PeteF3
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Everything posted by PeteF3
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Really classic WCW syndie feel to this one, complete with a backstage promo from Embry, some good time given to the match, and an actual finish. Prichard is in the middle of a good comeback when he's tripped by Tony Falk, and that allows Embry to get in a DDT to regain the Southern belt. They make a big deal about how this is each man's ticket to the #1 contendership for the Unified World title, so maybe this is FINALLY setting up a big Lawler/Embry showdown. However, the name-dropping of Kamala in the pre-match promo has me a little pessimistic. -
Neidhart had just taken a submission loss to Ric Flair and is being helped to the back. He gets in the Beverly Brothers' way, so they take out his knee further. This knocked Neidhart out of Survivor Series and allowed them put Sgt. Slaughter in, and I would assume also served to set up the New Foundation.
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I like the '88 match a great deal. This wasn't nearly as good--the first ten minutes are pretty much a waste and has the feel of a time limit draw, but they did sprinkle in some really great stuff afterward. I loved Backlund getting pissed and eating one too many Takada kicks, taking him down, and absolutely forearm-ing the shit out of him. He also threw some nice suplexes. I could be reading more into the finish than I should, but when Backlund hit the German it looked like he was bridging for a pro-wrestling-style pin attempt, which is what allowed Takada to counter into the kimura. If that was intentional it was really clever. Other than a few kicks Takada didn't have a lot to offer in this.
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Man did UWFI have some bizarrely random foreigners. I keep expecting to see Bob Cook get signed by the company for his boxing skills. He seems to have a clue what he's doing, but that's about it. Point is taken about tag shootstyle--it seems the most enjoyable matches inevitably involve Vader and/or Albright or the NJPW guys. The same was true of the UWF, which needed the Brits as a change of pace. That said, Tamura works a pretty good FIP segment and his little exchange of near-submissions with Boss is a turning point where this match gets pretty good.
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Rick definitely shows some of his asshole tendencies here, but part of it also comes across as just plain heeling, like his taunting of Hase in the midst of his brutalization of Muto. Muto takes at least two absolutely insane bumps, though it's hard to tell which of Muto or Steiner is more reckless--there's the belly-to-belly on the floor where it looks like Muto's head clips the guardrail, and the Vader-on-Inoki-level German suplex. Norton throws in a few good power spots and cut-offs but is still Scott Norton and there's just so much excitement that he can bring to the table. All that said, I got sucked into this by the end, as Rick in particular really did come off as an asshole bully who didn't seem like he could be stopped, and it really looked like they were going to methodically pound Muto into defeat just as Choshu did. So when Muto counters the powerslam and gets another hot tag, and Hase almost immediately gets cut off in a very well-done spot, and then counters the Steinerline in an even better spot, and then gets the PIN(!!) on Rick...yeah, they earned that big pop. I don't know if Rick attempting the same finishing stretch as Choshu did was intentional or not but it comes off as pretty great storytelling either way. Hase looks great and it's hard to envision Muto getting unseated as WOTY at this point.
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Tendoo? Tenju? "Fondue"--ha. "You no comprende, amigo-san?" Heenan's comments are cheap as all fuck but still funny. Heenan points out that the 56,000 people in the Egg Dome gave Hogan & Tenryu a standing ovation, but you couldn't tell. "SWS" is mentioned--well then, there it is: the first mention since expansion of another organization by name, beating Smoky Mountain Wrestling by nearly two solid years. Heenan gets his cup of rice dumped on his head. Tenryu must have been thrilled to fly halfway around the world for this. He probably got a nice tax write-off out of it, if nothing else.
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Fun little match all around. The York Foundation's transition onto offense on Dustin is some classic heeling, as is Rich attempting to make nice with and then double-cross Big Josh (continuity!). Morton and Rich in particular are absolute masters, considering how much money they'd made as babyfaces.
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I liked the kicks from Flynn and the suplexes from both guys, but there wasn't much else here. I like the idea of doing TKOs on occasion because...well, they happen in real life all the time. But it's hard to make them as dramatic as your typical pro wrestling finish, and they don't really succeed with it here.
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The Van Hammer Tour '91 is on its way to MY town, and yours, too. The energy from the HAMMERHEADS big and small will knock the air out of his opponent's lungs, and it's going to be VANTASTIC. Ross makes sure to repeat the word just in case this James Joyce-esque wordplay flies over less discerning viewers' heads. If Jeff Gaylord wasn't returning to Memphis right at this same moment I'd wonder if these two weren't secretly the same guy.
