PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Weird atmosphere, with the dark lighting and oddball school-basement-like venue. This is like a professionally produced indie match, or a Raw from the low points of 1994. And then the studio voiceovers, which I just hate when any promotion does it. This is still an enjoyable match that I seem to be in the middle on. The super-urgent second fall was the peak of this, with Toyota and Yoshida going balls-out after dropping a fall and quickly downing Hokuto to equalize--the fall lasted just as long as it needed to, which was refreshing. Toyota badly blew a lot of stuff in the third fall to the point where I'm surprised she wasn't injured, but got the pinfall anyway. Decent match that didn't overstay its welcome.
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I don't think this quite lives up to its initial rep and the finish sucks on a few different levels, but it's a hell of a match. I have less of a problem with Vader and Bigelow being thrown all over the place because they're simply not expected to work as brick walls in Japan. Plus they dish out quite the beating to both Scott and Rick and keep this structured--Bam Bam catching Rick off the turnbuckle and hitting a stungun is a great cut-off to extend things after the ostensible hot tag. Is 91-92 New Japan Bam Bam's peak as a worker? I would think it'd have to be. The '86 Memphis stuff is a promising but raw talent being carried to great matches and the '93 WWF is more of the "decent stuff" variety. Here he looks like a standout worker with the talent, charisma, and drive to be at least a fringe contender for the IWGP Title or Triple Crown.
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Samurai does a fantastic job of selling his arm throughout this match, even to the point of being unable to hold Liger for stuff like the tombstone and German suplex. Sammy looks completely done from the opening bell when he gets KO'd by a rolling kick, but slips through Liger's legs and locks him in a sunset flip for the shock victory and IWGP Jr. title. This obviously wasn't as epic as the Super Junior final but it wasn't supposed to be--the flukish nature of the victory was the only one possible in the story of the match, and the fact that the match was shorter adds meaning to every single near-fall in any conceivable New Japan match, because you never really KNOW if a big title match is actually going to go 20+. Classic staples of Choshu booking--or, if Liger was booking the juniors at this point, of a guy who clearly studied under Choshu. This feels like something more than the typical "Liger gets upset for the title" match--it appears after a few years of trying that Liger has found a replacement rival for Sano.
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PWFG so far has sort of had the same issue SWS had with regard to the roster--it's just Fujiwara and a bunch of other guys not on his level. Well, Vale already showed that he's on Fujiwara's level (kayfabe-wise, at least) so for the first time that we see, Fujiwara goes into a match where he can't just toy around with his opponent. I liked this as much as any "matwork + reset + repeat" shootstyle match so far, because Fujiwara gets a chance to show off his supremely underrated abilities as a seller. It was deliberately paced and lacked the raucous U.S. crowd but it was another excellent addition to this series. Vale puts Fujiwara down with a sleeper and I'm about ready to type up a smartass quip about why he'd bother letting it go, but Fujiwara doesn't get up. Shut my mouth. The result surprises me as I was expecting an "I'll do a job on your home turf and you do one on mine" deal.
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This was an excellent show--pity it had to be wasted on such a middling crowd. This is a fine capper to the night's events, with Yamada forcing this match into her pace--Yamada is as close to a clone of Toshiaki Kawada as you can get, right down to the colors. Lots of stiff kicks and twisty submissions instead of spot after spot after spot. Toyota is almost always better when someone forces her or she forces herself out of her sprinty comfort zone. I agree that this is not a Joshi MOTYC but it's a hell of a match with a very well-done finish. I do hope the hair vs. hair can top it.
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I don't know about **** but I didn't think it was far off from that. Sort of a poor woman's version of the LCO/Jungle Jack match with a similar mode of attack from the Inoues--isolate Hokuto, stay away from Bull. This isn't as successful but I appreciated the Inoues constantly making saves for each other, which made for some hot near-falls and also put over the moves--the match was clearly put across as being over if not for Takako and Kyoko saving each other's bacon a few times. I don't think either of these two matches were of much consequence in the big picture, but neither was Rude vs. Dustin and I'm glad that made the set. Speaking of the 1/4 Toyota vs. Yamada, somebody upload that shit already.
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Debbie's not an easy listen but I'm sure the short, basic responses were directed. Y'know, I thought this was kind of refreshing for a joshi match. Lots of blood and chair-throwing and brawling, but this was more of a nice, straightforward match instead of two girls trying to cram in every highspot imaginable. Reading the backstory helped a bit too--I wish I'd known about Bison getting a tapout on her so I could give her slightly more of a chance here. Aja reasserts herself and of course this ends with hugs.
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I know I'm responding to two-year old posts, but what the hell--doing this angle on the weekend probably would have worked fine, but the ostensible logic was Cactus Jack attacking the fatigued and vulnerable Steamboat. Anyway, this was good down the stretch but I don't exactly relish watching these two teams go for 30 minutes. They do have very good chemistry and I wouldn't mind seeing this go to a proper blowoff, or at least see the Omni title change. Gordy looked as good as he did in the standout matches with Misawa, and unlike Scott at the end, Gordy was paying attention to the time calls. Check out Scott waving his hands around during the countdown, while Gordy has to pop back up from the tiger driver so they can get the Frankensteiner in before the bell. I look forward to comparing these two matches with the Bam Bam/Vader match upcoming, as the IWGP champs match up to the Steiners very similarly to the MVCs--willing to go up for spots but with enough skill to keep them reigned in.
