PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Halme wears boxing gloves, as befitting his supposed background, but it looks kind of silly in this setting, particularly when he attempts cross armbreakers and such. This is a study in contrasts--the standup portions are awesome and heated, as Halme is basically a big monster base for Nagai to try to chop down. It's the most over Halme has probably ever been. On the mat is a different story--Nagai has a huge advantage there and Halme comes off as very tentative (or clueless, to put it more bluntly). This climaxes with a great false finish as Nagai furiously rains kicks down on a standing Halme, who suddenly Hulks Up and floors Nagai with one uppercut to the midsection for a hot 9-count. Nagai quickly and somewhat anticlimactically takes him down and puts him away with a figure four anklelock. Not a high-end shootstyle/RINGS match by any means but probably the high watermark for Tony Halme's career. He's still not a good worker but he's a believable enough monster and Nagai was able to carry this the rest of the way. -
This may be the first BattlArts match I've ever watched. It's shootstyle with a lot of pro wrasslin' elements--some stick out (guys picking up their opponents off the mat by the hair, punches while stomping the mat) and some make you marvel at how they fit them into a shootstyle match organically (Funaki's diving headbutt, fisherman buster, and plancha). There's one ten-count, but most of the knockdowns are ignored and guys are generally allowed to attack opponents on the mat. I could really get behind this, and this style could serve as a gateway drug for people (such as myself) not as enamored with shootstyle. Funaki and Usuda are much improved from their '95 PWFG bout, so this is far stronger even if Ikeda isn't quite the godlike force he came across as then. Really fun match that has me itching to see more from this group.
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"Dead tired"? What gave you that conclusion, the fact that the Hulk-Up gets like NO reaction at all? Hogan isn't even drawing boos like he has on Nitros past, it's more like indifference. This is another Ric Flair Nitro sprint that I have little to say about, but Hulk doing a job is always going to be noteworthy.
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An unbearably smug Dok Hendrix laughs off a legal notice from Turner Broadcasting, and promises more. Billionaire Ted clarifies that he is not a hillbilly who wears cheap suits. The Huckster reveals his contract clause that he never loses--whoops, except Hogan had already done a job to Flair earlier that night. "Jane, where's my lithium?" Oh, Lord.
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"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" Dusty & Tony in unison: "No." "I'M FIT FINLAY, THE BELFAST BRUISER!" Tony: "The Belfast Bruiser, Dave Finlay!" Way to shatter kayfabe, Tony. Finlay lays in some absolutely brutal shots on Regal. The other highlight is Dusty regaling us with the story of how he killed a bear by smacking him on the nose, the way Regal was doing to wolfe.
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The Smoky Mountain title is still on life support across the state. Lawler promises to defend the title and then toss it into the Mississippi River. Lawler is about to show a litany of footage of what Eddie and Doug have done to him over the years, but it's quickly cut off by Doug. Doug and Scott Bowden jump Lawler and Bowden chokes him out with his tie, and was presumably fired after the show. Brian Christopher comes out, but doesn't make the save, saying Lawler should have expected it.
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This is a total mess, and surprisingly low on heat. Heenan is *still* spooked after the Pillman incident--as soon as Hogan and Giant spill to the floor, Heenan bails from the announce position. Flair steals a win with brass knucks, though Hogan and Kevin Greene get to run off Zodiac and Pillman afterward. I can't imagine a player participating in something like this less than a week before the Super Bowl in this day and age.
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On here for the infamous Pillman/Heenan incident. Even before car wreck, Pillman was obviously banged up and pretty physically shot, as this match is almost totally smoke and mirrors and stalling, before a sudden and rather cheap finish. Pillman plays his role well, but he looks pretty done as a worker already.
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Luger doesn't see any controversy in how they won the tag titles. The Road Warriors are out and while still chummy with Sting, they want a title shot. Luger points out that they have rematches scheduled with Harlem Heat, as well as other top, *active* contenders like the State Patrol. Lex is petrified of crippling Animal's injured back with his Torture Rack. Hawk responds that they're behind on their yearly beatings quota.
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Konnan gives his goodbye to ECW and puts over the Sandman, and WCW would never quite be the same. Beulah informs us that Tommy's "higher purpose" is bigger than Raven's. Raven sulks. Blue Meanie spills takeout food all over his and Stevie's hotel room. Fonzie and Taz threaten 911. Francine is in a neck brace and the Pitbulls make their weekly threat toward the Eliminators. The Eliminators make their weekly response. JT Smith informs us of his Italian heritage before pratfalling in his chair. Tommy reveals us that Cactus Jack's "higher purpose" is in Titan Tower. Then he makes threats toward Mikey Whipwreck, hero that he is. Shane Douglas offers to be Dreamer's partner.