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Oh my God, Lawler is wearing an 8-bit pixelated tribute to one of the worst hockey uniforms ever, that of the 1980's Vancouver Canucks. Travis' help was some big musclebound idiot last week who goes unnamed--prowrestlinghistory identifies him as "The Big O," definitely one of the most successful pro wrestling gimmicks ever lifted from a Shel Silverstein picture book. Travis' second kick at the can comes in the form of, oh yes, Jeff Gaylord. Jerry goes off on another rant about his opponent's lack of intelligence and brings back his dinosaur analogy, which is normally counterproductive but with Gaylord involved it's hard to argue with. Thank God we kicked the Lawler/Embry title match to the curb in favor of this.
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Jimmy Hart singing along to the Mountie's French horn theme is an early highlight. Mountie is upset that this is non-title, but he's got a plan to force Bret's hand. Jimmy douses Bret with a bucket of water and then Bret gets zapped with the cattle prod. Bret was really lacking in direction coming off his big title win, presumably due to the Perfect injury, and this finally gives him something personal to focus on. As usual I could do without those cheesy electricity sound effects but other than that this is a very nicely done angle.
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Hogan vs. Undertaker is officially on for Survivor Series. Undertaker is going to take both Hogan's title and his soul, while Bearer will work on the remains. The lack of dialogue from the announcers once UT and Bearer get going add to this segment's effectiveness. Hogan has not had an opponent built up this well since (I hate to say it) Zeus.
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"YO HOMEBOY--WELCOME TO THE 'HOOD!" Hulk Hogan: on the cutting edge. Hogan sets the record straight some street rap, brother. Then he parrots Bret Hart's catchphrase that Bret hasn't even invented yet. After seeing Hogan actually show some elements of self-doubt earlier, this was not one of Hulk's better efforts.
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I'm going to miss JWP already and I didn't even know if its existence until last month, and it's for the same reasons as Loss. This does have the typical "both girls run at each other" opening but like the other JWP matches it boils down to something more organic and methodical in a good way. This differs pretty noticeably from the Scorpion matches as this is all about stiff kicks from Kansai and Saito just trying to survive and keep her head above water even though she comes off as overmatched. Well-done finish to keep both ladies looking strong--Saito comes off as a crafty opportunist rather than someone who won on a fluke, even though there was a great deal of luck involved in her victory.
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It was fun seeing Octagon show some fire and offense in contrast to his earlier singles match, and to see Fuerza do his thing but I wasn't nearly as high on this as I hoped to be. All the stuff with Gran Davies was incredibly distracting and pointless--first he's actively working against Octagon and ignoring Fuerza punting him in the balls, and then he starts enforcing the rules like a normal referee and all the earlier stuff is ignored. Pick a storyline and stick with it, guys. Lots and lots of blood and mask-tearing once we get to the third fall, which goes from a chaotic hateful brawl back to holds and pin attempts. Fuerza bites on Octagon's fingers to get out of a Cavernaria (after he beats a count back into the ring after a big Octagon dive and the bell clearly rings, but whatever), then goes to the top turnbuckle and has to peer out to see that Octagon is 3/4 of the way across the ring in a funny moment that doesn't distract from the fact that this is a blood feud. I wish I didn't hate the Davies stuff as much as I did, and it's probably not entirely rational, but I really, REALLY didn't like it once it was clear that they weren't going to be remotely consistent about what his role was going to be. If that's a normal shtick of his, whatever, but it hasn't come through on any of the other lucha matches yet. Good match and a great showcase for Octagon but no way does it unseat Santo/Brazo as the lucha MOTY and as a MOTYC overall.
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Takano had some more cool shoot-style stuff at the beginning, but he got away from that in favor of a lot of kicks and some stuff that didn't quite connect. Tenryu didn't have as much urgency here as he did last night, though his chair-toss directly at Takano's face was pretty awesome. The big elephant in the room with regard to SWS remains that it comes off as Tenryu + everybody else. You can't sustain a promotion in Japan where the ace's #1 rival is Hulk Hogan.
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Methodically paced but fun hate-fest of a match, with Yatsu going as all-out as he can on offense--a bulldog on the exposed concrete, a dive off the apron, and an attempted diving elbow that Tenryu does a great job of dodging at the last second. Yatsu had something left in the tank after all. Some weird stuff like Tenryu's first power bomb being treated as a routine transition move, but a solid little match.
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Very effective coming-out party for Asai on a bigger stage. He hits some spectacular dives and gives Salvaje enough of the match to make this worth Bestia's while, with some great late kickouts on near-falls. Seeing Hakushi do an Asai moonsault in 1995 was mind-blowing--I can only imagine the reaction people had to seeing it in the early '90s.
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