PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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I thought this was really good, but not as good as the ECW Benoit match as far as Snow matches, nor as good as Cactus vs. Candido and possibly not Gangstas vs. Southern Boys as far as SMW TV bouts. I do like the more meat-and-potatoes style from Al, who probably needed this stint to become a more well-rounded worker. ECW probably wasn't going to do it for him, despite what it did for Benoit. Snow unleashes some cool offense, from the bow-and-arrow/surfboard thing to an absolutely spectacular Asai moonsault attempt off the top rope that misses. This is SMW, of course, not Korakuen Hall, so it ends with Morton swiping a loaded glove and using it for the pin. A punch-drunk Snow complains about 3 or 4 people beating him with a lead pipe. No, wait, 15-20 guys, 3-4 with a gun and 5-6 with a knife. Thanks for clearing that up. We go off the air during another brawl.
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Now an I Quit stipulation has been added to the big 6-man tag. Another fraidy-cat promo from New Jack. Undertaker has to go through D'Lo, Mustafa, and Killer Kyle to get to him, and the horrified reaction of all 3 guys to New Jack's declaration is fantastic.
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Rich has been suspended for accosting referee Bill Rush as well as Randy Hales, so he's bought commercial time. Rich rambles a bit, as he's wont to do, but delivers a sterling (and venomous) history lesson about his past run-ins with Lawler, Dundee, and Jerry Jarrett. Rich promises to be at the Mid-South Coliseum, climb over the rail, and take out Lawler and/or Dundee after their #1 contenders match and take the title shot for himself.
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Razor definitely showed up in the studio at least once. Lawler is upset about Dundee losing the Unified title to a WWF wrestler before Lawler got his promised title shot. He demands Dundee come out right now, but Dave sends it to break instead. Lawler, however legitimate his beef, is near Hogan levels of whininess here.
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Fantastic stuff again. I really, REALLY liked that '93 match, but maybe this does rank ahead for the more satisfying payoff. I've talked about how Kawada has had a 1-step- forward, 2-steps-back push at times, but this really felt like an elevation for Taue despite all the high-profile jobs Kawada has done and despite the fact that this isn't a "new" result. Taue takes the advantage early with a nodowa off the bat, and despite some awesome leg work by Kawada including an incredibly funky early submission hold, this really feels like Taue's match. Top 10 MOTY so far, I'd say.
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There's definitely a "something wrong" moment at the time of injury, and in the next few minutes afterward as Misawa's performance is off, with a number of blown spots, and Kawada taking it easy by working a chinlock for a bit. Not a great match, really, but two very good performances under the circumstances. This isn't a psychological masterpiece but these two are so comfortable with each other that just about everything they do looks good, and you can't really blame them for having any pre-match plans possibly go out the window.
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Ross unquestionably had his fingerprints over TV from the very beginning. The Challenge intro was re-done with him as basically the featured attraction, plus both syndie shows suddenly had long feature matches almost every week. He would also do things like acknowledge otherwise anonymous job guy Brad Anderson as being Gene's son. Challenge even had a 6-man tag that got the "we're out of time!" treatment with the conclusion shown the next week.
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Incredibly rushed angle, the night after they were hyping a title rematch that easily could have headlined the first IYH. All of a sudden Shawn doesn't need a bodyguard and Sid thinks Shawn is a stupid little puke. I still to this day don't know if that commercial break was intentional or not. It LOOKS like a planned way to hype up Superstars or WWF Mania, and i find it hard to believe that even the struggling mid-'90s WWF production team would go into the last segment like that with another commercial break still to go.
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Bull Nakano vs. Alundra Blayze, Monday Night Raw 4/2/95 Well, this is going to be the most balls-out TV match of the year, I expect. This is worked at a joshi-level pace the whole way, for better (the advanced moves, the pacing not seen on WWF TV) and for worse (Bull takes a German suplex on the floor and sells it like a hip toss). Not much of a psychological masterpiece but for a 7-minute TV sprint loaded with big moves, this is fun as hell and a must for any supplemental set. Blayze regains the Women's title and has her nose broken afterward by a debuting Rhonda Singh. Singles match of Madusa's career?
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This is a pretty fun spectacle, I admit. Chris Spielman is a local institution here in Columbus so seeing Lucha Spielman almost bust out a plancha was pretty cool. So is Bam Bam making a move toward Salt 'n Pepa. LT does work pretty hard, and it helps to be in the ring with Bam Bam, who's not only a pro but can do a lot of offense (the moonsault, falling headbutts) that requires his opponent to do nothing but lie there. I don't think Bam Bam was killed by this job, but it might have helped for LT to win on botched Corporation interference or something, to give him a better out than he had.
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In his '95 WWF timeline Diesel pretty quickly dismissed the idea of any heat between Shawn and Tommy. Sounds like something the tabloids cooked up. Pam Anderson is MISSING--the skit with Nick Turturro looking for her and coming across Bob Backlund and Jonathan Taylor Thomas playing chess is great and I wish it was here. Turturro is a horrible ring announcer, by the way. Lawler at some point was capable of self-restraint, as he refreshingly does not react to McCarthy and Pam Anderson as though he had been in a prison for 20 years before tonight. Pretty good match, but this is one of the first instances of Shawn's bumps being all about Shawn, rather than being about making his opponent look good. Diesel does an admirable job of trying to keep up, but the closing Jackknife looks horrible. The closing celebration with the celebs all seems pretty hollow, especially with Vince and Lawler playing up the controversial victory (not to mention the Shawn and Sid chants we got during the match).
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Bockwinkel is either fluent in all of these languages or he can magically hear the post-production translator voiceovers. Flair follows with a paid advertisement, the intro to which is hilarious (in the intentional way). Flair is standing by with "Magenta" and skirting the line between the Styler and Profiler and Crazy Flair.
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Ross seems like he's checked out at this point. New Jack wins after Mustafa interference, and the babyfaces both eat 187s afterwards, leaving Cornette to be mugged and buried in the X flag.
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The Gangstas cut a promo from a cemetery with black and white video effects and a theremin in the background. New Jack is pretty funny, even if this approaches old stereotype territory. The posse is scared off by a wolf howl as the camera pans to a black cat and "Don't Fear the Reaper" plays. Weird but clever. Paul Bearer and the Undertaker inform us the Gangstas will know the meaning of fright. Bearer promises to keep an eye on Cornette. Cornette has words for Peanuthead New Jack, Pieface Mustafa, and Buckwheat D'Lo (!!!).
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JC Ice is risking his future by getting in the ring with Rich & Gilbert--he's not letting on just how badly his neck may be injured or healed.
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Lawler couldn't make it to his title shot because he was busy kissing Vince McMahon's you-know-what. Dundee raises a good point there. Then words for Razor Ramon, who's a big deal north of the Mason-Dixon line but isn't used to the South, where they're a little smaller and quicker.
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Lawler with his standard church bulletin promo as only he can do--upcoming shows in a parking lot and a casino. Then he switches gears and complains about not getting a shot at Dundee's Unified title.
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Cute angle here. I've no real complaints about this feud so far. Hey, who was the last wrestler to debut with the specific purpose of seeking out and destroying an already-active wrestler? I'm talking guys like Raven, Kane, and Nailz. It's something I think I miss in wrestling.
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