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Hey, let's have a long tag title match and have STEVIE RAY work 90% of it for his team. He's back to being as oafish as ever after looking like there was some vague improvement going on earlier. Another classic Lex/Sting finish, as Jimmy Hart makes his presence felt at ringside again despite Luger not wanting him there, and Lex doesn't pass up on the opportunity to use a roll of silver dollars to net the tag titles.
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A standard Flair-Savage sprint, with a SWERVE finish as they switch the title back to Savage. Hogan is out to steal the spotlight before *and* after the match, demanding a title shot. It wouldn't be a Savage title win otherwise. Randy effectively puts Hogan in his place. They're certainly letting it all hang out for the Clash show as well--the Road Warriors are announced, back when that was still a big deal, as is the return of Elizabeth.
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I suppose legally they couldn't have done it, but yeah--there was money in utilizing a guy supposedly involved in the Syracuse attack as part of a feud. He then calls out Owen Hart. That draws out Cornette out, who puts HBK in his place by informing him there's no financial incentive for Owen to take a match with HBK. THAT sounds familiar. There's only one thing Cornette wants, and that's HBK's title shot. Michaels agrees and then throws Cornette out of the ring. Crybaby.
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The WWF knocks out of the park again with its second hot angle in as many weeks. It was pretty ballsy of Monsoon to go through with this, with his history of heart attacks and diabetes. All the little details were handled perfectly, from the slow build to Vader finally losing it and crushing Monsoon, to Monsoon's chops--which were a pivotal moment as Clarence Mason was able to argue that Vader acted in "self-defense" which got him reinstated.
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After watching their last two matches together it's clear these two match up better than I might have thought--Hotta isn't afraid to totally sandbag her opponents but in this case it works, because it means this match can't delve into Toyota's frantic go-go-go style. And Toyota can certainly play sympathetic babyface, which matches up perfectly with Hotta's stiff kicks. This was shaping up to be a fine match but the ending was marred by some truly hideous and cringe-inducing execution on multiple moves. Toyota busts out a new power bomb variation for the win but performs it so slowly, sloppily and gingerly that the ending is an anticlimax.
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I remember this match being a total bore, but the closing stretch we see is actually pretty good. Bret rips off the Undertaker's protective mask and rams him into an exposed turnbuckle, which pisses the crowd off mightily. UT catches him with a tombstone, but Diesel yanks the referee out of the ring for the DQ. Paul Bearer's shocked reaction to the announcement that the belt doesn't change hands on a DQ is absurd, and one of those WWF booking tropes that always made me roll my eyes. The WWF was actively experimenting with a Japan-style title scene with 4-6 guys all with equal claim to being the champion, rather than building entirely around one lone babyface. It didn't last, but the WWF title scene is more interesting than it's been in awhile.
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Pretty tepid action when Michaels isn't involved--he's really the only guy in this thing who's over, though Owen and Davey Boy get over by proxy working against him. And the requisite Shawn-Marty face-off gets a nice reaction. This is marred by some horrible gimmicks in the latter stages and even worse camerawork, which is incredibly jarring considering that that's supposed to be a major WWF strength. This is definitely a strong showcase for Michaels as the top guy.
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Yeah, that was absurd. I guess the #30 spot in the Rumble is way more important than the Intercontinental title. Just the closing stretch, but since Dustin is back to selling and bumping for Razor's comeback, that results in some good action. The complete Goldust image is pretty much in place now--the remixed music, the filtered screen entrance, and of course Marlena, who completely changed the dynamic of the character and who played her role great.
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Not that there isn't some High End Offense here, but the mat and limbwork is so intense and focused that despite this being primarily a mat-based match for the bulk of things, both guys still look and sell like they've gone through a war. This is the most intense and vicious pro-style matwork since Bockwinkel vs. Robinson in 1980. Outside of Otani's dragon suplex this doesn't build to a bunch of near-falls, but the selling and psychology is so strong that it doesn't need it. This is an easy Match of the Month for January and should be a strong candidate as a top-ten MOTY.
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Memphis is somehow getting hotter, even as the promotion was decaying in the face of the Monday Night Wars (they were forced to switch the MSC shows to Wednesdays around this time). Wolfie D busts out a slingshot huracanrana to the floor in one of the wilder spots ever seen in the WMC studios, but with JC Ice coming in with a bum leg, the heels (with some help from Doug Gilbert) focus on that. They repeatedly figure four JC, but he manages to hold out and force a draw. A bunch of heels gang up on PG-13 and Brian Christopher afterward, including Koko B. Ware still in goofy High Energy gear.