi star against a top-quality worker. Yamada blitzes Nagayo at the start, and is about to go for the Gory Special Bomb in the early going. Nagayo rolls through with a neat counter and applies an anklelock and...gets the tapout at 1:51?? And it's a one-fall match, too. Both women say something on the mic afterward. Is this part of a deeper story? Nagayo jobbing out the AJW worker? Weird. I guess the big story comes afterward, as Nagayo introduces Akira Hokuto to the audience, in what was probably seen as a big deal at the time.
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I was underwhelmed by this. This WarGames felt more like a contractual obligation than a logical booking move. It's not the worst of the '90s WarGames or even close, but the highlights are pretty scattered. Ric Flair going nuts and low-blowing everyone is the high watermark, as well as seeing Farmer doing a pretty authentic Sting impersonation even if it draws "WE WANT STING" chants. Good heat for the post-match but it, like a ton of upcoming Savage beatdowns, goes on for too long. It's no wonder Savage wanted out of this program.
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This starts off slow, but Tenryu is so good at projecting a character, and putting over the idea that he's making Takada come to him, that it doesn't matter. This turns into a war, like a worked version of Rutten-Funaki, with both guys beating some fire and passion into the other. The stand-up strike exchanges have turned into a cliche in Japan but the chop vs. kick battle really works here, enhanced by the nasty cut over Tenryu's eye. The ending *does* come off a little nonchalant, and again reminds one of Pancrase, though I doubt that was the intention. Still a terrific match that lives up to its dream match billing.
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Dreamer's had 16 concussions in 14 months, and somehow isn't a vegetable today. Pretty much a total puff piece, but an effective one. "Mr. Dreamer, your promotion appears to have the momentum of a runaway freight train--why are you so popular?" Even the editing seems like it was done by ECW in-house. Missy has fallen apart quickly--sheesh.
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Francine and Shane Douglas are in an indoor pool talking to Gary Wolfe's personal trainer about the extent of his neck injury. Fonzie reveals the reason why Joey Styles grew a moustache. D-Von wanted to turn the Dudleyz hardcore--and now Buh Buh Ray officially seems to be a threat. Big Dick Dudley grunts. Shane and Francine have moved to the ocean. Lance Wright hawks a t-shirt. More antics from JT and Guido by the Rocky statue. Brian Lee is teaming up with the Eliminators. Steve Williams stares into the camera. Taz is going to beat some fear into somebody. Divine Brown is back, and her opinion of Stevie Richards hasn't improved. Lance Wright has an unfortunate run-in with a boom mic--"Now I know how Missy feels." Alfonso rants about Johnny Smith. Don't expect headlocks and drop toe holds from the Gangstas. A drugged-out-looking Lori Fullington wants Sandman to die. Teaming up Doc & Gordy again seems like a strong selling point for an ECW show, I must admit. I like Perry Saturn's motivation, too.
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I do like the idea of DiBiase as "The Boss," but I question if he really fits in with this group. No Giant, which of course is a faux pas and a sign that the booking was both brilliant (the fake Sting angle) and chaotic at the same time. Also in an old-school touch for a new-school angle, this is naturally cut behind a steel cage, as all pre-cage-match promos should be.