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I didn't have a problem with the excessive falls--especially with Rude since he hurt his ribs right off the bat, which would affect anybody's endurance and which are sold and put over tremendously throughout the match. The only weak fall was Rude's first on Steamboat after getting his ass kicked for the first 8 minutes. This match illustrates why I've rarely been a star-ratings guy. I think this about as good as WarGames, to be honest--and I had that rated at *****. And yet I wouldn't rate this a full five. I may have to go watch WarGames again, but right now this is the #1 WCW and by extension North America MOTY. The most focused body part work you'll ever see in a North American ring, just a smidgen of shtick from Rude but not too much, and one of the best-worked sleeperholds ever. Love Rude kicking Steamboat's arms away from the ropes and Randy Anderson (who incidentally was tremendous for this whole bout) checking on Steamboat's eyes. I never understood the kayfabe reason why this wasn't a title match, but it's a satisfying payoff to the Rude/Steamboat feud which was, judging by the action we saw and the Observer reaction to their house show series, North America's best from an in-ring standpoint for the first half of the year.
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Good match that's probably better than 99% if not every Hardcore Title match. They pay a bit of lip service to the injured-ribs storyline (though not enough for my liking), there are the requisite loony Foley bumps, and Sting provides some hot moves and bumps of his own. Also, backslides and pin reversals and Irish whips on the floor, which are spots that should be in every falls-count-anywhere match. Most refreshing of all there are no contrived weapons to be found anywhere--all they use are the guardrail and the chairs. I was always waiting for Russo or someone to take one of those "falls count anywhere on the Gulf Coast/in the building" stips literally to the extreme conclusion. Big Boss Man gets a pin attempt on Al Snow for "1, 2...oh, he JUST got his foot outside the arena door in time!" Feel free to let me know if someone has done this already.
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It doesn't do much for Nikita's aura for Jesse to be towering over him. Really odd timing to all this, as Nikita is just now giving his answer to an envelope he received from the Dangerous Alliance at WrestleWar. Nikita tells Madusa off, and says he's targetting Rick Rude's U.S. title to set up that program.
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That Lance Russell line was spectacular. "These are NOT Jerry Lawler's kids!" Dave Brown with the cold, hard facts. "Brian Lawler" aka Fred the Elephant Boy cuts a promo while the other kid tries to collect money from the fans until Lawler runs him off. Lawler tries to hype this Monday as the greatest night in his professional career--Lawler against Mike Doggendorf AND Mike Samples!
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Lawler puts Coraluzzo over as a representative of Andy Kaufman's estate who first got into Lawler's life after Andy's death. Now he's after Lawler with two of his "illegitimate children" from New Jersey. Coraluzzo sends in a pre-tape, where he laments Lawler stealing the Unified World title back from Kamala, forcing him to "ship him off to New York" to an organization without as much tough talent! Ha! He's on his way to Memphis, at least if his secretary can get him some half-price airfare. Hey, there he is! Coraluzzo is there with Mike Doggendorf, a big musclehead who takes exception to one too many Lawler insults and attacks. Until some of the other heels hit the ring and...pull Doggendorf off (???) Richard Lee is trying to help get order restored??! Well, this was an okay angle but that ending doesn't make a great deal of sense.
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The set-up of this is worth going out of your way to see. From Gordy and Doc's funny interview describing the Puerto Rican situation--"IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE??"--to Watts completely shitting on the NWA board of directors and the entire concept in general. Ross and Ventura continue burying the NWA President as the match starts. I'm not sure if this is the best match for either team--I really did like one of those Misawa/Kawada tags and that '91 Tokyo Dome match. However, I don't believe Misawa and Kawada could have worked a match like this at this point in their careers. These teams complement each other amazingly well--Doc and Gordy have enough pull (literal and figurative) to keep the Steiners more grounded than usual, and the Steiners aren't all that content to lay around with the MVCs in holds. What we get is the stiffest, most UWFI-esque mat-based match on North American soil since Snowman was challenging for the Unified World title. But this is three times as long and builds into some good highspotty action. These guys lose their way a little bit towards the end, which includes the most delayed "didn't see the babyface tag" referee reaction in wrestling history. But the finish itself is good and very out-of-the-box with Scott never actually getting to make the real hot tag. The whole match was out of the box, and while Doc & Gordy I don't think ever really got over with a North American audience I wish this emphasis on holds and matwork could have continued.
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Can someone tell me whether or not WCW has padding outside the ring? I don't think I picked up on a definitive answer to that question during the match. There are some great spots here, but yeah, this isn't much of a psychological masterpiece. A match with 3 outsiders on American TV probably SHOULD be a spotfest, but there are some eye-rolling moments towards the end like Liger wowing everybody with an Asai moonsault--an absolutely mindblowing move in the context of American wrestling in 1992--and Benoit up and raring to go three seconds later. Right after that, Pillman takes like two moves and then does a slow crawl to his corner like he's Ricky Morton having taken a 15-minute beating. And if Wellington looked "better than expected"...sheesh, I can't fathom what he was normally like, because I thought he sucked. I liked him kicking Pillman from the apron and his missed missile dropkick, but he was also either clumsy as hell or just sandbagging the shit out of Liger throughout the match. This was fun, but even for go-go spot-a-thons there are better ones throughout the year.
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